Game Day: Sixers @ Knicks, 12/26/20
Jon Schulman gets you ready for the Knicks’ regular season home opener against the Sixers tonight, including some worries about Mitchell Robinson and Nerlens Noel’s foul issues flaring up against Joel Embiid.
Home is where the harbinger of hope is. The Knicks have been trying to find their way their home for years. They’ll continue to do so for probably 15 or 20 games. Of course, at that point, Tom Thibodeau and Co. might realize they’ve been walking in a circle this whole time. No Summer League, the mini training camp, a constricted preseason with a new coaching staff, front office, and roughly half the team. There hasn’t been much time to establish an identity for this group.
Tonight the Sixers rumble into town with as much shooting as they’ve had since the process began. Daryl Morey ain’t rolling out of here naked, dude. Newcomer shooters, Seth Curry and Danny Green (even if he’s a fake shooter these days, you really should close out over the top) bring a little pop. They’ll blend in nicely with Tobias Harris (who now plays a more natural 4 on offense) and the heat check trio of Furkan Korkmaz, Shake Milton, and Mike Scott. All those guys mesh nicely with either Simmons or Embiid. The question is and always has been, do Ben and Joel mesh?
No Changing of the Guard
New York will most likely be without their rookies, Immanuel Quickley and Obi Toppin, both of whom will be nursing day-to-day injuries. This probably puts an Elfrid Payton drubbing front and center for the home office to take a look at.
Payton probably would have played himself out of the starting rotation if Quickley could have kept it rolling in the season opener. Unfortunately Manny Quick left the game with a hip pointer and may miss a few games here. As it stands, this is probably the one shot Frank Ntilikina has to prove his worth. That’s right, folks. It didn’t take long, but we’re galloping onto the Mesa, preparing to see if that groin can handle itself going full stride. Headlong into the battle. Show us what yer made of, kid. If I’m being honest, he didn’t look all that special in his unexpected minutes on Wednesday.
The other palace intrigue with the starters is probably why Reggie Bullock is starting over Alec Burks. That one doesn’t irk me so much. I like the extra bit of juice Burks puts in the offense and I think his juxtaposition as an alternating force with Julius Randle is an important one for a team that doesn’t have much scoring pop. It gives Burks a chance to feel the ball while Randle gets a blow and that should help him get cozy with the flow when Jules heads back in. It also leaves space, however little there is, for RJ Barrett to get in there and cook with the starting group. Perfectly happy to revisit this when Austin Rivers gets healthy. For now, fine.
Foul Weather
When Mitchell Robinson stays on the floor, good things happen. Same goes for the former Sixer, Nerlens Noel. Enter: Joel Embiid, foul sponge extraordiniare. With a career free throw rate of .515, this seems like a match made in Rent Free Heaven. Not including this year, Embiid has only had one season, his second, with a FTr below .541! So staying on the court could be a major issue. The Knicks are already without Omari Spellman. If they are forced to short Robinson and Noel because of foul woes, Randle doesn’t offer much more than a broad chest to bump into on your way to the goal.
Knicks by -13
