Two of the main reasons the Knicks have shown so much improvement this season – aside from Julius Randle’s All-Star caliber play – was the team’s consistently strong bench play and suffocating defensive intensity.
But in Wednesday’s 107-89 defeat to the Orlando Magic, none of these elements showed up.
New York allowed Magic, which came in as one of the worst offensive teams in the league, to shoot 45.7 percent from the field, including 16 of 34 (47.1 percent) from the three-point line.
After the game, head coach Tom Thibodeau explained that he liked the intensity the Knicks had in training, but he didn’t believe his team had made enough adjustments during the game to stop Magic’s attack.
“They played really well and I want to give them credit. We didn’t take shots and we allowed them to influence us in many other areas, but our defense wasn’t good from the start, we were just trading buckets, “Thibodeau said.” Right from the start of the match, I think they scored five or six times in a row from the start, and when they do, it’s going to be a long night.This must be our calling card.
“We have to adapt in the course of a match. When a team starts taking shots as they did, you need to look at ball containment, appropriate help, are we moving on ball flight and are we challenging shots correctly? … I felt like we didn’t have our normal awareness, and that was one of the strengths of the team. So, we have to learn from this and we have to improve for the next “.