Knicks 132, Warriors 94: The good old days are here

The Knicks keep winning. Then they’re expected to keep winning. Then they do. This is awesome.

Is it real yet?

The New York Knicks won their eighth game in a row, stomping the shorthanded defending champion Golden State Warriors 132-94 on national television. Did the scoreboard reflect what happened on the court? Or was it misleading? Let’s dive in.

Stop, they’re already dead

Let’s not mince words – this was a bloodbath. The Knicks weren’t just playing against the Warriors. They were also playing against the entire TNT production team, who had zero interest in any discussion relevant to the home team. Before the game, both Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal dismissed the winning streak, describing the Knicks as “only the second-best team in New York.” During the game, longtime Knicks rival Reggie Miller was on the call. There also was an in-game interview with the injured Steph Curry in which they spent almost five minutes with his face plastered on the screen. And they finished it off with a half-hour ode to James Wiseman. “Obnoxious” is not a strong enough word for what Knicks fans had to endure watching that game.

Basketball was played, I promise. The biggest compliment I can give to the Knicks is that their games are becoming predictable. Jalen Brunson is going to probe relentlessly, RJ Barrett will find his way into the teeth of the defense, and Julius Randle (this new and improved version) will find ways to impact the game on both ends. Perhaps most predictable of all these days is Mitchell Robinson, who you can effectively guarantee will attack the offensive glass, protect the rim, and find somebody to box out when a shot goes up. Last night, it was Quentin Grimes who got off to a hot start, knocking down a couple of early threes. Off the bench, Immanuel Quickley decided to one-up Grimes, hitting his first four 3-pointers. The Knicks’ lead hit double-digits midway through the second quarter and they did not look back.

Some may be quick to point out that the Warriors didn’t have Curry or Andrew Wiggins. That’s fine. This was by no means a statement victory. But a team can only play the competition in front of them. This is the same Warriors team that played Philadelphia close and blew out Toronto in back-to-back road games. One of the strongest correlations with great teams is consistently beating inferior competition. And the Knicks aren’t just winning; they’re demolishing their opponents. During this 8-game win streak the Knicks’ average margin of victory is 17.4 points. This is unprecedented stuff.

A big part of it has to be their head coach. At the start of the fourth, the Knicks led 100-81. This would satisfy most coaches. Not Thibodeau, who expressed discontent with the Knicks’ defense. Twelve (game) minutes later, the Warriors had scored just 13 more points. With under two minutes left in the game, the Knicks’ third unit kept the pedal down and forced a 24-second shot clock violation. All the talk of the Knicks’ defensive strategy being outdated, some coming from this writer, may have been a bit hasty.

In between the defensive mastery, the Knicks’ bench had a chance to have a little fun. Isaiah Hartenstein, who has given his absolute best effort this entire season despite being completely misused, was finally allowed to spread his wings. He threw touchdown passes, lobs, and back cuts to the delight of the crowd. Even Reggie Miller started calling him the East’s Nikola Jokic. Talk about going from zero to one hundred.

Miller may have been exaggerating Hartenstein’s prowess, but there is no overstating how impressive the Knicks’ performance was last night. None of Brunson, Randle or Barrett even cracked 50% (they were a combined 20-47 from the floor). It didn’t matter. The Knicks have reached a point where they’re humming so consistently on both ends they can overcome individual setbacks. At the final buzzer, New York walked off the court with the scoreboard reading an impressive “Knicks 132, Pacers 94.”

A little bit of confidence goes a long way

Before the Knicks tipped off, they played another, seemingly disconnected game against the Pacers on Sunday. With six minutes left in that fourth quarter, and the Knicks hanging on for dear life, Immanuel Quickley was sitting at just 1 for 7 from the field. Grimes, whose love from Knick fans is only surpassed by the love he receives from his head coach (deservingly), is usually back in the game at this point. But Thibodeau didn’t do that. Instead he rolled with Quickley. Quickley’s defense is so good he’s never going to kill his team when he’s on the court. But still, the Knicks didn’t just need stops. They needed points.

The last shot Quickley attempted that night was a floater that he made before being subbed out. At the time, it felt important. Not just because it inched the Knicks closer to the lead, but because here was Tom Thibodeau, the ultimate control freak, looking his embattled 23-year-old in the eye and saying, “Remember, you don’t need to shoot well to play well.” Thibodeau was showing the third-year player that in spite of Quickley’s shooting struggles and the rumors floating around, he has complete faith in him.

Quickley rewarded that faith, scoring 22 on just 10 shots and bringing his typically wonderful defense. The nice thing about Quickley is that it’s rare for him to hurt you. His defense, rebounding and effort persist through shooting slumps like he’s Thomas Edison trying to figure out the light bulb. But while a high floor is nice, a ceiling continues to exist for Quickley that is completely dependent on a shooting leap. Also, he remains one of the team’s most important players, which made this game all the more meaningful. 

A rising star

Can we talk some more about Grimes? Grimes is quickly becoming one of the most valuable assets in the league. That may sound like an exaggeration, but allow me to convince you it isn’t. Trust me, it won’t take long.

Despite a slow shooting start from the perimeter – he was below 30% from 3-point range for a bit – Grimes has his TS% (true shooting percentage) up to 64%. For reference, Klay Thompson, who is considered one of the best shooters in NBA history and will undoubtedly be a Hall of Famer for his offensive prowess, has never once eclipsed 60%.

Grimes is the definition of a sniper. He has near-perfect shooting form, the kind that Knick fans everywhere are recording to show their future offspring for instructional purposes. And it’s not just the release point that is perfectly repeatable, it’s also the point in which the ball and his fingers part ways. You’ll be hard pressed to find a player with a (relatively) higher release point. Grimes renders just about any close-out moot.

Grimes also has made a playmaking leap. Leveraging the respect defenses pay his shot was always going to be important, but it wasn’t supposed to arrive this quickly. Grimes is checking just about every playmaking box attacking bent defenses. He’s setting up dunks as well as open 3-pointers. He’s finishing at the rim  – his 2-point percentage is up to 67% this season. If it ever gets to the point where the Knicks start letting him initiate against stationary defense, we could be talking about a bonafide star.

And that’s just his offense. His defense is, somehow, meaningfully better. Grimes never stops moving yet simultaneously always seems in control. It doesn’t seem like he is reacting to what’s unfolding in front of him. Rather, it feels like he is dictating the action. Per Basketball Index, Grimes has taken on the toughest defensive assignments of any individual defender in the league. He is invaluable to this team on both ends.

Add it all up, and you have someone the Knicks are +10.6 per 100 possessions with on the court. More telling, perhaps, is the fact that Grimes is the only player on the entire team whose minutes the Knicks have lost when he is on the bench.

Which is why it was so terrifying when Ty Jerome did his best Zaza Pachulia impression and stuck his foot under Grimes’ as Grimes attempted a 3-pointer. When Grimes held his ankle in pain and rolled around on the ground in pain, the world may as well have been put on pause for Knicks fans everywhere. It was terrifying.

It also served as a nice reminder to enjoy these stretches. It will always be hard to shut out the all-encompassing storylines of the team. It’s natural to focus on the bigger picture. But the Knicks, smack dab in the middle of an eight-game winning streak, were inches from having their entire season turned upside down.

So, as the Knicks turn their attention to the pesky Toronto Raptors on the second end of a back-to-back, take some time to appreciate what this team is doing right now, because who knows when it will be taken away? Andy Bernard of The Office once said, “I wish there was a way to know you’re in the good old days, before you’ve actually left them.” I’ve got news for you folks. These are the good old days, and you should enjoy them before they leave.

(Someone should write a song about that.)