New York Knicks basketball is back as the Knicks opened the preseason with a victory over the Indiana Pacers 125 to 104.
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The Knicks cruised to victory with a faster pace, improved spacing, and the same defensive intensity that was a staple of last year. The ball movement was crisp throughout the night and led to easy looks for every player in the line-up. Efficiency was the name of the game, as New York shot 46.5% from the field with just three TO’s. Indiana fought to stay competitive but never came close after the first-half.
Julius Randle and RJ Barrett led the way scoring with excellent help from newcomers Kemba Walker and Evan Fournier. The bench got a big boost from Immanuel Quickley and Obi Toppin, who both look improved. But the real story is about balance. Keep an eye on the share of field goal attempts each player got as we dive into a fantastic performance to start the new NBA season.
New and old faces gel right away
Kemba Walker: The smile the crossed Kemba Walker’s face as he scored New York’s first basket of the new season never seemed to leave. Kemba did things that Knicks fans haven’t seen from a starting point guard in what seems like forever. He got into the teeth of the defense and finished inside, meanwhile, his jumper was refreshing just by existing. The Bronx native showed off his step-back jumper from mid and long-range, stopping on a dime to create space for his shot. Walker also threw some dimes along the way, even lobbing one up for Taj to chase.
New York’s prodigal son put up 12 points, 4 assists, and 3 rebounds on 5/10 from the field and 2/5 from three in 21 minutes. He was efficient through and through with no turnovers and solid defense to go with his scoring and playmaking. The offense looked faster and more dynamic with the ball in Kemba Walker’s hands. He made life easier for everyone as a true floor general.
Evan Fournier: Off-ball movement and an ability to attack off the dribble that set Evan Fournier apart from his predecessor. Fournier picked up a couple of easy bunnies and earned multiple trips to the charity stripe. The new wing is great without the ball and has built-in chemistry with Kemba Walker. He also flashed some two-man game with Julius Randle.
Fournier spent 27 minutes locking in 12 points, 4 rebounds, and 1 assist with 1 turnover as well. He shot 3/8 from the field, 1/4 from three, and 5/6 from the free throw line. New York’s new starter showed the characteristics that make him an ideal complement in this starting unit. He’s as much a floor spacer as Bullock was in a career shooting year, but Fournier adds more adept finishing inside, attacking off-dribble, and creation for others. What the defense misses from Bullock’s presence, Fournier looks to make up for with diversity of attack.
RJ Barrett: RJ Barrett looked like a player that’s ready to take another step. Be it new and improved spacing or his own physical development, RJ was able to turn the corner on his defenders and get the step inside almost at will. His jumper looks smooth and effortless, building on last season’s growth. The third-year wing also moved the ball well despite not picking up many assists. Best of all, the future all-star showed assertiveness that will be necessary to stand out from the talent surrounding him.
Barrett picked up 17 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 steal in 25 minutes. He shot 7/14 from the field, 3/6 from three, and never turned the ball over. The up and comer did have some slip-ups defensively early on, but he locked in as the game chugged along. His lack of free throw attempts is surprising, but part of that comes down to how much space he was working with. Barrett dealt with less contact on his trips inside and looked more comfortable finishing regardless. It was a promising debut across the board, he looks like he’s grown in every aspect of his game.
Julius Randle: It’s gonna be hard to top last season’s all-pro and most improved player winning run for Julius Randle. With that in mind, the best news is that New York’s fearless leader looked like he hasn’t skipped a beat. Randle was able to pick his spots to attack, getting looks with less effort and making everything count. He hit tough jumpers when he had to, moved the ball when the defense cheated over, and led the team in scoring and rebounding almost effortlessly.
Randle’s 20 point, 9 rebound, 2 assist, 2 steal, 2 block performance came over 30 minutes of quality play. He shot 7/14 from the field, 2/5 from three, and 4/5 from the free throw line. He didn’t look much different from last season and I mean that as the highest form of compliment. Randle looks ready to continue where he left off, and he’ll have better spacing and more offensive support this time around.
Taj Gibson: Taj Gibson was one of the best players in the game, no qualifiers necessary. With the Knicks projected starter and backup center out, their third-stringer came in with a quality start. The ball movement from New York’s starters gave Taj plenty of easy looks, even notching a corner three. Indy’s got a lot of size inside, and while the Pacers did some work on the offensive boards Taj still provided plenty of physicality and presence on the interior.
Gibson knocked down 6/9 shots, 1/2 threes, and 1/1 free throw in 21 minutes. He put up 14 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block despite battling Myles Turner and Domantas Sabonis for most of his minutes. The former Bull even beat the defense down court for a fast break lay-up from Kemba. Gibson projects to be a third-string player, but he gave New York a quality start. New York’s ageless wonder looks consistent as ever.
Knicks have the best second unit in the league!?
Derrick Rose: Derrick Rose struggled from the field, but had a stronger game than his numbers indicate. Rose’s ball-handling and explosiveness led to “ooh’s” and “ahh’s” from the Garden faithful. Rose was able to get plenty of good looks although he didn’t finish like we’re used to. He still had the spring in his step and the ability to manipulate defenders that helped turn a middling season into home court advantage last year.
Rose marked 21 minutes with 8 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, and a steal. He shot just 2/10 from the field, 0/2 from three, and 4/4 from the free throw line. But that was alright, Rose’s floater and jumper both seemed barely off and it’s more important that he got to his spots as easily as ever. With the Knicks up big late, the former MVP focused solely on distribution and threw some pretty passes to teammates. He looks ready for a full-season in NYC.
Immanuel Quickley: By the fourth quarter and with the game in hand, Immanuel Quickley got the keys to run the offense. He had already shown off his scoring by beating defenders off the dribble and finishing with floaters and a nice scoop lay-up. IQ could have called it early and we’d be plenty happy with the performance…but his playmaking in those closing minutes was a sight to behold. He fed Knox and Simms for dunks, then set up good looks for his rookies. The returning sophomore showed real growth as a floor general even if only for a few minutes.
IQ notched 10 points, 7 assissts, 6 boards, and a block in 21 minutes. He shot 4/10 from the field, 0/4 from tree, and 2/2 from the free throw line. The long-range struggles are starting to make me just slightly nervous. He was bad in summer league even on good looks and this was a continuation…I remember Landry Fields’ sophomore run like it was yesterday. But Fields flopped across the board, IQ is already showing improvement in every other facet of his game. I still expect his jumper to come around and it could help Quickley’s game to another level.
Alec Burks: The thing about Alec Burks’ run is that it felt like he barely touched the ball. Burks was the off-ball piece that capitalized when opportunity knocked despite feeling quiet for long spells. He was afforded the leeway to be picky by Rose, IQ, and Toppin all playing aggressive ball. That mean we got less microwave scoring but whenever Burks did attack, the results were positive.
In 18 minutes, Burks added 8 points, 2 assists, and 1 steal. He shot 2/3 from the field, all three-point attempts, and added 2/2 from the charity stripe. Burks was the third option as ball-handler but that allowed him to play a highly efficient role, producing without disrupting anyone else’s rhythm. He looks ready to produce even if that requires less touches and higher efficiency.
Obi Toppin: The wild thing about Obi Toppin is that each of his 4 field goals came in a unique situation. In the first-half he took a defensive board coast to coast for a lay-up, then he shot out after challenging a shot and finished a cherry-picking dunk. For the second-half, Obi knocked down a midrange catch-and-shoot, then shook his defender off a face-up dribble move that was absolutely gorgeous. He didn’t fill much else of the stat-sheet up, but Toppin’s versatility as a scorer and floor-running showed plenty of promise.
Toppin managed 10 points and 5 rebounds in 14 minutes. He shot 4/10 from the field, 0/2 from three, and 2/2 from the free throw line. The sophomore shot the ball confidently, even if he didn’t get the long ball to splash. His comfort dribbling the rock into an attack was what really stood out. He didn’t just take a man off the dribble, but posted up a smaller defender and made some drive and kicks as well. This was a very promising start and I foresee a lot of easy buckets as Obi beats defenders down the court.
Jericho Sims: With Mitch and Noel out, Jericho Sims got extended time at the pro-level. Despite looking lost at times, Sims’ physicality and aggressive pursuit of the ball made for some nice finishes. The rookie big had barely touched the court before Alec Burks was lobbing him a lay-up. Guards fed Sims inside for a couple of dunks as well. He did look like a rookie though. At one point Sims was hesitant in back-to-back offensive possessions which led to a timeout and words from Thibs…the team was up 25 but that’s vintage Thibodeau working a promising rookie.
The Texas big put up 8 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 turnover in 25 minutes. He went 3/4 from the field and 2/2 from the line. Sims got mixed up a bit in pick-and-roll defense. You could catch players telling him where he needed to be, especially early. But reps and experience are the only solutions there and the fact that Jericho Sims looked like an impact player despite rookie mistakes is a sure sign of a late second-round steal.
Kevin Knox: Kevin Knox got 4 minutes of garbage time action and showed some aggression. He knocked down a jumper and finished on a drive in that brief action. Knox finished with 4 points and 2 boards on 2/4 from the field and 0/2 from three. This is a decisive year for the kid, so I’m glad he was active but it’s going to be an uphill climb to any regular season action.
McBride, Grimes, and Simms: New York’s rookies got about 4 minutes of garbage time each, but the touches went to IQ and Knox during most of this span. Grimes had a nice defensive challenge at the rim and Simms finished a dunk delivered by IQ. But other than that, the kids were quiet in limited time.
Coach of the year is still screaming
Tom Thibodeau: Even with the Knicks up 25 points and locking up Indy in the third quarter, a couple of bad possessions were all it took for a quick time out. The Knicks couldn’t have asked for a better preseason opener, but Tom Thibodeau could still be heard yelling whenever his boys gave some slack to Indiana. The high expectations from Thibs might explain why New York executed on so many technical aspects of the game. Communication on defense was loud enough for cameras to pick up and the ball movement on offense was selfless and effective. Thibodeau installed a culture in his first year and we could see the carryover effects right away.
The best indicators for Thibs are in the shot distribution and minutes allotments. Randle, Barrett, and Fournier got minutes commensurate to their contracts and roles. Walker and Rose split time perfectly. While I would have liked more time and looks for Grimes and McBride, they each got touches and time in the end. I can’t be too mad at Thibs for his handling of the youth when IQ, Obi, and Sims all saw ample time throughout the night. I will be monitoring Toppin’s minutes though…he’s a very promising piece but it’ll be hard to crack 20 mpg with Randle ahead of him on the depth chart.
Closing Thoughts: We’re back Knicks fam, and according to NBA polling we’re still underestimated. The rest of the league expects a regression with improvements from our competitors. But I’ve been sitting throughout the offseason waiting to watch growth from our own. Between the upgrades in the backcourt and youthful development, I’m almost as mad at “fringe playoff” talk as I am at every 25 under 25 list that forgets RJ Barrett exists. We don’t need salt though, last night was a feel-good reminder that all we need is receipts.
The Knicks are good. There wasn’t any drama this offseason, no boom-or-bust risky decisions either. Madison Square Garden is bringing back a cohesive unit with continuity and talent for the first time in a long time. This is a team with plenty of depth and a lot of upside hiding where the evaluators never seem to look. But for us…we’ve been watching from day one and it only took some summer league and a single preseason game to get a sense that the development is really happening. From Obi and IQ even to Kevin Knox’s cameo; this Knicks team looks poised. I’m glad that they’re back and looking forward to another year rocking at the Garden with them and with all of my Knicks fam!
Stay tuned to KnicksFanTV.com for the latest Knicks news, rumors and recaps throughout the preseason and heading into the regular season! Also, you won’t want to miss the exclusive KFTV documentary “Fantastic Voyage – The Story of Knicks Nation & The 16th Man”. Check it out below!
