Losing appears to be taking a toll on the New York Knicks as Tim Hardaway Jr. and Allonzo Trier are clearly frustrated with each other.
The New York Knicks are mired in a seven-game losing streak and they’ve lost 18 of their last 20 games. The frustration is setting in and Tim Hardaway Jr. and Allonzo Trier are taking veiled shots at one another.
It started during Wednesday night’s loss when Trier failed to hit the open Hardaway with a pass that would have resulted in an easy dunk.
Tim Hardaway Jr. pops off at Allonzo Trier heading into the last timeout for the Knicks. He looked angry that Trier didn't hit him with a pass on a 2-on-1 break and THJ was open near the basket. Looks like some expletives were shared. pic.twitter.com/cZ42kunsBe
— Mike Vorkunov (@MikeVorkunov) January 24, 2019
This type of on-court interaction is more common than most fans think. These guys are competing at the highest level and tensions can rise. The cameras caught the moment which made it seem like a big deal. Hardaway gave Trier a tap on the behind after the timeout and the two appeared to move past the argument.
That moment alone wouldn’t be much cause for concern, but what has followed that moment should be a huge concern for head coach David Fizdale. Hardaway and Trier had a miscommunication late that resulted in a dagger three from Eric Gordon.
https://twitter.com/HoustonRockets/status/1088279185964056576?s=20
Obviously, allowing Eric Gordon a wide-open three was not the plan. There was supposed to be a switch, but Hardaway never left Harden. Allonzo Trier slid into a fan’s DM’s to let him know that Hardaway screwed up.
LMAAAAAAOOOOOOOOOOOOO pic.twitter.com/3Zs1ANgFzw
— rapinoe fan acct, ain’t it? (@thisisntxav) January 24, 2019
Obviously, Trier didn’t want—and maybe didn’t expect—this DM to go public. But he should never have sent it in the first place. He’s a rookie so he should be given some slack, but it doesn’t sound like Hardaway is happy with being called out.
On Thursday, Hardaway was asked about Trier’s social media gaffe. While he didn’t appear to know about it, he definitely didn’t seem happy.
Tim Hardaway Jr. on Allonzo Trier's DM:
"Who DMed? … Oh so he's blaming other people, basically?" pic.twitter.com/v6QftZ3Had
— SNY (@SNYtv) January 24, 2019
“Oh, so he’s blaming other people, basically? At the end of the day I think it all falls down on the team,” Hardaway paused. “Team defense, you learn from it. We watched film, we looked at today. I think in that scenario I was denying James, trying to deny him from the ball and have someone else score. But, yeah, just got to watch it and look it over and see what we can do better to make sure that doesn’t happen again. That’s all I can say.”
Hardaway ultimately takes the high road, but he is definitely ticked off to some degree. No one likes to be thrown under the bus.
The frustration is boiling over. The Knicks don’t have much time to regroup before traveling across the Brooklyn Bridge to take on the Brooklyn Nets. Their crosstown rivals are the hottest team in the league while the Knicks are 3-18 in December and January.
