2020-21 Game Thread: Knicks vs. Heat

If you had said to me last year, “The Knicks will have a better record than the defending Eastern Conference champions 24 games into the season,” I would say, “Wait, did some team get hot and play above their expected success level during the playoffs?” and you would say, “Okay, yeah, but still, pretty cool, right?” and I would agree, it is pretty cool.

The Heat have lost 7 of their last 9 games, but are 2-2 in their last four, so either they’re coming back around or they just happen to have won 2 of their last 4.

A win today would give the Knicks a shot at reaching .500 in their next game (also against the Heat, only this time in Miami). How freakin’ sweeet would it be for a Knick team to actually be .500 26 games into the season?

Also, as part of our all-poll content here at Knickberblogger, I thought you all might like to try to settle this stirring debate…

Sorry, there are no polls available at the moment.

Let’s go get to almost .500 (and pretend that Derrick Rose isn’t coming here), Knicks!

195 replies on “2020-21 Game Thread: Knicks vs. Heat”

I can’t remember who said it, but., it made a lot of sense to me – a romantic comedy takes two to tango: it was only really phil that was going through changes in the movie…rita was pretty much just along for the ride…

thought I had voted “no”, but may have hit “yes” on accident…

hmmmm, is Edge of Tommorrow a romantic comedy too I wonder…

and, i really don’t want to see derrick rose back in a knick uni…

Quick Quick!

Let’s hope the “Payton must shadow X (Herro?)” doesn’t become a full-time thing.

So I might as well continue the Rose discussion from the last thread here…

Z-man:
I’m going to assume that the FO is not dumb enough to give up a pick for Rose, most certainly not that one. If the price is any combo or Frank, Knox, DSjr or Iggy, whatever. It’s essentially a wash. Those guys have no future here under Thibs and have no trade value whatsoever.

A bigger question is how Rose would fit into the rotation. It’s unlikely that he would displace IQ. The fact remains that Thibs loves the kid and trusts him in any situation that he would trust Rose. Has Thibs soured on Rivers? That seems like the logical move.

I agree. Giving up a mid-late 2nd rounder ain’t bad – but not a high one. And this is a trade of convenience for both teams. The Pistons can see if they can squeeze something out of Frank/DSJr and the Knicks get to plug the biggest hole (I’m not sold on Payton).

a romantic comedy takes two to tango

It’s pretty normal for a rom com to be primarily about one person’s journey/whatever. Think about something like Wedding Crashers, where our boys go through some changes but the ladies don’t have much character development (realizing a guy is a shit bag and ‘surprise, I’m slicker than you’ are not character development). Yes I realize that’s technically two people but you understand where I’m going.

hmmmmm, maybe the real question then is: what defines a romantic comedy…

derrick rose back to the knicks is pretty much a horror flick…

If the Knicks trade Frank for Rose, it won’t be long before Pistons fans start referring to the Hayes-Ntilikina backcourt as The Stench Connection

geo:
hmmmmm, maybe the real question then is: what defines a romantic comedy…

derrick rose back to the knicks is pretty much a horror flick…

More like a Young Frankenstein-style horror-farce

I enjoyed reading the Groundhog Day discussion and with this poll I have to say it is definitely a romantic comedy!

The Detroit Pistons are nearing agreement on deal to send Derrick Rose to the New York Knicks for Dennis Smith Jr. and draft compensation, sources tell me and @JLEdwardsIII.— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 7, 2021

Congratulations to everyone who said this brilliant front office would never give up a draft pick for Derrick Rose. You helped everyone cope with this right up until the point in which it was confirmed we did exactly that.

thenoblefacehumper: Congratulations to everyone who said this brilliant front office would never give up a draft pick for Derrick Rose. You helped everyone cope with this right up until the point in which it was confirmed we did exactly that.

Except that no one said that.

if that trade happens…I think rivers is taking smith jrs place at the end of the bench…

it really sucks if they do it though….

ephus:
If the “draft compensation” is a second round pick, I am fine with that.DSJ is literally a G-Leaguer at this point.

It’s going to be Detroit’s second back to them and it’s going to be a bad move

To tnfh’s point, there is no pick that makes it a “smart” trade. The only question is how dumb it is.

If we gave them their second back Leon Rose’s Derrick Rose trade will be worse than Phil Jackson’s, which was really bad

From what I’ve read it will not be Detroit’s 2nd rd pick and apparently the Pistons wanted Knox but the Knicks wanted to trade DS Jr instead.

It’s so annoying playing teams that literally every possession they look for and usually just take 3pters.

I checked to see if Rose had learned how to shoot well. Uh, the answer is no. No he has not.

DRed: 2021 and we’re really paying Derrick Rose, Taj Gibson and Joakim Noah

Thibs is getting the band back together!

Korver is now a free agent so good news there: the FO won’t need to give up any more assets to bring him in. And Rose can bring Deng on board for little more than the price of plane ticket from Sudan to NYC. And we’re still paying Noah!

Anyone know what Omer Asik is up to these days?

Maybe we could send a draft pick to the South Bay Lakers and bring back the Wear Bear while we’re at it

Clyde trying to be diplomatic but clearly hates the Rose trade idea. “Surprised…”

Clyde saying “I don’t know Kenny” when they asked him what he thought about Rose coming back is excellent

Compare Clyde’s reaction to the insufferable Baghdad Bob shit we’re gonna get from Wally and co. Never, ever retire king.

On the bright side, several teams have interest in Sam Darnold. As my brother in the car sales business would say, “There’s an ass for every seat.”

I love how vague the trade info is. It’s going to be like those times when it’s like, “Oh, okay, so it is like that” and then, “Oh, wait, it’s also this and that, too!”

Love how the Knicks don’t throw Toppin the ball when he’s wide open on the break again.

I wonder if the fact that Rivers had to wait to get a hand up from the mop guy is a sign…

This has been pretty ugly. It’s like Derrick Rose is here already. Where is RJ?

If this trade really is DSJ and a 2nd for Rose, I’m almost happy with it- depending on what we do with Elfrid and Ntilikina. Meaning give Plague away to a contender for a 2nd and keep Ntilikina. If he’s healthy, and with Rose in tow- shouldn’t we look to trade Rivers to a contender now so we can see a Quickley/Ntilikina or Rose/Ntilikina looks like? Ideally you want the Rose and Ntilikina pairing off the bench with Burks and Obi, but if Rose starts- I’d kinda like to see what Quickley, Burks, and Ntilikina looks like on the perimeter together with that 2nd unit

DRed:
If the Jets could bamboozle someone into giving up a 2 for Darnold I will be delighted

Yeah, then we can draft the next franchise QB like we always do

RJ totally invisible. Smart guy–trying to get used to being frozen out in advance of the new acquisition’s arrival.

With the way Payton and IQ are playing today Rose is gonna play 48 mins in his 1st game back lol.

The Heat seriously look like THEY’RE the scrappy group of overachievers out there. What a weird fucking team they are.

This is a desperate Heat team that went to the finals last year. Very nice performance thus far.

Only down 1 despite 1-12 shooting from RJ/Payton/Quickley is something to build on.

RJ looks lost out there so far today…hopefully he can reset in the second half…

I’m not watching live, but if Butler is guarding him that might explain it.

Looking forward to seeing Derrick Rose drive to the hoop, miss, fall out of bounds, and the other team run it back 5 on 4. And on D, let his guy blow past him time and time again, while he gripes at his teammates for not having his back or something.

Those were the days.

To be fair, I haven’t seen him play much recently, so maybe he’s not like that anymore? Maybe?

No, he’s worse than that now and this time around he’ll be totally enabled because he’s the teacher’s pet.

I like when Derrick Rose disappears without a trace and everybody’s like “maybe he’s dead” and then it turns out he just needed to go find himself or something and then he’s back on the floor for the next game

If Berman is right that it’s going to be DSjr and some garbage 2nd rounder for Rose like I was suggesting this morning, imo there’s nothing wrong with that deal. Rose and Payton are both real PGs. That means they can shift Quickley to SG where he probably belongs anyway and the team will probably have a slightly better chance to make a run for the playoffs like they want. It doesn’t hurt anything long term unless you want to cry abut some 2nd round pick that probably won’t even make the NBA. DSjr wasn’t going to play. He had no market and he wanted another fresh start. He should get a chance to play in Detroit and try to save his NBA career, So it’s good for him. No big deal either way.

DSJ, we hardly knew ye…

What a pointless shitswap. I guess they’ll keep Elf due to Rose’s health concerns… Or do they cut him?

Or maybe Rose runs the 2nd unit like in Detroit? Either way, I’m choosing not to get worked up about this because c’est la fucking vie.

My feelings about Derrick are that I will be happy when we repackage him and get a first rounder back for him at the deadline…

Randle really is playing well on offense. That corner three he hit at the end of the first half was unbelievable. And this year when he gets a mismatch he exploits it without any problems.

I just saw the rumors about Rose? Are you fucking kidding me? Anything we give up for Rose would be an overpay and we’re getting into a bidding war with LAC, Brooklyn, Miami, and Milwaukee? And does anyone here think this doesn’t cut into Quickley’s minutes? This team is fucking stupid.

I hate Derrick Rose’s game. He is taking 19.4 FGA per 36 this season and has a .465 eFG%. He doesn’t play defense, can’t finish at the rim anymore and doesn’t shoot well from the perimeter either. He’s an eyesore and a losing player, and he’s also bad for the team culture.

I hate hate hate this move. If there was one player in the league that I would not want on the Knicks, it’s him.

I’ll be surprised if Payton is released. This gives Thibs a chance to have Payton and Rose combine to give him what he wants from his PGs — take it to the hoop a lot, for better or worse.

I just wonder if Rose gives back more points than he scores while he’s in there.

Mitch forced the turnover and then forced the T there.

As for Rose, what JK47 said. It’s just aggressively egregiously stupid.

I hope someone is in Leon’s ear saying, “The people at Knickerblogger are going to kill you for this.”

I don’t really care for getting D Rose back at all. However, if the cost is DSJr and – say – a future low-2nd
AND he ultimately replaces Rivers and mitigates Payton, well… I still don’t care for it but there’s a purely basketball argument for it. Also, despite the negative optics, he’s on the worst team in the league – I don’t think calling him a “win-now” player passes the sniff test.

This is like drinking cod-liver oil: you detest it, but ultimately it helps some.

Sometimes you have to step back and think that going into this season you wouldn’t think this would be a competitive game.

The Infamous Cdiggy:
I don’t really care for getting D Rose back at all. However, if the cost is DSJr and – say – a future low-2nd
AND he ultimately replaces Rivers and mitigates Payton, well… I still don’t care for it but there’s a purely basketball argument for it. Also, despite the negative optics, he’s on the worst team in the league – I don’t think calling him a “win-now” player passes the sniff test.

This is like drinking cod-liver oil: you detest it, but ultimately it helps some.

Based on his rotations, why do you think Rose would preplace Rivers and mitigate Payton instead of replacing Quickley?

For the people arguing that this idiotic idea of a trade would mean Quickley moves to SG? Is there any reason to think that? There’s no reason right now why Quickley couldn’t be playing SG.

ha big blue, I was just about to type: does anyone really think we’re winning this game…

I kind of feel like I should go do something else right now…

The Heat are letting us linger around. This certainly LOOKS like a game we’re gonna lose yet here we are.

Fully prepared to get an update that confirms the Knicks have given up the 2023 Dallas pick for Rose.

Let me correct this ‘alternative fact’ for you:

This is like drinking bleach: you detest it, but ultimately it helps some.

BigBlueAL:
Yeah the Knicks aren’t winning this game.

See, this is why I question the whole hand-wringing about mercs (at least for this year). The “mercs” (and no I don’t count Randle as a “merc”) we have aren’t good enough to win games without the young guns contributing – and that’s even if they manage to scrape together a win today. At the same time, consistency is often an issue with young players – so you do need vets to buoy things.

Good move from Toppin there. He shows some flashes every once in a while.

Then he bricks a three.

Unlike with Knox, you can see a path for Obi to become a decent basketball player. He’s two+ years away, though — definitely a project.

But it’s in there.

I remember last year taj would score like out first 3 buckets of the game, look good doing it, but then not score again the rest of the game…

Vorkunov says the pick we’re sending is most likely the Charlotte 2nd rounder we own for 2021. While Berman sugests Rose is going to take Rivers’ minutes.

Still hate the move, though.

I really don’t know why people on here who hate Payton are okay with trading an asset for Rose – what exactly is Rose bringing at this point that Payton doesn’t?

I am very disappointed with Thibs’ rotation but not as disappointed as I am with the results of today’s KB poll.

Payton has 7 points on 13 true shots and somehow Quickley has played less than 15 minutes. And D-Rose hasn’t even arrived yet.

Turning on late. Nice to see them in it without Barrett playing well … I caught Rivers last shot and I was visibly frustrated in front of wife and daughter.

Both of those Mitch fouls were caused by defensive breakdowns, one by Randle, the next by Bullock

Based on his rotations, why do you think Rose would preplace Rivers and mitigate Payton instead of replacing Quickley?

Because I’m Team Optimist.

Just kidding – when I watch Rivers, I see a bit too much hesitancy on offense. I’m guessing Thibs feels Rose can still bend the defense. Looking on B-R, his assist rate is more than double of Rivers, though his shooting numbers are lower. Similar WS, DBPM is similar, but Rose has (barely) positive OBPM, BPM and VORP whereas Rivers is negative in those three categories. So my guess is that the hope is that Rose can unstagnate the offensive flow better than Rivers and (maybe?) Payton. He should in no way be used at Quickley’s expense – hell play them both together.

That’s my best guess.

as long as you run an offense thru julius randle…that is what the last 2 to 3 minutes of a game is going to look like…how we are not setting up plays to get iq/burks or the other dude who has hit 7 threes a look is backwards…

KJG:
That’s some of the poorest late game execution you’ll ever see…

Well, it’s against a very good and desperate team who is finally pretty healthy. That’s a good loss as they go.

BigBlueAL:
Super Bowl Sunday will go down as the day this promising season went to shit…

It’s such a dumb move. A nothing move … ruins rotations and chemistry and everything that makes one smile…

With the way the Knicks have played offense down the stretch of these past few games get ready for the Derrick Rose show in future 4th quarters….

its pretty obvious we are just too good to not make use of silly things like second rd picks when you can use those roster spots instead on austin rivers and derrick rose….

That Hornets’ second is an above average second rounder. Usually out of the buyable range. You can accuse me of crying over spilled milk all you want but this is simply not how the smart teams manage their assets.

OKC has virtually the same record as us, are they being buyers at the deadline? Do they piss away second rounders because hurr durr who cares about some 18 year old blah blah blah?

pepper:
as long as you run an offense thru julius randle…that is what the last 2 to 3 minutes of a game is going to look like…how we are not setting up plays to get iq/burks or the other dude who has hit 7 threes a look is backwards…

I despise back to the basket late game … he doesn’t recognize double teams THAT well and he’s goofy with the ball more often than not. Woudl rather have the ball moving with guards probing … defense on the run. We were 100% on the run chasing … duh.

What is with our lingering obsession with being Bulls East? We did it before when we signed Noah, Gibson and Rose and all those guys sucked ass. Now we’re doing again because Thibs is coach and he needs his shitty rapist golden boy to inspire the rest of the team with his scintillating offensive play and his lockdown defense. I was really enjoying this season too, but trading any pick for Rose is just straight up asinine. This is a Mills-level move.

the only, and I mean only, way I can rationalize the move is that this is what thibs wants…I mean I’m pretty sure he wanted a better starting point guard than elf before the season began, but – this is his ask…

all things to now considered, thibs gets what he wants…

I realize now how much easier it is to just root for the Knicks to lose and tank, frustrating losses like today would actually be welcome instead of being pissed at losing and dropping down in the standings….

geo:
the only, and I mean only, way I can rationalize the move is that this is what thibs wants…I mean I’m pretty sure he wanted a better starting point guard than elf before the season began, but – this is his ask…

all things to now considered, thibs gets what he wants…

I seriously doubt Rose is actually better than Payton at this point. Rose shoots (and therefore scores) more, but if we knock Elf here as some sort of plague that makes the rest of the team worse what the fuck are we expecting the corpse of fucking Derrick Rose to do?

Well deserved, humbling loss, the icing on the shit cake that is the Rose’s trade.

I don’t give a damn about DSJ but I’ll be pissed off if it’s really Charlotte’s second.

Thibs’ rotations are worsening by the day (today he subbed IQ and Toppin just after they tied the score at 90, another “reward the rookies” move) and now he’ll get another one of his pet toys to burn minutes on.

I’ve been on team optimism but now I’m starting to worry… the acquiescence from the FO to Thibs’ request is creepy…

The defense is legit though 🙂

BigBlueAL:
19 mins for RJ is criminal.

Box score was rough, I didn’t see most of game. But to go cold Turkey on a guy that is a big part of our offense and defense is pretty Phucking dumb. I only wish a month from now if it keeps going this way that we could boo the shit out of Thibs specifically in person, at games.

The fact is Thibs doesn’t actually have a set rotation minutes wise. The only player who is going to get his minutes regardless is Randle, everyone else really depends on a game by game basis and how they are performing in that particular game.

BigBlueAL:
The fact is Thibs doesn’t actually have a set rotation minutes wise.The only player who is going to get his minutes regardless is Randle, everyone else really depends on a game by game basis and how they are performing in that particular game.

He needs to find a bit of a middle ground. I get benching shitty play … but the in game banishment is absurd

Max: The defense is legit though 🙂

This is the problem. If Thibs values defense a lot, which i obviously agree, and keeps on playing Payton for his defense, how can you go get NO-DEFENSE-DROSE?

Somehow I find it strange that we’re criticizing a coach for minutes allocations when the team on paper should have lost by 30 to the fully healthy defending EC champs who are clawing their way back up the standings. Especially when he’s been criticized for overplaying that specific player.

Interesting note in Woj’s article about the Rose trade, mentions Austin Rivers could be a trade candidate.

RJ looked like Knox on defense today- got completely turned around multiple times in the first half. You’d still like to see Thibs let him play through it but he was really bad today.

I hate the Rose move. But purely objectively, it probably upgrades the roster at a relatively low cost. Rose is probably better than he showed this year on a team with zero juice.

Let’s not forget that the minute Thibs was hired, the notion of anything but play every game like it’s game 7 of the NBA finals went out the window. Within the context of that somewhat dumb approach, it’s not cause for abject despair in and of itself. Just sort of a gratuitous kick in the nuts for Knicks fans.

“He doesn’t have a set rotation” is just another apologia/rationalization. He doesn’t really like to play young players and they’re on a very short leash with him. That’s what it is.

And he doesn’t just “like defense,” either — another apologia/rationalization. First and foremost he likes veterans who have been loyal to him and that’s why he wants Derrick Rose so badly. Secondly, he prefers defense to offense. He’s a good to excellent defensive coach; he’s a godawful offensive coach. But even the defense preference is second to loyalty.

The guy has like a ten year pattern now and that pattern is continuing on the Knicks. No reason to pretend otherwise.

Z-man:
Somehow I find it strange that we’re criticizing a coach for minutes allocations when the team on paper should have lost by 30 to the fully healthy defending EC champs who are clawing their way back up the standings. Especially when he’s been criticized for overplaying that specific player.

Defending EC champs would sound a bit more impressive if they weren’t currently 8-14 and getting outscored by 4 points/game.

Burks & Bullock were our best 2 wings tonight and it wasn’t really close. That’s why they got playing time over RJ.

Thibs has been pretty consistent with playing the hot hand every night, except for RJ at the beginning of the season.

On the bright side, the Knicks still have Detroit’s early 2nd rounder. Trading that for DRose would’ve really sucked.

I have a feeling Rose might actually be good some unintentional tanking.

And, yeah, maybe they can flip Rivers for a 2nd later on. Like maybe a top-55 protected 2nd…
🙂

You really think the Heat make the Finals if the season wasn’t disrupted and finished in the bubble?

E, all merc’d out: “He doesn’t have a set rotation” is just another apologia/rationalization. He doesn’t really like to play young players and they’re on a very short leash with him. That’s what it is.

Exactly. Not that I like many of our young players but it’s Quickley, Obi, Knox, etc. who can’t count on getting minutes in any given game while Payton, Bullock, and RIvers get their minutes no matter what.

Rose improves our offense & shooting over Payton.

Defense???

2nd unit should be more consistent with Payton as lead guard.

Couldn’t care less about DSJR but the 2nd rd pick would’ve been nice.

Knicks signaling they want to make the backend of the playoffs really badly. Seems like a bad idea. Not sure Rose gets us there anyways.

Trading the Charlotte second for Derrick Rose is a bad idea.

At least it wasn’t the Detroit second. That’s a classic knick type move. “At least they didn’t trade up to pick Obi Toppin.”

my guess is that the hope is that Rose can unstagnate the offensive flow better than Rivers and (maybe?) Payton.

This would be my best guess as well. I read that Rose had been playing more of a SG role this year? But tossing away a solid 2nd to pick up the guy who finds the concept of consent so confusing is infuriating.

From the ESPN article:

Rivers is likely to become a player that contenders seek in trade talks as teams look to fortify backcourts closer to the March 25 trade deadline.

LOL man I fucking hope so. If Rose outplays him maybe we can dump them both in exchange for a late 2nd rounder.

I mean at this point you really think next season the Knicks are going to carry 4 rookies on the roster? Having 3 picks in the Top 31 or 32 is definitely more than enough, dont think another 2nd rd pick in the 40’s would be more than maybe a euro draft and stash. Now could you get a better player for that pick than Rose is definitely a good question or trading that pick for a future 2nd rd pick would be more understandable too.

BigBlueAL:
I mean at this point you really think next season the Knicks are going to carry 4 rookies on the roster?Having 3 picks in the Top 31 or 32 is definitely more than enough, dont think another 2nd rd pick in the 40’s would be more than maybe a euro draft and stash.Now could you get a better player for that pick than Rose is definitely a good question or trading that pick for a future 2nd rd pick would be more understandable too.

You can package 2nd rd picks to move up like we did this year for Quickley.

Rose is a FA anyway, so you’re really just looking at the move as a win now move. No idea what the Knicks think they can win with Rose though. 8th seed?

Derrick Rose is shooting .472 from 0-3 feet. He’s absolutely fallen off a cliff at the rim.

Early Bird:
Rose improves our offense & shooting over Payton.

Defense???

2nd unit should be more consistent with Payton as lead guard.

Couldn’t care less about DSJR but the 2nd rd pick would’ve been nice.

Knicks signaling they want to make the backend of the playoffs really badly. Seems like a bad idea. Not sure Rose gets us there anyways.

Which is why – although I don’t care for Rose – this move on paper isn’t bad (unless he eats into Quickley’s minutes over the long haul).

More of the same stupid BS with this Rose trade. The move doesn’t kill the team’s future, but it’s an ominous sign for the Leon Rose regime. Quality FO’s don’t make these kinds of moves. There is no upside to bringing him here.

How does Rose improve the offense? He’s putting up 14 points with an eFG+ of 87 and a TS+ of 91. There’s only a few players on the team that’s better than and none of them are Austin Rivers.

BigBlueAL:
You really think the Heat make the Finals if the season wasn’t disrupted and finished in the bubble?

Maybe not, but so what? Do you think the Bucks and Celts just rolled over for them? They were a very good team, I don’t see how that can be disputed.

vincoug: Defending EC champs would sound a bit more impressive if they weren’t currently 8-14 and getting outscored by 4 points/game.

Sure, unless you actually consider that they haven’t been healthy all year. They have mostly everyone back and I would expect that they will move up in the standings shortly.

E, all merc’d out:
Derrick Rose is shooting .472 from 0-3 feet.He’s absolutely fallen off a cliff at the rim.

He hasn’t played a lot, about the same number of minutes as Burks. He was very good at the rim the last three seasons. Maybe he has slammed into the wall at 32 but my guess is his numbers there won’t look nearly as bad at the end of the year. I don’t want him at all but if he’s even close to what he was the last two years he’ll help. I don’t like trading that pick because that and the Detroit pick would make a very nice package for a mid-20s first in a draft this deep.

Also- Obi has looked very good inside the line lately albeit on low usage. Obviously he’s having trouble establishing post position but the Knicks should look for other ways to get the ball to him so he can face up from 15-18. Just having him chuck threes is useless.

Was going to say that DRose gives you two successful drives to the hoop that Elf rims out, but gives up five layups on the other end that Elf would turn away. for a net loss, over and above taking minutes from IQ and generally being an ass and completely unrootable. But then I saw this:

“Derrick Rose is shooting .472 from 0-3 feet. He’s absolutely fallen off a cliff at the rim.”

So he’s asshat Elf without the defense. Excellent.

assumig it is a straight payton minutes now to rose minutes…i can’t decide which is more pathetic…just depressing…very depressing….but if this hits IQ minutes…well…not good…not good at all…

Raven:
Was going to say that DRose gives you two successful drives to the hoop that Elf rims out, but gives up five layups on the other end that Elf would turn away. for a net loss, over and above taking minutes from IQ and generally being an ass and completely unrootable. But then I saw this:

“Derrick Rose is shooting .472 from 0-3 feet. He’s absolutely fallen off a cliff at the rim.”

So he’s asshat Elf without the defense. Excellent.

Not just without the defense – he’s more selfish with the ball and Elf at least is a plus rebounder for his position.

I haaaate the move and even I don’t think we have to worry about them offering him some crazy deal to resign. Remember, even Thibs the godawful GM only resigned him to the vet minimum in Minnesota and Rose wasn’t even 30 then!

I wonder if Thibs is trying to talk Rose into giving DRose a pity contract to while out his last years in the league as a favor for his golden boy.

I mean..did Thibs go into leon’s office and say this move would propel us into the conf semi’s and he bought it or did he go in and say this would lock up the 8th seed and he bought that….either way…not a good look…

on the good news front…sacto, phx…warriors..nawlins… all playing decent ball…mav’s need to work to get into the mix..good luck..

A few random likes and dislikes from that game:

Likes
Bullock finally hitting a bucket load of threes.
Burks doing a lesser version of Bullock.
Obi flashing brief signs of a basketball player.

Dislikes
RJ’s disappearing act.
Bullock being 0-3 from two.
Payton 3-12 from the field.
Mitch going 2-4 –I know Bam’s a good defender, but why can nobody find the guy? He’s really tall.
Rivers.
Thinking about the Rose trade.

Two clever coaches — should be interesting to see what adjustments are made on both sides for the next game.

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