Knicks 118, Magic 88: What an enjoyable win that was
The young Knicks blew out the hampered Magic late in a lost season, and for one evening, at least, it felt really fun to be a Knicks fan again.
The real world, this universe, is usually a cold, dark, unforgiving place.
Every once in a while, though, you get a fleeting peek into alternate reality — fantasy-come-true before it vaporizes, melting between your fingers.
Oh yeah, basketball — after an absolute stinker the previous night, the Knicks put in maybe their most dominating performance of the season against a (very) short-handed Magic team in Orlando. New York led by 35 points for the first time this season.
Outside maybe spring chicken Taj Gibson (somehow -16 in a 20-point win), it was hard to find a young Knick that didn’t have a knack tonight.
21-year-old RJ Barrett: 27/6/5; +29
22-year-old Immanuel Quickley: 20/10/10/2; first career triple-double; +18
24-year-old Mitchell Robinson: 12 and 10 with six blocks and three steals; +24
24-year-old Obi Toppin: 20/8/3; first career 4-three game; +46 (tied for highest single-game plus minus by a Knick ever)
It’s like I booted up the old NBA 2K again!
It was a meaningless game against a pitiful opponent, but it was a welcome, however short, reprieve in a lost season. Seeing so many young guns out there setting records on the same night was a nice reminder that things aren’t always quite as bad as they seem.
Imagine this utopian parallel universe:
After another horrible 21-win campaign in 2019-20, the Knicks make a small incremental improvement in 2020-21, winning 29 games. Julius Randle remains the same inefficient beyblade, but RJ Barrett shows a semblance of outside shooting, Immanuel Quickley looks like a value pick at 25, and Derrick Rose and Alec Burks look like solid role-playing vets that can steady the course moving forward. Flash forward to April the next season, and the Knicks finish this beatdown of Orlando to advance to 35-44 on the year — even without Rose the majority of the year. Though they still are seeking that elusive playoff birth, for the second straight season, it’s an incremental improvement. Barrett finishes the campaign on a tear to get his scoring average above 20 on the season. Obi Toppin and Immanuel Quickley, in more consistent minutes, look like pretty clear future rotation players on a playoff team. Rookies Quentin Grimes, Miles McBride, and Jericho Sims are already providing positive NBA skills on both ends of the floor. The team retains all of its future first round picks.
How do you feel?
Expectations can be thieves of joy. If not for last season’s surprise outlier success, things would almost undoubtedly be looking up for this young Knicks team’s fans.
Sure, there’s still plenty to stress over. Is Thibs coming back? Will Randle (and his contract) be jettisoned? Will the Knicks find a way to retain Robinson? Is a Barrett max extension before restricted free agency a no-brainer or an overpay?
But on a Sunday night or Monday morning before another long week in April, another season when the Knicks will miss the playoffs, it’s not worth stressing about those things. Take a deep breath in. Think about RJ Barrett slicing into the lane and hitting spinning layups off glass as an Orlando crowd cheers his name. Think about Immanuel Quickley grabbing his 10th rebound and being mobbed by teammates. Think about Jericho Sims flying out of thin air for a put-back dunk so vicious he almost cracked a smile.
There’s not much Knicks basketball left until next season. We’re on a spinning rock hurtling through a freezing void of empty space. What an enjoyable win that was.
