The Knicks open the back end of their season on Friday. With 27 games remaining, the Knicks are 17-38, including a 13-20 record under Mike Miller after a 4-18 start under David Fizdale. When this season will be judged, more important than the team's record will be how its young players have developed.
That's what we'll focus on as we grade the Knicks in their first 55 games of the season.
Julius Randle: C-
If Randle would have repeated his shooting efficiency from New Orleans and displayed all his previous flaws, he would have earned a solid B. The problem is that his true shooting percentage has dropped from 60% to 53%, while his defense and decision making remain poor. Until he improves in other areas, he will be nothing more than a burst scorer as a tertiary or bench option.
RJ Barrett: B-
Barrett has been nearly exactly what people that really studied him in college expected this season. He is horribly inefficient, with .388/.318/.611 shooting percentage numbers. His free throw shooting has improved throughout the year, but his jump shot seems to be far away from being anything but a liability. Some of his misses are truly ugly. He also struggles finishing at the rim (41%). His defense has been strong, and he hasn't been as selfish as he was at Duke. He profiles as a solid starting caliber wing, unless the jumper can take a big jump and complement his driving game.
Frank Ntilikina: C-
Ntilikina has flashed progress with some improved aggression and shooting, but those signs have been few and far between. If nothing else, Ntilikina had to improve as a shooter this season and he hasn't (.382/.304/.864). He is still a strong defender but the rest of the game has to come along for him to be anything more than a defensive specialist off the bench.
Kevin Knox: D-
Kevin Knox has made small improvements on the margins in several areas: defense, passing and finishing at the rim. He is now simply below average in those categories rather than awful. His shooting has also cratered to .368/.326/.651. There isn't any part of his game he can lean on. If he can't get more minutes in the NBA, he might be better off in the G-League to regain some form of his game.
Mitchell Robinson: C+
Mitchell Robinson continues to be excellent at what he does well: finishing at the rim and protecting the rim. He is still too undisciplined defensively, commits too many fouls and has not expanded his offensive game at all.
Reggie Bullock: C
Bullock has played good defense but is only shooting 33% from behind the arc. He is a fine three-and-d bench wing, but there is no reason his minutes shouldn't start going to Damyean Dotson for the remainder of the season.
Elfrid Payton: B-
Payton, much like Gibson, has been exactly as advertised. He can't shoot at all (.430/.237/.536) but he can get into the paint and he is a good distributor when he does. On defense, he gambles a lot, which results in steals but also leads to off-ball lapses. He is a low-end starter or a good back-up for a decent team, but his injury early in the year knocks him down to a B-.
Taj Gibson: B-
Gibson has been a starter at center and provides the leadership and defense the team expected when they signed him. He's filled his role nicely, but his minutes should decrease as younger players get a chance to play more.
Wayne Ellington: D
Ellington came in to be a reliable veteran three-point shooter. He is shooting 34.6% from there. Yuck.
Allonzo Trier: D
Trier has not been given a chance to get on the floor, or has he not earned his way on the floor? There's something about his game that hasn't warranted playing time from two different head coaches.
Dennis Smith Jr.: F
You can argue he has been the worst player in the NBA this season, shooting .341/.292./.478 with a 2.8/1.7 assist to turnover ratio. He has been plagued by constant injury issues and a lack of focus. He needs to straighten his game out or he will find himself out of the league before long.
Damyean Dotson: C+
Dotson has come on recently, shooting 50% from behind the arc in his last ten games. But his overall numbers are dragged down by a poor shooting start to the year following offseason shoulder surgery. As a solid shooter and defender, the Knicks should consider bringing him back on a cheap multi-year deal if they can.
Bobby Portis: D-
Portis is shooting 34.8% from behind the arc, and that average number is his best contribution this season. He never passes and plays little defense. He shouldn't be playing minutes any longer.
Ignas Brazdeikis: Incomplete
He has excelled offensively in the G-League but hasn't been given a chance in the NBA.
Kadeem Allen: Incomplete
Allen has played just limited time in the NBA this season.
Mike Miller: B
Miller has the Knicks playing to a 32-win pace, but on a much easier schedule than David Fizdale faced earlier in the year. If he had been coaching the entire year, the team would probably be somewhere around a 28-win pace, which is right where they were expected to be.
David Fizdale: F
If you can name one thing Fizdale did well as head coach this season, you're a smarter person than I am.
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