The New York Knicks lost to the Orlando Magic at home for the second time this season. The bench can only do but so much.
Catch the full Knicks Fan TV Postgame show on all major podcast platforms below:
• Spotify
• Apple Podcast
• Google Podcasts
• Stitcher
The New York Knicks lost for the second time at home to the Orlando Magic, 104 to 98. New York shot themselves out of this game, firing off 49 three-point attempts but only making 33% of the tries. The starters showed fluidity and ball movement early, but once again, lost all momentum before the end of the second quarter. The third quarter of doom struck again and the bench ran out of steam before they could complete another late comeback.
Mitchell Robinson had his best performance of the season and RJ Barrett worked hard to find productivity. Obi Toppin brought the team to life off the bench and fourth-quarter Burks arrived for the first time this season, though he may have overstayed his welcome. Let’s try to figure out what comes next by examining what went wrong for our Knicks in this loss.
The Knicks starters continue to struggle, but Mitch looks good:
Kemba Walker: 5 PTS (2/7 FG, 1/3 3 PT), 1 REB, 2 AST, 1 STL, 2 TO in 21 MIN
Kemba Walker had a quiet and ineffective performance. Maybe it was Mo Bamba’s shot-blocking presence, but Walker’s game lacked aggression. Without him attacking downhill, the entire Knicks offense seemed to linger around the perimeter.
Walker also struggled on defense at times, although he did put up a nice effort against Cole Anthony. Occasionally, Anthony shot over Walker while the diminutive point guard also struggled through screens at times. He simply didn’t have it on either end tonight.
Walker can’t afford to play such a passive game. He conceded far too many possessions to Julius Randle who was forced to play on the perimeter. Walker couldn’t get space to score and failed to create for his teammates. That leaves him with a 1.5 out of 5 for his impact score.
Evan Fournier: 5 PTS (2/6 FG, 1/4 3 PT), 1 REB, 1 AST, 1 STL in 21 MIN
Speaking of a passive game, Evan Fournier was involved early with limited success. Beyond that, he barely touched the ball or made anything happen. His aggression seemed to dissipate as he struggled from the field.
Fournier got some open looks from three but came up short. When he ran out of time to think, thanks to the shot clock running low, Fournier knocked down a difficult shot. He’s a capable shooter but seems to have lost all confidence in his jumper. The Frenchman couldn’t score or create, just the same as Kemba.
Fournier’s defense also followed Walker’s lead, with Jalen Suggs finding a few too many openings in the Knicks’ defense. I did think Fournier played some solid defense on Terrence Ross for a few possessions, but Ross was hot enough to score anyway. Fournier’s struggles at both ends of the court lead to a 1 out of 5 on the night.
RJ Barrett: 17 PTS (7/19 FG, 0/7 3 PT, 3/3 FT), 9 REB, 5 AST, 3 TO in 34 MIN
RJ Barrett couldn’t get his jumper to fall, but he willed his way to the basket for mixed results. Barrett repeatedly missed open shots yet he was able to pick up assists with his downhill forays. He fed Mitch for multiple buckets and also peppered in passes to perimeter shooters. When the offense needed scoring, Barrett turned his trips inside into attempts at the basket for some success.
It wasn’t all gravy for Barrett, though. He picked up some frustrating turnovers, stepping out of bounds for unforced errors. RJ also had slip-ups on defense although he was markedly better than New York’s guards. The good news is that his struggles gave way to some positive momentum by the end of the game.
The only thing missing for RJ was the jumper. He was never afraid to fire away, but he never found success. Even with defenders able to step back, Barrett was able to attack the lane and score. He seemed determined to make something happen and willed himself to results. Barrett gets a 2.5 out of 5, that goes through the roof if he can just knock down his open looks.
Julius Randle: 13 PTS (4/11 FG, 4/10 3 PT, 1/2 FT), 5 REB, 3 AST, 3 TO in 32 MIN
I hate to throw Julius Randle under the bus, but this performance reminded me of the Melo days in which players stood around watching their star dribble and shoot. The difference for Randle is that he’s surrounded by far more scoring talent. Randle spent the first quarter moving the ball and received some easy looks from teammates; but from the second quarter on, he forced the issue working with one player at a time and sometimes just isolating entirely.
Randle had early success from three. Part of that was feeding off other playmakers and part of it was picking on mismatches with Franz Wagner. But the problem of early success on the perimeter is that Randle became locked in a shooting mindset. He attempted one shot inside the arc, otherwise only dribbling toward the paint with tepid efforts that led to a quick swing pass to a player right next to him. He wasn’t drawing defenders close enough to generate clean looks and the ball stuck to whichever side of the court he stayed on.
To make matters worse, Randle’s defense wasn’t very good either. This was a rare occasion where the Knicks’ star was bad on the boards. You can forgive low rebound numbers for players who box out and create opportunities for teammates, but that wasn’t the reason for Randle’s low output. He simply hung around the perimeter and wasn’t involved much in anything beyond trying to score. Randle gets a 1 out of 5 for a play-style that sapped the life out of a promising start for the entire five-man unit.
Mitchell Robinson: 13 PTS (5/6 FG, 3/5 FT), 11 REB, 1 BLK in 31 MIN
New shoes mean a new man… maybe. Mitchell Robinson looked more mobile than he has in weeks and produced arguably his best game of the season. Mitch was a terror on the boards, a useful lob threat, and a presence on the defensive interior. His offensive rebounding provided momentum early and kept New York in the fight late. Things collapsed after he hurt his hip diving for a loose ball late.
The second half saw my favorite front-court combination of the season. Robinson played center while Obi Toppin ran as the power forward. That tandem continues to look impressive with two rim-running threats opening the game for shooters. The combo works defensively because Obi can chase the ball while Mitch slows down slashers. Toppin compliments Mitch in a manner that no other PF option does.
This promising performance ended with another injury. It looked like Robinson still wanted to play, but he was clearly in pain after hitting his hip. That’s unfortunate because the big man finally looked mobile and active after a couple of weeks lumbering with a hip-pointer and sore ankle. It was a nice reminder of how good healthy Mitchell Robinson can be. He gets a 4 out of 5 for a quality performance.
New York’s bench rides Burks’ heroics while Toppin is the engine:
Derrick Rose: 10 PTS (4/9 FG, 2/6 3 PT), 2 REB, 1 AST, 1 STL, 2 BLK, 5 TO in 19 MIN
Derrick Rose got off to a slow start, despite playing fast. He pushed the pace and got downhill but the former MVP’s passing was slightly off target. His second-half play was a marked improvement though, with Rose knocking down shots and hustling on defense. But he slipped up again late.
Rose’s turnovers came with him pushing to speed the game up. He threw two errant lobs to Obi in the first half. After sitting for a stretch of the fourth, the former Bull threw another bad pass late rushing to get the ball up the court. It’s rare that I think Rose is playing too fast, but this is one of those few occasions.
One promising sign was how Rose got his jumpers off. He fed off other ball-handlers by getting to open space and taking looks from space. D-Rose also attacked mismatches against bigs with a few midrange tries though the length Magic players deterred those looks. Rose wasn’t great in this one, but his contribution remained solid enough to snag a 2 out of 5 for impact.
Immanuel Quickley: 6 PTS (2/5 FG, 2/4 3 PT), 4 REB, 7 AST, 1 TO in 24 MIN
We’re used to judging Immanuel Quickley through the lens of his scoring. His shooting sparks the squad and his floater can cause chaos. Against the Magic, while IQ’s timely three-pointers were nice, it was his playmaking and defense that proved most impactful.
Quickley caused havoc by driving into the lane and spraying the ball to open players. He found Obi for lobs, Burks and Rose for threes, and picked up a few hockey assists as well. The sophomore’s hesitation dribble is lethal thanks to his constant threat of pulling up from anywhere on the floor. That helped him get the step on defenders big and small alike, which opened the floor for everyone else as Orlando’s defense collapsed.
Quickley also had a visible impact on defense. For instance, IQ threw in a few nice rebounds to boot and seems to have one or two plays per night where you can catch him boxing out a giant (Mo Bamba in this case). Quickley’s impacted every facet of this game in a positive way, and that’s worth a 3.5 out of 5.
Alec Burks: 15 PTS (5/16 FG, 4/12 3 PT, 1/2 FT), 5 REB, 4 AST, 1 STL in 27 MIN
Alec Burks’ performance is a tough one to judge. The microwave scorer finished a lovely lay-up and created some openings similar to IQ when attacking off the dribble. But for the majority of the game, his jumper was off and his aggressive play may have provided more bad outcomes than good in the long run.
We did get a flash of fourth-quarter Burks. The shooter did his thing in the early fourth, knocking down long-range looks from all over the arc. His problem is that he continued attempting tough looks even after cooling off. While the typical point guards rested, Burks ran the show but he was out of steam by the closing minutes and the offense suffered.
On the bright side, Burks played commendable defense. He’s proving that effort can go a long way by making up for missteps with hustle. The scorer continued his quality rebounding which helped on a night when the bigs weren’t great on defensive rebounding. Throw the defense, rebounding, and scattered assists next to that one scoring outburst and Burks scrapes together a solid 2.5 out of 5 performance score by the skin of his teeth.
Obi Toppin: 14 PTS (6/9 FG, 2/3 3 PT), 5 REB, 2 AST, 1 BLK, 3 TO in 18 MIN
I’m struggling to accept that Obi Toppin doesn’t play 20 minutes per night minimum. The kid was an engine once again, propelling the bench unit by turning his time on the floor into a track meet. Obi was flying and a few errant lobs were the only reason he didn’t run up an even higher score in his limited time. He even knocked down crucial threes in the fourth quarter.
So, Obi was scoring and even shooting well, but maybe his defense kept him benched? Nope… Toppin was all over the place, even blocking a three-pointer as he sprinted at a rotation. The blocked threes are becoming a frequent occurrence for the big man when he’s given enough time on the floor. He also notched some nice rebounds along the way.
There’s no easy explanation for why Toppin doesn’t play more. He’s been one of New York’s most consistent positive drivers of success. The sophomore is dealing with one issue and that’s playing behind New York’s star… but Randle hasn’t been playing like a star which makes that a poor excuse. Thibs needs to get Obi more minutes. Toppin gets a 3 out of 5 that would be higher if he’d had more time to increase his impact.
Taj Gibson: 0 PTS (0 FG), 2 REB, 3 BLK, 1 TO in 14 MIN
Taj Gibson fell below the impact score threshold by a minute. That makes some sense because Taj had some trouble with the giant that is Mo Bamba. Gibson still blocked shots in his minutes, but Bamba made him look like Kemba at times by just finishing right over the former-Bulls player. Thibodeau opted to go small late, at a point where I felt Gibson’s leadership may have helped. That means a tough night for Taj, though his effort was still good.
(Quick side note since I’ve got space… I think Clyde says Mo Bamba funny. It sounds like he’s talking about our former president which makes every comment about Bamba’s action hilarious. It was a nice piece of levity during a frustrating night.)
Tom Thibodeau is slowly but surely trying to adjust:
Tom Thibodeau: We’re starting to see Tom Thibodeau attempt more adjustments, but the results are a mixed bag. Thibodeau went to his bench more quickly in the third quarter and mixed his starters and bench more often in this game. That resulted in a promising Obi/Mitch tandem and RJ Barrett snapping into gear next to Taj Gibson’s encouragement. Thibs is also limiting Kemba’s and Fournier’s minutes while they figure out how to defend in his system.
That meant extra minutes for IQ and Burks, as well as a very slight uptick for Obi. What it didn’t mean was less time for Julius Randle, whose presence felt directly correlated to the offensive stagnation. It’s not hard to see how the pace picks up when New York isn’t relying on one predictable focal point. I get that Randle earned the benefit of a doubt with last year’s incredible effort, but his effort against Orlando didn’t warrant love.
I think Thibodeau is approaching a crossroads of sorts. His sophomores are forcing the issue for more minutes and his new toys are giving no reason to play more. Last year’s COY seems comfortable experimenting there, but it will be his handling of Randle that truly decides if this season collapses. The Knicks are built to feed off Randle, but if their star isn’t playing well then the coach needs to make the right choice. He didn’t last night, there wasn’t enough accountability, and Thibs gets a 2 out of 5 despite all his other adjustments because he missed the most important one.
Closing Thoughts:
There are two ways to look at this season’s early struggles. We can compare it to the close of last year and worry about regression amid a much-improved Eastern Conference. Or we can consider that last season didn’t really start to roll until the team acquired Derrick Rose and got past some growing pains. It’s easy to forget that Austin Rivers was disgruntled and DSJ was competing with Frank Ntilikina for back-up PG minutes around this time last year. I’ll preach a bit of patience now that Thibodeau is starting to make some shifts.
What gives me optimism is the success of the bench. That’s a unit that had all of last year to learn the system and build chemistry. They’re a far cry from the starting unit which boasts three new players compared to the typical starters from last year. In his very brief appearance this season, we saw that Nerlens Noel had a visible impact on the starters’ defensive chemistry. There’s reason to be hopeful that this will all sort itself out and an 8-7 record isn’t so bad… we’re 2.5 games out of 1st place, EVERYONE is in the race right now.
Saturday’s a matinee that feels like a must-win. The Rockets are a struggling team and next week is loaded with dangerous opponents. The Knicks need to take advantage of the soft spots on their schedule and use those opportunities to build chemistry. Maybe Thibs will get a big enough lead to experiment some more. We can chat about the adjustments and hopefully the growth after that next one. I’ll 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, catch the KFTV panel discussing the key moments to the Knicks’ victory over the Indiana Pacers.
