Nothing like a Mike D'antoni defense to bring out the best from some of our young gunners. The Knicks took a depleted Rockets team to the wire before losing 114-110 and they road an all rookies and sophomores line-up for most of the fourth quarter. There are two big negatives on this one however. James Harden stormed the building with 61 points and 15 boards; enough to tie Kobe for most points by a visitor. That said, multiple Knicks got to work on defending an elite player on an all-time level scoring run and when wins don't matter the lessons stand out. The other big negative is Enes Kanter's tantrum at not playing. This one really grinds my gears. For one; the Rockets didn't use any Centers, Kenneth Faried was the closest thing to a big man that they employed (he's 6'8). So there was no one Kanter could even pretend to try to guard out there. On top of that, Vonleh and Mitch both played good basketball. If they struggled, that'd be one thing but both guys played well in a competitive game and Kanter shouldn't be making it about himself. Trey Burke, Lance Thomas, Courtney Lee...these guys have all understood the circumstances and accepted them; none of them had the chance to opt out before the season started. Sure, Kanter would be leaving a lot of money on the table to opt out but don't whine and create turmoil over playing time when you were a worse option and didn't need to be here. Let's get this dude out of here! Anyway, let's get to the Knicks that MATTER.
Mudiay: You could define this one as an up and down game, but the downsides outnumbered the good for Emmanuel Mudiay. He clocked 14 points, 4 boards and 2 assists on 4/9 from the field plus 5/6 from the free throw line. That doesn't look so bad until you factor in his 7 turnovers. Defensively, I'd rank him somewhere near the bottom of players that attempted to guard Harden too. He has an argument ahead of THJ and Trier; but that's not saying much. Mudiay's play has trended downward for a while now and the changes are negative. It seems that he's passing less, more inconsistent and not protecting the ball (19 TO's in the last 5 games to just 13 assists). This level of play isn't good for showcasing anybody or making teammates better.
THJ: Tim Hardaway Jr had a real nice spark when he started, keeping the starters competitive early in the game. His callout on Trier looked bad initially, but it was honestly a necessary show of leadership regardless of the irony that Timmy's telling someone else to pass instead of taking a bad shot attempt. Timmy dropped 21 points and 4 boards on 6/16 from the field but a more promising look is the 4/8 from three. That's 3 games in a row shooting 44% or more from three. I'm also giving Tim a bit of a pass because he checked James Harden for a good chunk of time and that may have worn him out. Whatever it was, Hardaway was great early and not so much later, compounded by Harden's ability to drive by him in the second half. Either way, this wasn't a world beater performance but the things that got us hype for Timmy early in the season at least peaked out in this one. He got to the line more, drove early and feasted on catch and shoot three's. Now if he can punch some assists up and take his defense to average territory; he'll be on a nice rise out of recent struggles.
Knox: Kevin Knox went 4/15 from the field and 2/8 from three but his positive contributions came in areas we've been looking for. Knox struggled to 12 points but also added 8 rebounds, 2 blocks and completely respectable defensive efforts when he was switched onto Harden. Knox had the height to get a hand in Harden's face without stepping into the MVP's landing space (a mistake we'll discuss more later). The blocks came in traffic too; the sort of blocks that come from good rotation, awareness and timing on top of athleticism. So all of this is to say that Knox had a dud of an offensive game, his jumper was inconsistent but defense and rebounding were strong. What I want to see from Knox now is figuring out when to shift to creating for others as his scoring gets flustered. Teams are gonna target him sooner than later (some already have) so he'll have to know when patience rules the day or when to make defenders pay without shooting the rock.
Lance: Lance Thomas got the start but only tallied 14 minutes. The short minutes weren't due to poor performance though, his intangibles were in tact. He only logged 2 points and 3 boards but it wasn't so much a bad performance as it was one where his biggest contributions were directing traffic. The thing is, there's not very much value to that if the backcourt is Mudiay/THJ because they struggle defensively even when they're in the right place. I like Lance/Knox as a combo though, I'd be curious to see if Lance can be helpful for Knox on the defensive awareness side of things...because I legitimately liked how Knox performed on that end last night.
Vonleh: Noah Vonleh worked his way to a double-double in much the same way he has built his resume all year. He went 4/7 from the field and pumped in 10 points, 10 boards, 2 assists and 2 blocks in 31 minutes. It helped that he was the biggest guy out there for most of his time on the floor. In general though; I didn't catch anything new to really hone in on. Vonleh is just a solid two-way player who finds ways to contribute because of his motor and athleticism. If the Knicks can't get a max player, I'd love to see them find a way to keep this guy and see how much more he can develop.
Frank: This was as Frank Ntilikina as it gets. The young sophomore played smart, got to the rim and took some shots but didn't score a single point but still managed to be a catalyst. The ball movement is common, but it felt like Frank picked his spots really well even with missed attempts. He was able to get to the rim and use his length to get shots up that are a Fizdale finishing camp away from going down. The will to take a few jumpers and drive opened up the floor for Frank to orchestrate and show off some playmaking. There was a bounce pass to cutting Trier, a no-look to Mitch below the rim and a couple of swing passes to Knox that all showed off vision and passing that will be accentuated the better Nitty gets at attacking the lane. Frank went 0/5 for 0 points, 6 assists and 2 boards. It's not a stat-line that anybody would celebrate, but this is why the eye test matters. Frank's creation and defense were undeniable and while Harden got the better of him on a number of possessions; there were plenty of moments where Frank made the reigning MVP lose his handling for a moment or settle on contested jumpers. The numbers aren't groundbreaking but we've gotten a little run of play where Frank is displaying a better mindset and specifically more willingness to take it at a defender even when the last result was negative.
Dot: Damyean Dotson had some early struggles and also limited looks with Trier going off, but turned up the heat as the game wound down in crunch time. The sophomore put up 8 points (all in the fourth) and 6 boards over 25 minutes of play. One of my worries for Dot has been that he sometimes is too willing to let the game come to him and with Trier's hot run, Dot faded out of the scene offensively a bit. But in the fourth, we saw him step up and at one point even attack too much...normally a bad thing but for a player like Dot, I don't mind that happening once in a while. On the other end, I didn't catch Dot iso'ed up with Harden too often which is pretty much where all of my attention went throughout the game but suffice to say that I also never saw Dot standout for poor defense. It feels like there's untapped potential in this one and even if he just improves incrementally he's an NBA rotation player already.
Zo: Allonzo Trier took some time to get past the hamstring injury and find his legs but this was early season Iso-Zo's big return. Trier was aggressive out the gate, even to a fault, missing Timmy twice and being called out for it. But that brought the rookie back down to Earth and boy did he get results. Zo went 12/18 including 2/4 from three in route to 31 points, 10 rebounds and 3 assists. He's finally getting some whistles with 5 FT's in this one and 10 in the game prior. He's hit that 3 assists or more tally in his past three games and has found lob chemistry with Mitch. That's a great development if you've followed these recaps because I've been looking for someone to take advantage of those free assists all year. Now Zo still has two big spots to work on. Even with the assists tallied, you can tell he's more prone to the tunnel vision attack mentality. Timmy had to reel him in early and that was huge (great leadership moment in my book). He showed last game that he can pump a big assist total (8 in that game) but he has to keep the mindset that he's more than a scorer. The bigger issue is defense. He managed to foul Harden on step back jumpers multiple times and probably clocks in as the player who struggled the most with Harden in spite of just about everyone having a hard time. The mistakes he makes are typically curable though and you just hope to see progression continue. Like his vision and passing; Trier's shown improvement in increments on defense but he has a long way to go.
Mitch: Mitchell Robinson fouled out in 17 minutes but managed to block two James Harden jumpers and dunk on almost every touch inside in that fairly short span. Robinson put up 12 points, 1 board and 3 blocks in his stretch of play with 100% from the field (5/5). The Rockets didn't have a big to deny him and Mitch is mobile enough to not be chased off court by small ball. His rebounding did suffer as he chased and challenged everybody but I'll take that tradeoff especially if he's paired with Knox who has it in him to be a good rebounder (I picture prime Melo's rebounding prowess). The name of the game for Mitch is PRESENCE. Even when he's not touching the ball or the on-ball defender, he's a magnet for defenders on offense during free running forays or a repulsive force for ball handlers on the opposite side. He did struggle with Gordon though, who was elusive and stronger than most guards as he got in Mitch's body and held his own balance. But Mitch is just one of those players who seems to bring positive results on a majority of his trips out even when the ball doesn't find him.
Fiz: If there's a light at the end of the tunnel, it's the past two games showing us glimpses of Frank, Dot, Trier, Knox, Mitch as a rotation line-up. That unit played really well last night and gave a brief flash of hype in the game prior. I also commend Fiz on having the Knicks mostly deny Harden's three pointers. He was 5/20 from three and I think a lot of that is having the players defend with a good mindset. He also picked up an ejection fighting for his guys because Harden locked in 25 FTA's which is pretty bonkers when coupled with the 38 attempts. When I say least aesthetically pleasing scoring run ever, I mean that sincerely. Anyway, Kanter beefing with Fiz after a DNP again is a good source of discussion on why Fiz has had some strange rotations. Managing the locker room is tough enough that the Ringer dedicated an article to this new variable in coaching and Fiz has done a great job on that front. Having one malcontent in this roster situation is an accomplishment. Especially when the guy threw fits earlier in the season while playing close to 30 minutes but coming off the bench. Kanter's delusions don't eliminate that Fiz has kept energy up for these players. Now Mills an Perry need to make some moves because they created these circumstances and Fiz has given the fanbase a taste of all youth...they looked better than the product prior for sure. Pills...the ball's in your court now, do something with it.
How are you a Melo stan that doesn't even realize Melo scored 62. Harden tied the record for a visitor with 61. Take this neg
. One troll already showed up to try and gloat on Harden's performance...
