Post by irish2u2 on Oct 29, 2021 16:54:52 GMT -5
The New York Knickerbockers are 4-1. Only the undefeated Jazz have a better record. The Knicks are currently 3rd in the NBA in scoring and 16th in scoring defense. They are fourth in the league in scoring differential. As a team they are shooting 46% from the field and 38% from the 3 point line where they are shooting a whopping 43 treys a game. Eight teams are averaging more than 40 treys a game (the Knicks are 4th in attempts) but the Knicks have the highest FG percentage of treys made.
The Knicks new free agent additions are working out great so far. Kemba Walker is averaging 14.2 PPG off 49% shooting from the field and a whopping 58% from beyond the 3 point line. He has gone for 21 and 19 in his last 2 games showing the ability to create his own opportunities whenever he wishes.
Evan Fournier is averaging 17.2 PPG off 43% shooting from the field and 49% beyond the arc. Obviously our two new guards have made a good start. Derrick Rose is killing it too averaging 14 PPG off 48% from the field and 55% from beyond the line. Julius Randle leads the team in scoring at 23 PPG while RJ Barrett is averaging 13.6 PPG. Both Randle and Barrett are struggling a little from the 3 point line but the fact remains NY is loaded with shooters when you include Burks, Quickley and Toppin. I don't think some of the high 3 point FG% numbers are sustainable from the players but as a team the numbers should align as far as number of shots and FG%.
The Knicks are 11th in rebounding with Randle at 12.2 and Mitchell Robinson at 9.6 leading the way.
Some observations. The Knicks have won 2 nail biters beating the Celtics in double overtime and Chicago last night by a single point. Winning close games is good but it shows the Knicks have areas they need to improve on especially closing games. Obviously the Knicks are deep though the Nerlens Noel injury is worrying. I like how they play together as a team. Taking the Bulls as an example on paper they appear the superior team. They have an All-Star center, small forward and shooting guard. Their off season additions of Lonzo Ball (who deserves a ton of praise for how he guarded Randle), DeMar DeRozan and Alec Caruso have made them a top echelon Eastern team. But the Knicks are deeper and play better together and on a night where Randle struggled mightily shooting the ball and the team squandered a late double digit lead they still persevered and won the game. We can survive a bad night from Julius with the extra firepower the Knicks picked up over the summer. But not only did the Knicks pick up two scoring threats in Kemba and Evan they picked up two high IQ/high character players too. Character is a factor in winning too and this Knicks team has a ton of it. No locker room drama. No pouting.
The good news is this Knicks team is nowhere near as good as they might be.
Quickley has been awful so far and that won't last very long. Burks has been average and we all know he can play better. I have been mightily encouraged by the improvements of Obi Toppin and Mitchell Robinson. Both can be huge factors for the Knicks. I will suggest Mitch get a new sneaker as he blew through another sneaker last night. Obi in particular has turned a corner in confidence and execution. He's thrown a couple of star worthy moves to score baskets and he's playing longer and stronger this season. Mitch just proves what he can bring to the team is not necessarily in the box score. But can he/will he EVER shoot a jumper? A hook shot? If Mitch can stay healthy the Knicks could shock some folks. He would have made a difference against Atlanta in the playoffs.
I loved watching the Knicks rotate to the ball last night and in previous games. They still need to work on cohesion and allowing easy baskets but they do work hard on defense. But are we living in a parallel universe when a Tom Thibodeau team is average on defense and a league leader in offense?
One thing the Orlando game taught the Knicks. There are no gimmes in the NBA. I think the Knicks are a very good basketball team but they are not good enough to take any NBA team for granted as the Magic proved. We have some games coming up the Knicks should win but no opponent feels comfortable to me. That's good. That is both the upside and downside of a sum of the parts team. You need most of the players playing well with a narrow margin for success or failure.
New Orleans next.
The Knicks new free agent additions are working out great so far. Kemba Walker is averaging 14.2 PPG off 49% shooting from the field and a whopping 58% from beyond the 3 point line. He has gone for 21 and 19 in his last 2 games showing the ability to create his own opportunities whenever he wishes.
Evan Fournier is averaging 17.2 PPG off 43% shooting from the field and 49% beyond the arc. Obviously our two new guards have made a good start. Derrick Rose is killing it too averaging 14 PPG off 48% from the field and 55% from beyond the line. Julius Randle leads the team in scoring at 23 PPG while RJ Barrett is averaging 13.6 PPG. Both Randle and Barrett are struggling a little from the 3 point line but the fact remains NY is loaded with shooters when you include Burks, Quickley and Toppin. I don't think some of the high 3 point FG% numbers are sustainable from the players but as a team the numbers should align as far as number of shots and FG%.
The Knicks are 11th in rebounding with Randle at 12.2 and Mitchell Robinson at 9.6 leading the way.
Some observations. The Knicks have won 2 nail biters beating the Celtics in double overtime and Chicago last night by a single point. Winning close games is good but it shows the Knicks have areas they need to improve on especially closing games. Obviously the Knicks are deep though the Nerlens Noel injury is worrying. I like how they play together as a team. Taking the Bulls as an example on paper they appear the superior team. They have an All-Star center, small forward and shooting guard. Their off season additions of Lonzo Ball (who deserves a ton of praise for how he guarded Randle), DeMar DeRozan and Alec Caruso have made them a top echelon Eastern team. But the Knicks are deeper and play better together and on a night where Randle struggled mightily shooting the ball and the team squandered a late double digit lead they still persevered and won the game. We can survive a bad night from Julius with the extra firepower the Knicks picked up over the summer. But not only did the Knicks pick up two scoring threats in Kemba and Evan they picked up two high IQ/high character players too. Character is a factor in winning too and this Knicks team has a ton of it. No locker room drama. No pouting.
The good news is this Knicks team is nowhere near as good as they might be.
Quickley has been awful so far and that won't last very long. Burks has been average and we all know he can play better. I have been mightily encouraged by the improvements of Obi Toppin and Mitchell Robinson. Both can be huge factors for the Knicks. I will suggest Mitch get a new sneaker as he blew through another sneaker last night. Obi in particular has turned a corner in confidence and execution. He's thrown a couple of star worthy moves to score baskets and he's playing longer and stronger this season. Mitch just proves what he can bring to the team is not necessarily in the box score. But can he/will he EVER shoot a jumper? A hook shot? If Mitch can stay healthy the Knicks could shock some folks. He would have made a difference against Atlanta in the playoffs. I loved watching the Knicks rotate to the ball last night and in previous games. They still need to work on cohesion and allowing easy baskets but they do work hard on defense. But are we living in a parallel universe when a Tom Thibodeau team is average on defense and a league leader in offense?
One thing the Orlando game taught the Knicks. There are no gimmes in the NBA. I think the Knicks are a very good basketball team but they are not good enough to take any NBA team for granted as the Magic proved. We have some games coming up the Knicks should win but no opponent feels comfortable to me. That's good. That is both the upside and downside of a sum of the parts team. You need most of the players playing well with a narrow margin for success or failure.
New Orleans next.
