New York Knicks Endure Painful End to Brilliant Season
It was fun while it lasted.
New York Knicks Season Meats Tragic End
The New York Knicks season is over following a 130-109 smackdown at the hands of the Indiana Pacers in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Semi-finals. Tip your cap to the Pacers, they were the better team throughout the series, winning four of the final five games between these two old rivals.
Certainly, the Pacers deserve the credit. They shot the lights out of Madison Square Garden, hitting a record-setting 67 percent from the floor, the best ever in Eastern Conference playoff history.
But at the end of the day, the injuries just proved to be too much. It didn’t help matters that the Knicks were at a serious size disadvantage entering the series with Mitchell Robinson, Bojan Bogdanvic, and Julius Randle all on the I.L. for the rest of the year.
As the series wore on through six grueling games, OG Anunoby injured his hamstring in Game 2; Josh Hart injured his abdominal area in Game 6; and Jalen Brunson maintained numerous dings throughout the series, culminating in a fractured hand in the third quarter of Game 7.
It was much too much to ask for from a team that gave this city so much to remember.
The Future …
The future looks bright for the Knicks. The Villanova Three or Nova Knicks as many have called them, consisting of Brunson, Hart, and Donte DiVincenzo is the core of this team. The Knicks can build around them, but definite questions are heading into a busy off-season.
COACH THIBS FUTURE
The consensus from the players is they love playing for Coach Tom Thibodeau, and want him back.
Still many fans and media have pinned the Knicks plethora of playoff injuries on Thibodeau’s usage of playing time. Here’s the question I have for the naysayers: who else was he supposed to play? The Knicks made deals at the deadline to bring in Anunoby, Alec Burks, and Bogdanovic when Randell went down. Nobody expected those players to also get hurt.
Injuries happen. Yes, the Knicks play a physical brand of basketball, but if the players felt overworked, we would have heard rumblings.
The New York Knicks are expected to entertain a contract extension for Thibodeau.
Free Agency
The New York Knicks have a number of key players to make calls on. Isiah Hartenstein, who did so well coming off the bench and turning into a regular is a free agent. O.G. Anunoby has a player option this year. Jalen Brunson has a player option in 2025.
The Knicks also have a tough decision to make on Julius Randle who will make $57 million in the next two years. Do they trade him? Can the Knicks find another big man to strengthen themselves on the defensive side?
It should be an interesting summer for the New York Knicks.
