Game Day: Knicks @ Jazz, 1/26/21

The Knicks are on a two-game skid to end their road trip in Utah… against the hottest team in the NBA. In fact, the last time the Jazz lost was to the Knicks. Can New York make it a clean sweep over Utah?

This rotten-plank roadway has been a terrifying rollercoaster (which reminds me). The Knicks are really feeling the weight of their lurching ascent. In Portland there was a twirling rush to reach the bottom, and right before whooping us back up to gain some speed, the ride was over. Now the Knicks head to Utah to face the hottest team in the league. Great. The last time Utah lost a game they were in Madison Square Garden behind a totally bozo-fied bad shooting night. The Knicks and Austin Rivers played some searing hot licks.

That was back when everyone was trying to make “Quivers” a thing. Some things deserve to be tossed in the loss column. That is one of ‘em.

Want this party started right?

I know, I know. Immanuel Quickley, coming off a career high that’s better than Elfrid Payton’s career high, should be named the starter. I agree with you, and I’m preaching patience because he’s so close as an individual player, but he still makes some goofed out decisions from the team and coaching perspective on both ends. He plays faster than Elfrid, he can shoot, he defends, he draws fouls, he doesn’t miss free throws. What is the hold up?!

Well, there are good reasons. He needs to stop the action to work for himself a lot of times, and while an all you can eat buffet of high pick-and-roll will work on some teams, it’s not always the healthy choice. Defensively he’ll also make switches that break scheme or the wrong reads on inbounds plays. Things like that give away only a singular possession, but must drive a coaching staff nuts.

If Julius Randle is your best player, you’ll want to play through him as much as possible, with Quickley on the floor, you play through Quickley quite a bit. Don’t worry though, when he’s really got it going, he’ll get the minutes. Eventually he’ll have learned enough from in-game experience that he’ll start to outplay Payton consistently in the subtle coach-pleasing ways. Sooner or later that job is his if he wants it, and it certainly seems like he does.

One of the very important markers for Quick to learn from and expand on is how he shows up against a team he’s already played. That makes tonight’s affair a critical match for him to show the coaching staff that he is learning and growing. It’s not strictly a shooting contest to get the starting gig.

Spank

Although Quickley’s time is rapidly approaching, it seems safe to say Frank Ntilikina’s time is only on the practice court for the time being. The guard and wing minutes are largely spoken for with Elfrid and Immanuel at the 1. Then Reggie Bullock and Alec Burks have a stranglehold on the 2. With RJ Barrett running around the league leaders in minutes, Austin Rivers’ penchant to get molten hot without notice, Kevin Knox’s willingness to shoot… where is Frank to fit in? His per-100 possessions numbers make it seem like he is willing to shoot and just needs the minutes to prove it, but that’s not gonna happen against one of the hottest teams in the league right now.

Can Frank be pushed into the mix for a late second quarter defensive possession and possibly turn that into something? Yes, if he’s ready and someone else is struggling. He still needs to show and prove a ton.

So what of this game? The Jazz fire threes unconsciously — make or miss, them thangs are going up. Last time New York caught the Jazz slipping, but will lightning strike twice? Julius Randle had a great turn thrusting headlong at the Jazz interior defense and splitting them wide open. No one has the combination of strength or quickness to deal with him in the paint. We’ll need one of his best efforts to date to spark the light toward victory. Someone else will have to bring up the shotmaking rear to make sure that effort does not go to waste.

Knicks by -26

Please come back!

This marks the end of the Knicks’ first big road trip, and if they leave it all out there on the court and snag a win, they’ll be right at the edge of .500 again with the Cavs waiting for them when they get home. They’ve had the Cavs’ number pretty good so far this season. Could they get back to level? It all starts with today, and playing like tomorrow is already gone. If that happens, they’ll return to the city as our favorite small time heroes. Having split on the road is the sign of a good team, but are the Knicks good?