Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau was anticipating an energized Detroit Pistons squad on Sunday night after beating them on their home floor in Friday’s preseason opener, and that’s exactly what he got.
“We had one good quarter of basketball,” Thibs said to the media after last night’s loss. “After the first game, we had 35, 36 minutes of good basketball. So, we regressed.”
Thibs said that playing the Pistons twice in three days allowed the young Knicks squad to get a glimpse of the energy an opposing team might retaliate with after a playoff loss.
“I like the situation we just went through because you’re playing the same team,” Thibs said. “Usually, you win a game against an opponent, and you play them again based on experiences in playoff basketball, that team comes with an edge. I felt that would happen and it did. I felt we were back on our heels at the start of the game. The start of the game really got us in a hole.”
Knicks lack energy
The Pistons set an early tone in the first quarter and the Knicks bench failed to bring the same energy and focus defensively we saw in the first game. Obi Toppin struggled to find his groove in an unorganized second-unit offense led by Dennis Smith Jr., Mitchell Robinson picked up 5 fouls in 12 minutes, and Kevin Knox shot 1-for-6 from the field including two airballs. Coach Thibs acknowledged that DSJ struggled to match the tone set at the beginning of the game.
“Some good and some bad tonight,” Thibs said about DSJ. “He wasn’t on the floor at the start of the game, and that’s what set the tone. The second quarter we got swallowed up, didn’t make good plays. The third quarter I thought was better.”
“When you’re the point guard you’re running the team, so the responsibility is to make sure that everybody gets to the right spots,” Thibs said. “When guys don’t do that, you don’t have the outlets that are necessary to take advantage of what the defense is doing. It really wasn’t just Dennis, it was the rest of his teammates also. It’s all tied together.”
Knox, DSJ, and Toppin shot a combined 3-for-20 from the field. Thibs wasn’t overly concerned with Toppin’s poor shooting, though, because he said there are countless ways to impact a game.
Toppin less active?
“I don’t know if he was less active,” Thibodeau said about Toppin. “When the ball doesn’t go in for you, it can look that way. There’s ups and downs in a season. We have a lot of players who measure everything with how it’s going offensively for them. You can’t do that in this league. There’s some nights you shoot the ball better than others. When you don’t shoot it well, you have to have an understanding you can play well by doing other things.”
As far as positive takeaways from last night’s loss, RJ Barrett (25 points, 10-of-17 shooting) looked strong all game and Alec Burks (15 points) had a great third quarter. If offense continues to flow through those two when they’re on the floor together, expect to see Thibs continue to throw Burks out there at small forward and RJ at shooting guard.
The Knicks head back to New York for their preseason home-opener at MSG on Wednesday against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Keep an eye on how this young Knicks squad responds to last night’s sloppy loss. Let’s hope they come out ready to set an early tone and defend their home floor their first night back at the garden.
Stay tuned to knicksfantv.com for the latest Knicks news and rumors throughout the season. CP and J. Ellis went live after the Knicks vs. Pistons game to breakdown key details and take live phone calls from fans around the world. Check it out below.
