Helped by schedule, Knicks run into good stretch of home games
Everyone in and around professional basketball knows the Knicks are in a strange place these days, essentially treading water until their roster is whole again. But there is at least one positive angle to their wait for the returns of OG Anunoby, Julius Randle and Mitchell Robinson.
First, the All-Star break arrived just in time, as they were reeling with a four-game losing streak and needed some time off to heal, physically and mentally.
Now, after a road victory over the 76ers on Thursday, they can at least enjoy familiar surroundings and support from their fans at Madison Square Garden as they continue to rely on scrappiness and spunk to get by.
Saturday night’s nationally televised game against the Celtics was the first in a stretch of eight out of nine games at home, with the only exception being a short trip to Cleveland on March 3.
Other than that, they have four in a row at the Garden, then another four in a row at the Garden after the Cavaliers game.
That helps when you are trying to limit added wear and tear.
Not that this is going to be easy. Over nine games, including Saturday night, only two are against teams that currently have a losing record — the Pistons, whom the Knicks host Monday, and the Hawks on March 5.
The other seven games are against Boston, New Orleans, Golden State, Cleveland, Orlando and Philadelphia twice, all above .500.
Adding to the degree of difficulty is that in addition to the injuries, the Knicks are integrating two important new players in Bojan Bogdanovic and Alec Burks.
Contrast that with a team such as the Celtics that has had time together to jell.
“Everything’s a concern,” coach Tom Thibodeau said after practice on Friday. “You see it; there’s a lot of moving parts. That’s our challenge, how quickly can we adapt and get everyone acclimated?
“The games keep coming and they’re important. We have to put the individual stuff aside and have to put the team first. As guys come back, there are going to be sacrifices that need to be made. But the team always has to come first.”
Jalen Brunson said on Friday, “We have 26 games left. And so right now we’re just obviously not at full strength. But we’ve got to find a way to be better every single day, no matter who who’s out there. Just our mentality.”
Thibodeau said before Saturday night’s game that Anunoby, Randle and Robinson are in the gym every day now, “making good, steady progress, and hopefully soon they’ll be back.”
Of Randle, who dislocated his right shoulder on Jan. 27, the coach said, “He’s working on his conditioning. He’s got to meet all the markers and then he’ll start ramping up with the contact. And then once he’s cleared, he’s cleared.
“So you trust that to the medical [staff] and the player. So Julius has a say, but the doctors and your medical staff, they’re involved with that as well.”
Once Randle is cleared medically, “then you’ve got to start the process of playing,’’ Thibodeau said. “Each day it gets better. So have to weigh what’s best for your team. That’s always going to be the priority.
“But the player’s health is at the forefront. Once he’s cleared, you can take it step-by-step from there.”
Notes & quotes: Former Knicks coach and former ESPN analyst Jeff Van Gundy was at the Garden in his role as a senior consultant for the Celtics. Thibodeau, who was an assistant under Van Gundy with the Knicks, said, “Jeff always had a great passion for the game. I think he’s a great asset to their organization just because of all the experiences that he’s had . . . So I think it’s great. I think whatever he chooses to do, he’ll be great at it. And he’s in the game and he loves the game, I know that.”
Neil Best first worked at Newsday in 1982, returned in 1985 after a detour to Alaska and has been here since, specializing in high schools, college basketball, the NFL and most recently sports media and business.
