Knicks Hire Mike Miller As Their New Interim Head Coach

Shams has the news first.

Former NBA journeyman Keith Bogans is also getting promoted from the Knicks’ G-League coaching staff to join Miller’s coaching staff (presumably to fill in the Keith Smart shooting coach position).

Miller is a former G-League Coach of the Year and becomes the third G-League Coach of the Year to become an NBA Head Coach. The two other ones are Quin Snyder and Nick Nurse, so that’s some heady company for Miller to be in.

Miller’s a veteran college basketball coach who has always stressed hard-nosed defense with his teams and is well-liked by the players. He’s not much of an offense coach, though, especially when it comes to the three-pointer. He’s a lot like the Jeff Van Gundy school of coaching, so fans of the Vogel/Van Gundy/Thibodeau style of coaching will dig the guy.

Here is a few years back giving an insightful interview about the signing of Luke Kornet to a two-way deal…

He’ll almost assuredly not keep the job after this year, but he could surprise, like when Jim O’Brien kept his gig in Boston in 2000 (no one thought O’Brien, also a career assistant, would have a chance at keeping that job).

Good luck, Mike, please be better than David Fizdale!

155 replies on “Knicks Hire Mike Miller As Their New Interim Head Coach”

Dolan asked Mills what they were saying on the knicks blogs today, and Mills reported back that they were talking about the top 50 TV shows of the past decade, so Dolan fired Fiz.

Sorry, Fiz. My bad.

We could keep the TV talk goink, though. I know a thing or three about The Sopranos, and I’ve literally been to The Good Place. AMA.

Maybe they saw I didn’t post a recap for the last two games and they understood it was time to let Fiz go. I’ll always believe it went down that way.

Farfa, I’m glad you excused yourself from these last two.

Knicks-wise, now that Portland has signed the Player of the Week for the rest of the season, who’s our best bet to give us a decent pick for Mook? And do any of the other vet have any kind of marketplace at the ridiculous salaries we gave them? If not, can we just cut Portis and Ellington now?

Even with the trade embargo lifted for the Knicks in a couple days, I think our best bet is still to wait till the trade deadline to see who is out for the rest of the season. I’m also unconvinced that Melo will last in Portland, presumably Portland doesn’t play Chicago twice a week for the rest of the year.

Mike Miller’s college resume doesn’t seem that impressive, although he did make the tourney once with Southwest Texas (now Texas State). And his gleague success might have been talent driven. But also who cares? He at least has had recent success getting groups of young players to play well, I figure he’s worth a shot.

What I wrote at the end of the last thread. I generally believe most NBA coaches aren’t real difference makers, but I do think Fizdale was doing a bad job and was deservedly fired (granted, his bosses should also be fired).

I’m very curious to see what kind of rotations Miller will employ starting against Portland (it would shock me to see him change anything for tomorrow’s game). I think he’ll reinstate Mitch as the starter, but I don’t think he has enough clout/balls to bench Randle or Morris.

Unfortunately Ellington has probably played his way out of tradeability. Portis is a nice player but I can’t see anyone giving up an asset for a solid veteran bigman unless it’s something like a heavily protected second.

Speaking of the sopranos, do you know if the catering on set was better than usual for a TV production?

Fizdale was doing a very bad job (Earl Watson bad), and we were losing time. He just needed to go. That’s not the solution, just as putting some resin in my car’s motor wasn’t the solution, but at least it gives you a little more mileage until you find a proper new car.

Anyway yes, let’s enjoy Mr. Sepinwall enlightened insight until we have some real basketball stuff to discuss. This terrible team can wait!

Speaking of the sopranos, do you know if the catering on set was better than usual for a TV production?

Yes. Gandolfini himself would pay for a lavish sushi spread at the end of the week.

Best catered show I ever visited was Everybody Loves Raymond.

What’s your guess about how many Knick fans there are nation wide? Any other city even close? I imagine LAL would be close.

How bad is it for basketball that we’re a .400 team since 2000? When / if we do get good I’m going to relish destroying backwater markets.

We have our picks and cap flexibility but the decision makers are morons and the organization kills people. Larry Brown, D’Antoni, Donnie Walsh, Phil Jackson all had stellar reputations until Dolan cut their balls off. Who would want to work here? We love Ujiri but what will he look like two years hence if we hire him?

I’m 52 and feel I may not see a championship in my lifetime.

Best catered show I ever visited was Everybody Loves Raymond.

More detail, please. I love hearing about behind-the-scenes stuff like this. It’s probably why I binge-watched The Larry Sanders Show over an embarrassingly-short period of time.

Miller has nothing to lose. He’s most likely not getting the job full time next year. So he absolutely should just do what HE thinks is right for the team rotation wise. If he puts randle in the second unit and he pouts but the team gets better, that’s only going to make Randle look bad, not him.

So Miller should just say F it and do what he wants.

And its not like the team can do any worse than they’re doing now. They’ve lost 8 straight and have gotten blown out by 40 points 2 games in a row. Moving Randle to the bench won’t make things worse. And it could improve the team, even if just marginally.

I’m 52 and feel I may not see a championship in my lifetime.

I’m 61.
Glad I was around in 1973.
It may never happen again.

Jumping back to someone’s comment from a previous thread, I absolutely think we should hire Metta World Peace as a coach. We can give him the title of DAWG Whisperer.

For some reason I thought Keith Bogans was a backup on the Dallas championship team. (He wasn’t.)

That’s about all of my reaction to the coaching change. I’m not sure there was anything more inevitable in the NBA than David Fizdale getting canned.

@alsep73 what was the worst catered set you were ever on?

There’s a pizza place near my parents in Queens that Ray Romano must have grown up nearby that has like 9 different photos of Ray eating there up on the walls. Good pizza.

what was the worst catered set you were ever on?

None really stand out. At a minimum, you’re getting a good quality meal at lunch, and there are snacks everywhere all the time. There are just some sets that go particularly all out.

I thought it was just kinda dumb and embarrassing when Elton John rewrote candle in the wind to make it about Princess Diana but it would be neat if JD rewrote I Should Have Known to make it about Steve Mills

Alsep,

Do you get to watch shows in advanced? Is it usually a whole season or just a couple of days for an individual episode?

I do think its wise to get rid of Mills before the trade deadline, preferably before the inevitable Wiggins trade he wants to do.

Also, jumping back again. Stick with Fleabag. I was unsure of the first episode, but started enjoying it quite a but by end of season 1. Season 2 was what elevated it from good to “I dont want to stop recommending it” territory. The show itself only has 6 episodes each season, so its really not much of a time commitment either.

It’s probably worth noting that Miller did come to the Knicks from the Spurs G-League coaching staff. The Spurs’ G-League coaching staff has had good success, as well (Snyder and someone else I forgot).

fisher, horny and now fiz – the new york knickerbockers: where nba head coaching career hopes come to die…

fortunately though – with our incredibly high rate of turnover with our roster – at least we don’t have to be too concerned with our players getting a little confused and bothered with all the coaching changes…

I did extra work on Ted 2 for 3 weeks on the Warner Brothers lot (I am very featured in the comic con scene as both a comic book nerd and a blue alien character).

We ate like absolute kings on that set. Full breakfast with chefs who would make you everything you wanted. A juice bar, etc. Then after the breakfast was taken away, tons of fresh donuts brought in mid morning. Gourmet coffee, etc. Then full catered lunch and dinner and it was different every time. Then of course craft services that had every kind of chip, nut, candy, soda, seltzer, etc…you could imagine. It was ridiculous. The days were 14 to 18 hour days though.

I also did extra work on a korean soap opera once in NYC. They had standard catered food for the Americans but then brought in all this DOPE korean food for the korean actors and crew. After the first day all the Americans started saying “hey, we would rather have the korean food”, so then they just brought in the korean food for everyone. Getting BiBimBop and Bulgogi for free every day for lunch and dinner was a real treat.

At this point, I think Miller’s a no-brainer.

I just want them to start coaching the players the right way. They need to defend the paint and the perimeter. They need to hustle. They need to play the kids. They need to really hold players accountable.

The bigger issue is that Mills and Perry are still here. They have to reconstruct the team with trades and get some balance but those bozos will just drop the ball again.

The days were 14 to 18 hour days though.

i was just wondering about that…that’s kind of my perception is that the amount of hours spent working on either movie or television sets is insane…

of course for me – sanity ends immediately after 8 hours of work…

Clarence Gaines

Mike Miller was recommended to PJ by Frank Hamblen b/c of his familiarity with the triangle. PJ passed on the rec to Allan Houston & he hired him. Mike has a nice coaching temperament & solid background. Understanding a system offense like triangle gives one a solid foundation.

Nice move. I’m not sure what to expect. A reset of any kind is a relief at least.

More Gaines

‘@JCMacriNBA asked if I had a reaction to today’s news that I’d be willing to share?” Of course I do. I haven’t watched last 3 @nyknicks games, but when I saw the score I watched to see if they quit on @CoachFizdale – They didn’t – They just got their ass kicked. {Thread coming}

How many coaches and executives are currently not working for the Knicks but are still being paid by them? (Didn’t realize there was a new thread up!)

We could keep the TV talk goink, though. I know a thing or three about The Sopranos, and I’ve literally been to The Good Place. AMA.

I love the good place. Probably never would have discovered it if not for you.

Ok, guys, it’s friday and I just got home, ordered some dinner and cracked open a bottle of wine with the lady.

Do I want to watch the Irishman? Is it actually good, or just there? I mean, a 3.5 hour movie? I dunno.

Neither of us have seen justified. So it’s the Irishman or jump into season 1.

Thoughts?

PJax, Horny and Fiz-it’s like 22 million a year

I thought we might still be paying Fisher but we just finished

Do I want to watch the Irishman? Is it actually good, or just there? I mean, a 3.5 hour movie? I dunno.

if you’re looking for an early night in bed – perfect movie…obviously well acted, but, pretty indulgent piece from de niro and friends…enjoyable to watch…like a nice fall day staring out the window watching the leaves fall…

my recommendation – go deep in to some super delicious gladiator stuff: Spartacus, Blood and Sand season 1…you’ll thank me later…

Gods of the Arena (prequel which aired afterwards due to some health concerns for andy whitfield – super sad story) – wasn’t so bad either…season 2 was pretty dismal, but, the series ended fairly strong with season 3…

hmmm, maybe that’s why i’m still single and sleep alone…

I thought we might still be paying Fisher but we just finished

Keeping at least 3 coaches on the payroll but off the team is in the bylaws.

This shit is really not complicated-don’t hire coaches whose last team significantly improved after firing them!

Do I want to watch the Irishman? Is it actually good, or just there? I mean, a 3.5 hour movie? I dunno.

if you don’t have an intense interest in jimmy hoffa, i strongly recommend justified instead. justified might be my favorite bad tv show ever, just ahead of the shield. the irishman is kinda the opposite. an interesting story, thoughtfully portrayed, but still not much more edifying than reading a nonfiction version. the re-aging thing really fucked with my attention, and not in a good way.

This shit is really not complicated-don’t hire coaches whose last team significantly improved after firing them!

i assume you are referring to Kidd. It also applies to Mark Jackson.

I don’t want either one of them.

Do you get to watch shows in advanced? Is it usually a whole season or just a couple of days for an individual episode?

Depends on the show. Some I get all episodes before the season even debuts. With game of thrones, they stopped making any episodes available in advance a few seasons in. With Watchmen, I got the first six months ago, then got the next two a few weeks ago, and may not get the finale in advance or may only get it a few days early.

We could keep the TV talk goink, though.

Turns out new coach Mike Miller isn’t the ex-journeyman player. He’s the Jason Sudeikis character from the tv show The Last Man on Earth. Sweet!

the re-aging thing really fucked with my attention, and not in a good way.

i almost forgot about some of that weird cgi stuff they had going on…it wasn’t done so well…

We are all like recovering Knicks addicts. “I’m ….. years old and I don’t think I’ll see a championship in my lifetime.”

I heard on Hahn’s show that he was musing about the NYKs maybe trading some of our expirings for CP3 and draft picks. What do you think?

Recovering?

Justified might be my favorite bad tv show ever,

The Last Kingdom is definitely that show for me. That’s not good tv but I have yet to have a person come back to me after I recommended it who didn’t have an awesome time binging. Granted, all these people are in their early forties with kids but it’s a middlebrow crowdpleaser to the max.

Also, hard no on Paul

I see Becky Hammon is apparently interested in the coaching gig if she can secure a long term deal. Honestly, I think I’d prefer her than Mark Jackson or Jeff VG.

Hammond knows that at MSG, a 4-year deal means getting paid for 18 months of work.

CP3 . . .it depends on the picks we’re getting. He’s still pretty good, but he’s definitely at the point of his career where he can go from pretty good to unplayable in a month and his contract is terrible. But idk, maybe there’s some upside to forcing these idiots to build without using free agency

Dred, correct. OKC has 13 1sts, 6 2nds over the next 7 drafts. Now were just haggling over price.
And I’m not advocating this, but at this point we should consider ANY way to build the team.

I think this is a purely academic question. OKC has no urgent need to dump CP3, why would they give up sweetener to do it?

I’m actually down if it comes with decent draft assets. Barrett is five years from his prime, Mitch at least two. Knox and Ntilikina are lottery bench scrubs and there’s literally nothing else on this roster. Have Paul hold him to his high standards as he inches toward his ring-chaser vet’s minimum years and forget about contention for now. Keep tanking and buy draft picks however they are available, including bloated max contracts inexplicably given to the league’s septuagenarians.

Macbeth is delusional before he even kills Duncan, and hears voices moments after he does. However, he also seems morally aware and regretful even BEFORE he commits his first murder

I think you nailed it here. I always interpreted Macbeth as beginning his descent into madness the moment he seriously contemplated the thought of killing Duncan. His delusions are a manifestation of repressed guilt for entertaining this betrayal. In Throne of Blood, Akira Kurosawa’s movie adaptation of Macbeth, the analogue to the Weird Sisters pretty much lays it out in full detail after her prophecy:

Old Ghost Woman: You humans! Never will I comprehend you. You are afraid of your desires – you try to hide them.

I think Macbeth’s underlying problem is one of too much consciousness. Once he faces his hidden desire for the throne he can’t turn back and ignore it even if hates himself for acting upon it. That’s why the play is so worthwhile, it shows how even the noblest of us can be corrupted by our innermost desires, all you need is a little push.

Is WW crazy from the first episode? Does he later go crazy? Or is he never really that, just morally dark?

I don’t think Walt starts off as “crazy” per say, but I do think he’s a very repressed man at the show’s beginning. After confronting the inevitable finality of his imminent death a lot of his repressed desires comes to surface in the way they do for someone who feels they have nothing left to lose anymore. And throughout the series you see a lot of his behavior become irrational and erratic, particularly in regards to his need to seek danger for the thrill.

Also, there is the Lady Macbeth factor, as she drives Mac early on whereas WW’s wife does not assert…

I actually think Jesse kind of plays the Lady Macbeth role, especially early on. Both pairs develop a very problematic codependency…

I think it matters to OKC if they make the playoffs. If they thought they were getting enough back to do that, I think they might make a deal. But if not, why not wait until next year. The price for trading Paul will get cheaper as the years roll off his contract.

if okc wanted to trade cp3 and give up picks to do it he would’ve been on the heat by now….

and as long as cp3 has two working legs he’ll be good for a lot longer that you’ll expect…. guys that are all-time greats like cp3 generally don’t just crater because they’re already coming from a very high production level….

if his hamstrings cooperate he’ll be good until he’s 40…

@70, noble, it is merely the extreme example of one course of business the nix finally need to explore. Let’s face it, no free agents are coming for a long time and drafting is the way to go. Stockpile draft capital and use it well. I dont think okc will trade him right now, but there will be other opportinities which we should explore.

Kinda surprising the Nougats shot only 16.7% from 3 vs Boy Genius’s actual NBA defense tonight, huh….. nah….. coaching means nothing in the NBA……

if his hamstrings cooperate he’ll be good until he’s 40…

The decline is already pronounced and irreversible. Dude has seen literally every stat go down. Scoring volume, efficiency, steal rate, assist rate, ORB%, and so on. He’s still a steal artist (per possession) and an efficient scorer. But he used to be a top-5 player every year, without fail. You can’t see all of his stats drop off and say he’s anywhere near where he used to be, which, even in his absolute prime, was not a world-beating force (a la Magic, Jordan, LeBron) that could carry a team on its own) outside of maybe 2007-09, which had some of my favorite highlights of any guard ever.

He might age like Stockton but he will never again be a significant element of a championship contender. He might supplant Barkley and Stockton and Malone as the best player to never win a ring. If he weren’t such an asshole, I might feel bad.

It will be the irony of all cosmic ironies if Miller installs some updated version of a quasi triangle and the team actually improves noticeably

You think Anthony Davis will come to the Knicks next year because he feels sorry for us?

Yeah, Presti is not dumping Paul. He’s said he’s not dumping Paul and all of his actions have backed up that he’s not dumping Paul. So no trade where the Knicks get picks to take Paul is worth discussing.

i mean cp3 is in decline but he’s still a very good player…. he might not be a top 5 player but what he is right now.. this year … at age 34… is still one of the best pg’s in the nba…. may not be all star level but he’s still very capable….

magic johnson came back after 4 years off with freaking hiv and put up a half season worth of very decent ball at age 36…. stockton was doing the same ole thing until he was 40…

chris paul is not gilbert arenas… he’s an all time great.. and all time greats do age like fine wine… if their health cooperates…. and that’s the only real concern with him…. and this year he’s proving that he’s still got a lot left….

Since the season is over and the trade floodgates open in 8 days, let’s talk trades.
I said that I want continuity on the team. I also want the Knicks to collect as many picks as they can.

Here’s how I see it. Trade up to three from row-1 and two from row-2:
row-1: Dotson, DSJr, Ellington, Payton, Bullock
row-2: Randle, Morris, Taj, Portis
I have preferences of who I would keep but it doesn’t matter. Trade the most marketable players.

I want the following players to be in the rotation:
Ntilikia, RJ, Knox, Mitch, Trier, Wooten
Add who ever remains from row-1 and row-2 that weren’t traded or the assets acquired through trade.

I don’t recall ever seeing so many coaches after a firing denouncing an entire organization like some NBA coaches are doing to the Knicks right now.
If coaches are willing to say this stuff, there is no way the Knicks can attract a top player.
The water is poisoned.
The team is doomed.
The FO, Dolan. Joke

I’ve seen alot of talk about the next HC. It’s fun to dream about JVG coming back or some under the radar young talented coach…but I really wanna see what Miller does with it. He kinda has a similar approach to the game as JVG. And we need a no nonsense coach right now. I personally believe he will do well. And I also would not have a problem if we gave MWP his start as an assistant on this staff.

I have a question though. Which remaining coach on the staff is good with offense? I don’t really see one

Can you make this motley crew play the best it can while developing the youngsters as best as they should.

You’re good to be the Knicks Coach.

The coach’s answer is in his game not in his name.

Glad that Fiz’s gone.
His game and approach of the players was problematic.
He tried to learn how to be a heart surgeon over an almost dead body but failed miserably.
I blame his ego for that for not riding what was clearly working and for losing players trust.

Now at least i have a reason to watch the games.

One name I haven’t heard that intrigues me if Miller doesn’t grab the bull by the horns, is Sam Cassell. I think his personality fits what we want to see on the floor

Huzzah! Per Isola:

These last two seasons fall directly on Mills, who according to sources will either be reassigned or simply removed from the building

@93 I hope that’s true.. He’s right after Bibi and Trump on the list of people in power I’d like to see ousted.

Wow, I guess Stan Van Gundy doesn’t want the job lol.

That’s so very brotherly of Kerr and Pop, but Fiz sucked badly at his job and is still walking away with a TON of money. Maybe we need a coach that’s not so well-liked by the opposition?

The sad truth is that Fizdale probably didn’t make that much difference. We lost some early games because of being the worst free throw shooting team in the league. We were in a bunch of games against decent to good teams. Maybe a better coach gets 2-3 more wins out of this group, but if we were 7-14 would we feel all that much better?

Sure, there was no semblance of a coherent offensive or defensive system (not really true, but let’s concede the point for now.) What system is going to work with this collection of players? We’re bad at offense because the majority of our players can’t shoot. We’re bad at defense because the majority of our players are bad defenders (including Mitch, who is quite dumb in terms of defensive decision-making.)

The most glaring issue is our young guys. Fiz was belatedly starting to hold some of them to account. Except RJ, who sabotaged many a game but never got blamed for it or had his minutes reduced. Not a single one of them has developed much, if at all, since last year. Frank is slightly better but still has a sub-.500 TS% and a negative OBPM, DBPM, BPM and a way below average WS48 as a 3rd year player.

…At the end, there was so little effort. Go to any YMCA in the city and you’ll see 50-year-old bankers eager to dive on loose balls and guard the occasional shooter. Just not the big Y at 33rd and Eighth. The next banner they raise should be a white flag…

i guess this is an unpopular take, but i haven’t seen atypically low effort from this year’s team. sure, effort has sucked in spots, but not outside of what i see from most teams, let alone a shitty team fully of babes and mercenaries. i’ve watched a pathetically overwhelming majority of knick games over the last *redacted* years, and i’ve seen many (most) knick teams that had more effort problems than this one. not on team fizdale but i think the effort hasn’t been terrible

I think the mercenary signings are a bigger problem than many realized, especially the FO that hatched this plan. They also picked the wrong guys.

Wow, looks like Mills is finally gone, although “removed from the building” is still preferable to “reassigned.” Huge news. Looks like no chance he’ll get to make a stupid trade to try to save his job.

There are actually some building blocks here, the cap sheet is fairly pristine, and there are two extra 1s coming, although those aren’t going to be very high. With a proper POBO and coach and philosophy, all is not entirely hopeless.

pt agreed, i liked that line more for the humor than the accuracy. That said, there was kind of a dumbfounded, chicken without a head effort level, and some of it seemed like a thickheadedness when it came to defensive spacing and offensive decision-making. Jumping out late on 3-pointers because you hedged too far inside, stuff like that.

Sure, there was no semblance of a coherent offensive or defensive system (not really true, but let’s concede the point for now.) What system is going to work with this collection of players? We’re bad at offense because the majority of our players can’t shoot. We’re bad at defense because the majority of our players are bad defenders (including Mitch, who is quite dumb in terms of defensive decision-making.)

Yeah, the lack of talent is the biggest problem with the team. I don’t care that much about the wins and losses-it was obvious before we played a game this wasn’t a good team. But we also don’t seem to be trying to get the most out of our players, especially the young guys.

Huzzah! Per Isola:

These last two seasons fall directly on Mills, who according to sources will either be reassigned or simply removed from the building

It’s tremendously Dolany to decide to fire the guy running the team but not until after the trade deadline.

I would imagine/hope that Pills will be very limited in what trades they can do and denied any hail Mary trades for superstars (eg. Andrew Wiggins)

I would imagine/hope that Pills will be very limited in what trades they can do and denied any hail Mary trades for superstars (eg. Andrew Wiggins)

I agree that he should be extremely limited in what he’s allowed to do. At the same time, though, we might be able to get more for Morris if we’re willing to take back a non-expiring contract. And I wonder if anyone involved is willing to add money to next year’s cap sheet — whether from the delusion that they can still land a big free agent, or because Dolan won’t want the new guy’s hands tied at all by additional contracts.

@100

I respect you defending fiz. I think he came here with a mentality that was dedicated to stay the course. To that extent he deserves some credit. But a lot of the points you bring up don’t hold true.

Bad Free throw shooting falls squarely on the coaching. Moron Mitch fouling guards 39 feet from the basket also falls on coaching.

Those should be easy fixes .so would getting pnr sets all day every day for Mitch as well as developing some offense for him outside of two feet from the basket, another thing that falls on coaching.

Making randle the point forward is bad .

What doesn’t fall on him is kp wanting out and constructing a roster of pfs in a league defined by guard and wing play to stretch the floor.

Shae Gilgeous Alexander 29 points on 13 shots last night vs. the T-Wolves.

As Matt Hooper famously said in Jaws: “I can’t take this abuse much longer.”

Free throw shooting falls on players, not coaches. That’s an absurd thing to write, mase. In what universe is a coach primarily responsible for fixing one of the most elementary (and unathletic) acts in the game, one these guys have literally done since they could reach the rim from 15 feet out?

Barrett’s 19 so he has had at least four years of practicing with a mature body. But we want to blame Fizdale (a shitty coach otherwise) and his four months of instruction for it?

When I taught college English, would you have read my worst students’ papers and blamed me for their lack of functional literacy after four months of instruction? Or might you have assumed that they were inherently poor readers and writers, whether by cognitive ability, lack of structured practice, or general disinterest?

@110 I don’t see how you can pin poor FT shooting on coaching. These are NBA players, not a middle school travel team. As to Mitch, sure, you can eliminate his defending guys far from the basket, but the vast majority of his fouls are in the paint area. He gets some running out to block 3’s, but do you want him to stop doing that? Mitch fouls out mainly because he uses his hands down low too much. I suppose coaching has something to do with it, but to me it’s more a Mitch problem than a coach problem.

When I taught college English, would you have read my worst students’ papers and blamed me for their lack of functional literacy after four months of instruction? Or might you have assumed that they were inherently poor readers and writers, whether by cognitive ability, lack of structured practice, or general disinterest?

I’d blame you.

These are kids though. treat them accordingly if they can’t make free throws. ‘You can’t leave the gym till u hit 75’ every practice…All I’m saying is the need to prioritize the smallest things. That’s good coaching.

While I’m thrilled that they might actually move past Mills, it’s meaningless unless his replacement is someone good. Replacing Mills with Houston, for instance, would almost be worse than just keeping Mills. They really need someone big to come here.

I remember that Pitino would make his team practice free throws at the end of practice, when everyone was sweaty and tired, because he felt that was more like what you would have to do in a game. That said, it’s hard to get practice time during the season and the Knicks had many many things to work on.

And speaking of practice time, by firing Fizdale yesterday, the new coach gets three days at home with only one game in that period, so he can hold at least one practice with the team. If the Knicks waited, they would be on a four game West coast trip, and they might have felt they had to wait another week or two to fire Fizdale.

I’m sure this isn’t a popular position, but I’d be ok if they let Perry run the team without Mills on an interim basis.

It’s Not about Wins and Losses (or Fts !)
Fiz’s Knicks put effort on D but were clueless on Offense.
The combinations he was making were at least hillarious and at a lower degree ‘dangerous’ for players’ psychology/development.
He showed clearly that he wasn’t playing the best ones but the ones he liked most for whatever reason.
At times he showed signs of clarity but couldn’t sustain it….

I don’t remember the exact moment but i remember me being the first (?) to comment here that Fiz must Go during a game thread after feeling that he fucked it up coaching VERY BADLY.
Crack ! (Glass breaking)

I don’t think Fiz’s combinations were hilarious. Some things he was doing were forced on him by the roster. For example, Randle and Robinson don’t fit together, so he had Mitch coming off the bench. It took him a little while to figure that out, but he did. His defense was ok, and for the most part the players were putting out effort. The offense was abysmal, I agree. Some of that was him, for sure, but it didn’t help that all his best scorers were power forwards.

These are kids though. treat them accordingly if they can’t make free throws. ‘You can’t leave the gym till u hit 75’ every practice…All I’m saying is the need to prioritize the smallest things. That’s good coaching.

AAU amateurs or an NBA roster making $110M in total?

@122
putting Knox to play starting SG
and rookie RJ to play PG
Or putting 4PFs to play together can be taken Only as a bad joke or as a cryptomessage to the FO or to the Aliens.

Putting RJ as point guard was a one game experiment, when all his experienced point guards were unavailable. The team looked crappy in that game but not much worse than with Smith at the helm. Knox didn’t do well as starting shooting guard, but no one else has claimed the position either.

As far as i remember he put RJ to play PG more than one time and while all 3 or at least 2 pgs were available.

Fiz tried to play positionless basketball and came up with coherentless instead.

Knew your Knicks, you and I remember differently. I don’t know how to check who is correct. It’s possible Barrett was backup point guard more than once, but I am sure he only started at that posiion once.

The betting odds for the Knicks’ next head coach are absurdly dumb.

Mark Jackson               5/1       

Kenny Smith                 6/1       

Ettore Messina              7/1       

James Borrego             9/1       

Juwan Howard              9/1       

Jeff Van Gundy             10/1     

Jay Larranaga                14/1     

Jerry Stackhouse          14/1     

Mike Woodson              14/1     

Monty Williams              14/1     

David Blatt                    16/1

Jay Wright                     18/1     

Keith Smart                   18/1     

Patrick Ewing                22/1     

Sam Mitchell                 22/1     

Stan Van Gundy            28/1     

Tyronn Lue                    28/1     

Adrian Griffin                33/1     

Brian Shaw                   33/1     

Derek Fisher                 33/1     

Jason Kidd                   33/1     

Sam Cassell                  33/1     

Becky Hammon             50/1     

John Calipari                 50/1     

Kaleb Canales               50/1     

Rick Pitino                    50/1     

Maurice Cheeks            66/1     

Byron Scott                  80/1     

Mike Brown                   80/1     

Mike Krzyzewski            80/1     

Pat Riley                       100/1   

Phil Jackson                 100/1   

Charles Oakley             250/1

Really interesting list. Phil Jackson? Rick Pitino? Mike Brown? Pat Riley? It’s like they’re exploiting the kind of people who spend $1000 on the billion-to-one odds Powerball tickets.

Making Randle a point forward and continuing the experiment past 3-5 games and numerous turnovers was the worst. A total turn off. I would have fired him just for that.

Then I’d fire him again for not coaching Mitch. As in, not coaching him at all.

Forget who is the head coach next season, it’s way more important who the Knicks Pres/GM for next season will be.

I don’t think there was an effort problem. Fiz wasn’t good by any standard, but the team didn’t quit on him or anything like that. And honestly, effort counts for a lot less than people seem to think. One thing Strat is right about is that the team played dumb on an individual and a tactical level. Randle shouldn’t be freelancing from the 3-pt line, or iso-ing anybody unless there’s a really favorable matchup. Mitch aggressively defends shots he shouldn’t be getting up for because he or someone else has already been beat. A+ for effort, F for stupid because it leads to fouls and puts him out of position for rebounds. The effort he’s putting in is a problem because he doesn’t recognize the difference between when he should and shouldn’t be contesting so aggressively so he goes all out all the time. They need to play smarter, not harder. Half the damn sport is positioning and timing and Fizdale was the absolute pits at that.

It’s the kind of list that reads “insider information that Miller will be permanent.” Coach K, lol

And yeah, there is likely no effort problem in the first twenty games. Maybe after the ASB on a lottery-bound team, sure, but almost all of these guys are fighting for their first vet deal or are on a placeholder 1-year and stand to benefit greatly from a career year on a team whose minutes allocation is wide open. Anyone who slacks in those situations isn’t worthy of a roster slot.

KnickfaninNJ the only way to check it out is by watching RJs first 22 games again and see where s he actually playing but that demands a hero’s mentality which i do not have.

Let’s call it a draw and agree that Fiz’s PG position was a slut that went with too many but loved noone !

Woj was on ESPN last night mentioning both of Bob Myers and Masai Ujiri as potential POBO options if Dolan makes the job desirable (basically if he gives them the Phil Jackson deal minus Mills and the medical staff). Ujiri has always been the hot name, but Bob Myers? Why would he leave San Francisco for the Knicks? I’d be stoked if we got Bob Myers because his presence alone means Mark Jackson can’t get the job, but I just can’t see that as possible.

Why does a team need a president and a GM? Isn’t that too many cooks? Can’t a GM put the team together and a coach allot the minutes (and an owner intervene when he feels it’s necessary to do something stupid)?

I think the POBO is in charge of the overall direction of the team (player development, analytics department, medical staff, scouting department) and the GM is tasked with the day-to-day operations and making decisions based on mandates that come from the POBO (and furthermore, the owner). Like if Steve Mills wants to trade Porzingis, Scott Perry does the legwork and organizes the trade details. At least I think that’s how it works.

Also, having a POBO in place means that person has executive decision making power, and the GM answers to him and not the owner. A GM with no POBO means he has to run all basketball decisions by Dolan, and I think we can all agree that is a terrible idea.

Masai/Becky 2020

God, that would be sweet.

But instead, the Knicksiest outcome will be:

Steve/Hand Down, Man Down 2020

So instead of waiting on Kyrie and KD all season, only to wind up with Julius and Bobby P, we get to ruminate about Ujiri and Meyers, only to wind up with Ernie Grunfeld. Feels inevitable.

@147

I know you’re talking about Bob Myers, but now I envision Grunfeld taking over and sending Frank, Knox and filler to Miami for Meyers Leonard.

I know you’re talking about Bob Myers, but now I envision Grunfeld taking over and sending Frank, Knox and filler to Miami for Meyers Leonard.

I…don’t think Miami accepts this trade

If the Wilpons can sell the Mets, James Dolan can make the right hire. If guys like Bob Myers and Masai Ujiri, who are responsible for building the teams that won 4 of the last 5 NBA championships, are interested in your job then dammit you take it.

Masai Ujiri is the big name, though. A couple articles came out stating that Ujiri would be interested in being in New York to further his philanthropic efforts with Giants of Africa, and that Ujiri is the guy the MSG executives want (Begley also reports that Sam Presti has fans at MSG). Offer him $100M over 6 years, give him full autonomy over this operation and the minor league operation, and get the hell out of his way. Ujiri, with full control of the Knicks, will double the Knicks’ worth in 5 seasons.

so it’s pretty weird to stick miller out in front of the press without any executive comment on the firing, right? i get that they did the precog firing a couple weeks ago, but you’d think they’d at least say a little something. if there’s no follow up at all after the game, it sure seems to support the idea that the front office is also pre-fired.

Dolan’s not smart enough to both obsess about Ujiri and stop Pills from making a dumb trade of valuable assets while he waits, is he?

I have a feeling that Doncic is going to win MVP. The narrative is almost keeping up with the stats anymore.

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