The New York Knicks are rebuilding through a young core, but the veteran leadership provided by Jarrett Jack and Courtney Lee is proving crucial.
The New York Knicks are building around a core of Ron Baker, Tim Hardaway Jr., Willy Hernangomez, Enes Kanter, Doug McDermott, Frank Ntilikina, and Kristaps Porzingis. It’s an ambitious move, but the front office is prepared to take this calculated risk.
One of the primary reasons general manager Scott Perry is confident in his vision is the presence of veteran leaders on the court and in the locker room.
If rebuilding were as simple as finding talented players and watching them grow, more teams would be doing it. The nuances of the game are learned over time, however, and there’s no guaranteeing that every player will grasp them.
It’s veterans like Jarrett Jack and Courtney Lee who can help ensure that learning experiences are processed and valued.
On Sunday, October 29, both Jack and Lee gave a master class on how to play the right way. Tim Hardaway Jr., Enes Kanter, and Kristaps Porzingis were dominant from a statistical perspective, but Jack and Lee helped make the surprising upset of the Cleveland Cavaliers possible.
This is in no way taking something away from the younger players, but instead acknowledging how the veterans toed the thin line between victory and defeat.
Hardaway recorded a season-high 34 points and eight assists, and Porzingis added 32 points and 12 rebounds. Kanter posted yet another double-double, tallying 18 points and 12 rebounds while holding Tristan Thompson to one point and no boards.
Yet, for as brilliant as that trio of promising young contributors proved to be, the Knicks nearly blew what ended up being a 19-point win.
The word, “Clutch,” is generally applied to making shots during the final minute of a close game. As many legends of the sport have revealed, however, the most difficult shots to make are those that are attempted when nothing seems to be going a team’s way.
The most clutch shots can often be those that help keep a team in a game, fend off what’s shaping up to be a big run, or keep the deficit within a manageable distance.
Travel back to the win over and Cleveland, and one can see exactly why veterans who know this matter. New York entered the fourth quarter with a 92-75 lead, but the Cavaliers opened the final period with a 13-2 run that cut the Knicks’ lead to 94-88.
That may seem like a natural occurrence in the ebb and flow of a game, but it was the product of New York abandoning what it had been doing through three quarters.
Rather than moving the ball and making responsible rotations on defense, the Knicks played hero ball and committed senseless fouls. Egos trumped teamwork, as rushed shots and isolation possessions took precedence—to the expected detriment of the team.
After New York scored two points over the course of the first four minutes and 26 seconds of the fourth quarter, Lee did his veteran duties and took over.
The former Western Kentucky star hit a ridiculous circus shot on the drive to give New York its first points in nearly two full minutes. On the other end, he played brilliant defense against LeBron James, thus forcing a miss out of a perfectly contested post-up.
Roughly a minute later, Lee buried a three-point field goal that opened the floodgates and stifled the Cavaliers’ seemingly inevitable run to victory.
It’s also worth noting that, during the first 2:20 of the fourth quarter, New York went scoreless. Head coach Jeff Hornacek responded by making the unpopular decision to sub Jack in for alluring rookie Frank Ntilikina.
Within seconds, the Knicks were moving the ball and putting points on the board, scoring 22 points during the final 9:40 of the fourth quarter.
While Lee made two big shots and a key defensive stop, Jack reminded the younger players of what had been working for three full quarters. Making the extra pass became second nature once again, and Cleveland had no answer defensively.
With Jack setting the tone with his unselfish ball movement, the younger players imposed their will and closed out a confidence-building victory.
Lee finished the win over Cleveland with 15 points, 10 rebounds, three assists, two steals, and clutch execution on both ends of the floor. Jack struggled with his shot, but dished out nine assists and committed just two turnovers.
Jack tied Hardaway Jr. with a game-high +/- of +22, and Lee tied Porzingis for the second-best mark on the team at +21.
Beyond the numbers, Jack and Lee had an intoxicating effect on the younger players. When they were on the floor, the ball moved, defense was played with physicality and fervor, and communication was crisp on both ends of the floor.
Most important of all: When Jack and Lee were on the floor, the younger players learned critical lessons about how to close out a victory against a high-quality opponent.
Must Read: Who stepped up during the upset of the Cleveland Cavaliers?
Say what you will about the state of the Cleveland Cavaliers, but the New York Knicks are in good hands with Jarrett Jack and Courtney Lee mentoring the new generation.