Knicks Battered in Boston

The Knicks are allowing opponents to shoot above 37% from downtown this season, which ranks 23rd in the NBA (tied with the Bulls and Jazz - behind both the Wiz and Pistons).

Final Score: Knicks 123 - Celtics 133
Record: 12-9

To quote the great Jay-Z, “It was all good just a week ago…”

Last Saturday morning, as I sat down to write this newsletter, the Knicks were riding a three-game winning streak after beating Toronto the previous evening.

The victory over the Raptors came a few nights after New York pounded the Hornets, which resulted in them advancing past the group stage of the In-Season Tournament and into the semifinals. Consequently, the Knicks headed to Milwaukee, where the Bucks crushed them. Following that loss, they were forced to take on the Celtics in an IST consolation game. 

A week ago, New York was five games above .500 and was tied with the Sixers for the fourth-best record in the Eastern Conference. At that point, just seven days ago, they ranked third in the NBA in Defensive Rating and fifth in Net Rating. 

The three teams that jumped New York (Brooklyn, Cleveland and Indiana) all went 2-0 this week. The Nets beat the Hawks and the Wizards, while the Sixers beat up the same two clubs. 

As of this morning, the Knicks are the eight-seed in the East (and just a half-game ahead of the Heat). They currently rank ninth in DefRtg and tenth in NetRtg.  

So, while the IST has been great at generating attention for the league and showcasing young superstars such as Tyrese Haliburton, they need to tweak the format, which punishes teams that advance past the group stage - while the only reward for advancing is cash. 

Either way, one thing we learned this week is that the Knicks are clearly not on the same level as the league’s elite. In particular, the Knicks' inability to defend the NBA’s most potent offenses was painfully obvious. 

After giving up an eye-popping 146 points to the Bucks on Tuesday, the Celtics exploded for 133 points Friday night in Boston. New York scored 120+ points in both contests but was badly beaten in contests.

The combined 279 points the Knicks allowed is the second-high total given up by the franchise in a two-game stretch over the past six decades.

Before we get into the particulars from Friday, it’s worth noting that one thing both Boston and Milwaukee have in common is a starting center (Kristaps Porzingis and Brook Lopez) capable of stepping out behind the three-point arc and burying three-pointers. 

Porzingis scored the first eight points for the C’s last night and finished the first half with 19 points and three made three-pointers. (As an aside, the irony of Porzingis playing so well and thriving in his role with Boston - is that’s the exact role the Knicks wanted him to play in NY, but a young KP refused to play center.)

A staple of Tom Thibodeau’s defense, since the day he arrived in New York, has been using his bigs to protect the paint at all costs. When matched up against teams that don’t have stretch 5s capable of burning you from behind the arc, relying on “drop coverage” is often a successful strategy. However, against The BroLo’s and Bobby Portis’ and Al Horford and KP’s of the world - the results can be disastrous.

“It’s problematic. We got to fix our defense,” Thibodeau said after losing to the C’s. “It starts individually. Better containment of the ball. Better ball pressure. Better challenging shots. And every aspect. I thought offensively, guys did a good job trying to create advantages. The rebounding is good. But our defense has to be fixed.”

The Knicks are allowing opponents to shoot above 37% from downtown this season, which ranks 23rd in the NBA (tied with the Bulls and Jazz - behind both the Wiz and Pistons). There are plenty of areas of concern for New York that need to be addressed and cleaned up, but three-point defense is right at the top of the list. 

Other Takeaways and Knicks Notes:

🏀 The big news last night before tip-off was Thibs’ decision to replace Quentin Grimes with Donte DiVincenzo at shooting guard. DiVincenzo came onto the contest averaging 13.3 points on 7.7 FG attempts in his previous three games - all off the bench. However, DDV experienced what it was like playing alongside the high-usage trio of Brunson, Randle and Barrett on Friday. DiVincenzo finished the game with six points on six shot attempts. He posted a team-low -21.

Grimes came out firing in Boston. He had four total FG attempts (and one make) in the 41 minutes he played with the starters over NY’s three previous games. Grimes had five FG attempts (and three makes) in the first seven minutes he played with the second unit on Friday. QG finished the contest with 13 points on ten attempts. 

While some of the increase in activity can be attributed to playing alongside the reserves, I think it was more of a case of Grimes saying, “F*ck this. I’m not going out as a passive player. If I’m gonna get criticized and demoted, I’m going out firing.”

Also, hat tip to Josh Hart for helping QG get a clean look on his first trip down the court after checking in late in the first quarter:

To his credit, Grimes handled the situation professionally. Asked by reporters about being told by Thibodeau that he's moving to the bench, Grimes replied: "He felt like it was the best thing to do, and I agree with him. It’s a good thing.”

🏀 RJ Barrett had a solid all-around game, tallying 23 points, three rebounds, three assists, one steal, and two 3-pointers. He was also efficient on the offensive end, shooting 9-of-16 from the floor and 3-of-4 from the free-throw line. 

🏀 “Bad Randle” showed up in Beantown on Friday. He shot below 50% from the floor, grabbed only five rebounds and had twice as many turnovers (6) as assists. No turnover was more egregious or frustrating than this one: 

The wild part of this play is that Randle not only missed RJ at the hoop but could have set up Mitch Rob trailing for a dunk, or kicked out to Brunson in the corner for an open three-pointer. 

🏀 As if this week and the evening couldn’t get any worse, two key Knicks were injured Friday night. Jalen Brunson twisted his ankle when he stepped on the foot of Payton Pritchard with less than 30 seconds remaining in the game. Brunson immediately limped to the bench and then to the locker room. JB didn’t talk with the media after the game, and Thibs said he hadn’t spoken with the team’s medical staff when he met with reporters. We have to hope for the best at this point. 

Thibodeau did say he had no regrets about leaving Brunson in the game despite the fact that New York was down 12 points when the injury occurred.

🏀 Mitchell Robinson, dealing with a left ankle injury of his own, was seen entering the X-ray room at halftime and missed the start of the third quarter. He returned to the bench and entered the game a few minutes later but sat out the entire final frame. Fortunately, Thibs said the X-rays on the ankle were negative and that Mitch Rob didn’t re-enter the game in the fourth quarter because the reserves were making a run.

🏀 According to Heavy.com's Sean Deveney, the Spurs and Magic are two teams interested in Immanuel Quickley. Both clubs could have $50+ million to spend next summer. "The trend is to play hardball with restricted free agency, but it could be a mistake, the Knicks playing hardball with him. Two reasons for that, really: The Spurs and the Magic. They need a young point guard. And they’re both in a good spot to swipe him."

🏀 Here’s the latest from Shams Charania of The Athletic. “Trade season seems likely to heat up beginning next week, as Dec. 15 is the date many players who signed contracts in the offseason can be moved. One team to keep an eye on over the next couple of months is the New York Knicks. I’m told the Knicks are monitoring the marketplace across the league and keeping an eye on whether a star player becomes available and for whom they would go all-in on a deal… They are monitoring the marketplace, they want to see if there’s a star player that’s available.” Shocking, I know.

🏀 In case you missed it, I wrote yesterday about the pros and cons of a potential trade for Chocao wing DeMar DeRozan. 

🏀 Next Up: The Knicks host the Raptors at the Garden on Monday. This will be New York’s final home game before they embark on a daunting five-game road trip out West. 

The Raps are struggling mightily of late, having lost five of their past six contests (which includes a defeat to New York in Toronto on Dec. 1st). Toronto’s most recent defeat was a terrible loss to a short-handed Hornets club (playing without Lonzo Ball) last night in Charlotte. The Hornets led by 20+ points in the first half and were up 13 before the Raps made a push. However, Charlotte escaped with a three-point victory.