NEW YORK _ Before the game began Sunday night Knicks coach David Fizdale spoke optimistically of the team building off a hard-fought, emotional win in Dallas two nights earlier. And it seemed like a good night to claim that, back home to face a below-. 500 Cavs squad.
But almost from the opening tip the Knicks displayed little of the fire and almost none of the shooting. Down 14 in the first quarter, 18 at halftime and as many as 30 in the second half, the Knicks returned to Madison Square Garden with a lifeless, ugly performance in falling, 108-87, to the Cavaliers.
The home court didn't feel like a safe place for the team _ as it hasn't in any of their four home games this season. The crowd booed the team loudly as the deficit grew. A comeback effort that cut the Cavs' lead from 30 to 15 in the third quarter prompted chants of, "Dee-fense," from the home crowd. But the encouragement still left the team facing that deficit as the fourth quarter began.
A chant for offense might have been better suited for this night as the Knicks were incompetent on that end in the first half _ shooting 2-for-15 from beyond the arc and an embarrassing 2-for-8 from the free-throw line. They had 12 turnovers and scored a season-low 36 points in the half. They finished with 21 turnovers. By the time that the benches were emptied there were places fingers could be pointed all over. Marcus Morris was 3-for-12 shooting _ 0-for-5 beyond the arc. Julius Randle had 20 points and 16 rebounds, but turned the ball over four times and on one in the fourth quarter in front of the Knicks bench, walked after it as a Cavs player hustled to grab it.
What this meant for the team might not be much right now with the team already dropping to 2-8 on the season as they head to Chicago for a stop before returning home Thursday to face Kristaps Porzingis and the Mavericks again. But what it could mean to the Fizdale's ever-shifting rotation and lineup remains to be seen.
Frank Ntilikina received a steady flow of minutes over the last two weeks. But was it good enough to keep the third year point guard secure in the starting role?
While Fizdale has complimented the play of Ntilikina since he took over the job, he has yet to commit to him. Ntilikina had just four points, but did have six assists, six rebounds, two steals and two blocks.
Dennis Smith Jr. returned to the team after 12 days away to be with his family following the sudden passing of his stepmother, but is not ready to return to action, working his way back into condition. Elfrid Payton is still rehabilitating from the strained right hamstring that has sidelined him for six straight games.
But when they are ready, what will that mean to the 2017 Knicks lottery pick?
"I'm going to base it on how things are going for us at the time when (Payton) gets back," Fizdale said before the game. "If things are going well, we'll probably stay with what we're doing. If for some reason it's not, maybe we'll look at putting him back in there. But we won't make that decision until the time comes."
Fizdale said that confidence is the key to Ntilikina's performance, but he wasn't willing to help that by promising him anything. Asked if Ntilikina reaching his potential could lift the team to higher levels than the others, he deferred.
"I don't know. That's a tough question for me to answer," Fizdale said. "It's almost too hypothetical to say. I want them all playing well. I think we all need all of them to play well to get to a place where we can consider ourselves a good team. To me, that's our most important position."
