2020-21 Game Thread: Knicks vs. Trailblazers

“Coming home, coming home, tell the world that I’m coming home.” Yes, this is, indeed, the Enes Kanter comes home game!

Kanter and the rest of the Trailblazers (including Carmelo Anthony) come to the Garden for the first of two back-to-back matinees, which seems kind of unusual, no?

In any event, the Blazers are seriously shorthanded right now, as they played their last game with only one of their regular starting five healthy (Center Jusuf Nurkic and Shooting guard CJ McCollum will both be out for an extended period of time, Derrick Jones is dealing with a knee injury and the great Dame Lillard, the Blazers’ best player, is day to day). However, the Blazers still won that game, on the road, against a very good Sixers team (that was also dealing with its own health problems, but still), so the Blazers are dangerous no matter what.

The shorthanded Blazers beat the Knicks in Portland recently, a game in which Portland was winning handedly until Immanuel Quickley exploded in the fourth quarter to make the Blazers’ sweat.

One of the things that we have seen this year is that the second time the Knicks play a team, Thibs will often have an amazing game plan set for the next game, so couple the Blazers’ health issues with Thibs’ game plan and the fact that this is a matinee (which are always weird), I think the Knicks have a very good chance of getting within two games of .500!

10-13 is already much more respectable than I could have hoped for the Knicks after 23 games, 11-13 after 24 would be even better!

Let’s go climb closer to .500, Knicks!

271 replies on “2020-21 Game Thread: Knicks vs. Trailblazers”

I would like that too, Brian, but it seems like Thibs would rather use Taj as the back up five.

on the other hand one of my kid’s cutest moments came when he wasn’t really doing coherent phrases yet and on the way to the park suddenly grabbed the push rod of his little blue truck and started wobble sprinting while screaming SUPER GEKKO MUSCLES

I can’t let this one disappear into yesterday’s void, I laughed too hard at it

I would like that too, Brian, but it seems like Thibs would rather use Taj as the back up five.

The Blazers are so thin, though, that this would be a perfect game to try Obi at the 5. Harry Giles is their only backup big.

Z-man:
Something is gonna come out about KP, he looks 100 years old out there.

Easy, the Knicks failed him! 😛

Knicks playing well. Mitch active on O and D early without doing anything stupid. Could be a fun game.

Knicks are playing hard and finding lots of holes in the Portland defense.

Trent’s pretty good. Streaky but good.

Payton trying his best to gift Portland the win. He should have a moratorium on shooting anywhere outside of three feet from the rim. Maybe even there.

We also really need Invisible Sixth Man in this game. Blazers are shooting the lights out from deep.

It’s only the 4th season since he was a Knick, but Carmelo only played with Frank! What about that?

UPDATE: No, Frank was drafted the year Carmelo left, so there’s no Melo’s teammate still on the Knicks! :O

I’d follow an account titled Enes Kanter’s True Talent?

He’s a nightmare to handle on the boards and a nightmare on defense.

by the end of the game clyde is gonna declare lillard legally dead and he’ll have 50

payton is a disaster….just a momentum killing disaster….

now we get to enjoy Rivers horror show…

Man, IQ and that ‘hostage dribble” is something….

Feel like we might be seeing it for years to come

OBI!

I don’t think I had ever seen a corner 3 hit the top of the backboard, like Obi’s just did.

obi just hit the top of the backboard from the corner. the top. have i seen that before?

edit: whoops i see you marechal

ptmilo:
obi just hit the top of the backboard from the corner.the top.have i seen that before?

Well he’s trying out there…going brick for brick with Melo

Listening to the Blazers announcers. They note that the Blazers are jumping picks and double-teaming IQ up high because they don’t want to be burned like the last game. They also note Quick is making the right passes out of the double-team.

IQ figuring out the Portland press.
Obi denying Melo makes me proud. He needs to get consistent with that 3pt shot.

About Rivers it’s better to keep playing him and hope he shoots the lights out against one of the contenders, maybe that way we can get something for him… a 2nd RP, probably.

First time I have heard him mention Lady Clyde….

Great move from Randle there. His first step is just quicker this year somehow.

Randle definitely gets a lot of soft rebounds that Mitch generates.

I see these things now that my favorite player’s numbers have ticked down.

Seriously, RJ hitting wet jumpers and drives, Quick getting to the rim at will. It’s like our prayers are being answered.

RJ is growing nicely as a player. He should be an all star by next season. Call me a dreamer, RJ might end up having a better career than Zion when it’s all said and done. Who knows?

This season, Knicks is finally a team fans can root for. Win or lose, I feel like I’m getting my $’s worth.

Payton can actually make corner 3pters on occasion, it’s any other type of jumper he has no chance in hell of making.

Raven: Except for the prayer that Payton gets hit by a comet…
  

Personally I hope he ducks and it hits Rivers. I can live with Payton off the bench. I can’t watch Rivers without feeling queasy.

Unsung hero of 1st half: Mitch. Played great D with zero fouls against Enes, who is the kind of player that used to eat him up.

Unsung hero of 1st half: Mitch. Played great D with zero fouls against Enes,

“Enes the Menace”. Clyde

Reggie somehow has two blocks this game lmao

I’m more comfortable with Randle’s threes than Payton’s dunk attempts… and for good reason.

RJ needs to handle the ball on every possession, he gets it going then doesn’t see the ball for a few possessions.

Yeah it’s looking like this “new” RJ is the real RJ. He’s been playing a winning brand of basketball for quite a while now.

I…will…learn…to…appreciate…Payton…
grind…grind…
I…will…learn…to…appreciate…Payton…

Wasn’t there a stat when Payton scored 16 or more the Knicks win? Well, he has 18 today, the W is ours! ;D

“He’s still not a mellow fellow” – Clyde’s line of the game.

Quickley seems to think the rules of basketball mandate one to be in the air while passing

Melo’s body language is so obvious when he’s gonna try and score, it’s like a poker tell

thenoblefacehumper:
Quickley seems to think the rules of basketball mandate one to be in the air while passing

Yeah, that’s a bad rookie habit he has to break. Picking up his dribble in the paint is another one.

IQ with 2 dumb jump-n-pass attempts. Melo bailed him on the 1st by diving on him by the 2nd was a bad TO.

Sweet redemption for IQ.

I was going to say go with Elf today, since he is playing well. Probably will end in tears.

Grocer:
I’m well behind time-wise, but what a nice sequence by Quickley and Bullock.

Me too, so i refresh the thread from time to time to not know in advance what’s going to happen

My father, more a casual fan, but he saw the last title team in the Garden, just turned to me and said,

“Why isn’t Quickley in the game?”

I cringed on the Payton wide-open dunk, but he made it!

I…will…learn…to…appreciate…

Z-man:
Why would you yank IQ there?

Can’t let Quickley’s confidence get in the way of accidentanking.

I think today Thibs is right, Dame is a lethal shooter and Quickley can’t defend him for sure, better put Elfrid on him all the time

Payton deserves the crunch time minutes today, he’s played an excellent game. Not much more to it than that.

It’s a nice weapon to have but don’t want RJ to fall in love with the step back midranger

Frank would be glued to him every step. He’d have to beat Frank off the dribble (which he can do) but at least then it’s 2 points or he would run into Mitch.

I like Dame a lot, if i could pick up a random PG from another team, i’d pick him

Can we all agree that those two botched 3PA were not the result of lockdown Thibs defense?

Frank would be glued to him every step. He’d have to beat Frank off the dribble (which he can do) but at least then it’s 2 points or he would run into Mitch.

Leave the fan fiction to Donnie Walsh

Knicks destroying Portland in points in the paint but it takes a miracle for them to get FT’s today.

It’s odd to have the opportunity to thank Melo for a W

Leave the fan fiction to Donnie Walsh

the undercurrents of romance just as present, though

I don’t feel great about this but I have roughly the same level of disgust at a semi-competitive NBA game ending on foul-and-pray as I do hearing NFL play-by-play teams using metaphors for on-field traumatic brain injuries, and I fucking hate using metaphors to describe on-field traumatic brain injuries. This shit is boring.

Also I’m just kidding, foul-and-pray is waaaaaaay worse

Another nice victory. Now for the Heat tomorrow. Same Knick time, same Knick channel. Home and away coming.

thenoblefacehumper: Leave the fan fiction to Donnie Walsh

I’m serious. The whole point of having a guy like Frank is to disrupt a guy like Lillard. He’s done that repeatedly including even to Harden who everyone struggles with. You just have to have the right players on the court. So you put Quickley at the other guard spot.

Payton had a very good overall game. No complaints about him playing. But he was obviously very overmatched trying to slow down Lillard. Rivers should never have seen the court today. At least Thibs came to his senses in the second half on that. But this was a good game to play Frank in the 2nd unit and also to test him a little against Lillard since he was smoking everyone else anyway.

I like the new mask style the NBA is using…

hopefully the team can keep a foot in payton’s ass to stay aggressive going to the basket…

Knicks will be the 7th seed in the East going into tomorrow with a very manageable schedule the rest of February. Not looking good for the people hoping for a tank.

Quick and Rivers didn’t play much today. It’s their turn to have a great game and carry the team to victory tomorrow

Obi should do that move where he took Melo to the hole every time he gets the ball.

Pretty wild game. And another matinée tomorrow.

I think Payton did a solid job on Lillard. There’s clearly some reason Frank isn’t seeing the floor at all. I’d guess he’s just not showing what Thibs wants to see in practice. What if he’s not coachable? Folks say he’s a hard worker, but all our shitty coaches have complained about trying to get him to do what they want him to do. Usually that’s “shoot the damn ball” but it could extend to other things.

There’s clearly some reason Frank isn’t seeing the floor at all.

The reason is: he is bad at basketball

Obi should do that move where he took Melo to the hole every time he gets the ball.

Unfortunately, one can’t be guarded by a 52-year-old Carmelo Anthony every night of the week.

Great win. If the playoffs started today we’d have a Knicks Nets first round match up.

JK47: The reason is: he is bad at basketball

strat and his copypasta macros are experiencing some real sunk-cost fallacy — he can’t just throw them all out, what with all the time he’s invested in writing them

may be that frank’s knee isn’t all the way back yet…

or, may be frank just lacks the necessary whatever to fight for a job…

I don’t see much skill gap between frank, burks, bullock or rivers…

it is promising that thibs deep sixed rivers and kind of bullock…tank notwithstanding…

payton is lacking in certain necessary skills like shooting and passing but…he does seem to be exerting more effort and focus…which if it was the result of increased scrutiny in the press or quickley lighting a fire under his ass…is another red flag of the guy not giving a shit on any given night until he is called out and shamed..

I’m fine with Thibs trying to win every game, but I don’t think playing Frank 10-15 minutes is going to be the difference between a win and a loss. Give him some of Bullock’s minutes; Bullock is shooting 34% from 3 and doesn’t do a lot else, so it’s not like we’d be sacrificing a ton of offense substituting Frank for him for a few minutes.

just watched the post game with thibs, man does he love him some big men, physical big men…

kat seems like a nice enough dude, but, boy does thibs like him some big men…

made a point to talk mitch and taj…

may be that frank’s knee isn’t all the way back yet…

I don’t see much skill gap between frank, burks, bullock or rivers…

Burks is a good bench player.

The only reason Rivers should be playing in front of Frank on a day like today is if Frank is not 100%.

Rivers is a clear negative on both sides of the court.

Frank is solid positive on defense and a big negative on offense.

There’s nothing you can do lineup wise to get a team level positive out of Rivers. If you have Frank in the 2nd unit with Quickley, Burkes, and have either Randle or RJ on the court also, you have plenty of scoring and get the defensive plus from Frank. On a day when there’s a guard that’s killing you, you should try Frank to see if he can slow him down when the alternative is Rivers otherwise you are being foolish.

Bullock was the best Knicks perimeter defender today and as much as Frank has a reputation as a good defender not sure he’s actually better defensively than Bullock. Its tough to argue the Knicks need Frank’s D when they’re a Top 5 defense this season and as much as many people here hate them Payton and Bullock have something to do with that.

Long way to go but the Knicks finishing with a top-10 defense and Frank Ntilikina having fuck all to do with it would be really funny

Z-man:
Anyone but me notice that IQ left his floater at home today?

he was getting double teamed and then when he was penetrating they were not giving up the lane to him…

burks was getting into the lane and had a quasi floater pull up that he kept short arming…

BigBlueAL:
Knicks will be the 7th seed in the East going into tomorrow with a very manageable schedule the rest of February.Not looking good for the people hoping for a tank.

Tank shmank.

geo:
just watched the post game with thibs, man does he love him some big men, physical big men…

kat seems like a nice enough dude, but, boy does thibs like him some big men…

made a point to talk mitch and taj…

Who doesn’t?

Mitch is holding up much better to the pounding out there than in prior years. He’s also learned to recognize when he’s beat and to not compound that with a foul. Clearly he’s being coached very well on defensive positioning.

And the fact that Knox is out of the rotation and Obi is getting only token minutes suggests that players only get so much rope on the defensive end.

I like that brand of player development. If you don’t translate what Thibs is teaching you on to the court, you will sit and learn by watching.

Bullock was the best Knicks perimeter defender today and as much as Frank has a reputation as a good defender not sure he’s actually better defensively than Bullock.

Sounds right to me.

As to tanking, we knew that was not in the cards the moment that Thibs was hired. But it’s nice that we are counting on RJ, Mitch and IQ to get wins. I still think that Miami gets it together and gets into the 8th seed. Only DET is surely worse than us, and WAS probably but they are hard to read because they have had a terrible spate of bad luck but Russ and Beal are a formidable combo. CHI does not look all that good. It is looking like we will fight it out with MIA, ORL, CLE, and CHA for the 8-10 spots. In other words, we aren’t likely to finish worse than 11th in the EC and better than 8th in the lottery.

My hope is that Payton’s aggression eventually frees up Mitch for some lobs because Payton taking 20 shots a game sure ain’t a recipe for team success. Would have liked to see them run more pnr with RJ and Mitch- going after Kanter should be first option every play against Portland unless Melo is in the game in which case find him and make him play defense. I think the Knicks scored almost every time they went at him.

Also that second unit is so challenged scoring-wise I’m not sure passive Frank really fits- he’d almost make more sense with the starters but not enough sense to actually start him. I do hope he gets some run at some point because I doubt more than one of Payton, Bullock and Burks will be on the team next year and it’s still possible that Frank turns out a decent 3 and D option.

Frank still has a massive knee brace on; it’s hard to see honestly how he’s even been cleared to play.(*) I can’t even remember the last time I saw a guy in an association game wearing an actual old-school offensive tackle-style knee brace. Memories are never perfect, but I’m thinking 20 years plus. Even in the really old school ACL days in the 80s you rarely saw a brace with actual metal on it in a game.

(*) Assuming he actually really even has been. I’ve been slightly suspicious about Knick injuries/clearances/announcements almost from day one of this campaign. That could be way off.

Yeah, I think three of Mitch’s turnovers were moving screens. Whoever the Hakeem of Setting Screens is, that’s where Mitch should be this summer. The last one especially was just brutal, although I think he was fatigued.

It’s pretty amazing he didn’t have an offensive board. You have to admire what an absolute beast Kanter is in that dept.

I was pretty happy with how he played. It’s interesting how different he looks out there though. Would love it if a beat would talk to him.

Den-Sac on NBATV. Lots to watch including Whitesode trying to guard Jokic and of course Tyrese

Owen:
Yeah, I think three of Mitch’s turnovers were moving screens. Whoever the Hakeem of Setting Screens is, that’s where Mitch should be this summer. The last one especially was just brutal, although I think he was fatigued.

Most of the Knicks’ guards and wings need to go to school to learn how to set up screens too- on the last one Randle went before Mitch was even close to being set. That said, Mitch just shoving the defender was inexcusable so he still deserves blame. I don’t think Randle really wants screens much- he’d rather just iso or post up.

Also, why is it that every time the a Knick grabs a rebound late with the lead they just stand there and wait to get fouled? This approach has backfired so often this year that it’s shocking they still continue to do it- today Bullock got locked up for a jump ball but there have been multiple turnovers in those situations this year as well. It’s just inexcusable laziness.

He made Kanter look like a statue.

RJ looked, dare I say it, like a polished pro. He was as controlled and in rhythm on the offensive end as I can remember in the first half. It looked like a flow state. He had a couple bad turnovers in the second but overall very solid effort.

Nicos- those are great points

Just finished watching the game.
My thoughts

The same players under a different coach could possibly be a circus dream tank team. Under Thibs they are disciplined and highly accountable.

Rotations seem very strict and id bet that injuries are the safest way to put you in a game over another player that he’s already in the 10men rotation.

Trading Rivers for something, anything at that moment seems paranormal.

Obi should stop watching videos of Lance Thomas and start watching Shawn Kemp’s instead to change idols.

Two Games against Miami will tell us a lot about this team’s true identity. Can’t wait.

There are few things more triggering for me than watching Haliburton right now. Obi could take a bit of the edge off by doing, well, anything one of these days.

last year kept thinking what a good floor and locker room leader RJ would be – hard worker, steady personality…he still needs to figure out his game though and he’s some time away from playing a real leadership role on the team…

again, i really liked julius calling out elf in a post game last week…

one of the coolest things about league pass is you get to see more of the in-between moments before, during and after the game…no question julius has really good rapport with other players throughout the league…doesn’t really seem though like the type to push others…

i can’t wait til mitch really learns to play, no question he’ll push folks…now it looks like we may have really lucked out and gotten another personality in elf that’ll help the team self-regulate a bit…

like RJ and mitch though, quick needs to find his game first before calling teammates out or pushing them…he ain’t a shy kid though, he might get there quicker than RJ and mitch…

i’m still nervous with mitch catching passes under the basket; however, very encouraged when he gets the ball around the arc to pass it off…he looks really comfortable with the ball in his hands…

i think mitch still has a whole lot of growth in him on the offensive side of the ball…it’s good he’s learning to play his role – but, i wanna see if mitch can hit an outside shot in a game…

i can’t wait til mitch really learns to play, no question he’ll push folks…now it looks like we may have really lucked out and gotten another personality in elf quik that’ll help the team self-regulate a bit…

oops, meant to type quik instead of elf…

yeah, elf himself isn’t exactly a dynamic personality, which is fine…he just has to get to the hole and bang on defense…

JK47: The reason is: he is bad at basketball

+1

Knox, DSJr and Frank are done. I pretty much said it before the season started.

Specifically, on Ntilikina, he’s a “above average” defensive player but not (IMO) “elite”. He has had good moments but statistically, he’s not better than Elf: player comparison – look at advanced defensive metrics last season. Payton is not good enough offensively either but he can break down a defense, organize a team and score the occasional point.

payton cannot organize a team …as evidenced by the shit show that is our last few minutes offense…he has no leadership capabilities

thenoblefacehumper:
There are few things more triggering for me than watching Haliburton right now. Obi could take a bit of the edge off by doing, well, anything one of these days.

Obi looks lost but I’m giving him a pass for this year. He’s a rookie who at a mini-camp and got hurt and really didn’t get a chance to get on track. Plus, being stuck behind a potential all-star is preventing him from working things out on the court.

pepper:
payton cannot organize a team …as evidenced by the shit show that is our last few minutes offense…he has no leadership capabilities

You obviously disagree with Thibs.

“Elfrid’s strengths are his defense, running the team, being an opportunistic scorer”

-Tom Thibodeau, Feb 4, 2021

If we had drafted Hali and Quick it would have been one of the most successful drafts in Knicks history

Sigh…..

GoNYGoNYGo – Tanking forever: You obviously disagree with Thibs.

-Tom Thibodeau, Feb 4, 2021

in the context of he probably was thinking “of all the shittiness of his overalll game…his strenghts are……blah, blah.blah..” and then went back behind the podium and puked…

Didn’t watch the second half but looking at Tyrese’s line I kind of want to drink myself into a stupor. He looked great in the first half. I can understand why scouts weren’t that high on him. There really is no clear carrying skill. The whole package though is excellent. The kid just knows how to play ball.

Also, Jokic with 50 points and one turnover. He’s unbelievable.

Richaun has been like this for a long time. He’s a good player who would be better known if he hadn’t been shipped to Cowtown.

Nets and Sixers got a big downgrade. Durant in quarantine for a week after having had the rona in April. That’s tough.

Just sucks for Jokic that his team likely won’t win enough games for him to win MVP. It’ll take a big narrative a la Westbrook to get him where he ought to be. But right now he is hands down the MVP of the league. Lebron, somehow, follows close behind.

It frustrates me to no end that Haliburton will not be a Knick for the next eight-plus years. PG is such an expensive and difficult position to fill, and he was right fucking there for the taking.

Jeff Green guarding Embiid is like a springer spaniel guarding a mastiff. Or maybe a grizzly bear.

This has been my favorite season in a while and the literal least favorite of my life was the Rose season so I should’ve seen this coming

He’s not good and he had a mental health breakdown last time he was on the Knicks what’s not to like

I mean I’m pretty sure they won’t be giving up anything of significance for Rose and he has been playing pretty decently the past 3 seasons but yeah I definitely don’t see the point in trading for him especially if it affects IQ’s playing time.

Everyone take back every bad thing you’ve ever said about Elfrid Payton immediately, we need to do our part here

There really is a chance that Immanuel Quickley’s way-too-scant minutes are going to be taken by Derrick Rose and Elfrid Payton, isn’t there?

To be clear before the rationalizations start: trading any asset whatsoever, including one protected second rounder, for Derrick Rose would be a god awful idea. Acquiring him for free somehow would be a bad idea.

thenoblefacehumper:
Everyone take back every bad thing you’ve ever said about Elfrid Payton immediately, we need to do our part here

Elfrid Payton is the kindest, bravest, warmest, most wonderful human being I’ve ever known in my life.

Acquiring him for free is a terrible idea. I was pretty clearly heading there but I’m now completely out on Thibs.

And we should be clear: he’s going to be resigned for 2 or 3 years at more money than he makes now and he’s going to be the Knicks’ starting point guard next year. Thanks, but no thanks.

Elfrid Payton MIGHT just be my favorite NBA player.

“Rose, who is in his second season with Detroit, has not played since Jan. 30. Detroit is committed to playing some of their younger players, so letting Rose go would be best for both parties.”

Glad we’re not similarly committed…

@IanBegley
Frank Ntilikina is one player who has come up in discussions between Pistons and Knicks about a potential Derrick Rose trade, per SNY sources. The Athletic first reported that Knicks are in talks with Pistons about a trade for Rose, who has a long history with Tom Thibodeau.

Look, acquiring 32 year old Derrick Rose would marginalize Immanuel Quickley, but on the other hand, it would also probably marginalize RJ Barrett, so you have to evaluate both sides

Z-man:
Let’s wait until we have reason to panic before we panic

We’re Knicks fans & James Dolan is the owner. What more reason do we need?

I would assume if they acquire Rose it will actually mean minutes reduction for Rivers and not IQ.

We can’t trade Payton, right? So it’s going to be like Frank or Dennis for Rose, and that means the question is who is losing minutes to Rose? Austin Rivers?

in terms of the tank…. it’s not really clear that this really impacts it at all tho…. looks like rose’s efficiency near the rim has tanked and given his age that’s a bad sign…. so he could really be a good tank commander like his previous tenure….

and if we send them knox i think that’s probably a net win given we could get rid of his contract off the books…. anything else i’m sort of struggling how we could come out of this ahead tho esp if we send them picks… that’s the real danger here….

Rivers ain’t my cup of tea but he might be better than Rose and also has 100 times more rootability

Goddamnit, I love Mitch, but we should’ve traded him and a first for LaMelo. That was the fuck up, not Hali, who they were never interested in.

Rose will go to a competitor with a better offer, guarantee it.

I was surprised to see how decent Rose played the past 2 seasons when I looked up his stats. This season not so much but he actually is coming off a couple of back to back surprisingly decent seasons.

To be clear before the rationalizations start: trading any asset whatsoever, including one protected second rounder, for Derrick Rose would be a god awful idea. Acquiring him for free somehow would be a bad idea.

That’s always my favorite part, when we all say, “Move X would be terrible” and then Move X happens and it’s suddenly, “Well, maybe Move X is actually good.”

BigBlueAL:
I was surprised to see how decent Rose played the past 2 seasons when I looked up his stats.This season not so much but he actually is coming off a couple of back to back surprisingly decent seasons.

Trading for Rose would be a lateral move at best, and most likely a downer both in terms of impact and credibility-wise. Unless he comes with an asset, fuck that.

I’m not going to believe anything until it happens because it seems so out of step with the intelligence the FO has displayed up to this point.

Oh don’t get me wrong I definitely don’t want to trade for Rose regardless of whatever crap they give up for him. But since I’m actually someone who wants the Knicks to try to make the playoffs I’m trying to look at it from can Rose actually help this team this season and as long as he doesn’t take away minutes from IQ he might be able to help a bit. But still trading for him is a big no for me.

Don’t trade for anyone that will be, in any capacity, taking the ball away from Barrett’s and Quickley’s hands. Who cares if we have to watch Payton have his Jekyll and Hyde routine, what matters is the development of those two. It’s simple.

By the way, should we be starting to have the conversion that maybe Barrett has figured out somethings? Another very solid game from him, ts% creeping over. 500 finally, the free throws look a lot better and he seems composed and playing within the flow of the team. I think I’m starting to believe

And I’ve made the executive decision to not watch anymore Kings games this season, they’ve been a favorite league pass team of mine because of the time zones and how it’s easier to watch west games for me, but it just hurts. I might flip towards Charlotte to watch LaMelo because the kid is just so entertaining and at least with him we didn’t have a chance to pick the guy.

it should be pretty clear by now that rj is a solid rotation player at this stage and he’s still adding new things seemingly every game if you’re paying attention…. we’re well beyond the sample size arguments and he’s very nearly improved in everything….

Bruno Almeida:
By the way, should we be starting to have the conversion that maybe Barrett has figured out somethings? Another very solid game from him, ts% creeping over. 500 finally, the free throws look a lot better and he seems composed and playing within the flow of the team. I think I’m starting to believe

He is maybe the most overlooked part of what is going on…he seems to (and Clyde said it on the last telecast) have figured how to “translate his college game to the pro game”…ie., he can get to where he wants and get his shots of (most of the time) and convert…plus he is very consistent with the mid-range stuff….will be interesting to look at his numbers versus Morant and Zion at the end of the year…

I’m sure it’s happened before, maybe even many times before. But back in the days when I used to watch basketball games (you know, back before I was cornering the stock market and negging scarlet Johansson) there were rarely two 50 pt games in a season, let alone two in one night.

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