Facing their fourth loss in a row, David Fizdale and the New York Knicks battled for a win against the Chicago Bulls.
New York sports fans are fickle and impatient. They are also incredibly knowledgeable and passionate. And when it comes to the New York Knicks, all four character traits are on display at Madison Square Garden on a nightly basis.
With that being said it should come as no surprise the Garden was absolutely rocking during Monday night’s win against the Chicago Bulls. In his post-game interview, via MSG, head coach David Fizdale echoed the sentiments of a proud leader.
“One thing we can say about his team for sure, three out of the four games, we got a lot of fight in us. We don’t ever lay down.”
In a season that is still very young, the Knicks’ perseverance was particularly impressive given the circumstances. The orange and blue had just had their doors blown off by the Boston Celtics in their home opener. With little cohesion on either the offensive or defensive end combined with the early struggles of Dennis Smith Jr., fans were already becoming patient and voicing their displeasure.
The Knicks “fight” as Fizdale mentioned, seemed to come alive with the play of third-year guard Frank Ntilikina. The Frenchman, despite not scoring any points, pushed the pace, set up his teammates, and competed valiantly on the defensive end. His lack of scoring was certainly picked up by Bobby Portis, who poured in a game-high 28 points against his former team.
The Knicks will continue to need maximum effort as they will likely be down two active players when they face the Orlando Magic on Wednesday. Smith is dealing with the death of his step-mom and will be given time away from the team and Elfrid Payton will be out with a hamstring injury.
