There were no blood stains on the hardwood, no signs of bumps or bruises being treated. Heck, by the time the media was admitted to the final portion of Knicks practice on Tuesday, coach Jeff Hornacek and team president Phil Jackson were sitting under the retired jerseys yucking it up like best friends.
While there were no outward signs of carnage, the Knicks insist they had a physical and “chippy” practice Tuesday. It was a welcomed expression of emotion and passion that was severely lacking in a 121-107 loss to the Lakers less than 24 hours earlier.
“We had a much-needed hard practice,” guard Courtney Lee said, adding, “We got after it today. Guys were pushing each other. It got a little chippy. That’s what we needed. We need to carry over what we did today into games.”
Hornacek had vowed to put his squad through a tough practice following Monday night’s embarrassment at the Garden where the Lakers won easily despite having lost 12 straight road games. The visitors out-hustled the Knicks all over the court, out-rebounding the home team 55-40, including 20-6 on the offensive glass.
The Knicks lacked energy, urgency and effort in trailing 29-19 after just one quarter and 61-45 at halftime. The crowd expressed its frustration with a constant stream of boos. Lee would apologize on Tuesday to “everybody who spent their hard-earned money to come watch us play.” It was a nice gesture. But what fans really want to see is whether all the talk about tough practices and improved play will translate onto the court.
At this point, the Knicks are starting to sound like a broken record. At 22-31 they have suffered their share of losing for different reasons: slow starts, frustrating finishes, inefficient offense and porous defense. Throughout a difficult January they talked as if a breakthrough was right around the corner.
But the loss to the Lakers was a meltdown as the Knicks played like a team in dire need of an attitude adjustment. Somehow they think they have managed just that after one hard practice.
“Today was a big stepping stone for us,” Lee said. “Hopefully it will carry over into the game [Wednesday].”
The Knicks play host to the Clippers on Wednesday, a much tougher task on paper than the rebuilding Lakers. It might take more than one practice for the Knicks to get on their level, but a major step would be to show some of the feistiness they displayed against each other Tuesday.
“If you battle and do a lot of things guys were doing in practice today, you can live with that,” Hornacek said.
Look, the Knicks have major issues to overcome. The starting lineup that normally includes Lee, Derrick Rose, Carmelo Anthony and Kristaps Porzingis has no chemistry offensively and no cohesion defensively. As a team, they’re at their best when they’re in transition, but that doesn’t play to the strengths of Anthony and Porzingis. Plus the constant chatter about whether Anthony will be traded has cast a cloud of uncertainty over where this team is headed. It’s hard to buy in when Jackson seems ready to offer buyouts.
“We need to get a couple of [wins] in a row,” Hornacek said. “Part of playing basketball is being confident. When you’re doubting a shot or doubting if we can win a game it makes it tough. If we can get a couple in a row, maybe that confidence comes back.”
Hornacek said Jackson has had a “calming way” during this losing stretch. Clearly, that’s not translating to the fans who are growing more frustrated with each defeat. Maybe a hard practice can be a turning point. Or maybe it’s just more talk.