Knicks Film: A promising sign from Kevin Knox in preseason

Kevin Knox is showing subtle hints of progress in the preseason.

While New York Knicks fans are excitedly talking about Obi Toppin and Immanuel Quickley after the first two preseason games, one player who has stood out to me in certain facets of his game is Kevin Knox.

The young forward is still looking to blossom into a productive NBA wing after a rocky start to his career. While some have moved on from believing he can be the type of talent worthy of a lottery pick, under the right development program, there is plenty of reason for optimism.

After shooting 1-6 in the first organized game Knox has played in since mid-March, the results were much improved in his second preseason affair. He scored 16 points on 5-8 shooting, and perhaps most importantly, he knocked down three of his five three-point attempts.

The Knicks ran several plays in an attempt to beat Detroit’s zone coverage that gave Knox opportunities to connect on perimeter jump shots as his defender cheated toward the middle of the court. You can see an example of this in the video below.

In some situations, Knox needs to learn to make the second pass on plays like these. But in order for the Knicks to force opposing defenses into difficult decisions in how they space the floor, he first needs to prove his ability to consistently make a long-distance shot.

But it wasn’t just shooting that impressed me with Knox. When David Fizdale first arrived as head coach, one of the things he talked about wanting to do was use his forwards, like Knox, to rebound the basketball and push the pace in transition. Well, Fizdale is long gone, but Knox is executing on that vision.

Making quick decisions is a sign of confidence, On both plays highlighted above, Knox turns a rebound into instant offense: first, he has the vision to make a beautiful outlet pass to RJ Barrett while holding the ball for about a split second; and next, he turns up court off the rebound with breakneck speed to create a fastbreak opportunity.

These are little things and only a very small sample in the preseason against low-level competition. But promising signs of good habits starting to develop from Kevin Knox.