Speedy guards causing problems for Fizdale’s crew
David Fizdale bemoaned the Knicks’ “Achilles’ heel” of defending quick guards, then watched Devonte’ Graham hit a career-high nine 3-pointers, including Saturday’s game-winner with 2.1 seconds remaining. This came four days after Bulls rookie Coby White came off the bench to score a career-high 27 points. That came two days after Collin Sexton went off for a career-best 31 points against the Knicks.
Barely a week after Sexton helped hand the Knicks (3-10) an embarrassing 21-point loss at home, the Cavaliers (4-7) return to Madison Square Garden Monday night.
“The battle that we are fighting is the speed guard who can shoot, those little guards that can get anywhere on the floor that can shoot the ball from the moon,” Fizdale said following Sunday’s practice. “Those guys have been giving us headaches and hopefully we can find a way to conquer this with Collin and [Darius] Garland.”
Prior to Saturday’s loss, Fizdale said he was considering utilizing a faster and smaller lineup, featuring Frank Ntilikina and Dennis Smith Jr., but the latter was limited to 10 minutes because of foul trouble. Smith, who has only appeared in three games since an extended absence due to the death of his stepmother, was coming off his best game of the season, in which he had 13 points, eight assists and six rebounds in 30 minutes in a win over the Mavericks.
“I had a feeling, too, that it’s gonna be a little up and down for Dennis now,” Fizdale said. “The Dallas game was an adrenaline game, but Dennis is still trying to find his rhythm. He’s still trying to find his legs, so it’s not just gonna be he’s just taking off and rolling right away.”
➤ Mitchell Robinson, who missed time earlier in the season with a sprained right ankle, said he expects to play Monday after rolling his right ankle late in Saturday’s loss. Since returning from a concussion, Robinson has come off the bench and shot 13 of 15 from the field, while averaging 16.5 points and 10 rebounds.
“Right now that’s working for us,” Fizdale said of Robinson’s new role. “I think Taj [ Gibson] gets us off to really stable starts and keeps Mitchell from the potential of early foul trouble. ... Either one of them can end up finishing the games.”
Elfrid Payton (hamstring) remains day-to-day.
➤ Kevin Knox hasn’t contributed much to what
Fizdale deemed the team’s best back-to-back effort of the season. Last season’s lottery pick finished Saturday with two points in a seasonlow 14 minutes. In Thursday’s win, Knox played 15 minutes.
“It’s just how the game goes sometimes, but Kevin is a critical part of what we’re doing,” Fizdale said. “It just so happened that the groups that were out there were playing really well. ... Kevin is right there in the rotation and I have trust in him and I know he can do well for us.”