I been waiting for this ish so long that I watched a big chunk of the Knicks practice...not just the scrimmage, the practice. So don't mind the overanalysis after one preseason game, i'll try to keep it grounded. If you're looking for Frank and Dotson talk, I saved that for last...
The Good:
- KP working the interior and mid-range over a perimeter and then in-game. He had short defenders on him all night and took them off the dribble (crossed Quincy Acy up bad and then drove to the rack LEFTY), shot over them midrange and just seemed far more willing to attack even though they were good defenders. My biggest fear going into this season was that he'd shy away from asserting himself but early on and with good frequency he was happy to attack in isolation. He actually missed 3 or 4 looks that I typically expect him to make, so he could have had an even bigger impact without having to change much at all. He's on his way.
- Timmy in uptempo situations is fun to watch. His three point shooting had a wow factor that he managed to match with his full court passes. He knows how to find guys up court and throws incredibly accurate passes.
- Courtney Lee brought the defense that nobody else did and had a sneaky good offensive line (12 pts, 5/10 and 2/3 from three point land).
- Michael Beasley had 10 boards and 3 assists, everyone knows he can score but being locked in everywhere else was great to witness. He still had judgement lapses but far fewer and defensively he was surprisingly active even if his defensive awareness is shaky at times
- Willy was in there with summer leaguers and third units but managed 10 boards in 16 minutes.
- Dougu McDermott knows how to move around the perimeter and find open spots on the floor. Combine that with his quick release and willingness to cut (what a dunk he had) for a nice offensive player.
- Enes Kanter's fourth quarter; when the team needs to slow it down, Kanter can find his rhythm in the post. He's a really effective back to basket big and it showed with a pair of and-ones and some plays that might have made people forget his ugly first three quarters.
The Bad:
- KOQ started but got 11 minutes in spite of playing well in the opening minutes. He lost his rhythm and didn't have time to impact the game after his initial impact.
- Enes Kanter had zero rhythm for three quarters and it's not because of a lack of touches. Frank ran pick and rolls and found the big man under the rack repeatedly where Kanter...missed lay-ups. Dude was falling HARD repeatedly, not flops, can't call it soft but the weight loss had this guy's base about as strong as the wacky wavy inflatable armed tube man. On top of that, his defense didn't improve with weight loss; Acy hung 10 points on him in half a quarter and Booker abused him for offensive boards.
- Jarrett Jack had 5 FGA's in 9 minutes...little overzealous.
- The small ball unit was exciting when it got on the floor, then got abused and was ineffective in practice.
- Timmy's defense wasn't anything to write home about, mainly off of lapses. Russell caught him sleeping a couple of times and pulled up for easy makes, beat him back door and also got loose at times off screens. Nobody guarded him well, but Timmy stood out since he spent a good chunk on dude.
- I get that Hornacek just wanted to see what he had, but honestly the Summer Leaguers didn't even look good in summer league and there are other young guys on the roster I'd like to see in a tight fourth quarter. Frank and Dotson were on the floor for the comeback; McDermott's three point shooting could be key down the stretch of games and we got stuck watching Rathan-Mayes and Hayes instead.
The Ugly:
- The three point defense is still exactly as bad as it was last year.
- Guards are still lighting us up.
- PG's combined for 3/15 from the field for the night.
- The logjam at C is bad. Noah didn't even play and none of the C's really got a good rhythm except for Kanter in the early fourth quarter (and he got quickly pulled so Willy could get more minutes). Horn's gotta pick two of these guys and stick with 'em.
- Speaking of things I didn't like about Hornacek's coaching, the system is fun to watch but it felt like the wings were severely underutilized. Timmy got shots up but McDermott was open a lot with no one looking for him, Lee generated his looks through defense and the break moreso than in flow of the half-court offense, Dotson didn't get many touches and Beasley's touches were mostly isolation situations...it's one game, no panic necessary but getting the wings going should be a focal point in film sessions imo.
Closer Look at Rooks (not counting summer league guys):
- Dotson had an interesting night, if unassuming night. It felt like he made something of what few touches he got and asserted himself defensively pretty well. He didn't get many looks and his statline is forgettable; 1/3 2 pts, 1 assist, 3 boards; but his play stood out. He's gonna be a really good rebounding guard, I'm confident in that having seen how he hits the boards both in summer league and last night. He played a controlled offensive game, no forces and good shot selection. Defensively he created a TO with pressure defense even though it wasn't a steal. I'm not sure if playing within the flow was responsible for him looking so effective whenever he got near the ball (on both ends) or if I was frustrated he wouldn't assert himself more. He's way more intriguing than a second rounder should be. He's gotta knock down the open three point looks but there's a lot of promise with dude and he plays better defense than a lot of our personnel. I'd like to see him crack the rotation. Not that +/- is ever great as a measure but he led the team there because he got on the floor with Frank and Lee, and the trio played perimeter defense better than we've seen in a long time.
- Frank is an NBA ready defender. He didn't get through every screen and didn't always choose the best paths on the floor but his wingspan erased the mistakes anyway. He poked a couple of passes and knocked a ball or two loose. Curiously, he had more fits with Dinwiddie than Jeremy Lin out there. The team defense was simply better with him out there even though there's clear room for improvement in certain aspects. Offensively he showed the good and the bad of his game, but generally the outlook was rosy imo. He's a poised player who knows how to use a screen man and get that guy open on the roll or fade; he could do with keeping an eye out for others getting loose but his ball handling is predicated on opening the lane for that rolling big (most notably on a no-look pass where he used an in-out dribble to get the opposing C a step extra in his direction). He ended with 3 assists but should have had 5 if not for Kanter missed lay-ups; maybe more. The best thing about him is he's unafraid. Dude did not play hot potato with the rock, he took his defenders off the dribble by running them into a bunch of screens. He also knew to get his own jumper off once in awhile to keep guys honest though he missed the shots. So the missed shots starts the negative part of his game, he forced a couple of jumpers and missed a couple of open ones. One of his TO's came on a jump pass and miscommunication with his cutter; the other came because he had gotten predictable hitting the roll man after it worked early. To be honest, the mistakes could be chalked up to nerves and he didn't repeat mistakes which is promising.
Overall the things that stood out were all positive. NBA body, already our best defensive PG and REALLY savvy at getting guys the ball in productive spots. He realizes that he can pull defenders and create openings for his guys and as his handle improves that mindset will become more and more gamechanging. His ceiling as a passer is really high.
I'm getting PTSD, Chris Duhon flashbacks from seeing Sessions out there.
