Lost the fight? Get up. Fight’s nowhere near over.
Unless you’re a bigot or a sadist, the news of late can seem pretty depressing. If you zero in too much on today, it’s easy to lose sight of the fact that there was a time before now, just as surely as there’s time yet to come. That’s what they count on when they enshittify: that we’re all prisoners of the moment, willing to surrender to it. We’re not.
The Knicks news hasn’t been great the past few weeks, either. OG Anunoby sprained his foot before the All-Star break. Josh Hart has missed both games since the entr’acte with jumper’s knee. Sometimes it seems David Wright, who retired nine years ago, is closer to returning to the Mets than Mitchell Robinson is to the Knicks. And then there’s the boogeyman that’s haunted them since this otherwise successful season kicked off: whenever New York steps in the ring with a heavyweight, they come out looking like featherweights.
Last night’s 142-105 capitulation in Cleveland — and it wasn’t even that close — was the kind of game that threatens to derail all your equilibrium as a fan, to make you throw up your hands and say “Forget 2024-25! Time to reassess for next year.” To which I say nay, loves. Last night hurt, for sure. The Knicks had a chance to change one of the narratives around them and instead reinforced it with titanium bolts. But just like with the “real” world outside of sports, it’s not just important to avoid being a prisoner of the moment — it’s imperative to anyone who believes in tomorrow being better than today. In that vein, a few attempts at consolation.
First of all, we didn’t learn anything new last night! The Knicks came into the contest eight games behind the Cavs in the East, about as far as the Pistons are from the Knicks. If the Knicks beat the Pistons by 30, would it impact your view of either team’s season so far? Doubtful. Cleveland is on pace to win 67 games; they’d be just the 13th team in league history to win that many and the first since the Warriors added Kevin Durant. ESPN’s broadcast shared a graphic showing the Knick starters lead the league in minutes played, while the Cavs rank 28th. A half-dozen Cavs who were there when Donovan Mitchell arrived three years ago are still there. The only currently active Knick who was on the team when Jalen Brunson arrived that same year is Deuce McBride. The Cavs are deeper. The Cavs are more familiar with one another. The Knicks are hanging on till game 83, where they hope they can outsprint their opponents. The Cavs are built for the 82-game marathon. They should be ahead of the Knicks at this point. Quoth RJParrot: “Cavs are really damn good.”
Hart and Mitch will never be All-Stars. They’re not quite irreplaceable cornerstones como Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns, but they’re physical players who impact the game on both ends, and while politically 2023 may feel like a thousand years ago, basketball-wise it’s not all that long ago. Two years ago in the playoffs, in a series featuring at least five players who were or would become All-Stars, the best player on the floor was Mitchell Robinson. Last night in the first half, Towns shot 9-of-13 while Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley combined to shoot 10-of-12. Precious Achiuwa missed all six of his looks. It’s not quite as simple as that, but it kinda is. Anunoby returned for his first action since the first of the month and looked it.
These Knicks aren’t built to survive the absence of three starters. Few teams are — just a year ago, every Cav starter besides Allen missed double-digit games. They won 20 fewer games than their pace this season. Health matters. So does where you fight your fight. If these teams meet in May, will Dean Wade still be playing 20-25 minutes? Sam Merrill? Landry Shamet? Ariel Hukporti? In many ways, last night’s matchup is an endangered species, one we’re unlikely to see again — ever. At least not in any game between these two that counts. A more physical Knick team in the more physical postseason environment is an entirely different opponent.
Hateful people want to weaponize the government into a vast pain-spreading machine. But today isn’t tomorrow. There are still judges committed to the spirit of justice. Every day there are people reaching out to help neighbors, strangers, fellow humans. Tomorrow has yet to be written, even while today’s emperors parade around in no clothes insisting the fragile golf pencils they scratch at the world with are writing in ink. The Cavs can win 72 games this year and finish 20 up on the Knicks, and if they meet in May that and $2.90 gets them a Metro pass.
The Knicks have built a title-worthy starting lineup in the past 13 months. Compare: KAT, OG, Hart, Bridges and Brunson to Isaiah Hartenstein, Julius Randle, RJ Barrett, Donte DiVincenzo and Brunson. They may not have the depth to go all the way, but it’s difficult if not impossible to win all your battles in one offseason. Just like the “real” world of the moment: wars aren’t waged or won all at once. If you lose today, don’t lose the lesson. And don’t lose sight of tomorrow — they’re counting on you throwing your hands up and giving in. Fight today, endure today, repeat both tomorrow. As it so happens, the Knicks’ next game is tomorrow in Boston, another statement game. If they get blown out again, everything I wrote today still applies. And if they win? Sam said it best: “It’s been a long time coming, but I know a change gone come.”