All this celebration. All this foolishness. All this arrogance. All to see the Knicks go down to the small-market Indiana Pacers in six games of the Eastern Conference finals. Yeah, this season was a failure. Knicks fans acted like the fools they are by creating bad karma, and this was the outcome they richly deserved.
Everyone in town thought this would be the year the Knicks ended their championship drought, which is at 52 years and counting after another disappointment. That’s why they were doing mosh pit celebrations and climbing on tax stands, poles, and so much more. That’s why they were over the top.
It was stupid to do this to get past the second round. What other sports city does this nonsense? Back in the 1990s, reaching the conference finals was expected, not celebrated. It made us look like a minor-league sports town by doing this.
Leon Rose makes a head coaching change (photo NY Post)
Knicks president of basketball operations Leon Rose and Knicks owner Lon Rose felt the same way about the season being a failure since they fired Tom Thibodeau as the Knicks’ head coach. They had expectations of winning an NBA championship. Why else would they trade draft picks to get Mikal Bridges and make another move by acquiring Karl-Anthony Towns?
Rose and Dolan should have every reason to be disappointed. The Pacers outclassed, outworked, and outcoached the Knicks in all six games. The Knicks showed no resilience in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals after blowing a 14-point lead with 2:51 to go against the Indiana Pacers, which went to overtime after Tyrese Haliburton’s bouncing shot tied the game. That was when the series was lost right there, as the Knicks went on to take a 138-135 loss to the Pacers in that game.
The Knicks were the talented team in the Eastern Conference finals. They were not a well-coached and cohesive team, and that’s why they lost the series. This is why the Knicks administration feels like the team has been cheated out of going to the Finals.
In New York, it’s about winning championships. Anything short of it is a disappointment. Getting to the Finals should be a bare minimum at best. Had the Knicks gone to the NBA Finals, you could say the Knicks are going in the right direction.
This was a blown opportunity. There’s a good shot this may be the best opportunity the Knicks will ever get. If the Knicks couldn’t beat the Pacers with a talented, healthy roster, when will they? Teams will get better, and the Knicks will only get older.
I’m not sure a new coach will make a difference. This roster still has issues. Karl-Anthony Towns and Jalen Brunson have flaws defensively, and it clearly showed against the Pacers. It’s hard to change their games now.
Brunson, the straw that stirs the drink in NY (photo, ESPN)
Brunson is an ISO point guard. He is going to score first. That’s his game. For a head coach to all of a sudden change Brunson’s game, it would be counterproductive. You have to let him be who he is, which, to Thibodeau’s credit, he did just that.
The roster was a problem all season, and the chicken came home to roost against the Pacers. The Knicks displayed no toughness in this series, and that goes back to Game 1 when they blew that lead and rolled over in overtime. They showed no heart in Game 6 against the Pacers.
It’s hard to celebrate this season. Anytime it ends in disappointment, it’s not a success. The Knicks haven’t won a championship since 1973, and there’s no guarantee it will end anytime soon. The Pacers and Thunder are not going away anytime soon.
I always said to myself the Knicks would never win a championship in my lifetime after a blown opportunity in 1994 when John Starks shot the team out of a championship in Game 7 against the Houston Rockets by shooting 2-of-18 and scoring only eight points. It sure looks like Saturday night was another example of it when the Pacers ended the Knicks’ season.
This season turned out to be a waste of time. Promises unfulfilled. Unrealized potential was abundant. Many questions about what went wrong. Another same-old, tired ending.
All of this can be traced back to 1973, the last time the Knicks won a championship.
