The New York Knicks kicked some ass all over Madison Square Garden last night, beating the Miami Heat 116-95 to sweep the season series. The last time the Knicks did that, Charles Smith was a forward, not a flashback; the only current Knicks yet to be born were P.J. Tucker and Delon Wright. With the win New York lowered its magic number to clinch the third seed to 10.
Did you know the Leon Rose/Tom Thibodeau Knicks have never reached the playoffs without a starter either being out hurt or injury-compromised? In 2021 Mitchell Robinson’s absence turned Clint Capela into what Tyson Chandler turned Roy Hibbert into in 2012. Two years ago Julius Randle gamely fought through multiple ankle injuries over two rounds; last year the postseason opened with Randle lost to a separated shoulder and quickly became a George Romero zombie movie, with only one or two people surviving to the end in a world without hope.
Is this year shaping up the same, only different? And by “different” maybe “better”?
The Captain is now the late-season casualty, but as Geoff Rasmussen has written, the loss of Jalen Brunson could be [a blessing in disguise](https://www.thestrick.land/strick/knicks-133-kings-104-losing-streak-schmoosing-streak), with last night an example. The first quarter ended with the visitors up 11. In the second, Karl-Anthony Towns put up a solo 15-0 run; in the third, it was Mikal Bridges scoring 15 in the frame. By the fourth the Knicks were up as many as 27 (not that you could tell by how late Tom Thibodeau had Towns in the game). Yes, the Heat are a floating tire fire, starless and purposeless for the first time since . . . ?
But for any team to pull off a 40-point swing over three quarters, particularly without their main engine, is impressive. If Brunson does return for the playoffs, Milwaukee, Indiana or Detroit will make harassing him plans A, B and C. The Knicks will not only need other guys to score, they’ll need them to create.
Thus it was meaningful seeing Towns remember that he’s 84 inches tall, and that he’s not only allowed to post people up, he’s quite good at it. KAT struggled with his shot against Bam Adebayo, missing five of six shots. It happens. The 9-of-11 he shot against the rest of the Heat illustrated the depths to which South Beach has sunk. Miami’s defense needs Adebayo to play cornerback and safety, shutting down his man while being available to help everyone else’s with theirs. Kel’el Ware is a promising prospect, but for now too green for a team that deep in the red. Quoth heatforlife: “The Heat suk.” They left out the “c,” perhaps in honor of their team having no O, little D and no one worthy of the captain’s C.
Mikal Bridges has clinched about five wins already this year with late-game defensive plays and drilled a buzzer-beater, and yet if he saw an infant in a stroller about to be hit by a car and pushed the child out of harm’s way there’d be Knicks fans griping that he didn’t push more gently. Perhaps that’s the price you pay when the price you cost is five first-round picks and you’ve yet to earn any postseason capital with your new team. But don’t get it twisted: Josh Hart can put up triple-doubles every day between now and the season finale, and OG Anunoby is an invaluable weapon to have come game 83 and beyond, but if the Knicks are going to upset Boston or Cleveland it’s going to be because someone besides Brunson and Towns raised questions those teams couldn’t answer. If anyone else is gonna do that, it’s Bridges.
So maybe Brunson’s absence is an unexpected gift. The Knicks have held steady since, while the Bucks and Pacers failed to make up ground; New York’s playoff positioning seems secure. If Thibs ever did lead the Knicks to a title, he’d still have them back at practice the day after the parade, so was there really any chance of the team learning to expand beyond “Go on, Jalen, do all the offense” as long as Brunson was available? If he hadn’t sprained his ankle in L.A. he pro’ly would’ve averaged 36 a game the past couple weeks, the Knicks would be exactly where they are in the East, Bridges would still be averaging around 17 a game instead of the nearly 23 he has since, and they’d likely wait to brainstorm adjustments on the fly during the playoffs.
Instead, they have weeks of relatively low-stakes games to experiment. The Knicks are like a couple of virgins who were waiting till marriage to do anything physical, but are now marooned for a few weeks on a remote island. If when they’re rescued it turns out they _still_ haven’t tested any boundaries . . . well, you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it kink.
Get kinky, Knicks! The schedule remains friendly for a bit: a two-game road trip to the Wemby-less Spurs and hapless, hopeless Hornets, then five out of six at home with four against losing teams. Don’t let Towns go another month or two thinking all he’s allowed to do is drive or spot-up. Don’t let Brunson’s eventual return mean you fall back into a rut — and yes, if fiftysomething wins and being elite on one side of the ball is a rut, it’s a comfortable rut compared to most we’ve seen ‘round here. But what Knicks fans want to see more than anything are signs that this year, this team, is different. Sweeping Miami is a small step in that direction, but small like a truffle: tasty, rich and complex. Hopefully last night was only an appetizer.