The Knicks forgot they’re supposed to play defense.
Under Tom Thibodeau, it’s the biggest sin and the Knicks are undoubtedly headed straight to film room hell. They were lazy in Monday’s 113-104 loss to the Raptors, they were disjointed for long stretches and appeared as if just to go through the motions for long stretches.
New York (5-2) had an opportunity to go 6-1 for just the second time since 1993, and instead stumbled to defeat while coasting in transition and getting hammered by turnovers and fastbreak points.
Julius Randle was among the biggest culprits. The All-Star, who has been struggling offensively, dropped 18 points in the first quarter, when all appeared positive for the Knicks. But then he cooled off. Considerably.
Randle scored just four points in the final three quarters, finishing with three turnovers. The Knicks were outscored by 15 points in Randle’s 37 minutes. He played a step slow. Or four steps. RJ Barrett was again strong with 27 points in 39 minutes.
The Raptors (5-3), without the injured Pascal Siakam, have won four consecutive but are hardly daunting, especially offensively. They entered Monday ranked 22nd in points per game and 24th in field-goal percentage. But they lit up the Garden hoops to the tune of 113 points, with a career-high 36 points from OG Anunoby. The Knicks lamented their effort in last week’s defeat to the Orlando Magic, but the lethargy was more striking Monday.
They lost the turnover game, 16-8, while picking up just three steals and four blocks. They were outscored in fastbreak points, 21-3.
New York led by as many as 15 in the first half but Toronto’s 18-7 run to finish the second quarter cut the deficit to 4 at the break. The Knicks never recovered.
They were again without Nerlens Noel, who hasn’t played since preseason started almost a month ago with this mysterious knee soreness. He was upgraded to questionable before Monday’s game but apparently didn’t feel comfortable after warmups.
His absence was exacerbated by an ankle injury sustained by Taj Gibson in the second quarter, leaving rookie Jericho Sims as the only backup center. Thibodeau experimented with Obi Toppin and Julius Randle in the frontcourt. But it didn’t work in Monday. Nothing would work with that type of ho-hum effort from the Knicks.
