Knicks Buzzer Beater: 3 Observations, 2 Questions, 1 Prediction

3 Observations

1. Tim Hardaway Jr.: Backdoor Cutter

Recently, I’ve seen (and contributed to) a lot of talk about whether Tim Hardaway Jr. can fit into a winning roster. The chatter mainly stems from his reputation as a high-volume chucker. His 196 pull-up jumpers so far this season is the 13th-most in the league, and there is valid concern among Knicks fans that his ball-dominant style will clash with Kristaps Porzingis once the big man returns. That worry is exasperated by the playing styles of teammates Allonzo Trier, Kevin Knox, Enes Kanter, and a healthy Trey Burke. Will there be enough shots to go around? Will everyone need the ball in their hands to be effective?

Surprisingly, nearly half of Hardaway Jr.’s field goals are assisted. Compare that to just 32 percent for Trier and a measly 20 percent for Burke. Watching the Knicks’ most recent game versus Charlotte, I was reminded of Hardaway Jr.’s elusiveness off the ball. In these next two videos, Mudiay finds THJ off canny cuts for easy points:

Off-ball cutting has been a quiet strength of THJ’s for multiple seasons now. Per The BBall Index’s proprietary talent grades, he has graded out to an A- in off-ball movement so far this year. Since 2015-16, he has not graded below a B+. For a thorough description of how the talent grades are derived, read here. Hardaway Jr. will need to continue honing his skills as an off-ball threat to be an effective complementary player with Porzingis.

2. Kevin Knox has been showing some fire!

When the Knicks drafted Knox, I was pleased with the selection. He always looked so smooth, as if the game came more naturally to him than others. There’s a history, though, of players who make the game look easy being criticized for a lack of competitive fire. Tracy McGrady immediately comes to mind.

I wasn’t worried about it until I read this quote in the New York Post in November:

“That’s something I’m working on,” Knox said of his motor. “A lot of people told me that coming out of college, but that’s not something that’s going to fix overnight. I have to get in shape, get conditioning, compete every day in practice. I think most of it is just competing offensively and defensively…But there’s games when my motor is good, I just got to get it consistent and play at a high level.”

I still don’t like to read it. “Motor” and competitive instinct are qualities I view as innate, not something that can be taught by an NBA coaching staff. The stats backed up this idea that Knox wasn’t playing with force. Through his first 15 games, he was grabbing only 9 percent of defensive rebounds while he was on the floor. For context, let’s just say it was sickeningly close to Andrew Wiggins’ defensive rebounding rate. By contrast, Noah Vonleh (someone who we know works his ass off) grabs about 24 percent of available defensive boards, despite sharing the floor with Enes Kanter for many minutes.

Knicks fans who pointed to Knox’s ankle injury as a potential cause for his lagging effort are looking smart. In the past six games, Knox is snatching up 22.6 percent of opponents’ misses, a tick better than Vonleh’s rate during that span!

Even more encouragingly, he’s just showing more passion lately. Here, he grabs multiple offensive boards before getting fouled.

This next video is awesome. Watch his reaction to Mitchell Robinson grabbing Knox’s own miss and putting it back for the and-one:

That’s someone who cares about winning.

3. The lineup I predicted finally played…

A couple weeks late! On November 25th, I predicted in one of these columns that the lineup of Ntilikina, Hardaway Jr., Dotson, Knox and Robinson would play by December 1st. Against the Hornets Sunday night, Fizdale finally let this group loose and it did not disappoint. Well, at first it did. When it originally debuted in the first quarter, it played less than one minute and went 0-for-3 from the field. The lineup sported a neutral plus-minus going into the second half.

That’s when things started to pick up. After an abysmal start to the third quarter, Fizdale turned to this unit. They weren’t able to escape the massive hole dug for them, but they did score 17 points in just over five minutes, finishing with a 154.5 offensive rating during that span (they also gave up 116.7 points per 100 possessions on defense). The offense was buoyed by a smoking hot Ntilikina, but that’s not to say it felt unsustainable. The ball was moving and the group complemented each other nicely. Here was a nice play to spring Frank for an open look:

Frank sprints towards the ball-handler, THJ, as if to set a ball screen. At the last second, he veers past him to the top of the key. Robinson, anticipating a switch, then screens THJ’s man to prevent the closest defender from contesting. That forces an out-of-position Kemba Walker to try and disrupt Ntilikina’s wide open three. This is a unit I hope and expect to see more of in the near future, especially with Trier and Burke out of commission.

2 Questions

1. Does anyone love Noah Vonleh’s grab and gos as much as Noah Vonleh?

Jonathan Macri of Knicks Film School posed this question when I brought up Vonleh’s proclivity for pushing the pace (extremely Walt Clyde Frazier voice) on their podcast over the weekend. It’s evident that Vonleh loves showing his ability to bring the ball up the court, even though he usually just hands it off to a point guard as soon as he possibly can. But, every once in a while, he’ll make a play, completely taking the defense by surprise. Watch as Vonleh shows his full repertoire.

First, he switches onto Nic Batum, forcing the contested mid-ranger. Then, he grabs the board and brings it up himself. This time, instead of immediately looking to dump it off, he recognizes Kanter’s man is out of position and directs him with his off-hand. Finally, he throws a beautiful pass to Kanter for the layup. Long live the Vonleh grab and go.

2. Have we seen the last of Hezonja?

We’ve seen a pattern of David Fizdale sitting guys for multiple games after they’ve struggled. Fiz seemingly thinks a little time on the bench can improve a player’s on-court performance. To my surprise, the method worked for Burke, Dotson and Frank. Now, the seeds are sewn for a Hezonja benching. Remember he didn’t play in the second half versus Charlotte. Granted, that lineup with Knox in place of Hezonja let up a 16-2 run to start the third quarter. It basically cost them any chance of competing. Even so, I’d be willing to test Fizdale’s philosophy to the limit with Mario and see if 20 DNP-CDs does the trick.

1 Prediction

The Knicks will win three of their next four games…

Whether you want them to win or not. It’s a bold prediction, especially considering the mini road trip. But, Frank’s reinsertion into the lineup has me more confident in Fizdale’s rotations. And, I think Ntilikina’s defense will spur teammates to pick up their intensity on that end. Expect wins at Cleveland, Charlotte and at home versus Phoenix.

Contact Us

Your Bag (0 items)