The Knicks trailed by as many as 30 against the Thunder on Friday and were booed heading into the locker room at halftime, Andrew Crane of the New York Post writes. After winning nine games in a row, the Knicks have now lost four of their last five, including three by double figures.
As Ian Begley of SNY points out, the Knicks are 0-5 this season against the top two teams in each conference, 4-7 against the eight best teams in the league, and 9-11 against teams over .500. Still, at 25-14 and third in the Eastern Conference, the Knicks are confident they have plenty of time to sort things out.
“Yeah, I think we do,” Josh Hart said. “I think at the end of the day we have to go out there and execute at a high level; we have to go out there with energy, we have to go out there with no egos. We have to go out there with no individual agendas. We have to go out there and sacrifice. I think that’s the biggest thing.
“We’re a new group. We’re still learning, figuring it out, but we can’t expect to just have talent and go out there and win games. We’ve got to lock in and compete.”
We have more from New York:
- Karl-Anthony Towns and Hart both suffered minor injuries against the Raptors and were both able to play through them, but it served as a reminder as to how pivotal health is for the contender hopefuls, Mike Vaccaro of the New York Post writes. New York. The Knicks lost several members of their rotation to injuries near the end of a 50-win season in 2023/24 and were defeated in the second round of the playoffs.
- After dealing with an injury early in the season, Nets center Nic Claxton appears to be mostly healthy, but he’s still aiming to improve on what’s proven to be a difficult season, Lucas Kaplan of NetsDaily writes. Claxton’s averages of 9.8 points and 7.4 rebounds per game are below his career rates and he’s averaging fewer than half the blocks he did two years ago. “Yeah. Just trying to keep our morale up, keep my morale up, and try to be as vocal as I can be,” Claxton said of how he’s trying to impact the team.
- Second-year Nets forward Noah Clowney has showcased a three-point shot in recent weeks, making 10 across a pair of outings on Dec. 23 and 26 and knocking down five more on Wednesday. As Bridget Reilly of the New York Post notes, Clowney has taken over the starting forward position in the wake of Dorian Finney-Smith being traded away and is seizing the opportunity. “What I like to call it is I like to keep teams honest,” Clowney said. “I don’t like where teams have the ability to sag off of me because I’m a weak shooter. I feel like that hurts my team in general. So if I’m able to shoot the ball and I can keep somebody honest and keep the floor spaced for my guys to get in the lane, then that’s always been the goal. So after ‘Bama, I think I shot 29 percent at Alabama, something like that, but I knew I could shoot. I think other people knew I could shoot. Somebody took a chance, and here we are.” Clowney is shooting 37.8% from deep this year on 5.3 attempts per game.
The Nets have to be thrilled with the development from Clowney, Ziaire Williams, and Day’Ron Sharpe. Might not have a starter in that group but all have flashed some rotation worthy talent. Finding young, cost controlled role players is going to be important as the Nets try to build a contender. It’s tough because he’s still young but the Nets really rely on him to provide leadership and help direct the younger kids on the defensive end. Don’t think it’s time to panic, but the Nets need Claxton to be better.
Sharpe has that Reggie Evans sixth sense for cleaning up boards but he’s more well-rounded than Evans was. Averaging 9 pts/7.4 boards in 20.8 minutes this month while working on a 3 point shot.
Claxton is a little concerning. He got the big pay day but hasn’t been the same guy. The early injury has probably been a factor but there’s also been mental lapses. Claxton and Fernandez have mentioned being active,vocal, and engaged multiple times this year
Knicks have I not talked with you about what this article said. You have been trying to figure it out for over 2 seasons now.
Stop living off the high the fans are giving you because of your record and start beating these above 500 teams like you should be.
Now.
Get a clue lol please. You want to be taken serious. Have real facts !!!!!
OG, Towns, Bridges >>>>> all …… all new this yr. Three of their starters are new to team. Yes they stunk it up. Yes Bridges Blissed up !!!!
Thunder owned them. One game. Just don’t forget this is all they need.
Knicks wanted to make statement at home against Thunder. After getting beat in OKC ……
Well. they did. EMBARRASSING
Knicks not ready yet. GM and Thibs better wake up. I know we are still building. With TD here. They have to add a scorer now. If this year is to contend. Not beating Celtics or Cavs. Might now beat Orlando. Now that they are getting healthy.
Thunder were ready after getting beat by Cavs. Knicks didn’t answer back. Then got rocked. SGA told everyone. I’m Best in Game NOW …… embarrassing that Knicks didn’t shop up. Knicks should have been more ready than Thunder. Unacceptable ……..
I’m a big Bridges guy. IMO he’s going to next level. Well he totally got bounced. He played scared. He really disappointed me. He’s the one guy who can still be better. Well we are waiting Mikal ……
link to nypost.com
Bridges ———. ZERO pts …. 0-9. Should of stayed home lols.