Knicks 112, Kings 99: Just like that

A week ago, the Knicks looked dead in the water. Last night, they absorbed the loss of arguably their two best players and still pulled out a double-digit win.

And just like that, the Knicks are above .500.

It’s easy to forget, but a week ago, when they were booed off of their home court after being dissected by the Dallas Mavericks, was rock bottom for the 2022-2023 Knicks. Surrounded by uncertainty, the Knicks had two options; quit on their coach completely, or dig in and save their coach’s job. Four wins later, I think it’s clear which door they chose.

Aided by the introduction of Deuce McBride into the rotation, as well as an increased defensive focus, the Knicks find themselves sitting tied for sixth place in the Eastern Conference. While it is undeniable that the Knicks’ opponents were missing players like Jarrett Allen, Dejounte Murray, LaMelo Ball, and De’Aaron Fox, it is clear that the Knicks played with more spirit than they have all season long.

So how do we make sense of this? Let’s dive in…

The game

The Kings came in winners of four of their last six. As I mentioned before, franchise player De’Aaron Fox didn’t suit up, but it’s worth noting he also wasn’t available for their last game, which saw them win in Cleveland. This was not a team the Knicks could take lightly. Spoiler: they did not.

Instead, led by a red-hot Julius Randle, the Knicks came out flying and never looked back. Randle has been a revelation. Until his ejection in the third quarter (more on that later), Randle was dominant. It wasn’t just the 17 first quarter points or the continued commitment to protecting the defensive glass. What stood out was his control of the game. After a yearlong hiatus, the Randle hockey assist is officially back. Randle drawing doubles and manipulating the defense to start a scramble is becoming routine again. 

The result? Everyone around him is playing better. Barrett is enjoying his best and longest stretch of success. So too is Mitchell Robinson, who, despite foul trouble, was dominant on both ends once again. Second-year guard Quentin Grimes continues to pulverize draft day scouting reports. Find one “draft expert” who claims to have foreseen Grimes as a guy who could make a nightly impact as a starter without consistently hitting his 3-point shots, and you’ll have discovered a very good liar. The starting lineup has been so good that, despite a small slump from Jalen Brunson, they are outscoring opponents by 10.7 points per 100 possessions in their 172 minutes together.

The wildest part of this dominance? The Knicks haven’t even needed outlier-levels of 3-point shooting luck to maintain it. The Knicks out-processed the Kings on both ends of the court last night. Offensively, the ball, for the most part, hopped around as the Knicks got whatever they wanted. On the other end of the court, the Knicks’ rotations were crisp, rarely giving Sacramento shooters much breathing room. Despite that, the Knicks shot just 8-35 from three, while the Kings were 10-39. How does a team shoot 8-35 from three and dominate it from start to finish? That’s simple. Defense.

When Tom Thibodeau took over as head coach of the Knicks, there was an underlying assumption that two aspects of the franchise would be overhauled; the culture and the defense. Often these two traits go hand and hand. If you have a culture with great work ethic and accountability, it seems likely defense, much of which is built upon discipline and effort, will come along with it. For two seasons, Thibodeau delivered.

The foundation of Thibodeau’s defense is a bit of a gamble. He bets that if he can keep the opposing team away from the rim as much as possible, and convince his guys to make each rotation as if it were their last, his team will have the best chance of winning the game. The irony of this strategy coming from a coach who makes every decision guarding against worst-case scenarios is not lost on me, but it also appeared to be one quickly becoming out of touch. NBA shooting is as good as it’s ever been. Players don’t need nearly as much breathing room as they once did to get off an efficient look. Last Sunday, as the Knicks sat 26th in team defensive rating, it appeared the writing was on the wall. 

But Thibodeau was not convinced. Instead, as he has been known to do, he doubled down on his strategy. His infusion of McBride, who has looked mediocre offensively at best in his sporadic NBA minutes, could not have been any more clear a sign of it. Thibodeau saw McBride as someone, like Grimes and Immanuel Quickley, he could count on to play defense the way Thibodeau requires: play each possession as if it’s your last. 

Against the Kings, McBride was everywhere. He makes life so difficult for the opposing team you almost see the life drain from opponents’ eyes the second he steps on the court. Can you imagine having to play that guy? He’ll pick you up at full court, make his presence felt every step you take, and then for good measure guard your slightly bigger friend just to show you he can. Now imagine having to face three of him, which is essentially what the Knicks have when he shares the court with Grimes and Quickley. Every Knicks fan's three favorite kid guards have played 55 minutes together this season, and in those minutes they’ve held opponents to 76.5 points per 100 possessions. This would be the best defense in NBA history by a laughable margin.

In the fourth quarter, Brunson landed awkwardly on his ankle and immediately asked to come out of the game. It was a scare many were unprepared for. Brunson gives off such a warrior mentality, and operates safely below the rim, that it seemed like he would never get hurt. I think another thing the Knicks were unprepared for was to be so okay with missing Brunson for a fourth quarter. Giving McBride, Quickley, Grimes, and RJ a chance to share the court and play crunch time minutes together was everything. Were there some rough patches? Absolutely. But to make an omelet you have to break a couple of eggs. Consider these eggs broken. It’s about time.

Slow and steady

One egg who has no shortage of experience at the end of fourth quarters is Barrett. Barrett has had a frustrating season. Coming into last night’s game, Barrett was last on the team in net rating differential (the difference in how the team performs when he plays and how it performs when he doesn’t). There are some defenses of Barrett, of course. He played through severe sickness. And, given he is the team’s lone wing consistently in the rotation, Thibodeau leans on him whether he has it or not. He doesn’t have the luxury of sitting through many bad games.

Fortunately, last night was one of Barrett’s good games. In fact, I would argue it was his most complete game of the season. Barrett manipulated the defense as a means to an end for both himself and his teammates. Despite his struggles, there are very few who make getting to the basket look as routine as Barrett does, and last night he took it a level higher. Rather than getting to the rim at will and looking to create his own shot, Barrett consistently looked to create for teammates, including one live-dribble, off-hand skip pass to McBride in the corner for his only three.

He matched this with his best defensive performance of the season. He still has a long way to go to get back to the player he was at the start of last season on that end of the court, but this was as active as I have seen him this season. He wasn’t dying around screens, nor closing out on shooters half-heartedly. No. Barrett was committed almost the entire game. If nothing else, the fact that he had five stocks (steals plus blocks) should paint a clear picture. His season-high before last night was two.

Jalen Brunson’s ankle and what it means

In the fourth quarter, after already losing Randle, Brunson joined him in the locker room after spraining his ankle. Despite sloppy (and, at times, low-IQ) offensive play down the stretch, the Knicks held off the Kings and won pretty easily. But Brunson’s injury raises a curious question: what do the Knicks do if Brunson can’t suit up on Wednesday?

The obvious answer is Quickley. Quickley has more than earned a shot in the starting lineup. He has been the Knicks’ leader in net rating since the first day he donned orange and blue. And it would be interesting to see how becoming a two-shift-per-half player helps (or hinders) his rhythm. So often Quickley plays a nice, short stint in the first half and then sits for 30 to 45 real-life minutes before seeing game action again. Last night he was 3-4 in nine first half minutes and then 1-7 in the second half. 

From a basketball standpoint he makes sense as well. Quickley, who is one of the Knicks’ two leaders in potential assists per 36 minutes, can fill in for Brunson as the initiator. He doesn’t bring what Brunson does from a scoring perspective, but the Knicks can lean on Randle and Barrett to handle more of the initiating duty and capitalize on the extra defense he gives you. Can you imagine guaranteeing 30-plus minutes a night for Quickley and Grimes to play together?

The second option is McBride, and while I believe Quickley is by far the best option, I can’t say I would be too angry at this selection. McBride is, probably, a more natural point guard than Quickley. He brings similar levels of defense but a less hands-on approach to offense. It is easy to imagine him forming a nice two-man game with Randle or dribbling into the pistol action with Barrett. 

Lastly, the man expected to join the rotation is Derrick Rose. To have him go from out of the rotation to starting over Quickley (and McBride) would be ludicrous. If Thibodeau had showcased the capacity to substitute liberally and ensure, despite who starts, Quickley played a lot and played with multiple lineups, I would be less opposed to it. But we know how this will go. Rose starting will mean Rose plays 25-plus minutes per game. Quickley and McBride’s numbers will stay the same. All in the name of continuity. 

What will happen? I have no idea. Only one man does. That man, despite calls for his job (many coming from this writer), deserves the benefit of the doubt. It is sometimes lost on Knicks fans just how good a position this franchise is in. The Knicks are 14-13 and the average age of everyone in their rotations is 24. They have a (relatively) flexible cap sheet, and all of their draft picks. Stick the exact same circumstances in Oklahoma City and you’d have thousands of outside fans clamoring to be just like the Knicks. Thibodeau, warts and all, has been a part of that process. 

Which is why, as the Knicks stepped off the court victorious Sunday night, I couldn’t help but feel cautiously optimistic. In just a week, this season went from hopeless to one that appears difficult to screw up. But as we’ve learned, it’s a long season. Swerves happen all the time. Will the Brunson injury lead to another one? Only time will tell.