Pacers 130, Knicks 121: Kicking & screaming
There’s either one more game to suffer through or one hell of a comeback brewing
There’s a scene in Talladega Nights: the Tales of Ricky Bobby where Will Ferrell threatens to stab himself in the leg to prove he’s paraplegic. Of course, he isn’t, so chaos ensues, Ferrell kicking and screaming while simultaneously reveling in the fact that he can, in fact, walk. Michael Clarke Duncan’s character attempts to pry out the first knife with a second knife, while Ferrell wonders whether or not they should just leave it.
That’s what watching the New York Knicks and Indiana Pacers face-off has felt like. Tom Thibodeau is Ferrell, the starting five the first knife and Josh Hart the second. I’ll leave the rest of the analogy to the readers. Duncan could be Mitchell Robinson, or maybe the second knife is Landry Shamet and the first is Hart. The possibilities are endless, unlike this Eastern Conference finals headed back to New York with Indiana up 3-1 after last night’s 130-121 win. The only thing left to play for is the right to play more.
Notes
I’m ready to call this the worst game of Josh Hart’s Knick career. Where he was once a gap-filler in all the best ways, last night he clogged rather than lubricated. Things didn’t get easier because Hart was in spots; they became completely inviable. He finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds, but tallied five turnovers in 36 minutes that felt at least 12 minutes too long. Thibodeau demoted Hart from the starting lineup in a rare moment of realization — perhaps he can walk after all! Continuing to play him in such lengthy stints proved to be the second knife that had no business being there.
To that point, when Hart finally graced us with a sixth foul and left the game, Thibodeau went with Landry Shamet over Miles McBride to close the game. Your feelings about whether or not the game was still in the air aside, that is downright unacceptable. McBride has been one of few constants in the series. According to PivotFade, New York is boasting a 132 offensive rating and 105.9 defensive rating with him on the court this series; with him out those numbers sour (111/134.2). 15 minutes on the night for McBride is a fireable offense in its own right. Pouring salt in the wound with Shamet’s substitution feels like a flag-planting moment for the head coach.
Mikal Bridges has had an underwhelming series since playing the role of hero in the last one. After single-handedly winning Games 1 and 2 against Boston, Dr. Jekyll is already in Cancun, waiting for Mr. Hyde to join him when this series is over. He won’t have to wait long to be whole again. The defense has been subpar, the offense often worse.
Shout-out to Obi Toppin. He hit the dagger in this one, a 27-foot three from the left wing. I knew it was good as soon as it left his hands. I’m not sure I’ve ever felt that way about any shot Toppin put up that wasn’t a dunk. OAKAAK.
I think the box score is being disingenuous in regards to Robinson, who finished the night with a -20 rating, worst of all the starters. Then again, I also find Thibs disingenuous with how he’s used the big fella since promoting him to starter. Robinson played nine minutes in the first, two in the second and seven in the third before watching baseline in the fourth as New York gave away another game. So much of this series feels like Thibodeau playing against himself, thinking that one side has to win, or more so that both can’t win together. He can have everything he wants and win games, too. But he’s planting his feet in his wheelchair, screaming about how he can’t walk. I’d say Game 5, down 3-1 on your home floor, is the time to come to sweet baby Jesus. Hopefully that means either playing Robinson in stints, as he’s most effective, or swapping him out of the starting lineup for McBride. Anything but Hart back in the starting lineup.
Shoutout to Shamet and Delon Wright. They’ve played some good minutes. Nothing else need be said for two guys who likely wouldn’t get Conference Finals run on any other squad. But it’s refreshing to have someone to compliment postgame.
Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns can’t beat the untenable allegations. Following their latest loss, the Knicks are -0.6 points per 100 possessions with the duo sharing this floor this postseason, +4.3 with Brunson on and Towns off, and +6.4 with Towns on and Brunson off. Imagine being able to see how close mediocre is, but not being quite there yet. That’s an increasingly depressing reality for a duo making $70+ million. And one of them makes twice as much as the other! Towns had some nice moments in the fourth of potentially seven battles with Myles Turner. And we saw Brunson get chippy with Bennedict Mathurin. As a fan, that sentence turns my stomach. Remember when we beat the reigning champs?
Quoth the late, great Tony Stark in Avengers: Endgame, “A part of the journey is the end.” He’d accepted his fate before making the ultimate sacrifice. But the Knicks’ journey this season has felt more like a roller coaster than traveling from one point to another; an endless cycle of ups and downs that captured us over and over no matter the anticipation. There’s no martyrdom to be had, no blazing moment of glory to go out on. This entire season has been kicking and screaming. And it looks like it will end that way, fittingly.