These Knicks taking fun to new level — and it’s time to revel in it
These Knicks taking fun to new level — and it’s time to revel in it
When was the last time you had this much fun watching one of your teams? When was the last time one of the clubs you follow was this much of a gas? Forget the wins and the losses for a second — but only for a second, because part of what augments the enjoyment of the Knicks right now is that they win every night.
When’s the last time you raced home to watch a regular-season game?
When’s the last time you made sure to DVR the game if you had other plans?
“We have a joy to us right now,” is the way Donte DiVincenzo put it in the immediate aftermath of their latest ode to joy, a 118-103 win over the Jazz that wasn’t anywhere near as close as the numbers flanking the hyphen would hint.
Joy is a good word for what’s happening with this team right now.
But so is fun. Maybe Tom Thibodeau still looks like he’s in a dentist’s chair in the dying moments of these games when the lead dips under 20, but everyone else seems to be having a hell of a time, starting with the 19,133 who spent most of the game directing “MVP!” chants at Jalen Brunson and the last of it tr
But so is fun. Maybe Tom Thibodeau still looks like he’s in a dentist’s chair in the dying moments of these games when the lead dips under 20, but everyone else seems to be having a hell of a time, starting with the 19,133 who spent most of the game directing “MVP!” chants at Jalen Brunson and the last of it trying to coax old friend Taj Gibson off the bench.
“Our guys are playing hard, they’re defending, they’re rebounding the ball, playing smart, playing tough,” Thibodeau said. “That goes a long way.”
Maybe this is ultimately unsustainable, the way they have utterly ransacked January, winning 14 of the 16 games they played this month without one second from Mitchell Robinson and the last two games without Julius Randle and OG Anunoby. In most of those wins, the only angst attached to them were the Minutes Police fretting about Thibodeau keeping his starters in too long. That’s when you know times are good.
But even that doesn’t obscure the pleasure of watching this team the way it’s playing now. They work ferociously, both ends of the floor, the ball moving around, everyone getting a touch, everyone getting their shots. They rebound. They play defense. The only reason why they didn’t keep a team under 100 points for the 15th time this season is because the Jazz (a team averaging 128 points their past 12 games) maximized garbage time.
