The New York Knicks played inspired defense and Julius Randle dragged the offense across the finish line as the Knicks defeated the Cavaliers 95-86.
New York’s defense was suffocating, but turnovers and poor free throw shooting kept Cleveland competitive throughout the contest. The Knicks made up for sloppy offense with defense and effort, plus one big performance from a key player. This win felt like a credit to coach Tom Thibodeau and his staff. He limited his rotation to 8 men and drew a Herculean effort from Julius Randle.
It’s rare that a fan base can be happy with a 95-point performance, but this had all the grit and effort of an old-school win. At times players moved the ball too much even, passing up good looks in search of better ones. That’s not a terrible problem to have, especially with most of the scorers shelved by injury. Let’s take a closer lodotok at each player’s performance in this work driven victory.
Elfrid Payton: Elfrid Payton got off to a bad start but finished strong against Cleveland. The Knicks’ starting point guard found himself picking up sloppy turnovers early and playing entirely east to west throughout the first half. In the third quarter, Payton made a more concerted effort to get his feet in the paint but struggled to finish inside at times. But this all led to Payton making crucial plays throughout the fourth quarter including a pair of three point makes.
Payton spent 36 minutes dropping 14 points, 7 assists and 8 rebounds with 5 turnovers. He shot 6/15 from the field, 2/4 from three and 0/2 from the free throw line. The point guard’s playmaking didn’t pop until he established himself as a scoring threat in the second half. This marks back-to-back games with multiple three pointers for Payton, we’ll have to cross our fingers that he can keep it up.
Payton’s performance nabs a 2.5 out of 5. He did most of his damage in the fourth and any creativity within the offense before that came from Julius Randle. The point guard had another game with too many turnovers and even the strong finish didn’t erase poor overall efficiency. That said, he worked through the early struggles and was crucial late. EP did enough to warrant a good grade, not a great one.
Reggie Bullock: With Alec Burks out, the Knicks needed Reggie Bullock’s floor spacing more than ever and he responded with the second highest score for the team. Bullock let it rip early and often, knocking down jumpers throughout the night. This also marked the first game where Bullock’s defensive play really stood out. He played tough on-ball defense, slowing a Cleveland backcourt that has proven to be a force against every other opponent so far.
Reggie played 41 minutes and scored 17 points with 7 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 block and 3 turnovers. He shot 6/13 from the field and 5/9 from three. Bullock’s scoring has been streaky, coming in short bursts during previous appearances. This time around he made steady contributions that were crucial to maintaining space for the entire offense.
Bullock’s impact rates a 3 out of 5. He took twice as many three-point attempts as the next man and played legitimate quality defense all night. Bullock loses points for being ineffective when chased off the three-point line. This was easily his best performance so far.
RJ Barrett: The struggles continued for RJ Barrett who had the toughest game of any Knick in Cleveland. Barrett’s jumper belongs on a milk carton at this point and Cleveland’s rim protectors made scoring inside a chore. The former third pick still put pressure on the defense and attacked, but he never seemed to get into a real rhythm.
Barrett finished with 12 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists to 2 turnovers and 2 steals. Efficiency was a problem, as RJ went 4/15 from the field, 0/3 from three and 4/4 from the free throw line. He may have deserved a couple more trips to the line as Andre Drummond got away with more contact than any Knick defender was afforded. But the prospect’s ceiling has a lid on it until he can consistently make defenses pay for giving him too much space.
This performance dips to a 2 out of 5. I debated going even lower, but effort and rebounding keep RJ just below average instead of flat out bad. His defensive play has been inspired in the early part of the season. It feels like he picks up a steal a game off committed play in the passing lanes. This was a tough match-up thanks to Drummond and JaVale McGee inside. RJ’s determination keeps me hopeful that he’ll get back to his preseason efficiency soon.
Julius Randle: It’s a shame that MSG won’t have a full crowd to praise this version of Julius Randle in-person any time soon. Randle’s stellar start to the season continued with a triple-double against the Cavs. He wasn’t a key part of the offense; he was the Knicks offense. The big man created most of their best looks, was a force inside and shot perfect from three-point land. Even with New York playing incredible defense, this win rests squarely with Randle for the way he drove the offense.
Randle put up 28 points, 11 assists and 12 rebounds but also picked up 9 turnovers. New York’s best player went 9/16 from the field, 4/4 from three and 6/10 from the free throw line. The turnovers included three offensive fouls and a pair of out-of-bounds calls from poor foot placement. Positives outweigh the negatives though. Randle is telling players where to be and then manipulating the defense to get those guys open. We saw less of the two man back and forth play from the Bucks game, but even more drive and kick action to replace it. The playmaking is no mirage or outlier, he’s done it too frequently to call a fluke.
Randle hits 4 out of 5 for the strong performance. That might seem low off a triple-double on great field goal percentage, but he has to be more protective of the ball and hit his free throws. That said, I’d prefer to highlight some good. This was the second game that I’ve seen Randle drive across the lane and use a head fake to the baseline in front of him before twisting to find an open shooter the opposite way. He’s in motion, rotating and finding a player behind himself. It’s a great example of Randle’s freakish athleticism and the new dimension he’s added to his game.
Mitchell Robinson: Mitchell Robinson faced off against another high caliber Center and held his own in the challenging match-up. Robinson had some lapses, missing box outs that led to second chances for Cleveland and picking up some cheap fouls of his own. But the big man was a constant presence inside at both ends of the floor. He was a force on the offensive glass and challenged shots in the opposite paint. He was the consummate big man and did so for extended time without foul trouble.
Mitch put up 9 points, 10 rebounds, a steal and 2 blocks with 1 turnover over the course of his 32 minutes in the game. The shot blocker was 4/9 from the field and 1/2 from the free throw line. His offense came mostly in the third quarter with dunks, tip-ins and alley-oops. Robinson was another player that probably should have earned at least one or two more trips to the line instead of missed FGA’s on his record, but he was unperturbed and continued to draw attention on every cut inside.
The Knicks’ big scores a 2.5 out of 5 for his performance. The ability to stay on the floor for 30 minutes would mark a promising step forward for Mitch, but there are other aspects of his game that could take him from productive to being a force. I mentioned that he seemed to find more contact last time out, not so in this game. Mitch missed some boxouts that cost him defensive boards and his screens lack necessary contact. The Cavaliers left him a ton of space but he never even looked at the rim from outside the paint, the jumper has yet to appear. There are improvements in the youngster’s game, but there are still simple tweaks that can take his impact up a notch.
Frank Ntilikina: While he wasn’t the flame thrower from the Bucks game, Frank Ntilikina managed to do a little bit of everything in his appearance. Ntilikina’s defense was especially strong in this one, he grabbed two quick steals and was constantly disrupting plays by pressuring ball handlers. It felt like the only way Collin Sexton could score on him was to draw fouls. The negative for Frank was that he didn’t attack enough off the dribble, playing side to side instead of North to South.
Ntilikina put up 5 points, 3 assists to 1 turnover, 3 rebounds and 2 steals in just 16 minutes of play. He shot 2/5 from the field and 1/3 from three, also missing his only free throw. Both field goals came off Frank’s jumper, the midrange pull-up made an appearance in this one. He may have only hit one three, but he’s taking that shot both off the dribble and on catch and shoot opportunities. Just the will to take those shots marks a bit of growth.
Frank rides his defensive play into a 2 out of 5 performance. In less than a third of the game, Frank was able to add an impact across the stat sheet while also locking up two fantastic perimeter scorers. He gets docked for lack of aggression on a pair of plays. Nitty passed up an open look from a couple of feet in front of the free throw line that drew Clyde’s ire in the broadcast. He also had a chance to attack Dotson off the dribble in transition but pulled back. Frank’s perimeter game has been strong early, but he’ll need to punctuate it by attacking off the dribble to keep his rotation spot.
Kevin Knox: Don’t let the clip of Darius Garland making him fall fool you, Kevin Knox played better than his numbers suggest. The small forward played sparingly, but he brought good energy and knocked down his jumpers when opportunity presented. Although he didn’t have any highlight dunks, the third year forward was visibly moving off-ball and through screens often. The kid was putting the work in during his minutes.
Knox managed 6 points and 1 rebound on 2/3 from the field and 2/2 from three in 16 minutes of action. It was nice to see him find the long ball on a night when New York needed as many shooters as they could get. There was a sequence in the first half where the youngster turned the ball over then picked up a bad whistle while trying to make up for it. Thibodeau pulled the visibly upset Knox and talked to him calmly. It was a quick look at genuine coaching that the youth has always needed.
Knox gets a 2 out of 5. There wasn’t anything bad about his performance, he just didn’t have anything too eye popping. It’s worth mentioning that he led the team in plus-minus, although that’s not a statistic I pay much mind to in single game measures. It feels like there’s a breakout game coming, but until then Knox continues to play a solid role off the bench.
Nerlens Noel: Nerlens Noel’s defense was stellar against the Cavs. It was more than enough to make up for a quiet night offensively. Noel was a disrupted shots, passes and dribble drives while also grabbing any boards around him. On the downside, his hands seemed shaky on rim running endeavors and that may have cost him some bunnies right inside. But the couple of passes that he struggled to gather are barely a blip compared to the impact he had on the defense.
Noel finished 16 minutes with 4 points, 7 rebounds, 2 steals, 3 blocks and 3 turnovers. He’ll need to cut back the TOs, but 5 combined steals and blocks in 16 minutes is ridiculous. The bench was missing Alec Burks’ scoring punch; but Noel anchored the defense and fed off Frank’s perimeter pressure to keep the second unit above water.
Noel grabs a 2.5 out of 5 that was probably a few minutes of extra time away from a 3. It never felt like Noel was going to let up on poking balls loose and blocking shots. This game against Cleveland was a look at what Leon Rose probably envisioned when he signed the defensive big man to back-up Mitch. The Cavs faced 48 minutes of non-stop rim protection and that meant they had no answers without their shots falling. The vet only played 16 minutes but was a big part of the win.
Tom Thibodeau: There are two sides to this win for Tom Thibodeau. On one hand, veterans got the lion’s share of minutes and production for the win. Thibodeau only played 8 men and that meant half the rotation pushing 40 minutes on the third game in 4 nights. On the other hand, it’s the gritty nature of the win that makes this so enjoyable. Every player that took the court contributed in a meaningful manner. A hellish week of opponents concludes with the Knicks at .500 by beating an undefeated opponent.
This isn’t the game to complain about Thibs relying on vets. RJ and Mitch got big minutes while Frank and Knox played key roles. That’s half the rotation dedicated to youth. With IQ and Toppin both out, there really wasn’t much more to tap outside of players at the end of the bench. It might have been nice to get a look at Iggy or Harper; but the team played far too well to overthink the minutes. Players worked hard to earn the extended minutes they got.
Thibs gets a 3.5 out of 5 for the grit and grind win. This score wouldn’t feel out of place in an old school, beat ‘em up era of basketball. The Garden crowd would have gone nuts even with the sloppy play. That’s because we appreciate hard work and hustle. Thibodeau has the Knicks playing a brand of basketball that New Yorkers can appreciate.
Closing Thoughts: The Knicks just held a team below 90 points in the modern era of a basketball and they did that despite a ton of turnovers giving up easy transition points. New York just beat an opponent from end to end despite shooting a miserable 62% from the free throw line. This should have been a blowout, all thanks to defensive intensity that never let up.
We’re looking at an inspired team, just watch Julius Randle’s post game comments for proof. You could also look at the product on the floor which speaks for itself in many ways. This is an injury depleted team that has a very difficult early schedule, but the roster is willing itself to wins by outworking opponents.
The future is bright, even on a night when the rookies didn’t play and vets did the heavy lifting. That’s because we can already see an identity taking root. A competitive culture is developing, one in which players truly believe that their minutes can be earned through working their tails off. That’s an environment where youngsters can grow into professionals and where a talent like Julius Randle can take the next step forward.
CP and J. Ellis went live after the Cavs game with special guest Ashley Nicole Moss from All In w/ Ashley Nicole Podcast. Check it out below.
