Knicks focus on reenergized Lakers, not entire West trip
Knicks guard Jalen Brunson reacts against Golden State in the second half of an NBA game at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
LOS ANGELES — As the Knicks headed to the locker room Tuesday night, readying for their trip out West, Steph Curry was still on the court at Madison Square Garden. Curry was conducting interviews and taking in the adoration from the crowd that even in a place that is decidedly in favor of the home team on most nights appreciated the piece of history.
And the Knicks then crossed the country Wednesday where the latest historic figure awaits.
LeBron James became the first player in NBA history with a combined regular season and postseason total of 50,000 points Tuesday — fittingly taking a pass from Luka Doncic for the historic bucket. But as has been the case for James throughout most of his storied career, it’s not about a scoring total as much as it is about winning. And while Doncic arrived 10 games ago (playing in nine of them) to serve as the next star in a Lakers uniform, James isn’t handing the reins over quite yet. Instead he has combined with Doncic to resurrect what not long ago seemed a franchise headed in the wrong direction.
James and Doncic scored 34 and 30 points, respectively, Tuesday as Los Angeles won its seventh straight game, taking hold of second place in the Western Conference. The Lakers have now made the start of this five-game, 11-day trip for the Knicks something far more daunting than just paying homage to James as he moves closer to retirement.
These West Coast trips are always a difficult journey and for the Knicks it carries the accompanying tension of proving that they are something more than the good, not great, team they’ve shown to be so far. They are still winless (0-7) against the teams with the three best records in the NBA. And while the Lakers enter this game just behind the Knicks with a 39-21 record, they are as hot as any team in the NBA. And it’s just the start of an arduous trip.
“Just focus on the Lakers and after that we focus on the next one,” Jalen Brunson said. “Just keep doing one game at a time, the way we’ve been doing.”
That may sound like Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau, putting the focus on the next game, and with good reason. The Knicks have done that to a 40-21 record, but they are 4-3 since the All-Star break and are dealing with their own issues. OG Anunoby and Mitchell Robinson returned from injury absences of far different lengths but have begun to solidify the roster the way the front office planned.
But Josh Hart has been dealing with a knee problem and has not appeared to be the same energizing force he has been. And Karl-Anthony Towns missed Tuesday’s game for personal reasons but is expected to be with the team for the start of the trip and expected to be available, while still nursing his knee issues.
“I know you guys think it’s a cliché but that’s why you approach the way we do,” Thibodeau said. “We want to understand what went wrong in tonight’s game, make our corrections and get ready for the Lakers. That’s all we’re thinking about. We’re not thinking about a five-game trip or whatever it is. Just think about the Lakers. Just take them one by one. and we know we have to be ready for that game.”
“Just to really be banded together a lot more,” Deuce McBride said. “I feel like we’ve been a great road team all year and the reasons, just our preparations coming into a game knowing our opponent better than they know themselves. So, I feel like for us we just have to stick together and stay focused.”
If the Knicks still have issues with communication on the court, they are certainly on the same page in interviews.
It’s still hard to pinpoint exactly what the Knicks are. At full strength can they contend with the likes of Cleveland, Boston and Oklahoma City? Can they get to the postseason at full strength? Right now, they seem to be clinging most nights to Brunson to carry them to the final buzzer. Three of their last five wins required overtime and the other two needed late- game heroics. Anunoby has begun to show the same signs that he did last season and early this season when he was a two-way force. It’s something Mikal Bridges has shown only in small doses.
They need them all, a point that Thibodeau preaches often, if they hold out hope of becoming something more than what they’ve been and find their way to the championship status that players like Curry and James have already found.
.
Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
