We came to expect so much from what the Knicks presented on Sunday: 48 minutes of effort, 48 minutes of faith. The Heat may hold an ugly record right now, but they are still the Eastern Conference defending champions, and on Sunday afternoon at the Garden, they showed why, an alpha beat give me the ball with a game on the line. .
They’re Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo, they’re Kendrick Nunn and Tyler Herro and Duncan Robinson. In the end, there were too many Miami players able to play during this 109-103 Heat victory and too few Knicks who succeeded. Again: This is not a new behavior with these Knicks, as viewable as they have become.
“We haven’t finished our defense,” said Tom Thibodeau. “Give them credit. It’s not just Jimmy. Move the ball well and have a great shot around them. ”
What was more telling were the things Thibodeau did not say, could not say, did not say. The heat, in many ways, possesses exactly the DNA Thibodeau wants: willing to play defense every night, able to stand hard in difficult times, able to close the door when begging to be closed.
The Knicks have Julius Randle, who currently meets all these requirements. And they have a list full of vets who can on some nights and a list full of kids who could learn how to do that most nights.
So you can understand why Thibodeau might have longed for this seemingly inevitable reunion with Derrick Rose. This year marks exactly 10 years since Rose’s MVP season, when she was 22, and she certainly looked like she should have thrown basketball strips at LeBron James for years to come. But that was before the knee became curly.
That was before he returned as a highly skilled guard, who would never be what he was, except for a few stolen nights here and there. The Knicks saw this four years ago, when he was just 28, when he played 64 games for them and occasionally played the biggest hits for them.
He is now four years older, but remains in Thibodeau’s eternal circle of trust. The Knicks don’t give up too much for him, one of their second-round pick crews plus the remnants of Dennis Smith Jr.’s career. This is the problem:
Once here, once he is allowed to play, he will play. The Knicks already have a rotation of 10 people. Who will be tailed? There are only three options:
It could be Elfrid Payton, who has played better lately, but is still frustratingly limited in almost every aspect of the goalie game.
It could be Austin Rivers, who has had some fun moments like Knick, but has been arguing lately, and if he is, that means Payton becomes a backup and Immanuel Quickley will be a guard on the bench – a position that he could play it.
Or it could be Quickley, and this is not an evolution that a Knicks fan would support, even if many would not have heard of him in the hours, weeks and months before he was recruited. He quickly became a conversation starter around Knicks fans and, in fact, is not just a cute toy: he is a good player and, more importantly, a fearless player. He won his place in the Knicks rotation.
What if Rose’s arrival changes that even a little?
Then it would be nonsense, at the same time, during a season in which the men who lead Knicks seemed determined to firmly avoid more. The Knicks have already sent Kevin Knox to witness protection. Frank Ntilikina, whenever he returns, will be transported back to the abyss.
This season we have to keep an eye on the prize, even if it certainly seems likely that, except for a collapse that defies gravity, the Knicks will be in play for one of the 10 slots in the temporarily extended Eastern playoff tournament. This is actually a worthwhile goal. And for Thibodeau, who played mostly the good companion on Day 1, it would allow a tangible carrot to keep the team going.
“[Rose] it was around the system, “said Knicks backup center Taj Gibson, who played more games under Thibodeau’s watch than anyone else. “We know what Thibs essentially wants and we can be valuable to young players who are still learning.”
This is music for everyone’s ears. If Rose can come in and play at a level above average and if she can be a mentor to Quickley and the other Knicks kids, good for Leon Rose because he pursued the business and good for Thibodeau because he wants it. There are two more parallel tracks for this team: continuous improvement and a roadmap for future prosperity.
This is not the time to forget this, no matter how frustrating the results may be on Sunday.