The New York Knicks defeat the Los Angeles Lakers 106-100 after squandering another double-digit lead in the third quarter.
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The New York Knicks went from blowing out the Los Angeles Lakers to barely hanging on with a 106 to 100 victory. The Knicks got off to a torrid start with great ball movement leading to a 25-point lead at one point. But the offense stagnated against the Lakers zone defense and the third-quarter of doom returned in full effect. The second unit picked things up in the fourth quarter and helped guide New York to a much-needed victory against a Los Angeles team that didn’t have LeBron James.
We saw the best and worst traits of Julius Randle from one quarter to the next, while Evan Fournier kicked into gear and finally earned some fourth-quarter minutes. The second unit was great, even without Rose, as Alec Burks led the way early and Immanuel Quickley closed the show… and yes, of course, Obi Toppin gave us some highlights. Let’s dive in and see how the Knicks can turn this win into a positive run with tough opponents looming.
Signs of chemistry as Fournier explodes for the Knicks’ starters:
Kemba Walker: 6 PTS (2/6 FG, 0/2 3 PT, 2/2 FT), 5 AST, 4 REB, 1 BLK in 23 mins
Kemba Walker didn’t provide much in the form of scoring, but he was productive in other ways. The New York native blew by everyone for a transition lay-up early and established himself as a downhill threat despite not finishing often. His gravity created playmaking opportunities for everybody else, including Julius Randle who can always use some easy looks.
Walker rarely hears accolades for his defense, but I thought he did a nice job against Los Angeles. He wasn’t at fault for Russell Westbrook hitting jumpers, which was an unexpected development for everyone including the broadcast team. Kemba checked Talen Horton-Tucker often and the Lakers’ prospect managed to go scoreless in 29 minutes of action (there’s a Frank Ntilikina joke in there but I was Frank-hive, so I won’t make it).
Walker’s 23 minutes of action started better than they finished, but that’s true for everyone in the first unit. The ball started to stick as the game wore on and the Lakers’ zone defense created some confusion. But in the early going, we saw Walker command the offense more often and it produced some of the best ball movement from starters all year. It wasn’t a world-beating performance, but Walker lived up to his limited minutes and earned a 2 out of 5 on impact.
Evan Fournier: 26 PTS (8/14 FG, 6/9 3 PT, 4/4 FT), 2 AST, 4 REB, 2 TO in 42 mins
Evan Fournier came out the gate with a couple of three-pointers and never looked back. The Knicks’ early passing left Fournier wide-open as the ball traveled from player to player and reached him. The free-agent acquisition also did some damage off the dribble, converting a few tough shots in traffic, and making some clever passes along the way.
Interestingly enough, I felt that the starters’ offense fell apart once the players forgot to involve Fournier. I’ve mentioned him disappearing in some games, but this time it wasn’t his fault. You could catch the French wing cutting through screens and finding open spots on the floor, but not before a ball-handler would force a bad shot with plenty of time to spare. Predictably, third-quarter woes subsided when Fournier got involved again.
Fournier’s scoring (and Rose’s ankle injury) led him to get a ton of fourth-quarter minutes. He took a backseat to the red-hot Immanuel Quickley, but still produced in closing out the win. The only blemish for the wing was that Avery Bradley put too many points on the board against him. Fournier gets a 4 out of 5 for leading the team in scoring and commanding more minutes.
RJ Barrett: 12 PTS (4/8 FG, 3/5 3 PT, 1/2 FT), 3 AST, 7 REB, 2 TO in 27 mins
Like Fournier, RJ Barrett was a major recipient of the starters’ early ball movement. He routinely got the ball after two or three passes with plenty of time to line up and shoot. When the game stagnated, Barrett began to struggle for alternative ways to score. He forced a couple of bad three-point attempts and faded in the team’s stagnation.
That’s not necessarily a knock on RJ. The prospect can’t manufacture points when games stagnate but flashes his best traits when the ball moves freely. This is the type of game where you can see how much a lack of chemistry between starters has impacted Barrett’s recent struggles.
I’ll always make note of Barrett’s secondary production. He might not have put up a ton of points, but he grabbed 7 boards and 3 assists in less than 30 minutes. That’s not bad for a player that was the third or fourth option for most of the night. If his three-ball can stay on track, his contributions will quickly return to overwhelmingly positive levels. Barrett grabs a 2.5 out of 5 for a solid start.
Julius Randle: 20 PTS (7/17 FG, 1/5 3 PT, 5/8 FT), 5 AST, 16 REB, 1 STL, 4 TO in 34 mins
Julius Randle had a Jekyll and Hyde kind of night. He started the game by powering through Anthony Davis in the post and continued to attack inside early. Randle didn’t just find success by finishing inside but also used his gravity to feed shooters and ball-handlers in space. He was the epicenter of the early ball movement, drawing defenders then spraying the ball around to free attackers.
But when the Lakers shifted to a zone, Randle’s game took a downward turn. He started to force the issue and settle for jumpers. The offense that thrived off his inside-out attack became completely stagnant. To make matters worse, Randle would get too close to ball-handlers and the result was poor spacing against Los Angeles’ zone. That set up a clear contrast when Obi Toppin subbed in and found open space for passers instead of wandering too close.
Randle could have had a tremendous game, but he’ll have to settle for good. Despite his struggles offensively as the game wore on, his effort never waned. The Knicks’ star was a monster on the boards and at least locked in for match-ups with Davis on defense. But it’s frustrating to see him go from an engine of the offense to the reason that movement grinds to a halt. He was the reason for early chemistry and the problem behind later struggles. Randle gets a 2.5 out of 5 but it would have been a 5 if he had stuck to his early approach.
Nerlens Noel: 4 PTS (2/7 FG), 1 AST, 7 REB, 3 STL, 2 BLK in 39 mins
Nerlens Noel put up a very Nerlens Noel kind of stat line. He had as many blocks and steals as points and assists. That’s not a bad thing, because Noel’s role is to make the defense function. In that capacity, the shot blocker’s night was a resounding success. He disrupted ball handlers, denied scorers at the rim, and kept the defense humming with good placement and rotations.
His 2 for 7 night isn’t quite as bad as it may look. The big man attempted a few shots from further out than normal as a result of the Lakers zone. He also missed attempts at the rim due to errant passes and lobs. That’s partially his fault because his hands still have the grip strength of a small child but players ought to make more accurate passes.
Noel had a good game, made more important by the fact that other centers were hurt. He couldn’t afford to run into the same foul trouble that has plagued his first two games back from injury. So we got New York’s defensive anchor playing a more disciplined kind of defense without losing any of his efficacy as a rim protector. Noel gets a 3 out of 5 for his positive impact in big minutes.
Shooters shoot, Obi flies off the Knicks’ bench:
Immanuel Quickley: 14 PTS (4/9 FG, 4/8 3 PT, 2/2 FT), 3 AST, 3 REB, 2 TO in 22 mins
Immanuel Quickley had a Burks-like night. He spent the first three quarters looking for his offense without much success. Then the fourth quarter started and IQ kicked into gear with a slew of threes that helped push the Knicks past the Lakers. He went from completely silent to a force for New York the second the fourth began.
Quickley also stood out defensively with a superior effort from the bench backcourt compared to their starting counterparts. IQ didn’t add any Stocks to his box score but he was visibly challenging shooters and making good rotations. For as much as we speak about Quickley’s offense, his growth as a defender is arguably even more impressive than his playmaking development.
Quickley turned a three-point barrage into leading the bench in scoring. But even when he was quiet early, he could stay on the floor by making solid passes and defending well. That’s crucial for the microwave scorer because he usually only needs one shot to fall for a scoring streak to ensue. He was okay for three quarters and absolutely fantastic in the fourth. For closing the show with New York, IQ nets a 3 out of 5 on his impact grade.
Alec Burks: 12 PTS (4/10 FG, 1/3 3 PT, 3/3 FT), 3 AST, 6 REB, 2 STL, 1 TO in 26 mins
Alec Burks was the steady hand off the bench that kept things flowing despite Derrick Rose’s absence. The bench unit didn’t have quite the same bite that we’ve seen in prior games, allowing the Lakers’ bench to outscore them through the first three. But that’s partly because the rotation was tightened up with essentially one less player than usual — Burks ran things for a while and he did a respectable job of creating points and dimes along the way.
One thing missing from this performance was long-distance shooting. Burks stepped into a nice pull-up three in the fourth but otherwise didn’t make any shots at range. He usually gets his threes through swing passes to the weak side from ball-handlers at the opposite elbow-extended. By playing on-ball more often, those opportunities weren’t as available. It’s a small wrinkle to keep an eye on if Burks becomes a defacto replacement PG when Kemba or Rose rests.
Is it time to shout out Burks’ defensive play as a pattern? He’s picked up 8 steals over the last four games and his defensive play goes well beyond poking the ball free. Burks is challenging shooters and grabbing defensive boards at a strong clip as well. Russ did beat him to the rim a few times, but that’s a former MVP so it’s forgivable. For growing into a two-way player before our very eyes, Burks nets a 3 out of 5 on impact.
Obi Toppin: 12 PTS (6/11 FG, 0/2 3 PT), 1 AST, 4 REB, 1 STL, 1 BLK, 1 TO in 22 mins
Immanuel Quickley lobbed an alley-oop to Obi Toppin from behind half-court and I couldn’t help but have a flashback of Chris Childs doing the same thing for Marcus Camby back when I was a bright-eyed youngster. Obi’s ability to fly would appear repeatedly throughout the night as he cooked along the baseline whenever the Lakers lost sight of him. He shot poorly at range, but that didn’t matter since he got open inside so often.
The best part of Obi’s game was how he picked apart the zone defense without touching the ball. Toppin would simply wander into empty space and let the ball-handlers find him. The broadcast team mentioned the Lakers falling asleep on New York’s big athlete, but the reality is that the zone defense will do that. A man on the ball would draw two players and as everything warped, Obi was quick to step into an opening and make himself available.
These are the benefits of having a super athlete with Obi Toppin’s motor. The high flier didn’t just wait for the ball but made his opportunities by working into place. His chemistry with IQ and Burks has reached peak levels, with every ball-handler off the bench knowing to check the dunker’s spots on forays into traffic. Also, just to throw it in, the Lakers smallish line-ups helped Obi to remain effective defensively even without rim protectors backing him up. Obi gets a 3.5 out of 5 for playing a big role in beating the zone.
Quentin Grimes: 1 REB in 5 mins
Quentin Grimes got in for legitimate minutes in the second quarter. He was locked in for solid defensive play and effort but didn’t do much else. I’m not sure he ever received the ball in a position to even look at the rim. But the good news is that he already looks like an NBA-level defender having hounded Russel Westbrook for his brief tenure.
Longer stretches of success, but Tom Thibodeau’s rotation still stagnates in spells:
Tom Thibodeau:
I half-jokingly talked about how the starters’ success last game was worrisome because Tom Thibodeau would stick with them longer. Then the starting unit came out with a lovely first quarter that made Thibs look like a genius… but then they came back in and regressed. True to form, Thibodeau stuck with his starters for the late second quarter and deep into the third quarter, where they stagnated the offense and turned a blowout win into a dogfight instead.
I can’t blame Thibodeau too much after the starters showed their upside in that first. If the offense can gel, these players could blow teams off the floor. The problem is that they’ve flashed more bad than good and Thibs never seems to bring Randle back down once he gets out of control. We can praise extending the bench minutes late or riding Fournier’s hot hand, but the inconsistency from starters as we approach the quarter season overshadows everything.
That said, we got the win despite being short-handed. Mitch, Rose, and Taj all sat this game out and Thibodeau ran a shorter rotation that held on to win. He’s shown more trust in IQ lately and allowed Burks to run the show more often. Those feel like organic developments, but I’ve seen Thibodeau stubbornly swim against the current before. So I’ll give the COTY his props for sticking with what works and score him at a 2.5 out of 5 despite a 25-point lead nearly collapsing.
Closing Thoughts:
The Knicks needed that win and I’m not going to throw shade just because it was closer than it had to be. For as much as I’ve bashed the starting unit, this is two games in a row that they’ve flashed genuine signs of development. Is it enough to warrant even more patience? I’m not entirely sure about all that, but they’ve given Thibodeau enough plausible deniability that I can’t hate too much.
This actually feels an awful lot like last year. The Knicks started slow but built momentum as their chemistry developed and Rose arrived to complete the rotation. This year its injuries that have held kept the rotation in flux, but we’re already seeing positive trends for the defense which is steadily gaining ground. The offense is inconsistent but showing longer stretches of outright dominance. I’ll still flip out if things collapse back to the mean, but I think there’s a reason for optimism that the best is yet to come.
But things might get dark first. Phoenix is next and they start a five-game run against a who’s who of contenders. Atlanta is the lowest in the standings of the bunch but they’re on a five-game win streak. These are the tests that can show New York whether they’re ready to compete at the top of the league or if struggles require more permanent changes. I’ll be here to evaluate it all with you Knicks fam!
Stay tuned to KnicksFanTV.com for the latest Knicks news, rumors, and recaps throughout the 2021-22 NBA season. In case you missed it, catch CP and Alex Wolfe recap the previous week of Knicks basketball!
