The Knicks reached the quarter pole of the 2018-19 campaign in encouraging fashion on Friday. After knocking off the Celtics in Boston, New York backed up that victory by beating a powerful Pelicans squad at Madison Square Garden. It’s their first winning streak of the season.
20 games into the season, the Knicks still sit at 6-14, near the bottom of the standings. However, there are certainly reasons for New Yorkers to be optimistic about the direction of their franchise. In particular, due to the impressive play of the team’s youngsters.
Affectionately dubbed the “Fiz Kids,” many of the team’s relatively inexperienced pros have exceeded expectations under new head coach David Fizdale. Remarkably, the Knicks haven't had a player older than 26 years of age (Tim Hardaway Jr.) set foot on the court since November 5th. In fact, Lance Thomas in the only Knickerbocker who has already celebrated his 26th birthday to log even one minute for New York.
Yte, one of these kids is unlike the others, many of whom are former lottery picks, in one particular aspect. While much was expected of ninth overall selection Kevin Knox and second-round steal Mitchell Robinson coming into this season, undrafted rookie Allonzo Trier has surprisingly been the team’s most productive and reliable rookie.
NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 17: Allonzo Trier #14 of the New York Knicks reacts during the game against the Atlanta Hawks at Madison Square Garden on October 17, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images)Getty
Trier woke up on the morning of Draft Day back in June with high hopes. He went to sleep that night disspirited but determined, and with a massive chip on his shoulder.
“Iso Zo” was one of the nation’s top recruits coming out of high school and, despite a stellar, yet somewhat controversial, career at the University of Arizona, he was not one of the 60 players selected in the 2018 NBA draft. Furthermore, no team was willing to offer him a roster spot via a partially guaranteed NBA contract after he slipped out of the second round. He eventually inked a two-way deal with the Knicks in July.
Trier entered the year determined to make the 29 teams that passed on him regret their decision. Thus far, he’s doing just that.
Since the very start of the season, Trier has made his presence felt. Per Basketball-Reference, he became the NBA’s first undrafted rookie to score at least 15 points on opening night since 2004. In addition, he became the first Knick rookie to score at least 15 points in each his first two career games at Madison Square Garden since Willis Reed (the first Knickerbocker to take home the NBA’s Rookie of the Year award).
In Friday’s impressive victory over the Pelicans, Zo poured in a career-high 25 points (on an efficient 9-of-12 shooting), grabbed eight rebounds, dished out four assists and knocked down three 3-pointers. He’s just the fourth undrafted player in league history to tally at least 25/8/4 in a single game. It was the third time he’s topped the 20-point plateau this season. Dallas’ Luka Doncic and Atlanta’s Trae Young, who were both top-5 picks, are the only rookies with more 20-point performances.
Trier’s strong start puts him impressive company among New York neophytes. Remarkably, according to Basketball-Reference, Trier is the just the third rookie in Knicks franchise history w/ at least 225 points, 50 rebounds and 30 assists through the first 20 games of his debut season.
Patrick Ewing and Mark Jackson are the other two Knickerbockers to accomplish this feat. Both Ewing and Jackson would go to win the Rookie of the Year award.
In addition, Trier is just the second undrafted rookie in NBA history with 225-plus points, 50 boards and 30 dimes through the first 20 games of his debut campaign.
NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 03: Head coach David Fizdale congratulates Allonzo Trier #14 of the New York Knicks against the Brooklyn Nets during a preseason game at Barclays Center on October 3, 2018 in New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Steven Ryan/Getty Images)Getty
Clearly, he has already earned a surprisingly significant amount of trust from the Knicks coaching staff. Time and again, Fizdale has put the ball in Trier’s hands down the stretch in clutch situations. On Friday, Allonzo played the entire fourth quarter, scoring eight points (on just three field goal attempts) and grabbing six rebounds. Trier also knocked down two clutch free-throws, putting New York in front 104-103, a lead they would never relinquish. “I believe in Zo. He’s played in a few late-game situations to close the game out for me,” Fizdale said afterward.
Fiz also praised Trier’s defensive efforts: “And the thing I thought he really did a job on beyond the scoring was he really competed against Jrue [Holiday] defensively.’’ Holiday entered the game shooting over 50% from the floor in the Pelicans’ previous ten contests. However, in the final frame on Friday night, he missed eight of his nine field goal attempts. This is especially notable because Holiday had keyed New Orleans’ comeback victory over New York back on November 14th, when he poured in 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting in the final stanza alone.
Trier leads the Knicks in minutes played in the fourth quarter in 2018-19 by quite a large margin. His 171 total fourth-quarter minutes are 42 more than Tim Hardaway Jr, who ranks second on the team. Trier has also been remarkably efficient late in games. He has scored 78 fourth-quarter points on just 45 FG attempts, shooting 57.8% from the floor.
On the season, Trier ranks in the top-eight among all rookies in total points, assists, made 3-pointers, minutes played and True Shooting percentage, and leads all rooks in 3-point percentage (.472). This is obviously uncommon for an undrafted player.
After being ignored on draft night, Allonzo Trier is undoubtedly now making the rest of the NBA sit up and take notice.
NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 17: Allonzo Trier #14 of the New York Knicks celebrates after dunking the ball against the Atlanta Hawks at Madison Square Garden on October 17, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images)Getty