Westchester Knicks Get a Big Lift From Prospect Antetokounmpo

By Monica D’Ippolito
While sitting at the Thanksgiving table, the now 4-14 New York Knicks didn’t have much to be thankful for, except maybe their promising 6-foot-7, 2014 second-round NBA draft pick, Thanasis Antetokounmpo, who not only showed his athleticism and defensive energy, but also his offensive prowess, during the D-League’s Westchester Knicks victory last Tuesday evening.
“He was great tonight,” said Westchester coach Kevin Whitted shortly after the dazzling performance by his young forward. “We really turned him loose as well, talked to him before the game, told him we wanted to utilize him in multiple areas — the four, the three, at the two, because he is capable of playing three positions. The thing is, it’s just about him relaxing, and allowing the offense to generate opportunities for him. I think he did that tonight and that’s why you saw the performance you saw from him.”
In his 42 minutes of playing time, the 22-year-old hit 8-of-15 shots from the field for 18 points, pulled down five rebounds (four offensive) and dished out four assists, while also adding six pulverizing blocks that thrilled the crowd during a 115-113 Knick win over the Los Angeles D-Fenders at the Westchester County Center.
“The biggest thing with Thanasis tonight, he’s such a great defender in terms of reacting to things, he can anticipate things, which is hard to teach,” said Whitted. “So in terms of the blocked shots, anticipation in terms of getting deflections, he has that knack. That’s a skill you can’t teach. You have to have that, so he did a great job tonight. Very proud of him.”
The developmental league game between the New York and Los Angeles affiliates came down to the final seconds after the D-Fenders battled back from an 11-point fourth-quarter deficit to climb within one point with 8.8 seconds left.
Los Angeles had possession of the ball and quickly inbounded to Manny Harris, one of the D-League’s most prolific scorers. The court cleared and it was Harris and Antetokounmpo isolated one-on-one at the top of the key.
The rookie from Greece used his athleticism and quickness to stay in front of Harris as he drove to the basket. The Knicks’ Orlando Sanchez stepped up to provide help defense, forcing Harris into a difficult shot from near the foul line that bounced off the front of the rim, ending the D-Fenders’ hopes of a come-from-behind win.
“Not to let the ball go in the basket,” Antetokounmpo said of his defensive strategy in the final seconds. “(Harris) is just one of the best offensive players in the league and that’s me, I had to guard him.”
But maybe one of the biggest surprises of the night was Sanchez’s work off the bench. The 6-9 St. John’s product led the Knicks with 23 points in 25 minutes, while also pulling down eight rebounds and blocking three shots.
“All my teammates know what I can do on the court,” Sanchez said. “Tonight it was a little bit more freedom, thankful for the coach. He said, ‘You got the ball, you can play,’ and going forward it’s really good for me, helps me and helps my teammates do something we did like today.”
The Knicks’ Lewis Jackson helped put an exclamation point on Sanchez’s dominant third quarter when he led a fast break and made a nifty behind-the-back pass to the athletic power forward, who caught the ball and slammed it home with two hands.
Afterwards. Antetokounmpo had nothing but praise for Sanchez, saying. “Great athletic player, great length, great kid, great teammate, great work ethic, and he’s amazing.”
After being down 38-35 at halftime, the Knicks, led by Antetokounmpo and Sanchez, came out firing in the third quarter. Sanchez collected four rebounds and knocked down four of his five shots from the field in the period, while Antetokounmpo buried all five of his shot attempts, which helped Westchester build a 91-80 cushion entering the fourth quarter.
“(Antetokounmpo) was spectacular in those three minutes (before half),” Whitted said. “We told him to let it all out, don’t worry about anything. Just be in position in the offense to do what you do, and we ran some actions to get him the basketball where he’s comfortable and where he’s effective and he was able to execute.”
Along with Sanchez and Antetokounmpo, the Knicks had four other players in double figures. Darnell Jackson finished with 18 points, 14 rebounds and five assists, Ben Strong had 10 points, six rebounds and five assists, Langston Galloway ended with 18 points and veteran Andre Barrett was second in scoring with 20 points.
“I think what’s happening to us is we’re getting more comfortable within what we do,” explained Whitted. “Offensively, that’s been our issue right now, from an execution standpoint. We still didn’t hold our opponent to 90 tonight, but we didn’t allow the score to get up into the 110’s and the 115’s in terms of giving up points.”
With half a dozen games now under their belts this young season, Whitted is hoping his players are starting to grasp the things they need to do to be successful.
“We told our guys we must make sure offensively now we be more comfortable within the system,” he said, “and find our opportunities within what we do, versus trying to get outside of it.”

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