MISSED IT BY THAT MUCH

BY Mark Halpern

The New York Knicks amazing season run has come to a close. The Knicks were defeated by the Indiana Pacers in game 7 at Madison Square Garden on Sunday and sent the Knicks home. However, something happened in New York that I have rarely seen. In my 41 years as a Knicks fan, I think I have expressed every emotion from down right disrespectful to outrageously ecstatic and that was just between games. I have been a loyal and dedicated fan and even though the Knicks were sent home this season was not in any way a failure and the loyal fan base made sure they were not just proud of one player but almost every Knick who checked in and who checked out got standing ovations from this Knick crowd. It’s very hard to get a standing ovation when you lose to an inferior team but, this wasn’t just a loss it also proved to be very successful. The Knicks experiment with Jalen Brunson leading the way and rotating centers worked. It was unfortunate that the Knicks lost Mitchell Robinson after game 2 and took away the Knicks chance at being able to match up defensively height wise and were being dominated on either end of the floor rebound wise and the Pacers capitalized on that key by taking the last three games of the series to move on.

    I wish I could say that Robinson’s injury was the only one but the Knicks were also down Julius Randle for most of the year, Josh Hart got a severe abdominal strain but still played through the pain, OG Anunoby was lost after game two due to a hamstring  injury and the Knicks were losing players towards the end and couldn’t match up. Especially in the fourth quarter with losing star Jalen Brunson to a broken hand.  However, this was a Knicks team that wasn’t considered a top team in the Eastern Conference and the jury was out on them. As fans we have to look at the last two seasons as massive successes.  It is a huge step forward and with the Knicks showing how much talent they have, attracting HIGH quality free agents will not be a problem as the Garden faithful will gladly welcome into the fold. I am a very proud Knick fan to be writing this article and hope we see the same life, hunger and will next season.