{"id":325195,"date":"2021-08-16T02:15:20","date_gmt":"2021-08-15T23:15:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/knicks-obi-toppin-looks-ready-for-big-minutes-in-second-year\/"},"modified":"2021-08-16T02:15:20","modified_gmt":"2021-08-15T23:15:20","slug":"knicks-obi-toppin-looks-ready-for-big-minutes-in-second-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/knicks-obi-toppin-looks-ready-for-big-minutes-in-second-year\/","title":{"rendered":"#Knicks&#8217; Obi Toppin looks ready for big minutes in second year"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;<strong>#Knicks&#8217; Obi Toppin looks ready for big minutes in second year<\/strong>&#8221;<\/p>\n<div>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module alignleft\">\n        <\/aside>\n<p>LAS VEGAS \u2014 Obi Toppin got a phone call Friday from Texas to essentially say: \u201cKeep up the good work. I\u2019m going to need you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Knicks All-Star power forward Julius Randle, who led the NBA in minutes last season, rang Toppin to express admiration for his play in the Las Vegas Summer League.<\/p>\n<p>In five <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/game\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"7\" title=\"Game\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">game<\/a>s, Toppin has averaged 36.5 minutes and been a consistent scoring machine \u2014 from everywhere. The 6-foot-9 power forward has bulled his way to the hoop for buckets, used his athleticism for theatrical alley-oop dunks and looked decent shooting from 3-point range (35.5 percent).<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was talking to Julius [Friday],\u2019\u2019 Toppin told The Post late Saturday night after the Knicks beat the Cavaliers to move to 3-2. \u201cThat\u2019s my boy. That\u2019s my brother. He told me: \u2018Good job, just keeping hooping.\u2019 He said it looks like I\u2019m having fun out there. Just keep enjoying what I\u2019m doing.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n<p>In Toppin\u2019s rookie season, the Dayton dunker didn\u2019t hoop enough.<\/p>\n<p>Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau didn\u2019t trust the Brooklyn native on defense and Toppin\u2019s efficiency on offense wasn\u2019t enough to keep the power forward on the court for long stretches. Not when Randle was having his blazing season. Toppin averaged just 11 minutes and 4.0 points.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"685\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/1334033609-e1629066902261.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1024\" alt=\"Obi Toppin has the fifth highest scoring average in summer league.\" class=\"wp-image-19139729\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/1334033609-e1629066902261.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=2048 2048w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/1334033609-e1629066902261.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1536 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/1334033609-e1629066902261.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/1334033609-e1629066902261.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>Obi Toppin has the fifth highest scoring average in summer league.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Now, the Knicks 2020 lottery pick is spreading his wings, hotter than nearby Death Valley. The Knicks have one consolation game left Monday versus Atlanta but it\u2019s up in the air on whether Toppin plays.<\/p>\n<p>He\u2019s proven enough, averaging 23.0 points \u2014 fifth-highest in summer league \u2014 and shot 45.9 percent from the field. Though turnovers have been an issue, Toppin is averaging 8.2 rebounds.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt feels great putting up the numbers I\u2019ve been putting up,\u2019\u2019 said Toppin, who scored 21 points versus Cleveland on Saturday. \u201cToday wasn\u2019t what I wanted on the rebounding side. I\u2019m just having fun out there, having fun with all these guys. Being here I have to be the leader and help these guys get wins.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Finding more minutes for the 23-year-old Toppin would be a boon as it would give Randle more breathers. Randle led the NBA in total minutes last season in playing 71 of 72 games. Randle averaged 37.4 minutes per game.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/07\/Julius-Randle.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1024\" alt=\"Julius Randle\" class=\"wp-image-18851136\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/07\/Julius-Randle.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/07\/Julius-Randle.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/07\/Julius-Randle.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>Julius Randle<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>If Toppin can log 18 minutes, Randle\u2019s haul could be reduced to 33 minutes or so \u2014 if they share the court briefly. Randle looked worn out by the playoffs.<\/p>\n<p>According to one NBA scout, Toppin\u2019s offensive game no longer looks to be a worry, but he still must work on team defense and being a better interior defender in order to earn more minutes from Thibodeau.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI feel like I know my role,\u2019\u2019 Toppin said. \u201cI tried to focus on rebounding and defense mostly. Just improving in that, offensively things will come to me. I feel like defense is the most important thing when playing for coach Thibs \u2014 and playing anywhere.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou do hustle plays on defense, get a block, a steal. It\u2019s picking up the team and giving players energy. If you get a stop on defense, you convert it to offense. We have a lot of different weapons offensively. So when we get that stop, we\u2019ll finish on the opposite side.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module alignright\">\n    <\/aside>\n<p>Thibodeau did not talk to the press at summer league. He still hasn\u2019t addressed the Knicks\u2019 four 2021 draft picks despite them excelling in Las Vegas. Knicks brass is delighted by the improvements since June\u2019s Draft Combine made by Quentin Grimes, Miles McBride and Jericho Sims. (Rokas Jokubaitis left the summer team Saturday to join Barcelona and won\u2019t be on the Knicks roster.)<\/p>\n<p>The additions of new point guard Kemba Walker and swingman Evan Fournier will help. If a couple of the rookies contribute and add depth, the Knicks could possibly hold their top-5 standing in the much-improved East.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI feel like next year\u2019s team is going to be great,\u2019\u2019 Toppin said. \u201cWe have a lot of different weapons, like we did last year. We added a couple more guys. With coach Thibs, we\u2019ll lock in defensively and everything is going to go our way. I feel we\u2019ll be No. 1 in defense again and push offensively to be top tier.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n<p>And if Toppin makes a big leap, all bets are off.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cObi put a lot of time in in the summer and it\u2019s showed,\u2019\u2019 Knicks summer league coach Dice Yoshimoto. \u201cHe\u2019s got to continue to put time in and results will take care of itself. This was a chance to show who he is and build the right habits.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n<p>After being drafted No. 8 last November, Toppin never got to ease into the NBA with the Las Vegas showcase. Perhaps events would\u2019ve gone smoother his rookie year if he had that experience here.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt didn\u2019t h<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>en,\u2019\u2019 Toppin said. \u201cIt would\u2019ve been great to have a summer league last year.\u201d\n                        <\/p><\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. 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I\u2019m going to need you.\u201d Knicks All-Star power forward Julius Randle, who led the NBA in minutes last season, rang Toppin to express admiration&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":325196,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/1334033609-e1629066902261.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=1024","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70897],"tags":[114280,113635,72932,77061],"class_list":["post-325195","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-8-15-21","tag-nba-summer-league","tag-new-york-knicks","tag-obi-toppin"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/325195","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=325195"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/325195\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/325196"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=325195"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=325195"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=325195"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}