Knicks 105, Celtics 75 “IQ is a fucking angel”
The Knicks ended their five-game losing streak with a bang, crushing the Boston Celtics on the road in a 30-point romp. Shwinnypooh gets you caught up on the latest Immanuel Quickley tour de force, RJ and Randle’s big day, and the best game of Obi Toppin’s career, among other things.
The Knicks came into Boston for a Sunday matinee showdown with the Celtics on a rough five-game losing streak, coming off of a stinker of a loss to a Sexland-less Cavs team starting OAKAAK Damyean Dotson at point. The hosting Celtics entered the contest atop the Atlantic Division standings despite a COVID-depleted roster at their disposal on an impressive five-game winning streak.
That’s why they play the game.
In a thoroughly dominant wire-to-wire victory, the Knicks got contributions up-and-down the roster as they beat the living piss out of the Smelldicks. The much-dreaded Elfrid-Payton-guided starting lineup got off to a quick start – relatively speaking, anyway — as they built an 11-point advantage after the first quarter. Julius Randle, as has been the case this entire season, was at the heart of it, pouring in 10 points, while RJ Barrett continued his resurgence, with nine points, two assists, and six rebounds in the opening quarter.
The bench bros picked up where the starters left off, as Immanuel Quickley put on a virtuoso performance against the Celtics’ Payton Pritchard, selected immediately after IQ. He was magnificent as he constantly jitterbugged his way into the paint, putting pressure on a Celtics team that seemed more than a half step slow and uninterested in fighting their way back into the game. The Knicks pushed the lead out to as much as 15 before going into halftime holding a well-deserved 13-point advantage.
These matinee affairs often have a way of lifelessly drifting in the first half before igniting into a real contest in the second half. If there was cause for concern, it was that despite thoroughly outclassing Boston, the Knicks hadn’t built up more of a cushion. Undoubtedly, the Celtics wouldn’t continue to listlessly loaf through possessions and launch garbage three after garbage three. Surely Brad Stevens, a more valuable commodity than Giannis in the endeavor of winning NBA games according to some, would conjure up a swift riposte and the natural order of things would be restored after the break.
Wrong. The Knicks came out with force and immediately stretched the lead out to 20-plus in the opening minutes of the half while the Celtics continued to flounder, launching helplessly from the perimeter. When the starters exited, the Knicks’ bench picked up exactly where it left off and continued to pound Boston into submission, pushing the lead to 25 by the end of the third and eventually stretching it to as much as 37 in the fourth.
There are few things in the world as satisfying as the Knicks giving the Celtics an ass whooping. Savor it.
Notes
Quickley is definitely the point guard of the present (cc: Thibs), but is he also the point guard of the future as well? When the Knicks totally reached for Quickley with the 25th pick of the draft, much of the negative reaction to the selection was based on the belief that there were point guards available at that draft slot who were better prospects and filled the Knicks’ most glaring need for a lead ball handler. Well, it seems that IQ may be the dude after all. He seems to improve game by game, and the confidence and energy he plays with is infectious and exhilarating. His surprising competence as a lead ball handler has been nothing short of a miracle for a team that desperately needs some source of shot creation beyond Randle and Good RJ Barrett. It could be much more than a nice little surprise based on the early returns.
Seriously, the dude was on it today. 17 points with eight assists don’t even do justice for the type of command he demonstrated during his 21 minutes of play, and yes, he did all of that in just 21 fucking minutes. I’m sure fans of most other teams in the NBA have seen various point guards over the years have outings like that, but we’re not fortunate enough to be fans of those teams. We’re fans of a team whose best point guard of the 2010s was Raymond Felton. I can get used to this.
+20 in those 21 minutes, by the way. Pretty nice.
Julius Randle was typically excellent. That this is where we are with Julius at this point in the season is truly one of the greatest plot twists in the history of the New York Knicks. He was the best player on the floor, and things just look so easy for him right now, even with the suboptimal spacing the starting lineup affords him. His progress as a mid-range scorer especially has been delightful to watch. He has become, what I believe people call, a matchup nightmare.
Mitchell Robinson was clearly less than 100% today after tweaking his ankle on Friday against the Cavs. Falling on his shoulder and hip after corralling the ball following a block on a Jeff Teague triple didn’t make matters easier. He toughed through it, though, and his presence was palpable throughout. Marcus Smart found out the hard way when he tried to come into Mitch’s house in the third quarter and got his shit sent packing. He’s still got a ways to go when facing some of the bulkier behemoth bigs like an Andre Drummond, but this dude is making a special leap defensively and he’s gutting it out like an absolute fucking warrior right now. Not bad for a guy who randomly had his professionalism questioned by many before the season started.
Elfrid Payton didn’t totally fuck the Knicks today. Was that because he was actually good? No. It remains obvious that the three most critical players on this team — RJ, Randle, and Mitch — need to play with some semblance of floor spacing, and Payton’s ability to penetrate just simply isn’t much of a complementary skill alongside that trio. Hopefully Thibs cuts the cord soon.
RJ Barrett getting out of whatever funk he was in has been wonderful. He’s still got to add a bit more craft to the brawn (and brains) of his game, but the type of all-around production he can provide from the wing is very valuable. His defense has also improved by leaps and bounds. He still has a long way to go, and I think we’re a year or two away from him becoming a genuinely good shooter, but he has certainly improved from last season regardless of whatever the fuck his 3-point and true shooting percentages are right now.
Kevin Knox and corner threes. Name a more iconic duo.
Obi Toppin has become something of a forgotten man early on in the season. IQ’s unexpected and sudden emergence has made him a bit of an afterthought, but make no mistake — the Knicks expect Toppin to have an impact, and we saw glimpses of exactly why today. He hit on a couple of triples, and anecdotally shoots what the experts call “an easy ball.” More exciting was the chemistry he showed with Quickley, whose shooting gravity and willingness to bound into the paint to scramble the defense got Toppin opportunities to get going downhill and finish at the rim with aplomb. I wasn’t his biggest fan before the draft, but he’s got real skills offensively. We’re going to see plenty of it as the season goes on and he gets his legs under him.
Of note, on one possession in the second half, Jaylen Brown got an iso on Obi. BBQ chicken, right? Wrong. Jaylen got stonewalled. To my eye, in an exceedingly tiny sample size, Obi’s defense has been much better than advertised.
A very happy birthday to Tom Thibodeau, who had this wonderful exchange with Marc Berman in the postgame presser:
Nerlens Noel had a good outing, but I don’t trust a big guy who can’t get a rebound to save his life for what seems like five minute stretches in every game. Dude is built like a bird.
Reggie Bullock is fine, I guess. Whatever. I’m excited for Alec Burks and Frank Ntilikina to get healthy.
Apropos of nothing, the Dallas Mavericks lost 117-101 to the mighty Chicago Bulls on a night where Zach Lavine, Coby White, and Patrick Williams — three starters — combined for 15 points. Kristaps Porzingis scored 20 points on 19 shots, and went 0-7 from three. Lauri Markkanen, his cover, put up 29 on 19 shots. Food for thought.
It didn’t matter, but it was very annoying when in the fourth quarter, because the Celtics were down 25 the refs felt it was okay for Marcus Smart and Co. to start dry humping the Knicks up-and-down the court without a whistle.
That was one of the most perplexingly dog shit efforts I can ever remember from the Celtics in a game against the Knicks. It felt like at the start of third quarter they were intentionally throwing the game. Not that I mind. Fuck Boston.
Good thing Danny Ainge built a roster with incredible depth, especially in the frontcourt, with all those picks he hoarded for a half decade. Eat shit, loser.
I’m happy to not be paying Kemba Walker $108 miillion over the next three years.
I love Immanuel Quickley.
The Knicks play again tomorrow at noon against Orlando. Quoth Jack Huntley: “IQ is a fucking angel.” Yes, yes he is. Sweet dreams, Knicks fans. May they be filled with visions of Quickley splashing floaters.
