Obviously the stars of the game today were THJr and KP. Hardaway finally had the breakout game he needed. I worry that he's such a streaky scorer. He needs some staple plays to get him some easy baskets close to the rim, because he was really terrible for the first 3 games.
KP was absolute clutch. I think the key play of the game was after Korver hit a 3 to cut the lead down to 10 - then KP answered with a 3 of his own to extend the lead back up to 13. These are the momentum shifting moments that have haunted the Knicks many times in the last few years. He then closed the game out with another 3. Really strong performance. This season he's been really impressive, showing some new wrinkles to his scoring. At the same time, it's still pretty clear he's a score-first sort of player, with a very under developed passing game. ZERO assists in his last 3 games, 3 total in 5 games.
Jack did his thing again. The Knicks have a 2-0 record during Jack's reign as starting PG. I was more excited than most with the Jarrett Jack signing - if he had gas in the tank, he'd at least take them to .500. I've said this before - he has a bit of the Sam Cassell or Chauncey Billups thing going for him, has a good feel for the momentum and making the right plays in the clutch - and their teams win.
He didn't have a great shooting night today, but acted as a strong floor general on both ends of the floor. On offense, puts his teammates in a position to score - and he generally makes the right read to get some easy baskets - demoralizing the defense. On defense, reads the plays the other team is setting up and communicates. He may not be the defender he once was, but his ability to communicate on D with his teammates helps keep his team locked in.
I think he'll be a great mentor to Ntilikina - and I fully expect them to be sharing the floor together for stretches over the course of the year.
Kanter is a bully out there - again, he's a bit reminiscent of folks like Al Jefferson & Zach Randolph. He's a bit too much to handle. He'll draw some early fouls and soften up the interior defense a bit. The analysts like to talk about how his advanced metrics tell the story that he's a liability and lacking the intangibles of a winner. Well, I'd have to say his 18/12 line today was certainly tangible. He made his presence felt out there.
What's next:
The Knicks face the Nuggets tomorrow. Both teams are playing in back to back games. Some interesting match ups, particularly Jokic vs Porzingis, two killer bigs. Jokic (drafted in 2014, but came over in 2015) has the killer passing game that KP lacks, while KP is a much more explosive athlete and scorer.
