- Julius Randle has been the Knicks’ top player in their 4-3 start, and he gives plenty of credit to new coach Tom Thibodeau, according to Steve Popper of Newsday. Randle said Thibodeau’s attention to detail has created a greater focus. “Thibs every day is on us,” he said. “He’s a great leader for us and given us a game plan we believe in every day and we’re coming into every game focused and locked into the game plan of what we need to do.”
Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau praised Mitchell Robinson and his confidence, expressing optimism that a rise will come for the 22-year-old center, Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News writes.
Robinson, who was drafted by the Knicks No. 36 overall in 2018, has started in all six of the team’s contests this season. Thibodeau was hesitant to name Robinson as a starter prior to the season, jumpstarting a competition between him and Nerlens Noel.
- Knicks guard RJ Barrett vowed to continue shooting despite being in a slump last week, Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News writes. Barrett turned his play around on Saturday, giving New York a 25-point performance on 8-of-15 shooting. He also finished with four threes, five rebounds and three assists in 42 minutes.
Austin Rivers was aware of the Knicks‘ recent history when he decided to join them as a free agent, but he believed the organization was moving in the right direction, writes Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News. Rivers, who is seeing regular minutes for the first time since suffering a groin strain in training camp, came off the bench to score 15 points and hit a clutch shot in Saturday’s win at Indiana.
At 28, Rivers is one of New York’s oldest players and has become a spokesman for the team. He recently wrote an online letter to fans asking for patience with the young roster and the new management group.
“They brought in all these great people, from top to bottom,” Rivers said. “From (team president Leon Rose) to (coach Tom Thibodeau) to players to trainers. Everything. Strength coach. The whole nine yards. So I just wanted to let people know to be patient. We’re working so hard. (Saturday’s) a big win but we know we have more work to do. Every time I get in the locker room, I tell guys, we got to keep building, we got to keep building. So we’re headed in the right direction.”
There’s more from New York:
- Thibodeau is getting contributions from his entire nine-man rotation and has instilled some stability in the team, using the same starting lineup in all six games, observes Marc Berman of The New York Post. The Knicks may get a boost soon from the return of Alec Burks, who has missed the past three games with a sprained ankle.
- The Knicks welcomed back rookie guard Immanuel Quickley, who played Saturday for the first time since suffering a hip pointer in the season opener, notes Greg Joyce of The New York Post. Quickley had a strong preseason, displaying an ability to drive to the rim and get to the line. “A little rust, obviously, but overall, very pleased,” Thibodeau said of Quickley’s return. “Good energy. You can see he’s clever in terms of drawing fouls, which is very important.”
- Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic offers Knicks predictions for 2021, including a trade of Julius Randle. The veteran power forward only has a $4MM guarantee on his $19.8MM contract for 2021/22, and Vorkunov expects him to be dealt to a team willing to give him an extension. The Knicks have Obi Toppin to take Randle’s place and can use the cap room in other areas. Vorkunov also believes this will be the last season in New York for Frank Ntilikina, Dennis Smith Jr. and Omari Spellman.
Knicks guard RJ Barrett is in the midst of a miserable shooting slump, Marc Berman of the New York Post notes. The No. 3 pick in the 2019 draft has made just 19 of 72 field-goal attempts since scoring 26 points in the team’s opener. He’s also missed all 21 of his 3-point tries in the last four games. However, Tom Thibodeau said this week that Barrett contributes in many ways.
“He’s doing a lot of things for us defensively, moving well without the ball. He’s getting downhill,” the Knicks coach said. “There’s a lot of room for him to grow. … Just having a wing to do things he can do, his versatility is a big asset for the team and willingness to make plays for people.”
Jarrett Allen is one of the NBA’s top rebounders and he could force Nets coach Steve Nash to consider a change in his starting lineup, writes Brian Lewis of The New York Post. Allen is only playing 22.6 minutes per night off the bench, but he’s leading the league in offensive rebounds, offensive rebound percentage, and total rebound percentage.
Nash has been using DeAndre Jordan as his starting center, but the 32-year-old hasn’t been impressive. Lewis notes that Jordan’s plus-minus rating has declined in each game this season, hitting minus-8 on Wednesday as he managed just five points and one rebound against the Hawks.
“That’s a good debate. It’s a small sample, one, and I’m not sure if plus-minus is the best barometer,” Nash said. “But that was a tough matchup for DJ. Those guys are good, dynamic rollers, (Clint) Capela, but even more so (John) Collins’ speed is exceptional getting out of the screen and it poses a unique problem.”
There’s more from New York City:
- The Nets are still adjusting to life without Spencer Dinwiddie, who may be lost for the season with a partially torn ACL, Lewis adds in a separate story. Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot replaced Dinwiddie in the starting lineup Wednesday, but that new unit had never practiced together. They wound up with a minus-10 in 13 minutes. “It’s a big loss because of (Dinwiddie’s) versatility, skill set, size, speed, defensive ability. We’ll miss him dearly,” Nash said. “We’re going to see a lot of different lineups, different combinations.”
- The Knicks should be getting a couple of injured guards back soon, according to Ian Begley of SNY.tv. Immanuel Quickley, who’s been dealing with a sore left hip, could return Saturday or Monday. Dennis Smith Jr., who has a left quad issue, will rejoin the team during its road trip but will have to work on conditioning before being cleared to practice.
- Austin Rivers, who played his first game with the Knicks Thursday night, posted an Instagram message afterward asking fans to be patient, Begley tweets. “Trust us. We’re getting better,” Rivers wrote. “We have a new great coach, all new players, really young, learning to play with each other and get chemistry right still, and we still getting all the way healthy. It’s a process but I promise we getting there step by step.”
The Raptors will sit healthy forward Pascal Siakam tonight against the Knicks in favor of Norman Powell to penalize the All-Star, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets. After Siakam fouled out with less than a minute left in Toronto’s 100-93 loss to the Sixers Tuesday, he headed to the locker room early.
- Knicks off-guard Austin Rivers is set to make his debut for New York tonight against the Raptors after recovering from a groin injury, Marc Berman of the New York Post tweets. Berman notes that Rivers said he has yet to even partake in five-on-five practices with the Knicks yet. The Knicks may have pressed him into service due to the injuries of Dennis Smith Jr. and Immanuel Quickley.
Julius Randle became the symbol of free agency disappointment for Knicks fans last season, but he has shown signs of a turnaround this year, writes Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News. Randle was among several veteran free agents brought in on short-term deals after New York missed out on its primary targets during the summer of 2019. Bondy notes that Randle has lost weight and looks like a different player so far.
“I ran pretty much every day during the offseason. Like I said, that was just a challenge for me to get in extreme condition or whatever it is,” Randle said. “That’s just what I challenged myself to do every day. Yeah, I dropped a little bit of weight but the biggest thing was just pushing myself just to run every day and just challenging myself in that way.”
New coach Tom Thibodeau said he noticed the difference in Randle when he reported for the team’s voluntary training camp in September. Thibodeau has given Randle control of the offense, and he’s averaging 24.8 points, 10.5 rebounds and 7.5 assists through the first four games.
There’s more from New York:
- The Knicks are encouraged by the progress of free agent addition Austin Rivers, who has been sidelined by a groin injury but went through he first contact drills Monday, according to Marc Berman of The New York Post. “There’s a progression to coming back,’’ Thibodeau explained. “He was doing condition without contact. Then it goes to one-on-one controlled movements. Then progressed to two-on-two. And then three-on-three. We’re on the three-on-three phase right now. It’s day-to-day on how he feels and whether we get to the next step. There’s more steps to take. He has to play five-on-five and practice with the team. He’s still a couple of steps away.’’
- Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot is making a bid for more playing time following the season-ending injury to Spencer Dinwiddie, writes Mollie Walker of The New York Post. Luwawu-Cabarrot was used as a starter Monday and responded with 21 points, six rebounds and two steals in 40 minutes. “TLC has just been really steady,” Nets head coach Steve Nash said. “Very trustworthy defensively. Knows the system. Is very attentive to his responsibilities, and he’s been shooting the ball. He’s played within himself. He’s doing very well.”
- The Nets have remained in contact with veteran guard Jamal Crawford and may consider him as a replacement for Dinwiddie, states Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports. Crawford signed with the Nets for last season’s restart, but appeared in just one game before getting injured.
A rash of backcourt injuries have allowed 6’5″ combo guard Frank Ntilikina to become the primary option at backup point guard for the Knicks, writes Marc Berman of the New York Post.
Rookie Immanuel Quickley bruised his hip in the Knicks’ season opener, Dennis Smith Jr. will be missing all of the club’s current four-game road trip due to a bruised quadriceps muscle, and veteran off-guard Austin Rivers has yet to suit up for New York as he deals with a pulled groin.
Ntilikina has been striving to improve his jump shooting during this young season. “Working [on it] is the key,” he said. “The answer to probably everything in this game is probably work and just treat it with confidence.”
There’s more out of the Empire State:
- With guard Spencer Dinwiddie likely out for the season due to a partially torn ACL, some league executives weighed in on whether or not he will pick up his $12.3MM player option with the Nets for the 2021/22 NBA season, per Michael Scotto of HoopsHype. Dinwiddie released a statement on his Instagram page, expressing his hope to beat the odds as he works to recover from this latest knee issue.
- Two-way Nets guard Chris Chiozza is currently the biggest rotational beneficiary of Dinwiddie’s absence, according to Mollie Walker of the New York Post. “You never want to see your teammate get hurt and praying for Spencer, we’re here for him, hopefully he makes a speedy return,” Chiozza said. “He’s a big part of this team. While he’s out, we take it, everybody takes it, to do a little bit more than we’ve been doing, collectively.”
- After battling health issues for much of his 2019/20 season with the Knicks, veteran swingman Reggie Bullock has managed to contribute on both sides of the court to the injury-depleted club this year, according to Steve Popper of Newsday. “Well, his defense has been terrific,” head coach Tom Thibodeau said. “So just watching him move on the court he’s obviously not laboring like he did last year. I think health is the big thing and he’s been a good pro wherever he’s been.” Bullock just poured in 17 points in almost 41 minutes to help the Knicks beat the Cavaliers tonight, 95-86. He connected on five of his nine three-point attempts.
The Bucks’ G League affiliate, the Wisconsin Herd, plans to opt out of the proposed G League bubble season in Atlanta, JD Shaw of Hoops Rumors tweets. They’ll be the 10th NBA franchise to pass on the bubble event. For a list of teams expected to participate, follow this link.
We have more from around the basketball world:
- Former NBA guard Baron Davis and rapper Percy “Master P” Miller are in negotiations to acquire Reebok, Eric Woodyard of ESPN tweets. According to Forbes, Reebok’s asking price from its parent company Adidas is around $2.4 billion. Master P says they’re “prepared financially” after a couple months of negotiations, Woodard adds.
- Big man Donta Hall is joining the G League Ignite as one of its veteran players, Marc Stein of the New York Times tweets. The Ignite includes top prospects for next year’s draft who decided against playing in college this season. Hall spent most of last season with the Pistons’ G League team in Grand Rapids. Hall also saw action in four games with Detroit and five games as a substitute player for the Nets during the restart.
- Who were the worst teams in NBA history to pay the luxury tax? Bryan Kalbrosky of Hoops Hype takes a deep dive into that subject. Not surprisingly, the Knicks snagged three of top six spots on the list.
- Knicks guard Dennis Smith Jr., who has appeared in just one of the team’s three games so far, will remain in New York to continue rehabbing his left quad contusion, per the club (Twitter link). The hope is that Smith rejoins the Knicks at some point during their four-game road trip, which begins on Tuesday in Cleveland and runs through next Monday in Atlanta.