(Wednesday, July 03, 2019 11:45:13 PM)
The Knicks pulled out of a scheduled meeting with Kawhi Leonard, a source tells Marc Berman of The New York Post. Leonard agreed earlier in the week to meet with Knicks officials, but not until today after he completed sessions with the Lakers and Clippers. New York decided its chances of luring Leonard were remote […]
(Wednesday, July 03, 2019 3:41:01 PM)
Kevin Durant‘s decision to go to the Nets was not an easy one to make. Golden State, New York, and Brooklyn were reportedly in contention, but it’s beginning to sound like the two Atlantic Division teams were always the frontrunners, as Mark Berman of The New York Post writes. There were people in Durant’s camp […]
(Wednesday, July 03, 2019 10:13:40 AM)
(Wednesday, July 03, 2019 10:59:44 PM)
Former Knicks center Amar’e Stoudemire is reportedly planning a comeback.
(Wednesday, July 03, 2019 8:38:46 PM)
The Knicks reportedly declined a meeting potential free agent meeting with Kawhi Leonard.
(Wednesday, July 03, 2019 5:09:23 PM)
Kevin Knox has worked on his strength, efficiency and passing, among other things, so far in the offseason. And he’s eager to get on the court in Summer League following a few weeks of training.
(Wednesday, July 03, 2019 6:44:11 PM)
Bobby Portis, the Knicks’ new versatile big man, has been doubted since his high school days and still considers himself an underdog.
(Wednesday, July 03, 2019 12:30:53 PM)
SNY’s documentary on the magical year of 1969 in New York for the Mets, Jets, and Knicks premieres tonight after Mets Post Game!
(Wednesday, July 03, 2019 3:17:05 PM)
The Knicks have room on the roster for one more standard contract. One name they are considering: Lance Thomas.
(Wednesday, July 03, 2019 11:31:41 AM)
Ex-Net Jared Dudley has some interesting insight on Kevin Durant’s decision to sign with the Nets (over the Knicks) and DeAndre Jordan’s role in Brooklyn’s acquisition of Durant and Kyrie Irving.
(Wednesday, July 03, 2019 8:30:54 AM)
The major moves of the 2019 New York Knicks’ offseason are, in all likelihood, behind us. The roster is beginning to resemble one of a competent NBA team, with perhaps the best talent sitting in the frontcourt.
(Thursday, July 04, 2019 12:15:51 AM)
Amar’e Stoudemire is looking to make a comeback, but that doesn’t mean he’s seeking a reunion with the Knicks. Stoudemire, who played in the NBA for 14 seasons, and Monta Ellis want to try to hook up with a contending team such as the Lakers, and will workout privately for at least five NBA teams,…
(Wednesday, July 03, 2019 4:56:47 PM)
LAS VEGAS — Knicks 7-foot-1 center Mitchell Robinson is back in Sin City with newly dyed blond hair, a new jersey number and a more disciplined defensive game. Kevin Knox II returns stronger and more accustomed to the speed of the NBA. Look out, Las Vegas. “I feel I can guard anybody,’’ Robinson said following…
(Wednesday, July 03, 2019 3:33:44 PM)
LAS VEGAS — The Knicks brain trust of Steve Mills, Scott Perry and David Fizdale were enjoying a laugh on the sidelines of a practice court at UNLV Wednesday, watching summer league practice. They were a 3 ½-hour drive from Los Angeles, where in an alternate universe they would have been meeting with Kawhi Leonard….
(Wednesday, July 03, 2019 9:31:45 AM)
LAS VEGAS — Bobby Portis — one of the new Knicks who arrived in a free-agency flurry — has become a health-food fanatic and workout demon. He has a stake in a healthy-snack company and is known for his 12-hour workouts in June and July when many NBA players are taking it easy. That is…
(Wednesday, July 03, 2019 7:57:13 AM)
The Jazz continued their offseason of quietly building themselves into contenders on Wednesday, by signing former Knick Emmanuel Mudiay and Jeff Green, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Mudiay’s deal is for one year, though financial terms weren’t reported. Green agreed to a one-year, $2.5 million deal, per ESPN. Though nobody will mistake these for world-beating…
(Thursday, July 04, 2019 12:15:51 AM)
Amar’e Stoudemire is looking to make a comeback, but that doesn’t mean he’s seeking a reunion with the Knicks. Stoudemire, who played in the NBA for 14 seasons, and Monta Ellis want to try to hook up with a contending team such as the Lakers, and will workout privately for at least five NBA teams,…
(Wednesday, July 03, 2019 4:56:47 PM)
LAS VEGAS — Knicks 7-foot-1 center Mitchell Robinson is back in Sin City with newly dyed blond hair, a new jersey number and a more disciplined defensive game. Kevin Knox II returns stronger and more accustomed to the speed of the NBA. Look out, Las Vegas. “I feel I can guard anybody,’’ Robinson said following…
(Wednesday, July 03, 2019 3:33:44 PM)
LAS VEGAS — The Knicks brain trust of Steve Mills, Scott Perry and David Fizdale were enjoying a laugh on the sidelines of a practice court at UNLV Wednesday, watching summer league practice. They were a 3 ½-hour drive from Los Angeles, where in an alternate universe they would have been meeting with Kawhi Leonard….
(Wednesday, July 03, 2019 9:31:45 AM)
LAS VEGAS — Bobby Portis — one of the new Knicks who arrived in a free-agency flurry — has become a health-food fanatic and workout demon. He has a stake in a healthy-snack company and is known for his 12-hour workouts in June and July when many NBA players are taking it easy. That is…
(Wednesday, July 03, 2019 7:57:13 AM)
The Jazz continued their offseason of quietly building themselves into contenders on Wednesday, by signing former Knick Emmanuel Mudiay and Jeff Green, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Mudiay’s deal is for one year, though financial terms weren’t reported. Green agreed to a one-year, $2.5 million deal, per ESPN. Though nobody will mistake these for world-beating…
79 replies on “Knicks Morning News (2019.07.04)”
But where was he ranked in amount of FGs taken? That’s the more important stat.
Yeah, I don’t mind them not waiting for a one percent shot at Kawhi. I do have a problem with them not being more patient period. “You can’t wait on Wayne Ellington!” Come on.
It’s not like they shook the tree and signed whoever fell out. It seems like they spent months evaluating FA talent and decided on a hard list of ideal players to fill out the roster, then went about making obscene 1+1 offers they couldn’t refuse. That’s scary in and of itself. Then to execute the strategy without even considering keeping some cap space available for a rainy day…that’s even more bizarre. Or should I say bizarrely dumb?
The Bobby Portis deal reeks of Isiah-level thinking: I can fix this guy! When you’re taking a 1-year flyer on Mudiay, I don’t mind it so much. But $15 million? Who the f else was going to offer him that?!
I mean, think of the rumors that we were signing Boogie to a big-money short-term deal. As dumb as that was, it seems objectively smarter than signing Portis. Is it possible that we offered a similar deal to Boogie and he turned it down? I mean, wouldn’t you think he expected that someone would offer him more than $15 mill for a 1+1 in this market?
Now on the other hand, being selective so as to not have signed players get in the way of developing young guys is somewhat logical. Gibson, Ellington, and Bullock make sense in that way.
I disagree as much as the next guy on the faulty strategy and mid-oughts level of talent evaluation (big guys and slashers, but let’s add two 3pt shooting specialists )-
But – the type of player they went for in almost all the signings can make for an interesting year. Portis, Barrett, Iggy, Taj, Bullock – all have motors, pride, and are known to be exceptional workers. Added to Mitch, Kadeem, and Dotson, that’s most of your roster guaranteed to try hard every night.
I never cared about the losing so much as the roll over and give up mentality we showed the last few years. I hope this team can change that. Oh, and i think we’ll lose a lot because again, we’re bottom of the league in talent and motor don’t win you games. But it’ll be fun!
We were an awful three-point shooting team. Adding two good outside shooters is a perfectly sensible idea. We had trouble defending, and our roster is almost absurdly young. Adding somebody like Gibson is a fairly reasonable idea, even if the money is out of whack. Randle, nobody objects to. It’s Portis for $15.5 million that’s sticking in all of our craws.
Pretend for a moment that Fiz and the staff do a more thorough job “fixing” Portis than they did Mudiay. What does the ideal version of Bobby Portis look like?
The Times article on Portis is interesting. It does make me like him more. And it also says “Portis, whose goal is to be an NBA scout after retirement and who has a stake in a statistical analysis firm”, for the statistically minded among you
Yeah, I was wondering that same thing. There were rumors of their interest in Boogie and while I thought signing Boogie to a short term contract was kind of pointless, it sure made more sense than Portis, so I think you might be on to something that Boogie might have actually turned it down. Maybe Boogie thinks that whichever LA team loses out on Kawhi might be willing to sign him?
@1 Why is “3pts taken” more important? He was 60th, which is just about the same number of shots that Eric Gordon and Jimmy Butler took. He’s not them.
Boogie just fired his agent, Woj yesterday said there’s “absolutely no market” for him.
I think he’ll end up with the Los Angeles Fuckers, as JR Smith, Korver and maybe Carmelo will do.
As much as I hate the Portis signing I’m way happier with him than with Boogie (at the end of the day they’re not using my money to overpay him).
DMC is 5 yr older, oft injuried, always a loser, difficult teammate.
Happy 4th everyone!
I don’t know about you all, but I got my eye on Amir Hinton. His game has me intrigued and a little anxious to see what he does in summer league and camp.
Also, why isn’t Ntilikina on the summer league roster? Is it because it’s his 3rd year?
I don’t know of any announcement, but he’s playing for the French National Team in FIBA World Cup in August. He’s probably practicing with them.
Yeah, he is busy with the French team.
Doh! That’s right! I hope he gets plenty of burn with the French National Team. He better come back significantly improved, because at the positions he can play, he’s got a helluva climb to crack the rotation. I think Knox, Barrett, Dot, Trier, Ellington, DSJ, Payton, Bullock, and Allen are all ahead of him. More than that, if he doesn’t have a good showing this summer, his trade value is even lower. Something’s gotta give.
I suppose paying him that much so we could get him to sign for a second year team option makes sense. But he really wasn’t that good and I would prefer Vonleh and Bell/Noel over him and Taj.
I don’t think that Frank is in the Knicks’ plans any more. It wouldn’t make sense to bring on three guards if there was any plan to use him. I think they will look to trade him at the earliest convenience to free up that cap space, perhaps as a throw-in.In other words, they will only keep him ceremonially if it would cost them an asset to ditch him.
Now obviously, if he kicks ass in France that might all change. But realistically, he’s on the outside looking in.
Dag. I missed a music thread. Tried to catch up but didn’t get it all.
Z-Man likes King Crimson!
What band is JK 47 in?
K’s Are fukt again. Nice to get into other stuff. I’m actually decent at talking about music though I’m not an expansive listener. I make music and listen to audiobooks. Ooh audiobooks! Any recommendations there? Who liked “Lincoln in the Bardo”?
Anything but Bobby Portis, please…lol
Don’t worry Dan, Perry bought all Portis’ audiobooks 😉
BTW. Is Dolan selling the team? A friend linked a Daily News article saying he was tired of fans yelling at him. That’d be a successful off season…
Man, that’ll be a blast… So, if he’s tired, let’s yell louder!
I’m not back handing any young 6-11 250lb workout freak of a big who could improve his 3 ball shooting from 30 to 39.4% in 3 years. They did pay a lot of $ to see him up close for a year…. but what opportunity did they lose that was significantly better?
The thing I like about these signings is they put a baseline level of competition so DSJr, Knox, Trier, Frank, Barrett and Dotson will have to surpass to get playing time. Competition brings out the best and worst in people. It is essential to find out either way.
No one is getting gifted minutes this season.
Unfortunately my taste in music is rather unsophisticated, but I have read many an Alan Sepinwall piece and I just wanted to say it’s cool but not at all surprising we have so many talented people here. The quality of writing and argumentation on this board is really second to none when it comes to internet forums.
I somehow stumbled on this place when I was, I think, 14 years old (hence my boorish username) and I definitely feel it’s helped me grow as a writer, an observer of basketball, and in other discrete ways.
We deserve a goddamn good team.
I guess everyone watched the finals.
Speaking of the Warriors, I’m interested to see how they run their offense with Russell.
Until now, they’ve operated more like a triangle team with several play makers on the court at the same time using a lot of ball and player movement, cuts, picks etc… to get players open. Then they’d go isolation later if nothing developed. I wonder if Russell is going to play a traditional PG role or if they are going to change him to fit more with what they do now.
If they can make that backcourt work, with the addition of WCS at C, if Klay can be back by February and back in shape by the playoffs, they can still make a run. They need depth, especially defensively. Iggy’s career was winding down, but he was a big part of their success defensively. Steph and Russell is not going to be a good defensive backcourt.
Watching all of you talented people “come out of the closet” is a damn surefire way to cause a burst of performance anxiety before my next recap
I’m not sure why there’s so much Portis hate around here, but I am sure that if I keep explaining the rationale and saying that Gaines likes him it’s sure to grow. lol
Robinson is an extremely limited offensive player. The only thing he can do at this stage is lob dunk or put back OREBs. To maximize his limited skillset, ideally you want space in the paint to run P&Rs successfully.
Randle is an excellent scorer around the basket. But having both those guys on the court at the same time might make it easier for teams to make defensive adjustments and limit both. Everyone knows that, including Randle. That’s why he’s so busy working on his 3 pointer. He wants to be more than a backup PF/C on a very good team.
If that combination is not able to maximize each player’s skillset, ideally you might want to try more of a stretch PF on the court with Robinson.
Portis is the perfect profile. He’s the rarer stretch PF that can also legitimately bang, rebound, and play some C. He also fits the desired profile in that he’s young and could get better.
The only debate is about the value. We are paying 15m for a backup stretch PF/C that’s appears to be a negative on defense. It’s a logical, “fit”, but in typical Mills/Perry fashion, they are overpaying a scorer that does not defend well when there were much cheaper options like Vonleh that would give us way less scoring but more defense.
Zach Lowe had someone on recently (maybe Windhorst?) who said he was with the Knicks on draft night and they were dead set on RJ and not really looking at any deals. That seems like more of the same rigid thinking.
A big having the same BLK% of noted shot blocker Frank Ntilikina tends to do that effect, yup.
I have to say that my addiction to this blog has become more about the quality of the contributors and less about my being a lifelong diehard Knicks fan. I frequent P&T and truly like their writers and articles, but almost never post there. I occasionally check blogs of other teams and find them to be utterly uninformative and uninteresting (although at times funny!) What’s amazing is that there are so few articles here nowadays, but the blog lives on. It’s almost like we’ve evolved to the point that the commentary is lofty enough to make articles superfluous.
There’s also been a significant weeding out of posters who are infuriatingly contrarian (e.g Ted Nelson) or who with a specific agenda in mind (ruruland) but not to the point where posters have to conform to some narrow narrative. Strat is sometimes on an island but he’s so good-natured and resilient regardless of how heavily he is criticized…and his personal story is pretty cool, as is that of most posters here who pull the curtain back a bit.
My wife (who used to be a rabid fan back in the Ewing era but now couldn’t care less) doesn’t get my obsession, and I can’t adequately explain the non-basketball aspect of it.
my wife would probably call me a Knickerblogger fan, not a Knicks fan
(fuck James Dolan)
how did i overlook the fact that the Lopez brothers are together on the bucks?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXKLqVCz8SA (genius shit right here)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYoQ6WLuMq4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YS87mPfD_yI
In a way, Dolan’s representation of the most calamitous aspect of being a Knicks fan spawns some of the best commentary.
Don’t worry Farfa. My mediocre ass is still here.
Oh yeah, that’s the good shit right there. Straight in the main vein, if you please.
Who knew that familiarity would breed courtesy and civility and, dare I say, admiration.
I confess I enjoy the insightful commenters way more than these Knicks.
Ariel Pink sound right up one of my many alleys !
Well Done man ! Pretty GOOD sunshine-neopsych-pop !
What I love about this board is its collective memory. When one browses r/NYKnicks, he’s bombarded with the baseless opinions and deeply-held convictions of gaggling, day-old, Berman’s-teet-suckling babies who bring the same din of thoughtless optimism to each new day.
Most people still here have been here forever, right? I started lurking back in 2010 but didn’t make an account until relatively recently.
@35 co-signed, that was a POTY contender
thanks for the links jowles…it’s funny, I’ve been checking out AP now for a few weeks…easy to realize the skill, very different though from what I’m familiar with…
up until a month or so ago, I didn’t even know there was s genre of “psych” music out there…there’s always so much more of the world than what we know…
still not sure how it makes me “feel” when listening/watching…fascinated and vulnerable might be the best description…
no doubt pennies has been killing it lately with their posts…not only are they fun to read, but, they also make me smile thinking about how much fun pennies must have had writing them…
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: your recaps are great, man.
OK, geo and Ingmarr, back in ’85-86 I played drums in a couple of alternative rock bands. The second one, Mind Carnival, made some minor waves in Knoxville. We played some shows, recorded a studio demo, got featured on WUTK-FM once, and even got offered a chance to open up a show in Nashville for the BoDeans (though we couldn’t take it…bad timing). Last year I finally converted a VHS of our final show and set up a Youtube channel for it. Soon will be the 5 song demo with a video slideshow, when I get around to finishing it. Pretty minor stuff compared to what some of you do, but here it is:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XUKFxgDkRQ&feature=youtu.be
As a special bonus, you’ll get to learn my name. BTW, my favorites are songs 1, 6, and 9. Oh, and I’d only been playing drums for a little over a year at that point. I got more accomplished in the next few months. And yes, we’re all in contact again and thinking about trying to play together once more.
Happy Fourth, everyone!
Found this great quote from December.
“Steph Curry says he doesn’t believe in the moon. It’s on CNN and they say we’re just jocks. We’re just athletes, but it’s on your channel. We’re [thinkers] but you don’t want us to be that, so whomever you is, I don’t know what that mold is.” -Kyrie Irving to Gary Washburn, Boston Globe (lol too good)
I am so fucking happy that we don’t have to cheer this guy on. Whomstsever’d want to root for this guy?
@43
Cool stuff ! I’d call it Alternative Power Jangle Pop/Rock. Not exactly my cup of tea but i’m ok with it.
Although the sound is slightly crude, the energy is pure and the tracks are pretty fine ! The playing is ok also.
Finding the energy and the time to be in a band is not an easy task but it’s definitely FUN !
Good Luck man !
I feel with a very strong degree of confidence that the Nets will never make it out of the East with Kyrie and Durant. I will never loathe them as much as the Celts but it would definitely be a very bitter pill to swallow. Ironically, it would probably be even harder for Celts fans!
Happy 4th to everyone. Thanks for all of the entertainment over the years. I do not participate on social media ( I’m one of those 12 people in the world with no facebook, Twitter, or instagram account) so coming to this site serves as my online fix. The wide range of posters here makes it pretty special and we’re all connected by our love and frustration with the Knicks and our utter hate for Dolan. Lots of insightful basketball analysis as well as deep dives on all kinds on other subjects. You never know where this blog is going which keeps it fresh. Btw big King Crimson and Yes fan from back in the day, that music is timeless.
Signing Portis instead of DMC does make sense on a lot of levels. Cousins just seems like such a goof ball, I wouldn’t want him on a team I’m rooting for. He’s a 6’11 Jr Smith clone, no thank you.
Well at least this year there is hope for a better brand of hoops, this team while not very talented, should be better than last year. Some fresh faces to watch ( Barrett, Iggy, Payton, Portis) and some hope for improvement from the holdovers ( Mitch, Knox, Trier, Allen).
As Noblefacehumper said: we deserve a god damn good team
awwww, you absolutely do rock mister jk 🙂
understandable sentiment which has been repeated oft here, especially as we find out more about one another…
trust me in this – as the king of fucking mediocrity (I just want to be healthy and happy, not a bad baseline to work from, everything else is gravy) – each of our journey’s is unique and very solitary…you’ve only ever been with yourself the whole time…
along with sharing. maybe there’s the desire to compare – but, unless there’s a purpose to the self evaluation (self improvement), seems pointless…not really conducive to feeling good…which may not necessarily be every’s goal…
make the best out of a bad joke, laugh it off – ha, you didn’t ask to come here anyways
The Nets success should be a wake up call to FOs like ours truly. Whether they ultimately execute they’ve been smart and given their fans hope. Kudos to Sean Marks and Kenny Atkinson. They’re all in and that’s what you want as a fan.
I’m happy that in our position we went in a different direction but I wish we had truly resourceful people. I also think that people don’t want to work for Dolan. He’s become poison. Maybe he’ll realize that he’s gone as far as he can go with this and finally release his grim hold on what is really a public trust.
did you listen/watch that most recent michael kay interview with jimmy d – say what you will about his wits and ethics, that fucker has got a strong mind-set and will…literally rock like in his awareness and intelligence – but, there ain’t no quit or timidity in him…
he went out of his way to make a statement about the knicks not being a public trust…i loved when milo broke down though exactly how much of an “owner” of the knicks that dolan actually was…it was some pretty surprising numbers…
I think the Nets have a good chance to eventually compete for a title because they still have some flexibility to make moves. They have Dinwiddie and Harris on decent sized contracts to use on trades and they are pretty good players already, plus LeVert and Allen could develop into plus players eventually (I’d argue Allen already is one, and LeVert still has some potential). If they get some development from any of those guys and Durant returns to a good level, they’ll be a very dangerous team, specially if Kawhi leaves Toronto and the Bucks never really put it all together.
I still think they took a super risky path and that it’s more likely than not that Durant won’t be back to his level, but I wouldn’t hate to be in their position.
KD is not going to be who he was, that Kyrie is overrated, and DAJ is over the hill, and that’s like 70% f their cap right there. not promising.
who’s number 41?
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D-qBJOrUcAAOHHv.jpg:large
too funny. trier’s got the ball in his hand, and, RJ’s out by the circle ready to catch and shoot – yeah, not coming to RJ…
@51 I think Allen is already a good player, but them putting money into DAJ (who KD and Irving seem to love) signals to me that he probably won’t crack twenty minutes a game, which kind of minimizes his potential impact on the team.
@43 Cool! I sat in my home office and listened to the whole thing, nicely done. Thanks for sharing, this place is amazing.
Is Elfrid Payton a good defender? I thought his whole deal was Young Rondo, but I’ve seen comments suggesting it’s a toss up whether he’s even as good a defender as DSJ.
geo 41 is kenny wooten
people were hopeful payton would be a plus defender coming out, but he hasn’t live up to it so far. he actually is a little like dsj in that he can be a disruptive defender and sometimes makes plays, but he does a lot of stupid shit.
In answer to a few posts from the last thread:
If you are in to music, the arts, food and sport, then it is a great place. Voted most liveable city in the world for a number of reasons (although I think we lost top spot recently).
Not from New York (actually the opposite – small regional town about an hour south of Melbourne). Started following the Knicks as a kid in the mid-90’s. Coverage of the NBA in Australia was limited, but as a kid I played basketball at a community center. After every session the coaches would hand out basketball cards. One week I got Ewing, Starks and Mason cards. That then prompted me to roll with the Knicks on NBA Jam and the rest is history ha ha. It was an unusual team to follow at the time given MJ and the Bulls, and Shaq and the Magic were really popular at the time.
From what I understand, he was a disaster on Defence for the Magic. Looking at his numbers, he has had a DBPM of -o.1 if the last 2 years.
That could be close average, considering DBPM’s flaws.
@58
Interestingly, I started following the Knicks precisely because of MJ and the Bulls. I always hated rooting for the best teams, even when I was a kid, so I basically chose to care about the team my older brother and older cousin made fun of for losing to the Bulls, the Knicks.
Can’t say I made a smart choice, but then I went to New York for a couple of months, watched the Knicks narrowly lose in overtime to the defending champions Spurs and then I fully committed… I do remember being confused that the tall white dude called Lee wasn’t a starter ahead of that bum Eddy Curry, so I had that going for me.
I started rooting for the Knicks for the same reason. Growing up all my friends were Bulls fans because of Jordan but I wasn’t going to be a frontrunner so I rooted for the Knicks, that way I could be on the opposite side of my friends, I’ve always been a bit of a contrarian. I loved the 90’s Knicks but really fell in love with the team during the 99 finals run. That playoff run was something else.
This blog though is why my dedication hasn’t really wavered despite moving to an NBA town. I started reading this thing because I thought we should play more Sweetney and Mike here agreed and wrote about it. So really it’s this blogs fault I haven’t moved on and started rooting for the Blazers like all my friends. I would be much happier, but we’re Knicks fans obviously we hate happiness.
Shows what happens with players on teams I don’t pay attention to. I just remember the pre-draft rep: good playmaker, stout defender, can’t shoot. Appears only two of three are correct — one of them, unfortunately, the outside shooting.
I didn’t think the two were even compatible ha ha
From what I gather Patyon is a medicore to bad defender, but he’s definitely better than Mudiay
Allen is a good player and we’d love to have him but Embiid is a terrible match up against him. DAJ gives an additional 6 fouls against him 🙂
This article offers some hope re: Payton’s defense and more generally
This one is not quite so flattering…
So the only logical conclusion is….it was the hair. Right? RIGHT???
@69
Oh god I know you’re obviously joking, but for a while a lot of people on Reddit argued this idiocy that he was a bad shooter because his hair got in the way, and that his team should force him to shave his head. It was one of those rare combination of stupidity and manifestations of casual racism under the guise of a “meme” that only Reddit can come up with.
I am definitely joking. That said, his hair extended so far in front that I don’t think it’s necessarily racist to question whether it had an impact of some sort. I always found that I couldn’t play with a baseball-type cap with the brim facing forward because the ball would hit it when I brought it up to take a shot. However, I agree that it is definitely casual racism to suggest that the team should force him to shave his head.
I think it’s perfectly fair to question whether a haircut can affect a player’s ability. There have been lots of racist arguments trying to demean black men in the NBA for their style choices, but this is one where I would want to ask him, “Wouldn’t it be better if you didn’t have to shoot the ball from the side of your head?”
Fixed him already.
@45 and 55
Thanks for the kind words!
At our first show, a guy in another band called us “a cross between Creedence Clearwater Revival and Husker Du.” I’m not sure if that was meant to be a compliment or mockery, but I’ll take it!
Also, thanks to you all who checked it out. The video now has over 100 views, so it is a certifiable smash hit!
🙂
The thing is that he did shave his hair and he shot worse last season than he did with the hair. What I think is racist is to think that the dude won’t be smart enough to figure out by himself if his hair is actually a problem, and to call for his team or his coaches to force him into that, or suggest it to him.
The haircut might hurt his shooting and it might be one of the reasons or the biggest reason why he got rid of it, but I trust the guy to be capable of figuring this out by himself. We can’t really know if it was a big issue.
How douchey is it that the 2008 Celtics are still salty about Ray Allen signing with the Heat? For serious, dudes?
Is Tobias Harris miscast as a small forward? He’s going to have to play there for the Sixers and I just wonder if that’s a good fit for him or not. I am trying to figure out if Philly’s roster changes are going to work out. I like Josh Richardson, and I really dig Al Horford, but I just don’t know if they make up for the loss of Jimmy Butler and JJ Redick. It feels like they’re still missing a little bit of shooting as Richardson is just not the shooter that Redick is. However, Richardson is a much (much) better defender than Redick and he is not an awful ball-handler, either. So they definitely improve in that area (plus Horford’s strong defense).
Also, is Raul Neto a good enough back-up point guard?
All together, I think the Sixers probably are right there with the Raptors for the best team in the Atlantic (if Toronto brings Kawhi back, that is). I don’t like Boston’s squad as much, as they’re way too thin in the frontcourt (and their big backcourt addition, Kemba Walker, tends to do the most damage with the ball in his hand while Stevens likes to see the ball move around more than that, so it seems like an odd fit, except for the general “Kemba Walker is so good that he will work even in a miscast position” approach, which is probably fair enough).
I grew up in NYC, had season tickets from the Hubie Brown era through the Lenny Wilkens era, moved to California, and have drifted away from the team ever since. Now I’m not even a fan of the team anymore and feel I would probably actively root against them if they ever played a meaningful game worth watching. But, that said, I love this blog, and have learned so much from my time spent reading here, not just about basketball, but about pretty much everything. It’s the site I have visited more than any other in my life, and I mean it when I say that it’s the best site on the entire internet. Keep it up.
I had a Walt Frazier poster on my wall as a kid. I remember mom coming home one day with Willis Reed’s autograph on a bagel bag. The Knicks are life. This sad shell of an organization that this team has become is a symbol of all the illusions of childhood as they’ve burst against reality.
As to basketball, I thought I understood it until I came here. I even thought I understood after I came here. Now I know I don’t really at all. I’m not into researching advanced stats so I come here to get the real story and am indebted to the hard working posters I encounter here. I appreciate the way it’s conveyed, with great writing, humor, and commiseration. Thanks all.