KNICKS

The team the Knicks are hoping to emulate to turn their season around

Chris Iseman
NBA Writer

NEW YORK — David Fizdale has often made the reference. 

In trying to convey that a rough start doesn't have to spell disaster, the Knicks coach has brought up the 2016-17 Miami Heat.

That team dropped 30 of its first 41 games before going 30-11 the rest of the season to finish with an even record of 41-41.

It's an example the Knicks could follow — but of course, actually accomplishing such a turnaround is the difficult part.

They're 4-13 after losing to the Brooklyn Nets, 103-101, Sunday at the Garden. The Knicks have pushed some good teams late into the games, but have struggled to actually get over the hump and close out potential victories. 

Fizdale believes his team is capable of turning this around.

"Just because of the character and the fact that when you try to work at something with them they really take it to heart and try to get better at it," Fizdale said. 

Again, that's easier said than done and the Knicks have many improvements they need to make. 

Improvements needed

They're still struggling to put together a full 48 minutes of complete basketball. Their offense has a tendency to get stagnant at times and their frequent inability to defend the perimeter has hurt them. 

The foul line struggles haven't helped either.

The Knicks on Sunday were 9-of-16 from the free throw line, while the Nets were 27-of-34.

Whether the fouls were arguable or not, the Knicks committed too many of them. 

"I think the biggest stat that really hurt us was the touch fouls and putting them on the line," Fizdale said. "They shot 34 free throws, made 27, and we were only 9-for-16. I think that’s the biggest discrepancy in the game."

The Knicks are shooting 67.1 percent from the free throw line, which ranks dead last in the NBA. 

They're leaving some crucial points at the line. 

Why they're optimistic

The Knicks have remained optimistic, at least publicly.  

They've been encouraged by the fact that they've at least given themselves a chance to win in several of their losses. 

New York Knicks forward Taj Gibson (67) throws Brooklyn Nets center Jarrett Allen (31) off balance in the first half of an NBA basketball game, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2019, at Madison Square Garden in New York. (AP Photo/Corey Sipkin).

The Spurs on Saturday led by as many as 28 points, but the Knicks climbed back and ended up losing by seven. And the Knicks were down by 14 in the first quarter against the Nets before eventually fighting back to tie it and later losing by two points. 

The Knicks have also played the Celtics down to the final seconds before losing on a Jayson Tatum buzzer-beater earlier this month. 

And two of their wins came against potential MVP-candidate Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks, a team that should contend in the Western Conference. 

Dennis Smith Jr. thinks the Knicks are better than their record indicates. 

"One-hundred percent," Smith said. "We’ve had some bad losses but we’ve been pushing some teams to the brink and it’s little, little discipline things, it’s certain things with discipline that we’ve got to work on in the fourth and I think we’ll clean that up."

The blowouts they've suffered, though, are the issue. 

They've come against mediocre teams like the Cleveland Cavaliers, Detroit Pistons and Sacramento Kings. 

Why it'll be difficult

The Knicks might be finding some more consistency, but their schedule isn't getting any easier.

It's getting much more difficult.

They travel to play the Raptors in Toronto on Wednesday before hosting the Sixers on Friday. They then play the Boston Celtics at home before playing the Bucks in Milwaukee on the second half of a back to back.

Then they play the Denver Nuggets at home.

All of those teams have chances at winning their respective conferences.

Pushing those teams is one thing. They actually have to win at least one of them to avoid falling to 4-18.

"We’re going to take it a game at a time and continue to try to give ourselves a chance to win every night," Fizdale said.

Wayne Ellington knows that Miami Heat team Fizdale often references well.

He was on it.

New York Knicks guard Wayne Ellington (2) goes to the basket against Washington Wizards center Moritz Wagner (21) during the first half of an NBA preseason basketball game, Monday, Oct. 7, 2019, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

The veteran guard believes his current team is capable of turning things around. 

Whether they actually do that is the big question.

"It’s not easy to win in this league," Ellington said. "That’s what I continue to tell the young guys. I see a lot of similarities to that team that we went 11-30 and flipped the whole thing and went 30-11 to finish the season. I don’t plan on us going 11-30, but I think that we’re going to have a breakthrough sooner or later."

Chris Iseman is the Knicks beat writer for NorthJersey.com. For unlimited access to all Knicks analysis, news, trades and more, please subscribe today and download our app

Email: iseman@northjersey.com Twitter: @chrisiseman 

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