The Knicks were wearing their City Edition uniforms Tuesday night against the Nets at the Garden. They were designed to commemorate the FDNY, the brave men who put out fires big and small.
Knicks coach Jeff Hornacek wore a suit and tie, but an FDNY jersey probably was more fitting considering he was still trying to defuse the brushfire that Joakim Noah created recently. Noah wasn’t with the Knicks again as they crushed the Nets 111-95 for their fourth win over Brooklyn this year. Noah was still banished from the club for getting into a heated verbal exchange with Hornacek during the recent road trip.
Noah was upset about his limited playing time and left the team on Thursday “for personal reasons.” While the Knicks try to unload Noah and what’s left on his $72 million contract, Hornacek was all smiles before Tuesday’s game. Sometimes these conflicts between player and a coach can get scratchy in the NBA, especially if a player has clout. Luckily for Hornacek, Noah had zero leverage having played just seven games this season and has been a virtual bust since signing his free-agent deal before last season.
“There’s no real update,” Hornacek said in his the latest not-much-of-an-update on Noah. “Not tonight. Not tomorrow night and we’ll see from there.”
The Knicks might not see Noah again this season, giving Hornacek a clear victory in the first real challenge to his authority. You could suggest something like this was bound to happen. It’s a symptom of mediocre teams. The Knicks (23-28) are clinging to the edge of relevance, insisting they’re still very much in the playoff hunt, while not performing as consistently as a playoff team should.
It’s a difficult position for a coach, having to orchestrate a team that’s not really good enough to be a winner, but also not bad enough to absolve the coach if the season turns to ruin. They whipped the Nets from start to finish Tuesday night behind 28 points from Kristaps Porzingis and 20 points and 20 rebounds from Enes Kanter. It was a nice follow to their win at Phoenix in the final stop of their six-game trip against the Western Conference.
Noah isn’t not the only one looking for playing time. Minutes at point guard are being distributed on a game-to-game basis, and who is the best option off the bench depends on who is playing well any given night. Other than Noah, the Knicks haven’t voiced much frustration with the process.
“There’s a lot of guys on each team and that ends putting three and four guys at a position,” Hornacek said. “All these guys want to play. But our guys have been great. When they get their opportunity they go out there and play hard. They practice hard all the time. That’s all you can ask.”
The locker room remains better than last season when it featured Derrick Rose and Brandon Jennings and the drama that surrounded Carmelo Anthony. Those Knicks never liked the triangle offense that former team president Phil Jackson forced on the franchise and Hornacek was more pawn than practitioner last year.
Though his easy-going manner makes him appear to be a soft target, you don’t play 15 years in the NBA and serve five years as a head coach without having to get in someone’s face. If things deteriorate from here, we might see how strong Hornacek’s backbone really is, but he hasn’t lost the locker room. In fact, he may have entrenched his standing.
The reality is, the only player he really has to keep happy is Porzingis. Any complaints from him might resonate with ownership. Until then, the Knicks are very much a day-to-day team with Hornacek trying to compile as many wins with what he has, including new uniforms.
“They look pretty sharp on the players,” the Knicks coach said.
So far, Hornacek is fireproof.