Knicks 116, Clippers 93: If not for those meddling kids

On the verge of another potential late-game collapse, the Knicks turned to their young players on the road, and a lineup featuring no players over the age of 23 guided New York to a huge road win in Los Angeles to snap a seven-game losing streak.

Knick fans, rejoice! The hometown heroes won their first game in three weeks, and somehow I get to write about it. I won’t waste your time with a long introduction, let’s jump right into it.

The same old story (..or is it?)

It’s shocking how different this season has been from last. Almost all of the good will the franchise bought during the magical run of 2021 dissipated. In fact, only one aspect of last season has really carried over to this one: fans dreading the Knicks’ social media account releasing the starting lineup. The Knicks entered tonight’s game with the same five — Alec Burks, Evan Fournier, R.J. Barrett, Julius Randle, and Mitchell Robinson. Yes, the same unit that has, largely, spearheaded a team that has lost 17 of 20 games would be sent out once more. You know what they say, 21st time's the charm. 

Burks in the starting lineup continues to make very little sense, but, at least for one night, my criticism will end there. Because, while I do believe the lineup decision to be sub-optimal in both the short AND long term, I also believe head coach Tom Thibodeau has begun to make adjustments to optimize that unit. The change he has made is a simple one — he’s handed the keys to 21-year-old RJ Barrett.

Barrett has rewarded his coach’s trust, and last night was no different. From the opening tip, he was in control of the offense. There has been much discussion about the Knicks’ lack of a point guard as of late, but the point that has evaded many is that with Barrett, and slumping running mate Randle, the Knicks have two primary initiators they want to run the offense through already. This unit never needed a true point guard to dominate the ball and organize them. It was always an unnecessary (and overtaxing) ask of Alec Burks to expect him to do so. 

Burks, by the way, has been the second-biggest benefactor of this whole ordeal. Taking the ball out of his hands has allowed him to return to the style that made Knicks fans fall in love with him. Despite missing a crucial free throw against Phoenix, he was spectacular offensively Friday night. And he continued that trend again last night, scoring nine points in the first quarter alone. The Knicks, once again, found themselves winning on the road against a tough opponent, leading the Clippers 25-22 after the first quarter. But the best was yet to come.

Forcing his hand

In true Tom Thibodeau fashion, the Knicks started the second quarter with four bench players — Deuce McBride, Immanuel Quickley, Cam Reddish, and Jericho Sims — and the aforementioned Barrett. It’s difficult to overstate how impressive the six minutes (Robinson checked in for Sims early in the second) they played together in the second quarter were, but I’m going to attempt to do so. It’s not completely out of the realm of possibility that that unit salvaged a disastrous season from the wreckage last night.

Because these kids didn’t just play well. No, we’ve seen them merely play well. We saw Reddish playing well Friday night only for Thibodeau to pull him for Fournier down the stretch anyway. This was a group that had had enough, and was determined to force Thibodeau’s hand. Led by Barrett and Quickley, they were flying around on both ends. The combination of length and versatility brought by all four of the perimeter players allows them to switch any ball screen, which are rarely effective anyway given the propensity of guys like McBride and Quickley to render them useless.

Offensively there was pace and fusion. Thibodeau calls the baseline strategy of his offense a “read and react” one, but that strategy takes a back seat when the team is in transition. And with Barrett and Quickley attacking the defensive glass at will, the team was seemingly always in transition. This may seem hyperbolic. After all, how good could one stretch lasting just over five minutes of gameplay actually be? When Randle and Burks subbed in for Barrett and Fournier at the 6:21 mark of the second quarter, the score was 41-22. That’s right, the kids had held the Clippers scoreless for almost six minutes of play, outsourcing them 16-0 to start the quarter. 

Another collapse?

Since the start of February, the Knicks had played 12 games headed into last night’s showdown. They led by double digits at some point in nine of those games. They were 1-8 in those nine games, and 1-11 overall. Read that again and you’ll understand why, despite the strong play in the second quarter and 19-point lead at the half, there wasn’t a Knick fan alive who thought they were going to win this game. But as I alluded to earlier, this was not the same old story.

The starters came out with a bounce in their step that said that they too were trying to make a statement. The bench may have built the lead, but they sure as hell were not going to lose it. Behind a dominant Robinson, who was everywhere on both ends of the floor, which included snagging eight offensive rebounds, the Knicks managed to extend their lead. Each time the Clippers threatened to make a run, one of the Knicks’ starters had an answer. After a season of being beaten over the head by worst case scenarios, this one seemed jarringly simple, as the Knicks built their lead to 25 points midway through the third quarter. 

Unfortunately, with the Knicks, it’s never that simple, and a quick 12-0 run gave the home team a puncher’s chance to be just another team amongst a growing list to break Knicks fans hearts. A Robert Covington 3-pointer would bring the Clippers within 12, where they would sit after three quarters. We’d seen this story before. Too many times. The music was playing. Clipper fans were exuberant, a combination of their team streaking and the knowledge that their opponents had become experts at folding. They were about to steal one. And they would have gotten away with it if it weren’t for those meddling kids.

The same unit that started the second quarter for the Knicks started the fourth, and the result was remarkably similar. No, there was not a 16-0 run that spanned nearly half of a quarter, but they did outscore the Clippers 20-4 over the first six minutes of the quarter. Barrett was subbed out as Isaiah Hartenstein shot a couple of free throws, and the foursome of McBride, Quickley, Barrett and Reddish ended the game outscoring the Clippers 36-6 in just 12 minutes on the court together. Have you ever seen a 36-6 quarter? I sure haven’t.

When Barrett checked out, the game was well out of reach, and Thibodeau, perhaps having learned his lesson from the Barrett injury in Denver a few weeks ago, mercifully removed Barrett from the game. But Knicks fans’ eyes remained glued to the screen. They wanted to see Reddish glide around the court like Mark Messier on skates. They wanted to see Quickley’s relentless exuberance. They wanted to see McBride fight over one more screen, and held out hope that Jericho Sims might jump out of the gym to catch a lob. So they watched each of the final six minutes with jubilant interest until the final buzzer sounded and the scoreboard read: Knicks 116, Clippers 93.

More than anything, this is what this team has been missing. Something exciting. Something that makes you want to tune in to the next game beyond a general commitment to the team you love. Of course I don’t believe that the Knicks or Thibodeau should value their fans' excitement over what they think is right, but wins and losses stopped mattering not too long ago. And with that should have come a shift in priority. It’s time to see what we’ve got in the eight guys under the age of 24. It’s time to see if they can bring more than the rigid roles the Knicks (both the team and fans) have etched out for them. 

And who knows, maybe we’ll discover that the preconceived notions we made about these players were all wrong? Would it be so horrible to discover that guys like Reddish or Quickley are good enough that they should have been playing more this whole time? For one night, Thibodeau let us see these things, and the results were as good as any fan could have hoped. One down, 18 more to go.

Immanuel Quickley and a new set

After last night’s game, Quickley’s impact numbers improved to this:

The Knicks do everything better with Quickley on the floor. They score more points at a more efficient rate, while allowing the opposing team to score fewer points. They share the ball more, yet turn it over less. This is a 22-year-old in the midst of what could be the poster child of sophomore slumps, at least as a shooter, yet his effect on winning is as profound as anyone’s on the roster. Do with that information what you will — I’m done pigeonholing him or putting a cap on his ceiling, though. 

With Quickley running the show, the Knicks’ crunch time offense featured a new set that they went to repeatedly. 

Anyone who has watched the Knicks knows the simplicity and stagnation of their typical late-game offense. It’s largely just the ball in the hands of Randle (or lately, Barrett) who is then asked to isolate and create an advantage for the team. To say it has been unsuccessful would be like saying Killing Eve is a great television show. Duh.

But this set brings layers. It forces the defense to answer questions. It starts with Reddish, playing as the power forward, running to the ball handler to set a screen, only to slip it and head to the corner to space the floor. Trailing right behind him is Sims at center, ready to set a screen of his own. On the weak side wing are shooters McBride and Barrett. Already, the Clippers are in a bit of a bind here. The Knicks have three capable shooters and one of the best screen setters alive off the ball. They have created a recipe for success. And now they’ve created an advantage for their ball handler. Should any of the three defenders cheat off of their shooter to hedge down and tag Sims’ dive, Thibodeau trusts that Quickley will make the correct read and pass. Sort of like… this.

Quickley sees Hartenstein, responsible for Reddish on the wing, take one step towards the paint and whips a pass to the perimeter. Before Hartenstein has time to think, the ball has collided with the nylon net.

This is the type of creativity a team as limited as the Knicks needs. Their crunch time offense, its stagnation and dependence on isolation, has always been frustrating. By busting this out, Thibodeau is showing an ability to evolve and learn from his mistakes. Combine this with a temporary embrace of youth, and we’re seeing what maximizing the back end of a disappointing season could look like. There may still be hope yet.

I guess what I’m saying is: while the season may be lost, in some ways, it’s only just begun.