It took a couple of decades, but the Knicks finally have ceded the title of most dysfunctional NBA team in New York.
Coach Tom Thibodeau’s squad hardly is perfect, but the Nets have become the far crazier soap opera, especially following the firing last month of their coach, Steve Nash, after seven games and the latest self-imposed mess surrounding Kyrie Irving.
And that comes on the heels of a tumultuous summer, during which superstar Kevin Durant requested and eventually rescinded a desire to be traded.
“That’s their problem. All good over here in Knick-land, baby,” Julius Randle said with a smile when asked about the Nets after burying eight 3-pointers and scoring a season-high 31 points Monday in a win at Minnesota.
The two locals will clash for the first time this season on Wednesday night in Brooklyn. The Knicks (5-5) are ahead in the Eastern Conference standings by 1 ½ games over the Nets, who are 4-7 after suffering a two-point loss Monday in Dallas.
Irving is suspended indefinitely after initially refusing to apologize for posting a link to a film containing anti-Semitic tropes and misinformation to his social media accounts. The Nets also have drawn criticism recently for considering hiring Ime Udoka — who was suspended for the entire season by the Celtics after it was revealed that he had an improper relationship with a female staffer — as Nash’s replacement.
“I know what everyone else knows. It’s a situation I hope they get sorted out over there. It’s our next game, that’s all I care about,” Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson said.
“I’ll watch them occasionally but I haven’t really dug into them. The next day or so I’ll get into them further,” Thibodeau said when asked about the Nets after the win Monday. “I worry about the Knicks. That’s more than enough for me.”
The entire league had Tuesday off for Election Day, and the Knicks did not practice after traveling back from Minneapolis. But they are coming off an impressive win in which they hoisted a season-high 48 attempts from 3-point range and nailed a team-record 10 in the first quarter and 19 overall.
The Knicks also held the Timberwolves to 11-for-41 shooting (26.8 percent) from long distance, one game after they’d been torched for a franchise record 27 made 3-pointers by the Celtics.
“I thought there was a much better effort with communication and being there, being in air space and challenging the shot,” Thibodeau said.
Interestingly, the Knicks’ 5-5 record has been split evenly thus far with a 5-0 record against teams presently under .500 and 0-5 against teams above the break-even mark. They have lost to the top four teams in the East — Milwaukee, Cleveland, Boston and Atlanta — as well as Memphis, with a combined record among that quintet of 38-13 for a .745 winning percentage. The five teams the Knicks have defeated — Detroit, Orlando, Charlotte, Philadelphia and Minnesota — have a composite record of 18-37 (.327).
The Nets had only two wins when Nash was axed seven games into his third season as head coach on Nov. 1. Knicks forward RJ Barrett, who is Nash’s godson, declined comment when first learning of the Hall of Famer’s firing last week, and he wasn’t any more expansive Monday following the victory.
“I’m just really focused on us. Whatever happened over there, that’s their problems,” Barrett said. “We’re good over here, trying to figure it out.
Asked about Nash getting the ax after only seven games, Barrett added: “You never know. That’s the one thing about the league. You never know. Anything can happen, nothing is guaranteed.”
Under interim coach Jacque Vaughn, the Nets had posted road wins over Washington and Charlotte in their first two games without Irving before losing Monday at Dallas. Durant is one of seven players in the league scoring better than 30 points per game, fifth overall at 31.0 ppg through 11 appearances.
“They still got Kevin Durant, so they’re a problem,” Barrett said. “We have to come in locked in, and just come in ready.”