The New York Knicks are in a slide. Jalen Brunson is expected to be out for at least the rest of March and perhaps through early April with an ankle sprain. They register as the third-worst offense with a bottom-10 net rating since the All-Star break. And they’ve now lost four of their last six games after a 97-94 defeat at the hands of the Golden State Warriors on Saturday.
Forgive everyone in Knicks land if they’re running a little hot under the collar at the moment.
It is with this context in mind that we bring you this, shall we say, spirited exchange between Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau and forward Josh Hart in a timeout huddle during Saturday’s loss.
“I love Josh, you guys know that,” Thibodeau said after the game, implying he was simply trying to stoke a fire in his team. “Just whatever can get us going, just try to get us going.”
The Athletic’s Fred Katz followed up by asking Thibodeau if he would classify the exchange as a “passionate moment” and Thibodeau said, “Yeah, that’s it.”
So here’s the deal: These little dustups do happen all the time in competitive environments. In a vacuum, it isn’t anything to get worked up about. But there is clearly some tension within the Knicks right now. Mikal Bridges and Thibodeau just had to have a “productive” meeting after Bridges essentially called out Thibs for playing the Knicks’ starters too many minutes. And again, the offense has been a mess for a while and the losses are piling up without Brunson. Hart didn’t score a single point on Saturday, missing all seven of his shots.
This little square-off in the huddle was likely a a result of the cumulative stress that’s been building inside the Knicks’ walls. Losing will do that. The good news is the Knicks have a really easy run of games ahead, with matchups against the Heat, Spurs, Hornets, Wizards, Mavericks, Blazers and 76ers in seven of their next nine. Perhaps they can reverse their mojo a little over this stretch and then get Brunson back for the close of the season before heading into the playoffs on a good note.
