SummerPistons 93, SummerKnicks 87: ‘Well at least Obi and Grimes looked OK’

The Knicks’ two-game Vegas win streak was snapped Friday night by the Detroit Pistons. The Knicks were once again done in by the three-ball, as Detroit shot a scalding 18-36 from beyond the arc. No. 1 overall pick Cade Cunningham (24 points, 7-10 3P) had New York’s number. The Knicks did their best to fight past that massive three-point discrepancy by forcing 18 Pistons turnovers. In the end, however, a furious New York comeback fell just short.

NOTES

- Obi Toppin certainly had the line of the night for New York: 31 points on 13-20 shooting (2-5 from three), 9 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 blocks. The Knicks really unlocked Obi’s offensive potential in the second half, running pick-and-rolls, pick-and-pops and a few delightful alley-oops for the big man. Obi was feeling it with the jumper, even hitting a few midrange jumpers. Tom Thibodeau was in the arena, as always, and hopefully he was paying attention. Obi will be playing on the second unit once again with three scoring guards (Immanuel Quickley, Alec Burks and Derrick Rose), but all three of them are capable of running a pick-and-roll for Obi. Don’t leave the poor guy just standing around on O this year.

- Quentin Grimes was quite good Friday night, putting up a line of 15 points on 6-10 shooting, 7 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 blocks to go along with his usual solid defense. He actually attacked the basket on a few occasions, which was nice to see. The kid’s gonna be alright. As P&T’er charluca noted, Obi and Grimes were pretty much the main attractions on Friday.

- Immanuel Quickley has really struggled shooting the three in Vegas, even during his good games...and Friday was definitely not one of his good games. IQ shot a ghastly 4-18 (2-7 from three) in the loss. He did chip in 9 assists against 3 turnovers, however.

One thing I liked from IQ was that he went away from the floater (which was not working) in the second half and tried to get to the rim a bit more. This resulted in a few made buckets and fouls drawn. Quickley doesn’t shy away from contact—in fact, he’s great at initiating contact—so it makes little sense for him to avoid driving into the paint, particularly when his outside shot isn’t falling.

- As bad as Quickley’s shooting line was, Miles McBride’s was worse. Fresh off his 6-6 three-point shooting masterpiece on Wednesday, Deuce shot a horrific 2-14 (0-7 from three) against Detroit. So maybe the kid’s a little streaky. Whatever. He’s still awesome.

- Rokas Jokubaitis played his last game with the SummerKnicks Friday; he’ll be flying back to Barcelona today. He left a good impression in his Vegas swan song, with 8 points. He really powered that second unit with McBride missing everything. The kid can play. We’ll be keeping a close eye on him over in Spain this season.

- With Jericho Sims resting, Reid Travis started at center. My friends, Reid Travis sucks. Thank God he’s not a draft pick or anything.

The Knicks will play again on Sunday tonight at 8 PM. Until then, enjoy your Saturday.