CHARLOTTE — The Knicks higher hope that is the low level as a result of the playoffs are quickly, and so they seemed like a dull first-round knockout Thursday evening.
Tom Thibodeau’s squad was overmatched all night by the sad-sack Hornets, a staff with simply 18 wins that coasted to a 115-98 victory.
“The way we’re losing games,” Josh Hart mentioned, “is embarrassing.”
Hart, who took simply eight photographs and continues to battle with out Jalen Brunson, didn’t excuse himself from the postgame critiques and appeared to take the defeat the toughest within the locker room.
“We’re not doing what it takes,” Hart mentioned. “We’re not doing the extra effort. We’re not giving energy. We’re crying to refs. We’ve got to pick it up.”
He added later: “We could be extra aggressive defensively on the ball. We could be extra assertive offensively. Not being stagnant, speaking higher. I believe we obtained outrebounded by 14 at present. A number of that’s effort. None of that takes expertise. None of that’s schemes and people sort of issues.
“It’s extra effort, and we’re not doing that, and that’s what’s embarrassing, especially for this team, especially for a Thibs-coached team, a New York-based team. That’s not what we should be doing. That’s not what we’re supposed to be built on.”
Hart was a part of the issue, however hardly the most important. The bench, a difficulty all season, was a no-show whereas getting outscored 37-11 by Charlotte’s reserves.
In truth, New York’s bench was scoreless till the fourth quarter. Treasured Achiuwa, Landry Shamet and Cam Payne mixed to shoot simply 3-for-16.
Considerations about depth weren’t alleviated. And as Brunson recovers from his unhealthy ankle sprain, the offense continues to sputter.
“I don’t wanna put it on a bench,” Thibodeau mentioned. “It was all of us. You win together. You lose together.”
The Knicks (43-26), who dropped to 3-4 since Brunson’s harm towards the Lakers, trailed for the ultimate three quarters and by double digits for the whole remaining interval.
They shot simply 40 p.c, together with 25.6 p.c from past the arc, and have been deflated from tipoff. The world was stuffed with Knicks followers, a standard prevalence in Charlotte, however they by no means had a possibility to get excited.
The Hornets (18-51) are a depressing staff with the third-worst file within the NBA. However they have been nearer than common to full energy, with LaMelo Ball at level guard and Miles Bridges at energy ahead.
Ball, a talented offensive ball handler with a monitor file of accidents/shedding, caught fireplace within the second quarter and completed with 25 factors and eight assists in simply 26 minutes. Karl-Anthony Cities (24 factors) and OG Anunoby (25 factors) led the Knicks in scoring.
However no one on New York was environment friendly.
Anunoby, Mikal Bridges and Miles McBride mixed to shoot simply 6-for-22 on 3-pointers. The Knicks desperately want Brunson, who, in line with Thibodeau, eliminated his strolling boot and began mild capturing.
The coach mentioned he’s hopeful Brunson will return for tuneup video games earlier than the playoffs. That was the one optimistic improvement from Charlotte.
“We can’t worry about [Brunson coming back]. We’ve got to get better now,” Cities mentioned. “I told all y’all before, we need to continue to improve every single day, so when he comes back, we reintegrate him into the team, and we’re a better version than the one he got injured playing with, that he left.”
The Knicks have been worse for the reason that level guard’s harm, nonetheless.
And so they had an excuse Thursday, whereas ending up essentially the most road-heavy stretch of the season. It was the eleventh sport away from MSG prior to now 13. The Knicks additionally have been on the second evening of a back-to-back after flying from the central time zone in San Antonio.
Then they performed as if caught in a fog.
A day after a dreadful first half in San Antonio, the Knicks have been equally inept on the Spectrum Heart. They managed simply 44 factors within the first half on 35.6 p.c capturing, heading into the break with a 10-point deficit.
In San Antonio, the starters couldn’t hit a shot. In Charlotte, the bench was the larger drawback. The consequence was the identical.
The subsequent opponent is the worst staff within the NBA, the Wizards, who come to MSG on Monday. It must be a straightforward alternative for redemption or …
As Hart mentioned: “If we don’t come right, we’re going to get embarrassed again.”
