Noah Vonleh Archives - Knicks.City https://www.knicks.city/tag/noah-vonleh/ We All Live in Knicks City Wed, 10 Apr 2019 19:47:39 +0000 en hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9 https://www.knicks.city/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/cropped-knickscity-32x32.jpeg Noah Vonleh Archives - Knicks.City https://www.knicks.city/tag/noah-vonleh/ 32 32 Wins Coming Easy Now — April 9, 2019: NY 96 Chicago 86 https://www.knicks.city/2018/wins-coming-easy-now-april-9-2019-ny-96-chicago-86/ https://www.knicks.city/2018/wins-coming-easy-now-april-9-2019-ny-96-chicago-86/#respond Wed, 10 Apr 2019 19:42:51 +0000 https://www.knicks.city/?p=903 The wins are coming easy now. Two in a row. After V-KC day Sunday night (Victory in Knick City) — where Knicks lost to guarantee themselves sole possession of last place and no worse than [...]

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]]> The wins are coming easy now. Two in a row. After V-KC day Sunday night (Victory in Knick City) — where Knicks lost to guarantee themselves sole possession of last place and no worse than 5th pick in this June’s draft — the lights are ALL GREEN for Knicks to win, win, win.

And win they have.

The Game

This one, in Chicago against a “who’s that?” team fielded to audition for next season — was a solid win. There was no incentive for Chicago to lose this game — as they are in 4th worst spot — with no chance to move to the 3 spot (3 games back of Cleveland with 2 to play) or fall back to the 5 spot (7 games ahead of 5th place Atlanta).

So it was a legitimate win for the Knicks, who put on a SHOW early and jumped out to a huge 20+ point lead in the first quarter. They led start to finish (although Chicago pulled back to within single digits early in the 4th).

Smith on Display

Oddly Mario Hezonja — superstar point guard of the previous two games — was ‘sick’ and didn’t play. That left 34 minutes of point guard play for Dennis Smith Jr. Knicks management have got to be trying to make a decision on him in one way or another. Rumor has it Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving have already made a pact to sign with the Knicks; the only unfinished business is who signs first. So that means Dennis Smith Jr will be the backup or trade bait for Anthony Davis? And of course the Knicks’ position in the draft will affect things, with a couple of top-notch point guards available at the #2 or #3 slot. We’ll see.

Knicks Two-Headed Monster Dominates

The Knicks started their two-headed monster and it dominated again — Mitchell Robinson (3-6, 8 pts, 17 rebounds, 3 blocks) and Luke Kornet (5-14, 12 pts, 13 rebounds, 4 assists, 6 blocks).

Kevin Knox (5-16, 4-8 from 3, 17 pts, 10 rebounds) rounded out the big front line and Dennis Smith Jr (10-23, 25 pts, 5 assists) orchestrated. Smith looked GREAT orchestrating. He looked like a good NBA point guard.

Damyean Dotson (5-10, 12 pts) rounded out the starting five and coach Fizdale played reserves Henry Ellenson, Billy Garrett Jr, Isaiah Hicks, and John Jenkins.

Chicago started Robin Lopez, Shaquille Harrison (looked very quick with an ability to cut thru defenses and finish at the rim in a variety of ways), and the unknowns — Ryan Arcidiacono, Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot,Ā and Wayne Seldon Jr.

The Boxscore

http://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=401071886

Crazy Night

This was a Crazy night in sports — the Knicks win completely overshadowed by other happenings in NY and in the NBA.

  • The Yankees ballpen blew a 3-2 lead and lost in Houston,
  • Jacob DeGrom got BLASTED in his start with the Mets,
  • Ian Begley quit ESPN for SNY,
  • Chris Mullin quit St Johns as head coach, and then
  • Earvin Magic Johnson said ‘hold my beer’, announcing he was quiting the Lakers in an impromptu press conference, without having told owner Jennie Buss yet.

This lit Twitter afire, with tweets such as these:

And a good counter point!

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]]> https://www.knicks.city/2018/wins-coming-easy-now-april-9-2019-ny-96-chicago-86/feed/ 0 Tank Over — Like V-E Day — Knicks WIN! ā€” April 7, 2019: NY 113 Washington 110 https://www.knicks.city/2018/tank-over-like-v-e-day-knicks-win-april-7-2019-ny-113-washington-110/ https://www.knicks.city/2018/tank-over-like-v-e-day-knicks-win-april-7-2019-ny-113-washington-110/#respond Tue, 09 Apr 2019 12:46:20 +0000 https://www.knicks.city/?p=897 Like Liberation. Like V-E day (Victory in Europe) for a Knicks fan. When the Knicks clinched sole possession of dead last — guaranteeing themselves no worse than the 5th pick this June — the Universe [...]

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]]> Like Liberation. Like V-E day (Victory in Europe) for a Knicks fan. When the Knicks clinched sole possession of dead last — guaranteeing themselves no worse than the 5th pick this June — the Universe changed for Knicks fans. NO MORE TANK. The Knicks were unbridled to WIN basketball games again.

And so they did.

Most curious thing is why Washington put up such a fight — entering the game in a 4-way tie for the 6th worst record in the league.

Hezonja was Rocking the Point

Mario Hezonja, playing the starting point guard position for second straight game — was electrofying and all over the place and led the Knicks to the win. Mario said after the game that point guard was his natural position growing up and in Europe — leading Knick fans like @MaishaNaUpendo on twitter to ask Ā “Knicks point guard of the future was here all along. The question is though, wasn’t #MarioHezonja always suppose to play point forward for us? Why did this take so long to do?”

or as @_Ck2K put it:

Hezonja finished with 12-21 30 pts, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals. He was hitting 3’s, driving to the basket, and finding teammates.

Mitchell Robinson was the benefit of some of Hezonja’s passes:

The Garden Was Rocking

The other takeaway from this game was the Garden — which was Rocking like a Playoff game on a Sunday night, almost last game of season for the team with worst record in the league! As @KnicksJets4Life put it, “ou know you have the best fans in the world when you clinched the worst record in theĀ #NBA and the crowd is still cheering for you like it’s Game 7 of the #NBAĀ finals.”

As Stefan Bondy of NY Daily News put it, “Knicks are 15-66, playing the Wizards, and these fans at MSG are life-and-death with every play. Crazy.”

The Comeback

The Knicks actually entered the 4th trailing by 10 points, but Hezonja and Dennis Smith Jr. led the comeback. Smith playing with a bad back that was noticeable — gamed it out.

Hezonja explained it all:

Haarlow later added: “Dennis Smith Jr told me his back is just as sore as before but heā€™s playing ā€˜bc itā€™s too hard to sit back & watchā€™ when he could be helping. These games donā€™t mean anything, yet heā€™s sacrificing his body for the team. Thatā€™s all you need to know about his character.”

Robinson & Knox

Mitchell Robinson with another fine game 11 pts (on 4-5 shooting) 11 rebounds, and 3 blocks, extending his at-least-2-blocks-per-game streak. He started off the game with this one:

And Kevin Knox looked good again — 16 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists — although his final boxscore shooting didn’t seem it (5-14 on 1-7 from 3).

Other Knicks

Luke Kornet played another strong game — starting with Robinson and Knox. Kornet had 17 pts (6-11 shooting, 4-8 from 3) and plays really well with Robinson — as Kornet stretches the floor on offense.

Damyean Dotson played well (6 pts on 2-8 but 2-3 from 3, 3 rebounds 5 assists), as did John Jenkins (8 pts on 3-5) and Henry Ellenson (10 pts on 3-4). Lance Thomas, DeAndre Jordan, Billy Garrett Jr, and Isiah Hicks suited but did not play. Frank Ntilikina, Allonzo Trier, Emmanuel Mudiay, and Noah Vonleh continued to be injured.

For the Wizards

For the Wizards, Jeff Green led all scorers with 19, Bradley Beal played 23 minutes and had 13 points, Bobby Portis had 11, Troy Brown Jr had 13 pts, and Thomas Brown their young center had 17 points.

The Boxscore

http://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=401071877

Past Game Post Game

During the game this surfaced on Twitter — Mark Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy as analysts of the nationally televised game talking about the previous Knicks-Houston game and Houston starters leaving the bench to go to the lockerroom before the game was over.

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]]> https://www.knicks.city/2018/tank-over-like-v-e-day-knicks-win-april-7-2019-ny-113-washington-110/feed/ 0 April Fool an Upcoming Superstar — April 1, 2019: Knicks 113 Chicago 105 https://www.knicks.city/2018/april-fool-an-upcoming-superstar-april-1-2019-knicks-113-chicago-105/ https://www.knicks.city/2018/april-fool-an-upcoming-superstar-april-1-2019-knicks-113-chicago-105/#respond Wed, 03 Apr 2019 12:39:27 +0000 https://www.knicks.city/?p=864 April Fools to the teams that let birthday boy Mitchell Robinson slip to the second round! Robinson was born on April 1st so today was his 21st birthday. And the Knicks won — beating Chicago [...]

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]]> April Fools to the teams that let birthday boy Mitchell Robinson slip to the second round! Robinson was born on April 1st so today was his 21st birthday. And the Knicks won — beating Chicago easily 113-105. Robinson had another impressive game. His line:Ā 4-4 (6-8 frree throws) 14 pts, 10 rebounds, 3 blocks 4 assists.Ā Phoenix also won, so even with the win, the Knicks maintained a 2.5 game lead w 5 left. A happy day all around.

The Game

Chicago laid down early, and the Knicks jumped out to a massive 48-24 lead. Damyean Dotson was hitting his 3’s (he was 6-7 from 3 for the night;Ā he had been 3-26 from 3 his last several games). Robinson and Luke Kornet were playing a two-headed monster inside game — blocking shots and scoring — Robinson inside; Kornet outside with the 3’s.Ā Kornet’s line: 8-11 (5-7 from 3) for 24 pts.Ā At one point he lit the Garden up with a penetration in the lane for a SLAM.

Kornet is quietly cutting a good notch of a role with the Knicks for the future. He has been showing well with extended playing time. His footwork is slow but he gets to the right spot defensively, and he’s 7’1 and adept at blocking shots and not fouling.

Robinson continued to block 3-pt shots AND snare the blocked shot, igniting breaks. He is also hitting his free throws.

Kevin Knox, the other guy on the Knicks’ big front line, had a decent night:Ā 6-15 for 19 pts, and 9 rebounds. He continued to hit that pretty, high-arcing, accurate 3 of his.

Despite all of that,Ā the game had the feel of a Summer League game. MSG should have given everyone a free hot dog.

The Knicks were having fun. After all they were up the whole game and it was Mitchell Robinson‘s birthday.

The Rest of the Knicks

  • Emmanuel Mudiay had a Horrible game — coughing the ball up repeatedly. He finished 7-21 (2-7 from 3) for 17 points (5 reb, 4 assists) in 36 minutes.
  • Lance Thomas played 32 minutes (3-6 for 6 pts),
  • Kadeem Allen played 9 minutes and had 7 points, and
  • John Jenkins played 20 minutes, and had 8 points.

That was it — Knicks only played 8 players.Ā It seems coach David Fizdale would rather play someone a good number of minutes, or not play him at all at this point in the season — to do a nice thing for the player’s statistics.Ā Ā Henry Ellenson, Mario Hezonja, and DeAndre Jordan did not play. Allonzo Trier, Frank Ntilikina, Noah VonlehĀ and Dennis Smith Jr continued to be injured.

The Bulls

The Bulls played 11 players. Robin Lopez had a beast game — 12-18 for 29 points. Chicago other starters were a team of reserves as Chicago goes for the tank:Ā Shaquille Harrison, Walt Lemon Jr, Wayne Selden, and Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot.

Ewing’s April Fools Joke

Reporter Mike Wise (@MikeWiseguy) told this story on Twitter: “True story: Cavs cheerleader came up to me during ā€˜96 Knicks game. Said, ā€œAre you Mike Wise from The NY Times? OMG, I read everything you write.ā€ I went to talk to her after game and she blew me off. I walked into locker room. Patrick Ewing looked up and smiled: ā€œApril Fools.ā€”

Birthday Boy

After the game, there was this:

Upcoming

After this game, the Knicks finish the season against:

  • @ Orlando — in playoff race
  • @ Houston — in playoff race
  • vs Washington — looking to lose
  • @ Chicago — looking to lose
  • vs Detroit — in playoff race

The Boxscore:

http://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=401071828

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]]> https://www.knicks.city/2018/april-fool-an-upcoming-superstar-april-1-2019-knicks-113-chicago-105/feed/ 0 The Insults Keep Coming; March 30, 2019: Miami 100 Knicks 92 https://www.knicks.city/2018/the-insults-keep-coming-march-30-2019-miami-100-knicks-92/ https://www.knicks.city/2018/the-insults-keep-coming-march-30-2019-miami-100-knicks-92/#respond Sun, 31 Mar 2019 16:00:45 +0000 https://www.knicks.city/?p=854 Dwayne Wade’s last game at the Garden. And so he was honored and he had a great 4th quarter to beat the Knicks in their own building. For 18 years now the story has been [...]

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]]> Dwayne Wade’s last game at the Garden. And so he was honored and he had a great 4th quarter to beat the Knicks in their own building. For 18 years now the story has been the same — Knicks lose at home and are embarrassed by some other team’s player doing something special.

The Garden was even loaded with Miami fans who cheered Wade — and Knick fans also, who had ‘nothing better to do since the Knicks were doing nothing’ said one fan on twitter.

It makes you long for Isiah Thomas the coach — and he was a mediocre coach (good GM) — who made sure Knicks players fought back on the court, instructing players to take another guy out after an injustice, and was lambasted by local media (and then the fans) for doing so.

At least Mitchell Robinson blocked Dwayne Wade three (3) times. He is our hope for the future.

The Pursuit of Last Place

Other than that — it was more of the same. Another loss. Knicks trailed throughout. There are 6 games left and Knicks are 2.5 ahead of Phoenix for worst record. And they lost to Phoenix both times this year so if it’s tied, Knicks should get the top lottery probability position. That’s like having a 3.5 game lead with 6 games left. If they clinch last place will they try to win their remaining games?

The Knicks Twin-Headed Monster

Mitchell Robinson started. That was a main story for the Knicks. The subhead: Luke Kornet also started.

  • Robinson’s line: 37 minutes, 4-4 (1-2 free throws) 9 pts, 14 rebounds, 4 blocks, and 3 steals. Fantastic and fun to watch as usual.
  • The other underlying story: Luke Kornet’s line:Ā 5-14 (5-13 from 3) 17 pts, 8 rebounds, 3 blocks, 3 steals, 3 assists in 36 minutes. And Kornet also played pretty good defense.

The Other Important Story Lines

Another main story line:Ā Kevin Knox started out on fire — hitting 3’s and attacking the rim. He finished 7-16 (2-8 from 3) 16 pts, 1 rebound in 40 minutes. Played well but has to work on the rebounds and the defense still.

Emmanuel Mudiay drove the Knicks offense 6-12 (10-12 free throws) 24 pts, 4 assists. As usual, he got his fair share of criticism by some Knicks fans on twitter for his defense and penchant for looking for his shot first and passing second.

Another underlying story line —Ā Damyean Dotson was horrible again: 0-8 (0-6 from 3, 2-2 free throws) 2 pts in 24 minutes and mediocre defense. We were reminded — in fact it was THRUST IN OUR FACE — that Dotson is not Dwyane Wade.

Dennis Smith Jr had a nice full-court drive and SLAM and played fairly well 6-14 12 pts in 18 min, 1 assist.

Coach Fizdale said Mudiay was the best passer on the team before the trade for Dennis Smith Jr. Smith looks like a better passer to us.

The Other Knicks

Kadeem Allen (2-6, 8 pts) andĀ Lance Thomas (1-3, 4 pts) rounded out the team.Ā Henry Ellenson, Mario Hezonja, DeAndre Jordan, and John Jenkins did not play coach’s decision. Allonzo Trier, Frank Ntilikina, and Noah Vonleh continued to be injured.

For Miami

Dion Waiters (11-23, 6-16 from 3, 28 pts),Ā Kelly Olynyk (12 pts 11 rebounds),Ā Goran Dragic (10 pts 10 assists),Ā Dwyane Wade (6-16 16 pts 7 rebounds), andĀ Hassan Whiteside (7-10 for 17 pts 13 rebounds 1 block) carried Miami. Mitchell Robinson blocked a Whiteside interior shot at one point.Ā Bam Adebayo had 8 pts.

The Boxscore:

http://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=401071814

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]]> https://www.knicks.city/2018/the-insults-keep-coming-march-30-2019-miami-100-knicks-92/feed/ 0 Never Close ā€” March 23, 2019: Denver 111 NY 93 https://www.knicks.city/2018/never-close-march-23-2019-denver-111-ny-93/ https://www.knicks.city/2018/never-close-march-23-2019-denver-111-ny-93/#respond Sat, 23 Mar 2019 23:07:31 +0000 https://www.knicks.city/?p=825 This one was never close. The Denver Nuggets CLUBBED the Knicks at Madison Square Garden on a Friday night. And still Knick fans were happy. We lost — so keep our #1 lottery-odds positioning, and [...]

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]]> This one was never close. The Denver Nuggets CLUBBED the Knicks at Madison Square Garden on a Friday night. And still Knick fans were happy. We lost — so keep our #1 lottery-odds positioning, and Mitchell Robinson had another great game. Kevin Knox looked good most of the night, and Frank Ntilikina was back from the extended injury, and played ok.

The 3’s

Denver jumped out to a 16-pt lead in the first quarter by hitting their 3’s, while the Knicks didn’t hit their 3’s. From there, Denver essentially coasted. Knicks were down by 4, then aĀ couple of Emmanuel Mudiay turnovers, a couple of Denver 3’s and just like that it was 23-9 Denver. By midway thru the second quarter this was the story:

  • Knicks 2-13 from 3
  • Denver 7-17 from 3
  • Difference was 15 pts
  • Knicks were down by 16, 45-29

The 3 is an area where the Knicks are definitely behind other NBA teams in talent. The Knicks have Kevin Knox who can hit the 3. Allonzo Trier can hit a 3 but he was out injured for the second straight game.

There are a lot of guys on the Knicks who can’t hit a 3 with any regularity, or are streaky.Ā Damyean Dotson can hit a 3, but can have off nights. This was an off night — he was 1-7 from 3 (2 for 9 overall) for 6 pts. Kadeem Allen also shot poorly (1-7, 3 pts).

Emmanuel Mudiay is just under 33% on the season — he had a decent shooting night — 9-21 (2-5 from 3) 21 pts, 7 rebounds, 4 assists. He attacks attacks attacks the basket. But he can turn the ball over on some stupid passes.

Kevin Knox has that Money 3 off the pass with no hesitation. It is pretty and accurate. That’s where his game is at. Knox still has a habit of being driven off the drive and tossing up a floater while running away from the basket out of bounds. Knox finishedĀ 6-16, 3-8 from 3 for 19 pts. Here was Knox off the pass after one of several unforced Denver turnovers in the lane due to Robinson’s presence:

And then there was Ntilikina —Ā Ntilikina looked decent tonite; his defense was pretty good; he was active in attacking with the ball — didn’t quite drive into the paint but went around the baseline at one point; and distributed. He had 5 assists in 25 min. Good. But .. you know 1-6 (1-4 from 3) for 5 pts.

Mercedes Mitch

Mitchell Robinson had another terrific night — 16 points (7-10), 10 rebounds, 3 blocks in 23 minutes and his presence caused several Denver unforced turnovers in the lane — leading to fastbreaks the other way — one leading to a Knox 3.

This was the play of the night:

There were other Robinson highlights — like every play is a highlight:

Other Knicks

DeAndre Jordan added 7 pts, Mario Hezonja 7 pts, Lance Thomas 3 pts, Henry Ellenson 3 pts, John Jenkins 3 pts, and Luke Kornet didn’t score. Dennis Smith Jr and Noah Vonleh continued to be injured.

For Denver

Denver finished 15-38 from 3 for 39.5%; Knicks closed to 9-32 for 28%.Ā  Nikola Jokic (8-20) played effortlessly well; he had 21 pts, 17 rebounds, 5 assists

Paul Millsap 3-12 for 8 pts, Jamal Murray was 7-16 for 18 pts, Will Barton 4-13 for 12 pts, Gary Harris was 4-5 from 3 (5-8 overall) for 14 pts. Mason Plumlee put a body on the Knicks and was 4-6 for 11 pts. Juan Hernangomez was first man off Denver’s bench — 0 pts in 7 minutes.

Again — you look at the Denver team and you aren’t blown away by the talent in the boxscore. But they are well coached, they pass well and hit their 3’s.

The Boxscore:

http://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=401071755

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]]> https://www.knicks.city/2018/never-close-march-23-2019-denver-111-ny-93/feed/ 0 Magnifying Glasses & Microscopes — March 20, 2019: Utah 137 NY 116 https://www.knicks.city/2018/magnifying-glasses-microscopes-march-20-2019-utah-137-ny-116/ https://www.knicks.city/2018/magnifying-glasses-microscopes-march-20-2019-utah-137-ny-116/#respond Thu, 21 Mar 2019 13:40:36 +0000 https://www.knicks.city/?p=814 Blow out. Not quite but pretty close. Another solid, thunderous loss. At least the Knicks aren’t winning games at this point to screw up their lottery position — that would really suck. But for a [...]

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]]> Blow out. Not quite but pretty close. Another solid, thunderous loss. At least the Knicks aren’t winning games at this point to screw up their lottery position — that would really suck. But for a second straight game the Knicks didn’t look like a team that could play any kind of NBA defense against a good team and that conjures up worries again if they have the right coach.

It shouldn’t prevent top free agents from signing here, and Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving are still fully expected to join the team this summer. But Coach David Fizdale must certainly be under the magnifying glass by GM Scott Perry and Knicks management right now. Next year it will be a microscope.

The Math

Put it this way — the Knicks will finish with about 15 (or less) wins this year. Next year, if they bring in Durant and Irving, added to this young core, with a top pick in this June’s draft — the Knicks will be expected to win 45 games and advance to the second round of the playoffs. Anything less would be a disappointment. If the Knicks are 12-18 at end of December, Fizdale may be on the firing block.

Remember Durant will be 31 next year, with a 3-year window. Irving will be 27, and for an ultra quick point guard — will also be looking at a 3-yr window.

So the Knicks will need to jump from 15 wins to 45 wins in a year. Everyone says the Knicks are tanking the second half this year — so it’s not a true 15-win team. But still others are now saying the Knicks don’t have enough talent so you can’t judge Fizdale properly. Knicks certainly seem to have a lot of young talent — it may be “too young” at this point.

This year the magnifying glass; next year the Microscope.

The Picture

This picture of Mario Hezonja surfaced on Twitter after the game. It was the picture of the night:

The Highlights

It’s a Hard Knicks Life suggested this was Highlight #1 of the game:

The Game

Utah pummeled the Knicks from the 3-pt arc. They hit their 3’s; the Knicks didn’t hit their 3’s. The Knicks didn’t do a good job of being in Utah’s face, defensively.

Near the end of the 2nd quarter, this was the story:

  • Utah 11-23 from 3 for 33 pts
  • Knicks 5-15 from 3 for 15 pts
  • Utah 66 Knicks 40

The Knicks were without Allonzo Trier and Kadeem Allen so they didn’t have as much firepower as usual. They would’ve helped. But it wouldn’t have mattered — Knicks were down by 30 for most of this game.

The Bright Spots

The bright spots were the play of the following guys:

  • Kevin Knox 10-17, 27 pts, 8 rebounds, 3 assists — looked Terrific. Driving to the basket, being aggressive.

  • Mitchell Robinson 6-10, 14 pts, 12 rebounds, 3 blocks — another fine game. Broke a bunch of Knicks records on the evening — most consecutive games with a blocked shot (29, besting Patrick Ewing), and most blocked shots by a rookie (besting Kristaps Porzingis). It was also Robinson’s 20th straight game with 2 or more blocks.

The Other Knicks

Henry Ellenson played well (3-6 for 7 pts, a +12), and Luke Kornet, Lance Thomas, and John Jenkins logged minutes. Frank Ntilikina, Dennis Smith Jr and Noah Vonleh continued to be injured, as was Trier and Kadeem Allen.

The Jazz

Joe Ingles in particular, killed the Knicks. At one point he was 5-6 from 3, and finished 6-9 from 3 — 18 pts.

Donovan Mitchell 30 points on 12-20. Looks like Knicks should have picked him in that draft (it was either him or Ntilikina said some sources afterwards). Rudy Gobert 18 pts on 7-7 inside. (DeAndre Jordan, the Knicks big body guarding him, had only 6 pts on 3-4 in 18 min, 3 fouls). Ricky Rubio 12 pts on 10-10 from free throw line. Jae Crowder 15 pts, Derrick Favors 10 pts, Kyle Korver 9 points on 3-9 from 3. Utah played their whole bench in the blowout, and whoever came in — Raul Neto, Royce O’Neale, Ekpe Udoh, Grayson Allen — hit their shots.

After the game, Stefan Bondy of the NY Daily News reported that Donovan Mitchell had this to say about Frank Ntilikina: “When he gets a chance, heā€™ll figure it out. Heā€™s a great defender. He was one of the hardest guys I had to go against last year. He came in in the second half and shut me down when we played here.”

The Boxscore:

http://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=401071741

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]]> https://www.knicks.city/2018/magnifying-glasses-microscopes-march-20-2019-utah-137-ny-116/feed/ 0 BOOM CRASH Knicks Fall to Earth — March 18, 2019: Toronto 128 NY 92 https://www.knicks.city/2018/boom-crash-knicks-fall-to-earth-march-18-2019-toronto-128-ny-92/ https://www.knicks.city/2018/boom-crash-knicks-fall-to-earth-march-18-2019-toronto-128-ny-92/#respond Tue, 19 Mar 2019 22:27:06 +0000 https://www.knicks.city/?p=803 BOOM CRASH. As high as the Knicks had been the night before after the championship-like win over the Lakers, the Knicks fell to earth as Toronto crushed them. Looks like we don’t have to worry [...]

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]]> BOOM CRASH. As high as the Knicks had been the night before after the championship-like win over the Lakers, the Knicks fell to earth as Toronto crushed them. Looks like we don’t have to worry about them winning a few games in the last two weeks to screw up their lottery positioning. Although you never know.

Eleven (11) games left and Knicks have worst record in the league by 2.5 games over Phoenix. The worst team guarantees itself no worse than the #5 pick overall; if you slide to 2nd worst, there’s a 20 percent chance you could get the #6 pick, and the team that is 3rd worst has a 7 % chance at getting the #7 overall pick.

So that’s what the Knicks are playing for.

Trier Tried

This game — Allonzo Trier played well — 22 points on 8-14 shooting (1-2 from 3, 5-6 from the free throw line). He was cutting thru the defense with quickness, stopping and popping, or hitting 3’s — and playing pretty good D.

And Trier’s play is about all you can say good about the Knicks in this game! Well Damyean Dotson was ok — 4-8 for 11 pts in 18 minutes.

Still Dotson and all the Knick starters were pulled off the court a few minutes into the 2nd half, as Knicks were getting blown off the court after halftime. Coach Fizdale showing his displeasure.

Mitchell Robinson (0-1, 0 pts, 3 blocks) fouled out in only 14 minutes which is not good — he had been doing so well in staying out of foul trouble since returning from injury, but now the last few games has been ringing up fouls.

The Knicks Who Couldn’t Shoot Straight

Kevin Knox (4-14, 12 pts) had a poor shooting game, as did Mario Hezonja (3-10, 8 pts), andĀ Emmanuel Mudiay (2-7 for 7 pts). Shooters John Jenkins (1-4, 0-3 from 3) and Luke Kornet (2-8, 0-5 from 3)Ā came in and shot badly. Kadeem Allen was 0-8 for 0 pts.Ā Even DeAndre Jordan who only takes slam dunks and layups, was 0-2 from the floor for 6 pts in 20 minutes. Yea it was that bad.

Henry Ellenson (3-6, 9 pts) and Lance Thomas (1-3, 4 pts) rounded out the boxscore. Frank Ntilikina, Dennis Smith Jr, and Noah Vonleh continued to be injured.

Toronto Looked GOOD

For Toronto, Pascal Siakam (9-14 19 pts, 8 rebounds, 5 assists) lookedĀ terrific, as everyone has been saying. He is long and lean and muscular and quick — runs the floor like.. The Greek Freak.

Toronto Looked REALLY WELL COACHED

Kawhi Leonard was out injured, but Toronto ran the Knicks off the court. Toronto looked very well coached — their coach Nick Nurse — who used to be the assistant — has an extensive coaching history, including college, 11 years coaching in Europe where he won a bunch of titles, and the D League.

Toronto Looked LIKE GREYHOUNDS

Fred VanVleet (5-9, 13 pts, 12 assists) looked fleet. Kyle Lowry looked a tad slow, and Walt Frazier noticed it and mentioned it. Mike Breen explained Lowry was just coming back from a sprained ankle. Danny Green was shooting lights out (4-6, 3-4 from 3, 13 points in 22 minutes). OG Anunoby (6-12, 1-6 from 3, 14 pts) was finishing at the rim. Toronto just ran the Knicks off the court. Marc Gasol was in there too with 12 pts and 11 rebounds in 22 minutes. Jeremy Lin — 7-11 for 20 points in 27 minutes why not.

It’s all about the coaching and Toronto has good coaching, making their players look like greyhounds.

The boxscore:

http://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=401071726

 

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]]> https://www.knicks.city/2018/boom-crash-knicks-fall-to-earth-march-18-2019-toronto-128-ny-92/feed/ 0 Now That was a Solid Loss — March 15, 2019: San Antonio 109 NY 83 https://www.knicks.city/2018/now-that-was-a-solid-loss-march-15-2019-san-antonio-109-ny-83/ https://www.knicks.city/2018/now-that-was-a-solid-loss-march-15-2019-san-antonio-109-ny-83/#respond Sat, 16 Mar 2019 12:47:30 +0000 https://www.knicks.city/?p=775 Now that was a solid loss. Knicks were down almost immediately by double digits, and it stayed that way the whole game. Knicks were down 13 at the half, pulled to within 9 with 4:30 [...]

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]]> Now that was a solid loss. Knicks were down almost immediately by double digits, and it stayed that way the whole game. Knicks were down 13 at the half, pulled to within 9 with 4:30 left in the 3rd, and with 2 minutes left botched two chances to bring it to within 7 — and then San Antonio flipped the switch and it was light’s out for the Knicks.

Knicks mustered only 83 points against San Antonio’s defense.

And that was it. Does San Antonio have such a talented team on the court? No — not really. LeMarcus Aldridge is good, and there’s DeMar DeRozan, and a bunch of no names, really. But they have vastly better coaching.

For the Knicks, Kadeem Allen was back and looked terrific again — 6 for his first 7, and finished 7-10 for 16 points. He was hitting floaters in the lane, 3’s off the pass, and baseline reverses. Allen was put back on the roster from the G League after Dennis Smith Jr was put on the injured list with a bad back. Damyean Dotson also terrific — 21 points on 9-19. “We’ve seen Dotson run amuck like this recently” — said Clyde Frazier midway thru 3rd.

Knick Guards Trying to “Get Theirs” = Lack of Ball Rotating

But there was something lacking in the backcourt and you saw it if you are an Allonzo Trier fan. Trier has become a ready passer — one of the Knick guards most intent to ‘pass first’ — but in so doing there are possessions where he’s standing on the left or right side of the court and never sees the ball again after passing it. The ball is not rotating around much. The guard with the ball, takes the shot. And so on a possession where Trier does get the ball back, he kind of hurries a shot off. That’s what seemed to be happening the last two games. And coach Fizdale mentioned this earlier in the week — he’s noticed players trying to ‘get theirs’ as everyone is trying out for next year, and the passing had become less.

More evidence of the lack of passing was that the guards were not finding Mitchell Robinson, who got only 5 shots — he was 0-3 but went the free throw line twice; he finished with only 2 points in 21 minutes, 10 rebounds and 2 blocks. (He also scored on a slam dunk at the end of the 1st quarter buzzer, but the score was ruled off as too late later.)

Part of that was San Antonio’s LaMarcus Aldridge and Jakob Poeltl — both big guys and shot-blocking threats — guarding Robinson inside, eliminating alley-oop opportunities; but most of it had to do with the Knicks not running plays for Robinson or the Knick guards looking for him too much.Ā Emmanuel Mudiay had his second straight good game — 6-14 for 14 points — was hitting his shot. He still doesn’t quite look like a point guard though — looks for his shot first, then maybe the pass, although coach has said he’s the best passer on the team. Before the game, Walt Frazier said “Mudiay knows how to break down the defense, and set up his teammates.”

Battle of Big Men

In the battle of big men, LaMarcus Aldridge hit some tough shots overĀ Noah VonlehĀ early, and Vonleh didn’t guard him for long as he sprained his ankle and left after 9 minutes. Aldridge had his usual 18 pts (8-14) and 11 rebounds in only 28 minutes. DeAndre Jordan put up big numbers — 11 pts, 13 rebounds, and 9 assists. This was the second straight game where he put up big numbers and watching the game, he didn’t seem to look that great. He was good — but… 9 assists? Have to watch the game again. Jakob Poeltl had 12 pts, 9 rebounds, and 5 blocks — and put a body on Robinson.Ā Kevin Knox hit a nice 3 but had another soft game — 7 points in 25 minutes.

Other Knicks and Spurs

John Jenkins, Henry Ellenson, and Luke Kornet got minimal minutes. Mario Hezonja and Frank Ntilikina continue to be injured.

For San Antonio, starters Bryan Forbes shot 5-7 for 13 pts, and Derrick White had 3 pts. San Antonio emptied their bench in this one — playing 13 players. Rudy Gay played 19 minutes and was 5-8 for 12 pts,Ā Marco Belinelli got 21 minutes and had a tough 12 points, andĀ Patty Mills had 9 points and a +23.Ā  Chimezie Metu,Ā Quincy Pondexter,Ā Davis Bertans,Ā Dante Cunningham, and Lonnie Walker IV all got playing time.

The boxscore:

http://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=401071705

 

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]]> https://www.knicks.city/2018/now-that-was-a-solid-loss-march-15-2019-san-antonio-109-ny-83/feed/ 0 Tank or Poor Coaching? — March 9, 2019: Sacramento 102 NY 94 https://www.knicks.city/2018/tank-or-poor-coaching-march-9-2019-sacramento-102-ny-94/ https://www.knicks.city/2018/tank-or-poor-coaching-march-9-2019-sacramento-102-ny-94/#respond Sun, 10 Mar 2019 14:56:14 +0000 https://www.knicks.city/?p=735 This was an inexplicable loss — one that had you feeling Coach David Fizdale is a bad coach, or he was trying to lose on purpose even though the Knicks have a 1.5 game lead [...]

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]]> This was an inexplicable loss — one that had you feeling Coach David Fizdale is a bad coach, or he was trying to lose on purpose even though the Knicks have a 1.5 game lead on worst record and this was one the Knicks could afford to win — against Sacramento at The Garden on a Saturday afternoon.

NY Didn’t Play their Best Team at the End

The Knicks had the lead with 5 minutes left, and were playing well. Then, inexplicably, Fizdale lifted most of the players playing well — Mitchell Robinson, Allonzo Trier, Luke Kornet, andĀ Emmanuel Mudiay, who were playing well withĀ John Jenkins — a team that had just erased a 12-pt deficit to take the lead — for an entirely new team (with Jenkins) for the final 3-4 minutes. That team —Ā DeAndre Jordan, Lance Thomas, Damyean Dotson, Dennis Smith Jr., and Jenkins — came in cold and Sacramento blew past them. On two key plays Sacramento went right at Deandre Jordan in the lane — Harrison Barnes scored in the lane and on the next time down, De’Aaron Fox drove the lane for 3-pt play — plays that would not have happened with Mitchell Robinson out there.Ā Deandre Jordan at 30 is not the inside defensive shot-blocking force he was 2 years ago. He still blocks shots but can be challenged.

After the game, Fizdale was asked about lifting Mitchell Robinson for the final 3 minutes.Ā He said he sat Robinson because ā€œhe was done. He was barely getting up & down the court. Instead of letting him not be focused & play & make mental mistakes, I figured get a fresh body in there & having the luxury of DJ we didnā€™t think it would be that big of a shift.”

One could imagine the Knicks could have simply called a timeout and let Robinson rest for a minute, then continue playing. He is only 20 yrs old.

But it was another loss and the Knicks maintain their 1.5 lead on last place with 16 to go.

Battle of Point Guards

In this game, De’Aaron Fox dominated. He had 30 pts on 11-17 shooting, 5 rebounds, 8 assists and carried Sacramento at the end, pushing the tempo, scoring and finding teammates. Dennis Smith Jr wasn’t as good — he had 17 pts on 7-19 shooting, 5 rebounds and 5 assists. Mudiay had 9 pts on 4-8 shooting, 3 assists.

Trier and Robinson

Allonzo Trier was 0-5 from 3, but otherwise played well (10 pts on 3-10 in 24 minutes). At one point he made aĀ terrific cross-court pass to Kornet on opposite baseline. Trier was inexplicably pulled for the final 4 minutes while Damyean Dotson played the shooting guard (2-12, 0-4 from 3, 5 pts in 33 minutes).

Mitchell Robinson was a beast as usual — 8 pts (on 2-4, 4-4 free throws — great news there as he continues to look great on the free throw line), 9 rebounds, 3 blocks in 22 minutes. His rebounding has improved by light years in the last 2 months — whereas he used to not pull down rebounds in traffic, now he does. His free throw shooting also is improved by light years in two months, as is his ability to stay out of foul trouble! (He did foul out twice in the last 5 games but in one of those games, 2 of the fouls were on purpose to stop the clock.)

Other Knicks

Kevin Knox made one terrific Euro step drive to the basket which left you feeling he can be Really good if he increases his motor a tad and gets better at finishing at the rim, percentage wise. He has that pretty, accurate 3-pt jumpshot, shoots immediately off the pass, and is either shooting 3’s or driving to the hoop — a game made for the current NBA.

Jenkins it should be mentioned, shot lights out in the 4th — at one point hitting 3 straight 3’s.

Lance Thomas played ok (10 pts, 7 rebounds — not sure why he continues to start and get a lot of minutes), Henry Ellenson got some minutes, and Noah Vonleh sat out with a hip injury. Mario Hezonja and Frank Ntilikina continued to be injured.

For Sacramento

For Sacramento Buddy Hield had a not-great shooting game (7-22, 4-13 from 3), Willie Cauley-Stein was tough inside (12 rebounds, 7 pts). The Knicks mostly kept Nemanja Bjelica (5-13, 13 pts) andĀ Bogdan Bogdanovic (2-9, 9 pts) from doing damage with their outside shooting. This game was all about De’Aaron Fox and the Knicks not putting their best team on the court the final 3 minutes.

Dolan Tells Fan to Get Lost

After the game, this surfaced on Twitter which — all we can say is, Who are the Girls??

The Boxscore:

http://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=401071659

 

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]]> https://www.knicks.city/2018/tank-or-poor-coaching-march-9-2019-sacramento-102-ny-94/feed/ 0 Knicks Solidify Worst Record in League – March 7, 2019: Phoenix 107 NY 96 https://www.knicks.city/2018/knicks-solidify-worst-record-in-league-march-7-2019-phoenix-107-ny-96/ https://www.knicks.city/2018/knicks-solidify-worst-record-in-league-march-7-2019-phoenix-107-ny-96/#respond Sat, 09 Mar 2019 14:56:15 +0000 https://www.knicks.city/?p=727 Phoenix has top rookie and #1 pick in draft Deandre Ayton and NBA star Devin Booker and a bunch of other good players — including Kelly Oubre Jr. and high draft pick Mikal Bridges — [...]

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]]> Phoenix has top rookie and #1 pick in draft Deandre Ayton and NBA star Devin Booker and a bunch of other good players — including Kelly Oubre Jr. and high draft pick Mikal Bridges — and still suck to high heaven. But they’re better than the Knicks. Booker went on a tear in the 3rd quarter to lead Phoenix to the easy win — they led by about 20 at times throughout the 3rd and 4th quarters.

Coaching is 65% of NBA Success

What is happening in Phoenix shows it takes a lot to win in the NBA. Coaching is 65% of it — a number pulled out of my rear but seems about right. Look at what coaches like Dwane Casey (in Detroit), Nate McMillan (in Indiana), andĀ Kenny Atkinson (in Brooklyn) are doing this year with teams that have about as much talent as the Knicks. With the Knicks I’m getting that bad feeling again that their coach David Fizdale is a good player development coach and nothing more. Have felt that way all season, but there was a glimmer of hope when the Knicks won 3 of 4 at the All Star break; that all the losing was due to many of the players being ‘too young’. That hope is fading, and it may be turning the head of perspective free agents Kevin Durant and others.

Highlights for the Knicks

Mitchell Robinson always provides highlights; in this game he scored 8 pts (3-7) with 8 rebounds and 4 blocks in 22 minutes. The day after this game it was announced he has signed endorsement deals with Nike AND Mercedes Benz.

Noah Vonleh played well (15 pts on 6-10), as did DeAndre Jordan (17 pts 14 rebounds, 2 blocks), and Dennis Smith Jr (15 pts 6 assists). Damyean Dotson made a lot of mistakes on defense but finished with good shooting 6-12 for 15 pts. Allonzo Trier 12 pts on 3-9 but worked the free throws (5-6).

Emmanuel Mudiay did not play that well, and Kevin Knox with another poor shooting performance (1-5) although he hit his free throws (5-6) for 7 pts in 25 minutes.

The Point Guard Situation

Jason Kidd visited with the Knicks prior to the game and spent time with Smith and Mudiay, while Frank Ntilikina was 20 yards away shooting practice shots. The NY Post’s Marc Berman speculated after the game that the Knicks appear to not see Ntilikina as a future point guard and his sources said Ntilikina needs to show more in the final 15 games of the season as an off guard, and that the Knicks would probably be shopping him on draft night.

My opinion: Ntilikina is only 20 & we’ll see within 3 years what kind of player he’ll be. So far:

  1. Frustrating to watch on Offense; little ability to break down defenses; his passing is average; nice shot but poor shooting %
  2. Overrated on Defense: quick guards blow past him; he’s soft on screens.

We’ll see.

The boxscore:

http://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=401071645

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