New York Knicks: Allonzo Trier looks like an absolute steal early on
Already putting up numbers in bunches for the New York Knicks, Allonzo Trier is making sure the rest of the league regrets passing him up in the 2018 NBA Draft.
Prior to the 2018 NBA Draft, Allonzo Trier was coming off a fairly successful run in his three years at the University of Arizona, increasing his scoring output each season, leaving the school averaging 16.8 points per game on efficient shooting splits of .479/.378/.827.
With a build of 6’5” and 205 pounds, Trier was a prototypical score-first shooting guard with incredible quickness and a respectable outside game. Alas, when it came time to find a new home on draft night, he never got the call, prompting the former McDonalds All-American to sign a two-way deal with the New York Knicks.
Then came NBA Summer League, where Trier put fans on notice with his ability to put the ball in the basket, averaging 17.0 points per game. Slowly but surely, he would work his way up from league hopeful to Summer League standout to now averaging north of 20 minutes a night on an NBA team.
Less than a month into the new season, Trier had his breakout performance on Friday, converting on 80 percent of his looks en route to a career-high 28 points in a 118-106 victory over the Dallas Mavericks.
An extremely efficient game for Allonzo Trier, scoring a team-high 23 points while shooting 8-of-10 from the floor and 6-of-7 from the FT line.
— Tommy Beer (@TommyBeer) November 3, 2018
Per @bball_ref, he is the first Knicks rookie ever to score more than 22 points on 10 or fewer FG attempts.
It’s obvious that Trier has the talent to compete at the highest level, mixed with a confidence level that makes him believe he can score on anybody. Watch the tape, and you’ll see him attack the rim with malicious intent (as evidenced by this vicious throwdown in his first official game against the Atlanta Hawks), put together a mesmerizing dribbling exhibition and shoot the ball with a belief it’ll go in every single time.
Another key reason for this undrafted rookie’s success has been the belief instilled in him by head coach David Fizdale, who’s been giving his player the freedom to play the way he does best without trying to pigeonhole him into something he isn’t.
Against Dallas, Fizdale was perfectly happy to let Trier run multiple isolations sets, understanding the groove he was in and having the awareness to ride that wave until it slowed down.
Sitting not far from the Knicks bench you can hear fizdale telling Allonzo Trier "Anything you want" as he lets him iso Mavs defenders and he's responding - game-high 23 points.
— Steve Popper (@StevePopper) November 3, 2018
His early success should come with some hesitancy. He doesn’t contribute much in other areas, and his defense leaves little to be desired whenever he steps foot on the court. However, as an undrafted rookie, anything he can give the Knicks will be a large bonus in their quest to ascend back to relevance and possibly entice free agents this coming summer.
Fair or not, whether a player turns out to be a bust or a steal depends largely on where they were selected in the draft. Lottery picks are believed to have higher ceilings and are therefore expected to produce at a higher level right out of the gate. In comparison, for a second round pick to even make the final roster is an accomplishment in and of itself.
Playing trick-or-treat with each NBA team's early season trend. dark. Next
Allonzo Trier still has ways to go, even just this season, before he can carve out a long and prosperous career. Early on though, it’s looking like he’s going to make a lot of front offices look foolish for passing up on him by dropping points on the other 29 teams in the league on a nightly basis.