NBA
Knicks Incredibly Inconsistent on Road Trip
The New York Knicks are coming back from a six-game road trip that saw them experience great highs and deep lows.
Being on the road for a while took its toll, but it isn’t an excuse to not play at your best.
“We’ve been on the road a long time. Be ready to play. You’ve got to play 48 minutes. Whatever happened yesterday is not going to matter tomorrow. Whether it’s a loss or a win, you’ve just got to make sure mentally you’re ready to play,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said h/t Posting and Toasting. “You have to be mentally tough. You have to be able to deal with adversity. That’s part of this. Things aren’t going our way, we’ve got to stick together and keep working through things together.”
The Knicks started off hot in the desert with an incredible offensive explosion against the Phoenix Suns. The win appeared to get the Knicks in a rhythm that could carry them for the rest of the road trip, but all momentum was stunted in Salt Lake City after losing to the struggling Utah Jazz.
Things appeared to be back in full swing after a big 145-point showing against Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets, but the Knicks came back down to earth and falling to the Dallas Mavericks, who played without Luka Doncic and Daniel Gafford in the win.
Then, the team had a potential “get back” game against the Charlotte Hornets, who were playing without LaMelo Ball among several other top contributors. Yet, the Hornets were able to be competitive and keep the Knicks offense in check.
While the Knicks have shown the ability to be one of the league’s best offenses, the inconsistency will bite them in the butt if they can’t find a way to be more even-keeled throughout the season.