'Take a Hard Look': Knicks, Thibodeau, Struggling to Find Identity
The New York Knicks entered the 2022 offseason as one of the league's most active buyers, searching for the next piece to make its roster a legitimate Eastern Conference contender.
Working with $33 million in cap space to sign one or more starting caliber players, the Knicks held more than enough to flip the script on a franchise with just one playoff series victory since 2001.
Despite signing former Dallas Mavericks guard Jalen Brunson to a four-year $104 million dollar contract and former Los Angeles Clippers center Isaiah Hartenstein for two years at $16 million, many around the league felt they could have done a lot more - a.k.a. Donovan Mitchell.
On top of the veteran additions, the team traded away the rights to their 2022 first-round draft pick Ousmane Dieng to create further cap space. The only draft night yield with a name was 42nd overall pick Trevor Keels - who has appeared in just one game thus far.
But through 13 games the Knicks have scraped their way to a 6-7 record, while still causing confusion on what this team's ceiling is.
"The Knicks have mostly boosted their record against bad teams," The Athletic wrote in its most recent power rankings. "They have wins over Detroit (twice), Orlando, and Charlotte for two-thirds of their victories."
"Their next five games are all out west, so we’ll see if they can stay afloat or maybe even come away with an improbable winning record on this excursion."
The Knicks will look to get back on track at the start of that trip on Tuesday night when they take on the Utah Jazz (9 p.m. ET, MSG). They'll face three of the current top five teams in the West (Utah, Denver, Phoenix) and the defending champions from Golden
Their previous two losses have shown the absolute worst from this talented roster: both Brunson and RJ Barrett were kept out of the fourth quarter of Sunday's embarrassing loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder, which came four nights after a 27-point defeat at the hands of the Brooklyn Nets.
“We have to take a hard look at it and evaluate everything to find out what’s our best chance at being successful,” head coach Tom Thibodeau said following the 145-135 loss vs. the Thunder on Sunday. “We’re capable of doing better and have shown times where we’ve guarded extremely well. What I’m concerned with is the up and down of the last four games.”
New York has tried to counter the inconsistency with lineup tinkering, causing players who were focal points of last season's 37-45 team to have seen their roles altered. Evan Fournier, for example, started 80 of 82 possible games a year ago. has been booted from the starting lineup in favor of Cam Reddish.
The sharpshooter, who finished fourth in the league in three-pointers in 2021-2022, has shot just .344 from the field and .333 from three-point land this season - both career-lows. He's also averaging 20 minutes per game, a nine-plus point decrease from last season.
“It’s just hard to find a rhythm right now,” Fournier said of his season so far. “I think not knowing the rotation, what’s coming your way, etcetera, etcetera. I have to do a better job of all that and just being in the moment, being ready for whatever.”
You can follow Riley Sheppard on Twitter @RileyDSheppard
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