It was a familiar week for the Knicks this season as they continue to not be able to gain any momentum in the win column. The Knicks have yet to start a win streak of more than two games; the same is true with a losing streak. The Knicks are 6-6, and just like all Knicks fans, I really hope a winning streak can get started soon. Hi, this is SmallDog Dan, and here is my ultra-rare Sunday edition of my Knicks weekly blog series. Usually, I write these blogs on Saturday mornings, but with the Jake Paul/Mike Tyson keeping me up Friday night and having to work Saturday, I decided to push this blog off to be written and published on a Sunday. With that said, let’s get into the blog.
With the Knicks sitting at 4-4, they started the week in Indiana to take on the Pacers in a game they should have won. The Knicks started the 4th quarter with a two-point lead but ended up losing the game by 11. The Knicks’ defense has been the biggest reason why the Knicks haven’t been able to win these games. Many of their losses have been close games in which they cannot close the game out and blow the lead due to an opponent’s player scoring a crap ton of points to end the game. This was one of those games, as Bennedict Mathurin scored 11 and Tyrese Haliburton 14 in the final quarter alone.
It was a frustrating game in Indiana, but just like most times this early season, the Knicks bounced back in the start of the NBA Cup. It was an easy win for the Knicks, but the Knicks had to deal with the biggest bitch in his season debut, and man, was he bitchy this game.
The last flop is one of the worst flops I have ever seen (sorry, it’s a TikTok, Twitter has been impossible for putting tweets in). The man weighs 85 pounds more than Deuce McBride and acts like a ragdoll. In his first game back from his injury, even though he played the whole summer for the US Olympic team, which shows how much he loves the city of Philadelphia, and he missed the next game of back-to-back for the 76ers because he refuses to play back-to-backs and… I lost my train of thought. I just wanted to call Joel Embiid a basketball terrorist, and the NBA really needs to do something about it. Sadly, they won’t because if you all remember, the cocksucker is the reason why the Knicks don’t have a legitimate center to start the season. Anyways, the Knicks beat the 76ers.
The Knicks would then go back home to play the Bulls in what is the worst loss of the season. This loss to the Bulls is going to sting a lot. The Knicks came back from down 20+ and lost because of a ticky-tack foul on Colby White. Even though I thought it was a bad call, the Knicks had a chance to retake the lead, but Brunson just missed a game-winning shot. Two shitty outcomes happened within this game. Karl-Anthony Towns had his best game as a Knick. He scored a season-high 46 points while having 10 rebounds. It was a beautiful game from KAT until it wasn’t. Towns got banged up on a play where Zach Lavine and Towns banged Knees, which caused Towns to miss Friday’s game. So not only did the Knicks lose in horrid fashion, but they also lost their center, and as I am writing this blog, I don’t know how long he will be out.
The Knicks would finish up the week as they took on little bro in their second game of the NBA Cup. The Nets put up a strong effort, and the exact opposite of what happened in the Bulls game happened in this game. The Nets were down 20+ but made a 4th quarter comeback. Cam Thomas, who might be my favorite player not playing for the Knicks, had an incredible game. He was killing the Knicks as he finished the game with 43 points on only 6 missed shots. The Nets made an incredible comeback and even took the lead with 12 seconds to go. They did all that just for their Daddy Jalen Brunson to hit the game-winning three, and Mikal Bridges blocked Dennis Schroder on the last shot to secure the win.
It was a great win for New York because they saved themselves from embarrassment and are now 2-0 in the NBA Cup. But my biggest takeaway from this game was that Thibs actually played the rookies. With Town’s knee injury and Deuce McBride being out with an illness, Thibs’ hand was forced, and the Knicks saw some valuable playtime from the young players. Tyler Kolek could not make the most of his minutes, but Pacome Dadiet and Ariel Hukporti definitely did. Dadiet only had 5 points with 12 minutes of playtime, but I was just happy to see him actually playing. Then we look at Hukporti, who definitely made the most of his minutes. Jericho Sims started the game, but Hukporti was playing so well that Thibs benched Sim for the whole 4th quarter. Hukporti got the full Thibs experience playing 30 minutes in his first real NBA action. He finished the game with 7 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, and 4 blocks. I hope this means Hukporti gets the backup center role when KAT returns because this one game proved more that he can be a real asset for this team than what Jericho Sims has done his entire NBA career. And I hope the same goes for Dadiet.
Weekly Grades:
Jalen Brunson: A-
Karl-Anthony Towns: A
OG Anunoby: A
Mikal Bridges: B+
Josh Hart: A
Deuce McBride: B
Jericho Sims: F
Ariel Hukporti: B+
Pacome Dadiet: B-
Now, let’s see what the Knicks have up next for the coming game.
That’s right, it says game. I am now going to make this a game-ly? daily blog. I think waiting a week to write a blog recapping a game is a little dumb, so I am going to try writing after every game. The blog will most likely be out the next day because it could be a little too emotional if I write a blog right after the game. I need time to get what I truly mean on paper (computer screen). With that, the Knicks take on the Nets once again at home. Usually, I would be annoyed that the Knicks are wasting two home games so early in the season against an opponent, but since the Barclays Center is just MSG 2.0, I am not worried about it. The key to this game is they have to contain Cam Thomas. If the Knicks can do that, then this game should be a cakewalk. Hopefully, KAT and Duece are ready to go because that would make this game a hell of a lot easier if they are available.
SmallDog Sports 
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