Before and after Tuesday’s game in Utah, goalie Austin Rivers pointed out that the Knicks are “tired.” And he indicated that it was not only physical, but also mental.
Rivers, the most sincere Knick, initially accused him of a grueling road program. The Knicks were on the road during a pandemic for 13 of the first 19 games – a stretch that ends with Tuesday’s 108-94 crash against the Jazz.
After the Knicks rose in the fourth quarter with an embarrassing 28-13 record, Rivers said he doesn’t know what the reason is, but it was proof he threw a 15-point lead and showed no fight in the last quarter.
“I mean, the boys were dead,” Rivers said. “It simply came to our notice then. But looking around with about six minutes left in the fourth, it didn’t seem like we were the unit. Only our energy changed in the second half. They became more physical. They took the fight to us. He felt like he was falling apart there. “
It was a cursing accusation for a team built on the wrong side – not offensive talent. Rivers, who scored 25 points in the first half and none in the second half, did not blame the distribution of minutes as a cause. He also did not specify the demanding road safety protocols.
Tom Thibodeau’s minutes could turn into a problem if the 8-11 Knicks, who lost three straight, don’t reverse course when they return to Garden Friday versus Cleveland after the eight-day swing with four games in the west.
Thibodeau is revered around the league for his coaching skills, but his approach to winning at all costs has won detractors. A short rotation and the inability to give up explosions and use their depth are evident in the first 19 games.
Julius Randle (36.7) and RJ Barrett (36.4), his two main players, are now in second and fourth place, respectively, in minutes per game in the NBA. On Tuesday, during the fourth-quarter explosion, Thibodeau kept Barrett on the field until he was 1:19 down. 17. Barrett finished the recording at 40:22.
It could have been a moment to give Frank Ntilikina the choice of the 2017 lottery, some action. Ntilikina, now healthy, did not play for the second consecutive game, after coming out 3 and a half weeks with a sprained knee.
Thibodeau did not throw away the towel easily. Against the Nets on January 13, Brooklyn won in one fell swoop. It seemed like an obvious chance to rest Randle and give rookie Obi Toppin, in his first game after a calf injury, the chance to get in shape.
Thibodeau kept Randle in the game, and the Knicks came back feverish. But the Knicks would have needed a miracle to pull off the victory. They lost, 116-109, and won several congratulations on national television for trying to return. Indeed, there has been short-term success, but it has raised questions about whether it is the best in the long run.
Before Tuesday’s game, Rivers said of the first 19 contests: “I don’t know how a program could be tougher than what I played. Physically and mentally.”
Thibodeau, 63, a new old Englishman whom Bill Belichick adores, does not want to hear about a tough schedule or fatigue. And now things should get easier with 11 of the next 16 at the Garden.
“The program is the program,” Thibodeau said of Rivers’ remarks. “It simply came to our notice then. Sometimes it’s in your favor. Which makes this a little more unusual with COVID stuff, you could join teams that are in a long time [like in Portland]. But that’s part of it. You could probably find an excuse for every game. That’s what you need to protect yourself from. You have to have mental toughness to get through whatever you face. ”