THE Knicks take on the Jazz this afternoon at the Garden in a game where if their pattern stays true to form, the Knicks will give a high-energy effort for something close to 48 minutes and
probably earn a hard-fought win.
They will perform like a team very capable of winning an NBA Championship, or at least reaching the Finals for the second year. They’ll look like a complete team that combines sound defensive principles with a rhythmic offense while offering the type of explosive surges that will bring the Garden crowd to its feet.
We should expect more of the same Tuesday night when the improving Grizzlies come to town. But eventually the Knicks will have to go on the road again, where the true measure of a team’s inner resolve is exposed. At least that’s the cliché.
The Knicks are 11-16 on the road this year after a 83-70 loss at Atlanta Friday, the second time this season Jeff Van Gundy’s team has been beaten by one of the league’s most disappointing teams. Gundy said his Knicks played “old” and, “even our younger guys in some ways are older.” His notion is supported by the Knicks’ 3-10 record on the second night of back-to-back games, making “When?” and “Where?” as critical to the Knicks’ success on a given night as “How?”
All of this only underscores the importance of every outing at the Garden over the next two months, where 11 more games could result in 11 much-needed victories as the Knicks position themselves for home-court advantage during the playoffs. They will play five of those 11 remaining home games over the next 14 days, a span that will be an even truer test of their resolve than their failed ventures away from home.
It starts with the Jazz this afternoon, followed by the Grizzlies Tuesday night. A week from today, the Knicks will play host to the Spurs in another prime-time nationally televised game. Two days later, the Rockets come to the Garden and in two weeks the Lakers will be in town for yet another game to be viewed coast to coast.
Considering the Knicks have seven more road games remaining this month and 13 more through the regular-season, these home games are crucial if the Knicks are to beat the Heat in the Atlantic Division and go into the playoffs seeded as high first or second.
It’s why outings such as their duds offered in Atlanta and in Miami last Monday don’t hurt as much as a loss against the Jazz today would. Truth is, no team in the Eastern Conference can call themselves road warriors. Going into last night’s games, the Pacers, who own the conference’s best record at 39-19, were 13-17 on the road. The Heat have the best record at an even 15-15, while the Sixers were 12-15 and the Raptors 12-14.
It’s in the Western Conference where winning on the road isn’t anything unique. The Lakers are an impressive 21-7 away from the Staples Center, while the Trail Blazers were 22-8 away from the Rose Garden. The Jazz come here with a 14-12 road record, one of six Western Conference teams playing .500 or better on the road.
What we’ve learned about the Knicks on the road is that they’re not dependable, not consistently intense, not confident. They blew a 20-point lead at Miami and couldn’t beat the dysfunctional Hawks. And they still have a formidable road schedule left, including a grinding West Coast trip with games at Indiana, Portland, Sacramento, Seattle, Vancouver and the Lakers. It’s asking a lot for them to go 3-3 there.
There are also six more times remaining in the season where the Knicks will play back-to-back games. Again, it would be asking a lot for them to go 3-3 in those games.
That’s why it’s useless to get melodramatic over the Knicks’ road play this year and in back-to-back games. They are what they are: poor at both. Without Marcus Camby, the Knicks can be great one night, especially if they are at home, and woeful the next, especially if they are on the road.
It’s why the 11 remaining games at the Garden will be the true measure of the Knicks resolve. A resolve that will be tested beginning today against the Jazz.
