Thibs was displeased with the bench, and why not.
Hartenstein-Toppin-Reddish-IQ-McBride
Mainly a matter of defensive softness and lack of focus.
I love me IQ, but he was in one of his ball dominant, hero modes vs. the Pacers, forcing the issue, too often looking for his own shot [4-18], precluding ball movement. And wimpy defense.
Cam continues to struggle. Deuce still looking for his shot. Obi with a couple of big dunks, 0-3 from trey.
As for Hartenstein, seems kind of befuddled on D, and on offense, was often looking off shot opportunities.
HOWEVER, 10 rebounds AND 5 assists, revealing himself to be a very, very heady passer.
The starters?
Brunson, despite his shot being off [4-14, 2-4 FTs], still had 8 rebounds and 3 assists, while imparting a degree of control and continuity and coherence to the startin five that didn't translate to his own stats, but looking at the overall box score...well.
While a representaive sample will have to wait a few weeks, the ADDITION BY SUBTRACTION argument regarding Julius Randle doesn't seem to hold water.
JR is neither hogging the ball [5-10] nor pounding the rock, is starting to dial in his threes [3-6], and notched 13-8-5, with one block and only 2 turnovers, looking to keep his teammates involved, and beginning to seek out muscle to the hoop. He seems to be in excellent condition, and is looking to make the extra pass.
RJ was 21-4-3, while his treys weren't falling [1-5], he IS getting to the line and IS converting his FTs [7-8].
Mitchell, 8 points 8 boards and 4 blocks, and Thibs is giving signs that he is not going to burn him out with bench depth of Hartenstein and Sims. Looks to be in great shape.
Fournier still not dialed in offensively, hot and cold on her shot, but 3 assists and a steal.
I suspect we are very much a work in progress, and speed bumps abound.
But I'm liking what I'm seeing so far, and as for the speed bumps of IQ and the second unit, well, I am sure Thibs has had a heart to heart, and we saw what was missing without Derrick Rose on the floor.
ANYWAY...
Wizards will be testing the Knicks all season long. Not sure who sits and who plays, but a lot of interesting matchups: Porzingis vs Robinson, Hartenstein vs Gafford, Kuzma/Hachimura vs JR/Toppin, Barton vs RJ, Beal vs Fournier, Morris vs Brunson.
Poll
