DENVER — EVERYONE AT THE BALL ARENA SHOULD KNOW cam reddish I was going to the hoops.
Red dish is elaborate on the rim recently. Once he gets there, it’s clear what comes next. The 22-year-old is in love with his step inside his outside his one-two-hop Euro.zigzag new york knicks It may be unpredictable these days, but on at least one play in the remaining two minutes of a three-point game, what we all expected happened.
Red Dish Fields Pass Julius Randle It’s on top of the key. He did his two dribbles with his left hand and Euro stepped into the basket and flipped his right layup to increase New York’s lead. Denver Nuggets to five.
But the play was anything but reddish. Instead, there were about two players on either side of him. obi toppinand right-wing Randall.
Reddish is not shy about trying the Euro step. The problem arises when he slips past one of his defenders and accidentally hits another one or two of his defenders. Knicks paint can get crowded. However, in this successful lay-in, there were no impressive opponents to stand in Reddish’s way.
It was a rare open lane for the Knicks.
This was no coincidence. Reddish is Toppin on the left, Randall on the right, Immanuel Quickley cutting on wings Jalen Brunsonand exactly zero paint dwelling centers blocking the way to the whoops.
New York left its center on the bench for its final push in Denver on Wednesday. The Knicks were trailed by 10 when Randle joined Toppin on the floor with eight minutes remaining. From there he outscored the Nuggets 20-7 and won 106-103.Upstarts After Allowing 145 Points In Home Loss oklahoma city thunder The Knicks (8-7) won their second straight on Sunday. One in Utah and he’s another in Denver.
The outcome of the win over the Nuggets begs the question: Will head coach Tom Thibodeau continue to weaponize the duo of Toppin and Randle when the Knicks come down late? This is not the first time we have recovered from a large deficit. And it happened in many ways.
Just two weeks ago in Philadelphia, the Knicks surged from 12 downs in the fourth quarter to take the lead. 76ers, thanks to the double work of Toppin and Randall. There were some moments that didn’t inspire them either, but Thibodeau is starting to build a sample size.
Toppin and Randle have shared the floor for 51 minutes so far this season, more than half of their total playing time in 2021-22. The Knicks outscored his opponent by one point in those minutes.
Wednesday’s comeback delivered Randle’s best performance of the season. He was more aggressive on defense than ever before, overwhelming the Nuggets and knocking out passes. He recorded his 34 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals (he had 3 in the 4th quarter).
Thibodeau has always hesitated to play Toppin and Randall together. The coach’s ethos is defensive, and he plans around removing the paint first. And all the shot-blocking nicks hang around the hoop, even on offense.
Will Obi Toppin and Julius Randle spend more time together on the court? (Isaiah J. Downing/USA Today)
But things are changing around Toppin Randle’s frontcourt. The Knicks can make up for their lack of rim protection with the better perimeter defense they acquired from Quickley and Reddish on Wednesday. Shot blocking is less important when getting into the paint is a chore. Randle played the most elaborate defensive game of the season.
Meanwhile, Toppin’s offense is too strong to ignore.
Mitchell Robinson Missed due to right knee sprain. Thibodeau says he goes about his day-to-day life. It’s no coincidence that the Philadelphia game that inspired Randle and Toppin to play together this season was the same game that Robinson got injured. But whether Robinson is taking time at center or not, the Knicks won’t see Toppin the same way they have in the past. His 3-point shot for a third-year forward changes the dynamics.
During the brief time Toppin and Randle played together last season, the team didn’t feel the need to guard Toppin at the arc. Now he’s knocking in over 40% of his 3-point attempts .
The 3-point barren Knicks are desperately in need of spacing, especially against two of the best long-range shooters. Evan Fournier When Quentin Grimes, is now completely out of rotation. Jalen Brunson needs these lanes for some funky post moves. RJ Barrett He needs them for his slashes. Reddish needs them for the Euro step.
Thibodeau was not positive about using Toppin and Randle together. He did it when the team was down big in the second half, or when the opponent was down small. deandre jordan, was still on the court. Jordan’s offense kept the Knicks low and punishing, and the veteran big man struggled on the perimeter, guarding either Toppin or Randle. Instead, Thibodeau waited for Denver to be late and smaller before meeting its size.
“We thought it would give us energy, and it did,” said Thibodeau. “Just having the ability to do a little more switching allows us to use that kind of thing, and the athleticism that we were trying to acquire. was to cut more floors.”
Robinson’s return will always cut into someone’s minutes. Isaiah Hartenstein Go back to the bench. Jericho Sims May end rotation.
With the roster at full power, it could mean Thibodeau returns to the traditional center 48 minutes. Or maybe he saw something here that he believed would work. After all, Randle’s minutes haven’t gone down. So the only way for the up-and-coming Toppin to get more minutes is to run side-by-side with a former All-Star.
But as long as Robinson is on the sidelines, it doesn’t seem like we’ve seen the end of Toppin Randall.
“I like it,” said Thibodeau. “It’s had its ups and downs, but that’s probably our team. Philly’s game was obviously very good. We’ll see how it goes.”
(top photo of Kentavious Caldwell-Pope Julius Randle: Isaiah J. Downing/USA Today)
