Knicks Morning News (2022.11.06)

We had to play catchup all game long.
The effort was there, we did play some really good basketball in stretches but were unable to stop Boston’s storm of threes.

Out “little-3” had good games but struggled to score in the 4th (Randle 5 pts, Brunson 2, RJ 2) where the Knicks were lead by Toppin (7) and Hartenstein (6).

And let’s not forget Noah Vohnleh that after a couple of DNP-CD came back to torment us with a 7 & 7 clutch performance from the bench.

Thibs kept trying different things, tonight he basically went to a 9-men rotation, but he got less than expected off the bench.

Plays Of The Game:
This one is subtle, but Kaminari was quick to point it out in the game thread.

4:23 to go in the 3rd, the Knicks had cut Boston’s lead from 7 to 1 (on an RJ’s and-1 and a Rose’s three). Brown missed a layup, Rose got the rebound and the Knicks started as greyhounds down the floor. The crowd foretaste a dunk, the lead… but Rose throw the ball way over the streaking Cam and into the stands.
Boston called timeout to stop the Knicks momentum and that was the last time we had a chance to take the lead.

Stats Of The Day:
– 27-51. Boston’s 3PFG. I’ve never seen anything like it.
– 50-26. Boston’s backups destroyed our renewed-by-force Bench Mob. Unpleasant.

Brunson B-
22 efficient points, 10 assists, no turnovers. Brilliant for 3 quarters but I’m a bit surprised by his scarcity in the 4th play-by-play.
And let’s be honest, despite committed he’s a hole on defense.

Barrett B-
Careless start, then he took off and played brilliantly until the 4th, were he can’t keep it going.
He’s a brilliant passer when focused, but the 6 TOs were infuriating and he needs to be more steady on defense.
Still, I’d sign for him to have shooting nights like this one.

Randle B-
Kept us in the game in the 1st quarter (11 points) and had an overall good game until the 4th.
Frustrated by some non-calls he dangerously lived on the edge:
during a timeout I spotted Marcus Smart chatting with a ref, mimicking Randle’s use of elbows to get rid of defenders.
It’s not a surprise that Randle was called for an offensive foul not much later, plus he had a couple of position-tussles with Brogdon and then hit Grant Williams in the face and was assessed a flagrant.
He’d better cool down.

Reddish C-
37 minutes and a starting spot until Grimes is back.
The shots weren’t falling but he did look decent* on defense and played under control on offense (where he doesn’t have a defined role).
Half-full take: his attitude looks better.
Half-empty take: He’s Cam Reddish, he fooled us before.

* He still has occasional breakdowns (Tatum, Brown and Hauser were part of his assignement, right?)

Hartenstein B-
Forced to start by Mitch’s injury, played 38 minutes, lead the team in plus-minus (plus-7) and had a double-double (10 pts/14 reb).
On offense his presence, or better his absence in the paint, open up the lanes for the Lefty Squad to attack, plus he’s a good and willing passer, both things a welcome development.
I know sometimes he looks lost on defensive glass, but his energy his remarkable and I can’t complain (to be honest I like him a lot), not at that cost.

IQ D +
Another meh game. -16 in 13 minutes, a couple of bounds, a steal… but the microwave is cold.

Fournier F +
There is a ghost running around in a Knicks’ uni.
-19 in 11 minutes, were he had more TOs (2) that shots (1, and he buried it).
So far the demotion had a very bad effect on him and I’m expecting him to be glued to the bench when Grimes will be back.

Rose C-
First some good things then some bad ones.
Alas he ended the game cold and his TO was truly a pity.

Toppin D +
redeemed himself a bit in the 4th, but was bad most of the game (-22 in 15 minutes).
With the way he’s been used he has issues finding a good rhythm so his last games were a sequence of up-and-down/hot-and-cold moments.

Sims NA
3 minutes, -7, a dunk and a foul.
He’s playing too little to ever be ready for this level of competition.

Thibs B-
He’s feeling the pressure, he’s trying everything and that’s not a bad thing, I like him to be “situational” during the game.
I don’t have specific issues for this game but more broadly, with Cavs and Celtics burning us from three, one can argue about our team perimeter defense. We’ll see.

Maybe we ran out of gas

I think you’re right and at the same time I don’t put blame on Thibs this time.

I know it’s funny for me to defend him (the coach I want fired since last year pre-ASG), but yesterday every foray to the bench went bad.

IQ was bad, Fournier was awful, Obi was bad (except for a 3-minutes stretch), Rose tired early despite playing only 14 minutes (his start of the 4th wasn’t good).

And the Celtics were shooting so well it was always a case of “we’re bending but when are we going to break?”, so he choosed to go with the starters (that were very good for 3 quarters).

The Celtics are just better (as are the Bucks) and we need to play spotless basketball, and them not to shoot this way, to have a chance.

Done Alan, thank you!