The harsh glow of the regular season hits Tom Thibodeau’s Knicks on Wednesday night in the season opener at the empty Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
A 3-1 preseason was very good, but even the beginning of Obi Toppin knows it means little.
“Everyone is talking about the difference, because it’s real,” Toppin said after practice on Tuesday before the Knicks flew to face the Pacers. “My Dayton coach used to say that the pre-season games were rubber bullets. When you get into the real games that matter, these are real bullets. We jump into the fire. ”
The Knicks have a long history, showing positive signs against the Pistons and Cavaliers, but they could be the worst clubs in the Eastern Conference.
Knicks is also expected to be among the lowest in this season of 72 pandemic matches. Thibodeau’s winning story and a glimmer of hope from potential young RJ Barrett, Kevin Knox, Mitchell Robinson and rookie Immanuel Quickley offer a slice of promise.
“We’re in a good place,” said Julius Randle, who has started to lose him throughout his six-year career. “We are taking steps, we are improving every day. So we feel confident that we are entering [Wednesday]. ”
But these are the Pacers, who made the playoffs five seasons in a row and set a 45-28 mark in 2019-20.
They have a new coach, former Raptors assistant Nate Bjorkgren. Sources say he lit a fire under Victor Oladipo, the All-Star guard who took a step back from knee surgery almost two years ago and was in the commercial building.
“I think I’m a very talented team,” Thibodeau said. “They have built an excellent base in recent years. They play a little differently offensively, but they are one of the top teams in the East for sure. ”
Thibodeau did not reveal his starting lineup. It’s an annoying decision. It has no stars, but many interchangeable parts.
Thibodeau could move to a more veteran unit that started the first two pre-season games – Elfrid Payton on guard, Alec Burks on guard, Barrett on small striker, Randle on striker and Nerlens Noel on center.
Robinson had a dynamic end to the pre-season and could get his head around it, especially if Noel’s knee is still sore.
Quickley, a Kentucky rookie revelation, may need more spice before getting such a vital role from the start. The 25th pick in the draft looked more impressive than Toppin, the eighth overall pick.
Thibodeau, a fan of short rotations, said that even for the opener, he will stay with 10 men. This could lead to Dennis Smith Jr. and Frank Ntilikina not playing.
Knox, Quickley, Reggie Bullock, Robinson and Toppin seem to be candidates for rotation.
“You have to base it on performance and merit, which the boys did,” Thibodeau said sadly. “We have a pretty good idea of who the 10 are and then the question will become who we start. There are several positions that are basically 50-50 types of positions. So we’re still evaluating this.
“We have a rotation, but it is not set in stone. We have an idea of what it might look like, but we’re still on the way to it. ”
The rotation is blocked, even without the presence of Austin Rivers. He missed all the training camp training and pre-season games with a pulled groin and is still not training. Rivers will be out in the first half of the season.
“The depth of quality is important,” Thibodeau said. “I feel like we have this.”
It can be the biggest problem if Knicks has quality perimeter shooting.
In the first three pre-season games, the Knicks were an abysmal 21-of-90 beyond the 3-point arc (23.3 percent, triggering teams to play a 2-3 zone). They’ve made things right in the last five quarters – especially on the strength of Knox and Bullock.
Burks, Bullock and Quickley are each designed as decent deep shooters. Barrett and Randle seemed strong enough, but still did not define more closely after President Leon Rose’s indescribable approach to free agency.
“I still see the Knicks as the 14th, 15th best team in the East,” said an NBA researcher. “If I trained against them, I would play the whole game area. Bullock is their only established shooter. They are light years away from being eliminated in the playoffs. ”
Low expectations provoked the Knicks.
They want their identity to be a low and smart defensive club.
“[We’re] just a hard work group, a group that goes out there and brings the defensive intensity, they try to beat their opponent, “said Barrett.” I feel that if you bring the energy and play harder than the other team, you will put yourself in the position of “I think that’s why we have to hang our hats.”
They will need that energy on Wednesday, when Thibodeau will train his first official game in almost two years.
“It’s what you miss when you’re gone,” Thibodeau said. “After a while, what you lack is competition. I think the opening night for everyone is interesting and it’s just the beginning. “