The New York Knicks defeat the Detroit Pistons 105-91. Mitchell Robinson has a monster game while Kemba Walker has another good performance.
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The New York Knicks took a comfortable victory over the Detroit Pistons 105 to 91. The Knicks got off to a quick lead behind the aggressive offensive play and quality defense. They continued to build on their lead throughout the next three quarters, staving off brief runs from the young Pistons. The team communicated well and moved the ball freely, taking advantage of a Pistons team without their star player. The offense was still sloppy in spells, but this looked like a step forward for team chemistry.
Evan Fournier surpassed 20 points for the third straight game with ample help from Kemba Walker and Julius Randle. But the man of the hour was Mitchell Robinson off the bench, energizing play on both ends of the floor. The Knicks may have faced a struggling opponent, but these are necessary wins over the course of a long season. Let’s see what stood out from each player’s performance.
New York starts aggressive and doesn’t let up
Kemba Walker: 21 PTS (8/21 FG, 3/9 3PT, 2/2 FT), 5 AST, 8 REB, 1 STL, 2 TO in 40 mins
This felt more like the Kemba Walker I expected when he signed. Walker was a nightmare to defend in the pick and roll, a threat to shoot whenever he had space, and an elusive ball-handler that could get into the lane and throw everything into chaos. His passing was shrewd, spreading the touches well with Randle and Fournier getting plenty of opportunities. He also established Mitchell Robinson as a roll threat, rewarding the big man frequently.
There was a moment early in the first quarter where Kemba Walker and Julius Randle communicated perfectly on a rotation and immediately high-fived after the play was dead. It felt like a harbinger of things to come, with the entire starting line-up locked in and a set tone for everyone else. Maybe that made me biased because I felt like this might have been Kemba’s best game on the defensive end. He rotated hard, challenged shots (though defenders did still shoot over him at times), and overall had a positive impact.
Of course, this wasn’t a perfect game by any means. Walker was a genuine threat inside the lane, but he still had some issues inside. There’s a cap to his defensive efficacy due to his shorter stature. But if Walker is guiding the offense, establishing himself as a threat, and making clean rotations then that should be enough to help New York win on most nights. Walker gets a 3 out of 5 for a performance that may have earned him a chance to return to the rotation.
Alec Burks: 8 PTS (2/10 FG, 1/4 3PT, 3/4 FT), 6 AST, 7 REB, 1 TO in 41 mins
With so many other players attacking, Alec Burks took on a secondary role. I don’t just mean a catch-and-shoot role, but limited touches and a lot less rhythm all around. That being the case, his shooting struggles were understandable. When he did get to piece together a series of opportunities on the ball, he drew whistles and found Mitch on a lob.
That leads me to the saving grace for Burks’ off-shooting night. He made up for missed shots by grabbing defensive rebounds and setting the table for others. Even when Burks doesn’t shoot well, his ability to make defenders collapse is a staple. The lion’s share of the offense went to other starters, but he helped them with good reads on his passes and by launching shots when he was open (despite missing the bulk of them).
That doesn’t mean I’ll completely overlook a night of 20 percent from the field. He’s shot below 30 percent from the field in four of the past five games he’s played in. While he’s consistently used free throws, passing, and rebounding to make up for the struggles; New York needs him to start knocking down more shots. It’s worth noting that during this slump, he’s only shot more than 10 attempts on one occasion so my rhythm theory might not be wishful thinking. Burks gets a 2 out of 5 for filling in the stat-sheet despite his inefficiency.
Evan Fournier: 22 PTS (9/24 FG, 4/11 3PT), 3 AST, 2 REB, 1 STL, 1 BLK, 1 TO in 41 mins
This marks three straight games where Evan Fournier drops more than 20 points. The biggest shift that I see is a more determined approach when it comes to getting inside the lane. Fournier was aggressive, sometimes looking off passing options to get shots up inside. It’s a forgivable offense because the Knicks need him to get going and stay in rhythm. That’s just what he did in this game, leading the team with 22 points.
We should talk a bit more about shot selection though. Fournier took some crazy shot attempts en route to his 24 attempts from the field. Part of that was to alleviate pressure on others (Randle was battling himself for much of the night). But the other part of it was that he’d sometimes dribble into trouble or pick up his dribble before a passing option was available. That forced him to put up some shots that had to give Tom Thibodeau heart palpitations.
Let’s not ignore Fournier’s defense either. It wasn’t anything too crazy, but this was another respectable performance on that end of the floor. He’s the second-option on offense, so as long as he produces we can live with “decent” on defense. He’s trending in the right direction, which coincides with him taking more command over the offense. The aggressive version of our big free-agent acquisition is the type that can live up to his contract. Fournier gets a 3 out of 5 for a strong performance.
Julius Randle: 21 PTS (8/18 FG, 1/6 3PT, 4/5 FT), 3 AST, 11 REB, 1 STL, 6 TO in 38 mins
Despite another tough shooting night and a high turnover rate, I still felt like Julius Randle played this game the right way most of the time. He let the guards handle the bulk of the offense when they were hot. Those ball handlers repaid him with open looks from three, mismatches inside, and generally easier opportunities to score. Unfortunately for him, that three-point shot refused to go down all but one time (his relieved look after the one make was kind of endearing).
Now let’s talk about the elephant in the room: turnovers. The Pistons take a lot of chances on D and create offense from steals. That didn’t bode well for Randle who always has a habit of dribbling into traffic to try and free up shooters. He also became too predictable with his pass selection. He would run dribble handoffs two and three times in a row to the same player, which led to Detroit blowing the play up for a steal and fast-break after recognizing the pattern.
Beyond the good shot selection and offensive contributions, Randle showed positive signs on defense too. His communication was obvious, with him pointing out rotations and talking to teammates between plays. His rotations were crisper which helped him meet would-be scorers at the rim to challenge a few shots. Randle’s stat-line isn’t too pretty and has obvious flaws, but this felt like another step in the right direction. Randle’s making changes to his approach and deserves his props for that, but the adjustment takes time and for now, his performance gets a 2.5 out of 5.
Nerlens Noel: 2 PTS (2/2 FT), 2 AST, 3 REB, 2 BLK, 1 TO in 23 mins
We’re getting flashes of vintage Nerlens Noel, but it wasn’t consistent against Detroit. Noel found himself tangled up with Isaiah Stewart more often than he was impacting plays on either end. The two got into a chippy battle that saw both guys jawing at the refs and bumping each other out of plays. It meant few rebounds and no field goals for Noel.
Having said that, I do want to add some focus to the good from Noel’s game (of course that comes on the defensive end). He timed a block from behind Stewart to perfection, just avoiding contact and stopping a dunk before the ball was over the rim. When Noel had space to move, he rotated reasonably well. His lateral movement is coming back to form, though it’s not where it needs to be yet.
Maybe I’m a softie, but I appreciate Noel putting in so much work after clearly having knee issues. I can’t categorize this as a good game with such limited production and the only negative plus/minus of any player getting significant minutes. But I can give him some leeway considering he ran into a physical opponent that wouldn’t let him breathe. Noel gets a 2 out of 5, but I can understand fans that might dock him more for the light production in 20+ minutes.
A gamechanging performance off the Knicks bench
Wayne Selden: 5 PTS (1/2 FG, 1/1 3PT, 2/4 FT), 1 AST, 1 REB in 9 mins
Wayne Selden was aggressive in his brief minutes. He drove into the lane, drew whistles, and knocked down a three-pointer. He played at a deliberate pace, providing solid but limited minutes. He’s probably not stealing anyone’s rotation spot, but Selden held things down and got the starting guards a break to catch their breath.
Taj Gibson: 9 PTS (4/6 FG, 1/2 3PT), 2 AST, 5 REB, 1 BLK in 19 mins
The strange thing about Taj Gibson’s performance is that he managed to make timely buckets despite only having 4 field goals. Just when the third quarter started to look like Detroit’s chance at momentum, Gibson made back-to-back baskets. These weren’t easy looks either, our guy was cooking in the post to make looks happen.
We also got to see another three from Gibson. He hit one from the corner right after checking into the game for the first time. His second shot didn’t look bad but missed and he switched to stepping inside when receiving passes after. That wasn’t a bad choice as he was able to grab some boards and finish those looks.
Gibson’s defense was consistent as ever too. His lone block was a hilarious one against an off-balance Hamidou Diallo. Taj didn’t even jump but left Diallo folded on the ground and I still can’t figure out how the play went so bad for Hammy. That gives Taj some standout plays on a night of good offense, solid rebounding, and effective defense. The big vet gave New York 19 minutes of value and finishes with a 2.5 out of 5 for his contributions.
Mitchell Robinson: 17 PTS (8/9 FG, 1/2 FT), 14 REB, 1 STL, 3 BLK, 1 TO in 25 mins
Just when I was ready to give up, Mitchell Robinson pulls me back in. Robinson had an incredible second-half against Houston two games back, and he brought that sort of energy to his entire performance this time. He was a terror inside, with multiple ball-handlers taking advantage of his ability to sky for alley-oops. The constant slashing from guards also created plenty of openings for Mitch to follow missed shots for offensive rebounds and easy dunks inside. He looked unstoppable in the paint.
Robinson seems more activated on defense when the offense gets him involved. He takes the energy from a dunk and rides it to blocking shots on defense. We even got vintage Mitch in the form of blocking a guard’s three-pointer near the top of the key. By the end of the game, players were turning the ball over instead of challenging Mitch at the rim. It prompted a funny moment where Mitch pretended to shiver (I believe that’s sign language for “he’s scared”).
The Knicks have needed a healthy anchor all season. All three of their big men have had injury-plagued seasons that left them hobbling up and down the court. For the past three games, Mitchell Robinson is looking like he’s getting his bounce back. A mobile Mitchell Robinson would do wonders for the Knicks defense and it shows in the finals score of this game. Mitch gets a 4 out of 5 for being the driving force of New York’s success from the second quarter on.
Damyean Dotson: 1 REB in 4 mins:
Though his appearance was brief, it was nice to see Damyean Dotson back in a Knicks uniform. His only play of consequence was a nicely tipped rebound in some traffic, but that’s fine for a quick debut with a new team. The hustle play was appreciated.
Hands tied now, but rotation decisions loom for Tom Thibodeau
Tom Thibodeau: With half his rotation missing, Tom Thibodeau once again had to make do with what he had. That meant most starters pushed 40 minutes of playing time, but without much choice. To his credit, Thibodeau did try to sneak in some minutes for Selden and Dotson. Thibs also changed his line-up to start the third quarter, rewarding Mitch for running until he had to ask for a breather in the first half. I love to see that sort of thing, truly earned playing time being rewarded properly.
With few substitution options and a depleted opponent, there’s not too much to go on about the coaching decisions. New York won from start to finish and rarely saw the lead dip below double-digits in the second half. But quality performances from Kemba and Taj Gibson do add some intrigue to the future. RJ Barrett and Obi Toppin could be back on Thursday with a number of reinforcements right behind them. A lot of players are coming back from quality performances and suddenly Thibs goes from not enough players to not enough minutes to go around.
But we’re rating this performance in a vacuum. Thibodeau’s choice to bench Kemba for Burks and leave the starters without a point guard is something I’m mentioning because I can…but it’s not changing his score for this one game. As much as it might seem like a cakewalk for the coach, he did a lot of little things I appreciated. Thibs coached to win, from quick timeouts to playing hot hands extra minutes and that earns a 3.5 out of 5 for his coaching.
Closing Thoughts
I’m generally an optimist and I know this is wishful thinking, but maybe the health and safety protocols were a blessing in disguise. First, they gave opportunities for the youth to prove that they’re ready for more work and then it left the vets with no choice but to figure out some chemistry. We heard Marc Berman allude to some potential for turmoil in his interview with KFTV this week. That made the Kemba/Randle high-five (from the Kemba part of this piece) feel all the more relieving.
In the span of these shorthanded games, the Knicks have gone from facing contenders to tanking opponents. Kemba has returned with a smile and an impact. Randle has started to let others initiate more while reaping easier looks. Evan Fournier and Mitchell Robinson have both found some mojo that we’ve been waiting for all year. It feels like extended minutes together might have helped solidify some chemistry for the players that needed it most…now comes the hard part, integrating everyone else.
The Washington Wizards are next off a win over the Utah Jazz and on a five-day break. They’ve slipped up from a hot start but remain a serious threat with circumstances leaving them additional advantages. New York should return some fresh legs too though, hopefully not rusty. This stretch of schedule is a chance to compile wins and beating the Wizards would go a long way to generating momentum for a push. We’ll see how the rotation changes and the players look when we talk again after the game. See you then, 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, check out CP’s interview with Marc Berman of the New York Post on Kemba Walker’s relationship with the Knicks.
