JULIUS MAKES HIS STATEMENT
Odds say Knicks may win 1 more
Mathematically speaking, the Knicks are favored to win only one game for the rest of this season — a March 17 clash against the Hornets, who beat the Knicks at the buzzer on Saturday. That’s quite the indictment since they have 68 more following Monday’s 123-105 victory over the Cavaliers.
The analytical website FiveThirtyEight uses an extensive formula to calculate the probable result of every NBA game. In addition to having a 57% chance to beat the Hornets, the FiveThirtyEight model says the Knicks only have a 50/50 shot of winning in just two other games (against the Spurs on Nov. 23 and against the Hawks on Dec. 17).
That will likely change because the probabilities flow with the trends of the season, but it underscores just how disappointing the start of the campaign has been for the Knicks.
And unfortunately for them, the schedule turns harder over the next few weeks with 11 consecutive games against teams that made the playoffs last season.
Coach David Fizdale said his players struggled early with embracing the game-by-game mentality, but have since improved.
“Now they’re starting to do it. Early on they were trying to take on the whole thing at once,” he said. “And they were putting way too much pressure on themselves. You cant win a game like that. You almost play paralyzed. Now they understand we just got to take this thing a game at a time.”
BUMMERS AT THE BUZZER
Fizdale’s moves are being analyzed and dissected a little more these days. Saturday’s loss to the Hornets marked the third time this season that the opposition hit a game-winner in final seconds.
The other two instances were shots by the Nets’ Kyrie Irving and Boston’s Jayson Tatum, and those were difficult and contested. The same occurred Saturday when Devonte Graham nailed a 3-pointer over Frank Ntilkina’s outstretched hand.
But there was also a botched coverage. Fizdale confirmed that Mitchell Robinson was supposed to move up from the paint to contest Graham.
“The scheme was for Mitch to come up. But sometimes, 21-year-olds don’t do exactly what you tell them to do,” Fizdale said. “But it still was — I got a snapshot of the dang thing on my phone. If you look at how Frank contested that shot, that kid (Graham) hit a bomb. That’s how it goes sometimes. Guys hit big shots.”