KnicksTape

Writing this as our Knicks are beating the dumpster-fire Rockets by 33 with 4:11 left and Quickley just got his 40 piece. Great game by the Knicks to get back on track after their mini-skid. This is a team you have to beat by 30 and they did just that. These last few minutes would have James Naismith rolling in his grave, but can’t expect much more in a 30 point game this late in the season. I haven’t heard the Rockets announcer team before, but these poor guys were absolutely disgusted midway through the 4th quarter. During the minute long stretch from a wide-open Daishen Nix travel with 10:56 left, to horrible KPJ pass with 9:40 left, you could hear all the hope leave their voice for the 58th time this season. I guess you can’t blame them when even John Wall (known beacon of maturity) is calling this team rudderless and immature, and their owner is trying to get Harden back like a desperate ex. But enough about the Rockets, without further ado, here’s my thoughts on how the fellas played tonight.

Immanuel Quickly– 40 piece!! Can’t say enough about how well he’s played this season. No one’s more unique to watch when they get hot on this team. He doesn’t have insane athleticism or size, plus I don’t think I can remember a dunk of his, so when he gets hot it’s all circus shots, step backs, and clever ways to get angles. Funny to watch him prance around after big shots too since I can imagine how annoying that is for the other team. Quick note though: is it just me or does he have a randomly high amount of “foot on the line” 3’s?

Julius Randle– Good game from our guy, Jules. He essentially ended the game with that buzzer beater at the end of the third. The Rockets were hanging around a bit more then they should have, and started to build some momentum headed into the 4th. That was until Randle got it with 3 seconds left and iced any hope of a comeback. After the break, we took over and the game was never in question. There’s not much else to say since this was just your classic good game from him. Down the stretch his defense let up, but who can really blame him against this team while up big. Jabari Smith had the most “active game of his career” according to the announcers. They said it was because it was his Garden debut, but Julius being in a coma against him on a few possessions probably helped.

RJ Barrett- I’m going to write a longer post at some point about all my complicated thoughts on RJ. Before I say too much, the guy had 19-5-3 on 50% shooting, so he had a good game. For me, it’s all about expectations with him. A stat line like that is great if we’re just going to say that he can be third option on a good team, or a 4th on a great team. And once I resign myself to him being that, then this whole paragraph will be positive. But I don’t think he’s just that (and he’s not paid like it), and I thought a game like this could be where he showcased his offense. I have way more thoughts that require their own post, but in the meantime can we at least get RJ to do whatever Quickley does before games?

Quentin Grimes- Such a good game and final stat line for Grimes. 14-9-6 from a role player is the sort of stuff that wins you playoff games. Also, if you’re thinking that this stat line is not that different from RJ’s, yet my tone is completely different, you’re 100% right. There are so many games where they bring the same value, except one guy is making $2.2M as a surprise role player while the other guy just signed a $120M extension as the core of our future. But before I get off track, this is about Grimes, not RJ, and Grimes played great.

Isiah Hartenstein– I could talk about how well Hart has been playing as of late. Or how natural he looked he putting up 8-6-6 on 100% shooting. But I’d rather focus on how he got tied up with Boban(!) and they walked up the court with Hart’s arm pinned under Boban’s. An Isiah Hartenstein vs Boban Marjanovich dust up was not on my pregame bingo card. On another Boban point, the announcer called Boban “a Knicks-Buster”. Pictured below you can find the averages from the Reggie Miller-esque Knicks-killer Boban Marjanovic.

Obi Toppin– You know how Celtics fans called Brian Scalabrine the “Human History Cigar”? We need something like that for Obi. Obviously, Obi is a solid rotation player with upside for a good team, so I’m not calling him Scal. But, whenever we start blowing out a team, Thibs throws Obi in and he’ll get a few awesome dunks and is so fun to watch. I get excited during blowouts because I might see an Obi dunk-show, the same way Celtics fans got excited they could see Scal miss a few layups. I’m going to workshop something for him, but stay tuned.

Josh Hart– I’m going to write something about Josh Hart, so I’m not going to spend too much time here. It’s going to have to do with him, his shooting, and also the future of the Knicks with Free Agency. Riveting stuff, I know, so all 0 people that know about this site better stay tuned. But on the point of his shooting, he went 100% and had the steal’n’slam that made the Rockets start the buses. Great game.

Mitchell Robinson– Not much to say. Played good defense, had a few blocks, and still has 0 offensive bag (despite what he may post on Instagram). Had a few less rebounds than I’d expect but also only played 20 minutes. Not going to read too much into this.

Miles McBride– I forgot who it was, but Deuce went up and blocked a significantly taller Rockets player. Not on the way up. Just jumped with him and swatted it at the apex. This Rockets team sucks.

Random Notes:

• Towards the the end of the third, we did one of the dumbest traps I’ve ever seen. The Rockets just stood there for like 7 seconds, then Hartenstein randomly sprinted from the restricted area to the logo like a bat out of hell. Obviously, the NBA-level Rockets point guard was un-phased by this and just passed it for a wide open three. Might need to go back to the drawing board with this one.
• We started the 4th quarter up 12 with the ball, yet we decided to roll the ball up the court to save a precious 3 seconds. I’ve seen this before and it baffles me why teams do this with a ton of time up double digits. I had a roommate who would do this every possession in 2K, and it drove me crazy so maybe I’m sensitive to it. Please note that this possession ended with Hartenstein throwing the ball out of bounds.
• That Taco Bell commercial has the worst song I’ve ever heard. According to YouTube it’s called “Let’s Eat Yuh Yuh”. This genre-less masterpiece defies categorization, and I’m not sure if it’s even in English. For context, I can decipher like 65% of a Playboi Carti song yet these lyrics stump me. But I’m just one man, and the NPCs in the comments seem to love it: