Did you know that the phrase “win one for the Gipper” refers to a college football player named George Gipp who was born in 1895, died of pneumonia at the age of 25 and was later portrayed in a film by Ronald Reagan? And is the final origin of the infamous sentence contested?
Origins of expression aside, the Knicks won one for Gipper tonight. It turns out that Gipper is Tom Thibodeau, who used to coach the Bulls and was understandably upset when the Knicks fell to Chicago 110-102, in the first of a set of two games earlier in the week. With Wednesday’s victory, Thibs improved to 6-2 as a head coach when playing against his former team, while the Knicks avoided a three-game losing streak.
Despite leading the night, New York came very close to screwing up in the end. But even if Immanuel Quickley played as an Earthman instead of a being from another world, the Knicks resisted, 107-103.
Wednesday’s game was played amid a growing wave of Knicks fans asking Elfrid Payton to be replaced in favor of IQ. Some are even speculating that Elf is defending himself through an alleged burner bill. Payton may or may not be defending himself anonymously online, but there is no doubt that he protected his initial role on Wednesday, much to the dismay of many.
I’m not elfrid Payton, guys, you have to relax, it can make you sick
– knicksfan6 (@ knicksfan63) February 2, 2021
In fact, he scored the first points of the game for the Knicks in an offensive rebound, then immediately forced a turn that ended up resulting in a beautiful tray on the left of RJ Barrett.
The score was evenly distributed among the Knickerbockers in the opening period, although it was Elf who stole the show, especially considering that IQ is quickly becoming one of the best players on the team. Payton posted 10 points (5-7 shots) and 7 rebounds in the first quarter, easily passing through his defender at will and skillfully finishing several layups.
Of course, as noted earlier, the score was evenly distributed. Randle had 11 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists; Barrett won 6 points; Mitchell Robinson added 4 points and 3 boards.
Among the main areas in which the Knicks had an advantage in the quarter was the repercussion, and in particular, the offensive repercussion. New York beat Chicago 17-8 in the first, with 6 offensive rebounds against 1 for the Bulls. Call Mitch Windex, because he was cleaning the glass.
Going into second, the Knicks won 34-17. And Quickley hadn’t played yet! IQ started the second quarter alongside Austin Rivers, Alec Burks, Obi Toppin and Nerlens Noel, and the dot god immediately sank a floater.
Then Toppin landed consecutive shots, including three from a Burks shot. It looked like the Knicks could maintain a double-digit lead throughout the night if they really wanted to.
Zach LaVine appeared, however, scoring 10 points in the period (would end with 24 in the night) and preventing the Knicks from escaping the game. Almost in the middle of the second, it was registered that the lineup included Quickley and a group of players. They played very well, although the IQ was not as hot as before.
For most of the second, the Knicks had a very significant advantage, although in the final minutes they started to play carelessly. Ultimately, they allowed the Bulls to more than double their first quarter total in the second. The Bulls took the fourth, 35-29, and the Knicks took 9 points for the break.
The third quarter started with a dead end between RJ and Mitch, suggesting that the Knicks would rekindle the flame that began to weaken towards the end of the first half. But Chicago was also a little more prepared to play than before, LaVine conceded another 10 points, Payton was not as prolific as in the first and Quickley was given just over two minutes on the ground.
The Bulls kept coming and repeatedly managed to reduce the advantage to one digit, but the Knicks did not give up. Despite a 12-2 Bulls race and a sloppy overall quarter that featured 6 of New York’s total 17 spins that night, The Knicks really took the fourth, 28-24, and went into the final period with 91-76 .
With Quickley performing at a medium level, instead of looking like a superstar, Thibs once again set up Payton for much of the fourth period, even though he was no longer shooting at the same high rate as the first half. In fact, the Bulls put the staples down in the period, keeping the Knicks just 16 points from 6-20 on the field. In the final minutes, it really looked like New York might explode.
But these are not the Knicks of old. They withstood one last Bulls 14-3 run and held on thanks to a bunch of clutch buckets from Randle, plus a huge corner three from Reggie Bullock. In the end, Quickley ended the victory by hitting one of two free throws to extend the New York lead to 4 with 0.3 seconds on the clock.
The Knicks now have 10-13. With 23 games last year, they were 4-19 and are the second coach of the season.
GRADES:
> It is worth reiterating: Julius Randle is an All-Star who is making a strong case for being considered part of the future of this team. He had another incredible night, accumulating 27 points (11-20 from the field, 5-7 from the bottom), plus 6 rebounds and 6 assists. The five three drew their career high.
> Mitch loves to crouch while pretending to be not fully engaged, before suddenly sneaking into the game and hitting an open dunk. Robinson finished with 8 points, 11 boards and 2 steals, but 0 blocks. It is only the third time in 23 games this year that he has failed to register at least one block.
> RJ once again stood out, with 17 points (8-16 shots), 7 bags and 2 assists. He started doing what Quickley does: he passes by the guy, but slows down and keeps the defender on his hip. IQ is great for drawing fouls on these moves. It would be wonderful if RJ could start doing that too.
> A second quick note about RJ: he seems to have a characteristic chic dribble now, where he bounces the ball between his legs, but from behind. He did it tonight, but missed the jump. This example is not from tonight, but it gives an idea of the movement that he is beginning to incorporate more often.
> It seems that IQ and Mitch should play more minutes together. This occurs for several reasons, including so that there can be pick and roll where the defense has to worry about both the float and the lob.
> I do not believe that Nerlens Noel’s hands are not butter.
> It was an unpretentious performance by Quickley, which ended with just 9 points (3-7 kicks, 2-3 deep), 1 rebound and 1 assist in just over 13 minutes of action. Even if Elf had a game, Quickley deserved more time.
> Even though the game ball goes to Randle for playing a full game and catching the ball when the Knicks need it, the game ball also goes to Payton, who played well enough for Thibs to be convinced that he should continue to start at less some more time. Elf had 20 points (9-19 shots, 0-2 out of three), plus 8 rebounds and 4 assists.
As Knicksfan84 noted, “Payton playing as if he didn’t want to lose his initial PG seat.” Of course, Knicksfan84 could have said “change it”, but like it or not, Elf secured the starting role at least in the next game. Have no fear; Quickley’s time will come.
The Knicks are stopped until Saturday afternoon at 1pm against the Portland Trail Blazers. The game is in New York. The quest to get closer to 0.500 then continues. The Knicks must continue to win, even if only through the Gipper.