BBNBA: Knox Benched, Washington Pours in 26
(via Anthony J. Causi)
Good afternoon, folks. Well, it finally happened. The New York Knicks benched Kevin Knox for absolutely zero reason. Let’s talk NBA.
RECAP
Why do the Knicks hate Kevin Knox?
- The New York Knicks currently hold a 4-15 record, tied for the worst mark in the Eastern Conference with the Atlanta “we don’t know what defense is” Hawks. The Knicks are in the midst of a five-game losing streak after falling to the Philadelphia 76ers 101-95 on Friday night. It was also the first time in his short NBA career that forward Kevin Knox received a ‘DNP-coach’s decision’ despite being fully healthy. In his place, the veterans that New York has tried to supplement in order to achieve whatever expectations they apparently began the season with – Taj Gibson and Bobby Portis – combined for six points on 3-9 shooting in nearly 30 minutes; minutes that should be funneled to Knox.
- “By no means is Kevin buried,” head coach David Fizdale said following the loss, according to the NY Post. “But he’s gonna have to find his way out of it. I have a lot of confidence that he will.”
- Well, Mr. Fizdale, contrary to your words, it would appear that Knox is, in fact, literally being buried on the bench. His minutes have tanked from a year ago. Knox averaged almost 29 minutes per game his rookie season and played at least 20 minutes in 66 games. Knox has not eclipsed the 20-minute mark in any of the Knicks’ previous eight games, of which they have just two wins. Even before Friday’s loss, Fizdale did another terrible job of lying to the press.
Was the job to be a terrible basketball team? https://t.co/rO6rJERp40
— Zack Geoghegan (@ZackGeoghegan) November 29, 2019
- I would love to know what Fizdale’s exact definition of “get the job done” means because so far it’s been the exact opposite of what that term has meant since its inception. But Knox isn’t the only young Knick exiled to the pine. Second-year forward Allonzo Trier and third-year guard Damyean Dotson were staples of last season’s Knicks squad that played through the youth. Both players averaged a combined 50 minutes per game a year ago and that number has plummeted to under 30 minutes this season. Center Mitchell Robinson is one of the rawest and most talented young big men in the NBA, and the Knicks still favor a 30-year old Marcus Morris over him. Robinson’s minutes have regressed, as well, despite his ability as a 21-year old to protect the paint with elite proficiency. To be fair, Robinson has a tendency to over-foul, but it’s hard to learn from mistakes when you aren’t in the game to make any.
- I don’t think Fizdale is a bad coach by any means, but he’s wrong in his approach with this Knicks team. And whether the front office is breathing down his neck and encouraging him to only play the vets or he just doesn’t like where Knox is at, it doesn’t make up for the fact that he’s straight-up lying. I’m not sure what Fizdale is doing with this Knicks team and, to be honest, I don’t think he has any idea, either. But Knox is the one suffering the most from his head coach’s actions. But hey, at least Julius Randle has a greener light than when Carmelo Anthony was in NY, right? Randle posted 22 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, and four turnovers in the Knicks loss.
P.J.’s near-perfect game
- The Charlotte Hornets pulled off a close 110-017 win over the Detroit Pistons thanks to an outstanding performance from rookie P.J. Washington. The former Kentucky forward went off for a BBNBA-high of 26 points on 9-12 shooting while making all three of his shots from beyond the arc. He also added five rebounds, three assists, and four steals in 34 minutes. Washington’s 26 points were the most since his rookie debut back in October, when he poured in 27 points against the Chicago Bulls.
- Detroit’s final shot at the buzzer that would have sent the game to overtime just missed as the Hornets won its ninth straight game against the Pistons (which is actually the most hilarious Detroit sports stat I’ve read in some time). Washington became just the fourth Hornets rookie in franchise history to record at least 200 points, 100 rebounds, and 25 assists through his first 20 games. Malik Monk added seven points, three rebounds, and two assists for the Hornets.
Lakers win 10th straight game
- Anthony Davis, Rajon Rondo, and the Los Angeles Lakers secured its 10th straight win in a 125-103 victory over the Washington Wizards. It was the Lakers 14th win over its previous 15 outings as they move to 17-2 on the year (which matches the best start in franchise history) with the best record in the NBA. Davis posted his seventh double-double of the season with 26 points and 13 rebounds on 8-15 shooting to go along with his three blocks (Davis currently leads the league in blocks per game at 2.8).
- Rondo contributed 13 points and four assists on 5-7 shooting for L.A. while making three of his four shots from deep. There was a 24-minute stretch during this game where the Lakes outscored the Wiz by a total of 84-36, which is… Wow…
Herro pushes Heat to 8-0 start at home
- Bam Adebayo had an uncharacteristic game on the stat sheet in the Miami Heat’s 122-105 win over the Golden State Warriors. Adebayo posted just two points and nine rebounds on 1-5 shooting, although Miami was fueled by a 27-8 third-quarter run led by Tyler Herro that pushed the Heat to an 8-0 record at home – tying the best start in franchise history at home. Herro posted 19 points on 7-11 shooting (5-6 from three) in addition to five rebounds.
- Even though Adebayo didn’t put up big numbers, he continues to put on elite defensive performances every single night.
You can add yet another clip to the Bam Adebayo DPOY highlight reel.
-PnR D
-Quick rotation
-Switch + contest
-recover
-dig & recover
-drive contain
-blocked jumper pic.twitter.com/QKl3MF1MDG— Jasmine Thomas Fan Acct. (@NekiasNBA) November 30, 2019
- For the Warriors, Willie Cauley-Stein went for 14 points and six rebounds on 7-10 shooting.
Other notes
- Devin Booker and the Phoenix Suns lost 120-113 to Luka Doncic (who continues to play like a future Hall of Famer at just 20 years old) and the Dallas Mavericks. Booker went for 18 points, five rebounds, and eight assists for the Suns, who had Aron Baynes and Ricky Rubio in the lineup together for the first time in nearly two weeks.
- Check out the rest of the stats below.
STATISTICS
| Player | Result | Points | FG (3FG) | Reb. | Ast. | Steals | Blocks | TOs | +/- | Mins. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P.J. Washington Jr. (CHA) | 110-107 W @ DET | 26 | 9-12 (3-3) | 5 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 1 | +12 | 34 |
| Anthony Davis (LAL) | 125-103 W vs. WAS | 26 | 8-15 (1-2) | 13 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | +28 | 27 |
| Julius Randle (NYK) | 95-101 L vs. PHI | 22 | 6-13 (1-3) | 10 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 4 | +3 | 35 |
| Tyler Herro (MIA) | 122-105 W vs. GSW | 19 | 7-11 (5-6) | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | +12 | 26 |
| Devin Booker (PHX) | 113-120 L vs. DAL | 18 | 6-16 (1-3) | 5 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 3 | -14 | 37 |
| Willie Cauley-Stein (GSW) | 105-122 L @ MIA | 14 | 7-10 (0-0) | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -12 | 24 |
| Rajon Rondo (LAL) | 125-103 W vs. WAS | 13 | 5-7 (3-4) | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +15 | 11 |
| Enes Kanter (BOS) | 107-112 L @ BKN | 10 | 5-10 (0-0) | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | +10 | 20 |
| Eric Bledsoe (MIL) | 119-110 W @ CLE | 10 | 4-6 (1-3) | 3 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | +1 | 25 |
| Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (OKC) | 109-104 W vs. NOP | 10 | 4-13 (1-6) | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 4 | +3 | 33 |
| Trey Lyles (SAS) | 107-97 W vs. LAC | 10 | 4-8 (2-6) | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | +6 | 16 |
| Nerlens Noel (OKC) | 109-104 W vs. NOP | 8 | 3-4 (0-0) | 7 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | +1 | 23 |
| Malik Monk (CHA) | 110-107 W @ DET | 7 | 2-6 (1-3) | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -3 | 22 |
| Patrick Patterson (LAC) | 97-107 L @ SAS | 3 | 1-1 (1-1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +6 | 2 |
| Bam Adebayo (MIA) | 122-105 W vs. GSW | 2 | 1-5 (0-0) | 9 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | +12 | 24 |
| Skal Labissiere (POR) | 107-103 W vs. CHI | 2 | 1-3 (0-1) | 6 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | +3 | 17 |
| Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (CHA) | 110-107 W @ DET | DNP-CD | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Brandon Knight (CLE) | 110-119 L vs. MIL | DNP-CD | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Kevin Knox (NYK) | 95-101 L vs. PHI | DNP-CD | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Hamidou Diallo (OKC) | 109-104 W vs. NOP | DNP-Elbow | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| John Wall (WAS) | 103-125 L @ LAL | DNP-Foot | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Darius Miller (NOP) | 104-109 L @ OKC | DNP-Achilles | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Keldon Johnson (SAS) | 107-97 W vs. LAC | DNP-G League | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
TODAY IN THE NBA
5:00: Nuggets (Murray, Vanderbilt) @ Kings (Fox-out, Gabriel)
7:00 (NBATV): Pacers @ 76ers
8:00: Hawks @ Rockets
8:00: Hornets (Kidd-Gilchrist, Monk, Washington) @ Bucks (Bledsoe)
7 Comments for BBNBA: Knox Benched, Washington Pours in 26
Who is the dude next to Knox sleeping on the bench?!? Lmao
In his 1 year at UK, Knox was inconsistent and often appeared lethargic, and lacking any hustle whatsoever. Just because a player once wore a UK jersey, don’t automatically rush to their defense, with no apparent reason. Knox may be a good NBA player eventually, but he was by no means NBA-ready when he was drafted. The Knicks will always suck regardless, and I’d say Knox won’t be on their roster any longer than his contract requires, unless the next coach (and there will be one) falls in love with him.
And neither was RJ Barrett.
RJ Barrett was absolutely NBA ready when drafted.
Funny, have you kept up with his numbers? I have and the boy can’t shoot or should I say he can’t hit.
I agree with Kevin. Knox does not have long term NBA starter potential unless his shot improves….especially since his defense will always be below par. He is simply not athletic enough overcome this.
Probably because Knox is still the same overrated, mediocre player he was when he was at Kentucky. He was so frustrating to watch, that whole team was honestly.