Knicks 108, Rockets 88: Simpatico
The Knicks got back to their winning ways to enter the new year a game over .500 for the first time in 10 years.
The month of streaking has finally come to a close, completing a loop in the process. I love when the universe is simpatico with itself. The Knicks started their win streak by holding the Cleveland Cavaliers to under 90 points (81 to be exact) and then held the Houston Rockets to 88 points on 37.7% shooting on Saturday night. After Houston got off to an insane hot start in the first quarter, scoring 35 points and shooting 8–11 from three, the Knicks shut things down defensively as they allowed only 53 points for the rest of the game. That's right, 53 points!
New York was not some sort of offensive juggernaut, scoring 108 on 38.9% from the field. This game was won by the defense, but it took about roughly halfway through the second quarter when Julius Randle came in for Jericho Sims for the team defense to finally click. The Quick Grimey Deuce Collective were fighting over screens and rotating with a purpose. Mitchell Robinson was blocking shots left and right. Here is a little montage of defensive highlights to close out the first half. It’s a work of art:
Things effectively picked up in the second half where they were left in the first. Houston only scored eight points halfway through the third quarter as the Knicks’ defense continued to apply pressure. Immanuel Quickley took control of the offense while maintaining his superb defense. He was in the passing lanes, fighting over screens, and rotating masterfully all night, and it was extremely fun to watch. Quickley’s offense was not efficient, however. He shot 9-25 from the field and 4–13 from three. BUT, and it’s a big but here, Quickley and Randle are having to soak up most of Brunson’s and Barrett’s usage, so their shots are not always going to be “good” or “ideal.” Quickley’s pace and passing were quite good again for the third game in a row, generating seven assists and only two turnovers.
Let’s actually get back to Randle for a moment. He dropped a 35–12–6 on 64.7% true shooting while playing quality defense and manhandling the Rockets’ front line. He looked like Billy Madison out there. Randle was dropping dimes, getting putback dunks, and the receiver of an alley-oop! I mean, just look at this guy.
Going into the New Year, Randle is putting up, dare I say, better numbers than during the 2020–21 season. Over the past 10 games, he is averaging 28.9–12.5–4.7 on 60.7% true shooting and 29% usage. For the stat dorks out there, Randle’s box plus-minus is currently 4.1, which is 22nd in the NBA. During Randle’s All-NBA season, his box plus-minus was 3.8 and he finished 24th in the NBA in the metric. Let that marinate for a moment.
Don’t worry, I did not forget about Quinten Grimes and his homecoming. One of two of our beloved Texans bounced back from a rough shooting night in San Antonio. He must have spent too much time at Central Market’s prepared food section or determining which pecan coffee he misses most. With his mother in the stands, Grimes had 19 points on 63.3% true shooting, sinking three triples, playing great defense, and making all the hustle plays.
Robinson bounced back as well after a sluggish performance against the Spurs, with 12 rebounds, three blocks, and three steals as he anchored the team’s defense beautifully. I do have to say, after Robinson missed that wide open alley-oop early in the first, I thought we were headed for another rough night.
The win may have been against the team with the second-worst record in the NBA, as well as the youngest team in the NBA if you remove Eric Gordon from their average age, but the Knicks ended their Texas Triangle roadtrip doing exactly what they needed to do. When your opponent is young and makes many unforced mistakes, and you’re coming off two very different — but equally disappointing — losses, you must bounce back and beat your opponent easily. And that is exactly what the Knickerbockers did.
New York now enters the 2023 stretch of the season with a 19–18 record and a net rating of +2.9, ranking ninth in the league. The team is in an even better position at this point of the season than they were when they finished as the fourth seed two years ago. Going on notable winning and losing streaks back-to-back during the month of December was certainly jarring, but it does appear the Knicks are in a pretty good situation. Getting Brunson and Barrett back hopefully within the next week or two will be a big boost for the team, helping stabilize the rotation.
But if there has been anything to take away from this stretch of games, it should be that Immanuel Quickley should be getting more minutes off the bench (please play him and Brunson together!), Grimes should get a bump in usage, and the Sims–Hartenstein combo needs to be scrapped immediately when Obi Toppin gets healthy. Whether Tom Thibodeau will do any of this, or even attempt to find ways to make these things happen, is a big TO BE DETERMINED.
Happy New Year, everyone. And thank you for reading The Strickland. Here are some little asides I wrote down while watching the game:
My live notes as I watched the game
That was a bad brick from IQ
Christ, Mitch!
Really hot shooting from Houston. Interesting to see if these looks continue to be open and if they knock them down.
3–12 from three versus 8–11 from three.
Rose, Fournier, and Hart are a disaster defensively.
Hot shooting goes away while the Knicks pick up the defensive intensity, especially Immanuel Quickley.
New Year’s Eve in Indiana involves racing babies?
Closed out the third quarter how they should have after relaxing the lead a bit.
Grimes and Randle closing out the quarter strong, especially Grimes’ hustle strip on the fast break that led to a turnover.
Started the fourth rough, missing shots while Houston makes them.
Get Garrison Mathews the fuck outta here!
An unbelievable pass by Randle.
Breen doesn’t know Encanto (SMDH).
Randle put-back dunk?
Knicks had 35 points off turnovers!!
Randle alley-oop LOL.
Archie Diacono sighting!
Hart is so weak.
Under 90!!!
