2020-21 Game Thread: Knicks vs. Lakers

The Knicks host the supporting cast of the Los Angeles Lakers tonight at the Garden with an excellent chance to get over .500.

I’m honestly surprised that other NBA teams aren’t protesting tonight over the Daunte Wright shooting.

108 replies on “2020-21 Game Thread: Knicks vs. Lakers”

out here in the LA metro area, spectrum has snatched up: dodgers, lakers, clippers then angels…i think i might still get the kings local broadcast on fios, not sure though cuz i don’t watch hockey…

for some reason i had thought tonight’s game was on espn (further hoping that espn had the rights to broadcast the game locally), i think it got bumped cuz lebron’s out, and the warriors suck a lot less than folks imagined they would…

i’m depending on y’all to provide a good visual for the box score šŸ™‚

Let’s go Knicks!
Every game is big now. 1 game separates the Knicks from the coveted 6th place in the east.
BTW, I really like this new playoff format!

I can sort of live with the #8 seed having to beat the winner of the #9/10 game, but the #7 seed not being a lock for the playoffs is a joke.

There’ll be a day when the Knicks aren’t roasted on this inbounds from behind of the basket

“The court is 50 feet wide, but apparently not wide enough for _______” is a line I’ll miss when Clyde retires.

Knicks defensive strategy is to double Drummond on the bounce and force him into turnovers. He outweighs Noel by 80 lbs, so they cannot allow him to just back down.

So far, itā€™s working.

man that sportsnet article linked earlier about the fizdale staff trying undo rj’s shot mechanics changes and push his elbow back in is just so damning i almost don’t believe it.

I can sort of live with the #8 seed having to beat the winner of the #9/10 game, but the #7 seed not being a lock for the playoffs is a joke.

Yeah, it seems pointless. Have the 9/10 play an elimination game and then the winner has to beat the 8 seed twice to get in.

I don’t think IQ gets an assist on that airball pass to Taj šŸ™‚

Quickleyā€™s following yesterday bad game with a worst one,
letā€™s hope he snaps out of his funk…

So strange to see Quickley and Rose out there and Burks playing point. But hey, it seems to be working…

Barrett, Bullock, Burks and Quickley combined 0-11

Someone need to step up, Rose and Randle couldnā€™t cover for everyone…

It makes it tougher to watch these games because we already know, in the NBA no lead is safe … but with us, it hits even harder

The refs called that exactly like they should. If a player is driving hard to the basket and someone suddenly stops and the driver does his best to avoid the blocker, it should not be a foul.

Saved by The Plague…
Payton has been our offense and this is scary..

Too many Knicks with no points on the scoreboard…

I don’t know who this Elfrid Payton guy is, but I kind of like him

Randle, Payton and Rose with 41 of the 55 points (and Gibson has 8)
we need some wingsā€™ points…

Kuzma has 5 points and hasn’t done much of anything. RJ looking bad all on his lonesome.

(I’ll add that Kuzma is somehow also -20.)

d-mar:
Kuzma on a mission to make RJ look bad. So far mission accomplished

As aggressive as he is, a lot of Barrettā€™s moves are slow because he tries all the ā€œfancyā€ stuff … he should try to straight up bull rush Kuzma and elevate.. see what happens

One of the nice things about the Lakers is not only do I dislike the team intensely, but I don’t much like the players. I don’t really like Drummond, and I despise Morris and Kuzma and Shroder, and don’t much like Caillou either.

To this day I couldn’t pick Caldwell-Pope out of a line-up.

Never thought Iā€™d say the phrase: ā€œThank God for Elfrid Paytonā€

The last three games have been Paytonā€™s best offensive stretch in a long time…

It is a pleasure to watch these two teams play defense.

We really do miss Mitch. Center is an offensive hole for us without him.

Every time we get up big we start playing fancy and immediately make turnovers and bad shots, itā€™s maddening…

On the other side, we played mostly good defense and Taj is shining…

Letā€™s finish this game guys!

Thibs didnā€™t like Obi opting to double… heā€™s down. Instead of just telling him on the court … only Obi canā€™t make mistakes

You have to love it when IQ gets 1-on-1 with a defender. Either he pops a 3 or floats one for an and-1

wow, shooting 4 for 22 from 3 and still up 13 with 3 minutes to go…that’s surprising…

And now Pelle, Obi, and Knox in the frontcourt. Too bad for only a few seconds…

Good win,
In a bad night for Barrett (and Burks) Paytonā€™s 20 points were instrumental to get the game…

Randle had his revenge game, Rose gave us a spark in the first half,
Taj and Noel were good…
Defense was good all night, itā€™s really nice that while being far from perfect they somehow find a way to get this winning streak…

I can’t believe we’re back over .500. The Memphis game may wind up being a turning point.

Even in a mask, Rebecca is looking pretty good tonight

Frank said ā€œIā€™m getting a statā€¦ā€

Lol

Z-man:
I canā€™t believe weā€™re back over .500. The Memphis game may wind up being a turning point.

Still think they’ll only win 32 games šŸ™‚

We’ve now surpassed my win prediction for the year. Kind of shocked.

You know what kind of sucks? Weā€™re doing almost exactly what the Nets did – building a scrappy, overachieving, well coached team and gaining respect around the league – except now there are almost no top free agents left to recruit

Beating the Lakers will always be a happy moment no matter the circumstances, I love it.

If Thibs put me in for 4 seconds, 5 seconds, and 14 seconds I might politely tell him “No thank you” or I’d say “Go F yourself”. It would depend on my mood.

Thibs is just giving Frank all the minutes he can handle without getting injured

if thibs put me in for 4 seconds I would bring my phone onto the court and instagram live that shit.

If Thibs put me in for 4 seconds, 5 seconds, and 14 seconds I might politely tell him ā€œNo thank youā€ or Iā€™d say ā€œGo F yourselfā€. It would depend on my mood.

It’s certainly…something.

Great win, though!

Hubert:
Iā€™m happy Cdiggy doesnā€™t have to turn off notifications.

YAAAAASSSSS – SUCK IT LAKERS FANS!!!

I DON’T GIVE A SHIT THAT YOU HAD NO LEBRON OR AD. WE DON’T HAVE ANY SUPERSTARS EITHER!!!

So I told yall that it’s my Athletics dept first day back on campus today.

What’s funny is – true to form – I go to my office and find a sticky note on my door that says “GO LAKERS”.

Guess who’s about to screenshot the final score and blitz-text their coworkers???

Even sweeter: Julius Randle – the guy Laker fans gladly thumb their nose to – lead us to the victory!

I’m taking a victory shot or three.

BigBlueAL: Still think theyā€™ll only win 32 games šŸ™‚

I said 32 games was their floor. Was that unreasonable? And I still would take the under on 36.5 wins. How about you?

Deeefense:
If Thibs put me infor 4 seconds, 5 seconds, and 14 seconds I might politely tell him ā€œNo thank youā€ or Iā€™d say ā€œGo F yourselfā€.It would depend onmy mood.

Frank had a golden opportunity to earn more minutes when all the other PGs were out and he choked. He has no right to complain about anything and should keep his vastly overpaid mouth shut and do his job.

Z-man: I said 32 games was their floor. Was that unreasonable? And I still would take the under on 36.5 wins. How about you?

19 games ago you said 33-39 was the most optimistic outcome you could imagine for the remainder of the season.

You could still be right, of course. And technically so could Pepper, who predicted a 10-26 finish that would take us to 28-44. Youā€™re hanging on a thread, though, Pep! I donā€™t know if weā€™ve got a 17 game losing streak in us.

* Good old Hubie predicted 36-36 for anyone who canā€™t remember šŸ˜‰

Z-man: I said 32 games was their floor. Was that unreasonable? And I still would take the under on 36.5 wins. How about you?

Damn 36 wins is a perfect number too. Honestly because of that West coast trip if you put a gun to my head to make a prediction I think 35-37 would be it. I just never thought their floor was as low as 32 but certainly not 39 as their ceiling which I remember being thrown out there.

I think between 35 and 37 wins is their realistic range.

Hubert: 19 games ago you said 33-39 was the most optimistic outcome you could imagine for the remainder of the season.

You could still be right, of course. And technically so could Pepper, who predicted a 10-26 finish that would take us to 28-44. Youā€™re hanging on a thread, though, Pep! I donā€™t know if weā€™ve got a 17 game losing streak in us.

* Good old Hubie predicted 36-36 for anyone who canā€™t remember šŸ˜‰

I didn’t guarantee anything but given the records/injuries, etc… who knows..I am sure the probability of 10 wins was close to whatever they do end up with…ball has bounced the other way….if Lebron and AD play tonight we lose this game…anyway…that is why I don’t gamble…I predicted less than 20 wins on the whole season…i got thib’sed…

I will say…I still don’t like the fact that we are winning with rose/payton/bollocks/taj…none of them are part of the future…but fuck it…its better than losing…

We have a long way to go and Z-Man probably has a good chance of being right. My 36 win prediction requires us to crush the upcoming 5 game home stand. That will not be easy.

pepper: still donā€™t like the fact that we are winning with rose/payton/bollocks/tajā€¦none of them are part of the futureā€¦

Reggie Bullock can stick around for a couple more years as far as Iā€™m concerned. Alec Burks, too.

Hubert: 19 games ago you said 33-39 was the most optimistic outcome you could imagine for the remainder of the season.

It was swiftandabundant that predicted 39 wins, I scoffed at that at the time, don’t feel like looking back but I recall saying that 37 was a hard ceiling. No matter, I’m in the “I love being wrong about stuff when it means the Knicks are overachieving” camp. It’s been a fantastic season, even with the unfortunate demise in our chances for a top-5 draft pick. I have truly enjoyed watching this team play New York Knicks lunchpail basketball this entire season. We are no longer a doormat laughingstock with dysfunction, as KP put it, from top to bottom. We’re neck-and-neck with the Celtics and Heat, for fuck’s sake. Sure, I pine for the days of no more DRose or Elfrid, but it is at least looking like we are on the right track.

Hubert: Reggie Bullock can stick around for a couple more years as far as Iā€™m concerned. Alec Burks, too.

You can do a heck of a lot worse with them coming off the bench. Yes Bullock starts, but imagine him coming off the bench to spell our shiny new premium play-making sweet-shooting wing.*

*not sure where we get such a commodity – hopefully a diamond in the rough draft pick.

Z-man: No matter, Iā€™m in the ā€œI love being wrong about stuff when it means the Knicks are overachievingā€

well then Iā€™ve got good news bc it was definitely you šŸ™‚

(for real, though, itā€™s premature to gloat; you could probably be right.)

Z-man
March 4, 2021 at 2:00 am
Barring moves and major injuries, Iā€™m predicting 15-21 for the second half. 33-39 for the 9th seed. A lot depends on the last 8 games and whether teams have something to play for or rest guys for the playoffs.

Z-man
March 4, 2021 at 5:49 am
yeah pepper and Bruno, youā€™re probably right. I gave them a 2-3 game Thibs boost, but now that thereā€™s plenty of scouting film, I can see things coming down to our roster, which is bad. 15 is more like a best-case scenario.

https://knickerblogger.net/ny-post-derrick-rose-less-knicks-ripped-by-spurs-fall-back-to-500/

BigBlueAL: I just never thought their floor was as low as 32 but certainly not 39 as their ceiling which I remember being thrown out there.

I think between 35 and 37 wins is their realistic range.

As I said earlier, that comeback in the Memphis game was huge. We could easily have lost tha TOR game too. We have clearly locked up the 10 spot. As to our final record, the next 8 games will be telling, we could go 2-6, 6-2 or anything in between. I can’t imagine us doing better than 2-4 on that 6 game road trip, and then we have the Hornets and Celts in what could be very meaningful games to finish the season.

The Infamous Cdiggy: You can do a heck of a lot worse with them coming off the bench. Yes Bullock starts, but imagine him coming off the bench to spell our shiny new premium play-making sweet-shooting wing.*

*not sure where we get such a commodity ā€“ hopefully a diamond in the rough draft pick.

Imagine him being used as a stretch 4! Wouldnā€™t he be doing a much better job in that role than Obi?

Heā€™s a solid player. As long as he isnā€™t making more than the MLE Iā€™d be happy to have him around as a versatile bench guy.

Hubert: well then Iā€™ve got good news bc it was definitely you šŸ™‚

(for real, though, itā€™s premature to gloat; you could probably be right.)

https://knickerblogger.net/ny-post-derrick-rose-less-knicks-ripped-by-spurs-fall-back-to-500/

Funny how the king of claiming to be misrepresented conveniently left out this part of my post:

“Or is it? Weā€™ve done pretty well without Mitch, maybe we continue to gel. I mean, who thought weā€™d be 18-18 at the halfway point without anything at all from Obi?”

Deeefense:
If Thibs put me infor 4 seconds, 5 seconds, and 14 seconds I might politely tell him ā€œNo thank youā€ or Iā€™d say ā€œGo F yourselfā€.It would depend onmy mood.

He’s just stretching him out for the end of the season. By game 72 he’ll be playing full minutes.

I should also mention that my back and forth with swifty I was referring to was more recent, maybe 5-6 games ago. All that being said, I will readily admit that this team has exceeded even my most optimistic projections all year, but that’s cool…I’d way rather be wrong than right for being too pessimistic. The Thibs + staff effect has been pretty incredible, as is RJ’s and Randles improvements and the steady play of Nerlens, Burks and less steady but occasionally brilliant play of Bullock and IQ.

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