BOSTON — Four observations from the Knicks’ 118-114 Garden loss Tuesday to the Blazers that dropped them 10 games under .500 at 4-14.
1. Knicks fans can tolerate massive amounts of losing in this 2018-19 season of player development, but not if their four most important young players — Kevin Knox, Allonzo Trier, Mitchell Robinson, Frank Ntilikina — aren’t developing.
That’s what appears to be occurring recently, especially with Knox. Coach David Fizdale is throwing paint at the wall at this stage in configuring new starting lineups. He finally gave Knox his first regular-season start Friday in New Orleans in a three-rookie alignment. Tuesday, after two games, the former Memphis coach took the rookie trio out of the starting lineup.
Enes Kanter for center Mitchell Robinson made some sense. Taking Knox out for struggling Mario Hezonja was a silly reach. Fizdale, who was hired because of his development skills, said he wanted to see what Hezonja, a DNP the previous two games, looked like in the starting lineup for the first time. Hezonja didn’t look good and didn’t earn the start.
Knox, who was coming off a low-energy dud versus Orlando’s Aaron Gordon that prompted Fizdale to question his “motor,’’ didn’t look good, either. Fizdale explained the demotion as Knox, 19, looking sharper coming off the bench. “His first couple of games coming off the bench, he scored better and had better rhythm,’’ Fizdale said. “But it was good to throw him in there, getting that experience of starting. But now I want see if this can get him back into a good scoring rhythm.”
The Knicks’ lack of ball movement and a creative point guard hurts Knox, who is off in the corner waiting for the ball. His lone basket Tuesday was off a fastbreak spawned by a Robinson block. He was 1 of 3 in 12 minutes, mounting two points after going for four points Sunday in Orlando. His shooting percentage is 33 percent.
It’s been a topsy-turvy rookie year for Knox, who missed 16 days with a sprained ankle. In preseason, Knox started all five games before Fizdale shockingly decided to bring him off the bench. Knox is missing a lot of open shots, but he’s looking nothing like the stud who attacked the rim at summer league and drew fouls. Knox is the Knicks’ most important player this season, and Fizdale needs to ease up on the yo-yo and put him in the starting lineup permanently, beginning Wednesday night in Boston.
2. In Fizdale’s constantly revolving door, swingman Damyean Dotson became the latest DNP. Dotson was removed from the starting lineup before last week’s Oklahoma City game for Emmanuel Mudiay, and the coach promised he’d play. Hezonja’s two-point outing versus Portland may lead him out of the rotation again for Dotson. Fizdale has set the 25-game mark to have an established starting lineup and rotation, but it’s hard to imagine it sticks.
3. Teams expect go into the Garden and post wins. After the Blazers toughed out the close game, C.J. McCollum said, “We won. That’s the biggest thing. No one is going to look back and say, ‘Oh, you only beat this team by two or three.’’’
It was a third straight 30-point night for Tim Hardaway Jr. in a loss, but this was the most efficient one. He was plus-10, 3 of 6 from 3-point range and 9 of 9 on free throws in compiling his 32 points. He also notched four assists in 37 minutes.
Hardaway also played good defense on Damian Lillard on his late miss that resulted in a putback for Evan Turner with Trey Burke out of position. Hardaway’s scoring average is 24.4 points, and his 3-point shooting is a healthy 37.3 percent. He’s got All-Star numbers, but coaches voting for All-Star reserves look at the record first regarding a player who hasn’t made it before.
4. Ntilikina talked about having two sore shoulders during the recent road trip. It may be why he’s been misfiring and looking tentative. Ntilikina shot an airball from deep Tuesday and finished 1 of 5 from 3-point range in 27 minutes.
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