Sixers Sink the Knicks - McBride Watches as Burks Logs 34 Minutes

Thibs continues to play a 30-year-old SG 30+ minutes a night at PG more than 60 games into a season on a team that's 11 games below .500 while a promising young point guard watches from the bench.

Game Recap: Philly Beats New York, 125-109

As has become the custom, let's talk a bit about what went right in Sunday's ugly to the Sixers before plunging in the nastiness from the Knicks' most recent defeat.

* RJ Barrett scored 24 points to go along with five rebounds, six assists, two steals, and four turnovers in 38 minutes. Over the Knicks' last five contests, Barrett is averaging 29.4 points, 6.2 boards, 4.2 assists and 3.0 treys. However, RJ was inefficient on Sunday, shooting just 9-of-22 from the field and 0-of-3 from downtown. And Barrett once again left plenty of easy points on the table, converting just 6-of-10 free throw attempts. Nonetheless, it's an encouraging sign when the kid can still post a 24/5/6 stat line even when he doesn't have his A-game working. 

* Immanuel Quickley busted out of his slump with 21 points (5-of-13 FGs), five rebounds, one assist, one steal, three triples, and three turnovers in 26 minutes. Remarkably, it had been more than two months since IQ scored more than 18 points in a game, and it's just the second time this season he's tallied more than 18. That's a sharp contrast to last season, when Quick scored at least 20 points in 11 of the 64 games he played. Quickley's struggles on the offensive end have been difficult for New York to overcome this season, so we'll see if this performance gets him back on track.  

* Jericho Sims continues to make the most of his newfound opportunities. He tallied ten rebounds, two steals, one steal, and one block in 18 minutes before fouling out. Sims has shown he's capable of handling an increased workload, as his energy and defensive versatility (not only is he strong enough to body bigger players, he can also stay in front of quick guards and wings on the perimeter) provide tangible benefits. Sims was the only Knickerbocker to finish with a positive plus/minus on Sunday. 

* Fournier scored 24 points and knocked down six three-pointers. His sixth triple was his 179th this season, passing Allan Houston's total in 2002-03 for the fifth-most in a single season in Knicks history. Fournier has an excellent chance to break John Starks franchise record (217) this 

year. 

As we shift to the negatives, we have to, once again, focus on the starting point guard. Yes, Julius Randle shot just 4-of-13 from the floor and had several inexcusable defensive lapses, but ultimately, PG problems were the main culprit.

In the 34 minutes he played on Sunday, Alec Burks shot 2-of-6 from the floor and finished with six points. He didn't record a single assist and committed two turnovers. As if that wasn't bad enough, Burks was torched by Philly's lightning-quick PG, Tyrese Maxey, who racked up 21 points (on 8-of-14 shooting), seven rebounds, three dimes, three treys and two steals. 

It's unfair to Burks to be asked to check Maxey and facilitate the Knicks offense. Thibodeau is not putting the veteran in a position to succeed. Over New York's last five games, the Knicks have been outscored by 38 points in the 142 minutes Burks has been on the court (that's the worst/plus on the team), with New York averaging just 96.0 points per 100 possessions. With Burks on the bench, that number jumps up to 114.3 points per 100 possessions. 

The Knicks have now lost 15 of their last 18 games. They have the league's worst record over the past six weeks. They rank 28th in Offensive Efficiency. As it turns out, not playing a point guard might be bad for a basketball team. 

Unsurprisingly, the PG-less Knicks were crushed in the fourth quarter Sunday afternoon. Philly outscored New York by 14 points, as the Knicks shot 1-of-9 from downtown in the final frame. The Knicks scored seven points in the last four minutes of regulation. 

Over their last eight games, NY has been outscored by mind-boggling 87 points in the fourth quarter. That's 40 (!!) points worse than the team with the second-worst 4Q point differential during this stretch. 

To put that in context, consider this: Over the Knicks' previous six games, the entire team combined scored 112 points on 124 FG attempts (29.0% shooting) in the fourth quarter. Chicago's DeMar DeRozan (just one player!) scored 107 points on 60 FG attempts (70%) during that same stretch. 

You guys know where I'm heading next. It's beyond baffling that Thibs continues to play a 30-year-old shooting guard 30+ minutes a night at point guard more than 60 games into a season on a team that's 11 games below .500 while a promising young point guard watches from the bench. 

On Sunday, the Knicks were again without Kemba Walker, Derrick Rose, and Quentin Grimes. New York lost by 14 and gave up 125 points, including 60 points to the Sixers' starting backcourt; yet, somehow, Deuce McBride never set foot on the floor. 

Make it make sense, as the kids like to say. 

Even before Rose's setback, Thibs told reporters last week that Burks would likely continue to start at PG. "We'll see," Thibodeau told reporters when asked if Rose would be the starter. "I think just digging into the numbers, Alec has been our best option so far."

Burks had posted a solid plus/minus for much of the season, even if it didn't result in victories. However, Thibs can't use that same rationale any longer.

The Knicks only have 21 games left this season, which means there is relatively limited time to find out what they have in McBride before they enter into the offseason - at which point they'll have to decide whether or not to chase a "PG of the future." 

New York has two full days of practice before embarking on a brutal seven-game road trip, which begins Wednesday with a rematch vs. the Sixers in Philly. The Knicks then head to Phoenix to take on the Suns, who own the NBA's best record. After heading out to California for two games, the trip wraps up with visits to Dallas, Memphis and Brooklyn. 

Yikes.