The weird thing was our guys attacking the ensuing doubles, forcing the Wiz to fully commit, then finding a (usually very) open man. Good looking basketball.
RJ looked herky, not jerky; purposeful, not awkward. And over the course of four games, he got his fellow pups Knox, Robinson and Brazdeikis moving without the ball, setting screens, and spacing the floor, realizing that opposing defenses had to respect his north-south drives down the lane, and that when they collapsed, RJ either doubled down and got to the free throw line, or identified a driver or shooter or dunker to convert easy, well...EASIER opportunities. Knox and Brazdeikis spread the floor with the threat of the threes, and Robinson, moving without the ball got lots of old school big man hoops. Again, RJ's game and sense of team work, translated to Knox and Brdeikis, who while they were launching [AND MAKING] ICBMs,
didn't settle, and the Knicks as a team drew a lot of fouls, which is what Fizz was preaching all last year, and not often getting...live and learn.
Kadeem did a solid job at PG. But really, RJ is thinking like a point guard/point forward wing, a distributor, bringing the ball up on so many possessions. And RJ's penetrations and kick outs, inspired Ignas and Kevin. When was the last time Kevin Knox had 5 assists? And Brazdeikis. Maybe James Dolan dropped a dime on Jeffrey Epstein, and that was God's WAY of rewarding the Knicks with another 2nd round gem.
Good vibe, or as Facil inferred...FUN, like real city basketball.
And some of those auditioning for camp invites and assignment to the G-League Knicks, were very impressive, really. Two 6'9" bigs in particular, the offensive performance of Kavanaugh and the defensive performance of Wooten, both showed good motors, hops, tenacity and fell right in to RJ's style of orchestration. Kavanaugh finishing on the break, knocking down treys; Wooten an elite college defender, who can leap right out of the gym, was like Robinson 2.1--BLOCKED FIVE SHOTS. Too bad we didn't get to see the Wilkes kid, 6'8" scoring SF from UCLA, who signed a two-way. And as good as Trier was in Game 1, him sitting out with some sort of bug, maybe was a blessing in disguise, as her could look at RJ and see parallels with how they create for each other, and potentially for others.
Mudiay [Payton]
Herzonja [Morris, Brazdeikis]
Vonleh [Randle, Gibson]
Kornet [Portis]
C: Robinson
PF-C: Randle, Portis, Gibson
SF-PF: Morris, Knox, Brazdeikis
SG-SF: Ellington, Bullock, Barrett, Trier, Dotson, Ntilikina
PG: Payton, Smith
Got me, but for what was portrayed as an abject failure in the media? Pretty good haul. And on sensible 1+1 deals.
I was pulling for 2+1 Randle in my private correspondences with Nagel, and/or for Portis, as i did not see Durant Or Irving or Walker or Leonard giving us a sniff.
Was startled when we got both. And how aggressively the Knicks got commitments from a pool of players, instead of crying about spilt milk.
Now Randle, only 24, should be a fixture at PF, and we have solid bigs in Gibson and Portis.
We look to have ferocious competition at every position, and genuine depth. Can't find playing time for everyone? Nice problem to have, for fuck's sake. Pups won't be given anything...a different style of development than last year.
Hey, Dotson and Ntilikina as the 14th and 15th man?
Why not Ellington and Bullock. They're getting paid well for the privilege.
And hey, come the February trade deadline, we have a host of talented players with ending contracts, should certain players present themselves as redundancies, heaven forbid, but prove to be assets as possible transactions with teams on the cusp of a playoff run present themselves.
These VETS, young (Randle, Portis, Payton) and older (Gibson, Ellington, Morris, Bullock) are not here to mentor our pups, but to kick their ass, stand between them and minutes. Take this gun from my dead cold hands.
WIN.
Those who do not give Fizdale credit for the growth of Robinson and Knox and Trier (let alone Mudiay, Herzonja, Vonleh, and Kornet), are either borscht belt comedians, or visually impaired.
WIN.
RJ Barrett, Kevin Knox, Frank Ntilikina, Ignas Brazdeikis, Mitchell Robinson, Dennis Smith, Alonzo Trier and Damyean Dotson represent our Kiddie Korps. I count EIGHT, facing SEVEN more experienced, arguably more polished, mature, talented players.
The style of basketball I saw against the Wizards, embodied the kind of aggressive, push the ball, attack the hoop, get to the foul line, spread the floor Fizz talked of, but rarely delivered last season. Our Kiddie Korps were allowed to take their lumps, play through their faux pas, see what it took to win. Seventeen wins. Not exactly a tank job, but a time share with the future.
This season?
Just...WIN.
The Nyets have elevated the bar, to put it mildly...but then they have playing poker and nurturing their own youth patiently and purposefully, a nice template for Perry & Mills TO ADHERE TO, motherfuckers, and the Knicks are going to have to raise their game. Lots of work to do. But I like our talent pool, and serious accountability for our Pups.
Does this Pinyata Like Roster, and a preponderance of...DOGS, translate into...DEFENSE?
Stay tuned.
Onwards towards the playoffs, least way in the hunt.
Signed
Rosie The KibbitzerPomPom Gurl Pro Temps
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