Recap: Knicks 90, Pistons 84 — “Thibs is angrier up 3 in a preseason game than Fiz was down 38 in a regular-season game.”
The Knicks are back after a nine month hiatus, and that means Matthew Miranda is back recapping Friday night’s action against the Detroit Pistons. Relive the highs and lows of the Knicks’ 90-84 win.
The New York Knicks are riding a two-game winning streak, following their March overtime win in Atlanta with last night’s 90-84 victory over Detroit in their preseason opener. If my math seems kinda silly, that’s par for the course: we’re in month No. 9 of a global pandemic and people still can’t be bothered to wear a mask properly, if at all; smarmy troglodytes host anti-mask parties as middle fingers to middle-school science and basic human decency. And all the while, the fascist ex-president* clings to the last of his power and the nightmares of billions.
But I bet New York’s win felt as good to you as it did me! It was, if not a return to the old world, at least a glimmer of what was, and maybe what will be someday. And while the nine-month layoff of the league’s fourth- and sixth-youngest teams meant the product on the floor was less Louvre and more MoMA, seeing the boys in blue and orange on the court again was a win, period.
It was impossible to fully lean into the illusion of normalcy. I freaked around tip-off because I couldn’t find the game anywhere. Months ago we dropped cable ‘cuz pandemic, but I got YouTube TV for the playoffs. Last night was the first time I tried to watch MSG, but I couldn’t — maybe ‘cuz the game was on NBATV? Or ‘cuz capitalism’s the worst. I thought I was out of luck until an anonymous angel turned me on to a not-entirely-legal stream whose feed, my fiancee noted, was far cleaner and crisper than anything we’ve seen on MSG.
“Uh oh,” my 8-year-old said when she saw the Knicks were losing 5-3, either because she hasn’t seen enough basketball to know it was too early to worry or because she’s seen too many Knicks games to have faith. Then Julius Randle hit a driving lay-in, followed by a dunk, and the Knicks were back in the swing of things. Frank Ntilikina hit his first shot, a 3-pointer. Obi Toppin missed his, a straight-on three that bricked so badly it had to be nerves, then scored a few times down low and looked settled; his first quarter featured six points, three rebounds and gams from here to heaven. My daughter announced Toppin “may be [her] new baby.” As she was previously in love with Allonzo Trier and once called Cole Aldrich “handsome,” I approve of this evolution.
After a dreadful display of shooting by the starters (Elfrid Payton, Alec Burks, RJ Barrett, Randle and Nerlens Noel), the Knicks finally got rolling in the second quarter. This Obi/Kevin Knox sequence was worthy of an asterisk.
Knox looked aggressive early, which was good and bad and good. He made some nice plays, and while there were errors and failings they were the result of continued aggressive play. Tenacious Kev can mess up all he wants and learn along the way; it’s Tentative Kev that’s hard to watch. Also hard to watch: while the Knicks missed nine of their first 10 looks from deep, former Knick Wayne Ellington hit his first attempt for Detroit. Where was that last year, Wayne?
Thanks in part to an encouraging debut from Noel, New York controlled the glass and the lane, nearly doubling Detroit’s points in the paint through the first half. From the “Good thing this game doesn’t mean anything” department: Barrett, Knox and Dennis Smith combined to shoot just 4-of-18 by intermission, and while 11 Knicks got some run in the first half, one notable absentee was Immanuel Quickley. One less-notable DNP: Omari Spellman.
From the “That sounds a lot like last season, and the season before that, and the season before that” department: the Knicks entered the break up 48-47, yet were outscored by 19 on 3-pointers and free throws. That happens when you shoot just 17% from deep and 50% at the line. The Knicks offense actually looked pretty fluid — like, there were hints of intelligent design instead of waiting for the big bang to come out of literally nowhere. They and the Pistons just missed a ton of not-all-that-contested looks.
The stream I watched used the Pistons’ broadcast, so when the two teams hit three shots in a row early in the second half I ached to hear Walt Frazier undoubtedly say “End-to-end action. Finally seeing some NBA basketball now, folks.” I know some of you struggle to read what I’m about to say, so make sure you’re sitting somewhere with no sharp objects around, but... New York pushed out to a double-digit lead thanks in large part to Payton. It began with a dunk over Mason Plumlee, the other white Plumlee.
He followed that with a steal that led to another basket, then a driving lay-in, and finally found Burks ahead of the field for two. New York continued to boss the paint, which means yes, Virginia, there were one or two Mitchell Robinson highlights, including this block that led to a Barrett pull-up and a 13-point lead.
The Knicks shot 12-of-22 in the third, bridging a 24-minute hot streak that saw them make 22-of-37. The Pistons... did not. It’s a good thing they drafted a point guard in Killian Hayes, who had a few nice moments, because they’re gonna need someone on the floor to help fix that jigsaw puzzle of an offense. Jerami Grant is a good player, especially when he’s on a team like Denver and he’s the fifth option on offense. Now he’s someone making $20 million a year for a team that can’t score. Which means he’s gonna feel the pressure or entitlement to shoot more. Which is not why he’s making $20 million a year.
A 3-pointer and nice lay-up by Dennis Smith Jr. late in the third put the Knicks up 13 entering the fourth. The lead peaked at 18 after a Ntilikina jumper. In this world turned upside down, watching the Knicks protect a big lead while the Pistons staged a fake comeback was like tripping with Escher. There were reminders of what life used to be like: late in the game Randle drove into hopeless traffic, turned the ball over, and had the audacity to put his hands up as if the refs missed something. They didn’t. Would that any of our eyes had such luck.
But from the “That’s not like last season” department, the Big Apple Turnover hit a pull-up jumper in the last minute to push the lead to nine and seal the deal. Randle added a three on New York’s final possession for good measure. The Knicks held the Pistons to 84 points, which in the NBA in 2020 is like a pre-shot clock score, and they ended the game with their best scorer making shots. You must be feeling pretty good, eh, Tom Thibodeau?
Some things never change.
Notes:
Eleven points and seven rebounds in 20 minutes for Toppin. He was only credited with one assist, but there were some lovely dishes in his stints. I’m telling you: by the time he’s due for his second contract, analytics will have made hockey assists the next big thing in basketball.
On the defensive end, Toppin is... not Shawn Marion. The low point was biting hard on a half-hearted Blake Griffin pump-fake from behind the arc that led to a lay-up and-one.
I think I’m gonna like Burks. I’ve been too hurt by the likes of Ellington and Doug McDermott to blindly fall in love with shooters, but for one game he looked like a man I might actually trust, and those are not words I ever think, much less utter.
Frank’s handle looks a little tighter, yet much better, I thought. Like Knox and DSJ, there was more aggression from Ntilikina than is customary. Long live that shit.
A little more than midway through the fourth, the Knicks had a sweet defensive sequence where Ntilikina basically forced a turnover with his off-the-ball presence.
Saddiq Bey won the Julius Erving Award last year as the top small forward in men’s college basketball, which is a super cool award I did not know existed. Also Bey can ball, yo: drilling threes and pull-up jumpers on one end, then battling Randle in the post on the other and forcing a turnover. Maybe the Knicks should quit their Kentucky connection and get some of that Villanova fix.
Two former third overall picks played in this game. One made every shot he took; over his five-year career, he’s averaged 20 points per 36 minutes on 54% shooting. The other was RJ Barrett, who had a pretty B+ RJ game: rough to watch missing threes, inspiring to see hitting tougher looks closer in, and ultimately still perplexing, in large part because he continues to be stuck in lineups with little to no shooting. For those of you old enough to remember smoking sections, evaluating RJ as a Knick is like thinking your child might have asthma and putting it to the test by having them eat dinner in the smoking section of a restaurant. You’re watching someone suffocate who could be breathing much easier in a different airspace. Why? That’s not love.
Whenever a Knick scored, the Pistons P.A. announcer just called out their last name. Nothing else. At MSG you get the full name plus the updated score with every bucket. And people say New Yorkers are rude.
Pistons’ owner Tom Gores has an estimated worth of just under $6 billion. Why doesn’t he pay the Detroit dancers their salary and let them stay home? During every commercial break the Pistons’ TV feed would cut to these women dancing, alone, in an empty arena. Why make non-essential workers travel during a pandemic to dance alone in an empty arena FOR LITERALLY NO ONE??
Also, talk about how far the mighty have fallen: the Pistons used to play in Joe Louis Arena. Then, The Palace of Auburn Hills. Now it’s Little Caesar’s Arena.
Maybe this is a COVID thing, but I couldn’t hear any whistles when they blew. The only way to tell a foul happened was all the players suddenly not moving. Maybe there aren’t floor-level mics anymore? If that’s a staffed job, shouldn’t the dancers be at home like them?
Mitchell fouling Okafor 45 feet from the hoop — while Okafor’s cutting away from the basket — is why Noel is gonna end up playing more than him this year.
Toppin does that thing where dudes jump up and block dead-ball shots after the whistle, which scares me, karmically. I’m always waiting for someone to land wrong and break an ankle. Didn’t that happen once to Kevin Garnett? Someone needs to name-drop “Bill Grammatica” to Toppin.
Toppin’s threes may have even more arc on them than Knox’s. I can’t wait to see one splash in. Them shits come down from the high diving board.
DSJ was good. Maybe even more so on the defensive end. Somewhere there’s a multiverse where the future Knicks feature Smith but not Ntilikina, and the fanbase is cool with it. This could be that universe. Endure or surrender, what will be will be.
Between Noel and Robinson, the Knicks’ defensive presence at or near the rim was pretty cool. That could be a nice thing this year.
You know how there’s a scene in every slasher movie where you know a certain character just isn’t gonna make it? Watching Knox... if the Knicks ever do make it to a happy ending someday, I don’t think Knox is around for it.
Rochester’s Isaiah Stewart, Detroit’s second first-round pick, made his NBA debut. Shout out to all the upstate OGs who remember Greece Athena alum and OAKAAKUYOAK John Wallace.
Ntilikina definitely looks older, which he is. He also definitely looks hotter. Which. He. Is.
Every year I think “This is the season Kevin Knox gets a new haircut.” Every year, I’m wrong.
Quoth Ted: “Thibs is angrier about being up 3 in a preseason game than Fiz was about being down 38 in a regular-season game.” Thibs doesn’t seem like a happy dude, even in victory. Pat Riley once said “There’s winning and there’s misery.” Given all the misery around these parts, I’ll take my chances with the enemy of my enemy. The Knicks’ next game is Sunday night, again against the Pistons. What a weird, wonderful world.
