A few notes from the Knicks’ win over the Indiana Pacers on Tuesday night to open the preseason…
Spaced out
The floor was spaced well when Kemba Walker and Evan Fournier were on it.
“They know how to play off each other. They’ve had some experience together,” Tom Thibodeau said. “I thought Julius (Randle) made a lot of good plays early on, he moved around, he got the ball hopping. … he drove it when he should have driven in, he shot it when (he should have shot it). He’s harder to guard like that and we can play off different guys. I’m very pleased with that.
One of the reasons New York signed Fournier and Walker was in an effort to space the floor and add shot creation to the offense. Last season, so much went through Randle. With Walker and Fournier on the court Tuesday, the Knicks seemed to rely a bit less on working through Randle on offense.
Kemba feels right at home
Walker helped get the Knicks going on offense in his first game with the franchise. He finished with 12 points and four assists in 21 minutes. New York outscored Indiana by 12 when Walker was on the court.
Thibodeau liked what he saw from Walker.
“The game tells you what to do and I think he reads the game extremely well,” Thibodeau said. “That veteran leadership, that shot-making ability, (he’s) very good in the pick and roll, it puts a lot of pressure on you. And he’s unselfish. He gets blitzes, he’s gonna get off the ball. I thought he made the pass out of the blitz pretty effectively.”
One moment that stood out for Walker? A fast-break with fellow New Yorker Taj Gibson.
“I’ve known that dude for so long, going all the way back to me going to Brooklyn and playing against his neighborhood, my neighborhood versus his,” Walker said. “I’ve known Taj for so long so that was a great moment for me and him. We had a nice big hug after that. That was a very dope moment for me.”
Barrett back in the gym at night
RJ Barrett worked on his shot at the team facility the night before most home games last season.
He started that practice again ahead of the preseason opener, working at 9:30 p.m. on Monday at the team facility.
“It was great to see him in the gym last night; he’s back to his routine,” Thibodeau said. “Sometimes in training camp if we’re practicing twice he doesn’t have the time to do that, but his commitment is special, he’s a great kid, hard worker, disciplined, and he’ll keep getting better. He’s only 21, but he’s putting a lot of work into the game.”
Thibodeau, by the way, was also still in the gym when Barrett was shooting Monday night.
“We got workers up here,” Barrett said after scoring 17 points (7-of-14 shooting) against Indiana.