The New York Knicks experienced a bout with Murphy’s Law as they fell to the Oklahoma City Thunder 101-89.
The Knicks got out to an early lead, but their offense never got into a rhythm. Julius Randle spent most of the first half in foul trouble and other key starters struggled with their shots. Tom Thibodeau found hot hands on his bench in prior wins, but had no such luck this time. New York has won games with Randle leading the offense and Mitchell Robinson leading the defense. But Tom Thibodeau tried small ball to get his offense going in the fourth quarter which removed Mitch and failed to spark Randle late.
The team competed, but got outworked and stopped playing smart basketball. Players pressed for offense and no one could hit a consistent shot. The ball never moved as freely as it has in recent victories. Players rushed shots past closeouts instead of swinging for a better look. After a stretch of feel-good performances, maybe a trip back to Earth was in order. Let’s take a closer look at how this one went down.
Elfrid Payton: It’s been an up and down run for Elfrid Payton of late. The starting point guard followed up a brilliant performance with a dud against OKC. Payton continued his newfound aggressive approach, but rarely found success. Payton usually passes to a fault, but this time he sought his own shot too often. The guard made his adjustment too drastic.
Payton played 31 minutes and finished with 16 points, 1 assist and 6 rebounds. He shot 4/16 from the field, 1/4 from three, and 7/8 from the free throw line. His aggression meant more free throws than any of his peers. But that also took away from the kickout threat. At times there were baseline shooters available, but the Elfrid looked to shoot instead.
The disappointing performance nets a 1.5 out of 5. The offense relies heavily on playmaking from Randle and Barrett, but stagnation starts with the lead ball handler. There wasn’t a big shift in Payton’s approach, but the Thunder’s length and defensive play shut him down. This was a theme for Knicks guards however, so maybe he deserves some slack.
Reggie Bullock: For the third time in the last five games, Reggie Bullock didn’t make a three pointer. Bullock has spent the past couple of games dribbling past closeouts for easier midrange looks, but he’s had limited success even on those endeavors. Compounding the problem, his defensive contributions did little to deter OKC’s star wing from going off. The 3 was non-existent and the defense was ineffective for the Knicks 3 and D starter.
Bullock spent 24 minutes putting up 6 points, 7 rebounds and 1 steal on 3/8 from the field and 0/2 from three. He never got to the free throw line despite more frequent moves off the dribble. Rebounding was the only redeeming quality of the performance. The Knicks got beat on a slew of long boards but Reggie cleaned a number of those up. Bullock found himself wide open on more than one occasion where his teammates didn’t make the extra pass. A struggling player could use some easy looks. Reggie’s teammates didn’t help in that regard.
The lackluster production leaves Bullock with a 1.5 out of 5. In the same fashion that Elfrid Payton needs to lead the team on ball movement, Bullock sets the spacing for that starting unit. He’s the three-point shooter but has shot 19% from three over his last five games. Bullock’s effort to find new ways to score is noteworthy. It fell short this time and off ball cutting might be a more fruitful approach.
RJ Barrett: RJ Barrett’s struggles continue. He led the team in attempts but shot poorly throughout the game. Barrett was betrayed by even his most reliable weapons. RJ had no answers for the Thunder’s length. I’ve asked for more midrange attempts and we got some of that as well. But the Maple Mamba’s jumper failed regardless of distance or space. He never got a consistent attack going despite some nice moments scattered throughout the game.
The Maple Mamba played 44 minutes and put up 19 points, 7 boards, 2 assists, a steal and a block. He shot a woeful 7/21 from the field, 1/5 from three and 4/7 from the free throw line. He was more Canadian Bacon than Maple Mamba. Julius Randle’s foul trouble freed up more touches, but Barrett took the offense upon himself too often. He forced things and that problem is becoming a trend. Barrett has taken 35 shots in the past two games, converting just 31% of them. He has just 3 assists in that span.
Barrett gets a disappointing 1.5 out of 5. He failed to meet the expectations for his role on the court. Barrett is an offensive focal point, yet he offered very little for his teammates to build on. Preseason promise has turned into regular season inefficiency. Barrett has shot above 50% from the field just 3 times in 9 games. He’s shot below 35% a total of 5 times already, including the past two games. Decision making is exacerbating these numbers. He’s trying to force the issue far too often right now. Flashes of promise can’t overcome this level of inefficiency.
Julius Randle: First half foul woes took Julius Randle off the court long enough for the Thunder to gain confidence. The Knicks got out to an early lead as Randle picked apart the OKC defense with his passing. But foul trouble quickly forced the big man off the court. Randle put up 11 third-quarter points by sheer force of will. A lot of it camre in isolation though. While Randle was successful scoring, he was also a part of the lack of ball movement…albeit to much better results than his teammates.
Randle played 31 minutes and finished with 18 points, 12 rebounds, 7 assists and a steal. He went 8/15 from the field, 1/1 from three and 1/3 from the free throw line. This was one of Randle’s weaker performances but he still had eye-popping numbers on strong efficiency. He’s been that good. On the downside, Randle let his emotions get the best of him at times. He forced the issue more in this game than prior performances. The small-ball unit with Randle at the 5 lacks any rim protection and got eaten alive in this game. That’s difficult to pin to Randle when he’s just not built for shot blocking, but it’s an important limitation to consider with that line-up.
Randle lands a 3 out of 5, one of the only positive scores of the night. The tone that he set prior to foul trouble was fit for a blowout. But Randle let the refs get the better of him. He complained enough to draw a technical foul. His vocal frustration didn’t energize the team. It may have deflated them if anything. This is part of the process for a player that’s learning to lead though. If this is a bad game for Randle, sign me up. The Knicks would have run away with the game had they provided a second scorer to help Julius out…Alec Burks is missed.
Mitchell Robinson: There will be all-defensive team and maybe even DPOY discussions if Mitchell Robinson continues to be this crucial to the Knicks’ defense. Robinson’s production wasn’t huge and his minutes were cut short by small-ball; but his value was clearest during his absence in the fourth quarter. New York can’t set a pace without stops and they don’t get stops when Robinson isn’t playing. Al Horford did find some success with the pick and pop, but that seemed to be a miscue from the guards. Mitch was taking away the paint from the ball handler. No one was rotating to cover his man or disrupt the passing lane.
Mitch closed out 27 minutes with 6 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals and 3 blocks with one turnover on an illegal screen. He was 3/4 from the field and 0/2 from the free throw line. We’re not seeing any new wrinkles from the big man, but we are getting consistency. The disciplined hands, reduced biting on fakes and ability to go straight up on shot contests…that stuff was new and developing on opening day. Now, as the Knicks approach their 10th game it’s already becoming an expectation. Robinson is just defending that well. He’s doing it on a nightly basis.
Mitch grabs the best performance rating on the team with a 3.5 out of 5. While I find plus/minus to be a dubious stat in small samples, Robinson led the team in the measure by far and it was clear why. New York is at its best when perimeter defenders can go over every screen with confidence that the rim will be protected. I can count on one hand the rim protectors in this league that have been as reliable as Mitchell Robinson so far. He’s a defensive force that New York absolutely needs.
Immanuel Quickley: After looking like such a natural in his early run with the Knicks, Immanuel Quickley was bound to have a rookie game or two at some point. IQ struggled to get into any sort of rhythm against the Thunder. The savvy guard’s instincts and timing malfunctioned as he forced multiple attempts in search of fouls but wasn’t getting the whistle. When Quickley did get the call, the refs refused to give him a continuation for free throws. I think this was partially poor officiating, but most of it falls on the rookie guard. I called out Elfrid Payton for playing to contact over playing to score just a couple of games ago. IQ reinforced my frustration by making the same mistake.
Quickley spent 17 minutes supplying 3 points, 2 assists, 1 steal and 1 block. He shot a miserable 1/9 from the field, 1/3 from three and incredibly didn’t get a single free throw attempt. The kid almost converted a three pointer despite getting hit on the arm and the refs went to the sideline for an inbounds pass. It was ridiculous. But that doesn’t excuse poor shot selection from IQ. He had a couple of floaters that looked like someone playing NBA 2K and getting the wrong animation when they use the shot stick. He was that out of sorts on floaters, it looked like a glitching video game.
As much as I love the prospect, he gets no soft treatment on the ratings scale. Quickley ends up with a 1.5 out of 5 that could have been worse if his struggles continued much longer. Elfrid Payton was bad in this game, but IQ was worse. The rookie might benefit from some more off ball work to get going early. He’s been an impact player as ball handler, but disciplined defenders can bait him into gathers where he has no options besides trying to draw a whistle. We also saw Quickley pick up his dribble early on more than one occasion. It was just an uncharacteristic game from the rookie, but the key word here is “rookie.”
Austin Rivers: The offense needed Austin Rivers, but his scoring wasn’t quite up to par with some prior performances. Rivers was victimized by the general lack of ball movement too. Some of his three’s were forced simply because the team had nothing else going. The Knicks’ sixth man had some beautiful drives to the basket. He did hit a couple of jumpers. But his game lacked the extra gear he has found in previous fourth quarters. That’s not to say he was bad. Rivers was probably the third best player for the team as he at least added a playmaking element to the offense. No other guard provided much in that respect.
After 32 minutes on the floor, Rivers accumulated 12 points, 6 assists and 5 rebounds without a turnover. He was 5/12 from the field and 2/7 from three. He was a made three pointer or drawn shooting foul away from bumping the efficiency gauge up a notch. The Knicks’ newcomer was another victim of the team failing to make extra passes. There were at least two occasions where one extra pass would have meant an open, rhythm jumper for Rivers…instead other guys settled for contested takes.
Solid production nets Austin Rivers a 2.5 out of 5. He was the Knicks’ best guard almost by default. The rest of the perimeter players were bad. Rivers was average. His ability to get into the lane in isolation helped to set him apart. But the guard didn’t do much to change the trajectory of the offense. He moved less and iso’ed more, same as the rest of the team. Rivers wasn’t good nor bad, just solid.
Kevin Knox: On a night when no one else could shoot, Kevin Knox got all his offense from three pointers. The developing prospect had no luck on forays inside, but his aggression was something to behold. Knox lined up against Theo Maledon at one point and had the wherewithal to grab inside position and attempt a post-up. The shot didn’t convert, but I loved seeing him attack a mismatch enthusiastically. That energy carried over to defense, where Knox had my favorite play of the entire game.
Knox played 22 minutes for 9 points, 4 boards and that steal above. He shot 3/9 from the field and 3/5 from three. The Thunder had to chase him off the line or he made them pay. We’ll need Kev to convert when he gets inside to complete the dual threat. I’ll take a turnover or a missed field goal occasionally. As long as it comes from Knox attacking, trying to create or otherwise just showing off his improved motor. He’s not forcing enough for that to be problematic.
Knox grabs a 2 out of 5 for being the only valid floor stretcher for New York. He still needs to improve his efficiency. The defensive play is trending in the right direction. We’re watching a different player from last season. Those defensive improvements are especially promising. Kev’s accumulating momentum changing highlights on defense. His aggressive moves inside recall his Summer League explosion as a rookie. I’m hopeful for what Knox will look like in March if he continues to work like this.
Nerlens Noel: Nerlens Noel played just 11 minutes on the night in his return from injury. He was returning from injury and still managed 2 blocks and a steal in that limited time. I don’t think that was enough time for him to real put a stamp on the game though. He gets an incomplete with some good signs. Noel will be important if Thibodeau wants to save Robinson’s energy and trim his minutes.
Tom Thibodeau: In the post-game press conference, Tom Thibodeau alluded to Mitchell Robinson not feeling well. Thibs focused on the idea that small ball was his way of trying to get the offense going though. I begin on that fateful decision because this game was tight and competitive through three quarters. The decision to go small backfired spectacularly and left the Knicks to be destroyed on the interior in the fourth quarter.
New York’s new coach is dealing with a slew of injuries that make it hard to get too angry with his rotations. Thibodeau gave ample opportunity to every guard in his rotation and had to manage a star player in foul trouble. The move away from Mitch is the only major decision that I can honestly say I disagreed with.
Despite my kind words, Thibodeau comes in slightly below average on a 2 out of 5. That’s because the players reflected Thibs’ own frustration with the refs. Frustration for the players turned into getting outworked, a rare occurrence for this new Knicks team. A lot of this felt like a “they just don’t have it tonight” performance, but the coach chose the wrong adjustments in the loss. The Knicks were competitive by forcing a grind. When they chased pace, the game ran away from them.
Closing Thoughts: Now is not the time to turn on any players. The Knicks have willed themselves to a winning record amid the toughest schedule in the NBA. Yes, RJ Barrett has been struggling from the field and the three-point shooting is worrisome. But there have been positive developments throughout the year that even carried over in this loss. We’re watching a depleted with limited options at the moment. Off nights are going to happen.
There are challenges that this roster will simply have to deal with. New York doesn’t have enough reliable shooters or rim protectors to survive an injury bug. The team is leaning heavily on Randle and Robinson respectively to keep the offense and defense afloat. We knew to expect most of that going in. Don’t let early overachievements cause an overreaction when the struggles start. We’re still watching this team for development and growth before anything else. The wins have been nice. The losses are inevitable. Kevin Knox attacking a post-up is refreshing regardless of the score. Stick around, stay faithful and let’s enjoy the process. This team is growing, even in the loss that’s clear.
CP and Ashley from KFTV went live with J. Ellis of the Knick of Time Show after the Knicks vs. Thunder game. Check it out below.
