It's been a rarity in these dark days for the Garden to truly come to life the way it used to during those golden 90's era runs. But last night, New York's adopted son who spurned the Knicks and behaved like a primadonna activated the Knicks' sixth man like it was game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals. The Knicks responded to the energy with one of their best wire to wire performances, a 106-103 victory over the Dallas Mavericks. More importantly, there were signs of adjustments and tweaks that come with everyone being put on notice and desperate for a win. The Knicks ran actual pick and rolls with some consistency. Julius Randle was mindful of sharing the basketball for chunks of game. And most importantly, both Dennis Smith Jr and Mitchell Robinson let everyone know that they're back with big performances. Let's take a victory lap fam...
Ntilikina: It was three quarters of frustration for Frank Ntilikina, as he struggled with foul trouble most of the night. But in the fourth quarter with five fouls, there was Frank playing elite, yes ELITE defense in a tough contested game. Ntilikina showed signs of life from the very beginning, knocking down a three and then blocking Porzingis but having it taken away by a dubious whistle.
That became the story of his night, a pair of tough calls early on led to some pressing and frustrating defensive choices later on which left Frank glued to the bench. But he had a huge bounce back in the fourth quarter; diving and fighting for loose balls, taking jumpers when he had space and knocking down the game clinching free throws. Ntilikina showed grit and confidence in that fourth quarter that hopefully carries over to games when he's not in foul trouble.
Frank only got 18 minutes and went 1/4 for 5 points, 2 assists, 3 boards and a steal. His fourth quarter was enough to forget about the box score and foul woes though as his potential shined bright in the most important moments of the game.
Barrett: RJ Barrett had a fairly quiet game as a number of other Knicks shined. Barrett shot 3/10 and 0/2 from three while contributing 8 points, 2 assists to 4 TO's and 7 boards. He never really got into a good rhythm with the Mavericks forcing him to pull up on some drives and turn it over on others. The jumper wasn't as crisp as last game and that made it easier for defenders to fall back and meet him on his entry attempts into the paint.
Here's the beauty of it though, Barrett found a way to contribute with some nice rebounds and solid defensive play. He also knocked down both of his free throws in this one which is a small but important victory. The rookie wasn't all that bad considering this game was a bit of a struggle for him. You can live with nights like this from one of the most promising rookies of the season so far.
Morris: Marcus Morris was frustratingly bad in the first half but absolutely exploded offensively in the second half. This wasn't nearly his best performance, as Morris did more pressing for offense instead of letting the game flow dictate when to attack. But Mook has a bit of that JR magic, where you're complaining about the shot selection right up until the point the ball goes through the hoop to silence you. He went from 1/7 early to 7/19 on the night including a crucial 5/7 from three point land.
This meant 20 and 5 on the night for Morris including an isolation three pointer at the top of the key with the game tied and the 13 seconds left in the game. Marcus Morris was far from perfect, but he stepped up when it mattered.
Randle: Ever heard of the KISS principle? Keep it simple stupid. They should put that ish on a bracelet and make Julius Randle wear it like the old WWJD fad. Randle had himself one of his better performances and it came together by doing less with the ball in his hands and more without it. This was especially true in the first half where the big man shared the rock but was rewarded by his teammates with better positioning to attack when he got it back.
Here's what's important about those first half sets where he moved the ball, everyone seemed a bit elevated by it. The only exception was Morris who continued to isolate and look for his rhythm. But you can live with one ISO guy instead of two out there and Randle comfortably led the team in field goals after his first run despite the passing. The second half, he started to press again but his energy didn't falter. That led to Randle turning it over more, forcing a few but also creating second opportunities on the offensive glass in crunch time.
Randle wound up with 17 points, 10 boards and 3 assists to 6 TO's. He shot 8/18 and went just 1/5 from three. The blemishes are still there. He's still looking for his three ball and turning it over too much. But on a night where he hustled and at least made effort to adjust his game, the blemishes weren't quite as glaring.
Gibson: Taj Gibson only got 15 minutes in spite of starting due to a combination of foul trouble and Mitch needing to be out there. Taj was solid but never really got a great flow going in the action. He wound up with 4 points, 6 boards and 2 assists to 1 TO off 2/4 from the field. Gibson continued to be reliable in there and I caught him yelling at defenders from when they let up on a play. I really enjoy his presence on the Knicks roster.
Smith: Dennis Smith Jr's athleticism looks all the way back and last night, it made everything easier for the third year PG. Perhaps even more important, Smith knocked down a pair of three balls in his first turn off the bench and that seemed to activate his confidence. From there we got Smith attacking the defense beautifully in transition situations and from the half-court, we got actual Pick and Roll action with Mitchell Robinson as the roll man.
Smith spent 30 minutes building a beauty of a stat line with 13 points, 8 assists to 2 TO's and 6 boards. He closed the first quarter on an ugly sequence but was otherwise a positive out there virtually every time. It's notable that he looked much better with Portis and Mitch then he did later in the game with Morris and Randle. That's not to say he was bad, he just didn't get the ball in his hands as much when the Knicks big FA's were out there.
This was much closer to the Smith that I hoped to see out of the offseason. It's not there yet though, he can still be even better. Smith went 5/12 from the field and that should get more efficient as he gets more comfortable in the lane with traffic around him. His putback dunk in the third showed that he can play above damn near everyone on the court. He also gives the Knicks an incredibly dynamic 1-2 punch with Frank's defense and ball movement next to Smith's downhill attack at breakneck pace. I'd like to see both guys out there together if Smith keeps this up.
Dot: It was a struggle sessions from three for Damyean Dotson and yet he held down the back-up SG position without the three's falling. Dot played 23 minutes, going 3/8 from the field and just 1/5 from three to tally 7 points. But he did everything and I mean everything else well. Dotson added 3 assists, 2 boards and 3 steals to the 7 points. He contributed solid defense, good off ball movement and willful passing that helped everything the Knicks wanted to do.
That said, there are spells where Dot kind of goes invisible. He's as reliant on ball movement as anyone on the team and when isolations start piling up, his intangibles lose their importance. With the Knicks still figuring things out, his game may come and go with how the top guys decide to play on a given night.
Knox: Kevin Knox only played 15 minutes, more a victim of circumstance than poor play. Other wings were providing skills that Knox is still working on...namely, impact defense. At his best Knox won't hurt you defensively but standout plays are a rarity. With other guys providing offense, the sophomore got fewer chances and minutes. Knox put up 6 points and 1 boards on 2/3 from the field and 1/2 from three. But he's an important prospect, so let's grab a highlight anyway...
My favorite play from Knox came on the wing and noticing that Tim Hardaway was guarding him. Familiarity might have played a role but Knox eagerly gestured for the ball. The moment the 20 year old got the ball, he attacked off the dribble and drew free throws. Those snap decisions will work on more than just subpar former Knicks that he knows he can blow by. I want more of that, he's got potential to earn a lot of free throws turning his three point threat into blow by drives.
Portis: Bobby Portis became the stretch 4 next to Mitchell Robinson off the bench. This had a pair of important effects. First and foremost, Mitch's presence offset the defensive nightmares that we've had watching Bobby try but struggle. Second, Mitch's rim running gravity gave Crazy Eyes Jr a ton of space to work with. Portis went 4/8 from the field and 2/3 from three for 10 points and 5 boards in 17 minutes.
That 15-20 minutes range is the sweet spot for Portis. It's not so long that he can try to do too much offensively or be overly exposed defensively. But it's enough time for him to knock down a corner three and find that weird floater he does so effectively (not since the Rolo hook have I seen such an effective but ugly go-to move).
Robinson: I can't say enough for the impact that Mitchell Robinson had on this game and the rotation as a whole. Robinson was back with a vengeance, even inviting real contact on his screens instead of slipping them. The young shot blocker always rim runs with a vengeance, but last night saw more pick and roll situations for the offense...so he was also flying into the lane a lot more often. This doesn't just mean lob opportunities, it puts Mitch into better position for offensive boards and putbacks.
So the most promising young prospect of last season went 7/8 from the field for 16 points, 8 boards and a block in just 22 minutes. The kid was a monster on both ends. For Mitch, the only thing holding him back was the whistle. Robinson fouled out in those 22 minutes, but was a game changer in this one. Staggering his defensive impact with Frank's worked well last night and foul trouble meant we didn't get much of the two defensive stalwarts together.
I mention that because Frank and Mitch have both had games where they play elite level defense. Add in that RJ Barrett has been very good in his own right and the Knicks have three players 21 or younger that are showing major defensive upside. Improved jumpers would also make their games incredibly complimentary with each other while opening up room for Dennis Smith and Kevin Knox to join them (those two might struggle defensively but they'd have plenty of cover). One can only hope...
Fizdale: I give David Fizdale a lot of crap when the team underperforms, but he did a solid job in this one. Fiz had to contend with his best three defenders in foul trouble all night but having 2 PG's and an actual rim protector meant much more balance in the rotation. He also trusted Frank and Mitch when they were at 4 and 5 fouls in the third and fourth respectively. That sort of trust in players will translate.
Playing Smith Jr a bit too much not to hurt the team last game also paid dividends this game. DSJ found his athleticism last game and found his rhythm somewhat in this one. Similarly, Fizdale settled on one back-up two guard and Dotson rewarded him with a productive all around game that complimented the rest of the players around him. Implementing more pick and rolls is less a stroke of genius and more of a "why weren't we always doing this?" But credit to the Knicks finally running those too.
This isn't vindication though. The Knicks have gotten up for big rivals before and the Garden wasn't about to let the Knicks sleepwalk again. The big question is whether the Knicks can keep this level of effort up for every night out. That consistency is on the coach to instill and with his ass in the hot seat, there's no more time for excuses whether you think they're justified or not. I do have one pet peeve that carried last night, Fizdale let Doncic pick on the zone defense a little too long in the second half. He would put Frank out there to plug the hole in time for the Knicks to win, but he was flirting with another "momentum swung too far to recover" moment. But this was a step in the right direction for sure.
One last thing… Congrats to Carmelo Anthony on getting picked up by the Blazers. He deserves to go out on his own terms and I hope rocking with Dame and CJ will bring out the best of him for this last chapter! On a night where we boo'ed a man who couldn't take the heat and asked to leave; the guy who refused to leave because he wanted to win with US got another opportunity. I couldn't think of anything more poetic or sweet.
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