Knicks Embrace a Growth Mindset Through Losses

Approaching three games against teams with records below .500 leading into the NBA’s first-ever In-Season Tournament Knockout Rounds in Las Vegas, the Knicks are .. on a 9-7 record, an above league-average for the team that faced the NBA… tough opening seven-game schedule, but below expectations for players who believe New York could have a better record 16 games into the regular season. The Knicks lost …in the season-opener, by five on Damian Lillard’s late-game heroics, lost to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the second leg of a same-team, road-home back-to-back and on Devin Booker’s clutch three at Madison Square Garden. Those… games are gone. It’s the almost-wins that hurt most for a team that’s only a handful of made shots, proper defensive rotations and strokes … of luck shy of top-four spot in the Eastern Conference standings. “I think there was a couple games we coulda had,” backup center Isaiah Hartenstein said after the Knicks lost to Booker’s Suns. “It was a tough schedule, so I think we’re in an OK spot right now.” To take inventory, the Knicks have not lost to a team with a record below .500. They have lost to four legitimate championship contenders, twice to Boston, once to Milwaukee, and Sunday to Phoenix. The Knicks also dropped… two games on the second leg of a back-to-back: their… loss to the Pelicans …and to the Cavaliers, though the Cavs were without All-Star guard Darius Garland in both games of the mini-series. The Knicks won on the road and lost at home. Friday’s victory over the Miami Heat… was commendable, but trailing 21 in the third quarter was not. As of Monday afternoon, they ranked seventh in the East. If the playoffs started …today, the Knicks would be in Play-In Tournament territory, needing to win in sudden-death basketball to secure a playoff spot. “I’m not gonna lie, the record and stuff is good,” said sixth man Immanuel Quickley. “But right now I’m just focused on a day-to-day process to try to get better.” As is the norm with this Tom Thibodeau-coached team, the Knicks aren’t focused on record. The wins and losses come and go. The systems that facilitate optimal performance must be set in stone. They now face a three-game slate of winnable games: the Charlotte Hornets without All-Star guard LaMelo Ball, who suffered a right ankle injury against the Orlando Magic on Sunday, followed by matchups against the league-worst Detroit Pistons and a below-.500 Toronto Raptors team. Thibodeau’s message has been consistent all along: In a league with this much talent, you can’t overlook anyone. “A lot of room for improvement. I think that’s what we gotta focus on. Just continuing to improve, continuing to get better,” said veteran forward Josh Hart. “I don’t think anyone’s satisfied with 9-7 or the position we’re in now. Obviously it’s a tough schedule but there’s definitely games that we could have won, should have won. Now we’ve just got to focus on Charlotte.”