They are not really connected to each other yet. The communication level is subpar. The passing needs work. And they need more scrimmages.
Aside from those points, these Knicks are solid. But it could be tough attaining their only goal: the playoffs.
That is the reality interim coach Kurt Rambis inherited when he replaced Derek Fisher.
“I am trying to scrimmage more and get us out on the court more,” Rambis said Thursday after practice in Tarrytown. “Even though we got some older veteran ballplayers on our team, this is a relatively new team [in terms of] growth and how long these guys have been together. … They are not connected that way yet.
“We’ve got to be out there on the court so that they can actually work on timing and talk about timing so they get better communication.”
Rambis acknowledged it is “a tough situation,” but he said, “Our only goal is to make the playoffs so that they drive themselves.”
To do that, Rambis, said the Knicks have to think and act like winners — a tough task when you lose 13-of-15 games. It’s harder still when the best passers wear street clothes.
“We have talented guys on this ball club, but talent is not enough. This talent has got to play together,” Rambis said. “When we are doing it right, we are playing really well. But we can’t just sustain or maintain it.
“Our coaches are pretty good passers. It’s our players that need to work on their passing.”
So are Rambis and Jim Cleamons suiting up?
“That is not happening,” he said.
Arron Afflalo is dealing with a thigh bruise, and though Rambis expects him to play Friday against the Magic, the coach could not be definitive.
“He’s got, my understanding, a bruised thigh, which can make that thigh really tight and hard to move and hard to explode off of. … [On Wednesday], he wasn’t moving well. That is why I cut his minutes,” said Rambis, who added he expects Afflalo to play Friday.
Most of the starters did individual workouts while reserves scrimmaged Thursday — Kristaps Porzingis still was around when the practice was opened to the media. The entire team watched film.
Orlando, represents the lone sub-.500 team the Knicks see in a seven-game stretch before a long road trip. That six-game trip includes five Western teams, including the Warriors.
The Magic (25-30) are 2-1 since acquiring Brandon Jennings and Ersan Ilyasova at the trade deadline. Orlando scored more than 100 points in all three games, and off the bench, Jennings has averaged 12 points and Ilyasova 11.
“When you have Brandon Jennings pushing the ball, you know he wants to play faster. And they go small at the four with Aaron Gordon, so they want to push the pace a little bit,” said Knicks reserve Kyle O’Quinn who spent three seasons in Orlando. “They still have the inside presence with [Nikola] Vucevic and Jason Smith. They’re playing faster, but for the most part, we’ve got to go in with the edge because they did beat us two times already.”