storyteller
Veteran
Since before he got to the Knicks, Scott Perry has gone about his rebuilds by stacking young players' positions with veterans on short, overpaying deals. The philosophy has been to challenge the youth and to make sure a competent product is out there. Sacramento got better when they shipped out the vets. Last year, the Knicks were more watchable when vets were asked to take a backseat and malcontents got waived. This season, it feels like deja vu. We're watching veterans half-ass on defense while pressing to hit their numbers, meanwhile the youth is inconsistent but at least giving a visible effort. It's on this backdrop that the Knicks lost 121-98 against the Phoenix Suns. Giving up 40% from three and getting absolutely dominated on the boards by Deandre Ayton. The young cats tried hard, but were overwhelmed and the old dogs were more competent scorers but had no bite on defense. The Knicks fell to 11-31 on the season, but their front office is still rumored to be looking for in season improvement in any trades. And worst of all, their lone bright spot had an ugly ankle sprain that could mean we're watching even more mercenaries. If there's a brightspot, it's that the triumvirate of Mills, Perry and Fizdale has already become a duo and hopefully the other two will be replaced by the offseason. Let's rage review...
Payton: A chunk of fans blamed the early struggles of David Fizdale's Knicks on Elfrid Payton's absence. Having seen Payton try to cheat the passing lane while he's the on-ball defender, I'd like to point out that nah...this dude isn't solving a damned thing. Payton's defensive play has been disappointing and his offensive play consists of some clever passing but no threat to even attempt jumpers outside of 5 feet from the basket. He's probably not even playing himself to any trade value which is a shame, because I'd rather watch Frank and Allen struggle to develop jumpers than Payton refuse to take any. At last the former show some heart on defense, Payton plays the passing lanes...always...every time...no matter how open he leaves his man.
Payton put up 8 points, 7 assists to 3 TO's and 2 boards on 4/7 shooting. You could be fooled by some pretty finishes he had, but the reality is that Phoenix just never expected him to shoot. They followed collapsed on roll men heavy so Payton could use a bit of footwork for bunnies. The TO's were really egregious too. At one point, Payton went back to back on making lazy passes as soon as he crossed half court. It was momentum building for the Suns and something I'd expect from a 19 year old Ntilikina but not a 6 season veteran.
Barrett: RJ Barrett was not having a particularly good game, but he was playing hard. That's important because most guys weren't. Barrett's effort was palpable even when he missed and there were flashes of his upside in a beautiful feed through the lane to Randle or a righty finish with Booker on his hip. The kid didn't want to let this game get too far away. Then he sprained his ankle...badly...and the whole team deflated. That's kind of horrifying. The 19 year old rookie shouldn't have to be the team's heart when they've invested so much in veterans. Also; these games are difficult to watch with RJ playing, take him out and they're even less enjoyable.
Barrett put up 7 points, 2 assists and 3 boards in 14 minutes on 2/8 shooting. So it's not like he was having a stand out game but you could at least see the fight in him. He missed 2/4 FT's but don't sweat that because taking FT's on 1 foot is difficult and he left the game immediately after. He also made 1/2 from three. The promising development of his jumper didn't go away. I hope he heals fast, young cats do that sometimes.
Morris: The return of Marcus Morris really didn't look like the return of Marcus Morris to me. That's to say, even though he wasn't terrible, he looked like he was laboring for most of the night. Mook didn't seem totally locked in defensively and he didn't have the extra gear to lead the team how he has for the whole season. There were points where the team was starting to watch things slip away, moments where throughout this year Morris has been the guy to get the bucket that calms everyone down. He tried last night but couldn't convert. So I don't want to hammer the guy, neck injuries are rough and he tried to be the same person he's been all season but he just didn't look 100%.
Morris played 33 minutes and posted 17 points, 3 rebounds and 1 assist on 4/11 shooting, 2/5 from three and 7/10 from the free throw line. That's not bad production but it's just not the Morris we've needed for success.
Randle: It's hard to be mad at 26 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists to 3 TO's and 3 steals on 11/23 from the field. But if anyone can frustrate a fanbase putting up those numbers, it's Julius Randle. Last night's game kinda reminded me of the Al Harrington years. The guy puts in a good deal off effort offensively and has an efficient output on the night...but his misses standout for the tunnel vision involved. The TO's are compounded by times he loses his handle but gets bailed out by whistles or other guys saving him. Then defensively, you're watching a PF with wrecking ball ability fail to box out or give much effort to get rebounds. Essentially, Randle played hard with the ball in his hands but did nothing to help out without it.
I've been an apologist too, seeing good qualities shining through a lot of this recent stretch where I'd say he's played well. But last night, sans the first quarter, Randle felt like he was back to jockeying between trying to do too much and doing absolutely nothing. The numbers are because he's incredibly gifted, but the result and ensuing +/- are a reflection of the negative intangibles he brought to the table.
Taj: It was just a typical kinda night for Taj Gibson. He went 2/2 for 5 points and 1 board in 13 minutes. Ayton was too big and athletic for that match-up and it meant a lot of moments where I was wishing Mitch were out there. I don't say that to be a hater, I appreciate the effort. But Gibson is undersized at times and doesn't bring enough else to the table other than physical play.
Frank: The one field goal that Frank Ntilikina had was a really nice lay-up deep into the paint. The rest of the way, he took jumpers at the right times but couldn't buy a bucket. But his passing was really promising and took a hit by the fact that the Knicks just were not making shots. This was most apparent in a second quarter stretch where Mitch missed a dunk and then Frank fed Knox beautifully in the lane for another missed shot from right inside the paint. But there were more of these moments from Portis, Dot and Allen as well. Add to that, Frank's third quarter defense on Booker with Mitch behind to back him was the one stretch of good defensive play the team had and...this is the dreaded "better than the numbers say" game that Frank detractors love to complain about.
Ntilikina put up 2 points, 6 assists to 2 TOs, a board, 2 steals and an emphatic block in 24 minutes. As I've said, his assist tally could have been higher if players hit some open and easy looks that he created. That would really help his box score. On the other hand, his jumper looked bad after a really promising stretch. We can hope that was rust after a few games out and time away from the court. For the time being, this was a better game than the numbers suggest. We'll do this again shortly...
Dot: During the second quarter stretch where none of the other guys could buy a bucket, Damyean Dotson managed to dribble inside and make a few midrange jumpers that kept the second unit floating. Unfortunately he didn't provide much else, perhaps hampered by putting a lot of focus on covering Booker. He got extra time thanks to foul trouble and injury for Barrett. His effort was good but his impact was shaky. So in 26 minutes and on 3/6 shooting, Dot put up 6 points, 2 boards and 2 TO's. That's not enough production when matched with Devin Booker for huge chunks of time. But it's also not really fair to ask him to match up with Booker. Barrett had the aforementioned problems, Reggie Bullock was out, Allonzo Trier hasn't defended anyone since last season and Wayne Ellington forgot how to shoot this year.
Knox: Okay, here's the other kid I wanna say did better than the numbers suggest but not by all that much. Kevin Knox tried a LOT to get himself going offensively. He looked off from three, so he tried to drive but missed inside and when that didn't work he mimicked Dotson and tried from midrange. He ran some pick and rolls to try and get going. None of it worked. He just had an off night, but the effort and diversity of attack was there. It was a bit of glass half-full on an otherwise rough night for the kid. In 17 minutes, Knox went 2/8 from the field, 1/3 from three and 2/4 from the line (it was that kinda night). He tallied 7 points, 4 boards and 2 steals in 17 minutes.
Here's the thing, Knox's defense was underwhelming to put it lightly. There were flashes of effort and quality in poking the ball loose for a steal and some of those boards but these were flashes like Frank flashes scoring on a bad night. The rest of the way we got head scratchers, ball watching and generally bad decision-making defensively. You can put up bad shooting and I'll forgive it if the defensive play warrants. But Knox just didn't give enough to excuse it, even if I liked his approach to getting his offense going. He'd need a couple more boards, a few extra stops or otherwise some type of additional contribution.
Portis: Nothing says "Bobby Portis is in" like the end of the first half. Bobby grabbed a loose rebound with good hands and looked up at the clock, 12 seconds left. He immediately shot into action, flying down the court and trying to make something happen first with a bit of handling and then with a pass to Randle. But in his heartfelt effort Portis ignored the PG standing right next to him in the backcourt, threw a tough pass for Randle to gather and left the team with a terrible shot attempt to close out the second. He plays hard but my God...sometimes it's incredibly misguided (ask Kentavius Caldwell-Pope).
Portis went 2/7 from the field and 1/4 from three in 17 minutes. He tallied just 5 points but did add 10 boards. I want to stress that he really does try because I respect it. But when his shot is off, his defense never helps and the rebounding is nice but not useful enough to ignore the miscues, bad shot attempts, and general mistakes he makes trying to do too much. If he goes 3/4 from three, we're talking about him in a completely different light. He didn't though.
Mitch: During the game, you'd be fine to think Mitchell Robinson was having a rough night. He'd missed a pair of dunks and the commentators spoke about how he'd come back to Earth. You could kinda feel it too, this kid isn't dominating the way he was for a long stretch prior to hitting the West Coast. But he actually WAS playing a pretty damned good game. It's just that he's set the standards of a good performance so high, you could be fooled into thinking a nice contribution is a bad one by comparing it to peak Mitch. In 30 minutes, Mitch gave the Knicks 12 points, 8 boards, 3 steals and 2 blocks on 5/7 from the field and 2/3 from the free throw line.
Mitch wasn't an answer for Ayton, but he did the best job containing the big. When he worked behind Frank in the third quarter, they actually mitigated some of the damage the Suns' guards were doing. He was good and it's not his fault that nobody else was playing defense or hitting shots. The highlights on the night were all alley-oop finishes for the kid. This was a step in the right direction after some recent struggles. Perhaps most important of all...30 minutes and just 2 fouls while tallying so many defensive marks on the box score.
Miller: Mike Miller didn't coach a very good game by any means. But he used multiple time outs when the Knicks were listless early in the third. His team missed a ton of wide open looks and when you look throughout the line-up, it's hard to imagine an alternative strategy that could have helped. Elfrid Payton has crashed back to Earth and the most reliable vet recently has been Reggie Bullock who sat out. Barrett's injury flattened any hope of a comeback because everyone seemed to lose a bit of life. I'm praying that the Knicks are in showcase mode and that the rumors out of the Front Office are gamesmanship to draw out better offers for vets...because right now, the Knicks are always gonna be hard to watch. But it's easier to watch the kids give effort and miss shots than it is to witness veterans half-ass it to the three point line on defense and then sprint to the other end of the court hoping to get a box score bump.
We know this pattern. This is the Kanter hustle we got last year. I think the Wooten contract and meeting with Mike gives some hope that the FO and coach recognize what's going on. But there's a high risk that we've got a coach and FO more interested in getting as many wins as they can than worrying about long term strategy. These guys are on the hot seat and they probably want to at least beat last year's record. Riding the vets who make shots can help eke out a couple more wins. But I'll trade that in. Give me the Knicks losing 80 to 105 while young guys play hard but can't hit their shots over the Knicks losing 98-121 without showing any heart on defense. They lose by more, score less, but at least it might come with some Kenny Wooten, Mitch, RJ, Knox or Frank highlights...that's all we've got to look forward to on most nights. Someone get this memo out to Dolan!
Payton: A chunk of fans blamed the early struggles of David Fizdale's Knicks on Elfrid Payton's absence. Having seen Payton try to cheat the passing lane while he's the on-ball defender, I'd like to point out that nah...this dude isn't solving a damned thing. Payton's defensive play has been disappointing and his offensive play consists of some clever passing but no threat to even attempt jumpers outside of 5 feet from the basket. He's probably not even playing himself to any trade value which is a shame, because I'd rather watch Frank and Allen struggle to develop jumpers than Payton refuse to take any. At last the former show some heart on defense, Payton plays the passing lanes...always...every time...no matter how open he leaves his man.
Payton put up 8 points, 7 assists to 3 TO's and 2 boards on 4/7 shooting. You could be fooled by some pretty finishes he had, but the reality is that Phoenix just never expected him to shoot. They followed collapsed on roll men heavy so Payton could use a bit of footwork for bunnies. The TO's were really egregious too. At one point, Payton went back to back on making lazy passes as soon as he crossed half court. It was momentum building for the Suns and something I'd expect from a 19 year old Ntilikina but not a 6 season veteran.
Barrett: RJ Barrett was not having a particularly good game, but he was playing hard. That's important because most guys weren't. Barrett's effort was palpable even when he missed and there were flashes of his upside in a beautiful feed through the lane to Randle or a righty finish with Booker on his hip. The kid didn't want to let this game get too far away. Then he sprained his ankle...badly...and the whole team deflated. That's kind of horrifying. The 19 year old rookie shouldn't have to be the team's heart when they've invested so much in veterans. Also; these games are difficult to watch with RJ playing, take him out and they're even less enjoyable.
Barrett put up 7 points, 2 assists and 3 boards in 14 minutes on 2/8 shooting. So it's not like he was having a stand out game but you could at least see the fight in him. He missed 2/4 FT's but don't sweat that because taking FT's on 1 foot is difficult and he left the game immediately after. He also made 1/2 from three. The promising development of his jumper didn't go away. I hope he heals fast, young cats do that sometimes.
Morris: The return of Marcus Morris really didn't look like the return of Marcus Morris to me. That's to say, even though he wasn't terrible, he looked like he was laboring for most of the night. Mook didn't seem totally locked in defensively and he didn't have the extra gear to lead the team how he has for the whole season. There were points where the team was starting to watch things slip away, moments where throughout this year Morris has been the guy to get the bucket that calms everyone down. He tried last night but couldn't convert. So I don't want to hammer the guy, neck injuries are rough and he tried to be the same person he's been all season but he just didn't look 100%.
Morris played 33 minutes and posted 17 points, 3 rebounds and 1 assist on 4/11 shooting, 2/5 from three and 7/10 from the free throw line. That's not bad production but it's just not the Morris we've needed for success.
Randle: It's hard to be mad at 26 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists to 3 TO's and 3 steals on 11/23 from the field. But if anyone can frustrate a fanbase putting up those numbers, it's Julius Randle. Last night's game kinda reminded me of the Al Harrington years. The guy puts in a good deal off effort offensively and has an efficient output on the night...but his misses standout for the tunnel vision involved. The TO's are compounded by times he loses his handle but gets bailed out by whistles or other guys saving him. Then defensively, you're watching a PF with wrecking ball ability fail to box out or give much effort to get rebounds. Essentially, Randle played hard with the ball in his hands but did nothing to help out without it.
I've been an apologist too, seeing good qualities shining through a lot of this recent stretch where I'd say he's played well. But last night, sans the first quarter, Randle felt like he was back to jockeying between trying to do too much and doing absolutely nothing. The numbers are because he's incredibly gifted, but the result and ensuing +/- are a reflection of the negative intangibles he brought to the table.
Taj: It was just a typical kinda night for Taj Gibson. He went 2/2 for 5 points and 1 board in 13 minutes. Ayton was too big and athletic for that match-up and it meant a lot of moments where I was wishing Mitch were out there. I don't say that to be a hater, I appreciate the effort. But Gibson is undersized at times and doesn't bring enough else to the table other than physical play.
Frank: The one field goal that Frank Ntilikina had was a really nice lay-up deep into the paint. The rest of the way, he took jumpers at the right times but couldn't buy a bucket. But his passing was really promising and took a hit by the fact that the Knicks just were not making shots. This was most apparent in a second quarter stretch where Mitch missed a dunk and then Frank fed Knox beautifully in the lane for another missed shot from right inside the paint. But there were more of these moments from Portis, Dot and Allen as well. Add to that, Frank's third quarter defense on Booker with Mitch behind to back him was the one stretch of good defensive play the team had and...this is the dreaded "better than the numbers say" game that Frank detractors love to complain about.
Ntilikina put up 2 points, 6 assists to 2 TOs, a board, 2 steals and an emphatic block in 24 minutes. As I've said, his assist tally could have been higher if players hit some open and easy looks that he created. That would really help his box score. On the other hand, his jumper looked bad after a really promising stretch. We can hope that was rust after a few games out and time away from the court. For the time being, this was a better game than the numbers suggest. We'll do this again shortly...
Dot: During the second quarter stretch where none of the other guys could buy a bucket, Damyean Dotson managed to dribble inside and make a few midrange jumpers that kept the second unit floating. Unfortunately he didn't provide much else, perhaps hampered by putting a lot of focus on covering Booker. He got extra time thanks to foul trouble and injury for Barrett. His effort was good but his impact was shaky. So in 26 minutes and on 3/6 shooting, Dot put up 6 points, 2 boards and 2 TO's. That's not enough production when matched with Devin Booker for huge chunks of time. But it's also not really fair to ask him to match up with Booker. Barrett had the aforementioned problems, Reggie Bullock was out, Allonzo Trier hasn't defended anyone since last season and Wayne Ellington forgot how to shoot this year.
Knox: Okay, here's the other kid I wanna say did better than the numbers suggest but not by all that much. Kevin Knox tried a LOT to get himself going offensively. He looked off from three, so he tried to drive but missed inside and when that didn't work he mimicked Dotson and tried from midrange. He ran some pick and rolls to try and get going. None of it worked. He just had an off night, but the effort and diversity of attack was there. It was a bit of glass half-full on an otherwise rough night for the kid. In 17 minutes, Knox went 2/8 from the field, 1/3 from three and 2/4 from the line (it was that kinda night). He tallied 7 points, 4 boards and 2 steals in 17 minutes.
Here's the thing, Knox's defense was underwhelming to put it lightly. There were flashes of effort and quality in poking the ball loose for a steal and some of those boards but these were flashes like Frank flashes scoring on a bad night. The rest of the way we got head scratchers, ball watching and generally bad decision-making defensively. You can put up bad shooting and I'll forgive it if the defensive play warrants. But Knox just didn't give enough to excuse it, even if I liked his approach to getting his offense going. He'd need a couple more boards, a few extra stops or otherwise some type of additional contribution.
Portis: Nothing says "Bobby Portis is in" like the end of the first half. Bobby grabbed a loose rebound with good hands and looked up at the clock, 12 seconds left. He immediately shot into action, flying down the court and trying to make something happen first with a bit of handling and then with a pass to Randle. But in his heartfelt effort Portis ignored the PG standing right next to him in the backcourt, threw a tough pass for Randle to gather and left the team with a terrible shot attempt to close out the second. He plays hard but my God...sometimes it's incredibly misguided (ask Kentavius Caldwell-Pope).
Portis went 2/7 from the field and 1/4 from three in 17 minutes. He tallied just 5 points but did add 10 boards. I want to stress that he really does try because I respect it. But when his shot is off, his defense never helps and the rebounding is nice but not useful enough to ignore the miscues, bad shot attempts, and general mistakes he makes trying to do too much. If he goes 3/4 from three, we're talking about him in a completely different light. He didn't though.
Mitch: During the game, you'd be fine to think Mitchell Robinson was having a rough night. He'd missed a pair of dunks and the commentators spoke about how he'd come back to Earth. You could kinda feel it too, this kid isn't dominating the way he was for a long stretch prior to hitting the West Coast. But he actually WAS playing a pretty damned good game. It's just that he's set the standards of a good performance so high, you could be fooled into thinking a nice contribution is a bad one by comparing it to peak Mitch. In 30 minutes, Mitch gave the Knicks 12 points, 8 boards, 3 steals and 2 blocks on 5/7 from the field and 2/3 from the free throw line.
Mitch wasn't an answer for Ayton, but he did the best job containing the big. When he worked behind Frank in the third quarter, they actually mitigated some of the damage the Suns' guards were doing. He was good and it's not his fault that nobody else was playing defense or hitting shots. The highlights on the night were all alley-oop finishes for the kid. This was a step in the right direction after some recent struggles. Perhaps most important of all...30 minutes and just 2 fouls while tallying so many defensive marks on the box score.
Miller: Mike Miller didn't coach a very good game by any means. But he used multiple time outs when the Knicks were listless early in the third. His team missed a ton of wide open looks and when you look throughout the line-up, it's hard to imagine an alternative strategy that could have helped. Elfrid Payton has crashed back to Earth and the most reliable vet recently has been Reggie Bullock who sat out. Barrett's injury flattened any hope of a comeback because everyone seemed to lose a bit of life. I'm praying that the Knicks are in showcase mode and that the rumors out of the Front Office are gamesmanship to draw out better offers for vets...because right now, the Knicks are always gonna be hard to watch. But it's easier to watch the kids give effort and miss shots than it is to witness veterans half-ass it to the three point line on defense and then sprint to the other end of the court hoping to get a box score bump.
We know this pattern. This is the Kanter hustle we got last year. I think the Wooten contract and meeting with Mike gives some hope that the FO and coach recognize what's going on. But there's a high risk that we've got a coach and FO more interested in getting as many wins as they can than worrying about long term strategy. These guys are on the hot seat and they probably want to at least beat last year's record. Riding the vets who make shots can help eke out a couple more wins. But I'll trade that in. Give me the Knicks losing 80 to 105 while young guys play hard but can't hit their shots over the Knicks losing 98-121 without showing any heart on defense. They lose by more, score less, but at least it might come with some Kenny Wooten, Mitch, RJ, Knox or Frank highlights...that's all we've got to look forward to on most nights. Someone get this memo out to Dolan!
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