Courtney Lee
Courtney Lee didn’t play poorly this preseason, but he failed to provide much of a statistical impact through the first four games. Fortunately for the New York Knicks, he turned things around and found his rhythm during the final two.
After shooting the lights out against the Boston Celtics on Wednesday, October 19, Lee was even better against the Brooklyn Nets on Thursday, October 20.
REPLAY: @CourtneyLee2211 beats the buzzer at the half! #NYKvsBKN pic.twitter.com/KSI2ntUeNu
— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) October 21, 2016
If you’re familiar with Lee’s career, then you know he has a tendency to consistently—yes, consistently—hit shots at the buzzer.
Lee played 29 minutes, which trailed just Carmelo Anthony and Jeremy Lin, 30, for the most of any player in this game. He posted a +/- of +14, which was the highest by any player on either the Knicks or Nets.
Individually, Lee recorded 15 points, five rebounds, an offensive board, two assists, and two steals on 7-of-8 shooting from the field and 1-of-1 shooting from distance.
Over the course of the past two games, Lee has scored 26 points in 43 minutes on 12-of-15 shooting from the field. He won’t hit 80 percent of his shots in 2016-17, but these two games have defined Lee’s offensive role.
When the Knicks need someone to bail the stars out and end a drought, Lee has the necessary tools to step up and get the job done.