The New York Knicks fall to the Portland Trail Blazers in overtime 129-132. The Knicks continue to struggle to be a consistent team.
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The Knicks faded in the second half and overtime to lose to the Portland Trailblazers 129 to 132. The Blazers’ zone-heavy defense left New York scrambling for answers again. Defensively, the Knicks had no answers for Jerami grant or Anfernee Simons. The Knicks fought and made it a close affair, but the Blazers won off execution and free throws.
The frustrating part of the loss is that the Knicks found ways to break down the zone. But as the game wore on, they settled into more forced shots and less of the passing and off-ball movement that succeeded earlier in the game. The matchup closed on heat-check threes and bad turnovers from key players.
Let’s see how New York dropped a golden opportunity against Portland without their star player.
The Knicks’ starting backcourt only works through Brunson
Jalen Brunson: 32 PTS (10/22 FG, 3/8 3PT, 9/9 FT), 4 AST, 5 REB, 1 TO in 41 mins
Jalen Brunson stood out amid the chaotic possessions and sloppy play. He managed to contribute consistently and effectively throughout the night. Brunson hit big shots, including game-tying and go-ahead baskets late in regulation. The Knicks would have been lost without him.
Brunson’s defensive effort was impressive, despite some shortcomings. Portland’s big-bodied scorers shot over the diminutive point guard. Brunson also put his body on the line to take charges but continually got called for blocking fouls. His effort was strong, but the results varied.
Teams already know to force the ball out of Jalen Brunson’s hands. The fact that he’s still putting the offense on his back is a testament to how good he’s been. Brunson justifies his signing on a nightly basis. He picks up a 3.5 out of 5 for the quality performance.
Quentin Grimes: 7 PTS (3/6 FG, 1/4 3PT), 5 AST, 5 REB, 1 BLK, 2 TO in 30 mins
Quentin Grimes provided a blueprint for disrupting a zone defense. He used most of his touches by dribbling past closeouts and attacking a collapsed defense. His passing shined again with dump-offs for dunks and kick outs for threes. Grimes’ only flaw was that his jumper continued to look rusty.
Grimes’ off-ball movement is a breath of fresh air. He cuts with purpose every time, forcing defenders to engage. There’s a purpose when he moves, whether he has the ball or not. That helps him to impact games even when teammates aren’t making the extra pass.
Defensively, Grimes was his typical self. He provided quality defense, although the bigger Blazers still sometimes scored on him. He was part of the most effective defensive unit of the night, which included McBride, IQ, and Sims. Grimes adds a 3 out of 5 for his two-way impact.
RJ Barrett: 19 PTS (6/22 FG, 1/7 3PT, 6/8 FT), 5 AST, 10 REB, 1 STL, 3 TO in 44 mins
RJ Barrett reverted to forcing shots at the basket and missing everything from long range. His poor shooting continues to drag down everything else about his game. But Barrett’s problems with efficiency don’t just come down to his jumper.
Barrett showed flashes of heads-up passing, but not enough. He could have had twice as many assists and better efficiency from the field if he’d just made the simple reads. Instead, he continually drove headlong into traffic while looking off open shooters.
I won’t drag RJ’s defense. But, notably, Portland targeted him in isolation late. He held up well, challenging shooters and keeping a body on drivers. But Portland isn’t the first team to pick him out as a weak link. As a result, Barrett gets a 1.5 out of 5 despite providing strong rebounding and mixed playmaking results. He HAS to be more efficient.
Julius Randle: 23 PTS (8/19 FG, 3/8 3PT, 4/4 FT), 3 AST, 6 REB, 3 STL, 2 TO in 39 mins
Speaking of inefficiency and forced shots, Julius Randle reverted to bad habits too often. He forced too many shots early in the shot clock, most notably a heat-check in a tied game in overtime. He had some big baskets but always dragged them down with bad mistakes after.
Randle’s defense was frustratingly inconsistent. He couldn’t keep up with Jerami Grant and was the culprit behind many late rotations to shooters. But we saw a flash of Randle’s defensive potential when he defended Simons late in the game. If the big man can provide the best defense on Simons on the entire team, then we should be expecting more than his consistent below-average defense.
Randle was more efficient than Barrett, but barely. He also grabbed fewer rebounds and moved the ball less effectively. The two would-be vital players are struggling to find a second option for Jalen Brunson to work off. Randle’s closer to being that person, but his decision-making left too much to be desired in this loss. The big man gets a 2 out of 5 for his night.
Mitchell Robinson: 12 PTS (6/7 FG, 0/2 FT), 8 REB, 2 BLK, 1 TO in 23 mins
Mitchell Robinson was a monstrous presence whenever he wasn’t in foul trouble. The defense took on a different tenor with Robinson around to chase players out of the lanes. He was too big for Nurkic to move, which sets Mitch apart from Jericho Sims.
Mitch was also a benefactor of the first-half ball movement. He often found the dunker’s spot just as slashers broke past the defense. As a result, he made an easy target for the likes of Brunson, IQ, Grimes, and Barrett.
But Robinson has to avoid foul trouble to contribute fully. He’s still a step behind what we saw to start this season. The big man gets a 2.5 out of 5, and we’ll hope his mobility takes his impact to another level as it recovers.
New York’s second unit is too reliant on Quickley
Miles McBride: 4 PTS (2/3 FG, 0/1 3PT), 2 AST in 12 mins
Miles McBride showed off his quality defense and solid play in limited minutes. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that IQ’s most effective moments on offense came paired with New York’s sophomore point guard.
But McBride has to establish himself as an offensive threat more effectively. He scored a couple on a fast break and a quick cut, but he needs to be a bigger threat with the ball in his hands. His minutes were cut too low to register a true impact.
Immanuel Quickley: 18 PTS (6/17 FG, 4/10 3PT, 2/2 FT), 5 AST, 4 REB, 1 STL, 1 TO in 32 mins
Immanuel Quickley started his night off like gangbusters. He knocked down a couple of tough threes after driving into the lane for a pretty finish inside. Quickley gave the bench a big scoring boost in the first half, but his efficiency slipped as the game wore on.
The Knicks could live with IQ’s slipping jumper because he provided some of the best perimeter defense of the night. He frequently stuck to ball handlers or made it out to shooters. The sixth man also contributed some playmaking on the side.
Of all the struggling scorers, Quickley feels close to getting his efficiency back on track. His jumper looked good whenever he had time to set his feet. But New York has him wearing too many hats right now. He’s their point guard at times and shooting guard at others, all while playing better defense than most colleagues. IQ gets a 3 out of 5 despite his inefficient second half.
Obi Toppin: 3 PTS (1/3 FG, 1/3 3PT), 1 AST, 2 REB in 14 mins
Obi Toppin was open from three often in this game. Toppin was also looked off instead of given the pass in most circumstances. The result was Obi rushing his few shots and looking out of rhythm with the offense.
To be fair, Portland was susceptible to cutting, and Obi stayed on the perimeter. We usually see him put more effort into cutting into lob territory. But he still could have had a different impact if players passed to him out of traffic. Obi gets a 1 out of 5 for going unseen and unused too often.
Jericho Sims: 5 PTS (2/3 FG, 2/2 FT), 2 REB, 2 BLK in 13 mins
Jericho Sims didn’t play many meaningful minutes until the fourth quarter. During that fourth, he blocked a couple of shots and made a significant and-one basket. He hit the floor and found an immediate impact.
But Sims also had trouble with the massive Nurkic. Nurkic took advantage of Sims in overtime, making some crucial baskets. Our sophomore big still gets a 2.5 out of 5 for immediate impact, but we saw his limitations late.
Isaiah Hartenstein: 6 PTS (2/3 FG, 2/2 FT), 2 AST, 2 REB, 2 STL in 17 mins
Isaiah Hartenstein was solid again. His offensive play is trending up with a couple of baskets and assists within the flow of action. He’s starting to look more comfortable.
But he still looks a step behind on defense. Hart was the least adequate big man at protecting the rim, and the team defense was weakest with him. Jericho Sims is pressing him for playing time. Hart gets a 2 out of 5 for the game.
Searching for consistency with Tom Thibodeau’s rotation
Tom Thibodeau must be frustrated at the ebbs and flows of this team. His would-be stars go from great to disaster on a game-to-game basis. His bench was coming around, but his rotation has constantly changed due to injuries.
Or maybe he’s not frustrated. It’s tough to tell when he plays his “stars” heavy minutes, even when they’re shooting the team out of a game. I don’t see many examples of defensive accountability for those guys, regardless of their offensive production.
These complaints carry over through the season but are poignant regarding the loss to Portland. He also has to sort out the center logjam and stop forcing three players to split 48 minutes. Thibs gets a 1.5 out of 5 because this was a winnable game lost on shoddy execution.
Closing Thoughts
The mid-tier experience continues. We saw some signs of hope out West, only to come home for a letdown. At the moment, the Knicks are precisely who we thought they were. That’s a decent team without the needed push to be more than that. Leon Rose bet on his young players to step up, but they’re still as inconsistent as ever.
Watching a young team that also expects to win is a challenge. RJ Barrett is being paid like a rookie anymore, but he still plays like an inexperienced player. Mitchell Robinson can’t afford to be in foul trouble so often. IQ’s on the trading block, but I bet he wouldn’t be if his jumper were reliable.
As fans, this is frustrating to watch. It’s a process without a clear path to improvement. But that’s only true for as long as the youth development feels stagnant. The opportunity is there for somebody, ANYBODY, to step up. If nobody does, then the front office will have to act to find a way to keep building.
The Memphis Grizzlies are next, injury-depleted as ever. So we’ll see if New York can capitalize and discuss who steps up after the next one. 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 Knicks Weekly, where CP, JD, and Alex give their takes on the previous week!
