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LeBron James missed the Knicks’ renaissance last season. He sat out both of the Lakers’ games against Tom Thibodeau’s club because of injuries.
James found out Monday he’ll now miss a third straight game against the Knicks. He’s been suspended for one game for his role in Sunday’s bloody Isaiah Stewart scrape in Detroit, and the Knicks catch a break with The Lake Show in town for a Tuesday night TNT clash.
It is the first suspension in the 19-year career of James, who merited the suspension “for recklessly hitting Stewart in the face and initiating an on-court altercation,” the NBA said. Stewart was banned two games.
James also might be missing his peak game, too, during this roller-coaster purple-and-gold start to the season. The Lakers make their only MSG appearance with a hum-drum 9-9 record.
The Knicks, too, are not where they hoped to be after a 41-31 campaign and an offseason when they used their league-high cap space ostensibly to juice up the offense.
It hasn’t really happened as the Knicks stand at 9-8 — in a five-way tie for sixth place in the Eastern Conference heading into Monday. Essentially, these are two .500 teams.
As former Laker Julius Randle has noted, no team has yet to emerge as dominant. Parity has infected Adam Silver’s NBA.
“They’re trying to figure it out just like we are,’’ Randle said of the Lakers after the Knicks lost in Chicago on Sunday night. “That’s the league. This is probably the most balanced I’ve seen the league since I’ve been in it. I haven’t seen the league this balanced where it’s competitive every single night. Really, not any nights off, honestly.
“Sometimes [the Lakers] look great, sometimes they look bad. They’re trying to figure it out and get on a roll like we are.’’
The 36-year-old James, Anthony Davis and newcomer Russell Westbrook have aligned for a Lake Show Big 3 with resurgent Carmelo Anthony, 37, riding shotgun. It gives the NBA’s most famous franchise the most famous cast.
James last played at the Garden on Jan. 8, 2020, when he dropped 31 points and six 3-pointers on the Knicks.
One NBA scout contends this is the largest drop-off James has experienced from one season to the next.
“It happens,’’ Knicks point guard Kemba Walker said of the Lakers’ struggles. “They haven’t had a full team all year. We all know LeBron is an incredible talent for years, they’ll turn it around at some point. LeBron is one of the greatest ones to play this game. I’m sure he’ll figure it out.’’
This will be Walker’s first Knicks-Lakers game.
“It’ll be cool,’’ said Walker, the Bronx native. “It will definitely be fun of course. … The Knicks-Lakers are always a cool rivalry.’’
James missed two weeks with an elbow injury and just returned Friday to get blown out by the Celtics. His absence is one excuse for the Lakers’ record. The other is the roster turnover as the Lakers traded three key contributors for Westbrook.
“I watched the game the other day,’’ Walker said. “Those guys got like 13 new guys. It’s a lot of new guys to get adjusted to so things just don’t work out that fast. It just takes time. When it clicks it clicks. Everyone has to adjust, figure out new roles, new teammates. It’s an adjustment period.’’
The Knicks new backcourt of Walker and Evan Fournier is also embroiled in an adjustment period. Neither was on the court in the fourth quarter of the loss to the Bulls — something which is becoming commonplace.
The duo figured to improve the Knicks’ offense, but neither is making a large impact on either end. Fournier is shooting just 40.5 percent from the field. Walker is having trouble creating for others and getting to the rim, though he showed signs of chemistry with Randle in a vibrant third quarter Sunday.
Still, Walker’s plus-minus is a disastrous minus-106, even if the good news is he’s stayed healthy. Fournier is a minus-40.
And don’t forget the other wing, RJ Barrett, who has endured a brutal 10-game slump. According to Forbes, of the 215 players who have more than 50 field-goal attempts over the last 10 games, Barrett is the only player shooting below 32 percent overall and below 21 percent from 3.
The starting-five issues are why the Knicks have been inconsistent, losing to lesser lights such as Orlando (twice), Cleveland and Toronto and nearly losing to one-win Houston on Saturday.
Sunday’s game started a brutal stretch when the Knicks get the Lakers, Phoenix, Atlanta, Brooklyn, the Bulls again and the Nuggets.
The Knicks, however, have played better against the better teams.
“We’ll eventually figure out how to compete and play at that level every night,’’ Randle said. “We won’t have to wait for a big game to get up and play like that. Eventually we’ll get there. I know for sure we’ll be up for the challenge.’’
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