Save for one win over the Chicago Bulls, the New York Knicks and David Fizdale are struggling mightily at Madison Square Garden.
The New York Knicks are 1-3 at Madison Square Garden this season with all three losses coming in embarrassing fashion. Dating back to last season, the Knicks are 10-35 at home under David Fizdale.
The embattled head coach feels like his team is pressing too much at the Garden.
David Fizdale says that the Knicks' struggles could be because they're putting too much pressure on themselves under the spotlight of New York:
"They want to do so well for the fanbase, I think they get tight" pic.twitter.com/GLEXqYCVmc
— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) November 13, 2019
“They want to do so well for the fanbase I think they get tight,” he said. “I really do. I’ve looked at all of the different things that have happened and I just feel like sometimes — they really want to do well for the city.
“With everything that’s happened over the course of the last year, these guys want to play hard for the city, they want to win for the city. I just think sometimes when it starts to go the other way, they play not to lose instead of playing to win.”
If there was pressure on the Knicks to play well against the Cleveland Cavaliers, the atmosphere in the Garden on Thursday will be crushing. Kristaps Porzingis returns for his first game at MSG since he was sent packing to Dallas.
There’s almost no doubt that the crowd will be in a raucous mood and the boos will be raining down on Porzingis. However, if the Knicks put forth another lackluster performance, there’s a chance that those boos are redirected towards the Knicks.
There’s nothing like playing in New York, but as Fizdale notes, it’s not always easy.
