The New York Knicks finally got production out of the point guard position and it translated to a blowout victory over the Milwaukee Bucks 130 to 110. Elfrid Payton and RJ Barrett both bounced back, while Julius Randle and Alec Burks continued their strong play. Things were feeling bleak heading into the match-up. It was the second night of a back-to-back, after a blowout loss, with a depleted roster facing one of the best teams in the East. But the youngest roster in the league outworked the contending Bucks from start to finish, winning every quarter.
The Knicks have had two major issues prior to their victory over the Bucks, poor play from the point guard position and poor shooting from everyone. Elfrid Payton finally provided the point guard play that the Knicks need and it led to faster and freer ball movement that translated to better shooting in-turn. On top of that, the second unit kept was able to hold the momentum in their stints. Let’s have a closer look at the individual performances in this gem.
Elfrid Payton: Within his first minutes of action, Elfrid Payton knocked down multiple floaters and a jumper to mark his more aggressive approach. Payton manipulated the defense, scoring when they let up on him and creating for others when they didn’t. His dominant performance was made all the more impressive by the fact that he was mostly matched up against Jrue Holiday, a great defender.
Over his 29 minutes of play, Payton put up 27 points, 7 assists to 3 turnovers and 3 rebounds. He did so shooting 12/16 from the field, 3/3 from three and 0/2 from the free throw line. The story heading into this game was that Payton had spent extra time shooting after his Sixers nightmare. It paid off. He couldn’t miss all night. Payton didn’t hesitate to shoot and it changed the complexion of the entire offense.
Elfrid Payton’s performance scores a 4.5 out of 5. He completely outplayed a high caliber match-up and the offense fed off his ball movement. While the ridiculously high efficiency would be unfair to ask for nightly, the quick decision making and focus on attacking inside can and should be demanded.
Reggie Bullock: On a night of standout performances, Reggie Bullock’s wasn’t bad but felt more pedestrian. He had a run in the third quarter where he drew a charge, then knocked down back-to-back buckets. Other than that, Bullock played the background without doing anything to hurt the offense.
The starting shooting guard spent 17 minutes on the floor and managed 7 points, 3 rebounds and 1 assist to 1 turnover. Bullock went 2/5 from the field, 1/2 from three and 2/2 from the three-point line. It was a quiet night on limited minutes.
Missing in the numbers are a few defensive mishaps from Bullock. From miscommunications with Randle to fouling a three-point shooter, Bullock had enough missteps to dock him for an otherwise average night. He gets a 2 out of 5.
RJ Barrett: While he still struggled with his jumper and overall efficiency, RJ Barrett enjoyed a huge step forward over his troubles against Philadelphia. Barrett was more forceful about getting to the basket and settled less from the perimeter. He was a mixed bag inside, but generally found success by getting into the teeth of the defense. The former number 3 pick had ample opportunity to create for others as well, finding rim runners and shooters alike as he handled the ball through screens.
Barrett finished 38 minutes with 17 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists to 2 turnovers. He shot 7/17 from the field, 0/4 from three and 3/4 on free throws. The three point attempts he took were in space and within the flow of the offense, he just couldn’t get any to fall. Despite the jumper failing him, RJ found seams in the defense often enough to be productive. His rebounding stood out as it allowed him to push the pace in the opposite direction and work off transition.
The maple mamba nabs a 3 out of 5 for a strong performance that’s a jumper away from grabbing higher marks. RJ punctuated his performance with a late lob to Mitch; it was another trip to the basket that ended with the right choice of attack. He’s not above making mistakes or doing too much, but the fact that he can just will his way to the basket is promising. Barrett’s mentality is what makes him feel like a sure thing to keep improving, he never backs down and finds ways to make an impact.
Julius Randle: The growth of Julius Randle continued with his best game of the young season. Randle has consistently performed well for the Knicks so far, improving by cutting back on forced takes. Against the Bucks, Randle’s range was extended which made his forays inside much more difficult to contain. The big man’s decision making has gotten snappier each game. He’s anticipating teammates’ movement and rewarding them for finding open space in the corners or backdoor. Against Milwaukee, the whole package clicked.
Randle played 37 minutes and put up 29 points, 14 rebounds and 7 assists to just 2 TO’s. He shot 8/17 from the field, 3/5 from three and 10/11 from the free throw line. This was while facing Giannis’ defense often. Randle has been near impossible to guard without help and he’s finding shooters with more frequency. He was telling players where to go, calling for movement at times; and working a two man game with multiple ball handlers as he fed them, screened and then cut to space. It’s one thing to witness that type of play with Payton or Barrett, but Randle even found this dynamic with Kevin Knox.
Julius Randle went up against the reigning MVP and scored more points, grabbed more rebounds, picked up more assists and had less TO’s. Giannis was still brilliant, but Randle outplayed him. That warrants the first 5 out of 5 of the season. By the end of the game, Randle was knocking down off balance jumpers and seemed like he’d produce on every touch he got. I’m not exaggerating when I call this arguably his best performance as a Knick.
Mitchell Robinson: Discipline has been a focal point of Mitchell Robinson’s development for Tom Thibodeau. Against Milwaukee, Mitch showed the type of control that everyone has been looking for. He didn’t bite on pump fakes, didn’t pick up cheap fouls and managed to have his best defensive impact despite less blocks and rebounds than in previous games. His statline hides a better performance than it suggests.
Mitch was rewarded with 35 minutes of play and managed 9 points, 6 boards, an assist, 2 steals and 1 block. He went 4/6 from the field, missing a couple of lay-ups in traffic but also having some beautiful finishes on the makes. He had an almost reverse lay up with Giannis trailing that looked like something a guard would do. Brook Lopez pulls defenders away from the basket and there were less offensive rebound opportunities, which explains the reduction in rebounds a bit.
Despite his most modest box score of the season, Mitch gets a 3.5 out of 5 with the key being his defensive presence. His two steals stand out because he was getting his hands low and long, disrupting passes for deflections. The rim runner’s gravity also made life easier for players on drives. It felt like Mitch was looking for contact a bit more in the best ways. I mean that he was waiting for real contact on screens and did a better job on some box outs than we’re generally used to. Those are technical improvements that could take his impact up a notch long term.
Frank Ntilikina: After watching Payton, Quickley, DSJ and even Burks get the nod over him; Frank Ntilikina finally got a legitimate look at back-up PG. He responded with strong shooting and an under control performance that highlighted his best traits. Frank was lead ball handler in terms of getting the ball up the floor and then picking out players to run the offense through. But he shared playmaking duties in the half-court; it worked out as he kept the ball in hot hands like Barrett, Burks and Randle.
Ntilikina spent 19 minutes collecting 12 points and 1 rebound on 4/6 from the field and 4/4 from three. He tried a pull-up from midrange early and a shot inside, but both missed. There was a moment of hesitation inside when he first checked in for the second half, but someone must have talked to him about that because he started to let it fly afterward. The Bucks tried to pressure him into turnovers, but Nitty was able to navigate and set the table for other creators. He compliments playmaking wings well.
It goes without saying that Frank provided quality defense, but the fact that he added multiple three point makes brings him from an okay performance to a pretty good one. He still lands at 2.5 out of 5 because you’d like to see him produce more baskets for others even in a tertiary playmaking role. That said, his comfort handling the ball against the press late was a nice revelation. His three-point shot has been falling since preseason and could propel him to legitimate 3 and D status with better ball handling and vision than your typical 3 and D wing.
Alec Burks: Until he landed on Bryn Forbes and twisted an ankle, Alec Burks could do no wrong. The 6th man knocked down shots, got to the line and found open players whenever opportunity knocked. It was a continuation of Burks’ stellar play so far to start the season. His game is silky smooth, built around a deadly jumper but complimented by his heady play both on and off the ball. His highlights are quick release shots and smart drawn fouls rather than rim rocking dunks, but his game is still aesthetically pleasing.
Burks put up 18 points, 5 assists and 2 rebounds in just 21 minutes. He shot 5/7 from the field, 4/5 from three and 4/5 from the free throw line. It should have been his third straight 20-point performance, but he suffered the ankle injury and was able to take precaution in a blowout. Burks was on his way to an even more efficient night than usual, aided by the improved PG play that meant he could focus on being a secondary ball handler. That meant less TO’s and more opportunities to create against an unbalanced defense rather than a stacked one.
With his playing time cut short, Burks still gets a 4 out of 5. He’d score even higher but his impact lasted for less than half the 48 minutes of game time. That said, whenever he was out there he was brilliant. This didn’t reinvent what we knew, but it was the best version of Burks’ best tools.
Kevin Knox: Kevin Knox saw similar production to the Sixers game, but this performance felt more consistent and thus stronger. Knox is still trying to find that jumper which generally sets off the rest of his game, but he’s finding other ways to impact things. So his rebounding numbers aren’t wild, but the rebounds he grabbed in the second quarter were memorable for how he rose up in traffic to grab them. He only had 2 field goals inside, but his baseline finish over Brook Lopez was an absolute vision. His demeanor and energy feel like precursors to more tangible improvements.
Knox dropped 7 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists in 26 minutes while shooting 3/8 from the field and 1/4 from three. He hasn’t been discouraged or hesitant due to misses, but he’s also not settling for or pressing with his shot. I’ve been waiting since his rookie season ended for the return of his floater, but then I think back to that baseline finish I mentioned…maybe Knox could use a more power and momentum-based attack on his forays inside.
The third year small forward continues to look like a player that’s more confident and ready to work until he figures it out. I rate the performance a 2.5 out of 5, but that score does a disservice to the fact that I really like what Knox was doing out there. His motor is much improved early. He even added some rim protection, denying a dunk with a rejection that highlighted his athleticism just as much as that baseline drive I won’t shut up about.
Nerlens Noel: On a night where Mitch seemed to do no wrong, the up-and-coming center’s increased minutes meant a dip in time for Nerlens Noel. Noel gave the Knicks a solid but nondescript run as the back-up C, doing the work inside and not letting the defense lapse without Robinson’s interior presence. But the veteran big man didn’t have the type of burn that would allow him to stand out for much else.
Noel notched 4 points, 4 boards, a block and 3 turnovers in 13 minutes of play. While watching the game those 3 turnovers managed to sneak right by me. I didn’t think Noel did anything to obviously deserve his minutes cut; Robinson was just having a great performance. I’m giving Noel an incomplete and a mulligan for falling short of 15 minutes while being “okay” over his brief back-up stint.
The Clean-up Crew: Harper, Pinson and Brazdeikis all made 2-minute appearances in mop up duty. The most memorable aspect of this was a near scrap between Iggy and Giannis’ little brother Thanasis. These players probably could have gotten in the game sooner, but allowing the regular rotation to savor a victory over a tough opponent isn’t bad and who knows, it may have prevented an even worse situation than Thanasis giving dirty looks.
Tom Thibodeau: Knicks twitter let out a collective sigh as Tom Thibodeau’s starting line-up was announced, but Thibs’ faith in his players was rewarded. Whether it’s new season shine, new staff or something unforeseen; the Knicks are showing a level of motivation and work ethic that felt missing in the past few seasons. He’s got vets working out between back-to-backs and reaping benefits. Randle’s buy-in could be season defining if he manages to keep up the ridiculous pace he’s set. Vets have set an example; youth is following the lead and everyone on the roster feels hungry.
It’s hard to pick out a negative, so I’ll nitpick. Randle, RJ and Mitch could have done with a few minutes less given the nature of the blowout. That’s about all I’ve got for an end-to-end victory that had Mike Budenholzer throwing in the towel with 7 minutes to go in play. It’s minor and even comes with a caveat…the minutes felt like an obvious reward, earned not forced.
Without facing many challenges tactically, Thibs is still getting a 4 out of 5 for this victory. It’s a win that feels like the cumulative results of prior struggles. The more rigid rotation approach has meant that players hit the floor looking to make something happen instead of trying to avoid mistakes. We’re not seeing time outs after a turnover as often as we see the timeout for a lazy defensive rotation. Aggressive players that make things happen are being rewarded with more minutes. This is all very promising even if the shooting was a bit of an outlier. Thibs and his entire staff are doing well with the most important aspect of this season early on, player development.
Closing Thoughts: A blowout win over the Bucks still only counts as one win in 72 games. But it’s a dose of good vibes that can keep players faithful to the work they’ve been putting in. We Knicks fans have seen many a locker room that talks the talk but fails to back-up any of it. We had a locker room full of dogs last year, until the entire league dogged them. Things fall apart fast, even a letdown tomorrow could have fans panicking on Wednesday. But this has a different feel.
For the first time in a long time, the rebuild feels legitimate and development focused. You can see good habits forming as players know when to cut to a corner or find a lane. Picking out open players feels less like instinct and more like a group that’s had it drilled into them to seek open players in specific spots when defenses collapse. Defenders stretch long and attack passing lanes. We’re seeing the basic building blocks put into place. The foundation is forming that every player can work from. They can insert their own style and skillset while knowing what to expect and where to look. Maybe I’m antsy for change, but I’m here for it and I’ll keep watching for growth. Tomorrow can’t come soon enough!
Watch Knicks Post Game LIVE with Knicks Fan TV and The KOT Show as they break down the Knicks 130-110 win over the Bucks and hear caller reactions from the fans!
