Jeff must handle Knick mess before
What’s worse than being 0-3 you ask? Well, 0-4 is the obvious answer. But for Jeff Hornacek, the record isn’t nearly as bad as the noise coming out of his locker room. That noise includes his players saying publicly that they are lackadaisical, unorganized and unprepared.
That was the message being heard loud and clear after the Knicks lost to the Boston Celtics on Tuesday. Such rhetoric is unbecoming for a front office, a team and especially a head coach who is working for a new boss.
Sure, some of those comments can be attributed to players looking for a convenient scapegoat. It’s easier to point fingers than it is to look in the mirror.
But the comments from Tim Hardaway Jr. and Courtney Lee reflect poorly on Hornacek, who could be the first Knicks head coach in history to face a must-win game before Halloween. If the Knicks don’t get into the win column Friday at home against the Brooklyn Nets, it may be a while before they secure that elusive victory. The Knicks’ next three games after Brooklyn are against Cleveland, Denver and Houston.
And yes, 0-7 is a lot worse than 0-3, even for a rebuilding team that believes the most important date on the NBA calendar this season is the Draft Lottery next May.
But rebuilding isn’t just about having a high draft pick and being lucky enough to draft the right player. Rebuilding is developing young players and establishing a winning culture where players need to be accountable.
The opposite of that is what Hardaway referenced following Tuesday’s 110-89 loss to the Celtics. The Knicks’ big free agent signing said: “We’re all out there just running like we don’t know what’s going on.” He later added: “Nothing seems crisp.”
Lee saw much of the same, saying, “We’ve got to pay attention more in practice, make sure we execute more when we’re out there.”
Hardaway has gotten off to a painfully slow start. He’s shooting 6-for-27 over the last two games. But don’t entirely dismiss Hardaway’s analysis of the Knicks just because of his bad aim. Having spent the last two seasons with the Atlanta Hawks under Mike Budenholzer, Hardaway knows a winning team and culture when he sees one. And Lee, who once went to the NBA Finals with Orlando, has been around a long time and has played for a lot of top coaches. He’s speaking from experience.
But if you want to dismiss the players’ words, consider what ESPN’s Bobby Marks, a former executive with the Nets, tweeted out during Tuesday’s game.
“We haven’t even reached the 10-game mark and New York is already in early April mode,” Marks wrote. “At least hustle and sprint back on Defense.”
Hornacek has to be sick to his stomach reading something like that. The only worse feeling is watching the game film.
This in no way exonerates the