storyteller
Veteran
The Wizards came out desperate and the Knicks couldn't find their footing in a tough loss last night. Washington applied a ton of pressure on off ball movers and passing lanes which made the Knicks uncomfortable for most of the night. When the Knicks did find bits of rhythm out there, foul trouble reared its head over and over. Worst of all, defacto leader and lead scorer Tim Hardaway got hurt early and left the Knicks without an effective focal point for the offense. But there were some promising signs starting with Allonzo Trier becoming a spark on both ends by going directly at John Wall. Mitch Robinson played emotional but it translated to intensity against a former best Center in the league, Dwight Howard. Meanwhile Damyean Dotson kept the same consistency as always. Even in a rough one, we got plenty to talk about.
Frank: The Wizards pressure really seemed to get to him early and he struggled throughout most of the game. Frank's had a strong start to the season keeping his turnovers down but this game was a regression to rookie season. He picked up his dribble too soon or telegraphed his pass to the tune of 4 TO's. When he finally did get some comfort, he ran into foul trouble that killed any rhythm. He started to find playmaking in the second but had to come out; then he started finding success in the lane in the third before a tough fourth foul. 6 points, 4 assists, 2 blocks and 4 TO's for Frank who shot 3/7 and 0/4 from three. The three's were tough. They were all good looks that he couldn't knock down in some key moments. That said, I'm happy Frank took those shots rather than passing them up. This was his toughest game of the season so far, but he stayed aggressive and that's step one.
Tim Hardaway: Tim Hardaway had his hands full with Bradley Beal before he hurt his back. Once the injury kicked in, he had no chance of keeping up. 2/10 from the field for 7 points, 4 assists and 4 rebounds. This was the kind of game where the vets had a good chance to step up but Tim was clearly hampered all night. He played through injury but for all intents and purposes the Knicks were without their go-to player last night and it showed. Get well soon THJ.
Dotson: This is becoming routine for Dotson. Dots hit double digits again with 11 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 turnovers off of 5/11 from the field. He didn't make a three in this one but was content to take what the defense gave him on a lot of occasions. The rebounding is what really stood out most to me though. At times when Dwight Howard was giving the team issues inside, you'd catch Dotson just poking a rebound out of his hands or adding a body to work around. This kid contributes on both ends and it has quickly become something we're relying on rather than hoping for.
Vonleh: Vonleh played just 10 minutes because foul trouble left him with almost no rhythm. He went 1/2 from the field for 2 points and 4 rebounds. This is the second game in a row where he picks up a lot of quick fouls and has few opportunities to put a stamp on the game for it.
Mitch: Mitch can get a little emotional and it can lead to lack of control or jawing at players and refs for Techs. But he also shows no signs of backing down even in the face of a Dwight Howard. The kid put up 10 points and 6 rebounds in 26 minutes plus blocked Dwight on a jumper and almost blocked a Wall dunk but caught the foul call. He's already starting to put up quality defensive stands when he gets switched onto perimeter ball handlers and that's saying a LOT considering the Wizards backcourt. There were boards that he took from over Dwight and he'll always be efficient when all of his baskets are emphatic dunks. He's a consistent lob option and the Knicks should look to work with his rim running more and more. It will turn into easy assists or quick midrange shots (both options worked briefly but consistently for Frank in the second and third quarters).
Mario: This is the second game in a row where Mario comes out and just looks comfortable in the offense. Hezonja was 4/9 from the field and 2/5 from the 3 point line while contributing everywhere on the boxscore with 10 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals to just 1 turnover in 25 minutes. The steals covered for some defensive lapses at other times but paired with his defensive rebounding gave him some value on that end of the floor. He also was just a little more under control and the efficiency and lack of TO's came out of it. Rebounding really helps Mario's game. He's fantastic in transition whether handling the ball or passing it. If Fiz can get this to be Mario's game consistently, that's going to be huge for the second unit.
Kanter: Every time the Wiz went with a PF instead of Ian Mahinimi to cover for Dwight, I clapped because I knew Kanter would be able to give us as many or more points than he gave up. Any time Kanter was out there simultaneously with Dwight, I'd get a sinking feeling. Luckily it was a lot more of Kanter vs the Wiz bench semi-bigs. He pumped in 18 points and 12 boards, just unstoppable for anyone in the Wizards second unit. I almost spit out my drink when Washington's adjustment to try and stop him was Jason Smith. This was 24 minutes that showed why Kanter can be really valuable off the bench and picking on small ball units.
Mudiay: It's a little frustrating to see Mudiay with more minutes than Burke in the box score after this game. Mudiay went 1/5 for 4 points, 3 assists to 2 turnovers, a steal and a block. I don't know what happened to his confidence pulling the midrange in space from last game but it was gone in this one. His 23 minutes just lacked much positive impact. He would probe the defense...and probe the defense...and probe some more. Then the shot clock would be down to 3 and he'd be forcing a bad shot or forcing someone else to take a bad shot. We saw his potential last game and his floor in this one.
Trier: John Wall was menacing the Knicks on both ends of the floor when Allonzo Trier crossed him up. Wall went for the "no easy buckets" hard foul and Trier, an undrafted rookie, let Wall know that he didn't like the play. This sparked double technicals and showdowns on both ends of the floor between the two. Wall scored, then Trier scored, then Wall called for an Iso against Trier and turned the ball over...then Trier scored on Beal too. It wasn't a long run, but it fired up the Knicks and sparked a comeback all from a rookie going right at one of the best point guards in the league. For his 22 minutes, Trier gave the Knicks 9 points and 2 boards off of 4/8 shooting but his impact was much bigger. The Knicks were missing their emotional leader but Trier picked a fight and became someone to rally around if only for a little while.
Burke: When Hardaway went down, Trey Burke was the player that came to mind for me. He needs touches to be effective and the Knicks needed someone to embrace the load THJ had carried. Burke got a bit of that and was pretty productive with as well. He had 13 points, 3 assists and 2 rebounds in 20 minutes and making 6/13 from the field. He did have 3 TO's however and that was with Mudiay taking a lot of shares away from him on the plays. But the Knicks needed scoring and Burke gave them flashes of that. With Hardaway aching, he and Trier stand to gain the most but they'll have to step up to do it.
Lance: Lance only played 8 minutes but took 6 attempts to get 5 points and 3 rebounds. He has to look for his shots when teams aren't defending him but he hasn't really been able to find it. Since that's the case, he'll likely be seeing fewer minutes to try and sort out his offense.
Luke and Ron: They got 2 minutes of garbage time that wouldn't be fair to judge them on.
Fiz: I thought he was really animated and went at the refs quite a bit and for good reason. The Knicks were dealing with a physical defense but picked up a lot of fairly soft foul calls on the other end. It's hard to blame Fiz for rotations when Frank, Noah and Mitch all ran into some foul issues at points in the game. I think Mudiay got a little bit too much burn out there, especially when everything stagnated in the third before Trier took over. But overall, it was good to see the Knicks fight for most of the night even with Timmy hurting. He got Frank to be much more aggressive in the second half even if the results weren't great. He got Burke back on the attack and Hezonja playing effectively in a second unit that has looked really solid early on; and that's a second unit I thought would be hopeless. There's progress here and I'm curious to see how these kids respond if Hardaway is out for a game or two.
Frank: The Wizards pressure really seemed to get to him early and he struggled throughout most of the game. Frank's had a strong start to the season keeping his turnovers down but this game was a regression to rookie season. He picked up his dribble too soon or telegraphed his pass to the tune of 4 TO's. When he finally did get some comfort, he ran into foul trouble that killed any rhythm. He started to find playmaking in the second but had to come out; then he started finding success in the lane in the third before a tough fourth foul. 6 points, 4 assists, 2 blocks and 4 TO's for Frank who shot 3/7 and 0/4 from three. The three's were tough. They were all good looks that he couldn't knock down in some key moments. That said, I'm happy Frank took those shots rather than passing them up. This was his toughest game of the season so far, but he stayed aggressive and that's step one.
Tim Hardaway: Tim Hardaway had his hands full with Bradley Beal before he hurt his back. Once the injury kicked in, he had no chance of keeping up. 2/10 from the field for 7 points, 4 assists and 4 rebounds. This was the kind of game where the vets had a good chance to step up but Tim was clearly hampered all night. He played through injury but for all intents and purposes the Knicks were without their go-to player last night and it showed. Get well soon THJ.
Dotson: This is becoming routine for Dotson. Dots hit double digits again with 11 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 turnovers off of 5/11 from the field. He didn't make a three in this one but was content to take what the defense gave him on a lot of occasions. The rebounding is what really stood out most to me though. At times when Dwight Howard was giving the team issues inside, you'd catch Dotson just poking a rebound out of his hands or adding a body to work around. This kid contributes on both ends and it has quickly become something we're relying on rather than hoping for.
Vonleh: Vonleh played just 10 minutes because foul trouble left him with almost no rhythm. He went 1/2 from the field for 2 points and 4 rebounds. This is the second game in a row where he picks up a lot of quick fouls and has few opportunities to put a stamp on the game for it.
Mitch: Mitch can get a little emotional and it can lead to lack of control or jawing at players and refs for Techs. But he also shows no signs of backing down even in the face of a Dwight Howard. The kid put up 10 points and 6 rebounds in 26 minutes plus blocked Dwight on a jumper and almost blocked a Wall dunk but caught the foul call. He's already starting to put up quality defensive stands when he gets switched onto perimeter ball handlers and that's saying a LOT considering the Wizards backcourt. There were boards that he took from over Dwight and he'll always be efficient when all of his baskets are emphatic dunks. He's a consistent lob option and the Knicks should look to work with his rim running more and more. It will turn into easy assists or quick midrange shots (both options worked briefly but consistently for Frank in the second and third quarters).
Mario: This is the second game in a row where Mario comes out and just looks comfortable in the offense. Hezonja was 4/9 from the field and 2/5 from the 3 point line while contributing everywhere on the boxscore with 10 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals to just 1 turnover in 25 minutes. The steals covered for some defensive lapses at other times but paired with his defensive rebounding gave him some value on that end of the floor. He also was just a little more under control and the efficiency and lack of TO's came out of it. Rebounding really helps Mario's game. He's fantastic in transition whether handling the ball or passing it. If Fiz can get this to be Mario's game consistently, that's going to be huge for the second unit.
Kanter: Every time the Wiz went with a PF instead of Ian Mahinimi to cover for Dwight, I clapped because I knew Kanter would be able to give us as many or more points than he gave up. Any time Kanter was out there simultaneously with Dwight, I'd get a sinking feeling. Luckily it was a lot more of Kanter vs the Wiz bench semi-bigs. He pumped in 18 points and 12 boards, just unstoppable for anyone in the Wizards second unit. I almost spit out my drink when Washington's adjustment to try and stop him was Jason Smith. This was 24 minutes that showed why Kanter can be really valuable off the bench and picking on small ball units.
Mudiay: It's a little frustrating to see Mudiay with more minutes than Burke in the box score after this game. Mudiay went 1/5 for 4 points, 3 assists to 2 turnovers, a steal and a block. I don't know what happened to his confidence pulling the midrange in space from last game but it was gone in this one. His 23 minutes just lacked much positive impact. He would probe the defense...and probe the defense...and probe some more. Then the shot clock would be down to 3 and he'd be forcing a bad shot or forcing someone else to take a bad shot. We saw his potential last game and his floor in this one.
Trier: John Wall was menacing the Knicks on both ends of the floor when Allonzo Trier crossed him up. Wall went for the "no easy buckets" hard foul and Trier, an undrafted rookie, let Wall know that he didn't like the play. This sparked double technicals and showdowns on both ends of the floor between the two. Wall scored, then Trier scored, then Wall called for an Iso against Trier and turned the ball over...then Trier scored on Beal too. It wasn't a long run, but it fired up the Knicks and sparked a comeback all from a rookie going right at one of the best point guards in the league. For his 22 minutes, Trier gave the Knicks 9 points and 2 boards off of 4/8 shooting but his impact was much bigger. The Knicks were missing their emotional leader but Trier picked a fight and became someone to rally around if only for a little while.
Burke: When Hardaway went down, Trey Burke was the player that came to mind for me. He needs touches to be effective and the Knicks needed someone to embrace the load THJ had carried. Burke got a bit of that and was pretty productive with as well. He had 13 points, 3 assists and 2 rebounds in 20 minutes and making 6/13 from the field. He did have 3 TO's however and that was with Mudiay taking a lot of shares away from him on the plays. But the Knicks needed scoring and Burke gave them flashes of that. With Hardaway aching, he and Trier stand to gain the most but they'll have to step up to do it.
Lance: Lance only played 8 minutes but took 6 attempts to get 5 points and 3 rebounds. He has to look for his shots when teams aren't defending him but he hasn't really been able to find it. Since that's the case, he'll likely be seeing fewer minutes to try and sort out his offense.
Luke and Ron: They got 2 minutes of garbage time that wouldn't be fair to judge them on.
Fiz: I thought he was really animated and went at the refs quite a bit and for good reason. The Knicks were dealing with a physical defense but picked up a lot of fairly soft foul calls on the other end. It's hard to blame Fiz for rotations when Frank, Noah and Mitch all ran into some foul issues at points in the game. I think Mudiay got a little bit too much burn out there, especially when everything stagnated in the third before Trier took over. But overall, it was good to see the Knicks fight for most of the night even with Timmy hurting. He got Frank to be much more aggressive in the second half even if the results weren't great. He got Burke back on the attack and Hezonja playing effectively in a second unit that has looked really solid early on; and that's a second unit I thought would be hopeless. There's progress here and I'm curious to see how these kids respond if Hardaway is out for a game or two.
nikkas ain’t gonna want that switch 5. Next year needs to come here fast. When he’s out here running with KP
. It feels weird to be excited about the future. I must say
