Shorthanded Knicks Lose in Indy Amid Whirlwind 24 Hours

It's impossible to overstate the importance of having a quality 3-and-D wing alongside Brunson Randle. The Knicks now have one of the best 3-and-D dudes in the league.

Final Score: Knicks 140 - Pacers 126
Record: 17-15 

At the end of Saturday morning's post, I mentioned that the Knicks would be in a tough spot vs. the Pacers, as New York was on the road on the second night of a back-to-back against a rested Indy squad that relentlessly pushes the pace. 

Well, that was BEFORE the Knicks pulled the trigger on a blockbuster trade with the Raptors, sending RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley to Toronto in exchange for OG Anunoby, Precious Achiuwa and Malachi Flynn. And before New York announced that Quentin Grimes would be sidelined for Saturday's game due to a non-covid illness. 

Consequently, the Knicks were missing three key contributors - a full one-third of their usual nine-man rotation - against a motivated Pacers team featuring one of the best point guards on the planet playing some of the best basketball of his career. 

Tyrese Haliburton scored 22 points and dished out a franchise-best 23 assists Saturday, becoming just the third player in NBA history to tally 20+ points and 20+ dimes in consecutive contests. And far too often, one of Haliburton's teammates was wide open behind the three-point line when they caught a pass from their PG. Indiana shot a blistering 53.5% from downtown, converting 23 of their 43 three-point attempts. 

The bright spot for New York in this one was a career night for Donte DiVincenzo, who exploded for 38 points on just 21 FG attempts. DDV drilled seven of his 11 triple tries and was 15 of 21 overall. He also chipped in six rebounds, two assists, four steals and one block in 36 minutes.

With New York sacrificing offensive firepower (RJ and IQ) for an Anunoby-sized upgrade on the defensive end, the Knicks will need DiVincenzo (as well as Hart and Hartenstein) to step up offensively going forward. 

Fortunately, the club has to be encouraged by what they've seen from DDV since he arrived in New York.  

On the season, DiVincenzo is shooting a sparkling 44.7% from three-point range on 5.6 attempts per game (80-for-179). That's the second-highest percentage in the NBA among all high-volume three-point shooters.

Remarkably, among all players who have attempted at least 175 treys this season, DDV and Brunson rank second and third, respectively - trailing only Malik Beasley and just ahead of Haliburton and Duncan Robinson. 

As I discussed in yesterday's post recapping the OG/RJ/IQ trade, it will be fascinating to see how Thibs deploys DiVincenzo going forward. Does he prefer to keep DDV as the team's starting SG alongside Brunson, giving the Knicks plenty of spacing, and allowing Brunson and Randle to operate in the midrange/paint? Or will he swap Grimes into the starting unit and have DiVincenzo serve as a focal point of the second unit, allowing DDV greater freedom to create offensively on a team that will now (sans IQ) need playmakers when Brunson is on the bench?