Comments on: Post Game: Thunder beat Knicks, 128-103

By: danvt

danvt — Thu, 15 Nov 2018 17:28:48 +0000

But at least he is committed to rebuilding. That’s all I’ve ever wanted from a Knick GM for the past five-six years (and from 2002-2009).

What makes me sad is that Ntilikina doesn’t seem to be progressing and Knox may not. I’m glad coach is giving them a chance, but it doesn’t look like the results are what we want. I’m also scared that we’re gonna tie up a bunch of salary on a bad signing once we have money again this summer.

Future could still be bright if KP blossoms, we get a real deal stud in the draft, Mitch, Dot, Zo work out, etc…

By: Brian Cronin

Brian Cronin — Thu, 15 Nov 2018 06:38:06 +0000

In reply to Bruno Almeida.

Yes, Phil was terrible and he fucked the franchise over horribly, but Mills also looked at this roster and thought adding THJ made sense and he also didn’t try to trade Courtney Lee when they could have maybe gotten a bucket of balls for him. So yes, fuck Phil, but fuck Mills, too. Only Perry is safe…so far. And even he has the dumb Willy and Mudiay trades under his belt. But at least he is committed to rebuilding. That’s all I’ve ever wanted from a Knick GM for the past five-six years (and from 2002-2009).

By: Bruno Almeida

Bruno Almeida — Thu, 15 Nov 2018 06:15:29 +0000

I mean, losing a lot was expected and is part of the rebuilding effort, it’s really not the problem for me. What sucks is that other teams that equally suck seem to have more potential talent on board than us, and that comes from the refusal to bottom out this franchise has shown over the last 4 seasons. It’s bad luck that the best of the guys we got from sucking all those years is injured, but we could be much further into a true rebuild if the front office had committed to it two years ago, maybe with guys like Fox and Doncic or Ayton on this roster instead of Ntilikina and Knox. In the end it’s not even Mills and Perry’s fault, it’s still the echoes of the stupid Phil Jackson moves hurting the franchise.

By: dtrickey

dtrickey — Thu, 15 Nov 2018 05:07:43 +0000

In fairness to Mitch, Steve Adams is a tough match up. Especially if you haven’t played much in the last 12 months. To paraphrase C. Anthony, the guy is a Game of Thrones character.

I think we just have to take the lumps with this team. The young guys are going to suck, and the guys that otherwise suck and aren’t that young, aren’t locked in long term. As long as Fiz has them playing hard and is giving reps to the young guys, then I am okay with that. It’s probably not pretty, but this is what rebuilding looks like I guess.

By: Silky Johnson, Fleet Admiral of the Tank Armada

Silky Johnson, Fleet Admiral of the Tank Armada — Thu, 15 Nov 2018 05:00:19 +0000

Again, I’m not 100% in on Knox being a bust, but the path to him becoming a productive NBA player requires *a lot* of squinting. He’s going to have to develop a secondary skill of some sort or be a borderline elite scorer to be a net positive, and there’s no reason to suspect that will happen. As far as his college 2pt% goes he lived off of difficult to make floaters in traffic that have and will continue to be stuffed at the NBA level unless he makes a leap in body control (something you usually have or don’t.)

As far as I’m concerned, picking him at 9 was a bad idea even if he turns out well, because he was a 2nd round prospect, truthfully (I base this claim on most draft models having him anywhere from 25-50 overall) If he’s good, that just means Mills and Perry hit on 18 and drew a 3.

By: Bruno Almeida

Bruno Almeida — Thu, 15 Nov 2018 04:54:04 +0000

That’s only true if you think Zion is definitely going to be the 1 pick and there is nobody else worthwhile in the draft.

Being the worst record still guarantees a top 5 pick. I agree the difference is obviously very marginal between the 1-3 worst teams, but being amongst them is still the best chance to get a top 3 pick in a very top heavy draft where it looks like there’ll be 3 incredible prospects. It’s definitely worthy being a bottom 3 team compared to the usual Knicks shtick of getting the 8th worst record.

By: abk

abk — Thu, 15 Nov 2018 04:26:42 +0000

There is no “tank for Zion” or any particular prospect any more. The worst record in the league has a 14% shot at the #1 pick. A 1 in 7 chance. There’s essentially no point worrying about generational prospects, because it’s all luck who ends up with them. That’s probably a good thing, because incentivizing tanking is pretty stupid on multiple fronts.

We obviously need to add an elite player though. Hopefully a top 5 pick. Tonight was a great night for tanking, as DET, PHX, MEM, DAL, MIN, WAS all won. 538 projects us to win 22 games this season, tied with.ATL for worst record in the league. Here are all of the teams with win projections in the twenties:

Knicks: 22
Hawks: 22
Suns: 23
Cavs: 24
Bulls: 25
Mavs: 29
Kings: 29

It’s close at the top (er, bottom), but we are starting to put ourselves safely in the top 5 of the lottery. That’s mostly all that matters, unless you think there’s a big difference picking 5th vs picking 7th. Possible, but history says not all that much.

By: rama, king of superfluous poppycock

rama, king of superfluous poppycock — Thu, 15 Nov 2018 04:19:09 +0000

I’m just sitting here thinking, I had a hard time deciding between SGA and Mikal on draft night, and I’m still not sure, but I leaned SGA then and am still leaning the same way.

And I’m trying not to think how much brighter our future would be with one of them rather than Knox.

By: rama, king of superfluous poppycock

rama, king of superfluous poppycock — Thu, 15 Nov 2018 04:17:48 +0000

Even if Knox does pan out I can’t see him being more than a taller Tim Hardaway.

Exactly. That’s what I’ve been thinking – the kid does have some potential NBA level skills, but he’ll be a box score guy, not an advanced stats guy, and we’ll lose with him on the court. To be fair I think THjr is a C on defense and not an F, which makes him s potentially useful player on the right roster. But having a second guy like that is no bueno.

By: Bruno Almeida

Bruno Almeida — Thu, 15 Nov 2018 04:07:38 +0000

This is the worst kind of Knicks game, the youngsters suck and we had to endure Wally instead of Clyde.

We have a crazy hard schedule coming up, at Pelicans and Magic, then vs Blazers and at Celtics on a back to back, then Pelicans at home, Grizzlies, Pistons and Sixers all away. It’s honestly quite possible that this team goes 0-8 or 1-7 to finish November. If we’re 4-19 at the end of the month we’ll probably have the worst record in the NBA.

Tank on for Zion.