Thibodeau 'Disappointed' But Optimistic After Knicks' Loss vs. Pacers
The New York Knicks were commonly labeled big winners at the NBA trade deadline. Now comes the hard part: justifying those marks on the floor.
Saturday marked the Knicks' first game with Bojan Bogdanovic and Alec Burks in their lineup, but the Knicks remained in the loss column after falling to the Indiana Pacers by a 125-111 final at Madison Square Garden. The Knicks (33-20) have now lost consecutive games since late December and three of four since a nine-game winning streak ended last weekend against the Los Angeles Lakers.
Head coach Tom Thibodeau isn't pushing the panic button just yet.
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"I'm disappointed in the result but I'm not disappointed in our team," Thibodeau said afterwards in video from SNY. "We've fought all year, we've responded to every challenge. I think we're capable of doing a lot better and I think we will."
Thibodeau also isn't using his team's health as an excuse: OG Anunoby and Julius Randle will be out for weeks while Saturday's game was also missing Isaiah Hartenstein, who aggravated an Achilles injury during Thursday's loss to Dallas, one that kept him out of two games in late January,
Given all the challenges the Knicks (33-20) are facing and the fact they're sitting relatively pretty in the Eastern Conference standings (fourth place, four games about the Play-In cutoff line), losing two games in a row is nowhere close to the end of the world. But New York will be tasked with figuring out how to build chemistry with a lot of players unfamiliar with one another before the playoffs. With all of the talent they have, it shouldn't be a tall task.
Time is probably the biggest enemy for the Knicks at the moment. Will they be able to accept the challenge of the adversity to be a contender for this season? Or will they have to wait a year before they can go star hunting in the summer and truly become a contender next season?
The sooner the better for the Knicks, but the jury is still out on whether or not this is their time.
New York is back in action on Monday against the Houston Rockets (8 p.m. ET, MSG).
