Knicks Trail Bucks End to End

The Milwaukee Bucks were the Knicks strongest opponent so far. New York was not expected to win this game. What was most important about this game was how the Knicks played against a quality opponent. The Knicks won 3 in a row, although the Charlotte game was far too close considering LeMelo Ball and Terry Rozier were out. Jalen Brunson had injected ball movement into the Knicks offense and Julius Randle was playing unselfishly. Could we assume that this was the Knicks new ID?

Unfortunately, the trend has been toward fewer assists per points scored rather than a steady assist % or even an increase in assists per points.

Against the Grizz, we had an assist for every 4 points scored, 112/28. The points per assists was 4.5 in the next game, followed by 4.8, 5.2 and, last night, 5.7 points per assist. Julius Randle has had 8 of his shots blocked, RJ is next with 4. Perhaps this is where the assist numbers have suffered. In the Milwaukee game, RJ Barrett, with the worst offensive stats, eFG% = .400, is getting his 20 points on 17 FGAs and 4 more attempts that resulted in defensive fouls. The ball and the FGAs should be distributed more evenly.

Let’s examine another statement that is repeated again and again. RJ Barrett is a good, very good, or excellent defender. That certainly doesn’t pass the eye test. But perhaps we were expecting Frank Ntilikina. However, the eye test does lead us to believe that Fournier and Randle are working harder on D. Both have already fouled out due to defensive fouls. As of recent stats, Evan had 7 defensive and 0 offensive fouls. Jules numbers were 7 – 3. RJs numbers were 1 defensive foul and 2 on offense. Now neither Randle nor Fournier are good defenders, although there is hope for Julius. But they are visibly involved on defense, while Barrett always seems to be trailing the play.

These next six games may not define the Knicks season, but they will certainly demonstrate the likely direction the team will take.