The glaring weakness; a lack of development of the youth

The Knicks faced the Toronto Raptors today in Toronto to an empty arena. It seems that the new variant spread was enough scare the city of Toronto into banning fans whether vaccinated or not.

I don't know if the lack of fans threw the Knicks players off but it was interesting to hear how loud Toronto's shots were as they pulled away from the Knicks to eventually win the game.

11 points collective from Miles McBride and Immanuel Quickley was the margin of loss and shows that neither guy is better than Rose or Kemba Walker at this time in their careers.

Obi Toppin was able to redeem himself from his last 5 point effort. Today, he got 19 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists filling the void of the missing Julius Randle.

Unfortunately, the Raptors point guard Fred VanVleet complete destroyed the Knicks back court this afternoon with 35 points,5 assists and 5 rebounds.

The glaring weakness of the Knicks is a lack of development of the youth.

Why in year three RJ Barrett still only going to his left? Why is Quickley still making situational mistakes at the point just setting up the offense? Why is Julius still not understanding when to not switch and stay with his man on defense?

I don't think the team has the right coach to develop young players to be solid role guys for the future. Thibs is best with a group of veterans and that is not this team. 

Knicks lose again, Raptors 120 - 105 Knicks.

Randle is not a star Thibs, for your own longevity, stop coaching as if he is.

If no other game this season showed you what is wrong with the Knicks last night had to have sealed the deal.

Kemba Walker and Evan Fournier were aggressive last night against the Celtics and the offense ran extremely well.

When Walker, 29 points, and Fournier, 32 points, played as if Randle wasn't on the floor in the 3rd quarter the Knicks 41 point quarter was the highest of the season.

In the fourth quarter, when Randle and Coach Thibodeaux ran the offense as if Julius is a super star who has to close out the game the Knicks fell apart and again New York handed a victory to a team which it should have easily beaten.

After the game Kemba Walker was asked if he wanted to stay in New York he did not say he does, he stated that he wants to play. Walker clearly put the coach and Knicks management on notice, play me or trade me. 

Walker has no allegiance to this organization anymore if he ever had any since he was banished to the hinterlands by coach Thibs.

And now we know why Thibs benched Walker. In Thib's mind Randle is the star and if anyone can't play well with him then he doesn't exist. Fournier makes too much money for such a banishment so Kemba was made the example.

This coach has hitched his wagon to Randle and it is going to be the very reason why he loses his job here. Randle is not a star Thibs, for your own longevity, stop coaching as if he is.

Knicks lose again, Celtics 114 - 107 Knicks.

It's not bad in MSG, it's really bad

Quentin Grimes set the Knicks rookie record for three point shots in a game with 7. Grimes finished the game leading all Knicks scorers with 27 points.

It was all for naught however because the Knicks got their asses kicked by the Bucks this afternoon as Giannis registered his first triple double of the season.

If the season ended today the Knicks would not be in the playoffs and I have a feeling it'll be the same when the season ends.

It's not bad in MSG, it's really bad and it is not going to get any better.

A younger more forward thinking coach would focus on developing Sims, Grimes, Quickley, Toppin and Barrett. Preparing them either to be the cornerstones of this franchise or solid desirable pieces for superstar trades in the near future.

In order to do that the coach of the year would have to shift his paradigm and I don't think it's going to happen with this old dog.

Knicks lose again, Bucks 112 - 97 Knicks.

The Kings of New York lost again

Down the stretch of the final minutes of tonight's game you could clearly hear NBA Coach of the year Tom Thibodaux yelling "ISO, ISO".  Which meant that he wanted to run an ISO offense through Julius Randle. 

Of course this did not work as the Raptors could hear him yelling it also and collapsed on Randle the moment he touched the ball.

Randle scrambled to find an open man but the other Knicks could not find the basket when they did get the ball and the Knicks lost the brief lead it had in the final minutes of the 4th quarter. 

You need look no further than at the difference in fast break points to diagnose why the Knicks lost. The Raptors had 21 fast break points and the Knicks only 9. Again this team was out hustled. 

On the bright side, Evan Fournier must have gone vegan because he had a whooping 9 points and zero assists tonight.

The Kings of New York loss to the Raptors leaves both teams with the record of 12-14.

In the next three games the Knicks face the Bucks, the Warriors and the red hot Rockets at Madison Square Garden where the Knicks out right suck. Which in all likelihood means that the Knicks will be 5 games under .500 in the next few days.

Wait, Tom Thibodeau was really named coach of the year last season?

Knicks lose again, Toronto 90 - 87 Knicks

Playing in Madison Square Garden is just what every scrub in the league needs.

 

Knicks fans don't start all your whining about how the team should never have given Julius Randle an extension. You same people were chanting "MVP" after every big shot Randle made last season.

This is the same Julius Randle that everyone praised for working so hard to improve his game and his desire be here.

There will be no Randle trades and coach Thibodeaux will not be fired.

To hear it from you guys the Knicks were not only the best team in the city but were on the cusp of making a run for the NBA title. What had happened?

Do you now realize how crazy you all sounded?

The Knicks are not driving you guys crazy. You are doing that to yourselves.

The Knicks last season was comprised of mediocre talent whose defensive hustle allowed them to fight above their weight. But this was never really a good team.

Signing broken down old point guards and allowing underappreciated defensive talent to walk was clearly a recipe of disaster. You guys had to know this. Stop acting surprised that you guys were going to be lucky if the Knicks made the playoffs this season.

The bar was set so low for this franchise that the stubborn unimaginative Thibodeaux actually won coach of the year last season.

Again, a guy came off the bench for the Magic and had his best night. Terrence Ross who normally averages 10 points per game had 19 points, 2 assists and 2 rebounds.

Playing the Knicks in Madison Square Garden is just what every scrub in the league needs to gain his confidence, have a career night and carry his team to victory.

The Knicks are the gift that keeps on giving. 

Knicks Lose Again, Magic 104 - 98 Knicks.

One things for damn sure...Knicks lose again

How can it be? The Knicks lost to Orlando?

From all the Knicks YouTube channels and local media the Knicks were supposed to crush the Magic. What had happened?!?

I'll tell you what happened. Cole Anthony did give a tinker's damn about any of the Knicks hype. The rookie Cole came into the Garden and abused the Knicks' backcourt for 29 points. 

The Knicks got so happy with the shooting success in the past couple of games that they completely forgot about the identity of the team which is defense.

The question now is can the Knicks find a balance between playing hard defense while keeping up with guys off screens and looking to out score the opponent?

Time will tell, but one thing's for damn sure... Knicks lose again.

Orlando 110 - Knicks 104