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The cast of Kristaps Porzingis-less Knicks Wednesday at Madison Square Garden reads like a night of lining up on Broadway, littered with unknown youngsters and more functional franchise jurors. Of course, Enes Kanter and Tim Hardaway were the mainstays of the league for a good part of the decade, but the team at their side was not beautiful. The Knicks will be Trey Burke's third team in five seasons, and Lance Thomas's record in points per game is 8.3. To paraphrase Rick Pitino, Ewing and Starks do not cross that door.
Despite the nameless attack of the opening night, the Knicks' attack on Atlanta looked nothing like the confusing mess that she was without Porzingis in 2017-18. In fact, New York seemed downright fluid, sprinting in front of the Hawks defense in transition and whipping the ball around the perimeter in the half-court. The Knicks had 72 points in the first period, ending the night with a 126-107 victory. New York seemed closer to a playoff dispute than a sixth consecutive trip to the lottery.
"I said that the success of the last 12 to 14 years was determined by your progress [in the playoffs]"Said head coach David Fizdale before Wednesday's game. "I do not think it's a good indicator for this team, I do not want to limit them."
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Do not run parades in the Canyon of Heroes. The Hawks ranked 23rd in the league in defense efficiency last season and this tankeriffic unit will not be very successful. However, the opening night at MSG helped to better understand what will be the Knicks attack without Porzingis.
New York's pace was the league average last year, ranking 18th in the NBA before the All-Star Break, with 48 games played with Porzingis. The Knicks have slightly increased their pace with the great Latvian healing his torn ACL injury, and it seems that Fizdale is determined to intensify the trend in 2018-19. Fizdale played a pivotal role in the systematic application of the Heat method to LeBron and Dwyane Wade, and even when Hardaway and Frank Ntilikina play the role of king and D-Wade, the mantra remains the same. each.
The Knicks ran against Atlanta, finishing the game with a pace of 112.5. That would have ranked first in the league by almost 11 points last season. A penny from Burke to Hardaway at the break in the second quarter forced the Hawks to a timeout, and Frank Ntilikina had two assists in the first period during the transition. Enes Kanter was the only Knick not to have the green light of a defensive rebound. With an understaffed unit, expect New York to search for easy buckets as much as possible.
"Coach [Fizdale] preached for us to play fast, push the ball, "said rookie goaltender Allonzo Trier after the game. "When he has as many guys as we can break and get easy baskets, we want to put pressure on the other teams. It's a good formula for us. "
The absence of Porzingis will also be right for Kanter. The Knicks were almost interchangeable one to four for most of the night from Wednesday to Wednesday. They lacked versatile wings. Rookie Kevin Knox played significant minutes in the fourth and Noah Vonleh took a few minutes to center when Kanter headed for the bench. Little ball may be the step forward in the Big Apple.
Knox's stats line was calm in his NBA debut, finishing the night with 10 points on 16 shots. But do not expect it to play a secondary role for long. The Kentucky product was smooth and made the most of its look. He is wearing a natural sweater. Knox's recent woes in terms of shooting will fade as soon as possible and one of the most successful projects will be unleashed.
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Speaking of powerful scorers, Hardaway scored 31 points on Wednesday, including 22 in the first period. It was not a new territory for Hardaway – who scored more than 30 times in eight seasons in the previous two seasons – and yet the opening night was a reminder of how hot the Michigan product could be. He seems to have a green light with Porzingis out of the picture, and he'll happily go fast, chuck as he's back in the Big 10.
"My teammates continued to feed me, they gave me that confidence," Hardaway said. "It's about doing the right thing, but if they tell me to score goals, I'll leave and I'll continue."
Kanter, Hardaway and Knox provide a quality frontline without Porzingis and a potentially lethal line when KP returns to training. The real question marks come in the backcourt. Burke and Thomas will split alongside Frank Ntilikina at the starting guard positions, while Allonzo Trier will refuel and score points on the bench. The mix of grips and playmaking from Trier is intriguing and he set the Garden off with a resounding shock on the Prince of Taurus in the third quarter. But he is a chucker in the same mold as Hardaway without the qualifications of the NBA. He'll be excited by night in the evening, but Fizdale may want to keep some Advil on hand when Trier starts trying to shake the defenders.
Ntilikina has already proven herself on the defensive. He sports arms that fall to his knees and an elite jumps in the corridors clear passage. Ntilikina spent the night of Wednesday in the jersey of Trae Young and Vince Carter, who is ageless, and who carried the duet to 9-23. But the other end of the soil provides significant question marks.
Let's start with the good news: Ntilikina seemed more comfortable without the ball in hand on Wednesday, even scoring a triple in the first quarter. Atlanta did not completely succumb to Ntilikina as the teams did in their rookie season, and the hesitation before turning seemed to have dissipated.
Yet, one always has the impression that Ntilikina is an offensive homeless tweener of position. The shot, although improved, prevents it from being a real two and Ntilikina has neither the vision nor the natural ability to play to lead the offensive to perfection. At this stage of his career, Ntilikina is both an offensive player both functional and uninteresting. Improvements are coming, but its offensive cap is finally limited.
Fizdale would be delighted to face Atlanta and the NBA dregs every night. At least he will be in the East this season and not in the western bloodbath. Hard times are coming, however, with a home date against Boston on Saturday and a road match in Milwaukee on Monday. The Knicks will be outclassed in both competitions, but their plan for victory will be the same: they run like the wind and fly the wing crew by Hardaway and let it fly.
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