In a season that's less about wins and losses, last night's result wasn't nearly as important as the developments we were seeing on the court. It was like a series of visual affirmations as young up and coming players took turns giving the Knicks fanbase exactly what it's been asking for. Frank attacking the lane and looking for his shot? Check. Mitch turning defense and rebounding efforts into easy points? Yessir. Tim Hardaway making the extra pass instead of settling for contested jumpers? GTFOH, but yes it happened! Kevin Knox practicing jumpers in the pregame without the ankle showing issue? Even that! The Knicks took a tired Nets team and essentially pitched a shutout, holding Brooklyn under 30 points in each quarter. There were visible miscommunications on defense but hustle and effort help make up the difference in chemistry. Offensively, the Knicks are still very much a work in progress, but the moments of stagnation felt fewer and farther between. The beauty of all this positive energy is that it comes immediately after a shift to youth. Fiz made his rotation changes with an eye on the future, but improved the Knicks in the present by doing so.
Frank: Frank Ntilikina pulled threes and attacked the rim repeatedly in the first quarter, then shifted his focus to finding the roll man when he attacked through screens. That ability to demand defensive attention and then find the open man is foundational for a 20 year old PG in his first few starts as the ball handler. 16 points, 4 assists, 5 rebounds and a block from Frank who was every bit the defensive presence that his reputation portends. Efficiency wasn't great here; he shot 5/13 from the field, but he also tallied 3/5 from three point land (he's made 8 of 15 in his last three games) and got to the line three times. Drilling three pointers has opened up more opportunities to attack the lane and Frank has shown the aggression to finish or get the assist. He just looks so much more comfortable right now that it's easy to forget how few opportunities he's truly had through this point. I won't go too hard on the defensive aspects of his game except to say that he is the rare player that's actually fun to watch defend. His ball denial had Shabazz Napier looking salty before an inbounds play late and that ball hawking physicality gets hidden by Frank's unassuming nature overall.
Tim Hardaway Jr: Gonna drop the full name for this one, because Tim gave us everything that we could ask for. After giving up the game winner to Levert last time out, Tim Hardaway had every reason to come out even more fired up than usual. That could easily have meant pressing and showing teammates up like in Miami, but it didn't. Timmy made the extra pass early and often, opening up better opportunities and making him that much more challenging to guard. 25 points, 8 assists and 5 rebounds came from 8/19 shooting and 3/8 from the three point line for Timmy. When THJ is moving the ball freely and selective with his shots, he is a handful. His ability to attack a pick and roll is unlocked when he's unpredictable as opposed to being determined to get his own shot off. Defensively, Tim is going to make some mistakes but he was solid with a standout moment putting his body on the line to take a charge that left him bleeding on the court. There was one more moment of calling out a teammate for defensive miscommunications visibly, but overall Tim's leadership was at it's best last night. If Fiz can tap into that version of THJ, the sky is the limit. 8 assists just from being more thoughtful with his actions...there's plenty untapped in this guy.
Dot: I know pointing to the single night +/- is a no-no, but given his somewhat pedestrian boxscore his team leading +21 is worthy of mention. 4/10 from the field and a tough 1/6 from three; but Dotson tallied 10 points and 5 rebounds in 28 minutes where his impact meant more than those numbers. That's because he continues to be a rabid defender, hard cutter and willing passer out there. Dotson's willingness to pull the jumper commands attention and helps spacing even when it isn't falling. On those poor shooting nights, he'll get you back possessions with some nice rebounds and defensive stands. This is a sophomore that barely got opportunities last season but has flashed quality shooting and scoring abilities, including some jumpers off the dribble last night. I'll be excited to see how he looks in February as the reps are piling up and this team gets more comfortable.
Vonleh: With all the young scorers that needs reps to figure things out; Noah Vonleh is a perfect complimentary player. Last night he logged another 10 boards and put up 8 points on 3/6 from the field while also contributing 2 assists, 1 block and 1 steal. This is a player that doesn't need the ball to be productive or helpful to his teammates. Last night we saw Vonleh's freakish athleticism in a dunk on Jarrett Allen and also some of his ball handling as he took the ball up court himself twice in the first quarter (once he turned it over to be fair). There's a versatility to Vonleh's game that allows him to play with a Center or to play as a center and at just 23 years old, he's got room for growth. This may be the most pleasant surprise of the early season because I don't think anyone expected Vonleh to break into a starting role and actually produce from there.
Mitch: The season began with discussions about whether Mitch was ready for the NBA or if he'd be forced to get his reps in at the G-League level. That conversation might not have been necessary at all. Mitch contributed 11 points on 5/5 from the field; 3 rebounds, an assist, a block and a steal that he took coast to coast for an incredible dunk...all in just 15 minutes. The talk about his impact at a pro level comes down to Mitch being pretty skinny and still having plenty of fundamentals to work on, those are still notable issues. But if you can see him struggling with the technical aspects, you certainly aren't missing the motor and athleticism allowing him to make up for deficiencies. Robinson didn't get a freshman year in college to learn, he's rocking against quality big men any way. I want to see that 15 minutes bumped to 20 minutes or more very soon. That might be the point where Mitchell Robinson's flaws outweigh his contributions, but I'm ready to find out .
Enes Kanter: For as frustrating as his post game behavior was with Golden State, Enes Kanter has responded to coming off the bench with back to back strong performances. The PnR deficiency is likely a permanent issue but I did note him showing against the ball handler a lot stronger in the second quarter and sprinting back to his man as well. Offensively Kanter was every bit the handful that he always is, punishing the Nets on the boards and acting as a great escape hatch for the offense if it couldn't get motion working. 15 points, 15 boards and 2 assists in 26 minutes. Now there are two negatives that I have to address from the performance. The first is Kanter's 6 TO's, many of which came from miscommunications with the second unit. I don't want Kanter to be discouraged from passing, but you could tell that he wasn't on the same page as some teammates. I actually think he can develop rapport with a cutter like Hezonja in due time. On the other hand, the fourth quarter Nets run did appear to come with him slowing down from the second quarter efforts on defense. If he can only sprint for 20 minutes, I respect that and think that's all he should get. 4 or 5 extra minutes out there in the second half were probably the difference between a completely glowing review and this downer note at the end.
Mario: There was a moment in the game where Joe Harris drove at Mario Hezonja and dropped a real pretty floater in his grill. You could see Hezonja side-eyeing Harris and on the next play, he got the ball and drove for an even prettier finger roll. It was a boss moment from Super Mario, "oh you thought that was nice?" He then took it a step too far and drove into traffic with a floater of his own that was just ugly...but the competitive attitude is still awesome to see. Mario logged 11 points, 4 boards and an assist on a 5/12 night with 1 three pointer over 20 minutes. He probably attacking a couple of times too many right now, especially with Burke and Trier on the floor. But the forced stuff has reduced some and the defensive flaws haven't been quite so profound. Don't take that to mean his defense is by any means good, it's improving a bit though.
Trier: Allonzo Trier filled the stat sheet up last night. In 25 minutes, Iso Zo gave the Knicks 12 points, 5 boards and 2 assists without turning over the rock and converting 5/7 takes. When I talk about making your touches count, this stat-line is the shining example of what I'm looking for. He just didn't waste ANY possessions. There wasn't anything too new about how he produced those numbers, but the fact that he was so economical with his touches is a wrinkle unto itself. Defensively, I was nervous that pulling Trier apart from the every moving Dotson and Frank might cause a regression...not particularly. Zo is still putting in effort to make up for some mental mistakes and just overall playing his role to respectable results. Zo can score...we know that...now he's rounding things out with some boards, assists and flashes of defensive upside too.
Burke: Frank's ascension is cutting into Trey Burke's minutes. Top that off with the fact that when Trier is balling, Burke winds up taking a backseat as the iso guy and you end up with a tough night for Trey. In 14 minutes Burke put up 5 points on 2/4 shooting and nothing else of note. That sounds worse than it is. Trier and Kanter were the focal points of the second unit's successful runs and both guys score in isolation, which limited Burke's touches and assist opportunities. It's a compliment to the scorer that he did not press or force his offense. That said, the second unit is a threat to really mitigate Burke's strengths which are heavily reliant on having the ball in his hands and exacerbate his defensive weaknesses by leaving him without a defensive presence at the rim behind him. So it's worthwhile to consider fit and keep an eye on Burke at both ends with this new rotation.
Lance: Lance Thomas couldn't convert a strong preseason into regular season production early and with Knox nearing return, that could end up cutting his minutes heavily. Last night even without Knox, Lance got limited burn in spite of the second unit lacking much defense. The Knicks saw 9 minutes of Lance putting up 2 points, 1 board and 1 TO on 1/2 from the field. I've maintained that his is a 10-15 mpg player since his second year with the Knicks, so I'm not really complaining. I will say that with Burke/Trier and Kanter all in the same unit, Lance's intangibles could play a bigger role than they were in more two-way balanced starting units.
Ron, Luke and Mudiay: They got in when the game was over and the highlight of it all was Walt's response to the fan's chanting for Baker, "be careful what you wish for." But at the end of the day, they didn't get any opportunity to be notable.
Fizdale: Rasheed Wallace was with the Knicks bench mentoring Mitchell Robinson; the young rotation was the catalyst on multiple occasions in the game; and Fiz rode the right hot hands for most of the game. This was simply put, a strong performance from Fiz. Vets like Kanter, Burke and Lance all seem content for the time being and are playing their roles properly. Timmy showed a mentality shift that improved his game and everyone around him. Frank, Dotson and Mitch are all showing growth in mentality and play. Over the backdrop of a season that's more about next season, the energy is positive early and the first adjustments have looked reasonable and effective so far. If I have one complaint about the game last night, he probably kept the second unit vets in a bit too long in the fourth as the Nets tried to rally...but that's minor. The circumstances for this one were kinda perfect, so let's keep things reasonable for now. The Knicks are going to struggle inevitably and the vets' patience may be tested. But at the moment, let's enjoy the ride and hope for the best because last night's win was an injection of hope that I think everyone could have used.
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