Daily Knicks
Fansided

New York Knicks: The Quarter-Year Awards for 2019-20

By Rob Wolkenbrod

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - OCTOBER 25: Taurean Prince #2 of the Brooklyn Nets looks on as Marcus Morris Sr. #13, Julius Randle #30 and Kevin Knox II #20 of the New York Knicks react to a call during the second half of their game at Barclays Center on October 25, 2019 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - OCTOBER 25: Taurean Prince #2 of the Brooklyn Nets looks on as Marcus Morris Sr. #13, Julius Randle #30 and Kevin Knox II #20 of the New York Knicks react to a call during the second half of their game at Barclays Center on October 25, 2019 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
4 of 5
Next
new york knicks
(Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) /

Breakout Player: Frank Ntilikina

Frank Ntilikina’s 38.2 percent shooting and 33.3 percent on three-pointers will not “wow” anyone, but his confident play and corresponding confidence from Fizdale have been a positive sight this early in the season.

The Frenchman fell into the starting point guard role when Elfrid Payton and Dennis Smith Jr. were away from the team, bringing his stellar defense to the forefront and racking up assists along the way. 14 points, six rebounds, four assists and four steals against Dallas remains his best highlight and it may have locked him into the role for a while.

Honorable Mention: RJ Barrett

RJ Barrett was awesome to start the season and did not play like a rookie, with 17.9 points, 6.1 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game in his first eight starts. He displayed all the tools to tease his future with the New York Knicks, and all seemed great.

Since Nov. 8, however, Barrett has averaged 12.6 points on 37.3 percent shooting and 27.3 percent on three-pointers. His talent will let him overcome this at some point, but some of these struggles have also contributed to the Knicks’ sloppy season.

Biggest Regression: Mitchell Robinson

Mitchell Robinson still blocks shots and shows impressive feats of athleticism, but those 3.8 fouls per game are actually up from his 3.3 last season when foul trouble was already deemed problematic.

In 2019-20, Robinson has just six games of three fouls or fewer. Otherwise, fouling out four times is an obvious issue, and the calls on him are seemingly happening within moments of each other.

The second-year big man is just 21 years old, but he has yet to show improvement in 17 appearances. Controlling his on-court play would be a monstrous leap in the right direction and create more playing time.

Honorable Mentions: Kevin Knox and Allonzo Trier

What happened to the 2018 draft class? Kevin Knox has struggled at both ends of the court, including receiving the first “DNP-CD” of his career. Allonzo Trier has been a frequent flier on the bench, succumbing to the plethora of backcourt players.

Neither player’s outlook is high right now. That can always change with Fizdale’s fluctuating rotations, but both have not stood out this season.

Home/Knicks News