Taking Care of Business

For the second straight game, New York wiped the floor with a weaker opponent at home.

Good morning! We have a jam-packed newsletter to get to, so no preamble today…

Game 9: Knicks 129, Hornets 107

🎶 Easy like Sunday morning…🎶

In a New York minute…

This definitely had the feel of a Sunday matinee, as both teams eased into their respective levels of intensity. Then with the game tied at 25 late in the first, the Knicks made their push, methodically building a 16-point lead before a late run from Charlotte made it a 10-point game at the half. It took less than five minutes for New York to build the advantage up to 23 in the third - a lead that would eventually top out at 29. Despite a great offensive game from LaMelo Ball (32, 7 & 6 on 20 shots), it never really felt like the Hornets had a chance in this one.

Three Things

1. Clicking on all cylinders. This was one of those games where you had to stop yourself from getting overly exuberant, as just about everything was working for New York.

Aside from having no good answer for Ball, missing some free throws, and being uncharacteristically cavalier on the defensive glass (15 offensive boards allowed), this was as close to a perfect performance as we’ve seen this season.

The defensive rotations were crisp. The passing on several sequences was exceptional. Mitch was his usual dominant self. Every rotation player besides Donte DiVincenzo (3-for-8) and Quentin Grimes (2-for-5, all threes) shot at least a 50 percent. They lived at the line, shooting 30 free throws in total.

And adding another chapter to the most surprising early season storyline, they once again took advantage of turnovers, scoring 22 points off of a dozen Hornets giveaways, eight of which were the result of steals.

2. Dr. Jekyll wins again. Nine games, nine performances from deep that were either incredibly hot or ice cold.

Yesterday, for the third game in a row, it was the former. New York nailed 41.7 percent off their 36 3-point attempts, and they still don’t have a single game shooting between 26 and 37 percent from behind the arc. The biggest contributors: Immanuel Quickley and RJ Barrett, both of whom made 4-of-6 from downtown.

The Knicks have now hit 38 percent or better from deep in six of their nine games, but still sit 18th in the league in 3-point accuracy because of how dreadful they were in their three worst games - not coincidentally all losses against the Cavs, Bucks and Pelicans.

3. Survive and advance. I’ve been making a bigger deal of this on the KFS Postgame Livestreams than I have here, but it is a huge deal that this team will start no worse than 5-5 in their first 10. Going into their matchup with Boston, New York has the seventh hardest strength of schedule played. That’ll jump into the top five by tomorrow morning, regardless of the outcome tonight.

All things considered - three back-to-backs in the first 10, Randle starting as poorly as he did, relative inconsistency from Brunson, and two games missed from Barrett - it should be considered an accomplishment that the Knicks will be no worse than .500 after this stretch.

Play of the Day

Quite a few contenders for this trophy, but we have to go with the one that had a few people talking after the game, complete with analysis from the great Steve Jones Jr:

Steve’s takeaway is the passing, which was superb all game, but the bigger deal for Knicks fans is that we got an honest-to-goodness Mitchell Robinson post up.

After the game, Julius said that Mitch has been “begging for those.” It looks like it finally paid off. Robinson had 10 points before halftime and was instrumental in New York taking early command of this game.

💫 Stars of the Game 💫

Without question the toughest “Stars” decision of the season. Five players - Julius, Jalen, RJ, IQ and Mitch - not only have a case for stars, but for the three-star designation. Each was excellent in their own way, and all contributed equally to the win, at least by my eye. Time to spin around and around and get three tries to pin the tail on the donkey.

⭐️ Mitchell Robinson: Would probably have gotten on the board even without the post-up. It was a fun moment, and an exciting moment when it comes to optionality for this offense moving forward, but it doesn’t scratch the surface in terms of his overall impact.

Here’s my personal favorite play of his from yesterday’s win:

Yes, Mitch impacts the shot to the point that it barely grazes the rim, but that’s old hat. Players who challenge him anywhere near the hoop deserve their fate.

For me, the key moment occurs several seconds earlier. Watch Robinson at the exact moment Gordon Hayward steals the ball. He pivots, and then immediately goes into an all-out sprint towards the other end. At the same time, Hayward loses control of the ball just enough that he has to pull up, which then allows Mitch to get into a defensive stance, and we know what happens from there.

I wonder: did Robinson’s initial reaction unnerve Hayward a bit, causing him to lose the handle?

I know: this is a layup if Mitch doesn’t react the way he did, when he did.

His dedication to running the floor hard both ways is the reason he should be in the All-Star conversation when the time comes. That hustle is what allows him to get into position, both to defend the block on D and to get into lob / offensive rebounding position on O.

He ended up with 10 points and nine boards (five offensive), but those numbers don’t tell half the story on his impact in this one. The Hornets couldn’t do anything with him all game long.

⭐️ ⭐️ RJ Barrett: Speaking of guys the Hornets couldn’t do anything with, Julius Randle probably has the biggest gripe about no star today.

He has an edge over Brunson, who was the most efficient Knick (20 points on 12 shots) and took yet another charge, but he has now become a victim of his own lofty standards. The price of greatness, I suppose. Still, his 4-for-4 start to set the tone early cannot be ignored.

Meanwhile, Randle again performed well enough to make those early season concerns seem like a distant memory. He got into the lane whenever he wanted, either drawing contact (6-for-8 from the line) or getting a great look. It resulted in 23 points on 16 shots, plus five assists, including an unselfish dish to IQ on the break that gave New York its first double digit lead. He has a real gripe over my decision.

But it has to be RJ here as the representative of the Knicks big three (that’s really a big four, as we’ll get to below). There’s just so much to love right now. The 3-point shooting - now an even 50 percent (FIVE-ZERO) on the season - remains the headline, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. There’s also the improvement with his right hand, as DJ Zullo pointed out yesterday after a nice transition finish over contact. There’s the lack of poor shots, replaced instead with passes that keep the chain moving.

It’s all part of the equation. On the top of the list for me though is Barrett finally turning a longtime strength into something even better.

From the day he stepped foot onto an NBA court, RJ has always been able to get downhill. That’s never been a question. But the “how” and the “what” have often been dicy.

Not now, not anymore. Long dependent on his left hand, Barrett uses both hands at the point of attack to get into his preferred attack position here. Then, he uses his frame to create separation between himself and the 240-pound Mark Williams and deftly finishes off the glass.

The one-time runaway freight train has finally harnessed his power. If teams succeed in walling off the rim, Barrett also has an improving floater-range game to fall back on.

It’s all coming together for the 23-year-old. Congrats to all those who never gave up hope.

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ Immanuel Quickley: And yet, with all that gushing, RJ still can’t beat out Quick for the top spot.

What can I say…it was one of those game for IQ.

He finished with nine assists - tied for fifth highest of his career - and 17 points on just nine shots. After a few modest games following his scintillating season opener, Quickley has taken off. His statistical profile is that of a quality NBA starting point guard. While his usage rate (23.2) is a level below the big three (all between 27.0 and 27.4), there’s a similar gap between his assist rate (27.6) and the other three¹. Barrett still has the lead in overall efficiency, but Quickley is gaining ground fast, with a percentage point of RJ’s torrid pace.

As the floor general for the second unit, he has them operating at a collective cadence missing from this franchise since…the early 70’s? I’ll rely on the old heads for confirmation, but New York’s backup five currently holds an assist rate of 70.9 percent. That figure ranks sixth among the NBA’s 25 most-used five-man lineups, and is unheard of around these parts².

It is partly the result of Barrett’s growth and certainly the addition of Donte DiVincenzo’s shooting and movement, but Quickley deserves the lion’s share of credit - not only for almost always making the right play, but for forcing the defense’s hand in uncomfortable ways.

Watch Nick Richards on this play that ends in an easy dunk for I-Hart:

After Ish Smith had to go above the screen because going under against IQ is never a good idea, Richards had to pick his poison: stay with Hartenstein and ignore one of the best midrange shooters in the NBA (92nd percentile heading into yesterday), or come up to the free throw line and meet Quickley. Neither decision was going to end well.

That’s the point with Quickley right now. He’s leaving defenses grasping for straws.

Which begs the question: does anyone in the league have a better fourth best guy (whoever you think it might be) than the Knicks? Or is that question disrespectful to Mitch, and should we be asking the same thing about New York’s fifth best guy?

Any way you cut it, this team can beat you in an awful lot of ways. IQ is a massive part of that.

Tip-Ins…

🏀 The runner up for Play of the Game deserves a nod in this section. On the broadcast, Mike Breen called it maybe the best possession of the season.

Hard to disagree there, although…

Who are these Knicks, exactly?

🏀 A nice benefit of the blowout: New York’s rotation players should all be fresh(ish) for the second end of the back-to-back tonight. Only RJ (31 minutes) played more than 27 in this one.

🏀 There was a funny moment late in the third quarter of this game that I’m not sure I’ve ever seen before.

With the Knicks up 19 after a Josh Hart runner, Nick Richards beat everyone down the floor for an easy two. After the make, Julius Randle immediately raised his hand to signal that he was gassed and needed to come out. With no stoppage of play though, New York went into the next offensive possession, and the ball ended up in Randle’s hands at the top of the arc. He immediately rag-dolled JT Thor into the lane for the and-one.

Not bad for tired legs.

🏀 And finally, an early contender for block of the year:

DDV is averaging 1.4 “stocks” per game in just 20 minutes a night.

Game Night

Tonight: Knicks at Celtics

When: 7:30 pm, NBA TV

Injury Report: Both teams are fully healthy.

Halftime Zoom: No halftime tonight, but I’ll be back on Wednesday.

What to watch for: Another classic, probably.

Since Tom Thibodeau took over as Knicks coach, New York has a 7-5 edge against Boston. Seven of the twelve games have been decided by four points or less, and there have been two double overtime games and one single overtime affair. The average scoring margin in New York’s favor is less than a point.

The key to this one might be holding off Boston’s incredible starting five, which currently holds a positive 41.0 net rating (not a typo) in 114 minutes. If the Knicks can come close to playing their starters to a draw, they should have a shot.

Final Thought

The Knicks…are good…again?

Going into their rematch with the Celtics, New York has the sixth best net rating in the NBA.

Pretty sure we’d all have signed up for that three weeks ago.

🏀

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

1. Randle is at 23.5, Brunson 22.3 and RJ 15.6.

2. For comparison, New York’s starters have an assist rate of 53.4.