All too early thoughts after 5 games

Offensive issues; Quickley clearly earning a deal; Roster construction and what's up with Randle?

Image: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Despite the brick-fest laid at the Garden Wednesday night (one of the ugliest games in recent memory) splitting a double-header against Donovan Mitchell’s Cavaliers is far from a disaster. A missed opportunity? Certainly. With the Cavs severely undermanned, the Knicks should have been able to complete the sweep and put some distance between them. Especially after taking care of business on the road the night before.

Judging by how they played against New Orleans in the first back-to-back last week and now Wednesday night, it’s clear the fitness levels aren’t there as yet but I have faith that will come. It’s going to be a new challenge this year, especially with the in-season tournament just around the corner.

Nevertheless, there are some trends that are worth exploring thus far:

Positives: RJ, Quickley, and Big Mitch

Let’s start with RJ Barrett. The work he put in this offseason has paid off. He looks more alert on the defensive end and more efficient on offense. He’s picking his spots far better when attacking the lane and appears difficult to stop once he picks up a head of steam. Furthermore, his shot looks smoother, including from mid-range. He’s never been the best playmaker, dating back to college, but I do like how he’s made a concerted effort to get others involved. This is the best RJ has looked in his career to date. Averaging 21 ppg on a career-high 45% from the field, he was a big miss Wednesdsay

Clearly the best guard on the roster after 5 games, is Immanuel Quickley. His work on both ends of the court cannot be overstated. He looks like he’s playing at a different speed and intensity than everyone else. Often he’s one of the lone offensive players producing. Occasionally he tries to do too much, perhaps forcing some shots, but who can blame him with the struggles taking place all around him?

We will discuss his contract situation in future posts, but I’ve really enjoyed Quickley’s game so far.

Mitchell Robinson has single-handedly protected the paint thus far this season. He ably covers for Julius’ missed assignments on D, often has to cover for everyone else’s missed assignments too and still gets every rebound on both ends. An impressive average of 11.4 boards, 1.6 steals, and 1.6 blocks to start the year. Indeed, he had 16 rebounds Wednesday night alone. Without his doing the dirty work, especially on the offensive glass, the Knicks would be in a much worse state than they are, considering how poorly they are shooting.

Other notable mentions; Isiah Hartenstein has so far been one of the best backup men in the league. Donte DiVincenzo makes winning plays on both ends of the court off the bench. After a horrendous debut against the Celtics, he’s improved.

That’s pretty much it as far as the positives…

What’s up with Julius?

It may be that he’s still working himself back from surgery, but frankly his effort on Wednesday was unacceptable. There are a number of clips doing the rounds on X from the last game where he looks entirely disinterested. He managed 3 field goals that night, incidentally one less than the number of charges Brunson took, but Julius Randle is shooting 27% from the field to start the year. His last three games shooting is: 3-15; 5-14; 4-15. Against Boston: 5-22. Yikes!

I’m hoping it’s simply a case of powering himself back into fitness after the surgery. Certainly, these numbers are exacerbated because Jalen Brunson is also struggling. But if the Knicks are hoping to maintain a top-6 spot and make the playoffs again they will need Randle to play like the All-NBA and multiple All-Star that he is. Especially, considering the Knicks don’t have a backup forward on the roster…

Which leads us to the next issue

Leon Rose’s Roster is way undersized

What, indeed, is his plan with this roster? It is severely undersized. He traded away Randle’s backup Obi Toppin and has left his coach to fill in for him with Guards. They lack a proper-sized wing and have no backup Power Forward. This is looking like a massive misjudgment.

Looking at the Pelicans game for instance; Mitch made Jonas Valanciunas a non-factor which is a great start…but Randle was getting his lunch stolen by Zion, and there was no one to deal with Ingram’s length on the wing. Wednesday night was another example where, with Randle struggling, they needed to turn to another option that they don’t currently have. I definitely don’t understand this offseason’s plan.

Against bigger teams, the Knicks need a plan B to deal with size and to also help Thibodeau. What option does he have if things don’t go as expected? More Guards! Josh Hart, Divincenzo, Quickley, Grimes and McBride are all excellent on-ball defenders, important pieces, but it’s a lot of guards to rotate alongside Brunson and Barrett in the lineup.

Hart at times fills in as a backup 4, but it’s not the best use, despite his elite level rebounding for a guard.

Ignoring another expensive Guard without a plan Evan Fournier (who is still on this roster for whatever reason despite asking for a trade) playing the pre-season, and having no role on this team. Perhaps Leon and Thibs have forgotten he’s still there.

Offensive Issues- More terrifying than a Halloween movie.

This team can’t seem to shoot, indeed one of the worst shooting teams in the league so far. They shot 34% from the field and a ghastly 5-30 from 3 Wednesday night as a team. That’s 16%. Yes…16%.

Randle and Brunson combined to shoot 11-38, 8 of those makes coming from Brunson alone.

I can’t harp on Thibodeau too much because of the odd roster construction. Yet he has well-known failings; namely, his offensive scheme is non-existent. It’s the same slow, half-court, isolation-centric offense. Very little ball movement and few easy buckets are being produced. It very much relies upon Brunson, RJ, Randle or Quickley to create for others or for themselves. He needs to do a better job of being creative, never his forte.

Thibs can do a better job of scattering the rotations though. Josh Hart and DiVincenzo sharing the same court, for instance. Both games look too similar from the outset. Perhaps their chemistry will improve together, but that seems to be a roster construction issue rather than the players themselves, as both are fantastic 3&D role players.

Quentin Grimes; it’s time to take off the kid gloves with him. He is making almost no impact on any of the games so far as a starter. His 6 points 0.8 assists and 36% shooting are all massively unacceptable for a starting Guard in this league.

Jalen Brunson will be fine, I’m not worried about him. Perhaps he is tired from playing for Team USA over the summer. He’s getting into his patented positions but they aren’t falling as of now. I believe his scoring will come very soon. However, in the meantime, he needs to do a much better job of being a Point Guard. He isn’t creating well for others right now. His 2 assists and 5 turnovers Tuesday against the Cavs despite the win, aren’t good enough. What I love about Brunson is he’s accountable, and you know he will do whatever it takes to be the leader we need.

How to fix the offense

It’s early, we get it, no need to overreact after 5 games. 2-3 is not the end of the world. However, it is a difficult schedule and these are early concerns.

If I were Thibs, I’d look to promote Immanuel Quickley to starter and demote Grimes. We should see better ball movement and more exciting guard play playing beside Brunson. It would also likely help Brunson find better spacing on the floor since Grimes is such a non-factor.

Sure, the bench scoring will take a hit, but it’s worth exploring. Perhaps dust off Fournier to help the bench for 10 minutes or so in that situation. We know he doesn’t play D- but the man shoots extremely well from 3. It’s time for Thibs to get creative on offense. Those are my suggestions, what are yours? Hit us up with your comments.

Thanks for reading.

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Jeff Keys