The New York Knicks defeat the Orlando Magic 118-88. The Knicks youth showed out and give some hope leading into next season.
Knicks Fan TV reached 50,000 YouTube subscribers! Make sure to catch the full Knicks Fan TV Postgame show on all major podcast platforms below:
• Spotify
• Apple Podcasts
• Google Podcasts
• Stitcher
The New York Knicks stormed past the tanking Orlando Magic 118 to 88. At times, the score was close, but this game always felt like the Knicks were in control. The Knicks took advantage of a shorthanded opponent and flashed beautiful ball movement, team play, and grit. Whenever the Magic pushed for a comeback, a Knick would step up with a basket or two that relieved the pressure. It was a refreshing victory after New York’s ugly defeat at the hands of Cleveland.
Knicks fans will be pleased to hear that the youth-led the way. Immanuel Quickley became the second-youngest Knick ever to record a triple-double, Obi Toppin tied his career-high for the second game in a row, and Mitchell Robinson clarified which impending free-agent center is more valuable. Young players matched up against their peers and dominated. Let’s take a closer look at a dominant win that was fun despite the weak opposition.
Everything comes together for the Knicks’ starters
Alec Burks: 19 PTS (6/7 FG, 3/3 3PT, 4/5 FT), 6 AST, 7 REB, 1 STL, 1 TO in 33 mins
Alec Burks might sneak past you on the stat-line. He didn’t lead the Knicks in any essential category but made significant contributions across three. More importantly, Burks made those contributions efficiently. He made the most of almost every touch he got.
Burks’ scoring was the highlight of his performance. He turned 7 attempts into just under 20 points off the strength of hot shooting and some excellent finishes. The microwave scorer flew through the lane for a beautiful reverse and seemed comfortable attacking the middle throughout this game. Yet, the ball never stuck in Burks’ hand, despite his frequent success on attacks because he collapsed the defense and found open teammates.
The miscast point guard has appeared more comfortable since his on-ball and playmaking roles have reduced. Even though he is the “point guard,” he’s been more of a tertiary ball-handler next to RJ Barrett and the remaining starters (as well as with Immanuel Quickley and the second unit). This performance showed how effective he could be when working from the weak side while others command attention. Burks picks up a 3.5 out of 5 for his impact in an outstanding performance.
Evan Fournier: 2 PTS (1/5 FG, 0/3 3PT), 1 AST, 2 REB, 1 STL in 15 mins
Evan Fournier failed to capitalize on the weak opponent. His shots weren’t falling, which tends to handicap the rest of his production. Fournier may have lacked rhythm because there were so many other hot hands. It seems like either he or Burks draws the short stick for the starting offense each night…tonight was his turn.
Fournier’s defense never makes up for his lousy shooting nights. If his offense runs awry, his defense tends to only stand out for negative reasons. On the bright side, he was never egregiously bad on defense. But he wasn’t visibly good either.
Fournier saw the bench for most of the second half between his own struggles and the team’s massive lead. I doubt he’d complain because he didn’t seem to have it against Orlando. The French wing runs hot and cold, and this was an off night. Hopefully, he got it out of his system. Fournier receives a 1.5 out of 5 for the slow game.
RJ Barrett: 27 PTS (9/20 FG, 3/9 3PT, 6/8 FT), 6 AST, 5 REB, 1 STL, 3 TO in 33 mins
It’s tough to put into words how easy it felt like RJ Barrett could score early on. The entire team was rolling, but his forays inside were impressive. Orlando began to bump him more as the game wore on, and his success waned a bit. But Barrett was still applying pressure on nearly every touch and knocking down enough jumpers to keep defenders honest.
Barrett’s jumper created additional gravity, leaving him free to find teammates off drives. When he started to miss some bunnies, he shifted to kick-outs for teammates. He still telegraphed the baseline kick to the corner, which led to a TO, but he’s expanding his reads to add more options. He just has to keep his dribble a bit longer to beat players who cheat that option.
Barrett’s team-leading 27 points feel like an afterthought because it’s becoming so common. He’s a 20 PPG player as of this season. The team has embraced his ball dominance, with his faster decision-making creating opportunities for the entire team to get into a rhythm. I expect him to be the centerpiece of the offense next season unless NY acquires a true max-player from elsewhere. Barrett picks up a 3.5 out of 5 for leading the way in this win.
Obi Toppin: 20 PTS (7/16 FG, 4/10 3PT, 2/2 FT), 3 AST, 8 REB, 1 BLK, 2 TO in 35 mins
Obi Toppin has effectively complicated the Julius Randle conversation even further. Toppin’s starts have gotten progressively more impressive, with his jumper metastasizing as he gets more minutes. I don’t think anyone would expect Obi to attempt 10 three-pointers in a game, let alone knock down 4 of them, before this Magic game. He also hid a turn-around jumper from a step inside the free-throw line off a dribble move.
Obi’s presence means that the Knicks are going to play fast. He flew out ahead of the Magic for multiple transition opportunities. In half-court sets, he was cutting around and finding seams to attack. More importantly, he’s not just moving for himself. Obi made fast decisions to move the ball, which meant that the ball was flying along the perimeter.
There’s also a subset of categories where Toppin wasn’t great but was good enough. His 8 rebounds are nothing to scoff at but not particularly impressive. He was solid on defense rather than a standout. But “good enough” is all we need from him on defense because he contributes so much to the pace and offense. Toppin adds a 3 out of 5 for his impact, which helps teammates as much as himself.
Mitchell Robinson: 12 PTS (6/8 FG), 10 REB, 3 STL, 5 BLK, 2 TO in 29 mins
I could tell Mitchell Robinson was locked in by how eagerly he got after the opening tip. He jumped too soon twice and lost that tip-off, but that frenetic energy carried him to dominate the middle. Mitch blocked everything within arm’s length. He seemed to be on pace for 10 blocks until the Magic gave up on challenging him.
Robinson wasn’t just a shot-blocker or defensive force, though. He was a constant target as a roll man and continued a trend of creating second chances even when he didn’t secure the offensive rebound. In addition, the big man controlled his match-up with Mo Bamba, which is nice considering how often Mitch has tripped up against shooting big men.
There are gaudy numbers up and down the stat sheet. But Mitchell Robinson is the one player that can brag about his defensive tallies. He picked up 8 steals and blocks combined, and the Magic visibly changed their approach while he was in. We even got a vintage block on a three-point closeout. Mitch was nearly elite against a former top-ten pick. He picks up a 4 out of 5 for his dominant impact in the middle.
Quickley’s triple-double leads the way for New York’s second-unit
Immanuel Quickley: 20 PTS (8/19 FG, 3/10 3PT, 1/1 FT), 10 AST, 10 REB, 2 STL, 1 TO in 34 mins
Immanuel Quickley is now the youngest Knick to record a triple-double since 1956. He had this game in the palm of his hand from the second he hit the floor. His shooting efficiency might not look great, but that’s because he exuded insane confidence and got anywhere he wanted. IQ was firing shots that kept the defense off balance and then feeding players for two or three dimes off the gravity that it created.
Quickley’s playmaking stood out early and often. He hit bigs for lobs and shooters for threes. At times he was directing screens and cutters to set up open looks half a shot clock in advance. When defenders cheated passing lanes, IQ was happy to use his floater to make them pay. He also had a few lay-ups driving right through the basket, which is becoming more frequent in his performances.
Quickley’s rebounding is also reaching an impressive level. I’ve commented on it for the past few weeks because when IQ grabs a defensive board, that means an automatic fast break. His 10 rebounds meant a lot of transition opportunities for New York. Quickley gets a 4.5 out of 5 for his triple-double explosion off the bench, and being a star in a game where Obi dropped 20 and RJ dropped 27 points.
Quentin Grimes: 2 PTS (1/5 FG, 0/4 3PT), 2 AST, 4 REB in 16 mins
Quentin Grimes hasn’t looked the same since his knee injury. He was just starting to find his jumper when he sat out a few games with soreness in that same knee. The rust was back as he returned against Orlando. Grimes got to his spots but couldn’t get anything to fall from afar.
The promising bit of this performance is that Grimes’ approach didn’t look different. He made an aggressive move to beat a closeout and kick the ball out right after getting into the game. His willingness to attack off the dribble and his awareness to find teammates helps expand his efficacy beyond hitting jump shots.
We’re already spoiled with Grimes’ defense. He played solid defense but didn’t have any standout steals or shutdown moments, which I’ve come to expect. Considering that he was just getting his feet wet, it’s a promising start, but we’re all waiting for him to find that peak level he was performing at before the injury. So Grimes picks up a 2 out of 5 for a solid all-around game minus the shooting.
Taj Gibson: 4 PTS (2/7 FG, 0/2 3PT), 1 AST, 4 REB in 13 mins
Taj Gibson played sparingly in the victory. His jumper has fallen in some recent performances, but it wasn’t dropping in this one. Gibson was his usual presence in the middle, but that’s all. He didn’t have to provide much else since Obi Toppin got the lion’s share of the action. So Taj wasn’t remarkable in his short time, but I’ve still got nothing but respect for the big man.
Jericho Sims: 4 PTS (2/2 FG), 5 REB, 1 STL, 1 BLK in 19 mins
It’s a wonder that Jericho Sims even reached 19 minutes of action with how well Mitchell Robinson played. He may have gotten a more significant cut to his time if not for the blowout. But Sims did well with the minutes he got. Both of his field goals were thunderous dunks. His screens were clean, and his muscular frame cleared out space for ball handlers on a nightly basis.
Sims defended everything in his orbit. His two stocks hide several additional contested shots and moments where he stayed in front of opposing ball-handlers. He doesn’t look lost on switches against perimeter players. His ability to hedge and get back to his man already feels more effective than Mitch and Taj, who are both solid defenders but slower.
Sims used his 19 minutes well. His production doesn’t fly off the page, but his play managed to stand out. He’s hard to ignore when his chin is above the rim for most dunks. Bigs already have trouble moving him, and even mobile centers like Mo Wagner have difficulty getting around the stout rookie. Sims picks up a 2.5 out of 5 for a solid effort backing up Mitch.
Miles McBride: 8 PTS (3/4 FG, 2/3 3PT) in 11 mins
Miles McBride knocked down shots to take advantage of his minutes. His midrange shot came on a nice off-the-dribble move. Other than that, he played his typical brand of aggressive on-ball defense but didn’t stand out for much else. Nevertheless, McBride looked comfortable and had a good night on limited opportunities.
Easy work for Tom Thibodeau in the blowout
Tom Thibodeau:
I’m having a hard time coming up with anything to critique for Tom Thibodeau. His players went out and executed the game plan. As much as I’d like to see certain distributions of playing time-shifted (start IQ, give McBride more time, etc.), everything Thibs tried worked. That makes this an uneventful recap for the coach, but that’s not a bad thing.
I’ll give Thibodeau credit, especially for reducing Fournier’s minutes. He’s habitually played his vets big minutes, sometimes even through struggles. But at this late juncture, he used Fournier’s struggles to get some extra time for McBride and Grimes. It still wasn’t enough playing time for my tastes, but it was a step in the right direction.
I can’t come up with an excuse to be critical after a thirty-point victory. The Knicks thrashed a weak opponent. The one things we watch for in games like this are lapses in concentration. Early success can lead to teams relaxing their efforts, but that didn’t happen here. Thibodeau kept the squad focused and effective. He picks up a 3 out of 5 for a successful, albeit easy, performance.
Closing Thoughts
It’s too bad we didn’t get to see these young guys compete sooner. Their expanded roles have led to some impressive results, but the timing adds question marks. It’s easy to look good against the worst team in the league that’s resting its best players. However, this same team looked lost and confused against a playoff-caliber opponent just one night prior. Late season success can be fool’s gold under certain circumstances.
But late success can also propel a team into its next season. RJ Barrett mentioned the Suns’ winning streak in the bubble from a couple of years ago. That team missed the playoffs, made a significant acquisition, and took a leap that got them into the finals and atop the Western Conference standings. I’d caution against expecting the same results for our Knicks, but it’s a hopeful story and comparison.
The Knicks have a lot more pieces to build with than their midseason drought might have suggested. Barrett and Quickley have proven as much, but now we’re looking at potential contributors in Obi, Sims, Grimes, and McBride. Derrick Rose, Cam Reddish, and Nerlens Noel have all been hurt long enough to forget that they played well for this team.
The offseason brings options. New York will have a lottery pick, plenty of pieces to package, and enough assets and players to field a strong team even if they make a big trade. It sucks that we’re back to offseason hopes and optimism, but this isn’t the same situation as previous years. There’s a core in place to build on for the first time in a long time. The Brooklyn Nets are next, and we’ll see how these youngsters handle a battle with one of the league’s best players. I’ll see you after the action Knicks fam!
Stay tuned to KnicksFanTV.com for the latest Knicks news, rumors, and recaps throughout the 2021-22 NBA season. And in case you missed it, check out CP and Alex discuss whether the end is near for Julius Randle being a Knick.
