Five observations from the New York Knicks’ 115-108 road loss Tuesday at the Pistons.
1. The Knicks two draft picks aren’t progressing, but regressing. You expect a slower climb for rookie project Mitchell Robinson, a second-rounder. But something’s not right with 2018 lottery pick Kevin Knox, who is not shooting, passing or defending well enough to earn major minutes. He put forth another low-energy clunker Tuesday, not hitting for his first field goal until 2:13 left and finishing 1 of 7 for five points in 15 minutes. He didn’t have an assist.
Knox is shooting 32.5 percent overall, 32 percent on 3-pointers and just 67.9 percent from the free-throw line. He’s averaging 7.5 points and doesn’t seem to have enough court awareness to pass the ball when he’s headed to the basket contested. Too often, he’s flipping up no-chance floaters and he’s also not coming close on some of his perimeter jumpers. Either he’s hit the rookie wall in late November or the 16-day absence from his ankle sprain threw him out of whack and he hasn’t recovered his confidence.
That said, Knox had a nice second half in Boston to help pull out the win last Wednesday. When Courtney Lee returns, it wouldn’t be a crazy notion to have Knox, the second-youngest player in the draft at 19, play one game for the Westchester Knicks to give him starter’s minutes and find himself, but the Knicks aren’t even thinking along those lines. Remember Kentucky coach John Calipari’s poignant remark at the pre-draft camp?
“He’s not even close to what he’s going to be,” Calipari said in May. “You got to know you’re taking one of the youngest kids in the draft. You’re going to see this kid now and it’s going to be, ‘holy cow, he’s young.’ There are some guys that at 18 have the beard. Then there’s some guys that reach for a ball and you go, ‘You don’t have hair under your arms.’ He’s one of those.”
Be patient.
2. Robinson sustained foul trouble in the Las Vegas summer league, but didn’t have an ejection because the six-foul limit is nonexistent. Robinson picked up nine fouls in one contest. Now the 7-foot-1 project has fouled out of two of the past three games — in nine minutes vs. New Orleans and 17 in Detroit Tuesday. It’s nothing that can’t be learned.
“I have to keep a clear head,” Robinson told The Post. “The coaches tell me play with my hands up and stop reaching in. I could be better.”
3. Stanley Johnson was the eighth pick of the 2015 draft – three slots after Mario Hezonja. Johnson helped key the Pistons’ victory with 21 points in 27 minutes (7 of 9 from the field, 2 of 3 on 3-pointers). He’s a restricted free agent. Knicks GM Scott Perry had a chance to draft him in Orlando but chose Hezonja. The Post has reported Johnson was Carmelo Anthony’s private pick for the Knicks at No. 4, but they likely did OK with Kristaps Porzingis.
4. Frank Ntilikina is still doing well as their versatile defender, but offensively he’s falling off the map. It was another weak game for the Frenchman in Detroit – scoreless, shooting 0 for 3. He also had a turnover when he dribbled toward the basket, stopped, was indecisive and lost the ball out of bounds. Ntilikina hasn’t had a double-figure performance in 11 games.
5. The Knox scare is mitigated somewhat by undrafted rookie Allonzo Trier, who had a terrific second half and even played the point in the fourth quarter, though some of it felt like garbage time. Still his line of 24 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists is uplifting. Trier said he did play some point guard at Arizona. Trier’s two-way contract will soon have to be converted as his 45-day limit is running out. The Knicks will have to make a cut.
“One thing I did that I haven’t done a lot of was put him at the point guard spot and he handled that well and we actually went on a run late with him at that position,” coach David Fizdale said. “All the credit goes to Scott Perry and his staff because right now I have a two-way player that I can depend on to finish games. There’s not many of those guys running around there right now.”
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