Assists: Elfrid Payton
Upon comparing Elfrid Payton and Dennis Smith, one can safely say that Payton is a distributor while Smith is mainly a score-first point guard.
Even though Smith will probably be David Fizdale’s first option at the point guard spot, Payton is bound to receive a solid amount of minutes off the bench.
Payton was specifically brought in to help the team that was dead last in assists last season. The entire 2018-19 Knicks roster averaged 20.1 assists per game, Payton single-handedly dished out 7.6 dimes per game.
We couldn’t, of course, list assist candidates without at least mentioning the rookie, RJ Barrett. The Maple Mamba out of Duke is an incredibly capable playmaker and his 4.3 assists per game as a freshman will strongly help his case, given that he wasn’t even the main ball-handler.
Rebounds: Mitchell Robinson
NO WAYYYYY!
In case you didn’t already know, Mitchell Robinson is a center on the Knicks that really impressed last season with his performances.
But if you’ve been following the NBA or, to be frank, have been reading this article from the top, no further explanations will be needed.