New York Knicks: 3 early takeaways from the games we’ve seen so far

1. Confidence is there for the New York Knicks

One takeaway from this team is that everyone played with confidence (even during their losses), which was nice for a change. Now some may believe this not to be true. However, it’s more than noticeable that there is a different energy around the team with Thibodeau and the new coaching staff at the helm.

You can sense there is a level of trust and pride in this team that didn’t exist before for quite some time. It’s probably because the team has a coach who they can rely on to over-prepare them for games, make sure they’re in the best situation to win, and hold everyone accountable.

Remember when Cedi Osman of the Cleveland Cavaliers drained a 26-foot 3-pointer to bring the game to 72-41? Thibodeau immediately called a timeout after the made 3-pointer because he saw a lack of effort on the defensive end. In his eyes, you could see that he was frustrated because of the defensive mishap, but he took that time to hold everyone accountable, coached them on how to execute better on defense, and tried to put them in a better place to win (which they did).

Now, one may think that it may have been overzealous for Thibodeau to call a timeout with the Knicks blowing the Cavaliers out of the water. Yet, this is a coach’s mindset that is needed to keep the team accountable and make them confident. Thibodeau has to establish a standard that will ensure players can depend on each other by knowing there will be a baseline level of play.

During David Fizdale’s head coaching tenure, it was clear his team was undisciplined. Fizdale himself mentioned that he should’ve been stricter towards the team, especially on the younger players.

Fizdale’s relaxed coaching style didn’t create a thriving team environment because he didn’t correctly establish standards and expectations. Because Fizdale allowed a laissez-faire style of play that gave players the flexibility to experiment and expand on their overall game without any actual consequences (which wasn’t suitable for last season’s roster), it created dysfunction – which is why the team started 4-18 last season. We saw Julius Randle play too much point forward when he never had that responsibility before; Barrett started at point guard on opening night; Kevin Knox played shooting guard when he should’ve stayed at one of the forward positions; and Dennis Smith Jr. was clearly unable to play last season, but Fizdale left him to hang and dry.

Even when former interim head coach Mike Miller took over for Fizdale, the team as a whole played better, but they didn’t play with confidence. Maybe because it was lost season for the Knickerbockers, so there were sporadic moments where the team looked competitive (just like my New York Jets this past weekend). Does this mean that the team didn’t want to win? No, but losing affects a team’s confidence and competitive spirit.

Just through the first five games alone, it’s noticeable that the team as a whole has a different aura. We saw Smith come out and play aggressive defense by tallying 5 steals, which was vital for the comeback against the first Cavaliers matchup. We also witnessed Randle play within himself by swinging the ball and looking for open teammates instead of forcing shots. We then saw Kevin Knox bullying in the paint and hitting his open 3-pointers – he hit 6-of-7 in the final preseason game against the Cavaliers but went 9-of-10 from his last 10 3-point attempts.

Sadly, this playstyle did not transfer when New York played the Pacers this past Wednesday, but the team was playing a balanced brand of basketball until Quickley got injured.

Thibodeau will make sure these guys are over-prepared and battle-tested night in and night out, which is precisely the coach’s mindset that is needed to make this team confident.