New York Knicks 115 vs Washington Wizards 113: Randle closes the show!

The New York Knicks needed a buzzer-beater from Julius Randle to take down the Washington Wizards 115-113 in the preseason finale.

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It was simultaneously the Knicks’ worst performance of the preseason and the most exciting game of the exhibitions. New York struggled to contain the Wizards guards defensively and shooters had no rhythm offensively. Washington’s defensive effort was fantastic, a perfect test to push New York to the brink. But New York erased a 15-point deficit in the fourth, spurred on by an unlikely line-up that was big in the backcourt and small in the frontcourt. 

The Garden faithful might have shined more than any player on the floor. You will not find an arena rocking like MSG was for this preseason game. From defense chants to the arena’s lid blowing off as Randle hit the game-winner, the Knicks fans’ presence was electric even through the TV. That doesn’t mean there weren’t big performances though. Derrick Rose and RJ Barrett were great all game long while Julius Randle and Obi Toppin wreaked havoc in the fourth. Plus, how could I not mention the defense of Quentin Grimes? Let’s take a look at the highs and lows of each player’s performance.

Randle and Barrett poised to lead the starters to another playoff campaign

Kemba Walker: Shooting woes and poor defense kept Kemba Walker off the floor during the Knicks’ big comeback. Walker flashed his offensive prowess in spurts, putting Aaron Holiday on skates for a bucket and finishing inside a few times. He also found teammates for good looks around the perimeter frequently. But Walker couldn’t find his three-ball and spent a lot of attempts searching for it. On the opposite end of the floor he was a target by Dinwiddie, then Holiday, and then even Raul Neto. Kemba’s finding his offense but it wasn’t enough to make up for the points that he gave up.

Walker played 19 minutes, shooting 4/11 from the field, 1/6 from three, and 3/3 from the free-throw line. That’s good for 12 points, 6 assists, 3 rebounds, 1 steal, and 1 turnover. The production isn’t bad for limited time but the efficiency needs a boost. Walker still seems to be figuring out how to get his rhythm while ensuring his new teammates get their opportunities. His aggression has ticked up each game, but it’s a clear work in progress. What’s more important is that Walker needs to play better defense. 

Evan Fournier: I’ve made a lot of noise about Evan Fournier playing well without the ball, but he struggled with the ball-in-hand for this action. Fournier missed good looks in the first half before finally scoring by pulling up through screens in the third quarter. The French wing still moved the ball well overall but was accused by coach and announcers of overpassing. It was obvious, as he gave up some good opportunities to find his rhythm. I think this is a chemistry issue. The newcomer is finding his feet in a new offense with teammates he has to adjust to.

Fournier put up 8 points, 3 assists, 1 rebound, 1 steal, and 2 turnovers in 24 minutes. He shot 3/8 from the field and 2/6 from three. His ball-handling and passing still stand out as new weapons for the starting unit, but long-range accuracy still hasn’t come around. I think it’s only a matter of time for the long ball to round into form. The three’s that Fournier made both came off the dribble at the top of the key…the toughest ones he took. In the meantime, Fournier found himself benched for the closing minutes because it was a mediocre performance. But that third quarter flashed some real promise.

RJ Barrett: When no one else could get things going, RJ Barrett was the Knick to make timely buckets. He hit three-pointers early and finished on drives when defended by smaller defenders like Neto. Washington denied the typical passing lanes that Barrett has used to find his bigs or kick-outs, but his response was to round the corner and finish the lay-up. He was the most consistent presence on the starting unit and a genuine stopper on defense to boot.

Barrett spent 34 minutes tallying 18 points, 6 boards, 2 blocks, and 2 turnovers. He shot 7/14 from the field and 4/6 from three. I especially liked seeing him collect some difficult passes and still get into form to make his shots. Last season, you could tell if he’d make a shot just based on how he received the pass and set his feet. This year, the shooting motion is much more fluid. Now let’s gloat on his defense. He locked up Bradley Beal in the first half. When Beal left the game, Barrett switched to Spencer Dinwiddie who was killing the Knicks. RJ made life hell for Dinwiddie too. Then in the fourth quarter at clutch time, RJ picked up a crucial block after a stellar defensive sequence against Deni Avdija. Barrett’s filling Reggie Bullock’s shoes as the lead defender about as well as anyone could have hoped for.

Julius Randle: It took Julius Randle longer to get into this game then he’d probably hoped for. Randle’s jumper betrayed him for most of the first three quarters. But as the game wore on, he simply wore down his defenders and willed himself to a strong performance. The big man grabbed some extra boards, attacked in transition, and got himself to the line enough to find that jumper in time for his late-game heroics to steal a win. This was Randle struggling, and he still had a reasonably strong game when all was said and done.

Randle popped for 21 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, and 4 turnovers. The big man shot 6/16 from the field, 1/6 from three, and 8/11 from the free-throw line. His sole make from three came with about a minute left in the game, having missed 5 of them prior. That’s a confident shot despite prior struggles and he remained clutch from there. He ran himself ragged to get the Knicks in striking distance and brought the game home. The best part is that he and Obi Toppin anchored a unit that played quality defense and flashed uptempo offense that the small-ball combination can add in spells.

Taj Gibson: Taj Gibson fouled out in 15 minutes. The story of his night is quick fouling that led to virtually no opportunities. Gibson never got chances to stay on the floor long enough to find any rhythm. We can blame the refs or the player for it, but it was a mix of both. Taj could have probably gotten away with one or two of the more borderline fouls. That said, there’s not much to critique here. He put up 2 points from the free-throw line and added one steal, but that’s all he managed to produce in a disjointed and foul-prone night.

Rose and Obi help the bench as a newcomer starts to shine

Derrick Rose: Sharpshooting Derrick Rose is not something I was expecting from the preseason. Rose was unguardable, getting inside for finishes and floaters before hitting jump shots all over the place. He was feeling it, and at one point even pulled up for a transition three-pointer. The former MVP is taking and making shots we’ve almost never seen him even try. Add to that, he also created ample opportunity for others and played solid defense throughout the game. Rose was New York’s best player.

In 29 minutes, the former MVP knocked down 11/20 field goals, 3/6 three’s, and 3/3 free throws. He tallied 28 points, 6 assists, and 3 rebounds without a turnover. The beauty of this new look Knicks roster is that different players can step up when needed. Rose was both a steadying presence and a catalyst during runs. He built the bridge from RJ Barrett’s quality early to Randle’s big-time fourth quarter. All the while, there was Derrick Rose getting buckets and dimes to aid his teammates.

Immanuel Quickley: This was by far the worst game of Immanuel Quickley’s preseason. The sophomore could not buy a bucket and seemed off rhythm on a number of plays. He was still elusive enough to get some shots off and flashed a willingness to pull up from midrange that wasn’t there last year. But IQ missed those midrange shots and pretty much everything else he took. 

Quickley played just 17 minutes, struggling for 5 points, 2 assists, 2 rebounds, and 1 turnover. He shot 2/8 from the field, 1/4 from three, and failed to reach the free-throw line. On poor shooting nights, rookie IQ used to pick up his efficiency by drawing fouls for free points on the charity stripe. Be it rule changes or a different approach, he’s been far less successful in drawing fouls this preseason. That said, he’s still a more dynamic player thanks to added playmaking and the aforementioned willingness to diversify his shot selection. Quickley has added a lot to his bag, but putting it all together in an effective manner will probably take some time.

Quentin Grimes: We finally got to see Quentin Grimes play real minutes against pros and he looked like a player that can contribute. Grimes’ may have shown some nerves in his jump shot, missing open looks from long and midrange. But the rookie kept his game afloat behind fantastic defense and the ability to contribute across the score sheet. When the game reached clutch time, Grime’s defense earned Thibs trust. The rookie who had struggled all night called for the ball with New York down 5 and under two minutes to go, then splashed a three-pointer to make it a one-possession game. That kind of confidence is promising from the rookie.

Grimes snagged 21 minutes with his quality play. While he shot just 2/9 from the field and 2/6 from three, Grimes managed to produce 6 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, and 1 turnover. It was the rookie that finally iced Raul Neto who had run everyone else ragged on defense. Similar to Quickley, Grimes also flashed the will to attack a closeout by stepping in for the midrange jumper…but missed the looks. The good news is that his form is as pretty as ever. Grimes has a quick release and lines everything up nicely, though he did float unnecessarily on one of his shots of the dribble. I want this kid to break into the Knicks rotation ASAP! He’s got two-way potential and the Grimes/Barrett wing tandem was behind the fourth-quarter defense popping.

Obi Toppin: Speaking of defense popping, Obi Toppin picked up his third block of the game during the clutch moments of the win. His first half was relatively quiet, but Toppin thrived in the fourth. When New York got stops, it allowed Toppin to work his transition game for alley-oops, dunks, and a corner three-pointer that he dedicated to Floyd Mayweather on the sideline. Could you imagine him pointing to celebrity row at this point last year? The kid had some of the worst yips I’ve ever seen as a rookie but is oozing confidence as a sophomore.

Obi put up 9 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, and 3 blocks in 20 minutes. He shot 4/8 from the field and 1/2 from three. The former college star turns his minutes into a track meet that few bigs can deal with. He’s looking better on the boards and while his rim protection is a work in progress, he’s clearly improving and increasing his effort. If there’s one complaint I have, he still doesn’t have the lower body strength to move defenders in the post. Toppin tried to take Deni Avdija from the deep post and wound up taking his ugliest attempt of the game after he got nowhere. Still, the improvement is obvious and Obi seems poised to force his way to more minutes.

Mitchell Robinson: Welcome back Mitchell Robinson! Taj Gibson’s foul woes meant that instead of Mitch getting his feet wet, New York’s big man dove right in…literally. The kid must have hit the deck five times at least. Robinson looked a bit rusty in areas like timing and anticipating lobs vs shots. But part of that was Spencer Dinwiddie and Raul Neto being very crafty off the bounce. What’s more important is that Mitch moved well, feasted on offensive boards, and left shooters refusing to even attempt challenging him most of the time.

Mitch played for 27 minutes in his return. He put up 6 points, 9 rebounds, 2 steals, and 2 turnovers on 3/8 shooting. Robinson’s second leap wasn’t what it used to be which might be rust or could be the added weight. He was blocked trying to put back some offensive rebounds. That said, his muscle shined when he took one dribble to gather after a rebound and slammed the ball home. We got our first Mitch flex on that one. His motor was obvious too, as he looked gas but still dove for loose balls and fought until he could barely make it down the court. I can’t wait to see Robinson with his legs fully under him, he impacted this game despite the rust.

Meaningless games make for unlikely opportunities when Thibodeau leads

Tom Thibodeau: I’m guessing that the Knicks are the only team that ran its star players for over 30 minutes in the final game of the preseason. The Wizards had Beal resting by halftime and Dinwiddie off by the fourth. That’s not how Tom Thibodeau works. He would have kept all his starters out there too close if that was the road to victory. Thibs doesn’t care about your measly rest, he’s old-school potentially to a fault. 

But his obsession with winning also means that when something isn’t working, Thibodeau will give chances to new players. Quentin Grimes barely played in the preseason, yet there he was calling for and making a clutch shot with under two minutes left. Obi and Randle aren’t supposed to work on defense, but since they were getting it done Thibs didn’t overthink things or make changes. He trusted the bigs and they responded with a big block. People will stress, fairly I might add, about the crazy minutes that key players got in a meaningless game. But I’m willing to give that a pass as long the competitive mindset means opportunities are available and rewarded when someone new steps up.

Closing Thoughts: Now we wait for the regular season. The Knicks went undefeated for the preseason by playing harder than anyone else typically does. But by these past two with Detroit and Washington, their opponents matched the energy and created a special kind of environment for these exhibitions. The intensity on the floor energized the Garden so that even the crowd was in midseason form. It reminded me of the year Miami fans left a playoff game early then tried to get back in because they’d emptied out before a comeback…juxtapose that to NYC, where fans watched their team down double-digits all night so that they could explode at a comeback in the final minutes. We’re built different!

But now the games are going to matter, every team will play harder, and the competition will be better than anything the Knicks saw in the preseason. It’s time to prove doubters wrong and see if the Garden can become even more electric. I haven’t been this excited for a season since Kidd, Sheed, and Kmart joined Melo. The difference this season is most of the pieces are homegrown either by draft or by birthplace. It feels like something special might be brewing or maybe that’s just the norm in this new culture. Either way, I can’t wait to ride through this new season with all of my Knicks fam!

Stay tuned to KnicksFanTV.com for the latest Knicks news, rumors and recaps throughout the 2021-22 season! In case you missed it, catch last week’s preseason recap and fan mailbag show below!