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The New York Knicks handled business in Games 1 and 2 of their Eastern Conference Semifinal series against the Indiana Pacers at Madison Square Garden. Up 2-0 in the series, they put together a strong effort attempting to go up 3-0, but ran out of gas at the end, losing a heartbreaker.
In Game 4, the New York Knicks looked like a team that was running on empty. The Pacers blitzed them early and the counterpunch we have seen so often from the orange-blue, regardless of how depleted they are, wasn’t there.
New York was run out of Gainbridge Fieldhouse, losing 121-89 on Sunday afternoon. It was ugly pretty much from the opening tip, as the Knicks are running on fumes with so many key players out of the lineup.
Despite having a built-in excuse for how things got out of hand so fast, players on the team aren’t accepting that. According to Ian Begley of SNY.tv, the New York Knicks players hosted a player’s only meeting after Game 4 as well. This is a group that is determined to continue overcoming the odds, regardless of how much the deck is stacked against them.
According to @IanBegley the Knicks had a players only meeting after the game last night
— Big Knick Energy (@BigKnickEnergy_) May 13, 2024
It is certainly encouraging to see them taking accountability for how they played. It wasn’t only going on behind closed doors, as they were open about it to the media as well, starting with their energizer, Josh Hart.
“I’m supposed to be the energy guy of the team and I didn’t do anything,” said Hart, who had just two points and three rebounds. “I gave nothing. I put that on my shoulders.”
Hart has been an Ironman for the Knicks this postseason. Not only is he playing heavy minutes, but he is logging a large amount of them in the frontcourt, helping the team overcome the losses of Julius Randle, OG Anunoby and Bojan Bogdanovic.
Also hobbled over the last few games is their star, Jalen Brunson. Brunson exited Game 2 in the first quarter and didn’t return until after halftime with a sore foot. While he has continued playing through the injury, it has hampered his performance on the court.
As shared by ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, Brunson is lacking his usual lift and explosion. He isn’t a player who relies on his athleticism to find success, but the foot injury has thrown his entire process off. He was jumping 2.5 inches shorter on his shots since the injury, which isn’t shocking seeing how many attempts he is missing short.
Like Hart, Brunson isn’t using the injury as an excuse for his performance. Or the lack of depth as a reason the team is struggling. After Game 4, he spoke about having to do whatever it takes to get wins.
“We can talk about fresher legs and you can give us all the pity that we want,” Brunson said. “Yeah, we’re shorthanded, but that doesn’t matter right now. We have what we have and we need to go forward with that. … There is no excuse. There’s no excuse whatsoever. If we lose, we lose. That’s what that was.”
More must-reads:
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- The 'First Team All-Defensive Team' quiz
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