2021-22 Game Thread – Knicks vs. A Team Julius Randle Never Wants To Play Again Apparently

Owen Uncategorized

Hopefully Obi has the game of his life.

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143 thoughts to “2021-22 Game Thread – Knicks vs. A Team Julius Randle Never Wants To Play Again Apparently”

  5. pepper: we’re scratching and clawing for the coveted 10th seed…

    I’m pro tank, but a win against the Hawks is allowed! :P

  8. Three rookies on the court plus Barrett and Quickly. I’m having fun watching it.

  11. Can we get a copy of that graphic showing Randle on the same list with Giannis, Luka and Jokic and send it to all the GMs in the NBA?

  14. d-mar:
    Can we get a copy of that graphic showing Randle on the same list with Giannis, Luka and okic and send it to all the GMs in the NBA?

    I thought it was the Merriam-Webster’s definition of “hollow numbers”…

  20. When Bogdanovic is playing well the Hawks are a much better team. I think he’s probably one of the reasons their season has been a little disappointing this year (among others). He hasn’t been quite as good this year. I guess he was saving it up for us.

  22. Absolute eye test:
    Deuce reads as a PG are quicker and cleaner than IQ’s ones… IQ is clearly accustomed at looking for his shot first…

  23. Mitch gets his hands on a lot of loose balls and rebounds but can’t get control of them. It’s very frustrating because he plays with a lot of energy but can’t maximize the output.

  25. RJ is not exactly Lebron as a point forward but he should have been trying this so much more this year.

  26. I know I sound like a broken record but RJ really needs to get better at banking shots at the rim…

    And now a Randle-like turnover…. Growing pains

  28. ahh…the thibodeau combo exaspersated/confused look…more depth and complexity to it than the blank empty stare of a fizdale/horny/fisher look..

  30. It’s pretty easy to guard Obi when you know he’s gonna just hand the ball off every time he gets it

  34. Man, right after a monster alley-oop, Capela stones Obi at the rim and gave him the Mutombo finger wag…that’s nasty!

  35. It feels like RJ is playing so well, but the missed FTs, shots getting blocked, and the usual type misses are keeping his efficiency down again. He’s close to that breakout we really need, but he just isn’t there yet.

  37. starting to lose my mojo for Mitch…too many games he disappears into the woodwork…fumbles and stumbles…he’s an enigma wrapped in a riddle…

  42. No matter if he’s Huerter or Bogdanovich, Fournier is defending like a traffic cone…

    But he’s the one that try more to involve Mitch on offense…

  44. Complain all we want about Fournier’s D, he’s also one of the few guys who looks for Mitch regularly as if to say: “You’re the center, dude. Get in there and score the damn ball.”

    haha. Max. great minds …

  45. pepper:
    starting to lose my mojo for Mitch…too many games he disappears into the woodwork…fumbles and stumbles…he’s an enigma wrapped in a riddle…

    It’s hard to pin down random off nights from matchups and defensive strategy, but when you are as limited as Mitch on offense there are going to be nights the lobs and OREBs are not as available. He has to add something to be more consistent.

  46. The law that states “the louder the De-fense chants the higher the probability of the opponent making a 3” is inviolate.

  49. Missed FTs and bricks on open looks, the recipe for disaster…

    It’s still a winnable game if they stop missing chances…

  54. cybersoze:
    Mtn Dew gave up on Zion, now the ad only features Lavine! :P

    Given some of the…issues Zion has dealt with, a commercial in which he drinks Mountain Dew and plays video games was always an interesting choice.

  60. DRed:
    Sims moves his feet pretty well on the perimeter for a big guy

    Little bit of 90s ball from Sims there on Young ;-)

  63. BigBlueAL:
    Fun game.

    On a totally unrelated note, I hope Randle takes all the time he needs to rest that quad. I hear sometimes this is a multiyear injury.

  66. cybersoze:
    Who would be drinking shots for every block on RJ? That’s a lot of shots! :P

    If we added missed foul shots you’d get alcohol poisoning

  67. Can’t we just let RJ play the point and stop talking about this all the time? ;-)

  68. thenoblefacehumper: On a totally unrelated note, I hope Randle takes all the time he needs to rest that quad. I hear sometimes this is a multiyear injury.

    Yeah, we must be cautious with it, not at all rush him back. :D

  69. RJ’s 9-15 on FTs and I hate that..

    But I hate Young even more and I’m happy they’re clobbering him every time they can…

  75. Probably super obvious, but IQ hitting shots at a reasonable clip just makes our 2nd unit offence way more dynamic.

  76. RJ’s FT’s are something you would just hope naturally improves with a lot of work.

  77. RJ has to hit his foul shots, but getting to the line 17 times is pretty impressive for a 21 year old.

  82. If you’re rooting for losses, you’re gonna be wishing we had Randle down the stretch of this one

  83. Okay Deuce. Make your case. Stop Trae cold.

    EDIT: And … to the bench. Thanks, Tom.

  86. Mitch making moves. Deuce hitting shots. How can I not be watching this game.

    Oh right, its the Knicks in March (and I can’t get it where I am)

  93. Time outs like this Thibs always reminds me of Duvall in THE GREAT SANTINI, just shouting and shouting to get less out of his guys.

  100. We’re a disaster down he stretch, every single game…
    Bad offense, bad defensive rotations, no box outs, this team freezes in the clutch.

  101. Playing with 2 bigs down the stretch with the Hawks playing Hunter at PF and Knicks still can’t get crucial defensive rebs.

  104. Thibs going with Taj instead of Obi down the stretch. It’s probably deserved. But it’s not helping much either

  105. Reggie Miller vs the ’90s Knicks was a legit rivalry, because sometimes he would beat them and other times they would beat him.

    Trae Young vs the Knicks is more like the “rivalry” between lions and antelopes.

  108. We could have won this, but the guys know they need high draft picks #teamtank

  109. Has there ever been a team any less clutch on offense and defense than our NY Knicks… when they need a bucket they turn it over, when they need a stop they give up a 3… oh, and then it happens again… OH and again?!?!

  110. Why is Taj always one on one with trae… why did quickly double team from 30ft away… what is wrong with everyone.

  111. thenoblefacehumper:
    Reggie Miller vs the ’90s Knicks was a legit rivalry, because sometimes he would beat them and other times they would beat him.

    Trae Young vs the Knicks is more like the “rivalry” between lions and antelopes.

    Haha that’s a great analogy.

  112. I hadn’t wanted to say it earlier to avoid harshing people’s buzz, but let’s stop with the point-Barrett talk.

  113. Perfectly Knicksy ending: take a 10 point lead in the 4th quarter of a pointless game , get the kids all excited, then collapse and let the villain make you look like fools while having his best game ever at MSG.

  114. Trae Young is the first player ever, in every sports, for who I would cheer an injury.

    I really wanted to win this game but it’s a good loss, the run for 10th is basically over.

  115. thenoblefacehumper:
    Reggie Miller vs the ’90s Knicks was a legit rivalry, because sometimes he would beat them and other times they would beat him.

    Trae Young vs the Knicks is more like the “rivalry” between lions and antelopes.

    The average NBA fan probably thinks Reggie Miller always beat the Knicks and have no clue they were 3-3 in playoff series with the Knicks going 2-1 against the Pacers in the Conference Finals.

  116. We don’t know how to lose. Why foul Trae with 7 seconds? And next why go for the basket losing by 8 points?

  118. Mitch’s game was off and on but he had 4 blocks and 3 steals.

    Our mini-Julius point-forward had 5 turnovers.

    And Deuce is shooting 1,000 percent starting today.

  119. That loss meant nothing, but it was still kind of depressing that in a game where we didn’t have to watch Randle do his late game meltdown routine, RJ and IQ pretty much shit the bed down the stretch.

  122. Time outs like this Thibs always reminds me of Duvall in THE GREAT SANTINI, just shouting and shouting to get less out of his guys.

    That’s always who Thibs reminds me of.

    I totally forgot about the game (obviously, hence no game thread), but watched it from the third on. That was…something.

  124. cybersoze:
    The eye test says RJ played great, the stats not so much.
    FG 9-25, 3P 1-7, FT 11-17

    With RJ it’s a process. You have to squint and imagine what that line looks like after 2-3 years (hopefully) of improvement

  125. so yeah, we lost, with another late game meltdown – we sucked bad last year in close games, that situation hasn’t changed at all this year…

  126. cybersoze:
    The eye test says RJ played great, the stats not so much.
    FG 9-25, 3P 1-7, FT 11-17

    The eye test was not great either, he missed lots of shots and FTs and got blocked a billion times…

  127. DRed: With RJ it’s a process.You have to squint and imagine what that line looks like after 2-3 years (hopefully) of improvement

    So when we drafted him he was two years away from being two years away?

  128. Will the idiots in charge finally realize now that this team should not be chasing the 10th seed, or what else needs to happen? We can still finish behind the Wizards, Pelicans, Lakers, Spurs and maybe the Blazers realistically. Get the kids out there.

  129. Time outs like this Thibs always reminds me of Duvall in THE GREAT SANTINI, just shouting and shouting to get less out of his guys.

    was watching Crazy Heart the other day, which has Duvall in it, and it reminded me a bit of Tender Mercies, one of my favorite films…

    Tender Mercies, The Apostle, and The Great Santini are all amazing, you really need to pack a lunch to go through his filmography…

  130. If you knew you could pick Ivey (or Holmgren) would you trade RJ and the Knicks pick to move up? The idea of he and Randle soaking up 50% of the Knicks cap space for the next 4 years is kind of frightening. Moving Randle would certainly be preferable but I think you’d have to add a decent sweetener (or take back something really toxic) to move him at this point. I fully expect them both to be here next year but if I were the GM I’d at least want to kick the tires on what RJ might be worth as a trade chip before I have to commit to paying anything close to the max. And I can’t see RJ taking a whole lot less than the max this off-season.

  131. other randoms and such…

    so, not a big Rick and Morty fan…like many others i’ve had it infiltrate it’s way in to my home via the youth there, so, i’ve had to expose myself to it a little…

    i will say though, from a fashion sense: rick and morty got some pretty cool mainstream and custom gear…actually wore a knick tee the other day…i was banking on the fact a lot of people don’t follow the nba that closely…

  132. I still believe in RJ but he really has to stop running into brick walls…or providing raw materials for them…because right now the difference between him and Randle is not that much.

  133. I would definitely trade for Homgren. Why anyone would take RJ for him I don’t know. The guy has been really really good.

  134. RJ did have 13 rebs plus 3 asts and 2 stls so it wasn’t just empty points in his box score.

  135. RJ with another 40 minute game, in another loss…

    Knicks forward Julius Randle was penalized $40,000 by the NBA on Tuesday for directing hostile language at a referee, bringing his total to $130,000 in fines this season.

    i wonder if julius is starting to become aware that he may have an issue, keeping it together…

  136. BigBlueAL:
    RJ did have 13 rebs plus 3 asts and 2 stls so it wasn’t just empty points in his box score.

    Yeah, but when Julius has games like that we cringe because we know that he missed 16 shots and had 5 TOs. That’s 21 empty possessions from one player.

  137. The guy I’m most concerned about is Obi. I know he shot 5-7 and had a bunch of rebounds and even 3 assists but he looked overmatched. Hard to explain, more of an eye-test thing I guess, but with him and Mitch/Sims out there together it judt doesn’t look good.

  138. I totally got the feeling Z-Man, but I attribute it in part as the starters not being accustomed at play with Obi whose skills are very different from Randle’s.

    I’m still on the fence with him (maybe he’s just an energy guy from the bench) and he’ s an old sophomore but he just crushed the 1600 minutes mark in the league, he needs to play more and has a lot of subtle tricks to learn.

    RJ started well then get lost when it counts more, I don’t want him to be the “PG” but I’m okay with him being the main initiator, he’s 21, he’ll learn.
    He has his summer work clear: FTs and bank shots while Obi needs 1000 three pointers a day. like the late Drazen used to do… :-)

    This is a bad season but the young core is solid, the best we had in a loooong time…

  139. Z-man: The eye test was not great either, he missed lots of shots and FTs and got blocked a billion times…

    Oh, certainly, but for a smart fan, like ourselves. I was thinking about the common fan, he’s had 18+ pts in the last 17 games, and in those games he had 23+ pts in 14 and 30+ pts in 5. He’s a lock for a max extension just because of the narrative among the common fans. My point was that the stats are not backing that up, but maybe we have to do it because we don’t have a clear alternative and then… we pray? :P

  140. Z-man: Yeah, but when Julius has games like that we cringe because we know that he missed 16 shots and had 5 TOs. That’s 21 empty possessions from one player.

    Oof, it was really bad. But maybe it was for the best, because we wouldn’t be catching the Hawks for the 10th seed, we’re too far behind for the games remaining.

  141. Bruno Almeida: Will the idiots in charge finally realize now that this team should not be chasing the 10th seed, or what else needs to happen? We can still finish behind the Wizards, Pelicans, Lakers, Spurs and maybe the Blazers realistically. Get the kids out there.

    I’m with you Bruno, we should care about draft position from now on, or else there’s something wrong with this FO. But we won’t be catching the Blazers, we have 3 more wins and i bet the Blazers don’t go better than 3-7. Do you think the Knicks will tank perfectly and go 0-10? No way. I’d be pretty happy if SAS keeps fighting for the 10th seed until the last game, because that way we’ll have an easy time getting a better draft pick than SAS, NOP and LAL. And then we have WAS, it’d be good to beat them for the 8th pick (26.3% to jump to the Top4).
    Of course, we already know the Knicks won’t tank because of culture, winning habits and sh*t like that, and we’ll probably go 5-5 and end with the 11th or 12th pick.

  142. Max: This is a bad season but the young core is solid, the best we had in a loooong time…

    I agree, i don’t mind this season exactly because of the young core. What i didn’t like was not recognizing we wouldn’t be in the play-in at the same time the Pacers did.
    RJ can initiate but we still need a good PG to run the offense properly, especially when things get tough like in 4th quarters.
    I think we have 3 pieces that can be starters on a good team – RJ, Grimes and Mitch – and we have 2 guys with 6th Man potential – IQ and Obi. That’s kind of good to start a good team. Our problem is RJ won’t be a #1 option, and still has to improve to even be a #2 option (but this i think he can make it). So how do we get that #1? If we keep devaluing our picks when the moment comes, like when this season became a losing season, we’re just making things a lot harder on ourselves.

  143. The guy I’m most concerned about is Obi. I know he shot 5-7 and had a bunch of rebounds and even 3 assists but he looked overmatched. Hard to explain, more of an eye-test thing I guess, but with him and Mitch/Sims out there together it judt doesn’t look good.

    You really only need one really good lob threat around the rim and since Mitch/Sims actually play defense, it does make the fit with them and Obi pretty terrible.

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