On Sunday afternoon, the New York Knicks continued their struggles against elite teams with a blowout road loss at the hands of the Boston Celtics. It was the second straight game that New York was routed by a team ahead of them in the Eastern Conference standings, and continued to raise questions about just how much, if any, a threat the Knicks will be once the postseason rolls around.
In the fourth quarter of this game, as the Knicks were attempting what turned out to be a fruitless comeback, Karl-Anthony Towns went out of the game with a knee injury. The star big man was able to return to the bench a few minutes later, and inexplicably, head coach Tom Thibodeau opted to put him back in the game despite it already being out of reach at that point.
Needless to say, social media users on X, formerly Twitter, were puzzled by the decision.
“KAT, can we send you back in down 18 with a few minutes to go so you can get hunted by Tatum?” joked one account.
“Honestly what is Thibs doing putting KAT back on the floor? What is he trying to prove here. The guy can’t move and this game is over,” wondered another user.
After the game, Thibodeau attempted to provide a rationale for his decision.
“Thibs said KAT said he was good to go and that’s why he checked back in late in the fourth after taking a shot to the knee,” reported Kristian Winfield of the New York Daily News on X, formerly Twitter.
The Knicks are now 0-7 against the Boston Celtics, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Oklahoma City Thunder, the top three teams in the NBA this year. New York has had no problems taking care of business against lesser competition, but the team made several “win now” moves this past offseason, and thus far, it doesn’t look like they’re the contender they had hoped they would be.
In any case, the Knicks will look to get back in the win column when they next take the floor on Wednesday evening at home vs the Philadelphia 76ers.
