Let the young guns play! The Knicks have made a conscious effort in the past two seasons to be fully dedicated to a rebuild and rebuilding the right way. They are drafting young players and using there player development department to get their full potential out of them. You have to be optimistic if you are a Knick fan. When was the last time you could remember that the Knicks as an organization are making efforts to rebuild correctly? They are not over paying for free agents who are not going to make that big of an impact. They are actually focusing on the young players they have on the roster and developing them that was on display tonight.
There was a lot of positives you can take away from tonights preseason game against the Cavs. The young players showed out tonight and showed they can play well together. When the Knicks had Immanuel Quickly, RJ Barrett, Kevin Knox, Obi Toppin, and Mitchell Robinson on the floor they played really well. This should be the starting lineup moving forward for as long as you can and allow these guys to develop and see what you have there with this group.
This is a make or break season for a lot of young Knick players that list includes; Frank Ntililkina, Dennis Smith Jr, and Kevin Knox. These players have to have a good season this year or otherwise they may not be on this Knicks team much longer.
When you are talking about Frank he may have a place on this roster even if he does not have a great year because of the defensive presence he provides and the fact that Tom Thibodeau is a defensive minded coach and Frank can defend multiple positions. In regards to Dennis Smith Jr he worked very hard this offseason and just needs to show flashes of how he played in his rookie year in 2017 if he stays healthy he really could be poised to have a great year with this young Knicks roster. Lastly there is Kevin Knox who is entering year three and arguably the biggest season of his young career. Tonight Knox showed flashes of his great potential scoring sixteen points twelve of this in fourth quarter he finished 5 for 8 from the field with three made three pointers. Kevin is a talented player he just needs to show he can put it all together.
Talking more about this young movement how about Immanuel Quickly?! Quickly was the Knicks second pick in the 1st round over showed by Obi Toppin but Quickly can certainly play! He was the SEC player of the year and shot over forty percent from three point range. He is a sniper and this is something the Knicks desperately need. The minutes he provided off the bench was great tonight, he also showed he can play the point guard position finishing the night with seven assists. The question surrounding Immanuel is if he can play the one at the NBA level, I don’t know the answer to that but with him and RJ Barrett on the floor together the both of them provide great play making ability. The future does seem bright for the Knicks and they actually have a young core on this roster.
The fact that the Knicks have a young core with Obi Toppin, Mitchell Robinson, Kevin Knox, Frank, DSJ, Quickly, and RJ Barrett leading the charge you have to feel the Knicks are in a position where they can succeed in the future. Who knows if this Knicks team will make the playoffs but they certainly are going to be a young fun team to watch. Tom Thibodeau is going to have this team committed and playing competitively so who knows if they do make the playoffs there is going to be ten playoff spots this year!
