Post#247 » by j4remi » Sun Dec 9, 2018 3:46 pm
For the better part of three quarters, the Knicks looked listless and got kicked in the teeth. The offense lacked flow, the defense lacked existence and the game was trending toward another 20 point blowout. David Fizdale looked to his bench, a veritable rubix cube of variations so difficult to manage that it might better be described as the puzzle box from Hell Raiser. "What combination of players haven't I tried yet? I've tried everything! I haven't even used a back-up point guard for three games..." I won't pretend to understand that amalgamations of an NBA headcoach, but having just been through Derek Fisher and Jeff Hornacek; I'd imagine that Knicks coaches often wonder "what would Whoopie Goldberg do?" ...and so it was, that Fiz finally played the goddamn kids. And after three quarters of "I'm not sure if I can take this for another 50 games" the entirety of Knicks fandom got to breath a collective sigh of "so that's why they drafted those guys..."
Mudiay: It's weird, because Emmanuel Mudiay's developments seem to be sticking but recent games feel like a regression. The starting PG is still hitting three's, driving aggressively and putting up solid numbers. But recent efforts have seen a drop off defensively and far too many turnovers for Mudiay's lack of playmaking this season. Muddy had 13 points and 4 assists to 3 TO's on 4/10 shooting with a pair of three pointers. He wasn't terrible, but not good either.
Hardaway: Last night David Fizdale talked about how the entire roster has responded well to DNP's, I'd like to make a suggestion about Tim Hardaway Jr. All jokes aside, Tim Hardaway is making it easy to forget how well he played early on in the season with this recent stretch. This is the focal point of the offense and he can't make the easy shots but exacerbates that by forcing tough ones too. When he started struggling, at least THJ was providing some defensive moments or creating for others with passing but that's all but evaporated too. Tim had 7 points on 2 for 12 shooting without making a three pointer in 5 tries.
Hezonja: It's worrisome that this was probably one of Mario Hezonja's better offensive performances and the Knicks got smacked plus were unwatchable. Mario had the three ball dialed in and got after the boards to the tune of 12 points and 5 rebounds over 27 minutes. He was 4 of 8 from the field as well, playing efficiently. The problem is that the Nets really picked on him defensively. Mario might get through the first screen, but you send him through a second one and it's game over. He also does this T-Rex thing where if you stand still for a few seconds, he'll just ball watch and you've become invisible. So hit the corner, stand still for 3 or so seconds and there's a great chance you can hit a backdoor cut while Mario wanders.
Vonleh: It was one of Noah Vonleh's most muted performances and he was still by far my favorite starter on the floor. He only had 21 minutes to put together 4 points, 4 assists to 2 TO's, 3 rebounds and 3 steals. Nothing leaps out from his performance which is a good thing because most others looked bad instead of average.
Kanter: My theme with Kanter and Vonleh recently continues. You pretty much know what you're gonna get from these guys without too crazy of a deviation. Kanter had 23 points, 14 boards and 3 assists over 26 minutes of time. He was hyper efficient with 10 makes on 13 tries and not a single TO (a nice sign in an area he's struggled some); he was also not good on defense. He is who he is and the tough job is figuring out how to utilize his strengths while mitigating his weaknesses.
Lee: Just gonna get this one out of the way. Lee only got 3 minutes of playing time and hasn't gelled with his teammates yet. I'm not gonna knock him, he probably needs some time, of which Hezonja could share plenty.
Trier: Isn't it nice to see Allonzo Trier get back to forcing defenses onto their toes from the second he approaches? Last night should probably be the end of the experiments with Iso-Zo at back-up PG because he's a better player when he can focus on him. Zo had 15 points and 2 rebounds on 5 for 11 shooting while making his way to the line 6 times over the course of 27 minutes. But he was the back-up PG in the first half and didn't get a single assists over his 27 minutes of playing time. The kid is made to score and the feel for passing is a development that he can work on but that will hurt his scoring some in this early going. Also, Trier has to improve defensively to unlock his full potential. The Nets saw Frank, Dotson and Trier last night; then proceeded to attack Trier which is going to happen with that trio out there.
Dotson: Breen hit the jinx hard by pointing out that Damyean Dotson had played 14 minutes without a point. It was almost as if Dot heard the critique, because he went off for consecutive buckets in a run of 10 straight points for the Knicks. The best part is that he did it on a catch and shoot, a pull-up and then a drive; variety is the spice of life. Dotson played 30 minutes and tallied 12 points, 2 assists and 3 boards while knocking down 5 of 10 shots and 2 out of 3 from long distance. His 30 minute clip is likely a result of actually trying on defense when no other wing was, which paid dividends when the fourth quarter unit helped him out by also trying on defense.
Knox: On back to back fourth quarter plays, Kevin Knox ran coast to coast (once dribbling the ball and once receiving a pass as he entered the lane) for fast break finishes that gave a sneak peak of his insane upside. Last game, he flashed just how easily he can get his jumper off unaffected in tight spaces. In this one it was his coordination and speed at that size which gave everyone a pair of "man if he puts everything together"-itis. In 20 minutes Knox had 7 points and 4 boards on 3 of 6 shooting. His motor has looked better, confidence is up and I love that he's tracking down some rebounds nightly.
Mitch: Mitchell Robinson fills the stat sheet up in impressive fashion considering how raw he still is. For 21 minutes of play, Mitch gave the Knicks 4 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals and a block. His 2 makes both came at the rim, one of which was a ludicrous off hand finish of a lob from Frank that was well behind him. Right now that's the only way Mitch can score in the most literal sense though. He doesn't post up, attack face up in space and even missed all three of his free throw attempts; which is to say...he's extremely raw. That Robinson is so productive while dealing with foul trouble and offensive limitations speaks to monster potential. He's already a defensive impact player and his rim running commands attentions.
Frank: After three DNP's in which the Knicks defense fell off a cliff, we were treated to a return from the second youngest player on the roster. Frank worked the pick and roll aggressively, not just as a scorer but also a creator. Ntilikina found 3 assists quickly before the defense began to overcompensate for the pass. That was when Frank took what the defense gave him and knocked down a floater followed by a lefty drive. The French Prince never left the game, adding 7 points on 3 of 6 shooting and 3 assists in 16 minutes. The offensive approach was refreshing to see, as he was consistently calling for the ball or calling out plays to get a hot hand the ball. When Dot was hitting, Frank got him the ball for consecutive makes. Later on, after Knox made a couple of bunnies, Ntilikina gave Knox the rock through a screen at the wing. That subtlety is lost at times. I could get into his defense, but just look at the scoring breakdown. Frank played the entire fourth quarter with Dotson and Mitch out there; there's a reason that trio tracks so strongly by most metrics.
Fiz: It's one of those Fiz things that happens, where he'll have the fans right at their limit before pulling something off. His switch to the Mudiay, Timmy, Hezonja starting unit had Knicks twitter losing their minds before it reeled off a winning streak. Dotson was benched for no apparent reason but came back in with such an explosion that Fiz looked brilliant. Last night after making some seriously head scratching choices (4 wings and one center at a point), David Fizdale blessed the Knicks fans with that youth line-up. It's hard to flip about did not plays when they continually have tangible results. Where there is some room for frustration though is in the lack of accountability for some of these vets. Hezonja's good offense did not offset his awful defense last night and Tim Hardaway's offense hasn't even been good. These guys saw dips in their minutes only because the game was a blowout. They weren't benched when the Nets were toying with the Knicks defense or when they forced bad shots; the game had to be out of hand for those guys to take a seat. That's been the case for a while now.
Haliburton/Lewis Jr/Sasser
Booker/Shamet
Barnes/Dick/Duarte
Washington/Barnes/Crowder
Zubac/Theis/Clowney
Sanogo, Castleton
Ex: Samar, K. Diop, Spagnolo
