(Saturday, February 03, 2018 11:39:39 PM)
GREENBURGH, N.Y. — The NBA trade deadline is Thursday and the hot stove is reasonably warm in the Knicks’ universe. It’s no secret that they wouldn’t mind getting more athletic, and if general manager Scott Perry can find someone to take on part of Joakim Noah’s hefty contract (he is in the second year of a four-year, $72-million deal), it’s very likely the besieged big man will never wear a Knicks jersey again.
(Saturday, February 03, 2018 5:07:19 PM)
Willy Hernangomez isn’t sweating out Thursday’s trade deadline. The Knicks’ second-year center is looking forward to it.
[SNY Knicks] Despite 18 stitches in his lip, Enes Kanter continues to thrive (Saturday, February 03, 2018 1:55:08 PM)
Enes Kanter has averaged 18 points and 18.3 rebounds per game since getting 18 stitches in his mouth.
[SNY Knicks] Tim Hardaway Jr. takes full blame for Knicks loss after missing 13 shots (Saturday, February 03, 2018 9:35:48 AM)
Tim Hardaway Jr. says he puts the Knicks 92-90 loss to the Bucks on him after shooting 1-14 from the field.
[NYDN] Enes Kanter urges Knicks to keep this group together (Saturday, February 03, 2018 7:47:32 PM)
The NBA trade deadline is fast approaching on Thursday, and the Knicks find themselves fading further from playoff contention.
(Saturday, February 03, 2018 9:26:49 PM)
Kristaps Porzingis has some company. He’s not the only one using the “P word” — playoffs — around the Knicks, not the only one hoping the front office opts to keep the team together rather than dealing assets before Thursday’s trade deadline. “I think right now, our only goal is making the playoffs,” Enes Kanter…
(Saturday, February 03, 2018 7:34:34 PM)
Tim Hardaway Jr. kept on shooting, and he kept on missing, giving Knicks fans John Starks flashbacks. But Jeff Hornacek had no problem with Hardaway continuing to let it fly after his ghastly 1-for-14 performance in Friday night’s loss to the Bucks. He also went 0-for-9 from 3-point range. “You’ve seen over the years many…
(Saturday, February 03, 2018 10:43:49 AM)
It’s easier to not hold a grudge, of course. It’s probably the right thing to do, the noble thing to do, the pathway toward good karma and better health. Grudges are ugly. Grudges diminish us. Grudges can turn the lining of your stomach into acid-washed torture. But in this case there’s really very little choice….
(Saturday, February 03, 2018 6:41:24 AM)
MILWAUKEE – Five observations from the Knicks’ 92-90 deflating loss Friday in Milwaukee that ended a 20-game stretch in which 16 were away from the Garden. The Knicks fell to 6-14 during that stretch and into a 10th-place tie in the Eastern Conference with the Hornets, mostly because Tim Hardaway Jr. couldn’t tie his shoelaces…
134 replies on “Knicks Morning News (2018.02.04)”
Hopefully, by Thursday night we will have some objective evidence about the direction this franchise is going and the competence of the front office ( does Perry have autonomy). Props to Perry for not tipping his hand.
I think Perry probably sees as young a talented; having a mathematical shot at making the playoffs; but will not trade picks nor take on much more bulky long-term contracts. I don’t think he feels compelled to shake it up one way or the other, unfortunately.
Timmy should just take off his jersey and wear a milk carton
Those noon games are perfect for me as a fan in Germany. But because of the missing game thread it’s seems too early for all of you. 😉
Please mr. Hornacek, where was Burke friday?
Should we start considering the possibility of trading KP at some point soon? I love KP but could we do better by reaping assets for him?
@6 Game after game his play is regressing and I’m more and more convinced that Phil was right.
If the problem is physical (elbow, knee or WTF) let him have surgery, season’s over already.
But I never heard of a cojones transplant.
BTW I think that Hornacek has lost the team, or part of it.
I would certainly trade KP for a couple high first round picks and a young contributor, if only because he’ll command a max contract and he’s not worth it.
The Knicks did not come to play this afternoon. I’m not sure why I’m watching.
KP is more worried about the all star break and the skills challenge than he is about the fact that he looks more and more like a shot blocking Bargnani every day. There’s so much there to work with but we are maximizing getting as little as possible out of him.
hmmmm, maybe were just not that very good a team…
timmy and kp both looking rough…
Haha jack. totally unnecessary no look pass fired out of bounds.
But I’d welcome this loss! Every loss makes it less likely for our front office to make stupid trades
Pathetic exbition against the league’s worst team.
Every good vibe from novembrer is gone, defense, effort, team chemistry, all evaporated.
I understand that losing could give us a better player in the draft, but games like this only show one thing: we’re not one or two players away, we’re a full roster away.
All the players from our “young core” are regressing terribly, KP really looks like Bargnani with blocks, Timmy couldn’t pull up for a jumper, Willy is glued to the bench, Frank doesn’t know what to do.
I can’t stand our 7’3 shooting guard, if a good offer come by trade him while he has some value.
Pretty cool how a G-league guy that we called up a few weeks ago is our best player.
We are going to be talking about the Tim contract the way we’re talking about the Noah contract soon enough. It’s a neverending Knicks ritual.
I don’t know if we can get two high picks and a young contributor for Porzingis without using a number of those words very loosely. Realistically the time for this was before last year’s December fade but they pulled a Carmelo trade out of their hats and got a laster, bester chance at it. Everything was going great. He took all the shots just like a fake star transitioning to fake superstar is supposed to. He ran good. It was there again and we didn’t take it again and now look. Again. There are still lots of stupid people in the NBA making lots of stupid decisions and he’s an all-star but it’s hard to fathom that the book on him isn’t pretty much out there. What are we really going to get for a guy who just plain isn’t going to stop taking bad shots short of having a Houston system imposed on him, and who will basically be Brook Lopez even if he does?
Burke, Kanter, and McD energizing the Knicks, which is okay since they are younger guys and potentially keepers going forth, at the right price. Oddly, McD is helping on D and rebounding rather than shooting.
Looks like Lee is infected with THJ disease today, 3-10 (0-4)
Lol, Timmy has been terrible all around since he banged his head against the staunchion
Instead of trading KP how about actually hiring a coaching staff that would help maximize his enormous talent??
BBA, I’d be ok with that but I’m worried about his salary.
Jack back in with 8 mins left, somebody shoot me…
Hornacek reliance on Jack is the biggest hint that he lost the team
I know Frank has his shooting issues but 7 minutes? C’mon.
@22
He may have hurt his knee. If not, yeah, he needs to play. Jack’s continued minutes are dumbfounding, unless a stealth tank.
it must be february, simultaneously hoping for a win and loss…
tough way to watch a game…
Frank is out for the rest of the game with knee soreness. Jack has re-entered the game and in almost every defensive possession has had his man blow right by me. Burke needs to re-enter if they want to try to win this game.
Now Jack misses a couple of shots in a row, at this point it is seriously becoming a fireable offense playing Jack this much.
Even if behind closed doors management was tempted to trade KP, the chances of it happening are close to 0%. The team has hyped and marketed him as the cornerstone of the franchise. No one in their right mind would risk trading him. He’d get killed for doing it by the press and fan base and quite possibly lose his job (even if he won the deal). And God forbid KP got really good somewhere else, forgetaboutit. You can make the case for doing it if you got a huge offer. It’s just not the kind of thing that’s going to happen other than in fantasy league.
I supposed it is remotely possible that they are hard showcasing Jack at this point, but I find it pretty hard to imagine a team giving up a 2nd round pick for him.
Edit, Burke back in for Jack.
Holy shit what a pass by KP, where the hell did that come from?!?!
So KP can play if he wants?
The officials need to be suspended.
wut
These refs are horrible.
WHAT IS THIS TOMFOOLERY
not sure I’ve ever seen a game “rewinded” on a “correctable” official’s error…
not sure if i’m glad or mad…
I wonder how often in NBA history that mistake has happened, where you continue play, the other team scores, but they you realize the mistake, wipe the time that happened, and reset??
Knicks have to be the worst Technical Foul FT shooting team in the NBA.
It may be in the rulebook, but that needs to be changed. Sure, give the player another FF once you know about the mistake, but do NOT wipe the play(s) that happened after.
That could only happen to the Knicks. smh
KP makes one of the best passes of his career and they take it away.
Someone reading this thread would be surprised to find out that KP has 5 blocks and 4 steals in 29 minutes. He’s 22 years old leading the nba in blocked shots and many measures of rim protection, shooting from 39pct from three and getting to the line 6 per 36. There’s plenty still not to like but odds are high he ends up being worth the 25pct max slot.
Up 6 with 2 mins to go you don’t help off a corner 3pt shooter to help in the paint on penetration, that’s awful defense.
@40
Yeah, lots of emotional hot takes in game threads.
It’s amazing the stupid ways the Knicks find to lose games, unbelievable.
so what happens at the end of the season – do we extend horny for a year, so it’s not a lame duck coaching season for him – or, do we show him the door…
not sure who they would hire next – but, horny seems more inconsistent than the players…
fun watching these two teams battle for the loss…
FIRE HORNACEK!!!!
Timmy is pretty much brain dead.
Sheesh. Would be hard to even be happy about this loss. Ugly stuff.
lol Timmy shoots with a full 24, iso KOQ, then just evacuate the corner. Long live the accidentank.
Hardaway is dumb as a bag of rocks.
I love this loss
Also don’t know what KOQ was doing with his shot attempt and don’t miss so many FT’s.
Seriously, it’s needed.
Hawk-a-tankers are really pissed about this game.
If we didn’t all know better, the league should investigate that sequence as a gambling tank.
If this game isn’t enough proof of how horrendously coached this team is I don’t know what else they could do to prove it.
If you don’t find this at least a little funny you haven’t been a Knick fan for long enough. I feel like we hit this 3 and then lose in OT.
Fire Horny today.
Btw I think Baze had his foot on the line on that last three, not that it matters.
I say fire Hornacek, waive Jack and call back Noah
Breathe deep. This loss is for the best. Kill any delusions about playoff push.
Steve Mills deserves a contract extension!!
I agree, management needed this loss
Tank Commander Tim von Hardaway, folks. Clyde really griping about him.
Really, best result would have been a hard-fought win at home vs. the worst team in the league b/c it still shows how far you are from being good. You need to sell and tank. But, your prize FA guy of the last offseason shows himself to be a total bonehead is not cool.
Also, the league now has to deal with that “correctable error” silliness, as well.
Yankees pitchers and catchers report in 10 days!!
The O’Quinn play was dumb, but Hardaway’s back to back plays were monumentally dumb. No coach on earth should have to tell you to pull the ball back out and run off clock. I knew things like that when I was 7 or 8 years old playing in CYO. If JR Smith was watching this game, he’s laughing at Hardawy and calling him a dumbass.
Huge win for the tank today!
Hardaway probably learned that strategy from JR during his rookie season.
Tank on…. the tire fire that this season is turning into burns brighter every game
Dominique could not get over the Hardaway play. He spent the entire broadcast half asleep slash potentially hung over but when he saw he had a front seat to the Darwin awards he woke the f up.
Once H took Jack out for Burke in the 4th, I thought Hornacek did okay with the lineup out there. Once again, this team is just not good, but Tim’s poor bb IQ is rather stunning. He’s a seasoned vet…
It’s so hard being us.
Everyone have a beer, watch the superbowl, and hope this loss gets us a better pick.
@68
Neither could Clyde. He really ripped Tim for it, repeatedly.
@40 The odds that Porzingis ends up being worth a max contract are very close to zero.
The one bright side to a horrendous home loss is KP put up an impressive stat line with 4 steals and 5 blocks. His development is way more important than wins.
– We were outscored 7-0 in the last minute and lose by 3 with the worst team in the league.
– Our 7’3 shooting guard missed 3 FT in a close game and he couldn’t corral a rebound to save his life…
– We missed all our Technical FT.
– Hardaway got a rebound on a missed FT, up by 4 with 53 seconds left… and shot a 10 ft fall back jumper, literally falling on the floor, instead of milking the clock.
– The same Hardaway went out of bound with 8 seconds remaining… after a timeout!
And we’re too emotional?
🙂
It’s time to fire all the coaching staff.
Any new coach needs to be a hypnotist. Here’s the mantra to Timmy:
“Do not shoot fadeaway jumpers with a full shot clock. Do not shoot fadeaway…”
🙂
@73
I’m too emotional but I don’t see any progress on KP,
he played against Dedmond, Plumlee, Muscala and Collins, not Russel, Chamberlain, O’Neal and Jabbar.
He should have a 35-12 with 8 blocks, not a 22-8-5
He went 2-5 from the line in a close game and outside of the blocks his defense wasn’t good.
Of his 5 blocks, 4 were recovered by the Hawks, so they’re useless.
KP had a very good stretch, but that’s the frustrating thing about him. He’s CAPABLE of dominating a game on BOTH ends. That’s ridiculously rare and makes you think there’s a budding superstar in there. But he’s also capable of not getting any rebounds, taking terrible shots, not helping with play making at all and looking like Bargnani for stretches. smh
He’s also just 21 yo in his 3rd season and has been coached by freaking Fisher, Rambis and Hornacek. It’s way too early to give up on KP.
Yes, he has been coached by terrible coaches.
But he’ll start next season at 23 , it’s time to stop givin’ him all the excuses.
He has the potential, he must show it.
He’s probably the less deserving all star, if you take away the first 10 games his numbers are way less impressive.
Next season will be decisive, right now he’s not close to be a max contract player.
thanks big blue…needed something to help lift the gloomy cloud the knicks carry around all the time…
Do you realize how young KP still is?? He’s still a few years away from reaching his full potential. You guys want to tank and rebuild yet want to get rid of a 22 yo in his 3rd season because he isn’t a finished product already. Trading KP would be absolutely ridiculous and might be the final straw for even as big a die-hard fan as I am. KP is by far the least of this team’s problems.
Glad I missed this one!
Joke’s on the Hawks! They got knocked down to the #2 pick with this win. Goodbye, Doncic…
He didn’t get better from 19 to 21. He got worse. He can improve significantly and still never be as good as people think he already is. Politically I realize it’s a nonstarter unless Dolan figures out that he needs Masai and manages to land Masai, both of which seem impossible, but time is running short and turning Porzingis into real value as soon as possible is the only way to fade five more years of this.
kp’s not the real issue – we could have drafted towns, simmons or fucking wilt chamberlain and they’d be struggling too within this organization…
Gotten worse???? He’s significantly improved his 3pt %, FT rate and reduced his TO% plus has improved his BLK % to the point where he leads the entire freaking league in blockers per game. All this while playing for coaching staffs who obviously have no clue in helping him maximize his shot selection.
You guys seriously undervalue the importance of coaching and how AWFUL the coaching staff and front office has been during KP’s time in NY. He’s been part of a dysfunctional organization for his entire NBA career, imagine KP being drafted and developed by an organization like the Spurs or Celtics.
@81
I was all in on KP,
I don’t want a finished product,
but he is regressing, not progressing. That’s what scares me.
Bad coaching, losing culture, inappropriate teammates, anaemia, elbow problems, knee problems…
… maybe he’ll never reach the potential that we think he have.
If we fire Hornacek will Rambis be interim coach?
Edit: I agree 100% Put KP in San Antonio or Boston and he’ll become a superstar, no doubt about it.
What a bunch of stereotypical New Yorkers. No patience. “KP should have gotten 35 and 10” smh
timmy hasn’t been the same since he knocked his head in the phoenix game… i think he may have had a concussion……
The last Knicks game I attended was with my wife on Super bowl Sunday February 7th 2016 against the Denver Nuggets…Derek Fisher was fired the next morning. This season is lost and the coaching staff is terrible. Clean house and bring in Dave Blatt please
List of things to fix/blame before KP:
– Roster balance
– Rotations
– Coaching
– Player development
– Lack of set plays
– Lack of a damn PG
– Dolan
– Hornacek
– Rambis
– Trump
– Lack of philosophy- new vs vet, playoffs vs tank
– Players that are literal zeros like Lance, Baker, and Jack
– Fanbase impatience influencing team decisions badly.
@ 91
Lmao at trump, but honestly that whole entire list is the truth
On the plus side inevitable Knick Miles Bridges is having close to a 50/40/90 season!
yep, next year kp will be with his fourth coach in four years…
we talk about maxing him out – as much as new york might be a great city to play in – if kp was smart he’d be looking for a way out…
good thing horny’s not letting frankie’s development cost us any games…
Don’t get me wrong, KP is improving. The problem is that he’s not a first banana but he thinks he is (and the media do too, sigh) and that’s what is really frustrating. He needs a real first option to thrive. In Cleveland, Houston, San Antonio, Boston, New Orleans, Philadelphia, Toronto and Milwaukee he’d be simply devastating. Here, he’s becoming an entitled sissy.
I think part of KP’s problem on offense is that remnants of Jackson’s mid range philosophy are still embedded in it and part is that he doesn’t have a good feel for good vs. bad shots. It’s a little of both.
If you gave him to D’Antoni he’d be much more efficient because there would be rules.
1. If you are open from 3 or 2-3 feet beyond that shoot it
2. When Paul or Harden lob it to you on a P&R or other set play dunk it.
3. Do little to nothing else unless it’s late in the clock.
On this team he has to do more because we don’t have as much talent, but the focus should be on getting him good shots. He’s adding plenty of value on defense already
Aten is just as bad as reub. Speaking in absolutes with no backup to their wild claims. Wetbandit is right in 88 relax guys.
Oh, and the other problem is that he’s asked to guard opposing fours because we always have a slow-footed center beside him. He needs a Shawn Marion to be a real plus on defense.
This is a 100% certainty.
He “eventually” HAS to play C so his value in the paint on defense is maximized.
I don’t blame them for not playing him at C all the time now. He’s not strong enough and can’t do the job on the boards. The last thing we need is for him to get beat up and hurt by much stronger guys. But the goal should be to put him at C and find a Shawn Marion type player to team him with.
I don’t get to see Julius Randle enough to know if he can do the job on defense, but he has some of the qualities we need. He’s young, rebounds well, is athletic, scores efficiently, and is getting better. If he can defend (or learn to), I think he’d pair well with KP long term. Willy could be the backup C.
Playing KP with Kanter/O’Quinn is fine for now, but long term he’s a C. We have to move on from running KP ragged chasing stretch 4s while also trying to help Kanter defend the paint at the same time. It opens too many flaws in our defense, especially when Kanter has to switch and guard quicker guys.
@91 Agreed on 99%, Trump included 😀
I don’t see the fanbase influencing team decisions, they don’t need help to be so bad…
I agree even on the last KP comments, he’s not a first option,
he’s a good player with limitations, he could be a very good player, either way he’s not a max player.
He’s a good fit for Boston and try to imagine how deadly Houston could be with him instead of Anderson (with Capela behind him on defense!).
Post game news:
– Media are pointing that probably Hornacek designed the last play for Lee and not THJ and that KP botched the screen. Lee would have missed the shot so it’s not important
– Isola and Berman exchanged barbs, even Knicks beat writers are bad 🙂
– Hardaway escapes the media and now they’re scorching him for 71 milions reasons. Just what we need after the Noah Theatre…
This is all so funny… 🙂
If you gave him to D’Antoni he’d be much more efficient because there would be rules
1. If you are open from 3 or 2-3 feet beyond that shoot it
2. When Paul or Harden lob it to you on a P&R or other set play dunk it.
“Re: #2 – that’s like saying to a receiver with a really shitty quarterback “when Rodgers or Brady throw you the ball, catch it!”
I think Miles Bridges is our Shawn Marion. The guy is a physical beast of a man and steadily improving in all aspects of the game. He could play either forward depending on the lineup, but would Horny actually play him with the other kids? I’ll take Blatt ASAP please.
I hear you. We don’t have a good PG yet, but it’s hard to imagine having a 7’3″ big guy with decent athleticism and getting him any fewer easy shots at the basket. We don’t even try.
If Frank becomes that “guy” next year, KP should be getting a few easy baskets every night.
Anyway (and I’m sorry because I like the guy) from now on I’m firmly entrenched in the “Fire Hornacek” camp. He’s lost the team and plays too much the veterans.
I’m down with moving on from Hornacek, but in the general interest of looking like a desirable destination it’s probably best to wait out the season. We’ve had way too much instability the last few years. It’d be nice to at least pretend that the days of constant freak outs are over. It’s not like Hornacek is exactly under performing with this roster.
When you lose at home to the Atlanta Hawks, how can a fucking front office not realize it’s obviously time to let go of any ambitions for this year and tank all the way?
To be fair, we don’t know what they’re thinking yet. We’ll find out very soon.
Difficult to get a read on Miles Bridges. Nothing in particular stands out but if the scoring translates he could be pretty good. I’d still prefer Carter, JJJ, Mikal Bridges, and probably Robert Williams assuming we can’t get into the top 7 or so.
thank you Bazed god
THJ has a great style for today’s NBA – fast down the floor on transition, opens the floor, athletic, can hit 3’s. Problem is he sucks.
This has turned into another meaningless season. Tired of tanking.
Oh that’s right, “Next year”.
The only time they’ve actually tanked was after they had already unintentionally went 5-35 to start the 2014-15 season (and even there, they still tried to win their last few games like morons and went from the #1 pick to the #4 pick). Otherwise, what the Knicks have been doing the past few years has not been tanking but just being a terribly put together basketball team.
If they had actually rebuilt this team when they should have, they’d likely be a much more fun team to watch right now.
So feel free to feel bad about the last few years, as you should, since they sucked, but don’t blame it on “tanking.” That’s not what they were doing and that’s not what they’ve been doing this season, either.
This is an A+ post. He’s like someone who should be cast as a modern basketball player a movie.
@97 The proof is in the box score. If he plays like Nick Young I don’t super care that he’s real white and lanky and stuff.
KP is 7’3 and only 22 years old – still not even fully grown into his body. He can’t dribble the ball down the court and get the ball to himself in good position to score. He has not had a good coach nor a reasonable point guard yet. Before we write him off as a “second option”, let’s allow him to get stronger, and put a passing, penetrating pg with him. He’s gotta be a 5 too.
Yes, when I watch KP play I immediately think Nick Young. Great comparison.
It looks to me like we are going to keep doing exactly what we are doing now.
We are going to keep adding 1 or 2 pieces in the draft every year. If we draft well, each year the earlier draft picks will continue to improve and so should our record. The hope would be that KP and Frank will be better next year, Willy and Dotson will break through as rotation players, and we’ll add some other 19 year old in the lottery this year. So from a 30-35 win team this year, the hope (or goal) would be that we are a .500 team next year. In 3-5 years we should be really good, especially if we can add significant free agents in 2019 and 2020 as players come off the cap. But to add quality free agents, we better already be good. Otherwise no one good will come here.
If we draft poorly (or unluckily) we are going to stay in lottery hell for years and years like all the other teams that draft poorly, never gain any traction, and all the star free agents won’t give us a meeting.
We are 2 drafts into this rebuild. Let’s just hope the next time we have 20 million or more of cap space we do a better job than Mills did with Hardaway and Baker.
As a consolation, holy shit Carmelo Anthony is awful. I’d rather have Noah’s contract at this point. Perry probably doesn’t get enough credit for being able to get literally anything for him.
And if Willy Hernangomez starts averaging a triple-double next year, we’ll really be set!
Give me Masai or give me death….
The Hornets have passed the Knicks who now have dropped to 10th in the draft. Lakers are a game back but after them looks impossible for the Knicks to drop below anyone else. Can’t see the Knicks dropping any further than 9th in the lottery.
If I hear one more NBA commentator say that the Thunder have “figured it out” and are gonna be dangerous in the playoffs, I’ll scream.
I really like Miles Bridges but also don’t like him.
I was at the game today and have a few comments.
1. In pregame, Willy and KP were playing 1 on 1 on the right low post. Billy’s moves looked so much sharper than KP. KP still a better shooter, but I was close enough to notice KP,does not have big hands and, more importantly, his release appeared very inconsistent. Sometimes the ball is released in classic fingertip form. Sometimes from his palm.
2. I also noted that KOQ was warming up harder and more effectively than KP, who was just shuffling around, content to launch threes and shots near thge rim.
3. He also looked sluggish in 1st half. Maybe the rumors of him partying too hard have some truth.
I really (jokingly) like Mike Muscala. It’s a sign of how little I know about basketball that he has put up four consecutive seasons of .130+ WS/48 and Nick Fazekas is playing basketball in Japan.
And KP’s no look off the left dock (which was reversed) shows that the offense shod run thru him.
So… a block is worthless if the offensive team recovers the ball because the shot was guaranteed not to go in, so the defender is really just messing with his teammates rebounding position by altering it. Got it!
(Man, I’ve been away too long…)
It’s always a good day in New York when the Patriots lose a Super Bowl.
@126
My point is that blocks alone are not a good way to evaluate defense.
Blocks have different “weights” (blocks that you recover, blocks that send the ball outside the floor so you could set your defense, blocks that give the ball back to the offense) and it’s common knowledge nowadays that “alter” shots is at least as important (if not more) then block them.
That’s why Gobert is valued as a great defender and Whiteside is considered a stat-only player (add that Gobert is a great defensive rebounder).
@128 I can’t even…
It’s really hard to take value away from a blocked shot. When you have the guy who leads the league in blocked shots, it makes guys less confident to drive into the paint. KP had 5 blocks and four steals tonight. That is clearly plus value on defense.
Just looking at the box score, We’re not going to win games where Courtney Lee and Tim Hardaway Jr don’t play well. It’s also not a good idea to give Doug McDermott and Jarret Jack 27 minutes a piece unless you’re doing some last minute trade value pumping. There’s really no reason we should have lost to the Hawks, but I embrace it and don’t hold the performances of anybody against them. Trey Burke had a good game, KP’s 8 board/5 block/4 steal night makes me happy, but I need Frank Ntilikina to get more than 7 minutes if we’re going to lose a home game to Atlanta.
Come April, I’d like to have a better idea of who Dame Dotson, Frank Ntilikina, Trey Burke, Willy Hernangomez (if he’s still in town), Tim Hardaway Jr, and Kristaps Porzingis are. Those guys plus our draft picks in June are the future of the team. Those guys need to lead the team in minutes after the trade deadline. Our season is cooked. Nobody loses a home game to the 2nd worst team in basketball and makes the playoffs.
Yeah, KP is definitely a good defender. That’s why I can’t get too down on him. He’s shown up defensively big time.
Pats lose!
RE #123
Interesting. KOQ does not start, so he might go harder in warmups since he’ll then be sitting for awhile before getting in. However, still, worried about KP’s overall stamina.
We know Willy is a good post scorer and good defensive rebounder. All the rest of his game is suspect, but he needs some burn. If he’s not traded this week, he needs to be in the rotation the rest of the season. If OQ is not traded also, he needs to go to 3rd string….on the bright side for him, he can avoid injury prior to becoming an unrestricted free agent.
What I’ve noticed with KP is that he is really good scoring the ball when he gets it on the move. His jump shots off of curl screens are usually on point and his touch with hooks and finishes when he catches the ball moving towards the rim is excellent. He also draws a lot of fouls that way. What he needs to never do is post up from the elbow. He is not strong enough to hold position and doesn’t get fouls when defenders get into his body. We need to use him less like Dirk and more like Rip Hamilton. Big men stand no chance chasing him off of pin downs and weak side picks.
@126 @129 @130
Sorry, you’re right. Blocks are the most important thing in this game, numbers support your claim.
As of today:
– We’re 4th in the league in blocks per game.
– If we count blocks instead of points our record is 31W-16L-7T
– This give us home advantage in the first round of the playoffs and a good chance to advance to the Conference Finals.
Alas, shame to Dr. Naismith, his rules are so stupid, why the hell count points?
BTW What I was saying yesterday is that blocks alone are not enough to judge defense and that “not all blocks are created equal” (and I know that not all our defensive shortcomings are on KP, he’s a good rim protector).
But I forgot that nuisances are lost in today’s binary world.
Let us all read boxscores, watching games is so boring…