Life of a Knicks Fan: Facing Reality

After a tumultuous year last season, I entered this year with an abundance of hope. I mean, yes, the Knicks were historically bad last year at 17-63, but our draft pick was high (even if it wasn’t the number one pick), and the rookies from 2018-2019 showed some promise. Even after our dreadful free agency, I was hopeful, even confident, that the Knicks would double their win total and maybe even squeak into the playoffs Friends told me that I was crazy for that, but I was sure I’d be vindicated by a much-improved campaign this year.

Call me crazy, but...

I’ve since had to come to grips with an unfortunate fact. The Knicks are still historically bad, even if I think they’re better than their record suggests. While there have been some bright spots—RJ Barret has been a good find at the #3 pick and shows flashes of greatness to come, Marcus Morris is putting together a season on par with at least an All-Star reserve, and Julius Randle is showing that he’s got tremendous offensive upside in the right situation—the team is either, at best, underachieving or at worst (and probably more likely), fundamentally flawed.

The season’s main draw was supposed to be witnessing the evolution of our young talent into franchise-cornerstone talent. Frank Ntilikina was riding high off his performance for France during the FIBA World Cup. Kevin Knox had become the focal point of the offense by the end of last season. Mitchell Robinson was a revelation as a springy, shot-blocking center. We’d acquired Dennis Smith, Jr. in the Kristaps Porzingis trade, and while losing KP wasn’t ideal, DSJ was the point guard a lot of Knicks fans wished we’d drafted instead of Frank Ntilikina. We could at least test that theory.

In practice, what we found is that the youth movement is hit and miss. Ntilikina has shown that his vaunted defensive abilities are no overstatement, showing increased aggression on offense. He’s developed a pick-and-roll relationship with Mitchell Robinson that’s fun to watch. However, aggression and ability are not the same things, and it doesn’t matter how willing you are to shoot if you can’t put the ball in the basket. Meanwhile, Kevin Knox has fallen into a self-fueling storm cell of waning self-confidence, decreased production, and reduced minutes. The guy we saw at the tail end of last season who became the focal point of the offense has disappeared. We see flashes of that every so often, but Knox has lost confidence in himself—and his coaches—that he isn’t putting in the kind of offense that everyone expects of him. Add that to the fact that he frequently looks lost on the defensive end of the floor, and you can see why he’s sliding down the depth chart.

And let’s not talk about Allonzo Trier’s lost sophomore season.

So yeah, The Knicks are bad. It’s another year, another lottery pick for us.

There is cause for optimism, however. For one, Interim Head Coach Mike Miller has the team playing much better than under departed coach David Fizdale. This is no knock on Fizdale’s coaching ability, but I don’t think he was the right fit for our talent. It’s apparent Miller has gotten through to the team based on the improved defensive schemes and offensive flow. We aren’t getting blown out by bad teams anymore. Miller is more engaged as a coach, and that makes the players more cognizant of the flow of the game. Ntilikina is taking better shots, Knox doesn’t seem as lost on defense when he gets on the floor, and Robinson is getting into foul trouble less. There’s stuff to build on if we finally commit to rebuilding.

And we’re getting a lottery pick. This year’s draft is top-heavy, so if we make it out with a top 5 pick, we can get a real franchise cornerstone (I’m hoping that people sleep on Cole Anthony).

So, my thought is to stay the course. We’re developing a young core that’s growing into their own with Barrett spearheading that group. Knox should improve with playing time, Ntilikina will be a solid backup point guard. Robinson’s game will develop, and even if an outside game isn’t in the cards for him, big men in this era have made a career out of being elite rim protectors, rebounders, and dunk machines (I’m looking at you, DeAndre Jordan). Julius Randle is still only 25 and a hell of a scorer. We have strong veteran leadership in Marcus Morris. We need time to pull it together. I believe the conversation will change around the Knicks within the next two to three years.

Or I might be crazy. That’s possible, too.

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