We are back with another KFTV Stock Exchange, and things have certainly changed! This will cover December 1st to the 15th.
Young players in today’s NBA market are quite volatile. Like cryptocurrencies, they can be sky-high one day and crash back down to reality the next. In this environment, it’s best not to be swept up by emotion and to remain focused on long-term trends. So read on for advice on wisely investing your time, energy, and money in the current NBA season.
KFTV Overall Knicks Report
The New York Knicks started December with a horrible loss to their organizational rivals, the Dallas Mavericks. What began as a competitive affair quickly devolved into a three-point annihilation on behalf of Luka Doncic and Tim Hardaway Jr. In the third quarter, those two players scored 19 and 17 points, respectively. Meanwhile, the entire Knicks team scored fifteen points.
The Knicks made 5 field goals in total, while Luka Doncic made 8 (three of which were three-pointers) and Tim Hardaway Jr. made 6 (five of which were three-pointers). This defensive travesty culminated in a particularly horrible moment where Tim Hardaway Jr., the player the Knicks drafted, traded, signed, then traded again, screamed that New York was “his city” with foam spewing from his mouth.
New York seemingly gave up afterward. They showed no grit, effort, or care that they had their hearts ripped out on their court. A dire omen to be sure.
However, their fortunes quickly reversed dramatically.
They rattled off five wins in a row. Whereas their defense cost them the Dallas game and had looked suspect all season, their defense suffocated opponents for the win streak. They held three of the five under 100 points (with another scoring only 102 points).
The clamps showed up when Tom Thibodeau, the man called to be fired more times than a witch in Salem, Massachusetts, committed to a nine-man rotation. Gone were Derrick Rose, Evan Fournier, and Cam Reddish; in came Quentin Grimes and Miles McBride, who plugged some gaping holes on the perimeter.
Mitchell Robinson locked down the paint, swatting shots and snatching boards, and Immanuel Quickley continued to pester opposing guards. The Knicks prevented perimeter players from easily driving into the paint and kicking out to wide-open three-point shooters.
It is worth noting that aside from the win over the Cleveland Cavaliers, the rest of the wins, though convincing, came against opponents with significant injury disadvantages. For example, the Atlanta Hawks were without Dejounte Murray, the Charlotte Hornets without LaMelo Ball and Gordon Hayward, the Sacramento Kings without De’Aaron Fox, and the Chicago Bulls without Lonzo Ball (although, at this point, the Bulls without Lonzo Ball are just… the Bulls).
For reference: the year the Knicks made the fourth seed, they probably benefited from opposing teams dealing with injuries during and after their nine-game win streak. However, they were then rightfully exposed by the actual fourth-seed team, the Atlanta Hawks.
The first half of December culminated in a thriller victory over the Chicago Bulls. But instead of the defense winning this game, it was the offense led by the “mid-three” of RJ Barrett, Julius Randle, and the closer, Jalen Brunson. In previous years, this was one of the games that would have ended with Mike Breen saying, “and another heartbreaking loss for the Knicks!” But the team pulled through, perhaps indicating the Knicks are finally breaking free from the curse of ineptitude that has afflicted them for decades.
The win streak is an encouraging sign. The team has regained its defensive identity, and the effort likewise translates to the offense. If New York can keep up this effort (which has waxed and waned so often this year), then perhaps they can ascend to above .500. But let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves. It is a long season.
KFTV Stock Status: Mid no more?
Julius Randle
Julius Randle is absolutely cooking this December. He is averaging 27.6 points on .451/.364/.882 shooting splits, including three games scoring above 30 points and another where he scored 27 in a single half! Julius is performing at his All-Star level. He is dominating the paint, shooting better from three, and his step-back baby jumper is nearly automatic and typically baits the defender into a foul. In addition, he is pulling down 9.8 rebounds and assisted 4.0 times per game.
He has kept the bone-headed plays to a minimum and has taken good shots, besides his frustrating proclivity for heat-checks from three, which he usually misses. Julius’ stock is rising so much that it could increase his trade value should he keep up this play until the all-star break. With that being said, I don’t see this front office trading Randle anytime soon.
Against the Sacramento Kings, we, unfortunately, saw hot-headed Randle get thrown out of the game after having the highest-scoring half of his entire career. After a routine play with possibly a bit more contact than usual, Randle yelled for a foul. After not getting one, in his fury, he took himself out of the play to square up and berated young official Robert Hussey. And after some pressure from Sacramento Head Coach Mike Brown, they rightfully gave Julius the technical foul.
From there, it is not hard to imagine what happened afterward that led to a second technical. There was probably a lot of whining, pleading, and a few swear words thrown. Thankfully, the team kept the lead and cruised to a win.
We’ve seen Julius Randle have a complete meltdown on the court, so this isn’t the first time. Most notable was when he beefed with Cam Johnson for seemingly no reason and earned himself a flagrant II foul. It is not suitable for a team leader to lose their cool so quickly and get thrown out of the game. Even more worryingly, none of his teammates stepped in to calm him down.
If Randle can keep up this level of play, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him in the All-Star Game. It would quiet all those who claimed “fluke!” but not those who want him traded, who would probably clamor louder for it to happen.
KFTV Stock Status: Spinning and Winning
Cam Reddish
Well… now is an excellent time to remind you that this segment is not financial advice. Despite my good tidings for Cam, he has dropped out of the rotation entirely. His benching shocked the fanbase, especially after it seemed like Cam was finally coming into his own. Why? No one is sure besides those fans that read the titles of a few articles and then assume they know all the complex intricacies of locker room management.
Perhaps there is an attitude problem. Maybe there is a disconnect between the head coach and front office, or Tom Thibodeau thinks Cam doesn’t contribute to winning as much as Miles McBride and Quentin Grimes. Although Cam has denied reports of a desire to be traded, this outcome almost feels inevitable. This shocking turn of events does not bode well for the Cam Hive, which may be thrown into utter chaos in the near future.
Rumors have swirled about potential trades involving Reddish, with the Los Angeles Lakers frequently being the partner. The Knicks traded Kevin Knox and a protected first-round pick for Cam Reddish and a second-round pick, and right now, the market for Cam doesn’t seem to have gone up or down. So the whole trade is just another whiff on behalf of the front office.
KFTV Stock Rating: FTX
RJ Barrett
True to form, RJ Barrett is slowly improving his play. So far through December, he is averaging 19.7 points per game on .429 /.375/.800 shooting splits. These are nearly identical to his stats in November (19.2 points per game on slightly worse efficiency). However, if you include his last ten games played, he is at 20.5 points per game on .442/.379/.813 splits—a slight jump in scoring and efficiency, but these baby steps indicate an increased level of comfort and confidence for RJ.
The eye test confirms this as well. He has played more patiently, taking his time to methodically manipulate his way into the paint for a floater or to use his crafty footwork for a lay-up. We have also seen a different type of aggression. Not the kind of aggressiveness where he carelessly bulldozes his way to the hoop. Yet the sort where he is throwing down angry dunks when he finds enough space.
In these last ten games, his three-pointer has improved, going from about 30.3 percent in November to 37.5 percent in December. He still occasionally throws up a loud brick, but his shot is more respectable. One worrying thing to note is that even though he worked on pull-up jumpers over the summer, he has only made five mid-range shots and doesn’t even seem to be looking for them.
Still sticking with his offense, Barrett’s playmaking and ball control has been shaky. He is averaging 2.8 turnovers per game, including the one game against Cleveland where he had six.
His defense is still suspect, even though his defensive rating went from 119 in November to 97 in December. He is vulnerable to backdoor cuts, gets caught behind screens quite simply, and has had trouble boxing opponents out.
But, according to Barrett’s Law of Increasing returns, we will likely see a steady incline in averages or a more concerted, smarter effort on the intangibles. Have faith.
KFTV Stock Status: Baby Steps
Mitchell Robinson
Mitchell Robinson is becoming the player we all believed he had the potential to be. He is locking down the paint, blocking 1.5 times per game, and quickly stacking up XP for a hall of fame level Intimidator badge.
Mitchell Robinson devours offensive rebounds. He is pulling down 5.1 offensive rebounds per game so far in December, and this almost always results in an easy putback dunk or a kick out for another possession. He is a saving grace, especially considering the Knicks are one of the worst three-point shooting teams in the league.
As we already know, Mitch holds the record for the highest field goal percentage in NBA history, beating out Wilt Chamberlain, and he continues to be hyper-efficient from the field, shooting 71 percent.
Mitch still shoots line-drive free throws with the palm of his hand and only makes half of them. And despite averaging only 2.5 personal fouls per game, we did see him get ejected with six against Sacramento.
At the start of the Chicago Bulls game, Nikola Vucevic put Mitchell Robinson in the blender. Using his crafty footwork and soft touch, he scored at will against Mitch. Mitch struggles to guard skilled bigs who can spread the floor. But despite his early struggles, he got an essential defensive stop against Vucevic in crunch time and pulled down offensive rebounds that led to critical buckets.
KFTV Stock Rating: Blocked
KFTV Buy Alert: Quick Grime Deuce Inc. (QGD)
To start the season, it looked like Miles “Deuce” McBride would be on the outside looking in. Despite constantly logging in valuable minutes, he was too young and unproven offensively to get consistent minutes under Thibodeau. But when it became apparent that the Knick’s defense was as porous as pumice, Thibs needed someone on the perimeter to impede opposing guards from waltzing into the paint.
Deuce answered the call and left no doubt as to his defensive talent. He stays in front of his man, picks them up from full-court, reads passes for steals, and contests three-point shooters. Deuce’s defensive talent is good enough to earn a spot in the rotation, but if his offensive game doesn’t pick up, he could easily hit a wall and get sent back to the bench. Despite playing 18 minutes per game, he averages 4.2 points on .320/.333/.750 shooting splits in December.
We know Deuce can be talented offensively, from what we have seen in the G-league. But so far, his G-League performances have not translated to the NBA, and it could be likely that they never may. Let’s remember that players like Andre Roberson and Matisse Thybulle earn a role due solely to their defense, despite being woeful offensively, so perhaps Deuce will do the same.
Still, his defensive impact is more than enough to justify extended minutes. It is a pleasure to watch his tenacity and effort (he even scored a few timely threes against Chicago).
Much of the same can be said about Quentin Grimes. The front office values the “untouchable” Quentin Grimes more so, and his potential as a 3&D with playmaking is much more apparent. He registers nearly one steal and block per game, is tasked with guarding the opposing team’s best player, and does a solid job at it.
During December, he is shooting a respectable 41.4 percent from three, shares the ball, and provides a quick first step to blow by defenders. Grimes is fearless and scored clutch buckets in crunch time against the Bulls.
Meanwhile, Immanuel Quickley is growing more comfortable in his role as the 6th man. He is scoring 12.5 points per game on .458/.348/.765 shooting splits in December. His crafty start-and-stop-on-a-dime dribbling leaves defenders frozen, and he has a knack for timely buckets.
These three, along with Julius Randle’s dominance, Jalen Brunson’s winning pedigree, and more team-centric execution, are recent reasons for the Knicks’ success.
Stay tuned to KnicksFanTV.com for the latest Knicks news, rumors, and recaps throughout the NBA season. And in case you missed it, check out the Knicks’ recent trade rumors!
