Return with us now to those tedious days of one to two months ago when Knicks players consistently got injured, when opposing offenses found resistance as solid as apple sauce, when questions and confusion reigned, when defeats mounted.
Or not.
That is the Knicks’ current quest, avoiding the November-December misery they encountered, when they plunged from a team holding championship aspirations to punching bags many nights.
Carmelo Anthony put it bluntly Friday: “I don’t want to go back to that place.”
But amid a three-game losing streak that includes their worst defensive performance of the season, the Knicks seem headed back to that hellish hole. On paper — unfortunately for the Knicks, they play on hardwood — there is a respite headed as they have the final seven games of an eight-game homestand awaiting. But the homestand began miserably when the Clippers romped after halftime Friday, slugging the Knicks, 109-95.
“We’ve just got to be excited to come out and play at the Garden. This is the greatest arena to play at in the world,” said J.R. Smith, who played hard and effectively in a 24-point effort against the Clippers. “We have to do a better job protecting our home court.”
The Knicks’ 7-13 Garden record is not quite the stuff of championships. Last season, they were 31-10.
“My whole mindset when I took over this team was to try to establish something at home in front of your home fans. We had a lot of slippage in that area, and that has been frustrating,” coach Mike Woodson said. “We have seven more home games on this stretch, and we got to try to win them all before this thing slips away, because we still have a shot at getting in that eight spot as well as winning our division. But we got to start winning here at home.”
The Knicks started January 6-1 before losing at Charlotte in the finale of a back-to-back. A measuring stick game at Indiana proved no contest Thursday. Then came the Clippers. In those three games, the Knicks surrendered 108, 117 and 109 points (111.3 average), their worst three-game defensive scoring run this season.
They host the Nets on Monday in a Martin Luther King Jr. Day matinee. With a 30-point victory at Brooklyn in early December, the Knicks began something of a turnaround, winning six of 11.
“We got a nice stand here on our home court, and we’ve got to get back to playing good [there], feeling confident and playing basketball right,” Anthony said. “We’ve got to get off this three-game skid.”
Injuries have flared anew. Amar’e Stoudemire, who was contributing offensively and emerging as a legit factor, is gone for two weeks or so, along with energizer Kenyon Martin, both injuring ankles. The Knicks could have Pablo Prigioni back Monday from his fractured toe and he could help the backcourt.
Like last season, the Knicks have dealt with injuries. The difference was that team won. And defended. Tyson Chandler said the Knicks must be more adaptable and focused.
“We have to get with our system, so then it doesn’t matter so much when guys are going in and out. So that we don’t lean on personnel so much, so we can fall back on the system in times of need,” Chandler said. “When you have an Amar’e out and Kenyon out, we got to get to where it doesn’t matter, just players rotating in and out.
“We have to be a little more strategic about what we’re doing offensively and defensively. Understand who has it going, what’s working. Make it easier on guys out there. The one thing you have to do is stay in the game, stay in the moment, possession by possession, play by play, and not allow what’s been going on to kind of creep in.”