Pacers 111, Knicks 98: Schrödinger’s L
Much like Schrödinger’s poor cat, Wednesday’s Knicks loss to the Pacers could have gone one of two ways. Regrettably, it went the way of the L rather than the W, and the Knicks found their first losing streak of 2021-22.
In the thought experiment known as Schrödinger’s cat, a box contains “a cat, a flask of poison, and a radioactive source [that] are placed in a sealed box. If an internal monitor... detects radioactivity (i.e. a single atom decaying), the flask is shattered, releasing the poison, which kills the cat. The Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics implies that after a while, the cat is simultaneously alive and dead. Yet, when one looks in the box, one sees the cat either alive or dead, not both alive and dead. This poses the question of when exactly quantum superposition ends and reality resolves into one possibility or the other.”
The New York Knicks’ 111-98 defeat to the Indiana Pacers contained moments where the Knicks were simultaneously alive and dead. The opening minutes saw the Pacers looking like the varsity squad and the Knicks looking like five fogies playing pickup at the Y whose ride home is a little late, so they half-heartedly agreed to start a game they’d no intention of finishing. New York fell behind 11-0, then spent the rest of the night trying to claw back. The margin between winning and losing is as thin as the one between life and death. A single moment in the fourth quarter illustrates this point.
An Immanuel Quickley floater pulled New York within 85-81, then a sweet lay-up by Derrick Rose made it a two-point game and forced an Indiana timeout.
On the Pacers’ next possession, the shot clock was running low when Malcolm Brogdon drove to the hoop. Alec Burks, Obi Toppin and Nerlens Noel (in his season debut) were all there to meet him.
The other Pacers were in non-threatening positions; all but one were below the free throw line extended. If the Knicks held, they had a shot at another fast break and a chance to tie things up or even take the lead. Then Rose wandered from the corner to the paint, leaving Knick killer T.J. McConnell open in the corner. He hit, because of course he did, and the Knicks never threatened again.
There were lots of reasons the Knicks lost last night. They looked like the ‘90s Knicks shooting the ball, meaning I could tell sitting at home their jumpers weren’t gonna fall and the players putting them up looked like they felt the same. The Pacers were hot from deep in building their advantage and especially lethal on corner 3-pointers, one reason why they erupted for 36 in the first quarter. Speaking of the ‘90s, the refs let the teams play like they did back in the day. It was a physical game, tough but fair, though the Knicks, especially Julius Randle, seemed unable to adjust at times. Brogdon brought down RJ Barrett with a foul in the third that nine times out of 10 these days is a flagrant. The officials reviewed and decided it was a common foul. Myes Turner hit seven 3-pointers and outscored Mitch and Noel 25-5; the Pacers made 16 longballs versus New York’s measly 5-24 from deep.
This loss was simultaneously discouraging and an opportunity for gratitude. Seventy-two hours after many of us thought they’d be 6-1, the Knicks lost their second straight. Yes, that sucks. But are they dead? Far from it. This was New York’s first road loss, and while the home defeats to Orlando and Toronto stung, forget Indiana’s record: it’s never been easy to win games over there. This was the first game the Knicks have lost this year that felt like “Yeah, I can see that,” and it came eight games into the season. The game was lost, but the work-in-progress of resurrecting the franchise remains very much alive.
Notes
Watching how immediately aggressive Rose was getting to the rim, seeing how each game he checks in with a different approach depending on how the game’s taken shape, is such a different, relentlessly joyful experience. Much nicer than the 2016 cut.
Kemba Walker missed his first six shots en route to a 2-11 night from the field. I’m not worried about him, so in keeping with the spirit of this recap I will balance that by pointing out he continues to draw charges at a pace that makes him the best Knick at doing so since ________? You tell me: who’s the last Knick you remember for their ability to draw offensive fouls?
Driving Obi Toppin is soooo much more inspiring than Spot-Up Obi.
On the broadcast, Mike Breen said the Pacers are last in the league in attendance so far. That is something I never, ever would have guessed.
Noel had two points, six rebounds, a couple of assists and a block that reminded us of the possibilities inherent when you’ve got 48 minutes of him and Mitch protecting the rim.
It’s been interesting seeing teams guarding Randle in the post more with smaller, quicker dudes, even guards. Doesn’t seem like a good idea, with his strength and vision. But it keeps happening.
Even with T.J. Warren out, the Pacers have such a nice starting five in Turner, Brogdon, Damontas Sabonis, Caris LeVert and shoulda-been-a-Knick rookie Chris Duarte.
Indiana is the Denver of the East as far as looking good in every jersey variant they wear. Is it the yellow? Some teams just have wildly more success with alternate jerseys than others. I wish the Knicks would put out a banger just once.
There were digital ads imposed on the court and whenever a player passed them — which was frequent — this weird ghostly visual thing happened. Piss off, digital ads.
Duarte fouled Evan Fournier on a 3-pointer with the shot clock down to one second near the same spot of the court where Antonio Davis fouled Larry Johnson for the famed 4-point play in the ‘99 Eastern Conference Finals. Those Pacer series really do have a way of sticking with me.
Quoth me: “Schrödinger’s L.” We’ll see if the cat wakes up anytime soon or is still down for the count. Next game is tomorrow in Milwaukee against the recently shorthanded champs. Could go either way. C’est la Knicks.
