The Knicks lost by 16 but also showed some good signs with a new rotation. Luke Kornet and Courtney Lee starting meant two of the Knicks worst defenders were switched out and it showed. Giannis and Middleton did what superstars do and were the difference, but otherwise New York kept competitive on that end. It was the offense that came up a bit flat. Knox, Dotson and Trier went a combined 7/34 shooting on the night in spite of getting plenty of good looks. In the absence of THJ and Burke, with Kanter's minutes limited; those three are gonna be the guys Fiz needs to step up.
Mudiay: It's really been almost one for one with Emmanuel Mudiay trading good for light performances. This one wasn't bad but certainly wasn't good for the starting PG. Mudiay went 6/15 and 0/3 from three on the night, posting 13 points, 6 assists and 3 boards on a night where very little came easy. The passing was absolutely the nicest touch for Mud, he had some legit dimes early on in this game with the open floor spacing and four shooters out there. The Bucks length really took away from him though; Mudiay got into the lane but settled for inside jumpers often with forgettable results. If anyone should benefit from Kornet starting, Mudiay is the guy. He's gonna get inside and have every kickout option, but this match-up held him in check.
Lee: Courtney Lee looked like his typical self for the most part putting up 9 points, 2 assists and 2 boards in 23 minutes on 4/7. He was steady, didn't force anything and made shots when they were available. Lee also added in 2 steals. The one thing missing was his three ball (0/2). Overall though, it looks like we're getting Lee back for real now and that gives Fiz more options on the wing.
Knox: Kevin Knox struggled with his shot all night, exemplified by going 3/6 from the free throw line. The 15 point streak ended with Knox putting up 12 points and 6 boards on 6/15 shooting and a rough 1/6 from three. By the end of the game, the rookie looked fatigued and that makes sense because he was out there for 39 minutes. In spite of battling his own shot all night, Knox did have some really nice makes. The Bucks closed hard on him and he used pump fakes to get open for a few makes. There was also another near dunk that Giannis blocked. Yes, Knox keeps just barely missing these slams; but he can take off from pretty far out and that's before one of these personal trainers starts building his physique. The last knock is his lack of assists, but I never got the sense he was forcing or hogging the rock. It's still a point of improvement though.
Vonleh: Noah Vonleh might deserve the bag that some team will throw at him. Vonleh went head to head with Giannis and held his own all night, matching the physicality of that athletic freak for 35 minutes. Noah put up 15 points, 13 rebounds, 2 assists and also 3 blocks. This all came with efficiency; 5/10 shooting and 2/3 from three point range though it was marred by 4 TO's. Defensively, Vonleh backed off far and challenged Giannis to shoot. It was the transition that helped Greek Freak post great efficiency and scoring but in the halfcourt, Vonleh met him and competed. We also got some ole Noah Vonleh post ups which are straight up bully ball with just a pinch of finesse. It was fun to see and I really do hope the Knicks find a way to keep him long term. He's 23 years old guys!
Kornet: So if you're gonna be a big man that hangs around the perimeter, I demand that you shoot just below Steve Novak's absurd numbers. That's what I expect from a 7 footer that can't hang inside! And Luke Kornet gave us that Klay Thomas with a pituitary gland problem type game last night. 23 points, 5 assist, 3 rebounds on 8/17 shooting with 7/11 of the makes coming at the three point line. The past few games, Luke's been able to get open all the time. He just hasn't been converting at the clip that I wanted. In this one...he was lights out. Defensively, he has most of the same limitations as Kanter but a better mentality. That's to say that Kornet defends with his hands up and tries to beat slashers to the spot instead of trailing and boxing out for the rebound. That said, Kornet's slow feet got him dunked on off a blow by from Brook Lopez. He only grabbed 3 boards in 34 minutes too. If he can shoot like this and space the floor so well; Kornet has utility but in order to be a viable long term rotation player there's still more development necessary. Otherwise he's a specialist when everyone's healthy.
Ntilikina: Roll your eyes at me but Frank had a better performance than his box score suggests. Getting the negatives out first, there was a godawful TO where he got into the lane out of control and he also spent the third quarter letting Allonzo Trier force too many possessions without taking command. But Frank was better than his 5 points, 2 assists, 5 boards on 2/5 and 1/2 from three suggests. Frank attacked the lane and passed the ball really well for most of the night. He got inside and made good passes but Giannis must have flown in to block otherwise open players on at least 3 potential assists (and we're talking blocks only Giannis' athleticism could allow for). It's also just really clear that Frank and Dot are the two best players at making crisp defensive rotations when they pair on that end. This was promising folks, the sharpest Frank has looked has a playmaker in some time.
Trier: Allonzo Trier is another guard that had issues with the Bucks length and physicality. It got a bit frustrating to watch him force shots in the third quarter and argue with the refs. Someone has to rein that in, coach or teammate because he started forcing things. Zo tallied 7 points, 4 assists and 2 boards on 2/10 from the field. As much as I mention the forces, that was on 3 or 4 takes while the rest were shots that he usually makes. Whether it was the length, rust or frustration though; Trier couldn't find his shot. One promising bit was his chemistry with Dot. The two moved the ball well together in tandem and it would have shown more clearly if either one was making the jumpers they typically do.
Dot: As I just mentioned, Damyean Dotson missed a lot of shots that he typically makes. While Trier's shooting suffered from a few forces in traffic; Dot's shooting was just plain off target. Dotson put up 4 points and 4 boards on 1/9 shooting over 29 minutes playing. He was getting good looks and playing quality defense; the shot just refused to fall. It's hard to be too mad at this because it's been such a rarity. The frustrating part is that the second unit executed well overall but the shots that normally fall just wouldn't last night.
Kanter: I feel like Enes Kanter's tweet before the game last night really painted his performance in a bad light. He seemed pouty to me, not celebrating even when he made a play and then he got ejected on a frustration foul. Kanter put up 8 points and 5 boards in 14 minutes on 4/9 shooting. That's a lot of production but also a lot of shooting over a 14 minute span. His post ups should be more sporadic, especially when the ball is moving as well as it did last night. Overall though, I feel like this was just the Kanter we know with a salty mug on.
Fiz: I like the new rotation and hope we see it more. Kornet changes the spacing so much that it's night and day. Lee and Kornet made the defense better, not great but visibly more competitive on that end. Frank/Dot/Trier was a combination that showed some chemistry in spite of the scorers not shooting well. The looks were there and the ball was moving fluidly; plus the defense from everyone was solid although Trier had lapses. I found myself watching that second crew and wondering how it would look if Mitch was in. Frank/Trier/Dot/Vonleh/Mitch will be a defense to watch that I think will produce a lot of transition opportunities. So now I'm just crossing my fingers that this rotation holds long enough for Mitch to get back.
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