Knicks 118, Jazz 111: “Knicks Should Have Dinner Together Every Night”

(CTN News) – Every game feels like the last under Tom Thibodaux. In his final game coaching the Knicks, This certainly gave fans a lot to talk about. It was enjoyable (no Fournier minutes! ), weird (no Grimes minutes? ), and frustrating (the late-game treatment of IQ and Obi).

Let’s start late in the third. When Utah’s reserves checked in, the starters let the Jazz take back the lead in the third. The Knicks bench had to respond like they had so many times last year. Fortunately, Immanuel Quickly came through for us.

Since Derrick Rose is clearly diminished this year, it feels like IQ needs to take over the second unit. The corpse of Evan Fournier, who got a DNP-CD, wasn’t dragged around. In any case, IQ hit two triples and a layup.

He hit a pair of threes himself to continue his ascent to the NBA’s most unlikely 3P sniper. The bench turned a 10-point deficit into a Knicks lead in a flash.

He’s not satisfied, of course. At the first opportunity, he pulled Obi. I wasn’t surprised – it’s just This at this point. That he eventually pulled Quickly, who had 13 points and 4 steals throughout the game, really surprised me.

At least on offense, the Jazz looked pumped. It’s possible the Knicks collapsed last season because of their coach’s incompetence. Luckily, these Knicks have Jalen Brunson and Cam Reddish. For the good guys, they held off a Utah rally.

A few notes:

• Brunson played a sloppy game by his own high standards (4 turnovers), but that dude can score. RJ and Cam got layups late, too. Brunson had 25 points and 8 assists. In the fourth, he also kept Julius Randle away from the ball.

• On this evening, I’d put Cam Reddish and Immanuel Quickley ahead of Brunson in terms of impact. Usually, the Knicks struggle with that kind of ball movement. More passes mean more turnover opportunities, but IQ and Cam have the length and tenacity to make Utah pay for any sloppy passes.

• Cam recovered from a rough start to finish with 19 points on 7-13 shooting. My favorite moment was when Malik Beasley hit his second three in a row to push the Jazz lead to seven. Cam ran right back down the floor to make a three. He’s playing great right now.

• IQ is the Knicks’ most effective defender right now. He’s just him. Hopefully he’s out of his shooting slump – he shot 5-10 from the field and 3-6 from three – and he’ll have a great year.

• Barrett is apparently sick of something other than COVID. He shot 5-11 from the field and 8-14 from the free-throw line. Maybe let him sit Wednesday night in Denver if he’s really sick.

• Obi Toppin is 3-4 from three, which is apparently normal now. He’s shooting 42.4% so far. That’s absurd.

Could the Knicks make it two in a row Wednesday night in Denver, where they haven’t won in over 20 years? Hopefully, we will be able to find out soon!

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