Mitchell Robinson Archives - Knicks.City https://www.knicks.city/tag/mitchell-robinson/ We All Live in Knicks City Thu, 17 Oct 2019 16:48:38 +0000 en hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9 https://www.knicks.city/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/cropped-knickscity-32x32.jpeg Mitchell Robinson Archives - Knicks.City https://www.knicks.city/tag/mitchell-robinson/ 32 32 Stinking Up Fan Appreciation Day — April 10, 2019: Detroit 115 NY 89 https://www.knicks.city/2018/stinking-up-fan-appreciation-day-april-10-2019-detroit-115-ny-89/ https://www.knicks.city/2018/stinking-up-fan-appreciation-day-april-10-2019-detroit-115-ny-89/#respond Thu, 11 Apr 2019 16:44:19 +0000 https://www.knicks.city/?p=907 The Knicks ended the season with a MASSIVE THUD, losing by 40 most of night to Detroit at the Garden — a game where the Knicks vowed to give Detroit a fight since they needed [...]

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]]> The Knicks ended the season with a MASSIVE THUD, losing by 40 most of night to Detroit at the Garden — a game where the Knicks vowed to give Detroit a fight since they needed to win to get into the playoffs, and Charlotte was looking on rooting for the Knicks. And just like that one started questioning coach David Fizdale again.

Charlotte was Rooting for the Knicks

The night before, Dennis Smith Jr, when asked about the Detroit game, said “We’re going to keep their ass out”. But before the game it was announced Smith Jr would not be playing due to his bad back.

Before the game, the Charlotte Hornets posted this on twitter:

It was also reported that Hornets coach James Borrego played for and coached with Knicks coach David Fizdale at the University of San Diego, so Fizdale would make sure his Knicks tried to beat Detroit.

So with that incentive, it was surprising to see the Knicks show no fight whatsoever and get blown off the court on Fan Appreciation night at Madison Square Garden. They played no team defense and didn’t look like much of a team at all.

The Highlights

Mitchell Robinson was a “Skinny Shaq” slam-dunk highlight show in the first half. It was alley oop slam after alley oop slam. He finished with 11 pts on 5-6 shooting (all slams) but only played 23 minutes due to 4 fouls — and didn’t block a shot, ending his consecutive game 2-blocks-or-more streak.

On the other end of the court, Andre Drummond powered his way to 20 points on 10-15 and 18 rebounds. DeAndre Jordan did not suit up for the game so couldn’t come in to help. Guess Fizdale wasn’t THAT intent on beating Detroit.

Luke Kornet couldn’t stop Drummond — he had 6 points (on 2-9 shooting) and 2 rebounds in 28 minutes. The Knicks left the job mostly to Isaiah Hicks (11 points) and Henry Ellenson (12 pts). If I were Charlotte I’d be like WTF?

John Jenkins played well — 16 points on 6-9. He’s a SHOOTER. Some believe the Knicks signed him to a one year contract to act as contract fodder in a coming deal for Anthony Davis (where Knicks need to accumulate salaries to send to Memphis to match Davis’ salary). Kadeem Allen (13 pts on 3-10) was brought in to lead the offense in the second half — he had a decent game — very aggressive and penetrating as usual. Billy Garrett Jr played ok.

The Low Lights

Mario Hezonja lost his slippers. He started at point and was horrible — 21 minutes, 0 points (0-3), 6 turnovers and a -21. Kevin Knox shot poorly — 3-12 (o-6 from 3) for 9 points with 7 rebounds. Damyean Dotson with another poor shooting game (2-8).

Lance Thomas suited but didn’t play — again — did Fizdale really care about this game?

Allonzo Trier, Emmanuel Mudiay, Frank Ntilikina, Noah Vonleh continued to be injured.

For Detroit

Detroit is in the playoffs with the win. Besides Drummond’s heroics, Reggie Jackson looked quick and fast and hit his jumper; Knick reject Langston Galloway played 32 important minutes and looked good; Jose Calderon played too. Detroit emptied their bench to get everyone playing time as they prepare for the playoffs — as this game was over in the 2nd quarter: Bruce Brown,Ā Zaza Pachulia, Thon Maker, Jon Leuer, Ish Smith, Glenn Robinson III, Luke Kennard, and Khyri ThomasĀ all got minutes.

The Boxscore

http://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=401071896

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]]> https://www.knicks.city/2018/stinking-up-fan-appreciation-day-april-10-2019-detroit-115-ny-89/feed/ 0 Wins Coming Easy Now — April 9, 2019: NY 96 Chicago 86 https://www.knicks.city/2018/wins-coming-easy-now-april-9-2019-ny-96-chicago-86/ https://www.knicks.city/2018/wins-coming-easy-now-april-9-2019-ny-96-chicago-86/#respond Wed, 10 Apr 2019 19:42:51 +0000 https://www.knicks.city/?p=903 The wins are coming easy now. Two in a row. After V-KC day Sunday night (Victory in Knick City) — where Knicks lost to guarantee themselves sole possession of last place and no worse than [...]

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]]> The wins are coming easy now. Two in a row. After V-KC day Sunday night (Victory in Knick City) — where Knicks lost to guarantee themselves sole possession of last place and no worse than 5th pick in this June’s draft — the lights are ALL GREEN for Knicks to win, win, win.

And win they have.

The Game

This one, in Chicago against a “who’s that?” team fielded to audition for next season — was a solid win. There was no incentive for Chicago to lose this game — as they are in 4th worst spot — with no chance to move to the 3 spot (3 games back of Cleveland with 2 to play) or fall back to the 5 spot (7 games ahead of 5th place Atlanta).

So it was a legitimate win for the Knicks, who put on a SHOW early and jumped out to a huge 20+ point lead in the first quarter. They led start to finish (although Chicago pulled back to within single digits early in the 4th).

Smith on Display

Oddly Mario Hezonja — superstar point guard of the previous two games — was ‘sick’ and didn’t play. That left 34 minutes of point guard play for Dennis Smith Jr. Knicks management have got to be trying to make a decision on him in one way or another. Rumor has it Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving have already made a pact to sign with the Knicks; the only unfinished business is who signs first. So that means Dennis Smith Jr will be the backup or trade bait for Anthony Davis? And of course the Knicks’ position in the draft will affect things, with a couple of top-notch point guards available at the #2 or #3 slot. We’ll see.

Knicks Two-Headed Monster Dominates

The Knicks started their two-headed monster and it dominated again — Mitchell Robinson (3-6, 8 pts, 17 rebounds, 3 blocks) and Luke Kornet (5-14, 12 pts, 13 rebounds, 4 assists, 6 blocks).

Kevin Knox (5-16, 4-8 from 3, 17 pts, 10 rebounds) rounded out the big front line and Dennis Smith Jr (10-23, 25 pts, 5 assists) orchestrated. Smith looked GREAT orchestrating. He looked like a good NBA point guard.

Damyean Dotson (5-10, 12 pts) rounded out the starting five and coach Fizdale played reserves Henry Ellenson, Billy Garrett Jr, Isaiah Hicks, and John Jenkins.

Chicago started Robin Lopez, Shaquille Harrison (looked very quick with an ability to cut thru defenses and finish at the rim in a variety of ways), and the unknowns — Ryan Arcidiacono, Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot,Ā and Wayne Seldon Jr.

The Boxscore

http://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=401071886

Crazy Night

This was a Crazy night in sports — the Knicks win completely overshadowed by other happenings in NY and in the NBA.

  • The Yankees ballpen blew a 3-2 lead and lost in Houston,
  • Jacob DeGrom got BLASTED in his start with the Mets,
  • Ian Begley quit ESPN for SNY,
  • Chris Mullin quit St Johns as head coach, and then
  • Earvin Magic Johnson said ‘hold my beer’, announcing he was quiting the Lakers in an impromptu press conference, without having told owner Jennie Buss yet.

This lit Twitter afire, with tweets such as these:

And a good counter point!

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]]> https://www.knicks.city/2018/wins-coming-easy-now-april-9-2019-ny-96-chicago-86/feed/ 0 Tank Over — Like V-E Day — Knicks WIN! ā€” April 7, 2019: NY 113 Washington 110 https://www.knicks.city/2018/tank-over-like-v-e-day-knicks-win-april-7-2019-ny-113-washington-110/ https://www.knicks.city/2018/tank-over-like-v-e-day-knicks-win-april-7-2019-ny-113-washington-110/#respond Tue, 09 Apr 2019 12:46:20 +0000 https://www.knicks.city/?p=897 Like Liberation. Like V-E day (Victory in Europe) for a Knicks fan. When the Knicks clinched sole possession of dead last — guaranteeing themselves no worse than the 5th pick this June — the Universe [...]

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]]> Like Liberation. Like V-E day (Victory in Europe) for a Knicks fan. When the Knicks clinched sole possession of dead last — guaranteeing themselves no worse than the 5th pick this June — the Universe changed for Knicks fans. NO MORE TANK. The Knicks were unbridled to WIN basketball games again.

And so they did.

Most curious thing is why Washington put up such a fight — entering the game in a 4-way tie for the 6th worst record in the league.

Hezonja was Rocking the Point

Mario Hezonja, playing the starting point guard position for second straight game — was electrofying and all over the place and led the Knicks to the win. Mario said after the game that point guard was his natural position growing up and in Europe — leading Knick fans like @MaishaNaUpendo on twitter to ask Ā “Knicks point guard of the future was here all along. The question is though, wasn’t #MarioHezonja always suppose to play point forward for us? Why did this take so long to do?”

or as @_Ck2K put it:

Hezonja finished with 12-21 30 pts, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals. He was hitting 3’s, driving to the basket, and finding teammates.

Mitchell Robinson was the benefit of some of Hezonja’s passes:

The Garden Was Rocking

The other takeaway from this game was the Garden — which was Rocking like a Playoff game on a Sunday night, almost last game of season for the team with worst record in the league! As @KnicksJets4Life put it, “ou know you have the best fans in the world when you clinched the worst record in theĀ #NBA and the crowd is still cheering for you like it’s Game 7 of the #NBAĀ finals.”

As Stefan Bondy of NY Daily News put it, “Knicks are 15-66, playing the Wizards, and these fans at MSG are life-and-death with every play. Crazy.”

The Comeback

The Knicks actually entered the 4th trailing by 10 points, but Hezonja and Dennis Smith Jr. led the comeback. Smith playing with a bad back that was noticeable — gamed it out.

Hezonja explained it all:

Haarlow later added: “Dennis Smith Jr told me his back is just as sore as before but heā€™s playing ā€˜bc itā€™s too hard to sit back & watchā€™ when he could be helping. These games donā€™t mean anything, yet heā€™s sacrificing his body for the team. Thatā€™s all you need to know about his character.”

Robinson & Knox

Mitchell Robinson with another fine game 11 pts (on 4-5 shooting) 11 rebounds, and 3 blocks, extending his at-least-2-blocks-per-game streak. He started off the game with this one:

And Kevin Knox looked good again — 16 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists — although his final boxscore shooting didn’t seem it (5-14 on 1-7 from 3).

Other Knicks

Luke Kornet played another strong game — starting with Robinson and Knox. Kornet had 17 pts (6-11 shooting, 4-8 from 3) and plays really well with Robinson — as Kornet stretches the floor on offense.

Damyean Dotson played well (6 pts on 2-8 but 2-3 from 3, 3 rebounds 5 assists), as did John Jenkins (8 pts on 3-5) and Henry Ellenson (10 pts on 3-4). Lance Thomas, DeAndre Jordan, Billy Garrett Jr, and Isiah Hicks suited but did not play. Frank Ntilikina, Allonzo Trier, Emmanuel Mudiay, and Noah Vonleh continued to be injured.

For the Wizards

For the Wizards, Jeff Green led all scorers with 19, Bradley Beal played 23 minutes and had 13 points, Bobby Portis had 11, Troy Brown Jr had 13 pts, and Thomas Brown their young center had 17 points.

The Boxscore

http://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=401071877

Past Game Post Game

During the game this surfaced on Twitter — Mark Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy as analysts of the nationally televised game talking about the previous Knicks-Houston game and Houston starters leaving the bench to go to the lockerroom before the game was over.

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]]> https://www.knicks.city/2018/tank-over-like-v-e-day-knicks-win-april-7-2019-ny-113-washington-110/feed/ 0 More Insults! — April 5, 2019: Houston 120 NY 96 https://www.knicks.city/2018/more-insults-april-5-2019-houston-120-ny-96/ https://www.knicks.city/2018/more-insults-april-5-2019-houston-120-ny-96/#respond Sat, 06 Apr 2019 19:36:19 +0000 https://www.knicks.city/?p=888 This was a lackluster blowout game almost from the beginning. And then — in the 4th — it turned into a consequential game as Houston’s starters left the bench before the game was over to [...]

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]]> This was a lackluster blowout game almost from the beginning. And then — in the 4th — it turned into a consequential game as Houston’s starters left the bench before the game was over to go work out in the weight room!

According to Houston Chronicle writer Jenny Dial Creech, “they didnā€™t leave and like go home… they went to get treatment and lift instead of sitting cold on the bench during a crucial time in the season.” Also, quietly, Houston coach Mike D’Antoni wasn’t even there as he was out ‘sick’ for the game.

Disrespect & a Twitter War Between NY & Houston Analysts

After Walt Frazier had pointed it out during the game, Knicks analysts Bill Pidto and Alan Hahn pointed it out after the game:

This caused a war between Knick analyst Alan Hahn and Houston analyst Adam Clanton.

It might (and should?) give the Knicks players ammunition for revenge the next time they play Houston. Or not — maybe the Knicks will continue to be an embarrassment and disrespected by everyone forevermore. Last week it was another star (Dwayne Wade) getting lauded and then killing the Knicks at the Garden in his final game there. The Knicks have spent 18 years being continually disrespected. The players change — many of these Knicks won’t even be here next year. So who’s to say any Knick will remember.

Remember

The question is — which of these Knick players will still be here next year to remember it?

Knicks Clinch Dead Last

The Knicks went in perched on clinching dead last — 2.5 ahead of Phoenix with 4 left. A loss and they’d clinch a tie. As it turned out, the Knicks lost and Phoenix won so Knicks clinched sole possession of dead last and guarantee themselves no worse than the 5th pick in the draft.

This means — there are 3 games left and the Knicks can try to win them all. The Tank is OVER.

The Game

Mitchell Robinson (5-6 shooting, 12 pts, 9 rebounds, 3 blocks) shone out early, blocking or altering several James Harden drives to the basket, or causing him to effect his play. On one possession, Robinson blocked Harden’s layup sending it out of bounds, then Houston inbounded, and Harden through a pass through the lane out of bounds. But soon Houston started to build a big lead.

Hezonja

Before the game it was announced Emmanuel Mudiay was injured and wouldn’t play. So that meant all the Knick point guards (Mudiay, Dennis Smith Jr, Frank Ntilikina, and Trier) were out. Mario Hezonja would be the starting point guard, going up against Harden and Chris Paul. We were in for an eventful evening.

Hezonja simply laid down another fantastic game — a triple double — 16 pts, 15 rebounds, and 16 assists. LIKE WHAT THE HEY??? WHY DIDN’T HE DO THIS ALL YEAR???

Knox

Kevin Knox had a so-so game, 5-14 for 13 points and he got stripped of the ball once when he wasn’t looking.

Dotson

Damyean Dotson with another horrible shooting game — boy is he streaky. In this game, 3-14 (1-8 from 3).

The Reserves

The Knicks were down by about 40 in the 3rd and 4th, then with a 4th quarter run against Houston’s reserves pulled to within 20+ points. Henry Ellenson played really well (16 pts) and you wondered why he didn’t play more this year. Billy Garrett Jr was on the court as was John Jenkins,

And then the Houston starters — Clint Capela, Harden, Paul, PJ Tucker, and Eric Gordon — left for the weight room.

Next Year

After the game, coach David Fizdale admitted that with the Knicks moving towards not being in the playoffs most of the year (aka the Tank), he was essentially allowing players to build their career for next year — and their next team. On Mudiay, he said “I think about these guysā€™ careers from the standpoint of, weā€™re not going to the playoffs, this kid has now established himself and put himself in position to have an offseason where multiple teams are going to want to talk to him.” That’s why Fizdale is a Player’s Coach. But next year — if the Knicks land Durant and someone else — Fizdale had better be above .500 by end of December. This is the last year he’ll be allowed by Knick fans to build players’ careers for their next team.

Also after the game, Fizdale explained that when he promised a Winning Culture, what people didn’t understand is that it meant LOSE LOSE LOSE Losing first.

The Boxscore

http://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=401071857

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]]> https://www.knicks.city/2018/more-insults-april-5-2019-houston-120-ny-96/feed/ 0 A Good Loss — April 3, 2019: Orlando 114 NY 100 https://www.knicks.city/2018/a-good-loss-april-3-2019-orlando-114-ny-100/ https://www.knicks.city/2018/a-good-loss-april-3-2019-orlando-114-ny-100/#respond Thu, 04 Apr 2019 16:26:59 +0000 https://www.knicks.city/?p=873 This was “a good loss”. For a while there it looked like the Knicks would win this one. We are getting to that time of year when the Knicks win 3 of their last 6 [...]

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]]> This was “a good loss”. For a while there it looked like the Knicks would win this one. We are getting to that time of year when the Knicks win 3 of their last 6 or so games to screw up their lottery odds. But saner heads and Terrence Ross prevailed, and the Knicks remain 2.5 ahead of Phoenix (and 4 ahead of Cleveland) for the top lottery spot with 4 games left.

What Last Place Means

What Top Lottery Spot means is that the Knicks do not walk into the lottery with a 20 percent chance of the #6 pick, and a 33% chance of the #6 or #7 pick. They are guaranteed no lower than the #5 pick. It’s not much, but it’s all we’ve got. And in what some are calling ‘not a deep draft’ that could be significant. Remember Stephen Curry (whom the Knicks wanted but Golden State took with the #7 pick while Knicks had #8 pick) or Russell Westbrook (whom the Knicks wanted but Oklahoma took with the #4 pick while Knicks had the #6 pick).

The Game

Knicks jumped out to an early 24-16 lead in this one, before Orlando came back and tied the game in the 1st quarter and took a commanding lead by end of the second quarter on the play of Aaron Gordon, Evan Fournier, andĀ Michael Carter-Williams (23 points with 5-10 from 3) especially. Orlando was up 58-45 at the half. But the Knicks hung tough and pulled to within 2 points near the end of the 3rd quarter, based on the terrific night that Mario Hezonja was having. Plus Kevin Knox.

EnterĀ Terrence Ross, who came off the bench to hit 3 straight 3’s in the final minute of the 3rd quarter to put Orlando back up by 11. Knicks hung around a little bit, pulling to within 7 early in the 4th — creating ojeda for Knick fans watching who DID NOT WANT A WIN. But again, saner head prevailed; that was as close as the Knicks got.

The Players

At this point in the season, what matters to Knicks fans is not winning but how well the players are doing. The key players that could shape the Knicks future. In other words, Kevin Knox. We already know:

  • Mitchell Robinson is an “untouchable” and possible future superstar. And
  • Allonzo Trier looks real good too, but he’s injured.
  • Dennis Smith Jr is also injured, as is
  • Noah Vonleh, who will receive votes for ‘most improved player’ (although he is far from the winning candidate).
  • Emmanuel Mudiay (another ‘most improved’ vote getter) is going to be a free agent and he’s a nice guard who attacks attacks attacks but makes mistakes, is poor on defense, and doesn’t look like the Knicks future point guard.
  • Luke Kornet is etching a bench role for himself into the future.
  • Hezonja is probably gone unless he signs for a minimal salary if Knicks get two max free agents (aka Kevin Durant and someone else probably Kyrie Irving).
  • DeAndre Jordan may be back since he is going to be 31, and is wonderful for the lockerroom. It would depend on if he is content on being a reserve to Mitchell Robinson and signing for the $5 million stretch. He’s already made over $100 million in his career so might be open to that.

That leaves Knox.

Knicks’ Knox

And Knox looked Great last night. He is the Knicks best 3-pt shooter — it is one of his key strengths — ability to shoot off the pass with no hesitation with a beautiful high-arcing, and accurate 3-pt shot. And if he’s not shooting the 3, he’s attacking the basket. He’s a legit 6’10 maybe 6’11 and growing. He’s 19. He has to improve his handle and finishes at the rim, and his defense. Last night his drives were strong and accurate. He looked good.

Hezonja’s Day in the Sun

Mario Hezonja had a terrific game. Before the game, it was reported that the Knicks Coach David Fizdale was going to ‘keep a promise’ to start him in his former home Orlando. Hezonja tweeted before the game that “I still have a lot of messages, a lot of texts on my Twitter feed full of Magic fans. So I want to thank them for everything for their support. Now that Iā€™m on another team, theyā€™re still supporting me. It means a lot to me.ā€

Hezonja lit the place up — 11-22 for 29 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 steals in 34 minutes. He was everywhere.

Which begs the question — why didn’t he do this all year???

Robinson vs Vucevic

Mitchell Robinson had a nice game — 6-9 for 12 points, 9 rebounds, 3 steals, and 2 blocks (one credited after the game when they switched a steal to a block) in 34 minutes. But he had trouble withĀ Nikola Vucevic who pounded him inside for 29 points onĀ 11-21 shooting, 13 rebounds and 3 assists in 33 minutes. Often Vucevic got inside position on Robinson; some of this a consequence of Robinson being so active on defense — patrolling the paint out to the 3-pt line; some of it because Vucevic is wiley. Going into the future this will be something Robinson will need to figure out — there is always a tradeoff, and in this case blocks of 3-pt shots create openings inside; and Robinson’s height-weight ratio which enables him to be so athletic, also allows him to be pushed a bit inside (although he is quite good at holding his position). If Robinson gains muscle weight, he might lose some of the athletic-ness. We’ll see.

Other Knicks

This wasĀ Billy Garrett Jr’s first game as a Knick. He had 4 pts. Unlike the previous game where only 8 Knicks played, Fizdale emptied the bench in this one.Ā Henry Ellenson, Luke Kornett, Lance Thomas, and John Jenkins all got minutes off the bench. Damyean Dotson started and had 7 pts (1-4 from 3 where he is streaky). Frank Ntilikina, Allonzo Trier, Dennis Smith Jr, and Noah Vonleh continued to be injured.

For Orlando

Besides Aaron Gordon, Evan Fournier, Michael Carter-Williams and Terrence Ross, Orlando was helped by. Jonathan Isaac, DJ Augustin, Wes Iwundu, and Khem Birch. With the win, Orlando is 39-40, tied with Brooklyn for the 7th spot in the playoff race, with the top 8 making it. Good for them.

The Boxscore:

http://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=401071839

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]]> https://www.knicks.city/2018/a-good-loss-april-3-2019-orlando-114-ny-100/feed/ 0 April Fool an Upcoming Superstar — April 1, 2019: Knicks 113 Chicago 105 https://www.knicks.city/2018/april-fool-an-upcoming-superstar-april-1-2019-knicks-113-chicago-105/ https://www.knicks.city/2018/april-fool-an-upcoming-superstar-april-1-2019-knicks-113-chicago-105/#respond Wed, 03 Apr 2019 12:39:27 +0000 https://www.knicks.city/?p=864 April Fools to the teams that let birthday boy Mitchell Robinson slip to the second round! Robinson was born on April 1st so today was his 21st birthday. And the Knicks won — beating Chicago [...]

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]]> April Fools to the teams that let birthday boy Mitchell Robinson slip to the second round! Robinson was born on April 1st so today was his 21st birthday. And the Knicks won — beating Chicago easily 113-105. Robinson had another impressive game. His line:Ā 4-4 (6-8 frree throws) 14 pts, 10 rebounds, 3 blocks 4 assists.Ā Phoenix also won, so even with the win, the Knicks maintained a 2.5 game lead w 5 left. A happy day all around.

The Game

Chicago laid down early, and the Knicks jumped out to a massive 48-24 lead. Damyean Dotson was hitting his 3’s (he was 6-7 from 3 for the night;Ā he had been 3-26 from 3 his last several games). Robinson and Luke Kornet were playing a two-headed monster inside game — blocking shots and scoring — Robinson inside; Kornet outside with the 3’s.Ā Kornet’s line: 8-11 (5-7 from 3) for 24 pts.Ā At one point he lit the Garden up with a penetration in the lane for a SLAM.

Kornet is quietly cutting a good notch of a role with the Knicks for the future. He has been showing well with extended playing time. His footwork is slow but he gets to the right spot defensively, and he’s 7’1 and adept at blocking shots and not fouling.

Robinson continued to block 3-pt shots AND snare the blocked shot, igniting breaks. He is also hitting his free throws.

Kevin Knox, the other guy on the Knicks’ big front line, had a decent night:Ā 6-15 for 19 pts, and 9 rebounds. He continued to hit that pretty, high-arcing, accurate 3 of his.

Despite all of that,Ā the game had the feel of a Summer League game. MSG should have given everyone a free hot dog.

The Knicks were having fun. After all they were up the whole game and it was Mitchell Robinson‘s birthday.

The Rest of the Knicks

  • Emmanuel Mudiay had a Horrible game — coughing the ball up repeatedly. He finished 7-21 (2-7 from 3) for 17 points (5 reb, 4 assists) in 36 minutes.
  • Lance Thomas played 32 minutes (3-6 for 6 pts),
  • Kadeem Allen played 9 minutes and had 7 points, and
  • John Jenkins played 20 minutes, and had 8 points.

That was it — Knicks only played 8 players.Ā It seems coach David Fizdale would rather play someone a good number of minutes, or not play him at all at this point in the season — to do a nice thing for the player’s statistics.Ā Ā Henry Ellenson, Mario Hezonja, and DeAndre Jordan did not play. Allonzo Trier, Frank Ntilikina, Noah VonlehĀ and Dennis Smith Jr continued to be injured.

The Bulls

The Bulls played 11 players. Robin Lopez had a beast game — 12-18 for 29 points. Chicago other starters were a team of reserves as Chicago goes for the tank:Ā Shaquille Harrison, Walt Lemon Jr, Wayne Selden, and Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot.

Ewing’s April Fools Joke

Reporter Mike Wise (@MikeWiseguy) told this story on Twitter: “True story: Cavs cheerleader came up to me during ā€˜96 Knicks game. Said, ā€œAre you Mike Wise from The NY Times? OMG, I read everything you write.ā€ I went to talk to her after game and she blew me off. I walked into locker room. Patrick Ewing looked up and smiled: ā€œApril Fools.ā€”

Birthday Boy

After the game, there was this:

Upcoming

After this game, the Knicks finish the season against:

  • @ Orlando — in playoff race
  • @ Houston — in playoff race
  • vs Washington — looking to lose
  • @ Chicago — looking to lose
  • vs Detroit — in playoff race

The Boxscore:

http://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=401071828

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]]> https://www.knicks.city/2018/april-fool-an-upcoming-superstar-april-1-2019-knicks-113-chicago-105/feed/ 0 The Insults Keep Coming; March 30, 2019: Miami 100 Knicks 92 https://www.knicks.city/2018/the-insults-keep-coming-march-30-2019-miami-100-knicks-92/ https://www.knicks.city/2018/the-insults-keep-coming-march-30-2019-miami-100-knicks-92/#respond Sun, 31 Mar 2019 16:00:45 +0000 https://www.knicks.city/?p=854 Dwayne Wade’s last game at the Garden. And so he was honored and he had a great 4th quarter to beat the Knicks in their own building. For 18 years now the story has been [...]

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]]> Dwayne Wade’s last game at the Garden. And so he was honored and he had a great 4th quarter to beat the Knicks in their own building. For 18 years now the story has been the same — Knicks lose at home and are embarrassed by some other team’s player doing something special.

The Garden was even loaded with Miami fans who cheered Wade — and Knick fans also, who had ‘nothing better to do since the Knicks were doing nothing’ said one fan on twitter.

It makes you long for Isiah Thomas the coach — and he was a mediocre coach (good GM) — who made sure Knicks players fought back on the court, instructing players to take another guy out after an injustice, and was lambasted by local media (and then the fans) for doing so.

At least Mitchell Robinson blocked Dwayne Wade three (3) times. He is our hope for the future.

The Pursuit of Last Place

Other than that — it was more of the same. Another loss. Knicks trailed throughout. There are 6 games left and Knicks are 2.5 ahead of Phoenix for worst record. And they lost to Phoenix both times this year so if it’s tied, Knicks should get the top lottery probability position. That’s like having a 3.5 game lead with 6 games left. If they clinch last place will they try to win their remaining games?

The Knicks Twin-Headed Monster

Mitchell Robinson started. That was a main story for the Knicks. The subhead: Luke Kornet also started.

  • Robinson’s line: 37 minutes, 4-4 (1-2 free throws) 9 pts, 14 rebounds, 4 blocks, and 3 steals. Fantastic and fun to watch as usual.
  • The other underlying story: Luke Kornet’s line:Ā 5-14 (5-13 from 3) 17 pts, 8 rebounds, 3 blocks, 3 steals, 3 assists in 36 minutes. And Kornet also played pretty good defense.

The Other Important Story Lines

Another main story line:Ā Kevin Knox started out on fire — hitting 3’s and attacking the rim. He finished 7-16 (2-8 from 3) 16 pts, 1 rebound in 40 minutes. Played well but has to work on the rebounds and the defense still.

Emmanuel Mudiay drove the Knicks offense 6-12 (10-12 free throws) 24 pts, 4 assists. As usual, he got his fair share of criticism by some Knicks fans on twitter for his defense and penchant for looking for his shot first and passing second.

Another underlying story line —Ā Damyean Dotson was horrible again: 0-8 (0-6 from 3, 2-2 free throws) 2 pts in 24 minutes and mediocre defense. We were reminded — in fact it was THRUST IN OUR FACE — that Dotson is not Dwyane Wade.

Dennis Smith Jr had a nice full-court drive and SLAM and played fairly well 6-14 12 pts in 18 min, 1 assist.

Coach Fizdale said Mudiay was the best passer on the team before the trade for Dennis Smith Jr. Smith looks like a better passer to us.

The Other Knicks

Kadeem Allen (2-6, 8 pts) andĀ Lance Thomas (1-3, 4 pts) rounded out the team.Ā Henry Ellenson, Mario Hezonja, DeAndre Jordan, and John Jenkins did not play coach’s decision. Allonzo Trier, Frank Ntilikina, and Noah Vonleh continued to be injured.

For Miami

Dion Waiters (11-23, 6-16 from 3, 28 pts),Ā Kelly Olynyk (12 pts 11 rebounds),Ā Goran Dragic (10 pts 10 assists),Ā Dwyane Wade (6-16 16 pts 7 rebounds), andĀ Hassan Whiteside (7-10 for 17 pts 13 rebounds 1 block) carried Miami. Mitchell Robinson blocked a Whiteside interior shot at one point.Ā Bam Adebayo had 8 pts.

The Boxscore:

http://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=401071814

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]]> https://www.knicks.city/2018/the-insults-keep-coming-march-30-2019-miami-100-knicks-92/feed/ 0 Mitchell Robinson BEAST Game — March 28, 2019: Toronto 117 Knicks 92 https://www.knicks.city/2018/mitchell-robinson-beast-game-march-28-2019-toronto-117-knicks-92/ https://www.knicks.city/2018/mitchell-robinson-beast-game-march-28-2019-toronto-117-knicks-92/#respond Sat, 30 Mar 2019 16:44:34 +0000 https://www.knicks.city/?p=843 Mitchell Robinson made some Knick fans fall off their chair in Game 3 of the 4-game Summer League last July. He blew up that game and shone out as Special. He was at least the [...]

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]]> Mitchell Robinson made some Knick fans fall off their chair in Game 3 of the 4-game Summer League last July. He blew up that game and shone out as Special. He was at least the next Marcus Camby, and if he learned a postup — sky was limit.

Skinny Shaq

Out of training camp we learned the Knicks players had knicknamed him “Skinny Shaq” according to Trey Burke, because he impressed in camp and everything he did was a slam dunk and shot block.

As the season started, the shot blocks and slam dunks came but his rebounding wasn’t great, and there was the worry about his free throw shooting. But as this season has progressed, Robinson has been improving by leaps and bounds — in the last few months, his rebounding has become terrific — pulling the ball down in traffic, and his free throw shooting has improved dramatically.

We now wait for the post-up move and the 3-pt shot.

The Game That Announced Robinson?

As this season has progressed, more and more NBA fans are learning about Robinson. If there was a game where Robinson was “announced” this may have been it. Robinson’s line: 8-12 for 19 points and 21 rebounds, 2 blocks in 31 minutes — he missed a backwards layup at the buzzer that would have given him 20-20.

The rest of the Knicks — not so good.

“Glorified G-League Team”

After this game, it came out that coach David Fizdale had referred to these Knicks as a “glorified G-league team”. This was the most disappointing quote of the season from him. It means everything he’s said to this point this year was BS. And he’s pointing the finger of blame at the players for the Knicks horrible record. Two months ago, DeAndre Jordan and Dennis Smith Jr were considered key players on a playoff-bound Dallas Mavericks team. Now they are part of a team that has little talent?

Toronto beat the Knicks without Kawhi Leonard. Pascal Siakam ran the Knicks off the court — 11-19 for 31 pts. Kyle Lowry looked slow like he was still recovering from recent ankle injury — 3-10 for 7 points.Ā Marc Gasol didn’t do much (0-4 2 pts).

Toronto essentially blew outĀ the Knicks with Siakam,Ā Jeremy Lin, Serge Ibaka, Fred VanVleet, and Danny Green. Knicks have as much talent as that. The difference was the 3 and the coaching.

The 3

Toronto was 20-47 from the 3-pt line. The Knicks didn’t guard the 3 and were 6-26 from the 3 themselves.

After the game, NY Post’s Marc Berman reported that Fizdale was pissed in the post game. “The way they just dealt with that film session, that was brutal,ā€™ā€™ Fizdale said. ā€œAnd I got no backlash. [I was angry] just because the amount of attempts they got off from three. We said we were going to commit to taking away the 3-point line against them, and those guys got up basically 50 3ā€™s just from an attempts standpoint.ā€™ā€™

For the Knicks

The one guy on the Knicks who can hit the 3 is Kevin Knox. HeĀ was 3-10 (2-5 from 3) for 9 points.

Emmanuel Mudiay was 4-12 (0-2 from 3) for 11 pts; Damyean Dotson was 3-9 (1-5 from 3) for 9 points;Ā ;Ā Mario Hezonja was 3-8 (0-3 from 3);Ā Dennis Smith Jr was 2-11 (1-4 from 3) for 7 points;Ā Kadeem Allen was 6-9 (1-2 from 3, 5-5 free throws) for 18 points.Ā Henry Ellenson, Luke Kornet, Lance Thomas, and John Jenkins played minimal minutes off the bench. Allonzo Trier, Frank Ntilikina, and Noah Vonleh remained injured.

Side Note

Kyle Lowry elbowed Mitchell Robinson in the stomach at one point to pick up a foul. The last time Toronto played NY a week ago, Lowry called Robinson “dirty” for falling on him.

The Boxscore

http://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=401071798

 

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]]> https://www.knicks.city/2018/mitchell-robinson-beast-game-march-28-2019-toronto-117-knicks-92/feed/ 0 Never Close ā€” March 23, 2019: Denver 111 NY 93 https://www.knicks.city/2018/never-close-march-23-2019-denver-111-ny-93/ https://www.knicks.city/2018/never-close-march-23-2019-denver-111-ny-93/#respond Sat, 23 Mar 2019 23:07:31 +0000 https://www.knicks.city/?p=825 This one was never close. The Denver Nuggets CLUBBED the Knicks at Madison Square Garden on a Friday night. And still Knick fans were happy. We lost — so keep our #1 lottery-odds positioning, and [...]

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]]> This one was never close. The Denver Nuggets CLUBBED the Knicks at Madison Square Garden on a Friday night. And still Knick fans were happy. We lost — so keep our #1 lottery-odds positioning, and Mitchell Robinson had another great game. Kevin Knox looked good most of the night, and Frank Ntilikina was back from the extended injury, and played ok.

The 3’s

Denver jumped out to a 16-pt lead in the first quarter by hitting their 3’s, while the Knicks didn’t hit their 3’s. From there, Denver essentially coasted. Knicks were down by 4, then aĀ couple of Emmanuel Mudiay turnovers, a couple of Denver 3’s and just like that it was 23-9 Denver. By midway thru the second quarter this was the story:

  • Knicks 2-13 from 3
  • Denver 7-17 from 3
  • Difference was 15 pts
  • Knicks were down by 16, 45-29

The 3 is an area where the Knicks are definitely behind other NBA teams in talent. The Knicks have Kevin Knox who can hit the 3. Allonzo Trier can hit a 3 but he was out injured for the second straight game.

There are a lot of guys on the Knicks who can’t hit a 3 with any regularity, or are streaky.Ā Damyean Dotson can hit a 3, but can have off nights. This was an off night — he was 1-7 from 3 (2 for 9 overall) for 6 pts. Kadeem Allen also shot poorly (1-7, 3 pts).

Emmanuel Mudiay is just under 33% on the season — he had a decent shooting night — 9-21 (2-5 from 3) 21 pts, 7 rebounds, 4 assists. He attacks attacks attacks the basket. But he can turn the ball over on some stupid passes.

Kevin Knox has that Money 3 off the pass with no hesitation. It is pretty and accurate. That’s where his game is at. Knox still has a habit of being driven off the drive and tossing up a floater while running away from the basket out of bounds. Knox finishedĀ 6-16, 3-8 from 3 for 19 pts. Here was Knox off the pass after one of several unforced Denver turnovers in the lane due to Robinson’s presence:

And then there was Ntilikina —Ā Ntilikina looked decent tonite; his defense was pretty good; he was active in attacking with the ball — didn’t quite drive into the paint but went around the baseline at one point; and distributed. He had 5 assists in 25 min. Good. But .. you know 1-6 (1-4 from 3) for 5 pts.

Mercedes Mitch

Mitchell Robinson had another terrific night — 16 points (7-10), 10 rebounds, 3 blocks in 23 minutes and his presence caused several Denver unforced turnovers in the lane — leading to fastbreaks the other way — one leading to a Knox 3.

This was the play of the night:

There were other Robinson highlights — like every play is a highlight:

Other Knicks

DeAndre Jordan added 7 pts, Mario Hezonja 7 pts, Lance Thomas 3 pts, Henry Ellenson 3 pts, John Jenkins 3 pts, and Luke Kornet didn’t score. Dennis Smith Jr and Noah Vonleh continued to be injured.

For Denver

Denver finished 15-38 from 3 for 39.5%; Knicks closed to 9-32 for 28%.Ā  Nikola Jokic (8-20) played effortlessly well; he had 21 pts, 17 rebounds, 5 assists

Paul Millsap 3-12 for 8 pts, Jamal Murray was 7-16 for 18 pts, Will Barton 4-13 for 12 pts, Gary Harris was 4-5 from 3 (5-8 overall) for 14 pts. Mason Plumlee put a body on the Knicks and was 4-6 for 11 pts. Juan Hernangomez was first man off Denver’s bench — 0 pts in 7 minutes.

Again — you look at the Denver team and you aren’t blown away by the talent in the boxscore. But they are well coached, they pass well and hit their 3’s.

The Boxscore:

http://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=401071755

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]]> https://www.knicks.city/2018/never-close-march-23-2019-denver-111-ny-93/feed/ 0 Magnifying Glasses & Microscopes — March 20, 2019: Utah 137 NY 116 https://www.knicks.city/2018/magnifying-glasses-microscopes-march-20-2019-utah-137-ny-116/ https://www.knicks.city/2018/magnifying-glasses-microscopes-march-20-2019-utah-137-ny-116/#respond Thu, 21 Mar 2019 13:40:36 +0000 https://www.knicks.city/?p=814 Blow out. Not quite but pretty close. Another solid, thunderous loss. At least the Knicks aren’t winning games at this point to screw up their lottery position — that would really suck. But for a [...]

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]]> Blow out. Not quite but pretty close. Another solid, thunderous loss. At least the Knicks aren’t winning games at this point to screw up their lottery position — that would really suck. But for a second straight game the Knicks didn’t look like a team that could play any kind of NBA defense against a good team and that conjures up worries again if they have the right coach.

It shouldn’t prevent top free agents from signing here, and Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving are still fully expected to join the team this summer. But Coach David Fizdale must certainly be under the magnifying glass by GM Scott Perry and Knicks management right now. Next year it will be a microscope.

The Math

Put it this way — the Knicks will finish with about 15 (or less) wins this year. Next year, if they bring in Durant and Irving, added to this young core, with a top pick in this June’s draft — the Knicks will be expected to win 45 games and advance to the second round of the playoffs. Anything less would be a disappointment. If the Knicks are 12-18 at end of December, Fizdale may be on the firing block.

Remember Durant will be 31 next year, with a 3-year window. Irving will be 27, and for an ultra quick point guard — will also be looking at a 3-yr window.

So the Knicks will need to jump from 15 wins to 45 wins in a year. Everyone says the Knicks are tanking the second half this year — so it’s not a true 15-win team. But still others are now saying the Knicks don’t have enough talent so you can’t judge Fizdale properly. Knicks certainly seem to have a lot of young talent — it may be “too young” at this point.

This year the magnifying glass; next year the Microscope.

The Picture

This picture of Mario Hezonja surfaced on Twitter after the game. It was the picture of the night:

The Highlights

It’s a Hard Knicks Life suggested this was Highlight #1 of the game:

The Game

Utah pummeled the Knicks from the 3-pt arc. They hit their 3’s; the Knicks didn’t hit their 3’s. The Knicks didn’t do a good job of being in Utah’s face, defensively.

Near the end of the 2nd quarter, this was the story:

  • Utah 11-23 from 3 for 33 pts
  • Knicks 5-15 from 3 for 15 pts
  • Utah 66 Knicks 40

The Knicks were without Allonzo Trier and Kadeem Allen so they didn’t have as much firepower as usual. They would’ve helped. But it wouldn’t have mattered — Knicks were down by 30 for most of this game.

The Bright Spots

The bright spots were the play of the following guys:

  • Kevin Knox 10-17, 27 pts, 8 rebounds, 3 assists — looked Terrific. Driving to the basket, being aggressive.

  • Mitchell Robinson 6-10, 14 pts, 12 rebounds, 3 blocks — another fine game. Broke a bunch of Knicks records on the evening — most consecutive games with a blocked shot (29, besting Patrick Ewing), and most blocked shots by a rookie (besting Kristaps Porzingis). It was also Robinson’s 20th straight game with 2 or more blocks.

The Other Knicks

Henry Ellenson played well (3-6 for 7 pts, a +12), and Luke Kornet, Lance Thomas, and John Jenkins logged minutes. Frank Ntilikina, Dennis Smith Jr and Noah Vonleh continued to be injured, as was Trier and Kadeem Allen.

The Jazz

Joe Ingles in particular, killed the Knicks. At one point he was 5-6 from 3, and finished 6-9 from 3 — 18 pts.

Donovan Mitchell 30 points on 12-20. Looks like Knicks should have picked him in that draft (it was either him or Ntilikina said some sources afterwards). Rudy Gobert 18 pts on 7-7 inside. (DeAndre Jordan, the Knicks big body guarding him, had only 6 pts on 3-4 in 18 min, 3 fouls). Ricky Rubio 12 pts on 10-10 from free throw line. Jae Crowder 15 pts, Derrick Favors 10 pts, Kyle Korver 9 points on 3-9 from 3. Utah played their whole bench in the blowout, and whoever came in — Raul Neto, Royce O’Neale, Ekpe Udoh, Grayson Allen — hit their shots.

After the game, Stefan Bondy of the NY Daily News reported that Donovan Mitchell had this to say about Frank Ntilikina: “When he gets a chance, heā€™ll figure it out. Heā€™s a great defender. He was one of the hardest guys I had to go against last year. He came in in the second half and shut me down when we played here.”

The Boxscore:

http://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=401071741

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]]> https://www.knicks.city/2018/magnifying-glasses-microscopes-march-20-2019-utah-137-ny-116/feed/ 0