A Temporary Reprieve
The Knicks whoop up on that other team in New York
In this Newsletter:
This effing team…
Credit to Al Pacino, man. Only Al could appear in maybe the most disappointing film of the last 30 years and deliver a truly iconic movie moment.
This Knicks season has been somewhat similar. We’ve gotten some truly fun moments - both Dallas games, the Kings comeback, last night - but overall, it’s been a disaster of epic proportions, with the impromptu, Dolan-urged presser after 10 games serving as the spiritual conduit to Francis Ford Coppola casting his daughter as Mary Corleone (shudders).
Or maybe Fizdale is Sophia Coppola in this analogy. Sophia was in over her head as an actress, but has gone on to a spectacular career as a director, just as Fiz couldn’t coach his way out of a paper bag but will surely shine for ESPN (although the spacing on the set of The Jump will probably get a little crowded with him at the helm. But I digress…)
I’ve always wondered how GIII would have worked with Winona Ryder in the lead role (she was cast but dropped out right before filming started to make Edward Scissorhands. Her career was never the same since. KD can probably already relate.) Similarly, I’ll probably always wonder how this Knicks season would have turned out differently if Mike Miller had been at the helm from the beginning. Clearly he’s not a panacea, as we were reminded by the Heat, Bucks and hapless half-Wizards (the Wiz’s? The Woozes? The Wheezes…yes, the Wheezes.)
Then again, no one expected the Knicks to be infallible this season. We expected them to be a normal, mediocre-to-bad NBA team. Such teams can get soundly beaten by the best, occasionally have brain farts against those below their weight class (see: Brooklyn, last night) but more often not, they’re in games. Sometimes, they even win a few.
With a record of 4-6 under Miller, the Knicks are right on track for where they were supposed to go before the season began: a roughly a 33-win pace, a not-completely-embarrassing minus 3.3 net rating (21st in the league over that span; they were at -10.9 and dead last under Fizdale) and a mix of forward-thinking development and present day competence that isn’t perfect but you can live with it.
Of course, this could all change in the blink of an eye. This season has been a roller coaster ride with more downs than ups but nothing even close to consistency. That lack of consistency is why, despite a good night in Brooklyn, we should all hold our praise until they show us that this umteenth wake up call is the one that sticks (and they beat a decent team on the road when it doesn’t have one of the worst shooting nights in league history).
Until then, this front office must continue to own three losses for every one win. They have to own the fact that they assembled a team of players who are far more comfortable with the shot chart on the left than the one on the right:
And yes, they have to own the fact that, after telling anyone who’d listen for the better part of a year that players wanted to come play for the Knicks, not only did the most importand ones say no, but that the guys that actually are here may already want out:
Of course this was to be expected, and truth be told, I can’t imagine the front office is all that surprised. In their view, this might represent the weeding of a lawn in the nascent stages of growth. I can say with utmost certainty that the guys who you hope want to be here for the long haul - RJ and Mitch, and that’s really it - certainly still do.
And if this is just a disgruntled Allonzo Trier and DSJ, you’d get it. At this point, I’d be surprised if either guy didn’t want a change of scenery, regardless of how deserved or undeserved their fluctuating roles have been. Ditto for a guy like Taj, who’s 34 and may not have many more useful seasons left in him as a contributor to a playoff team.
That’s all well and good, but it still represents a step backwards, or at the very least, sideways. When you’re at the back of the line, that’s really not what you want.
Let’s quickly hit some categories…
Made Me Smile
Boy, how I wish I had confidence that I’d get to see this combination make sweet, sweet music together for the next decade…
After the game, Mitch (after making sure Ntilikina wasn’t in earshot) said that he expected Frank to go up with a shot, and the pass came as a surprise.
Not that he was complaining. For all of his exploits this season, this was only Robinson’s third double double despite per 36 averages of 16 and 11. More time for the man, please (although he told me afterwards he “loved” coming off the bench, as he feels it helps him stay out of foul trouble. Whatever works, kid.)
Meanwhile, this dish and a made triple represented Ntilikina’s only box score contributions of the evening, yet head coach Mike Miller went out of his way to praise Frank after the game for setting the tone defensively on Spencer Dinwiddie, who got the line 17 times but never looked comfortable.
That’s Frank in a nutshell, and its why, despite his modest lines, he’ll always have a role on a good team, maybe sooner rather than later. Reading the tea leaves, I wouldn’t be surprised if his time here was finally coming to an end, but then again, I’ve thought the same thing a half dozen times since he was drafted.
Hopefully I’m wrong once more.
Stat of the Night
17
That’s how many drives Elfrid Payton had last night, seemingly getting into the paint at will, which is part of why he was a team-high plus 25 in 32 minutes.
It’s also confirmation that I’m not crazy. I mentioned to Payton after the game that it seemed like he drove way more than normal. He looked at me like I had ten heads, while a nearby Julius Randle chimed in that “all he does is drive.”
WELLLLLL, if you must know, going into last night, Payton was averaging 10.2 drives per game, albeit in only 22.9 minutes. Sooooo…we’re both right? Truce? I’ll be at the middle of the Brooklyn Bridge at noon. If you’re there Elf, I’ll know we have a future. If not, I understand.
Tweet of the Night
Never change, Dolan…
Final Thought
The Nets had one of the worst shooting nights you’ll ever see. That’ll be the main story from this game, as it probably should be.
But for as much as all those misses are due to chance, the Knicks made Brooklyn uncomfortable from the very beginning. In short, they played with the sense of urgency that was completely absent against Washington.
They’re still not very good, and some guys may want out, but the fact that the team still has it in them to respond like they did is encouraging. It means that all is not broken, and there is still something here worth building on, perhaps even before a new front office comes in and makes the type of sweeping changes many of us think are necessary.
That much, if nothing else, is worth smiling about.
Game Preview / Player Spotlight
No newsletter tomorrow, so let’s look forward to New York’s next game against those same Wizards that whooped them on Monday.
Bradley Beal took 38 shots against the Knicks in their win. He only made 13. He followed that up with a game in Detroit last night where he had just 14 field goal attempts in 24 minutes, making only five and zero from behind the arc.
Going back over his last five games, Beal is now 9 for his last 45 from downtown. For the fifth-leading scorer in the NBA, this counts as a major aberration.
Here’s betting the cold streak ends tomorrow. The Knicks continue to sell out to prevent shots at the rim, as they’re giving up the third-lowest percentage of shots in the restricted area of any team in the league since Mike Miller took over, according to Cleaning the Glass. On the flip side, they give up a greater frequency of threes than all but eight teams.
Beal will be firing away and he’s too good to not start making shots. He’s currently trading at $9.11 a share, down 15 percent on PredictionStrike. He’s a good bet as both a short and long term investment, especially with the Wizards committed to playing fast and loose every night.
Remember, if you’re new to PredictionStrike, click here and enter code KFS when signing up for $10 added to your initial investment of $10 or more.
New Podcast: Previewing the 2020 NBA Draft
Hey, do you want to be in the Cool Kids Club? Then you have to listen to the KFS podcast. I can say this because none other than Knicks Assistant Coach Kaleb Canales listens, and he’s the coolest of all the cool kids.
(Does he actually listen, or did he jut tell me he does because he might be the friendliest person on earth? I choose to believe the former. Help me live this lie, please…)
Anyway, Spencer Pearlman hopped on to discuss all the top prospects in the upcoming draft. He’s so damn good at what he does, and he’s going to get hired by a team soon, so take advantage of the knowledge while you can:
News & Notes
compiled by Michael Schatz (@mschatz99)
Alex Wolfe with the must-read postgame from P&T.
I also wrote a postgame last night for SI.com, with some quotes from RJ that I thought were pretty insightful as to just how beyond his years this kid really is. Check it out if you please.
Chris Iseman spotlighted the star of last night’s game, Julius Randle, for NorthJersey.com.
Finally, Mike Miller had some words of praise for Elfrid Payton.
That’s it…see everyone Monday morning, hopefully on the heels of a two-game winning streak! (It has happened before)