The New York Knicks were defeated by the Philadelphia 76ers 108-119. The Knicks came out of the gates red hot, but they couldn’t close.
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The New York Knicks faded late and lost to the Philadelphia 76ers 108 to 119. Jalen Brunson set the tone with a huge first quarter, and the team followed his lead. The Knicks never trailed in the first half, but the Sixers switched to a familiar tactic.
Philadelphia used a zone defense and gained momentum after a few miscues from the Knicks. The Sixers gained their first lead of the night with less than 4 minutes to go in the third quarter. The fourth quarter came down to execution. Philadelphia hit their open looks, while New York’s role players failed to convert open jumpers.
A promising start turned into a nightmare finish. The Knicks couldn’t slow Joel Embiid without a double-team that left shooters open. The Sixers had similar issues with Brunson, but the Knicks failed to capitalize. So let’s look at the promising aspects and the failures that led to this letdown.
The Knicks’ starters slow down against the zone
Jalen Brunson: 30 PTS (12/19 FG, 2/4 3PT, 4/5 FT), 9 AST, 7 REB, 2 TO in 39 mins
Jalen Brunson sparked the offense with a 20-point first quarter, highlighting his scoring prowess. His craft and quickness got him to whatever space on the floor he aimed for, and he converted nearly everything. Philadelphia’s only answer to contain Brunson was a double team.
But Brunson responded to the doubles with some great passing. He continually picked out open shooters and added a beautiful alley-oop to Jericho Sims along the way. Brunson picked apart the Sixers with passing and punished single coverage with smooth scoring.
The only way to stop Brunson was to force the ball from his hands. He spent the entire night as a force for which Philly had no easy answers. But Brunson couldn’t shoot for everyone else, and his incredible effort went to waste when shooters went cold. As a result, Brunson gets a 4.5 out of 5 for a highly efficient near-triple-double.
Quentin Grimes: 6 PTS (3/7 FG, 0/4 3PT, 0/1 FT), 1 AST, 3 REB, 1 BLK in 37 mins
Quentin Grimes failed to make a single three-pointer. That’s rough for New York’s best shooter, especially when they faced frequent zone defense. However, this wasn’t a case of tough closeouts or length bothering Grimes; he missed wide-open shots. By the end of the game, Grimes seemed hesitant on his jumper for the second time in the past few games.
To his credit, Grimes converted every attempt inside the arc. But his impact was muted by his inability to space the floor. He couldn’t capitalize on his quick first step once defenders stopped worrying about their closeouts.
The sophomore defender played commendable defense against James Harden. But his failure to hit shots loomed over everything else. Grimes is 2/13 from three in his last three games, and the shooting slump has taken the bite out of his otherwise quality play. So, in the end, Grimes gets a 2 out of 5 for an inefficient night without much production.
RJ Barrett: 19 PTS (7/16 FG, 3/5 3PT, 2/3 FT), 2 AST, 3 REB, 4 TO in 30 mins
RJ Barrett has a habit of making mistakes that stand out. With Philadelphia on the ropes in the third quarter, Barrett rushed an inbounds pass that Tyrese Maxey stole and converted for three. Maxey’s three-pointer completed a 5-point swing that dropped a 10-point lead to 5. Philadelphia took that momentum and never looked back.
Barrett actually shot the ball well. He converted most of his open three-point looks. But he also missed some easy looks around the rim and forced a few others. Then, with the Knicks fighting to make a comeback late in the matchup, Barrett missed a shot at the basket that all but sealed the loss. So, RJ’s most memorable plays of this game are a pair of the most costly errors of the night.
Barrett’s scoring doesn’t look bad on paper. But his 2:4 assist-to-turnover ratio is atrocious. His defense was disappointing again, with flashes of decent effort scattered between bad mistakes and poor lateral movement. If anyone should feel threatened by Josh Hart’s arrival, it’s RJ Barrett because his defense hasn’t been up to snuff.
Barrett gets a 1.5 out of 5 for committing costly blunders.
Julius Randle: 30 PTS (11/20 FG, 5/11 3PT, 3/3 FT), 3 AST, 10 REB, 3 TO in 37 mins
Julius Randle played great basketball until the fourth quarter. He knocked down his three-pointers which opened everything else up for him. The big man also benefited from Jalen Brunson constantly peeling a second defender over before swinging the ball. As a result, Randle had open looks and lanes to attack from.
But the Sixers’ zone and eventual double-teams on Randle slowed his decision-making. Whether Randle was shooting or passing, he took his time making reads and moves. That gave the offense a stagnant impression at times. The feeling worsened when Randle threw the ball away on a few essential possessions late in the game.
The big man still managed a highly efficient double-double. But his late-game execution continues to stick out like a sore thumb. Teams will force the ball from Brunson’s hands, and if Randle’s executing this poorly in the clutch, that strategy will succeed. So Randle gets a 2.5 out of 5 for a great game marred by late mistakes.
Jericho Sims: 2 PTS (1/2 FG), 1 AST, 3 REB, 1 TO in 23 mins
Jericho Sims didn’t have answers for Embiid. Sims ran into foul trouble and gave up multiple and-ones because he continually got caught reaching. That left Sims looking frustrated at times, as he couldn’t stay on the floor for long enough stretches to settle in.
The sophomore center’s numbers speak for themselves. He wasn’t particularly productive while he played and couldn’t contain Philadelphia’s MVP. Sims gets a 1 out of 5 for learning another tough lesson on the job.
New York’s second unit slips up late
Miles McBride: 0 PTS (0/2 FG, 0/1 3PT), 1 AST, 1 REB in 9 mins
It felt as if Thibodeau couldn’t wait to get Miles McBride off the court in the fourth quarter. McBride took the floor to start the quarter and was pulled for Jalen Brunson in less than two and a half minutes. There’s no way to catch a rhythm in a limited time like this.
McBride didn’t produce, but his minutes are so scattershot that I don’t blame him for inconsistent play.
Immanuel Quickley: 13 PTS (5/8 FG, 1/4 3PT, 2/3 FT), 3 AST, 1 REB, 1 STL, 1 BLK, 1 TO in 29 mins
Immanuel Quickley gave the second unit a boost in the first half. He caused damage with his usual array of floaters and finishes at the basket. But IQ’s game lacked the one thing New York’s offense needed, as he missed open three-pointers scattered throughout the night.
Quickley made up for the shooting with his inside scoring, some playmaking, and a few nice defensive plays. Where some players put up bigger scoring but had egregious errors sap their impact, IQ took the slow and steady approach to a respectable night.
But Quickley’s numbers are still disappointing. He was having an efficient night but was relegated to the weak side corner when playing with the starters. The weak side corner has become no man’s land as teams stack their defense to cut off drives and kicks. So IQ gets a 2.5 out of 5 because he didn’t get enough looks to turn an efficient night into a high-scoring one.
Obi Toppin: 2 PTS (1/4 FG, 0/3 3PT), 2 AST, 1 STL in 11 mins
Obi Toppin’s struggles continued. He hasn’t made more than one field goal in the past three games. Whereas Toppin chipped in rebounding in the previous two games, he didn’t even muster that much for this one. Obi’s not getting enough minutes to say much else; this was a bad performance.
Isaiah Hartenstein: 6 PTS (3/3 FG), 1 AST, 6 REB, 3 BLK, 1 TO in 25 mins
Isaiah Hartenstein’s help defense was outstanding. He rotated for 3 blocks, and a pair of those blocks led to quick transition buckets. Hart also flashed a bit of ball-handling, driving to his left for a couple of finishes. The big man made excellent contributions.
But Hart was an easy target for the Harden/Embiid pick and roll. He couldn’t hedge against Harden and get back to Embiid effectively. Even when he faced Philly’s MVP in man-to-man situations, Hartenstein seemed outmatched.
The big man gets a 2 out of 5 for providing solid backup minutes but struggling against Embiid enough to make us still miss Mitchell Robinson.
Tom Thibodeau’s biggest L happened in Portland
Losing to the 76ers isn’t a huge blemish. But blowing the momentum of an incredible first half does hurt. Tom Thibodeau couldn’t help the Knicks avoid some of their costly blunders in this game. But his rabid reactions to mistakes only seemed to make New York’s spiral worse, and his rotations did nothing to change momentum.
Meanwhile, in Portland, Cam Reddish scored double-digits in his first minutes in months. That’s a testament to the fact that Reddish was a valuable player that Thibodeau refused to play. It’s easy to explain why Knicks fans question Thibodeau’s rotations and decisions so often.
But Thibodeau got his way. Cam cost a protected first-round pick to acquire and another protected first-rounder to trade out for a Thibodeau-style player in Hart. Now it’s on Thibs to show us that his system isn’t the problem capping this team’s potential. Nevertheless, Thibodeau gets a 1.5 out of 5 for failing to keep momentum or beat a zone defense for the umpteenth time in his Knicks’ tenure.
Closing Thoughts
These are the ups and downs of a team stuck in the middle. The Knicks front office remained patient instead of taking any big swings at the trade deadline to escape the dreaded treadmill. They brought in Josh Hart, a very nice player who fits Thibodeau’s system well. But that’s a move that stays the course rather than altering it like what Brooklyn did to rebuild or Phoenix to chase a chip.
RJ Barrett feels like the perfect embodiment of the predicament for New York. He is perpetually on the verge of a breakout but always regresses when our hopes get high. That’s a burden of youth, but four years into his career, it gets tough to stay patient. Ironically, his breakout is probably the key to this team leaving their treadmill to chase higher goals than a first-round exit.
But James Dolan seems content with any playoff action at all. Tom Thibodeau hasn’t fixed the team’s flaws against the zone, nor did Leon Rose. Josh Hart is many things, but he is not a great perimeter shooter. So we’ll have to wait. While everyone in the organization rinses and repeats, we have to hope for an unlikely breakout from a young player because there’s no sense of urgency from anyone.
The Knicks can bounce back against the Utah Jazz a day after this tough defeat, and I like their chances. But I’m also celebrating my birthday, so I probably won’t get to watch the game as closely as normal. So I’ll be back after the Brooklyn game on Monday to hopefully discuss a new win streak. I’ll see you then, Knicks fam!
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 CP’s interview with The Legendary Chuck D to discuss Knicks and how hip-hop changed the world!
