Knicks 96, Timberwolves 88: Are they dumb?
The Knicks achieved their first two-game win streak in over a month after a win over the Timberwolves, but it didn’t really feel like a cause for celebration.
A lame-gaited win last night, but an irreplaceable mark on the ledger now. So, go suck eggs. It blasted the Knicks up into the final rung of the play-in tournament ahead of the Hawks by the speckles on the shell of the eggs Atlanta has its mouth all over. Two wins a row, a half game up on the dirty birds. Obviously ‘Sota got popped and that’s what you’re after, what you do as a ball club.
The old gray mare got ya there, but she ain’t what we got used to last year. Of course, it seems maybe the nine-gamer that rang bells, wasn’t exactly calling anyone for supper. That’s especially so with the Wolves missing most of the sizzle and a lot of the steak. With essentially their starting lineup out of action (Karl-Anthony Towns, Anthony Edwards, D’Angelo Russell, Jarred Vanderbilt) the Knicks put this mangy mutt out of its misery. Only after building a 17-point lead and then deciding to stop and read the Call of the Wild and empathizing with it first.
Notes
It’s a win and no one is happy.
Public Enemy Numero Uno was Tom Thibodeau’s rotation decisions. Make no mistake, the team’s lack of togetherness has parts of unfamiliarity and a little bit of butting heads, but the head honcho is setting them up for this friction. Without sustained success, it seems there is an undercurrent of “here, let me figure it out.” Who among us deserves the controller?
Evan Fournier started off the game playing the type of basketball we all hoped we’d see from him upon hearing of the signing. He made open looks, attacked closeouts getting two feet in the paint, and sprayed an array of floaters around, helping the Knicks get a nice, bulbous lead. It seemed like Fournier finally started to understand that if he would simply move the ball with gusto, it would come back to him in rhythm.
Then he sat and got ignored when he came back in. Couldn’t regain the touch and was even inserted with about four minutes to go seemingly at random, only to be pulled after making consecutive bonehead plays on defense.
Little set up, he confused a pick up and couldn’t decide if he was supposed to follow Malik Beasley or Jaylen Nowell right before this video starts…
He confused the pick up with Kemba and didn’t know whether to stay with Beasley or Beverly. Why was he in the game? He’s not gonna run the offense as the Knicks try to kill the clock, and he’s a liability on defense. Not much of a confidence boost, I’m sure.
Also playing with fire (and desire), Obi Toppin had a nice first half, leading the team in assists despite only playing seven minutes. In the second half he made some nice plays, including a reverse layup on the baseline and a corner triple. Then Mr. Toppin made a bad foul, leading to an and-1. Next trip down the court, got stuffed into a crowded corner by Alec Burks and shuffled his feet. Slamming the ball down in disgust, not to be seen again. Three second half minutes for a kid that needs opportunities.
The Wolves played zone for large swaths of the game and Toppin’s ability to make high-low passes and swing the ball with gusto could have been a fantastic way to punish the Wolves. Instead, Randle’s indecision as the cog led to confusion all around. Multiple times the Knicks passed up good shots to force up toughies.
Nevertheless, Thibs did successfully smash the square through the circle here, always having AMBAP (As Many Bigs as Possible) on the court. New York swarmed the offensive glass. Mitchell Robinson led the way, with six offensive bounds, 15 second chances in all for the team!
I know you. You hate Mitch now, like the rest of these ne’er do wells. I think he’s very nearly in actual game shape and he’s playing with the first drips of confidence we’ve seen from him this year. Break the Charlie Ward curse with Mitch. Don’t let some lazy franchise like Charlotte scoop him up for pennies on the dollar. LaMelo to Mitch wouldn’t be fun for us.
All told, Randle played pretty well and seems to be coming out of the wooly malaise, but he still can’t buy a bucket. Shooting 5-20 is on par with some of his worst pro games. Thankfully he was a generalized positive contributor.
Now seemingly a major part of the rotation, Quentin Grimes has shimmied his way over screens and into open space. Roam free, young man.
I don’t wanna dangle this RJ carrot too far out here, but if Grimes is deserving more minutes, maybe there’s someone who is deserving less.
Kemba deserves less.
Toppin deserves more, Grimes deserves more, Quickley deserves more. We deserve more of them.
Right back down to goofy business today, the Knicks will take another brick to bludgeon the Pistons with tonight. Over on the Strickland Discord, Macks Julien wondered “are they dumb?” as the substitutions and lazy handles nearing the final buzzer did just about everything they could do to lose to this cast of extras. Can they make it three in a row? Or are they dumb?
