Knicks Coach Admits Costly Start

The New York Knicks are fresh off of a 120-111 loss to the Detroit Pistons at Madison Square Garden over the weekend.

In the loss, the Pistons started the game on a 13-2 run, which ended up making a massive difference in the matchup.

Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau spoke about the team’s slow start in his post-game press conference.

“The way we started the game — they got going offensively. We weren’t into the ball to challenge shots. Got in a big hole early and played from behind,” Thibodeau said h/t Posting and Toasting. “Starts with pressuring the ball, protecting the rim, making sure your shell is tight and finishing the play.”

Even though the Knicks struggled out of the gate, Thibodeau was impressed by how his team was able to respond.

“I think the thing that probably got us going is once when our ball pressure picked up and we caused some turnovers and we got into the open the floor, we got some easy baskets,” Thibodeau said. “We got a pretty good rhythm. We still had 27 assists. We shot a good percentage, and if we had rebounded the ball, we probably could have won the game. That’s what we have to learn from. We got it down to four going into the fourth, and then we needed to make a couple of stops there. And we didn’t.”

The Knicks can’t cry over spilled milk anymore, which means they have to take what they learned in their loss to the Pistons and apply it to the future to ensure that this doesn’t happen again.

The Knicks are back in action tonight as they head north of the border to take on the Toronto Raptors. Tipoff for the game is set for 7:30 p.m. ET inside Scotiabank Arena.

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