Knicks Morning News (2019.02.21)

@2 – To me, the Lakers can surpass the Clippers without any interference from the league.

Basketball Reference tweeted yesterday that the Lakers have a 7% probability of making the playoffs.

It is feeling a lot like the 2012-13 Lakers team that had like 20 games where they shot a lot more free throws than every opponent…

I was out last night, walked past a TV with the game on and saw Harden take a seat with 4 minutes left in the first with his 3rd foul. Was it all bullshit?

Magic never impressed me as someone that would be good in the front office. I thought the Lakers were well positioned long term at the end of last season. They landed Lebron, but not much else they’ve done made any sense to me.

I’m more interested to see what Ainge has planned.

He’s got 60m a year invested in Horford and Hayward and another 20m in Irving.

He’s got to be disappointed in Hayward’s fit and play since the injury and while Tatum is very good, he hasn’t really broken out into that 3rd all star caliber player they need yet.

@9

I mean, I cheered for Melo and a homophobic guy, so I guess the bar is pretty low in that sense as far as Knicks players go. Kyrie at least doesn’t seem like a bad guy, just dumb as a rock

with everyone liking Wiggins and Parker over him after the injury, but feeling that he shouldn’t drop past #3 (except for one mock draft that had Exum ahead of him).

I hope that, even though the Knicks didn’t have a pick that year, that mock draft still had them as the one team picking Exum over Embiid.

@6
Harden is always overprotected (on both sides of the ball), yesterday he wasn’t.
And he complained about one specific referee that he thinks “has a grudge”.

Kyrie at least doesn’t seem like a bad guy, just dumb as a rock

Just started the new Michael Lewis book today, and in the first section, Chris Christie calls Jared Kushner a guy who thinks that being rich means that he must be smart. (And the implication is quite clear that Christie knows that Kushner is not smart.)

I don’t think Kyrie Irving thinks he’s smart because he’s rich, but I do think he’s totally unaware that he’s a moron.

I feel like there’s a significant chance he was tripping on a low dose of LSD during this presser.

The thing about Kyrie that scares me. The last time we had a very talented, but slightly eccentric score first PG who was from the NYC area…it did not end well unless you enjoy eating vaseline.

IF we can grab KD, I honestly might be more inclined to pair him with Kemba, who is not quite as good as Kyrie and a bit older but also seems less of a head case. If things go poorly in NYC and lets be real, its the Knicks, there’s always that chance…I could see Kyrie going off the rails.

But also, maybe the Knicks need to stop it with these homecoming free agent signings/trades. Maybe its better we get our star players from people who AREN’T from NYC. Just a thought.

Thx cock!

What do u think of this kid playing for Serbia, borisa simanic?

Harden is always overprotected (on both sides of the ball), yesterday he wasn’t.
And he complained about one specific referee that he thinks “has a grudge”.

Pulled this off reddit:

Rockets are 0-7 this season in games officiated by Scott Foster. 0-9 in games since 2017 officiated by Foster. 0-3 in home games in the 2018 playoffs officiated by Foster (7-0 in the rest). Last 2 games James Harden fouled out, Scott Foster was the lead official. Can this all be purely coincidental?

@22
WOW! Definitively the right ref for a Lakers game 😉

On the other side, maybe Scott Foster is the only one that whistle Harden the right way…

🙂

(he’s a great player but I hate the way he’s usually protected by the refs, especially on his traveling stepbacks and “hunting for contact over the defender” threes).

He’s got to be disappointed in Hayward’s fit and play since the injury and while Tatum is very good, he hasn’t really broken out into that 3rd all star caliber player they need yet.

I’m terrified that Ainge might be able to sell Hayward as a strong trade chip if he looks good this spring. If he were on the Knicks, he’d be untradable. Since he’s a Celtic, I feel like he can be the centerpiece of an Anthony Davis deal.

I think getting rid of the hand checking rule for defense was the right call. As much as I loved the super physical style of my 90’s Knicks, it had devolved into a kind of ugly brand of basketball. But I think now especially with players like Harden its gone too far in the opposite direction. If a player on offense purposefully tries to ploy into a backpeddling defender on their way down from shooting a 3 in order to draw a foul, it should be an offensive charge. And blatant flopping needs to be called more as a technical where the opposing team gets 2 free throws and the ball. Prioritizing offense over everything else has turned the game into something that is often rather boring to watch. Harden would still be a good player but he is elevated to superstar status bc of this BS. His game is so ugly to watch. I hate it so much.

Its kind of like in baseball when Sosa and McGuire hit a bunch of home runs and suddenly the league fell in love with home runs over everything else and everyone started juicing to the point where the game got kind of boring bc stuff like bunting, stealing bases, sacrifice flys, etc…players stopped doing it and the beautiful strategy of the game got lost. Home runs are cool and can be very dramatic but its like everything, there has to be a balance and the beauty of the game can be lost when one thing is prioritized too much over everything else.

The Rockets, interestingly, are one of the slowest-paced teams in the NBA this year. Mr. Seven Seconds Or Less seems to have adapted, as the Rockets play with the league’s 27th fastest pace. They’re the #2 offense in the league despite their slow pace.

weird news regarding pats owner kraft – weird in that the guy’s a billionaire, very high profile, and, he’s pretty old…

sex trafficking/slavery is one of the more hideous forms of human behavior, it’s tragedy and suffering heaped upon layers and layers of of some of the most evil human nature possible (sadly things can get even worst)…

having said that – what in the world is a high profile, wealthy individual doing visiting a massage parlor/day “spa”…it’s hard to imagine no one in his circle knew about his propensity for getting freaky like this…

if anything though, he’ll serve as a vehicle for helping to bring more light to the tragic situation of sex trafficking (which i imagine has been a part of human culture forever, and, will not disappear from earth until – we do)…still, i’m amazed…his actions may not have been the pinnacle of stupidity (given his situation), but – it’s up there…

I’m terrified that Ainge might be able to sell Hayward as a strong trade chip if he looks good this spring. If he were on the Knicks, he’d be untradable. Since he’s a Celtic, I feel like he can be the centerpiece of an Anthony Davis deal.

I haven’t been able to figure out exactly what’s going on with Hayward. He was clearly playing below par at the start of the season off the layoff. He’s been playing better the last couple of months. If he starts hitting 3s more consistently he may wind up being a key piece for them in the playoffs. I just don’t know about the fit. He was more of a SF in Utah but they already have Tatum at SF and they use him at PF sometimes.

I agree though. If he plays well down the stretch and into the playoffs the perception is going to be that he’s all the way back from injury now and someone might be interested.

That Kraft thing was crazy. I can’t believe this guy was in a crappy strip mall massage parlor to begin with. I mean who roles up in a chauffeured Rolls to one of those places?

I don’t really want Kyrie. He’s loony tunes, injury prone, a serial malcontent. But he’s a great basketball player. If he does come here I won’t be crying.

Its kind of like in baseball when Sosa and McGuire hit a bunch of home runs and suddenly the league fell in love with home runs over everything else and everyone started juicing to the point where the game got kind of boring bc stuff like bunting, stealing bases, sacrifice flys, etc…players stopped doing it and the beautiful strategy of the game got lost. Home runs are cool and can be very dramatic but its like everything, there has to be a balance and the beauty of the game can be lost when one thing is prioritized too much over everything else.

bunting : baseball :: long midrange 2PA to maintain “spacing” : basketball

The Knicks have been so bad for so long…
But Kyrie bothers me. Set aside the dumb stuff.
He doesn’t play well with others. He wasn’t happy in Cleveland with Lebron…which he since has apologized for.
But then he appears unhappy in Boston.

AND he says stupid shit that makes my head want to explode.

But as Owen said, beggars can’t be too choosy.
Reminds me once in the late 1980s in DC. I came out of Geppettos, at the time a very good pizza joint in Georgetown, with a small pepperoni pizza. I offered it to a homeless guy who told me he didn’t like pepperoni.
WE can’t be that guy.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/lawsuit-top-sports-agent-ordered-underling-to-shave-my-back-bitch

Our favorite sports agency staying classy!

having said that – what in the world is a high profile, wealthy individual doing visiting a massage parlor/day “spa”…it’s hard to imagine no one in his circle knew about his propensity for getting freaky like this…

These guys do this for power reasons, not because this is the only way they could pay a lady to have sex. So the seedy part is probably a bonus for Kraft in this context.

@45

Really, it was so damn annoying. The guy is doing everything on the court at a MVP level and all damn Reggie can talk about is how he needs the least efficient shot in basketball. I muted the commentary in the 4th because it was so irritating.

I simply don’t get why people put this value in a way of playing basketball that is simply less effective. What’s the big difference in aesthetic values of seeing a 20 footer or a 3 pointer?

I wouldn’t read too much into Kraft’s behavior. He’s probably just a cheap old dude that doesn’t want a serious relationship with a woman his own age and figures a handjob from a moderately attractive young woman feels the same as one from a model caliber one, but is a lot less expensive.

Apparently human trafficking an issue at this place.

Also, Kraft apparently is not the biggest name involved.

Tiger Woods lives in Jupiter btw, just as an aside of course.

On Kyrie, as I said, I don’t have the courage to be a hard no. But he doesn’t feel like the reward for 20 years of misery.

Apparently human trafficking an issue at this place.

sad.

imo, we don’t do enough about human trafficking because too many judges, politicians, intelligence officers, rich businessmen, celebrities, law enforcement officers, foreign ambassadors, political operatives, journalists etc..use those services. Some may even be involved for profit.

I don’t even have a huge problem with a negotiated transaction between two consenting adults (other than hoping people would find a better way to make money), but trafficking people against their will deserves severe punishment and trafficking minors deserves the death penalty.

Rhymes with Car-A-Doggo

It’s more likely that he and all the other mega rich and famous that spent time with Jeffrey Epstein on his fantasy island and on his private jet were involved with under aged girls than going to to some rub and tug. It’s also more likely they are all getting away with it because way too many powerful people were involved, many others knew, and everyone looked the other way for years. And of course because Epstein has the goods on all of them (which is why he got away with a slap on the wrist for his own under aged girl escapades).

I don’t personally love Durant too, but he’s a fantastic basketball player. Besides all the off court media stuff, there’s no indication Irving is a bad teammate or a toxic personality, he’s just stupid. We have all singed Tyson Chandler’s praises for so long, and the dude is best friends with that hack pastor that’s close to a lot of NBA players, like Durant himself (including the immortal story of the dude baptizing Justin Bieber in the bathtub at Tyson’s house).

For all we know all these dudes are fucking insane, Kyrie just somehow thinks he’s smart and ignores his PR team more often than others. Kobe was a rapist, MJ was a psycho, etc, not every player is Tim Duncan or LeBron James.

I don’t like the guy, but the Knicks should be looking at how good of a basketball player he is and the answer is he’s damn good at it.

There is video apparently….

Durant, by the way, is the epitome of “I don’t care to belong to any club that will have me as a member,” in the sense that any dude who wants to leave the Warriors to play for the Knicks has to be suspect in general. But he is so damn good at basketball, I would be thrilled if he really is that weird.

I think they just feel bad for him.