The New York Knicks made a splash with a playoff appearance this past season and have continued to make noise with an active offseason.
The New York Knicks made a splash with a playoff appearance this past season and have continued to make noise with an active offseason.
During his first year as head coach of the Knicks, head coach Tom Thibodeau got the most out of his players. Julius Randle took a huge step forward, winning the NBA’s Most Improved Player. Meanwhile, Immanuel Quickley outperformed expectations and was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second-Team.
The organization built on that success by re-signing Derrick Rose and Nerlens Noel. They have also managed to sign big names such as Evan Fournier and Kemba Walker, who were actually teammates on the Boston Celtics in 2020-21.
Statistically speaking, Walker’s play was elevated quite a bit once Fournier joined the Celtics. Boston outscored opponents by an excellent 14.8 points per 100 possessions when Walker and Fournier were on the floor at the same time during regular-season action, per PBP Stats. Boston’s net rating (1.1) was much worse when Walker appeared without Fournier.
The two players can add some value to the momentum that the Knicks had en route to the 2021 NBA Playoffs. especially if players like Quickley and RJ Barrett continue their development.
The New York Knicks will have to decide not only if LaMelo Ball is worth trading up for, but also whether they want to deal first round picks.
The New York Knicks will have to get creative in order to land the coveted LaMelo Ball in October’s draft. After not only failing to move up in the draft lottery but falling two spots to the No. 8 pick, the Knicks now have to decide if Ball is worth trading up in the draft for.
From an asset standpoint, the Knicks have an excess of first round draft picks, but those largely belong to the Clippers and Mavericks, two sides that will likely be playoff contenders for years moving forward. That means those picks likely will never be more than late firsts.
As a result, it may cost the Knicks more than just draft picks to land a top-three pick and a chance to draft Ball. Bleacher Report’s Zach Buckley proposed a trade along those lines that would see the Knicks trade away Mitchell Robinson, Reggie Bullock and the No. 8 pick for Malik Monk and the No. 3 pick.
For Charlotte, it would allow them the chance to better balance their roster. With Devonte’ Graham and Terry Rozier already on the roster, Ball would have been a tough fit. With this trade, they could land a young center, swap a underwhelming youngster for a veteran in Bullock and still have the opportunity to add to the team’s roster further down the draft.
For New York, it would be tough parting with Robinson, who has been one of the bright spots for the team in recent gloomy seasons. But Robinson also has flaws in his game that could hinder his development in the long-term and now could be a decent chance to sell high if they don’t feel he’s a solid long-term piece. In swapping Bullock for Monk, the Knicks trade away a veteran guard for a chance at a young guard that was once a top prospect but has underperformed.
The cherry on top, though, is the No. 3 pick, which would be used to take Ball. Though because Ball is not guaranteed to fall to No. 3, this would be a trade that couldn’t be completed until the Hornets went on the clock on draft night. It also couldn’t be the Knicks only option as they would likely be in discussions with both Minnesota and Golden State for the top two picks.
But this provides an example of how New York could swing a trade that lands Ball but also doesn’t cost them a host of future draft picks.
Jarrett Allen is now the Nets’ all-time leader for most dunks in a season.
Brooklyn Nets big man Jarrett Allen probably isn’t going to win a Slam Dunk Contest or anything, but at 6-foot-11, Allen does know how to use his size for thunderous jams.
According to Nets PR, Allen tallied his 171st dunk of the 2019-20 campaign Sunday against the Washington Wizards. With the jam, Allen became the Nets’ all-time leader for most dunks in a season. Dunks began being tracked during the 1997-98 season.
With Allen setting the franchise record, he also now has set a career-best for dunks in a season. His previous one was 170, which he recorded during the 2018-19 campaign.
Allen is one of the NBA’s top rim runners, and his athleticism allows him to sky for alley-oops. According to NBA.com stats, Allen is scoring 3.7 points per game as a roll man.
This season, Allen ranks third in field goal percentage (64.9%), right behind Mitchell Robinson and Rudy Gobert. He knows how to score down low, as he’s shot 69.9% on shots less than five feet from the hoop. Allen is scoring 10.7 points per game and grabbing a career-high 9.4 rebounds per game this season.
As the Utah Jazz now resume basketball activities, there are major issues they need to fix regarding stars Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell.
As the Utah Jazz now resume basketball activities, there are major issues they need to fix regarding stars Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell.
After so much time off due to the coronavirus pandemic, there will be a lot to iron out for all rosters. But the recent gap also exposed some harsh truths about the two best players on the Jazz.
In a recent story, Tim MacMahon reported that Gobert feels he should receive more lobs from Mitchell (via ESPN):
“Gobert rarely hesitates to let teammates know if they miss him when he is open around the rim. He’ll occasionally point up during play in animated fashion, sometimes as he is running back on defense, to note that a lob should have been thrown … Gobert knows his lobbying for lobs wears on teammates to the point of being counterproductive, like the wide receiver who gripes at the quarterback after every play when a pass isn’t thrown his way, regardless of the pass rush.”
Gobert led all NBA players with 306 dunks recorded last season, according to Basketball-Reference. But even when including alley-oops layups, the big man paired with Mitchell for only 28 lob connections during their 2018-19 campaign.
Considering that Gobert attempted 125 alley-oops in 2018-19 (17.6 percent of his total attempts from the field), this is certainly a major offensive focal point for the two-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year.
As such, McMahon continued, the two players have specifically worked on their “lob chemistry” in individualized practice sessions to further avoid the blunders like the one seen above during their game against Denver back in January:
“Utah coach Quin Snyder and his staff have attempted to help facilitate that trust, especially between Mitchell and Gobert. That duo have had dozens of two-man workouts under the watch of coaches, with a focus on ironing out intricacies of their pick-and-roll partnership and lob chemistry. They also occasionally join coaches – usually some combination of Snyder, Jensen and Johnnie Bryant, the assistant who works most with Mitchell – for small-group film sessions at the team’s facility.”
Gobert made 16 alley-oops following passes from Mitchell, per NBA.com. This accounted for 4.5 percent of his total field goal count, down from 5.9 percent last season. This would average out to approximately 0.36 connections per 36 minutes when looking at their total time spent (1607 minutes) on the court together, down from 0.48 last season.
For a better understanding of how that compares to other lob threats around the league, we looked at the top combinations on this play type. Brooklyn’s Spencer Dinwiddie assisted DeAndre Jordan on 46 alley-oop opportunities this season. This means they averaged 2.76 alley-oops per 36 minutes shared (599 minutes) on the floor.
(Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
While these two players are no longer on the same roster, Houston’s James Harden and former teammate Clint Capela were also successful on 46 of their alley-oop possessions. Capela, now on the Atlanta Hawks, was able to catch 1.53 alley-oops per 36 minutes that he played alongside Harden (1,082) in 2019-20.
Other prolific pairings in the NBA this season include Dinwiddie-to-Jarrett Allen (40), Trae Young-to-John Collins (36), LeBron James-to-Anthony Davis (34), Chris Paul-to-Nerlens Noel (33) and Elfrid Payton-to-Mitchell Robinson (33).
The data makes it clear that there is certainly room for more lob connections between the two players. However, considering how rare these opportunities are even for the most prolific duo, perhaps there are other aspects of offense to worry about in Utah.
HoopsHype’s Alberto de Roa contributed research to this report.
Spencer Dinwiddie may be battling COVID-19, but that’s not going to stop him from being active on social media.
Spencer Dinwiddie has been known to get certain fan bases riled up on Twitter from time to time. The group he may go back-and-forth with the most is the New York Knicks’ fan base.
So, when Daily Knicks posted a picture of New York big man Mitchell wearing a shirt depicting himself blocking Dinwiddie, Knicks fans got a good laugh.
Dinwiddie — who was recently diagnosed with COVID-19 and tweeted on Tuesday, “I haven’t been in the bed this much since my surgery” — wasn’t letting Robinson get away with that shirt, tweeting:
I would’ve put em on a shoe, but ima need him not to lead the league in fouls before I do that.
I would’ve put em on a shoe, but ima need him not to lead the league in fouls before I do that. https://t.co/A5SPm7sujd
Before the NBA went on hiatus, Robinson ranked No. 13 in the NBA in personal fouls (fourth in the Eastern Conference) with 194. The Knicks big man won’t be able to add to his total when the NBA resumes the 2019-20 NBA season because New York is not one of the 22 teams that were invited to the restart.
LeBron James’ agent, Rich Paul of Klutch Sports, adds pair of Knicks to growing roster of NBA players.
Rich Paul and his agency, Klutch Sports, announced the signing of a pair of New York Knicks on Thursday. According to posts on Klutch’s official Twitter account, Allonzo Trier and Mitchell Robinson have officially joined the agency that also represents the likes of LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
Trier has appeared in 20 games this season for the Knicks while starting one. He is averaging six points on 44% shooting in just over 12 minutes per contest. Robinson, meanwhile, has appeared in 51 games and is converting a staggering 73% of his field goal attempts. He’s also averaging nine points and seven rebounds in just under 23 minutes per game.
Trier went undrafted in 2018 after starring at the University of Arizona. The 24-year-old shooting guard is originally from Seattle, Washington. Trier is currently inactive but did score 22 points against the Brooklyn Nets earlier this year.
Robinson was a McDonald’s All-American as a high schooler in 2017 before becoming the No. 36 pick in the 2018 NBA Draft by New York. He has posted several double-doubles this season highlighted by a 22-point, 13-rebound effort in a win against the Atlanta Hawks.
