DOUBLE DOUBLE BUT KNICK TROUBLE:
Oladipo helps Indy race to
INDIANAPOLIS – For many New Yorkers, Sunday’s Knicks game was unwatchable in the first quarter – not because of the defense, but because of MSG Network’s “technical issues.” That was also when the Knicks built their largest lead of the game – six points – so by the time MSG got its act together the descent had begun and the Knicks were on their way to a season-high sixth straight defeat, 121-113, to the Pacers. It’s going to be a long trudge to the finish line of this season. Victor Oladipo feasted on New York’s pitiful defense while scoring 30 points. His virtuoso performance included multiple highlight dunks – one of them being a 360-degree jam – and six steals with nine assists and eight rebounds. Not long ago, Knicks GM Scott Perry was an executive in Orlando when the Magic traded Oladipo for Serge Ibaka.
As Oladipo blossoms into a superstar in Indiana, that move continues to look worse. “You see what Oladipo can do, that’s what makes him tough,” Jeff Hornacek said. “They run that high pick-and-roll and stick the center in there. He can pull up for the three or he’s quick to the basket. You saw him run and take one dribble and dunk it. When you have that dual threat it’s tough on those bigs. We felt like they were there a lot but he was still able to finish.”
The Knicks (23-34) fell to 0-2 since Kristaps Porzingis was diagnosed with the season-ending ACL tear and are now all alone in 11th place in the Eastern Conference. On Sunday, they fell down by as many as 20 in the third quarter before a too-little, too-late comeback down the stretch. Oladipo ultimately buried the Knicks with a 3-pointer in the final 20 seconds.
New York spread out its scoring with Tim Hardaway Jr. and Enes Kanter each dropping a team-high 17 points. Hardaway Jr. continued to misfire while shooting 7-for-17, leaving him at 22-for80 in his last six games.
On the bright side, Emmanuel Mudiay’s debut was an encouraging doubledouble with 14 points and 10 assists in 29 minutes. Hornacek handled his congested point guard situation by mostly playing Mudiay and Frank Ntilikina together in the backcourt. Jarrett Jack started, per usual, but he was removed for Ntilikina just four minutes into the first quarter and didn’t play again in the opening half.
Trey Burke totaled just eight minutes on the night, same as Jack. Hornacek liked the pace from Mudiay. “How many fast-break points did we have? 22. We haven’t seen that in a long time,” the coach said.
The expectation is that Jack will be out of the starting lineup after the All-Star break, as Hornacek hinted again Sunday. He has played above expectations this season but is also the oldest player on the roster (34 years old) and is not part of the rebuild.
“When we bring in another point guard and young kid in Emmanuel we have to look at things,” Hornacek said. “We have a couple more games before the break. Then when we come back we have a few practices before that first game. If we’re going to do something that will be the time.”
As demonstrated for positive stretches Sunday, the Knicks can utilize a small lineup with Ntilikina, Hardaway Jr. and Mudiay. “I think there are a lot of teams that have three smaller guards. Tim is sometimes outsized at the 3 spot. (Pacers small forward) Bojan Bogdanovic is a pretty good size, but you wouldn’t consider him a post-up threat,” Hornacek said. “If you’re bigger running around screens, (Hardaway) should be able to handle that. So those three guys can play together.”
The Knicks only have two games left before the break, including Monday’s game at Philly. If they lose both, they’ll be 13 games under .500 and even fewer people will care whether MSG is
having technical difficulties.