New York Knicks
The New York Knicks are a team with a lot of promise this season. If you’re a Knicks fan who can keep their expectations in a reasonable range, there’s a real possibility that the 2019-20 season could be a pretty enjoyable one.
As a north of the border NBA fan, Canadian rookie RJ Barrett is of particular interest to me. It’s a good sign that there were starting minutes up for grabs and the Knicks coaching staff saw fit to award them to the rookie. He has pretty good instincts in situations where the game falls out of set plays. He’s extremely poised and makes good decisions.
Although he only made 1-3 3-point shots and split his four free-throw attempts, he went 9-13 from 2-point range for 21 points. Not too bad for an NBA debut. He plays a fearless style of basketball and I’m looking forward to seeing if he is in the Rookie Of the Year conversation this season. It wouldn’t come as a surprise to me if he is. He’s got the skillset and is on the kind of team that makes it a real possibility.
Also important is the fact that he seems to be quite mature for his age and pretty mentally tough. During the broadcast, there was a piece where Knicks coach David Fizdale laid out his coaching style. He commented on how it’s not his job to make the players happy; it’s his job to make them ready.
My initial reaction to that was that while I respect the clear, no-nonsense intentions, I question whether it might be too old-school an approach for so young a team. In Barret’s case though, it might be just the atmosphere that will drive his development as an NBA player.
Julius Randle‘s style of play is one I can definitely get on board with. He reminds me of those tough guys that banged in the post back in the ’90s. He’s strong down low, not the kind of player that will be easily pushed around.
I was also impressed by the way he spoke about his goal of being an All-Star. It’s absolutely where he plans to and believes he will end up but it’s not about personal accomplishments for him. Instead, his focus is doing what needs to be done to make his team successful and is sure that the All-Star acknowledgment will naturally come along with it.
If his double-double performance with 25 points and 11 rebounds is an indication of the trajectory of his season, I’d say an All-Star nod sometime in the future is well within reason.
The Knicks’ defense showed some good signs as well. They forced the Spurs to make 21 turnovers leading to 29 points. Pretty impressive numbers in and of themselves. On top of that, the Knicks also had 16 steals.
If the Knicks could have cleaned up some of their fouls, this game would have been within their grasp. They sent the Spurs to the line 12 times in the fourth quarter alone and the Spurs made 10 of them. A little more care in playing to avoid some fouls will make life much easier for the Knicks moving forward.