The New York Knicks suffered their second blowout defeat in a row, this time at the hands of the Denver Nuggets 89 to 114. Although blowouts have been more common this season, the nature of these particular losses was similar enough to be worrisome.
Julius Randle carried the offense on his back, but the rest of the Knicks shot poorly. This allowed the Nuggets to collapse hard and employ zone defenses aimed at taking away inside scoring. With less space to operate, none of the Knicks ball handlers were able to orchestrate comfortably and ball movement suffered.
New York’s shooting wasn’t the only problem. Denver’s high-powered offense proved impossible to contain. The Nuggets shot 43% from three, quelling any semblance of a comeback with long range bombs. Mitchell Robinson’s fantastic defense ran into better offense from Nikola Jokic, and the moment the Knicks’ shot blocker left the floor there was a party in the paint for Denver.
A .500 record after 10 games of the toughest schedule in the NBA is promising. But these last two losses have been deflating in a lot of ways. New York was down by 20 before halftime, there’s not much silver lining in a loss like this one. Let’s conduct an autopsy on the last round of performances.
Elfrid Payton: Elfrid Payton struggled mightily in the first half but salvaged some offense in the third quarter. The point guard started his game by missing multiple attempts from right underneath the basket. It wasn’t until the game was out of reach that Payton finally began to string together some scoring possessions. Teams are daring the guard to shoot, and he hasn’t been consistent even from up close. That has a trickle-down effect on the rest of the offense. The defenders stick to their men and count on Payton to miss, leaving Payton as the only player with space to operate despite being the ball handler.
Payton finished 32 minutes with 12 points, 5 assists, 3 rebounds and a steal with 2 turnovers. He shot 4/10 from the field, 0/1 from three and 4/5 from the free throw line. He salvaged his produced in a third quarter duel with Jamal Murray. The problem with that run is that the Knicks weren’t getting stops and Payton’s scoring failed to get anyone else open or going.
Payton closes with a 2 out of 5. Payton managed to be the team’s second leading scorer. He was the only man left alone, so not surprising. His playmaking options were limited, though he did find Mitch for a nice lob at one point. The starting unit simply lacks the shot makers necessary to function. Payton doesn’t have the tools to aid against a zone and hasn’t taken advantage of lagging defenses.
Reggie Bullock: We got more long jumpers from midrange from Reggie Bullock and not enough three pointers. Bullock was chased off the line by hard close outs, but he continues to lack punch when he puts the ball on the floor. Bullock is flirting with a pull-up jumper, but he’s not making the shot at a high enough percentage. Sporadic shooting is a staple of this first ten game stanza.
Bullock spent 25 minutes notching 7 points, 3 rebounds and 1 assist to 1 turnover. He went 3/8 from the field and 1/1 from three. It’s tough to be the only shooter in a unit, but Bullock is failing in his role. Austin Rivers is taking threes with more frequency and at a better clip, mainly because Rivers is more active in seeking the shot. The starters need that sort of aggression too, not the passive presence that Bullock has provided.
Bullock closes with a 1.5 out of 5 that essentially boils down to being completely forgettable. Long two pointers have become frowned upon in the NBA, but I wouldn’t mind those attempts if they were going in. That’s not the case and with each miss it feels more like Bullock is just trying to find anything that works. He may need a new a role until his jumper finds consistency.
RJ Barrett: Another game brings another series of struggles for RJ Barrett. The sophomore reduced his attempts slightly, but that was the only major shift in his play compared to recent performances. Barrett couldn’t finish in traffic and found himself out of control at times. The Knicks never generated transition opportunities that might have helped get RJ some easier looks. The youngster did at least try to counter some defensive shifts with quick swing passing. That can spark ball movement or generate some easy assist from quick looks.
Barrett’s 33 minutes of play led to 9 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists to 3 turnovers. The small forward shot 4/13 from the field, 0/3 from three and 1/3 from the free throw line. Even his free throw shooting has dipped back to last season. RJ was able to launch a couple of open jumpers from the elbows that he converted. With defenses collapsing the paint and giving up plenty of space, that might be the only easy look he can generate right now. Barrett needs better spacing or more range on his jumper, and it seems like the range will be a while.
RJ finishes with a 1.5 out of 5 for the performance. I was happy to see Barrett make a few extra passes rather than forcing things. But that’s the only real bright spot in his continued struggles. Thibodeau has put a lot of weight on the youngster’s shoulders early. He’s letting Barrett play through the struggles and hopefully that pays dividends over time. For now, the results have been ugly lately. But on a developing team, it’s good to see the coach not give up when a young pick struggles.
Julius Randle: Even in the blowout, Julius Randle somehow managed to be great. Randle was the entire Knicks offense for most of the night. When he left the floor, results were catastrophic. At times it felt like the Knicks’ big man was just willing points onto the board. Randle continued to make passes and try creating for others, but that impact is muted with kickout options like Elfrid Payton and RJ Barrett. What was the biggest blemish for Julius? Some forced passes where he tried to push the pace and chase easier looks for others.
Randle spent 38 minutes putting up 29 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists to 3 TO’s. He shot 11/16 from the field, 2/5 from three and 5/6 from the free throw line. He led the team in points, rebounds, assists, three pointers and free throws. I’m not kidding about Randle being the entire offense out there. He just didn’t have enough firepower on his own to keep up with the entire Nuggets offense.
Randle manages a 3.5 out of 5 in the loss. His numbers feel miraculous compared to the performances of everyone else. He did everything in his power to keep the Knicks competitive, but there wasn’t a true second option to help or even a third for that matter. The leader continues to play the right way with relatively few forces and a lion’s share of the offense resting on his shoulders. Poor spacing has befuddled everyone but Randle, who continues to thrive no matter what defenses throw his way.
Mitchell Robinson: While the offense rested on Julius Randle, Mitchell Robinson stood out because the interior defense fell apart when he sat. Robinson had another great defensive performance but ran into even better offense from his match-up Nikola Jokic. Mitch wasn’t biting on fakes and forced the Joker to take contested jumpers, but the tough shots were still falling. Regardless, the Knicks’ defense is night and day while Mitch plays or sits.
Robinson closed 34 minutes with 11 points, 5 rebounds, 1 steal and 1 block on 5/5 from the field. Nothing new on the offensive front. On the rare occasions that Mitch got space, he finished inside. The big man’s rebounding was muted by Jokic playing away from the basket quite a bit. Robinson’s hands stood out last night, mainly because of his back-up. Nerlens Noel mishandled a number of passes that made it easier to appreciate how Mitch can secure a pass in traffic.
Mitch gets a 3 out of 5 for defending the premier big man in the NBA straight up without picking up a single foul. The Nuggets overcame Robinson’s presence with three pointers and some tough shots by Jokic. That takes an otherwise visually striking performance down a peg. But the Knicks’ shot blocker continues to be a revelation under Tom Thibodeau’s guidance even when the stat-line is less pronounced.
Immanuel Quickley: Immanuel Quickley fell short of the 15-minute mark in this one, likely because he struggled in his minutes. IQ never got great looks at the basket and didn’t flash his ability to draw fouls until fourth quarter garbage time was upon us. He went 0/4 from the field and 0/2 from three, finishing with 4 points, 1 assist and 1 rebound. Defenses have adjusted and been more disciplined when Quickley is on the ball. We’ll have to see how the rookie responds.
Austin Rivers: It was a muted performance for Austin Rivers against the Nuggets. The sixth man was held in check whenever he had the ball in his hands, relegating him to a floor stretcher on most occasions. That said, the Knicks are desperately in need of spacing and at least Rivers proved a willing shooter. Just by being a catch and shoot threat, Austin Rivers set himself apart from the rest of the guards that either couldn’t hit or wouldn’t even take the shots.
Rivers played 22 minutes for 6 points and 1 assist to 2 turnovers. He shot 2/6 from the field with both makes from three (2/4). Even in an utterly pedestrian performance, I think the case for Rivers starting lies in his three-point rate. Spacing is an obvious issue for the starting unit and New York’s sixth man has been the best shooter on the team since getting healthy.
Rivers grabs a 2 out of 5 simply by being a willing shooter. New York’s desperation for spacing turns an otherwise weak performance into a relatively acceptable one. We know and have seen that Austin Rivers is a better player than his Denver performance. Even when he didn’t play particularly well though, he was attacking. That mentality is lacking with most Knick ball handlers.
Kevin Knox: It’s a rare and almost refreshing change of pace for me to write that Kevin Knox made mistakes by trying to do too much. The young prospect didn’t have a good game against the Nuggets, but it had similar qualities to Rivers’ rough night. Knox was ineffective but he proved a willing shooter that at least was trying to create positive moments. In this instance, that meant overplaying a passing lane or trying to squeeze a pass into too small of a window. The results were not good, but the courage to chase after impact plays was refreshing amid so much plodding offense.
Knox played 18 minutes and picked up 6 points, 1 rebound and 2 turnovers. He shot 2/6 and 1/3 from three. This isn’t a game to write home about, but it does continue the trend of Knox playing with confidence and motor. New York looked shell shocked at times, struggling to even get into an offensive set. Knox is one of their youngest pieces, but he didn’t shrink and instead sought seams to attack or space to shoot. I appreciate that.
It’s still a 1.5 out of 5 score for Kevin Knox in this one. The aggression led to turnovers and misses too often this time. But I think the characteristics of Kevin’s performance ought to lead to positive results as they carry over into more games. When the offense gets stuck in the mud, Randle needs players that will force something to happen. The youngster stepped up and at least tried. That’s an improvement in comparison to some vets in similar situations.
Nerlens Noel: I generally don’t score players for performances below 15-minutes. But Nerlens Noel had a terrible stretch of 12 minutes. He fumbled multiple passes, missed his only two attempts, turned the ball over twice and offered very little resistance inside. Even rim protection failed to make an appearance for Noel. The Knicks were outscored by 21 points in Noel’s 12-minute stint and that sort of collapse warrants a 1 out of 5.
Iggy, Theo and DSJ: The clean-up crew got a few minutes each in garbage time. It wasn’t enough time to set themselves apart, though I will highlight that Dennis Smith Jr’s first step is still the quickest on the team. Smith got a couple of steals and was able to get into the paint off speed alone. But he’ll still need to show more than athleticism to earn a real shot at cracking the rotation.
Tom Thibodeau: There continues to be a built-in excuse for Tom Thibodeau’s floundering offense. Injuries have all but removed the shooting from New York’s offense. Thibodeau has limited options to address a zone defense. That said, this starting line-up was stale as of last season’s lockdown. A lot of these struggles were predictable. We’ve seen the spacing woes before. The second unit has its own struggles over the past two games, enough to warrant rotation changes and tweaks.
Thibs gets a 2 out of 5 for the loss. Even that seems generous. It does feel warranted though. Thibodeau is trying to make RJ Barrett a focal point despite early struggles. That shows dedication to development. When RJ didn’t have it in a close game, New York shifted focus. Thibodeau rode Austin Rivers to a win under that circumstance. But long-term success is relying on the maple mamba growing becoming a legit number one or two option. Thibs appears to understand that.
Closing Thoughts: It’s easy to forget that 5-5 is a good record after a pair of ugly losses. The Knicks have lacked firepower since Alec Burks hurt his ankle. They’ve relied on role players going above and beyond their typical performances. Players are being asked to leave their comfort zones with varying degrees of success. The team is and always has been a project. We’re going to see growing pains and inconsistency while opponents adjust. Injuries mean limited options to respond in kind.
There are still shades of good hidden beneath the surface. Thibodeau has a reputation for relying too heavily on vets, yet half his rotation consists of developing prospects. Thibs is playing RJ Barrett and Mitchell Robinson like the key players that they’re meant to become. Whether guys like Barrett and Knox will figure it out or force the Knicks to reexamine their build, we’ll need a lot more than ten games to find out.
Another silver lining? The Knicks have a chance to bounce back one day later against Charlotte. We’ll get a great chance to see how the players respond to this recent adversity very soon. Let’s try to enjoy the growth and development even during the rough patches.
CP, J. Ellis and Ashley went live after the Knicks loss to the Denver Nuggets. Check it out below.
