A New Era
But how long will it last?
There was only one piece of on-court Knicks news yesterday, but it was a big one:
Elfrid Payton is officially out for tonight’s game against the Orlando Magic, so the Knicks are officially down one point guard.
As for Dennis Smith Jr., the closest thing we got to clarity on that front is from SNY’s Ian Begley:
Based on what we saw from DSJ before this tragic news and the fact that the team has gone out of its way to say they’d give him as much time as he needs, I think we’d all be a bit shocked if he was with them for this game.
That suddenly leaves the Knicks thin at point guard, with the ones remaining being two names who elicit very, very different emotions on the part of this fan base.
In one corner, we have Frank Ntilikina (if only his name were Baby and Patrick Swayze was still alive to tell off Fiz. Thanks, I’ll be here all night). The idea of Ntilikina starting the game for the New York Knicks in the Year of Our Lord 2019 is only slightly more terrifying than crossing the streams. Will the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man climb out of the Hudson and step on MSG the moment the starting lineups are announced? Anything’s possible.
It’s borderline miraculous that Frank is still on this team, let alone a candidate to start a game given the trade winds that blew last season, then again before the draft, and then as recently as a few weeks ago, but that’s where we are. Perhaps it’s fitting that he would start a game vs Orlando, as it was against the Magic when things really began to unravel for Ntilikina last season.
You might remember the game, one that ended in a 26-point blowout but began with the Knicks going down 14-2 and Frank getting a permanent seat on the bench in favor of Emmanuel Mudiay. The same issues that dogged him then still remain. Including that short stint against Orlando, Ntilikina shot 28 percent over his final seven games as a starter.
Fast forward to now, and Frank has missed all seven of his shots this October after shooting below 30 percent in the preseason.
Of course to the truthers, none of that matters…or at least, it shouldn’t matter as much as it has given the personnel on this team, Frank’s potential fit, his age, mentality, demeanor, and general high L.Q. score and winning smile.
It seems like everyone was weighing in yesterday, from the man that was partially responsible for drafting Frank…
…to our own JB…
(JB, didn’t anyone ever tell you what happens in politics and in sports when you abandon your base? You will be baseless! Baseless!!!)
One thing not in dispute: There is no Knicks Twitter Day quite like a Frank Knicks Twitter Day.
The other option at point guard, of course, is everyone’s favorite neophyte, RJ Barrett.
On the downside, he’s turning it over a ton (17 percent of the time, according to Cleaning the Glass). The Knicks are also only scoring 94.4 points per 100 possessions when he’s on the court without one of Payton, Smith Jr, or Frank, which is in the lowest percentile possible of all lineups league-wide. It also can’t be ignored that the Knicks’ assist rate has gone up by almost 10 percentage points when RJ has been off the court.
Despite those dubious stats, it’s probably unfair at this point to simply look at RJ’s numbers without another point guard in the game, simply because a) he’s essentially running point even when another nominal PG is in the game, and b) the kid gets better and better every night, if not every quarter.
In the end, against a strong defensive team like the Magic, it’s probably best to have something at least resembling a point guard on the court at all times. If Ntilikina starts, that makes this goal slightly more difficult, although a quick hook for Frank and then the re-insertion of Ntilikina when RJ takes one of his rare breathers could make sense.
Regardless of who gets the start, there’s a segment of Knick fans (including yours truly) who will be thrilled to finally see extended minutes of Frank and RJ on the court at the same time. It’s been a while since that Knicks were able to field two high IQ ball handlers that were also willing distributors. In fact, we might have to go so far back as…
Ok, that was pushing it. How about this:
That’s more like it.
Let’s see how this baby looks. Tip off is at 7 pm.
#FreeDot
by Mike DeStefano
Last year, I wrote a piece suggesting it’d be wise to move Damyean Dotson at the deadline. I figured his value would never be higher: a consistently solid two-way performer who fit the big 3-and-D mold most contenders covet and still had an extra year on his contract at only $1.62M…
Perry stood pat. Fine. I like Dot. Everyone likes Dot. He’s a good player. He’s the sort of player every good team has, and we hope to get there sooner rather than later, so sure, why not?
Come summer, I was no longer thinking trade; I was thinking about what the best 2019-20 Knicks’ starting lineup might look like. After careful consideration of many combinations, I decided Dot should be in that first five. If the goal is to win as many games as possible, he fits as an ideal complement to RJ, Randle, Big Mitch, and…whoever.
At the very least, he’d be in the rotation. Right?
Wrong.
On This Date: Knicks sign Lee Nailon
by Vivek Dadhania
The New York Knicks signed Lee Nailon to a one-year contract to address a gaping hole at the forward position with Latrell Sprewell out for the first 5 games of the regular season with a hand injury and Antonio McDyess out for the entire season with a knee injury. Nailon, then 27, sought to provide the youthful energy the Knicks sorely lacked.
News & Notes
Light news day around the L, but the Kyrie Irving story from Jackie MacMullen of ESPN certainly got some traction. Here it is, if you’re interested. There was the predictable backlash from the Nets (which included Kyrie not speaking to reporters, ha), and then Twitter took care of the backlash to the backlash, which is always fun.
Lastly, and most importantly, Reggie Bullock lost a sister yesterday. This comes five years after he lost another sister, so it goes without saying that the hearts of Knick fans everywhere go out to him. Reggie, we’re with you man.