Post#998 » by camillepd » Thu Aug 12, 2021 5:02 am
Tonight game breakdown from another forum:
STAR OF THE GAME!
Miles McBride - McBride really shined today, as he looked really good as a defender and showcased a tight handle and splashed 100% on threes from the perimeter. His shooting form looks good too. He showed a lot of promise moving the ball and making some REALLY good passes in the motion sets on offense the Knicks were running. Offensively, he really looks like a solid rotational piece with upside as a Desmond Bane type great role player.
Defensively, he always goes for steals and chippy defensive plays that Thibs is sure to love. He's also a very good perimeter defender and it looks very likely that it will translate very well to the NBA. He also had an explosive block (not a foul) that got called as a foul that projects a potential ability for him to develop as an interior defender. He made some great rebounds and pushed the pace in transition really well as well.
Stats: 20 pts, 6 rebs, 5 asts, 0 tos, 1 stl, +5 on 7/9 FG and 6/6 from three in 28 mins
Summer League So Far/Projection: Very good perimeter defender with pretty decent handles, ball mover, not great finisher but great shot form, confidence, and perimeter shot. Projects as spot minutes guy this year as a 3 and D specialist, cutting into backup PG/SG minutes, especially with Kemba/DRose likely to get injured at least once this season.
Immanuel Quickley - Quickley looked great. He didn’t shoot as well as he did against the Pacers but he had a few really flashy/next level passes that you would want to see consistently made by a starting PG. Specifically, he's the reason McBride kept getting open looks from three, as he repeatedly drew multiple players and then dished it out to the perimeter. I'm very happy with how he's playing when his shot isn't falling, as last year when his shot wasn't falling he was pretty useless.
Additionally, Quickley made some defensive mistakes but all of them stemmed from him uncharacteristically gambling on steals. I think they made it a point of emphasis in the Summer League to have Quickley be more aggressive and gamble-y as a defender due to his quickness and length potentially being able to make it up.
Quickley’s floaters were on today and he’s adding some more tricks to his finishing bag. It looks like he’s trying to make a case as a PG as well as a SG. Quickley’s handle was also pretty good tonight. He's still making some stupid passes but I'd rather have him be confident and take those risks now. He was a good finisher today.
I like his chemistry with Obi and McBride on the perimeter but I want him to throw up more lobs to Obi. Additionally, Quickley was very loud and vocal as a leader tonight (he was Mic’d Up so you got to hear it) and also directed traffic and the pace of the game really well. Quickley talked a LOT of trash today which I like to see. He's really coming into his own as a floor general, something I hope he can continue into the regular season.
I like how willing he was to be "the guy" towards the end of the game and down the stretch as well. He really looked like the leader of this SL team.
Stats: 25 pts, 1 reb, 7 asts, 3 tos, 1 stl, +11 on 7/15 FG and 1/6 from three in 34 mins
Summer League So Far/Projection: Improving as floor general, pace setter, passer, defensive gambler, team leader, clutch player, chemistry w/ shooters. Was good with finishing tonight. Current projection as backup SG making a case for some backup PG minutes, could start as a guard in the future for us.
Obi Toppin - Toppin noticeably has a much tighter handle this year and an actual bag in the post. He was on fire from the perimeter tonight and played some pretty good defense. He committed a few more offensive fouls than I would’ve liked but the Lakers put an emphasis on drawing them.
Obi looks much improved as a rebounder, as he rises up high to secure them. Obi’s main improvement this Summer League has been his massive leap in confidence, which is what I’m feeling really encouraged about. Obi has the athleticism and the ability to be a force off the bench and in transition and it’s really good to see him find his footing so far. Double double!
Stats: 17 pts, 11 rebs, 2 asts, 5 tos, 1 blk, +9 on 6/17 FG and 2/6 from three in 35 mins
Summer League So Far/Projection: Improving as rebounder, confident player, tighter handle, post moves, transition threat, ball mover, perimeter shooter. Bad offensive fouls. Current projection as backup PF with improved mins from last year.
Jericho Sims - Sims had a good game. He rebounded well and didn’t get a lot of lob opportunities and also played some really good defense. Not much more to say here other than he continues to massively over perform his draft position. Also, he set some really elite screens that would be considered elite even in the NBA. Interestingly, Sims attempted a three this game.
Stats: 7 pts, 2 rebs, 1 ast, 2 blks, 4 to on 3/4 FG and 0/1 from three in 30 mins
Summer League So Far/Projection: Looks good as rebounder, shot blocker, lob threat, rim runner, rim protector, finisher. Vastly overperforming draft position. Projecting as making a case for the rotation if we didn't have a stacked center room.
Rokas Jakubaitis - Rokas had his best game as Knick so far, with a really good steal and some great shots from the corner. While I still don't think he's ready to make the roster, and he is a draft and stash, seeing his spot up shooting potential was really good for a second round pick. He isn't great as a passer or a shot creator, however, but he is very young and showed some promise. Seeing him willing to buy into the Thibs system already was also really good.
Stats: 8 pts, 2 rebs, 1 to, 1 stl, -3 on 3/4 FG and 2/3 from three in 8 mins
Summer League So Far/Projection: Hasn't gotten much playtime but has shown good play as a spot up shooter and as a defender within Thibs' system. Issues as a shot creator and what he does other than spot up shooting. Projection is draft and stash for a few more years and then coming in as a good rotational player.
Quinton Grimes - Grimes still hasn’t had a chance to shine yet. He’s still playing good defense and making some good team basketball plays but he isn’t flashing individually compared to McBride, with not a lot of buckets coming from the half court offense or difficult transition plays. He made some pretty lackadaisical passes that would’ve easily been turnovers in the NBA.
He shot statistically well and played winning basketball though, so it’s pretty hard to evaluate his performance so far. The one thing I'm nervous about is that he looks kind of skittish on the court, but his shooting form and handle look good, so we'll see. We are only 3 games into Summer League, so I’m not putting too much stake in the box score being relatively quiet. I believe he’ll turn it around.
He did rebound really well tonight.
Stats: 8 pts, 9 rebs, 2 ast, 1 stl, 2 to on 3/9 FG and 2/8 from three in 32 mins
Summer League So Far/Projection: Hasn't flashed the way McBride has but still looks like an average player on the floor. Have faith that he'll do better as Summer League goes on. Good defense and team play, but not much individual success yet. Projection as reserve player this year so far, but could change with more SL.
Battle for the Last Two-Way Contract
Reid Travis - Travis looked really, really bad tonight. He had one good shot from outside but was consistently outmuscled and outmatched as a rebounder, as a defender, and as an offensive player. Worse than all that, he looked completely lost on the court, except for small stretches where he was moving the ball around the perimeter.
Stats: 4 pts, 1 rebs, 2 to, -4 on 1/1 FG in 9 mins
No one else eligible for the last two-way contract (Aamir Sims, Tyler Hall, MJ Walker, Quinton Rose) received minutes.
Summer League So Far/Projection: Travis was my pick to get our last two-way contract before this game but I’m not sure who it’s going to go to after this performance. More Summer League will clarify things further. I would assume Aamir Sims or MJ Walker get the minutes that Travis did this game the next game we play.
Other Players - I really would like for Wayne Selden to get less minutes, he’s taking them away from players that could potentially make a case for the last two-way contract.
EDIT: Luca Vildoza* is injured and will join the team later. I wrote that he wasn't in the rotation this game, which was incorrect. Please forgive me
Team/Game Stuff - Our defense was very improved today and the players are starting to gel well as a Summer League team. We're getting a lot more open looks from three and our team defense is looking very Thibs-ian. I'm happy that Grimes, Sims and McBride are gelling well with the Thibs system. Obi and Quickley look much more comfortable in it too. Knicks were trying to push the pace a lot during this game with Quickley and Obi, which to me means that the Knicks want to improve their transition offense this season, a category we ranked dead last in last year (pace). We moved the ball around a lot on the perimeter, running a motion set offense that I was a big fan of with this personnel. I know it's just the Summer League but there were way too many foul calls/stoppages this game and the ESPN broadcast sucked. We beat the Lakers 91-82 and now are 2-1 and move on to face the Pistons and Cade Cunningham at 8:00 PM EST on Friday, August 13th.