Knicks hit wall
Rally from 16 down before Spurs use 18-0 run to spoil opener
SAN ANTONIO — The Knicks recovered from David Fizdale’s starting-lineup flop only to fold in the fourth quarter.
The Spurs detonated the Knicks with a 18-0 run in the final period of their 120-111 opening night victory as the Knicks’ offense went ice cold in a pivotal stretch.
Julius Randle, Marcus Morris, Elfrid Payton and RJ Barrett impressed in their Knicks debuts, but none could stop the bleeding. In the end, the game did not ease concerns about the Knicks’ poor defense and long-distance shooting.
The Knicks were up by six with about eight minutes remaining and that’s when, according to Fizdale, “the ball stopped moving.”
After much haranguing about the logjam at point guard, Fizdale went with option ‘D’ and chose none of them. Frank Ntilikina, Dennis Smith Jr. and Payton all underwhelmed during preseason and Fizdale pulled a power move by putting RJ Barrett at the point.
Barrett, who started at shooting guard all preseason, was alongside Allonzo Trier in the backcourt. Marcus Morris (small forward), Julius Randle (power forward) and Bobby Portis (center) were the other starters.
That lineup was settled since at least Tuesday and was first reported by the Daily News. Fizdale, however, held out an official announcement until 90 minutes before tipoff.
The secrecy wasn’t an advantage.
The lineup was a bust and managed just four points in six minutes before Fizdale pulled the plug. Barrett struggled to set up the offense and was stripped bringing up the ball. Trier missed three shots in his opening six minutes, committed a turnover and barely played again.
Mitchell Robinson would’ve started at center but sprained his ankle at Monday’s practice. Fizdale indicated the lineup was on a trial. If that’s the case, it was an error.
Fizdale didn’t even bother trotting them out to start the second half.
“I’ve got to watch the film. I think it was more than anything, the start was jitters and just nervous energy more than anything,” Fizdale said. “I want to get into the film, see what I see, make my adjustments from there.”
Dennis Smith Jr. was the first off the bench but struggled. The 21-year-old, who represents the biggest piece acquired in the trade for Kristaps Porzingis, shot just 1-of-4 in 10 minutes before Fizdale called it quits. When Payton succumbed to foul trouble in the third quarter, Fizdale went to Ntilikina instead. Ntilikina also underwhelmed in his three-minute cameo while committing two turnovers.
Smith hasn’t looked well since injuring his back before the first preseason game and said he can’t worry about not starting.
“With situations like that, my faith is in me. My faith is in the work that I put in. And everything that I do,” Smith said. “And I know that everything will work out for me.”
Payton (11 points, eight assists, five steals) proved the most productive point guard and should start moving forward. He got a hearty endorsement from Fizdale.
“Elfrid absolutely put his foot forward, took it to heart and ramped up the competition,” the coach said.
Barrett played better when moved to shooting guard, finishing with 21 points on 9-of-13 shooting. The Knicks won the third quarter by 11 points.
Morris had a game-high 26 points in a gamehigh 39 minutes. He was booed by the Spurs crowd each time he touched the ball, a consequence of him reneging on an agreement to sign with San Antonio in the offseason.
Randle scored 25 points with 11 boards and six assists. But he also sat for two crucial minutes in the fourth quarter because of cramps.
“I can’t do that to my team. I’ll fix it,” Randle said, indicating it was a hydration issue. “It was unfortunate. Crucial part of the game and I’ve got to stay in it.”
The Giants made a notable in-season addition this week when they signed free agent linebacker Deone Bucannon. Bucannon most recently played eight defensive snaps in five games for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this season.
Bucannon has already been familiar with the Giants' scheme orchestrated by defensive coordinator James Bettcher. Bucannon played with Bettcher as a member of the Arizona Cardinals from 2015-17.
“I'm here to flow in like water, man,” Bucannon told reporters after practice. “For me, when I'm on the field I enjoy being an expert in my work.”
Bucannon said he's coming in to play the “moneybacker” role that he played in Arizona and Tampa Bay. A moneybacker is somewhat of a hybrid between a true middle linebacker and a safety. The responsibilities of that position are closer to a middle linebacker, but at times Bucannon will be forced to play outside of the box like a safety.
“It's different. A box safety, they're outside the box a lot. You know what I'm saying?” Bucannon said. “But they doing similar things. When you're outside the box, your (run) fits are different. When you're a moneybacker, you still gotta plug that run, you gotta go against them pullers. The majority of the time as a safety, you're the free hitter, you know what I'm saying? When you're a moneybacker you gotta be able to plug the gaps and go against them 300 to 315 pound guys. At the same time, you've gotta be able to cover running backs and tight ends. You've got to understand linebacker fits, but also be able to cover like a safety.”
Bucannon has spent pretty much his entire career playing this position. Arizona slid him into that role as a first round pick in 2014, he played the same position when he was reunited with Tampa Bay defensive coordinator Todd Bowles for a few weeks, and now he's playing it again under Bettcher. Bucannon said the language between Bettcher's defense and Bowles' defense was similar, but they called the game differently.
“It's a lot of similarities, honestly.” Bucannon said. “It's a lot of pressure on the quarterback, a lot of man. There are just tiny differences whether it be, one play is a little bit more zone and the other one doesn't do as much. One may blitz a lot more and play a lot more (Cover) 0. They're two different people so they call the game a little bit different, but at the same time the system and the schematics are all the same.”
The addition of Bucannon
gives the Giants a moneybacker with experience and gives them a player they can pair with linebacker Alec Ogletree in the middle of their defense.
“I think in our defense, kinda, both positions are mostly kind of alike,” Ogletree said. “Some plays I might be the money, other plays the other backer can be the money. Depends on how you line up, but as far as getting lined up I do consider myself the Mike (middle) backer.”
The outside linebackers tend to work more with the defensive line than the inside linebackers do in the Giants' defense, but OLB Lorenzo Carter thinks Bucannon will have a fairly easy transition into the defense.
“I think he's gonna be pretty straight.” Carter said. “He knows what this defense is about. He knows the little things about it, our little language, especially. That's probably the hardest thing about coming from somewhere else, the language. But he's been here, so he understands. It'll be a pretty small thing for him.”
Head coach Pat Shurmur believes that Bucannon can help out their speed and coverage in the middle of the field, which could help the Giants out this week as they face the Lions' talented tight end duo of Jesse James and T.J. Hockenson.
As far as injury news goes, cornerback Corey Ballantine was the only player to not participate in Wednesday's practice as he deals with a concussion. Wide receiver Sterling Shepard and running back Saquon Barkley were both limited. Shepard is still dealing with a concussion and Barkley was listed with an ankle injury, but Shurmur labeled it as a “rest” day for Barkley. Linebacker Lorenzo Carter and wide receiver Cody Latimer were full practice participants.