Older thread '20 NYK Off-season Thread

[Derek Lee]

 

[BAMBA]

Thanks for posting this, because even today I’m still hearing people say “well he couldn’t stop Luka, but...”

No buts...he had that Euro in check, and probably was the main reason Doncic pulled up from Bolivia on that last shot.

Listen, I still want to see Frank score more consistently, but his Defense will absolutely make me content with a 12-15 ppg avg. I don’t need him droppin 40 points in a loss.

Lastly, my biggest complaint about the Frank love fest over the years has always been that other players don’t seem to get that same benefit of the doubt, so I hope people ease up a bit on Randle since he hasn’t even played 10 games as a Knick (and yes, I know he is very frustrating, as my banged up TV remote control can attest to this season.)

 

[JMurder]

Frank is Here

Last night in Dallas, Frank Ntilikina became the third Knick ever to compile four steals, three blocks, four dimes, and six boards in a game, the only others being Patrick Ewing and Michael Ray Richardson, per BasketballReference.com.

As Tommy Beer pointed out, he’s also the youngest Knick to pair those block and steal numbers with four made threes, as well as the youngest player in NBA history to pull off the feat.

He also attempted this:



I start the piece I’ve been waiting over two years to write with stats and a highlight because for many Knick fans, stats and highlights are the two things they’ve always wanted from Frank Ntilikina that they’ve never gotten.

As a teacher, this reminds me of a student who works for a whole year, doesn’t see any progress whatsoever, and then it all comes together for the final in the form of a positive grade.

Congratulations Frank Haters: you got your “A”. Now you can wake up and pay attention to what you’ve been missing almost since the moment this kid was drafted.

That isn’t entirely fair, of course. Ntilikina has had periods of immense struggle, and the positive impacts he had on both ends of the court were at times justifiably overshadowed by his offensive struggles. As I’ve noted many times, he was the worst high minute shooter in the entire league last season. That’s real.

The player who had those struggles is still here, but is also gone. His soul remains intact, but he is also a spirit freed, perhaps by the lack of competitors looking over his shoulder, perhaps by a coach who has no choice but to believe in him fully, perhaps by the feeling of having vanquished the country he now calls home over the summer, or perhaps because he’s now 21, and this shyt simply takes time.

Whatever it is, the most important thing done by the best Knick on the floor last night (and really, the best player in the game besides the other precocious neophyte in yesterday’s game – the one who’s going to win MVP’s before all is said and done) wasn’t represented by numbers or a dunk that would have broken the internet. It wasn’t the shots he made or the fact that every time the Mavs had the ball on his side of the floor (and sometimes even on the opposite side), he found a way to directly impact the play. There were too many instances for me to keep track of. He was everywhere.

No, the most important thing Frank Ntilikina did last night won’t show up in any box score or mix tape. It was something that happened when the clock wasn’t even running:


Yeah, you can’t teach that. And the kid who many in the organization have already invested more love and energy in than they ever did for Frank won’t soon forget it.

Just like I’ll never forget last night, even though I feel like it’s been two years coming:



It’s always been there. All of it. The only difference is that after last night, a lot more people will start to notice.

It’s about damn time.

 

[JMurder]

Thanks for posting this, because even today I’m still hearing people say “well he couldn’t stop Luka, but...”

No buts...he had that Euro in check, and probably was the main reason Doncic pulled up from Bolivia on that last shot.

Listen, I still want to see Frank score more consistently, but his Defense will absolutely make me content with a 12-15 ppg avg. I don’t need him droppin 40 points in a loss.

Lastly, my biggest complaint about the Frank love fest over the years has always been that other players don’t seem to get that same benefit of the doubt, so I hope people ease up a bit on Randle since he hasn’t even played 10 games as a Knick (and yes, I know he is very frustrating, as my banged up TV remote control can attest to this season.)

You should be more than content with 12-15 ppg.

And there's a big difference between a young player with beyond his years defensively, and court vision needing time to develop, and a young 5th year player with gifts offensively, but has no awareness when it comes to passing or defending needing time to pad his stats.

There are players who deserves the benefit of the doubt on the court, and a little patience. Then there are players who need to be on a team with the right complementary pieces to hide weaknesses and improve he his strength. Randle is the latter

 

[knickscity]

Frank definitely showed his worth last night. Very nice to see.

 

[Serious]

Shout out to THjr you played a great game out. Out there playing 1 on 5 and jacking up shots as soon as you receive the ball

Also shout out to Porzingis’ stamina and rebounding awareness. You guys made an early exit like always. They saw it was the 4th quarter and said shyt getting late gotta go

once a knicks always a knick

my bad C Lee you were not forgotten even though your knick tenure and you in this game were forgettable

Doncic out here trying to compete 7 on 3

everyone catching strays in this post.

 

[seemorecizzy]

really wish frank banged on KP LMAO
MY nikka out here feeling himself

 

[Serious]

The Knicks needed last night. After looking dazed and confused in blowout losses to the Kings and Pistons; the Knicks went into Dallas and beat the allstar who didn't want to be a part of their rebuild. There was no need to look back, only ahead as the Knicks had easily their best performance of the season. The switching defense was back and held strong. The offense saw a few less dribble handoffs and much quicker decisions. This was the first game that didn't see any prolonged scoring droughts and the best example of some chemistry developing between these guys. Marcus Morris and Julius Randle were still the focal points but the ball moved more freely than prior games. Kevin Knox and Bobby Portis didn't have great games off the bench, but their scoring came at times when the Knicks needed that help. Taj Gibson's value as a floor leader was on clear display. And all of these guys came together to lift up RJ Barrett, who had his toughest night. And then there was Frank...

Frank: It'd be tough to imagine a more Cinderella-like run to a big performance if we didn't have Linsanity. Frank Ntilikina was the fourth player to get a shot at Point Guard to start this season and yet here we are just 8 games later and he's on the cover of the Sports Pages in NYC trying to dunk on the Knicks former franchise hope. Ntilikina wasn't just essential, he might have been the Knicks best player. The French Prince put up 14 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists to just 1 turnover, 4 steals and 3 blocks. This came on 5/12 from the field and an outstanding 4/5 from three.

Frank made his open looks and attacked whenever the defense started to shade off of him. It didn't always lead to makes, but it forced the Mavs to keep an eye on him and that created spacing for everybody. The third year player attacked off the dribble with some impressive plays, especially a one-handed no-look pass to Julius Randle for three in the second half. The offensive potential of Frank was on display here. Just knocking down a couple of open looks unlocked new opportunities for Frank and gave him a much more commanding presence overall.

But the offensive game is never going to be the highlight with the French Prince if he's as good defensively as he was last night. You could be fooled by Luka Doncic's stat-line, but Frank was absolutely stellar on defense. The Knicks' switching defense allowed Ntilikina to wander into positions near the ball even when it wasn't in the hands of the guy he was guarding. This meant the young guard was able to constantly impact plays by rotating, helping or being on the ball. This especially stood out in the fourth quarter where Frank looked like he could take two guys out of the play at once with his frenetic energy. This was All-Defensive Team caliber play.

The kid has been on the rise since he was thrust into a bigger role. Even in his FIBA play, Frank showed potential to take the leap this year, but hadn't put it all together exactly. Last night, it all came together.

Barrett: RJ Barrett had a nightmare game shooting, but did manage to produce in some other places. The rookie put up just 3 points in 35 minutes while shooting 1/9. RJ did add in 4 assists and 8 rebounds though, including a big board late in the fourth quarter. He wasn't all bad. As a matter of fact, RJ was still able to get into the lane with some consistency. He simply didn't finish when he got and when the Mavs put him on the line, it was not pretty. RJ went 1/6 from the free throw line including a missed pair in crunch time...Julius Randle bailed him out with an offensive board and the team came together to pick the kid up. It turned a low point for the third pick in the draft into one of the best Team moments of the season.

I do want to express a bit of concern for RJ's defense the past couple of games. I think this could be a bit of tired legs after being a league leader in minutes early on, but RJ has been a bit late getting out to shooters. He seems like he's just a step slower through screens then early on. This could be a lapse thanks to his offensive struggles or any number of issues to be honest. But I do want to keep an eye on that. His defense still isn't bad but it's taken a step back from his eye opening start to the season.

Morris: Marcus Morris caught some flack from myself and plenty of others after an Iso-heavy start to his season. Mook is still isolating and taking some tough shots, but he has also started letting the game come to him on more occasions. Look no further than his recent three point shooting for proof positive that he's letting the ball find him and not vice versa right now. The results? 29 points, 9 rebounds and 3 assists in 41 minutes of play while shooting 10/22 from the field and 4/8 from three point land.

Morris gives the Knicks gritty defense while being ready to attack on offense at all times. This was always the case, but it's now accentuated by more comfort passing the ball to teammates and trusting them to make the right plays. He's gone from averaging 0.4 assists per game in five October games to averaging 2.3 assists in the four he's played in November so far. That willful ball movement has really helped out the Knicks and even though he got 20+ shots up, it means less forces and more high percentage looks.

Randle: Make no mistake, Julius Randle is still figuring things out offensively. There were times throughout last night where Randle would drive into traffic and completely miss wide open players around the three point line. He also looked off Frank to take the ball up himself in non-transition situations which I don't think should be happening unless he sees a mismatch. But last night represented a promising step in the right direction. Randle posted 21 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists to 4 TO's on 7/16 from the field and 2/8 from three.

The Knicks big man scored 25 points in the home opener, then failed to break 20 again for 6 games after with back to back 8 points disasters to close that run of games. But he managed 20 against Detroit and now 21 against the Mavs. For the most part, he's just making some of the bunnies that he'd been missing but he has curbed some of the forces lately. It's still a frustrating aspect of his game to see the 6'10 forward dribble into the entire defense but he's spotting it at times and letting the plays reset. Even if that only happens once more per quarter, it can be the difference between a momentum killing turnover and an open look for one of his teammates. Small improvements can have a big impact.

Gibson: Taj Gibson looked like the intangibles guy in the preseason and then looked terrible in the first couple of games. But his past two performances have been a much needed return to form. His stand out plays are either simple elbow jumpers or well placed screens, but the steady effort that he puts up helps everyone be in the right place and also causes him to accumulate a sneaky good stat-line. Taj gave the Knicks 12 points and 8 boards on 5/6 shooting in 28 minutes last night.

The real highlights of Gibson's night were moments where young Knick defenders had lapses in concentration. You could count on Taj to be in their ear. He wasn't about to let these young guys string together missed rotations or miscommunicated switches. It was most evident on a second half play where Knox chased his own man too hard to recover on a switch, a play where effort was there but mindfulness wasn't. Those are instances where a veteran presence like Taj can reel a kid in and keep everyone sharp for crunch time.

Trier: Allonzo Trier had a solid night offensively as the kinda, sorta back-up PG. He took his role seriously, having one of my favorite assists of the game on a drive and dish early on. That said, the stat-line is fairly quiet for 17 minutes of microwave Zo in action. He put up 4 points and 2 assists on 1/3 shooting. He's the type of player that needs rhythm to get going and he was more focused on ball movement last night...I'm not mad at that.

But I am mad at his defense. We have seen Allonzo Trier lock-in and play tough defense when he's mad. His showdown with John Wall as a rookie bought him damn near a full season's pass on lackadaisical defensive efforts that happened throughout his rookie campaign. This season it's been more of the same. He gave up more than And-One to players that drove by while he swiped at the ball instead of defending with his feet. This is worrisome because like I said, we've seen that he can be better than that. If his defense could be respectable, he could get more time to find his rhythm.

Dot: Damyean Dotson only got 7 minutes of play but looked solid nonetheless. He went 1/2 and knocked down a three off the dribble near the top of the key. His 3 points and 1 board doesn't say much, but he looked his usual self. He moved well off the ball, had solid movement on defense and overall looked like a guy you could trust to give more minutes without hurting the team and possibly helping with his jumper.

Knox: It's a bit of a weird one for Kevin Knox in that he only played 15 minutes and only had 6 points and 3 boards on 2/4 shooting...but his impact was felt thanks to a long three pointer with the shot clock dying. As a matter of fact, Knox was a perfect 2/2 from three and one of his misses came when he was chased off the line and forced the defense to collapse. That miss led to an easy putback for Portis. So the sophomore's offensive impact was real. But if I'm being honest, he had some defensive lapses and got away with a couple extra where the Mavs didn't capitalize. He's still better than last season, but he's taken a step back on that end and it could mean that our most reliable three point shooter gets his minutes trimmed until he cleans up the rotations.

Portis: When Bobby Portis is really amped for a game, you can tell as soon as he touches the floor. While this was no Chicago performance, Portis did have a big first half run that helped the Knicks keep up with a high scoring Mavericks team. Unfortunately, Bobby came back down to Earth the rest of the way and his defense continues to be a challenge. But at least the big man was a terror on the boards to keep contributing. BP went 5/15 for 14 points and 12 boards while knocking down 1/3 from three in 24 minutes. He had a solid but inconsistent type of night.

Fiz: You could tell Fiz wanted this one just by looking at the minutes breakdown. He was right to trust the handful of guys that have been reliable too. Frank, RJ, Morris and Randle all played more than 35 minutes but the Knicks were desperate for a win and this was a perfect time to make a stand. The decision to start Taj instead of Portis proved wise and I really like the yin/yang leadership of Morris/Gibson out there. One guy is a firestarter with his passion on his sleeve while the other is all about staying steady and making the right plays.

There's not much to fault Fiz with last night, he got the dub and the team played well on both ends for a full game. That said, there was one period to start the fourth where he gave us Trier/Knox/Portis all on the floor at the same time. That's arguably the three worst defenders in the rotation all out there at once and they quickly saw a 4 point lead become a 1 point deficit. This is nitpicking though. Morris and Randle needed the break while Fiz at least tried to keep defense together via Frank and Taj as bookends. I don't hate that.

I do worry a bit about the exploitability of a switch heavy defense. It worked against a team with two young offensive focal points, but I'm nervous about the prospects of it holding up against a James Harden or any elite scorer for that matter...even KP and Doncic went off, they just struggled late. We'll be relying on Frank to continually do heavy lifting if the switching continues, especially until Mitch is back.

Last note: Dennis Smith Jr is on the verge of being back and it couldn't be a moment sooner. Frank played spectacular ball last night, but he looked positively exhausted in the waning moments of the game. It'll be tough to maintain intensity on defense and provide offensive punch at the minutes load the Knicks need from Ntilikina right now. Meanwhile, RJ Barrett has had a tough couple of games and has had to shoulder a heavy offensive burden even as a rookie. This is the perfect opportunity for DSJ to enter a situation with less pressure and a clear goal to attack the defense when he gets openings. The Garden loves a redemption story.

You need a blog breh. Idk why you're not a sports writer / analyst.

At least do it on the side.


You got the coil's support

 

[Miles Davis]

everyone catching strays in this post.

Courtney slander was uncalled for. Dude was professional throughout. Got his minutes cut and ain’t act like child like Kanter did, just came out and played when his number was called.

really wish frank banged on KP LMAO
MY nikka out here feeling himself

Yea, he gonna catch someone soon. He been trying more and more.

You need a blog breh. Idk why you're not a sports writer / analyst.

At least do it on the side.


You got the coil's support

Remi – Medium

 

[BujuBoombastic]

@storyteller
Your name speaks for itself

Ironically that song was about Big piping down a former NY Knicks player girl. Anthony Mason’s (RIP) ex girl.

 

[storyteller]

You need a blog breh. Idk why you're not a sports writer / analyst.

At least do it on the side.


You got the coil's support

Much appreciated fam! Right now I throw everything onto medium and I’ve had a couple of content creators talk to me about potential collaboration in the future but I haven’t pressed it because I have some separate projects I’m building up. I did do some recaps with knicks film school last year but they have a big team already so I figured I’d let them rock since I’m not as consistent as the best cats in the game.

P.S. I caught a glimpse of Nas last night, I’ve still got high hopes for that kid though he’ll need some time.

 

[Deep_Black_Conscious]

Frank could be the Knicks PG if y'all get Wiseman

Would you choose Wiseman if you had the #1 pick?

I think he's the best talent available

Mitch might have to be a super sub off the bench
or run Wiseman at PF next to Mitch

Frank/RJ/Knox/Wiseman/Mitch would makeup for the potential
Frank/RJ/Knox/KP/Mitch lineup especially if Wiseman can shoot the 3
and Mitch starts hitting from out there

RJ and Wiseman could be the next great wing/bigman duo

 

[Derek Lee]

 

[Serious]

Much appreciated fam! Right now I throw everything onto medium and I’ve had a couple of content creators talk to me about potential collaboration in the future but I haven’t pressed it because I have some separate projects I’m building up. I did do some recaps with knicks film school last year but they have a big team already so I figured I’d let them rock since I’m not as consistent as the best cats in the game.

P.S. I caught a glimpse of Nas last night, I’ve still got high hopes for that kid though he’ll need some time.

No doubt, I think honestly if you're patient, but consistent in putting your content out there, offers will continually come up.


Talent is hard to deny, but I'd rather read your analysis than like 99% of mediocre sports blogs. You're content is so well written that even a casual fan, young kid or someone with no base knowledge of basketball can EASILY follow along.

Yeah Nas is nice, he's definitely going crack the rotation now. His fit idk yet, but his engery is great. He's still raw, but he has the ability disrupt shots and grab rebounds. He's a bit undersized for his style of play, but his length ( ) makes up for a lack of height.

 

[BAMBA]

player with gifts offensively, but has no awareness when it comes to passing or defending needing time to pad his stats.

players who need to be on a team with the right complementary pieces to hide weaknesses and improve his strength.

You could be describing Carmelo Anthony here, and we put up with his sh*t for 7 years...so I’m willing to give Randle at least 1.