Knicks Fall in Memphis: 3 Reasonable, Rational Responses
The Home of the Blues yielded an encore on Wednesday night ... but only a tired refrain for the New York Knicks.
New York's opening night affairs required overtime for the second consecutive season but heartbreak awaited on the other side this time around: denied a Ja Morant winner in regulation, the Memphis Grizzlies had a late surprise for the Knicks in the form of Tyus Jones' winning triple with 47.8 seconds left in the fifth period, the final tallies in a 115-112 decision at FedEx Forum.
Alas for Knicks fans, they won't be purchasing championsip tickets like some of their griidiron brethren have after hot starts. But can the metropolitan faithful healthily glean from a disappointing thriller?
Contract Year Cam Goes Bam
As a Monday, this is a contract year for Cam Reddish. The Knicks declined to offer him the rookie extension RJ Barrett got after a disappointing preseason saw him fail to take advantage of a sore Quentin Grimes during the preseason.
With Grimes' foot woes carrying over into the games that count, Reddish was the primary first frontcourt man off the bench. Things started dubiously (2-of-6) but Reddish saved his best for last, sinking 12 points in a fourth quarter that saw the Knicks force an extra session. The highlight of the infantile season is undobutedly Reddish's equalizing triple with just over three seconds to go. He also picked up the pace for a struggling Immanuel Quickley, who missed all six of his attempts from the field in 17 minutes.
When all was said and done, Reddish's final tally of 22 stands as his best output in a Knicks uniform to date since he was traded from Atlanta last season. Reddish remained cool after the game, a feeling perhaps brought about by the undesired result. His coming free agency, however, is far from his mind, as he told the New York Post that he was "doing it for me."
Reddish's career has been defined by two transactions: one enacted, one lacking. If the Knicks can get this kind of Reddish every night ... even when Grimes does come back ... that could truly ignite a bench unit further bolstered by ...
The Yankee Clipper
Metropolitan opportunitiy likewise knocked for Isaiah Hartenstein, who was by far the most impressive of the Knicks who earned a new contract this summer. The former Los Angeles Clipper was forced into a career-high 40 minutes with Mitchell Robinson flirting with foul trouble all night, taking over the starter's role and inheriting his propensity to haul in offensive rebounds. While Hartenstein created seven second chances, no one else on the team hauled into more than two on the offensive glass. The eight total rebounds he had were two short of a double-double working well with a 16-poiint showing that saw him sink 7-of-8 inside the arc.
Hartenstein proved so reliable that the Knicks sat Jericho Sims all night. Immediately it's an upgrate to the areas behind Robinson last season, which were eiither aging (Taj Gibson) or ailing (Nerlens Noel). Both have since moved from Manhattan.
The fact they're reserving all interior bench moments for Hartenstein is very, very telling: the NBA G Leauge Finals MVP from 2019 was no brargain during the free agency process, costing $8 million over the next two seasons. But if the Knicks are able to develop healthy contests in a game where Robinson's rebounding opportunities are done in by his own doing, it won't stingy by any means.
Multi Million-Wheres?
You'd think spotlighting two bench players would mean they were a complementing a solid outing for the starters, but it's clear there are going to be growing pains with this group.
Little more needs to be said about Robinson's first game on a new contract ... there's hardly anything to say as is because he only played 13 minutes. Jalen Brunson (15 points, 9 assists) spread the love, but going 0-for-4 during an overtime period is something you literally get paid $104 million not to do. Brunson's signature Knicks moment to date is likely the charge he took in the final second of regulation, absorbing Morant's would-be winning drive to get the offensive foul call.
But a large spotlight will be cast over RJ Barrett's struggle. Barrett, who earned the rookie contract extension that Reddish could not, shot 3-of-18 from the field, getting off to a 1-of-5 start and taking a gut-punch charge call that helped Memphis build early momentum. He was also tasked with covering Morant, his 2019 draft neighbor, for most of the night. The fact that the second overall pick put in 34 points and the most notable defensive stop came from Brunson probably tells you all you need to know about how that went.
Don't, however, count Julius Randle among the cursed five: in his first game playing on the $117 million extension yielded from his Most Improved Player endeavors from 2020-21 (and ironically facing his successor Morant), Randle put up a 24-point, 11-rebound double-double, but dishing out six assists, matching the average from his breakout season and the Knicks' fourth-place showing in the standings, has to be one of the most promising signs considering his desires to move the ball more with Brunson in tow.
Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags
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