The Knicks won ugly in Philadelphia after losing even uglier to Cleveland. What patterns and trends can we dig out of the back-to-back?
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The New York Knicks split their first back-to-back of the season, losing to Cleveland Cavaliers 109 to 126 before defeating the Philadelphia 76’ers 103 to 96.
I was at the Garden for the Cavs game, which meant I didn’t get to recap an ugly loss. The Knicks looked flat after half-time, and managed to make Ricky Rubio look like Steph Curry thanks to awful defense at the point of attack. It was a worrisome loss that magnified the importance of the Sixers game just one day later.
New York faced a depleted Philadelphia next. The Knicks got off to a strong start but suffered another third-quarter crash. Tom Thibodeau had to get creative with his line-ups thanks to injuries in the frontcourt. The Knicks protected their lead and closed with RJ Barrett at power forward and Julius Randle at center.
The two games showed some troubling patterns, but also provide some interesting paths forward. The season is young and plenty of teams are still finding their footing. So I’m taking a different approach this time and pairing the games off. Let’s see what we can learn by coupling a bad performance with a bounce back.
Even with changes, the Knicks starting unit struggles defensively:
Kemba Walker:
Against Cavaliers: DNP
Against Sixers: 8 pts, 3 reb, 5 ast, 1 stl (3/9 fg, 1/6 3pt, 1/1 ft) 27 mins
Kemba Walker’s day off might have been the most telling aspect of this back-to-back. It’s easy to pin New York’s defensive problems on the new arrivals, especially Kemba. So the fact that Ricky Rubio torched the Knicks while Walker rested at least lets us know that the troubles run deeper than any one player.
When the New York native did play in Philadelphia, he had a solid performance despite struggling from three. Walker’s fresh legs might have helped him to get into the lane more often than in recent tough performances. He didn’t score inside frequently, but his trips inside opened up playmaking opportunities. As much as this team plays off Julius Randle, Kemba’s the most useful piece at creating easier looks for Randle.
It’s too early to make any major declarations about Walker. We’ve seen him take over some games, struggle in others, and have decent but fairly average outings like against the Sixers. I think his ability to stretch the floor and create space for Randle and Barrett to work downhill provides the most upside for the team offensively… but only that starting line-up can tighten up its defense.
Evan Fournier:
Against Cavliers: 15 pts, 3 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl, 1 to (5/13 fg, 2/7 3pt, 3/3 ft) 29 mins
Against Sixers: 11 pts, 6 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl, 1 to (5/8 fg, 1/4 3pt) 27 mins
Evan Fournier spent both games of the back-to-back doing most of his damage in the first half of each game. He fell into a shooting slump against the Cavs and let the refs get in his head against Philly. The Frenchman had effective possessions on trips inside the arc, but his offense is limited by his inability to knock down three-pointers.
The bigger concern for Fournier after Cleveland was his defense. He had an inefficient night, but we can live with that as long as he’s spacing the floor and providing resistance on the opposite end. Philadelphia saw a more focused defensive effort, but it was marred by some mistakes in the third quarter — he picked up unnecessary fouls that sent him to the bench for a long section of the second half.
The good news is that Fournier’s trending in the right direction. I’m not concerned about his jumper because he’s now hitting midrange shots. The French wing stepped up his defensive effort and looks willing to work hard. Defensive chemistry will take time and once that three ball is falling, Fournier will be back to consistent positive impacts.
RJ Barrett:
Against Caviliers: 6 pts, 3 reb, 1 ast, 4 to (3/13 fg, 0/6 3pt) 30 mins
Against Sixers: 15 pts, 10 reb, 4 ast, 1 blk, 3 to (6/20 fg, 2/8 3pt, 1/1 ft) 40 mins
RJ Barrett had his worst performance of the season against Cleveland. Many of his struggles continued in Philadelphia, but he willed his way to a more effective game through hard work. Barrett got after rebounds and attacked in transition to make up for a slow shooting night. Despite his shooting struggles, Broadway Barrett made timely threes to go along with his downhill approach.
The third-year prospect spent both games attacking off the bounce, but wasn’t always successful. Cleveland especially denied his attempts inside, while Philadelphia also forced some bad passes and shots. Yet I think his biggest issue was an inability to draw whistles against either side. RJ’s chasing contact without drawing whistles and that leaves him in traffic with few options, hence 7 turnovers in two nights.
It’s easy to fixate on Barrett’s inefficiency from the field, especially from three, in the back-to-back games. But the fact that he managed to have a fantastic second game despite the poor shooting is a bigger story. Barrett found other ways to impact the game even when his scoring was off. His development this season could determine how far New York goes, and I see a lot more room before he reaches his ceiling.
Julius Randle:
Against Cavaliers: 19 pts, 7 reb, 7 ast, 1 stl, 1 blk, 2 to (7/17 fg, 1/5 3pt, 4/5 ft) 37 mins
Against Sixers: 31 pts, 12 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl, 3 to (12/25 fg, 5/10 3pt, 2/2 ft) 36 mins
I’ve mentioned in prior recaps that the Knicks go as Julius Randle does. His energy and body language looked off against Cleveland, to the extent that teammates visibly reacted to his late rotations. The Philadelphia game offered a perfect contrast by showing us an energized Randle who still played the same way but had a much larger impact.
The match-ups are worth noting in comparing these two performances. Randle faced big, lengthy defenders against Cleveland which only made Danny Green look even smaller as Philly’s de facto power forward. It makes a lot more sense for Randle to isolate against an undersized opponent than it does for him to force attempts against 7 footers. We could still catch some missed reads and forced attempts in either performance but the mistakes are magnified when Randle’s effort is lacking off-ball.
The big story for Julius Randle this season will be about staying focused. We’ve seen him taken out of games due to frustration with the refs, his own play, and sometimes inexplicably. Randle is the engine for this squad and offense should come more easily surrounded by the talent of this season. He’s finding his chemistry with starters and watching him get easier looks against Philadelphia wasn’t just due to match-ups, but a more deliberate approach when receiving the ball (quick decision-making changes his trajectory on any given night).
Mitchell Robinson:
Against Cavaliers: 8 pts, 7 reb, 1 ast, 5 blk (3/3 fg, 2/2 ft) 17 mins
Against Sixers: DNP
Mitchell Robinson got off to an impressive start by harassing Jarrett Allen in his early minutes against Cleveland. But Robinson’s mobility looked more labored as the game wore on. By the time Mitch left in the third, he was being burned by rookies and backing off shot-block attempts.
Mitch missed the Philly match-up due to a hip flexor issue, which explains his poor mobility against the Cavs. Granted, Mitch has lost a step after his foot injury and bulking up, but he was moving slower than Enes Kanter in that Cleveland game.
The forward outlook for Robinson is simple, get healthy and note Nerlens Noel’s defensive positioning. Noel can cover more ground, but he still offers a blueprint for how to slow down ball-handlers while still containing rim-runners. With Mitch able to cover bigger bodies and Noel quick enough to cover speedy bigs, they should be a great 1a and 1b rim-protecting combo… if they’re ever both healthy at the same time.
New York’s second unit sophomores need more minutes:
Derrick Rose:
Against Cavaliers: 17 pts, 1 reb, 5 ast, 1 stl (8/14 fg, 1/2 3pt) 29 mins
Against Sixers: 6 pts, 4 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl, 3 to (2/8 fg, 0/2 3pt, 2/2 ft) 21 mins
Derrick Rose was one of New York’s best players against Cleveland, sticking to the downhill style that defined his play last season. He’s been taking and making fewer threes recently, but it comes with more trips inside that collapse the defense — that means both IQ and Burks get better looks. The former Bull took a similar approach to Philly but didn’t have the legs to finish around bigger defenders.
The drop-off from Cleveland to Philly is an easy example of why depth matters. D-Rose was one of the lone bright spots from the Cleveland loss but needed help from everyone else the next night. The good news is that even with less efficiency, Rose’s constant rim pressure opened the game up for teammates. He’s become a bit of a tone-setter, whose drive-and-kick attack is emulated by teammates once the example is set.
Rose’s prospects are as good as they’ve been since we stole him for Dennis Smith Jr and a second-rounder. His struggles on the second night of a back-to-back do give us fair warning. Thibodeau needs to make time to rest his players, especially two aging point-guards. It’s still early, yet I expect Miles McBride to get opportunities to spell both Kemba and Rose as the season wears on and fatigue builds. Keep those guys fresh and develop the rookie.
Immanuel Quickley:
Against Cavaliers: 12 pts, 5 ast, 1 reb, 1 stl (3/8 fg, 2/5 3pt, 4/4 ft) 20 mins
Against Sixers: 10 pts, 3 ast, 2 to (3/4 fg, 3/4 3 pt, 1/2 ft) 16 mins
Immanuel Quickley’s growth as a playmaker flashed in some nifty passing during the fourth quarter against the Cavs. IQ’s dime to Quentin Grimes was one of my favorite passes of the two-game set. That made Quickley’s start to the Philadelphia game disappointing as he had two turnovers before any other production. But early hesitation turned into decisive play after the sophomore got a couple of shots to fall and built some confidence.
Shots falling are probably more important than playmaking for Quickley. He’s predominantly a scorer off the bench, and he finally began to convert three-pointers like we’re used to from last season. His floater is also beginning to hit from any and every angle. His double-digit scoring against Cleveland and Philly represents just the second and third time he’s broken 10 points all season. We need IQ the scorer a lot more than the playmaker right now, although I see the development in that area.
I’d like to see Quickley settle into his scoring role before Thibodeau taps him for further point-guard duties. The young guard has developed better vision and reads, but he can only take advantage of them by drawing defenders. He tied his season-high with 5 assists against Cleveland, and the playmaking came after the scoring. He’ll learn to switch gears as necessary with reps, but I’m liking that his offense is back on track because that’s where he’ll find his minutes.
(Sidenote: I didn’t mention defense, but Quickley has been one of our best perimeter defenders partially because there’s not a ton of competition and partially because he’s made real, clear improvements on that end).
Alec Burks:
Against Cavaliers: 10 pts, 1 reb, 1 stl (2/7 fg, 1/2 3pt, 5/6 ft) 22 mins
Against Sixers: 5 pts, 7 reb, 2 ast (2/7 fg, 1/5 3pt, 0/2 ft) 21 mins
Judging from stats, you might think that Alec Burks was better against Cleveland than Philadelphia. The eye test says otherwise and I’d point to the rebounds to start my case.
Burks’ effort against Philadelphia included chasing boards and playing tighter defense. He was a one-trick pony against the Cavs and didn’t do enough scoring to make up for barely scratching the rest of the score sheet. By adding a pinch of playmaking and a lot of rebounding to the mix, his 2/7 was easier to forget on night two than it was on night one.
Speaking of shooting slumps, Burks is mired in one of his own. The microwave scorer has hit multiple threes one time in the past six games. He’s taking fewer shots and missing some of the easy ones that he does get, embodied by a pair of missed free throws while New York clung to a lead against Philly. So while his scoring is down, it’s even more important for Burks to expand his contributions.
I’ve harped on IQ struggling to balance new playmaking duties with old scoring mentalities all year. It’s fair to wonder if a similar challenge is limiting Burks. When Kemba sat out, it was Alec Burks off the bench to replace Rose rather than IQ. I don’t think either guy should be worrying about floor general duties before they’ve even found their scoring grooves. So I’m hoping that Burks looks for his shot first and builds from there, and I’m also making yet another case for Miles McBride to get some looks soon.
Obi Toppin:
Against Caviliers: 11 pts, 2 reb, 1 ast, 1 to (4/4 fg, 3/3 ft) 11 mins
Against Sixers: 4 pts, 3 ast, 3 reb, 1 blk, 1 to (2/3 fg, 0/1 3pt) 9 mins
Obi Toppin’s lack of playing time is quickly becoming inexplicable. The sophomore prospect changes the pace of the game and injects energy into the entire roster. He looked like a one-man response to Cleveland’s oversized but not particularly mobile front-court, outrunning bigs and finishing around anyone that kept up. If there’s space around the rim, he’s flying in and looking for a lob or putback. Toppin is pressure personified with a motor and speed that few bigs in the league can keep up with.
Toppin has always been a good passer, but his improved ball-handling is displaying it more. His heads-up passing makes him a great partner in two-man situations that Julius Randle has thrived in next to shooters. We get flashes of that when Obi and IQ pair up, but I’d like to see him in that action with everybody. Unfortunately, Toppin’s not getting enough minutes to try much but he’s filling the stat-sheet with what few touches he gets.
Obi needs more minutes and the worrisome part of this back-to-back is how perfect it aligned with that need. Against Cleveland, Toppin was a momentum-changing force. Philadelphia went small enough for Obi to get extra minutes as long as he didn’t match against Drummond. These were the games where we SHOULD expect to see more time for Toppin. Bigs were out, opponents were undersized, and the sophomore dunker was playing really well… it’s concerning that Thibodeau didn’t get him even 15 minutes a game.
Nerlens Noel:
Against Cavaliers: 5 pts, 6 reb, 3 stl, 3 blk, 2 to (2/2 fg, 1/1 ft) 30 mins
Against Sixers: 6 pts, 2 reb (2/3 fg, 2/2 ft) 12 mins
Just when it looked like Nerlens Noel was back to impact the defense in a positive way, a player fell into his knee and pushed him out of his first start of the season early. Noel was a major presence against Cleveland, whose defensive impact was only held back by the Cavs’ ability to just shoot from outside to avoid him. Noel looked poised to make things happen against the Sixers as well, but he was dealing with a sore back and then left with the knee injury after just 12 minutes.
There were some other nice signs out of the shot blocker. He attempted a baseline jumper that rimmed out and held on to a tough lob for RJ. His low rebounding totals are more a function of attempting to clear out room for other players than from poor boards-work. Noel created chaos and came away from the two-game set as a promising presence, but his injury concerns cut off the good work early.
Health is the key to our freshly re-signed shot-blocker. Nerlens came back like he’d never left, fitting in with starters against Philly as well as he worked with the bench unit versus Cleveland. You know what you’re getting with Noel. He’s a defense-first, hard-working big man with questionable hands and offensive limitations but a positive impact on most nights. Now we just need him healthy.
Taj Gibson:
Against Cavaliers: DNP
Against Sixers: 7 pts, 8 reb, 1 ast, 2 blk (3/4 fg, 1/1 ft) 31 mins
Taj Gibson returned to the rotation because of Mitchell Robinson’s injury. He got right back to playing starters minutes thanks to Nerlens Noel’s injury. Thus, the Knicks’ third-string center was a DNP against Cleveland, before being an impact player against a tough match-up in Andre Drummond.
With Gibson, you always know what you’re getting. He was a workhorse on the boards and a physical presence on defense. The big man blocked and challenged shots at the rim while denying second chances for Philly. We don’t need to see new wrinkles from the big man, he’s been playing well for a long career and continues to now.
The outlook for Taj is that he’ll be needed. The Knicks have two centers ahead of him, but both of those bigs are injury-prone. Gibson is the steady presence necessary to cover when a big man goes down and his leadership is just as helpful as his on-court contribution.
Quentin Grimes:
Against Cavaliers: 6 pts, 1 reb (2/3 fg, 2/3 3pt) 12 mins
Against Sixers: DNP
Quentin Grimes finally got key minutes, albeit in a loss. Grimes came in to try and slow down Ricky Rubio after the Spanish guard had torched every rotation guard Thibs threw at him. The rookie did reasonably well on defense and stuck around for the whole quarter. With that extra time, we got a glimpse of the newcomer’s shooting form again, and it’s a beauty.
Another notable touch for Grimes is that he wasn’t afraid to put the ball on the floor. He didn’t force his shot and dribbled past closeouts while looking to kick the ball out. His defense could be needed if the current rotation fails to improve on the perimeter, and his ability to stretch the floor ought to keep the offense from falling off. He looks like he’s ready to contribute, but there’s a log jam so he’ll have to wait his turn.
Tom Thibodeau makes things interesting when injuries force his hand:
Tom Thibodeau: The back-to-back marked an opportunity for Tom Thibodeau to mix things up. He rested Kemba Walker which created a rotation opening in game one, then Mitchell Robinson’s injury created a front-court opening. That meant more frustration when Thibodeau stubbornly stuck to the usual suspects and didn’t give many opportunities to the youth on his bench. It was only after multiple injuries forced his hand that Thibodeau got creative, but the success he found with a small-ball lineup was notable.
Thibs played a front-court combination of RJ Barrett and Julius Randle that opened up the floor and proved effective. The two bulldozers took advantage of additional space for drive and kick attacks. Randle especially thrived in the added space while Barrett knocked down a crucial three-pointer. I’d have liked to see Obi Toppin incorporated as well, but this was still a promising development. The backcourt didn’t change even with Kemba resting, at least until defensive needs forced Grimes into the game… that also worked out.
Am I frustrated with Tom Thibodeau? A little bit, but I also know that this is what we signed up for. Thibodeau plays the guys he trusts and sticks to his rotation. No amount of pressure was taking Elfrid Payton off the court last year and we won’t be seeing more Obi Toppin until Thibodeau decides (I won’t hold my breath). I take the trade-off of fewer minutes for the youth because that comes with culture-changing intensity when it comes to focusing and winning. I want to see the young players thrive sooner than later, but I can wait because I know that Thibs ensures those youngsters will be ready when the time comes.
Closing Thoughts:
I saw too much negativity after last night’s loss for my liking. The Knicks were rolling until shots stopped falling in the third quarter, but the looks were fine. The players’ legs looked tired and we’re supposed to expect as much in the second-leg of a back-to-back. New York held on to win on the road from a sincere effort from their players. It wasn’t a perfect performance, but it was a step in the right direction.
We have to remind ourselves that it’s still early and this team is still very young. Julius Randle is being scouted in earnest and facing different schemes on a nightly basis. RJ Barrett is just coming into his own while Kemba Walker figures out how to play in a reduced role. Robinson, IQ, and Toppin all represent youth and they have room for growth as this season wears on. The Knicks haven’t gelled yet, but they’re still in the thick of things, a game out of 1st place in the division (a spot held by Philadelphia whom New York has beaten twice already).
Next up is the sleeping giant. The Bucks have been depleted early and are struggling as a result. We saw the Knicks smack them to the tune of a 15-point beating just last week, so the Bucks will show up hungry behind their MVP. New York has another chance to make a statement and start a win-streak in this competitive Eastern Conference. I’m hoping for some positive trends to continue and new developments to excite. I’ll see you after the game Knicks fam!
Stay tuned to KnicksFanTV.com for the latest Knicks news, rumors, and recaps throughout the 2021-22 season! And in case you missed it, catch CP The Franchise’s recent appearance on WFAN with Moose and Maggie below:
