Confidence, trust and synergy are elements the Knicks, with a roster that was nearly completely overhauled last summer, didn’t adequately possess through the first two months of the season. While they demonstrated small samples during three- and four-game stretches, there was an absence of positive consistency that impeded the team’s collective growth.
Following a 108-81 loss to the Chicago Bulls on New Year’s Day, their fifth defeat over a period of six games, dropping their record to 15-19, Knicks head coach Derek Fisher all but said his squad quit playing hard as the Bulls lead progressed. His star player, Carmelo Anthony, took the criticism as both insult and motivation.
“As a player, you never want to say guys gave up,” said Anthony. “The coach’s perspective is always a lot different than the player’s perspective.” Whether the Bulls debacle was a seminal game in the Knicks’ season is yet to be determined. Nevertheless, since then, they have coalesced and had the appearance of a symbiotic unit that has played inspiringly and productively.
Exhibit A: Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden, the Knicks defeated the Boston Celtics by 120-114, playing all but a few seconds of the second half without Anthony, who had 18 points in the first half but sustained a right ankle sprain late in the second quarter.
It was the upward trending Knicks’ fifth win in their last six games, elevating them to a record of 20-20 heading into last night’s (Wednesday) meeting with the Brooklyn Nets at the Barclays Center. At the same time a year ago, the Knicks were an abysmal 5-36.
“With so many new players and those guys having to learn a new system, we weren’t playing to our potential early in the season,” said Knicks point guard Jose Calderon in the Knicks’ locker room Tuesday. “Now we feel more [assured] and confident as a group, and I think it’s showing in how we are playing.”
