Following the disaster of a loss in Boston against the Celtics, center Joakim Noah sent the perfect message for his New York Knicks.
Following their blowout 115-87 loss to the Celtics in Boston on Friday night, the entire mood of the locker room was one of frustration.Usually, a coach’s dream, Kristaps Porzingis even picked up a technical (one of six in total). He punched the ball in a semi “hold me back” way after a foul call and simultaneous Boston bucket:
The craziness continues. Melo with two, Noah with one, now Porzingis picks up a technical himself. #Knicks down big in Boston. pic.twitter.com/Gw2mgw0Wno
— Elite Sports NY (@EliteSportsNY) November 12, 2016
Afterwards, KP explained the rough night, via Peter Botte of the New York Daily News:
“We reacted in some way we shouldn’t, maybe, but we just wanted some more respect, I guess,” said Porzingis, who scored a team-high 15 points on just 5-for-15 shooting. “Of course to lose Melo early on didn’t help us out at all…But even with all that going on, we should have played better.”
Respect? What respect? Why do the New York Knicks deserve respect?
This has been an organization that has toiled in awful play and organizational methods for decades. No NBA team garners respect until it has earned it first.
It was the “we are owed” attitude that doomed the Knickerbockers on this night in Boston. The entitled attitude Jeff Hornacek needs to vanish from the locker room of 15.
There is, at least, one player who seems to get it. Following the loss, center Joakim Noah sent the right message to his team, via Marc Berman of the New York Post:
“They came out hungrier than us,’’ Noah said. “That can’t happen. We knew they’d come out that like that. It’s human nature.
“It didn’t have anything to do with the calls. Obviously it’s a tough whistle. Those aren’t things you can control. Overall, you lose Melo it’s really tough but every night we’re starting off in a hole every game. Those things we can control. We got to get better executing.’’
Now those are winning quotes.
You’re damn right they were hungrier than you. So hungry, in fact, that they took you behind the woodshed and showed you who your daddy was.
Noah — even while understanding the Knicks ended up on the short end of the whistle during the loss — sent a correct, winning message to not only his teammates but the rest of the league.
On a night things are tough and a certain official may have awoken on the wrong side of the bed, the extra “word” towards the guy after picking up a first quick technical isn’t the proper move. Rather, understanding the situation and playing on is prudent.
No question Tony Brothers is in a rotten mood, but Carmelo Anthony must be SMARTER than this. Just terrible. #Knicks pic.twitter.com/9MgN5JbCeV
— Elite Sports NY (@EliteSportsNY) November 12, 2016
What it takes to win in the Association isn’t bitching and complaining. It isn’t an entitled attitude. And it certainly isn’t pointing out the self-perceived wrongs the officials put you in on a specific night.
Instead, what it takes to win in this league has very little to do with talk. What needs to happen is a collective momentum to overcome any and each situation thrown squarely in the face of success.
This is what the likes of Carmelo Anthony, Brandon Jennings, and KP failed to understand on Friday night.
Hopefully, Noah and Hornacek will have each on the right track moving forward.
