Knicks D up, lead Hornets at the half

Knicks up 55-47 at the half.

The Knicks lead the Hornets 55-47 at the half. Here are the key takeaways.

1) The Knicks made a noticeable effort to come out of the gate employing what worked well in the Dallas game, not settling for bad shots on any of their early possessions thanks to constant movement, both on and off the ball.

2) Despite the improved ball movement, New York once again had trouble scoring early, missing all seven from deep and shooting only 36 percent in the first quarter. The difference from many other games this season is that they didn't let their offensive struggles affect what they did on the other end, largely defending on a string. They might want to read the scouting report on Devonte Graham though...Frank and Taj botched a switch early that resulted in an open three for a guy who's been shooting flames out of his butt all year long. 

He also had back to back threes in the second quarter, the first of which came after Bobby Portis was far too deep in the paint to get back out to the corner. Not a great look for the Knicks defensive game plan there.

3) Cody Zeller is just a solid basketball player. Doesn't hurt you on either end, and can do some things when he has the ball.

4) Dennis Smith Jr. largely picked up where he left off on Thursday night, but sadly picked up three quick fouls and only played three minutes in the half.

5) Great moment in the second quarter from Kevin Knox, who passed up a long two to find an open Bobby Portis above the arc. That's not a pass he sees last year, let alone actually completes. It put the Knicks up 30-20.

6) Nice to see the Knicks baiting the opponent in the corner for once, which Marcus Morris did, getting Miles Bridges in the air and drawing a foul in the second. Can't remember the last time that happened.

7) The Knicks offense was really quite nice for almost all of the half, if we're grading on the ugly curve for this early season, at least as far as ball movement went. This, for instance, was flat out beautiful:

Randle insisting on bringing the ball down is normally cringey, but this play was great. More of this from Randle and he can bring it down all he wants pic.twitter.com/CrHxr7NqgY

— Posting and Toasting (@ptknicksblog) November 17, 2019

However, it seems they've decided that they're going to keep taking long two's if they're open. They are not making these shots, by and large. Something to consider moving forward.