KnicksTape

I’m back from a brief hiatus, and I’m just going to get right into it. Knicks are headed to Miami tied up 1-1, and I’m feeling pretty positive since splitting these next two would put us back in the driver seat. Not going to dance around here, so here’s the plan: I’m going to give all the guys who’ve played meaningful minutes a grade and finish off with a few random notes.

Keep in mind for these ratings that these are for the last 2 games, so some might seem a little higher or lower than just based on their latest performance.

Jalen Brunson (A-): This ranking was tough because he didn’t show up for the first 1.5 games, yet his second half of Game 2 is why our season is still alive. I thought about giving him a B or something since he’s a big reason we lost Game 1, but at the end of the day, you count on your best player to show up to save your season and he did that; and I don’t know many other guys capable of that. The biggest thing for him going forward will be to keep his shot going, but more importantly keep taking guys to the rack. He can get fouls on whoever, and guys like Duncan Robinson are in absolute hell when he’s hitting those floaters and turnarounds, so he needs to keep attacking and not settle for jumpers when the shot isn’t falling. I’m still disappointed in his first game, but I think it was a blip plus he saved our season, hence why he gets an A-.

Julius Randle (A): He missed Game 1, which I don’t hold against him, and absolutely showed up in Game 2. At first, he was attacking, had his shot going, and looked like the All-Pro he can be sometimes. He absolutely looked like the best guy on the floor in the 2nd quarter so he gets a ton of credit for that. I was worried that since he was hurt there would be a lot of his trademark horrible contested jumpers, so I was ecstatic when he was taking their much smaller wings to the hoop. He’s going to be so key in this series since 1) the Heat love to play those mid size G/F (Struss/Vincent/Martin/Robinson) so he should be able to bully them in the post, 2) he can guard Bam which will keep MRob and Isiah out of foul trouble at times, and 3) he can rebound when our centers get brought outside the paint. He did both those things, but mostly in the first half, which brings us to why he’s not an A+. His shot stopped falling and he settled for a few bad jumpers. I know it wasn’t a ton, but obviously this can a problem for him so I’m extra conscious with him. And in case you missed it because you had a heart attack when it happened, that inbounding turnover was reprehensible. I get it was one play, but those are the sort of plays that end or save seasons so I have to dock him a bit. Overall, it was an amazing comeback from injury so he gets an A, but falling off in the second half and almost throwing away the game puts him out of A+ range.

RJ Barrett (A+): This is my guy. I was absolutely scared to death early in the Cavs series that it was over for him (I offered to trade him to my friend for a washing machine), but he’s blown me away since. All I ever wanted from him was to be a reliable third star, and he’s surpassed that in these playoffs. There’s times he’s looked like the best player on our team, and more importantly he’s been consistent. I don’t want to be throwing around A+’s, but when the guy who was almost benched earlier this season becomes the all around best player in the first two games of the Eastern Conference Semis, you have to give it to him.

Josh Hart (B): Tale of two games for this guy here. He was just downright bad in Game 1; I think that one shot he air balled is still on the way down somewhere in Queens. But then Game 2 comes around and he’s grabbing clutch rebounds then hitting game winning free throws. Best part of Game 2 was him realizing the shot wasn’t falling and not continuing shooting, but still staying involved on offense. In some ways he’s like Good Dillon Brooks. They can both be described as defensive specialists, willing shooters, charismatic, and not afraid to get in someone’s ear. The difference is that Brooks doesn’t know when to stop shooting and is the most universally hated player in the league, while Hart knows when the well is dry and seems like guys on both teams love him. In terms of the B rating, I can’t just ignore that game 1, but also have to give him credit for game 2.

Mitchell Robinson (B+): This is another tough one because a lot of what’s gone on he can’t really help. Obviously, he wasn’t going to do what he did in the Cavs series (he’d be in the Hall of Fame), but he’s had a bit more trouble than I hoped for when Bam/Love pull him away from the hoop. I get it’s not his fault we’re switching a ton, but he also can’t keep all-out contesting three-pointers when we have no other rebounders inside. The other main negative is the free throw shooting. I know he’s just never going to be a good shooter (credit: he went 1/2 in a clutch situation), but you can’t be shooting 30% from the line for the series. But those are just the two negatives; he’s also continued to be a great defensive presence inside and kept the Heat off the board down the stretch of Game 2. He’s playing well, there’s just a few things that worry me going forward.

Isiah Hartenstein (B+): So him and Mitch both get the same aggregate score, but they’re pretty different. Mitch probably had a B for Game 1 and a B+ for Game 2, but Isiah had like a C followed by an A. I can’t say much about game 1 with him besides that he was just a non-factor. I thought about docking him more for game 1, but at the end of the day he’s our back up center so I have to temper expectations a bit. Game 2 was a completely different story, though. He started off a bit shaky, but holy hell that stretch in the second half was insane. Mitch was in foul trouble and Isiah pretty much single handedly kept us in the game for a few minutes, and even hit some clutch free throws. Again — I always restate this — I grade these guys on an expectation curve. For example, I know Josh Hart (B) was better than him, but we traded a first round pick for Hart and made him a starter. Isiah is on a cheap contract and is our back-up center, yet he came in and held the team together for a big stretch of a must win game. He gets a ton of credit for that.

Obi Toppin (C-): I feel bad because I had a ton of hope when the shot was falling early in game 1, but game 2 he was a ghost. He filled in admirably for Randle and deserves credit for scoring 18 in game 1, but he also shot 11 threes in that game and that isn’t a recipe for success. I think my biggest issue with him isn’t that his shot stopped falling, but it’s that he can’t punish the Heat inside for playing smaller lineups. And when he’s not scoring offensively, he’s a negative on defense so he can get unplayable. I love him in a lot of games, but this series just seems like one he’ll have to ride the pine more often.

Immanuel Quickley (C-): He’s drawn the ire of Knicks fan and rightly so. After a great end to the season, he looks completely lost on offense. He’s losing the ball in traffic like he went to the Jaylen Brown School of Dribbling, and he keeps chucking bad shots in even worse moments. I was tempted to give him and F for this series so far, but I have to be fair to his defense. He’s such an underrated defender, and I even found myself wanting to replace Brunson with him when the Heat were starting to chuck desperation threes. Also, he did hit a couple of nice floaters when the starters sat and we needed points, and that’s sort of his job as 6th man. Hopefully those floaters gave him some confidence and will convince him to keep attacking, but I won’t argue with someone if they say he deserves a D so far.

Quentin Grimes (D): Yeah he’s sucked, plain and simple. Also acts like the ball is 1000 degrees when he catches a pass. I can’t give him an F because he’s supposed to be a bench guy, but he’s been bad even for that. He’s a classic case of that underrated, unknown guy who becomes a real piece for a good team, and fans (including myself) start convincing themselves he could be a core member of a championship team. But then the lights get bright and he slips, and you have to remind yourself that this guy is still young and still just a role player. I think we started telling ourselves this guy could be like a Mikail Bridges-type of three-and-D wing who can also create, so this is a good reminder to pump the brakes when a guy with low expectations starts preforming well. Appreciate what they’re doing, but realize there’s levels to this and he’s just not there yet.

Random Notes:

• Jessica Alba sitting court side had me gasping for air. Insane that she’s 42, but even more insane why she’s there. Apparently Randle was the one who invited her, and she thanked him on her Insta. Absurd if true. Listen… I get that maybe they’re just friends, but don’t act like if you had to guess Julius Randle’s celebrity best friend, you’d have Jessica Alba in the top 10. Regardless, the main point here is that Jules has a wife and kid. I don’t know about you, but if I had a wife and kid and my wife decided to personally invite her good friend Brad Pitt to sit and watch her at work all day… let’s just say it’s not in the top 10 things I’d be psyched for. Sure, maybe just like Jules and Jessica Alba, they’re great friends. But safe to say I’d feel a bit better if it was like Paul Giamatti and not Brad Pitt. Maybe I’m blowing it out of proportion, but Julius’ courtside seating picks are definitely on my radar. The Knicks may be tied but the City Boys are up.

• Keeping with the theme of “courtside celebrities” (quotation marks are important here) there was a moment on the broadcast that had me in tears. Announcer goes “Wow the stars are out in a full effect tonight” and the camera zooms in on this old dude with the text: “David Zaslav: Warner Bro’s CEO” across the bottom. I don’t know if this is being properly conveyed through text, but it was hilarious. The timing, the build up, and all the pageantry of Madison Square Garden… culminating in a zoom in on some corporate shmuck sitting courtside. I promise if you saw it in real time it’s hilarious. Side note: didn’t think it at the time, but the CEO of Warner Bro’s Discovery sitting courtside at the Knicks’ game while there’s apparently a big writer’s strike is pretty funny as well.
• A third courtside observation was the all time trio of Aaron Rogers, Sauce Gardner, and… Turtle from Entourage. I couldn’t quite tell if Turtle was with them or with other people, but those three were seated next to each other. I would absolutely love if that became Rodgers’ new crew.
• Final note: am I more scared of Gabe Vincent than Jimmy Butler? My brain says no but my heart says yes.