Wizards 108, Knicks 95: ‘I think I’ve had enough of this ‘

Well that stunk. The Wizards were able to get out in front on the young Knicks early and just kept slapping them away anytime they got too close. John Wall paced them and Bradley Beal came through with some timely hoops. Washington was due for a win and some home cooking. The 39 to 16 free throw advantage in favor of the Wizards certainly was mom’s spaghetti. Are we taking that for data?

The Knicks did what they could with Tim Hardaway Jr. hobbled by a back injury in the first half. Tim finished the game but never looked comfortable. His normal springy step was a rigid top-heavy lope. It looked like the lower back, and that obviously could be bad over the long haul. Tim’s offense was the domino that set everything else in motion for the Knicks so far this year and he was sorely missed.

Allonzo Trier did what he could to command the same type of attention and it certainly got under John Wall’s thin skin. The game got chippy with those two at the center of it, and try as he may, Wall went after Trier. Never really found what he was looking for. What was it even you were looking for, John? To the notes...

• Several different Knicks had foul woes tonight but they were pretty much all first and second year players. The exception was Noah Vonleh who is in his fifth season but only 23 years young. Interesting times.
• Mitchell Robinson blocked a Dwight Howard jump shot and sprinted the other way as he gained control of the possession. Howard caught up to and shoved him and Mitchell went flying. I wonder if he is still used to sprinting ahead of high school players that are 5’8” and need 25 steps to run 60 feet. So when he pokes the ball away and sprints to catch up to it against NBA players, his time to load up and rip a ferocious dunk is significantly shorter. Whatever the case may be. Robinson still rips ‘em down and I desperately love it.

• Maybe you should take another look at that 30-foot flip to the cup. Frank Ntilikina had a rough game on shooting but he is definitely the best passer on the team. Despite what you may have heard. Frank was largely passive, but after a rough set of calls against him and missed calls late in the first half, Ntilikina got pissed and started to sprint the ball up the floor and was very aggressive keeping his dribble alive prodding the Wizard defenses. When Frank attacks:

• I like Mitchell’s free throw stroke. I also don’t like it. Somehow he both clutches the ball and shoots it off his fingertips. The follow through is perfectly extreme. In 26’ he was 4-4 from the stripe and had ten points to go with six boards and the aforementioned block on Howard.
• I hope Austin Rivers went as Jimmy McNulty for Halloween. Bushy top.
• Trier could have been Kima.
• Trey Burke got a haircut. So now he’s completed his transformation into a tiny Ricky Ledo.
• Enes Kanter is like a tore back Oldsmobile that is super heavy, can’t go fast and doesn’t really have brakes. Nevertheless I’m sure everyone is super impressed by his double-double. The six minutes it took him to get two baskets against Jason Smith was my favorite part.
• Kanter appreciated a flagrant foul from Dwight Howard by patting him on the arm. It didn’t look so bad but Howard grabbed him by the neck and didn’t let him jump. Which begs the question...

• If you need to consult the 2014 Fart Chart to help contextualize their gaseous elements click here.
• Nice set of plays for Mario Hezonja in the first half, stealing a lobbed post up entry, turning the other way and attacking swiftly. Decent game overall for Hezonja but he looks like the odd man out when Kevin Knox comes back. Ten points (on nine shots), eight boards, three steals and three assists. If he can play recklessly in a controlled environment, he can be a positive.
• Emmanuel Mudiay is the best point guard at forcing the tempo and he may be a better fit next to Trier than Burke is. Unfortunately if the Knicks don’t get something out of his push straight away, his point guard skills disappear. This was most evident in the first half when he sped up the court two times only to hide in the corner and watch the offense short circuit. Two shot clock violations with Mudiay holding the keys is a bad look.
• Clyde Frazier talking about Markieff Morris asks Mike Breen, “What’s his brother’s name?” Breen says, “Marcus”. Clyde echos, “Markersss”

• Damyean Dotson’s funky long strides look awkward but they slow things down and keep him under control. Doesn’t let him elevate over but he uses his upper body to shed defenders. There were some shot selection issues for Dotson for the second game in a row. He still hauls down the bounds and digs in on defense. Not much to dislike from D Dot.
• Wall and Trier really went at each other, at one point drawing double techs. That led to Wall deciding to test Trier in the post, he got nowhere, pulled it back out to really teach him a lesson and just fumbled it out of bounds. Hahaha! You bum! And Trier and David Fizdale were here for it!

• Game ball definitely goes to Trier. The extra space in the NBA has been manna to Trier’s gyrations.

All night you could tell the Knicks were really unable to swing the momentum back in their favor. It hurt in the game thread, but it felt right, when FooBarChu thought aloud, “I think I’ve had enough of this.” That really went for everyone. Rough loss. Hopefully Junior Bug is gonna be fine but maybe he should take it easy for tomorrow’s tilt against Chicago ‘cus they not gonna rook us! Until then, folks.