djphan: he’s been literally doing the 7 seconds or less defense with frank for the last two months! how is he NOT prepared to come in a close game? was he not prepared at all the last dozen or so times it happened or something? and it was just THIS time in a PLAYOFF game he was ill prepared? and we’re blaming his coldness or lack of preparedness on thibs?

These are, to me at least, facts:

1) no, Frank did not do a good job on that last possession, as Hubert pointed out.

2) no, it’s not setting Frank up to succeed by taking a completely cold player and putting him in the highest leverage position possible. If that was a good strategy, then why bother with having bullpens for relief pitchers? Why bother with warmups period? Why not just change out of street clothes at half court and roll the ball out?

It would be interesting to see how many players have had 30 seconds or less of game time in non-garbage-time close-game situations yet not see the court at all outside those 30 seconds. Someone have access to stat head? My guess is that it is a very small # of players. Because it’s a dumb strategy. The only thing I can think of is you take the tallest guy with the longest arms and legs to guard the inbounds pass. Not play 1-on-1 defense against one of the best guards on the planet. Because E is right – if the matchup you go to in the highest leverage situation is that particular one, it means that player probably should be on the court more.

(re: Frank coming in cold though – it probably would be smart of Frank to get on the exercise bike with 5 minutes left in any close game)

It was really fucking stupid, just like that pointless double he made in the Lakers game that led to an open 3. At what point do you guys admit that his defense is overrated because he makes too many mental errors? The man’s got some JR Smith in him.

This is example of what I am talking about.

You may not even realize it, but you want him to fail. That’s the only reason you obsess over every single bad game or bad play. You want to come here and scream “see I told you he sucks”.

It was the same thing with Randle for awhile when I used to suggest that Randle is good but we have to use him better and provide him more space. After every bad play and game there was a storm of negatively about how we have to trade him. It was like people were just waiting for him to drive into a double team and turn the ball over or take a dumb shot just so they could come here and scream “see I told you he sucks”. It didn’t change until he started playing so well the “trade him ” position had to begrudgingly stop.

If you game me a list of the 5 best defensive players in the NBA and I obsessed over every bad game and play they made, I’d eventually conclude they weren’t good either because I was obsessed with looking for the bad to reinforce my position. But that’s not how you evaluate plus or minus. You evaluate it over many games, many matchups, and thousands of plays.

The reality is Frank is 22 years old and either 1st or 2nd best defender on the team. He got beat on one play by an elite offensive talent. Lear from it, turn the page, next game.

FWIW, I don’t think anyone is going to “stop” Trae Young one on one at the end of the game.

reminder: they were 2 on 1, not 1 on 1.

Frank had help to one side and he acted like it wasn’t there. He was stupid. Just admit it. He made a mental error that most NBA players would not have made. He didn’t do “as good a job as you could do”. It was a mental error, and he makes a lot of mental errors on defense.

I lived on Ntilikina Island for 3 years. It’s ok to admit they were right.

thenoblefacehumper:
You know this year is different, because this was the best case scenario for our pick situation!

I’m happy with the coin tosses, I just hope we didn’t spend our 36-years credit with the Basketball Gods on the 19th and 21st picks…

About next year,
while I hope we keep some of this year free agents,
I’m cautious to put the bar as high as 50-wins with the same roster.

Bucks, Phila and Brooklyn aren’t going nowhere, Atlanta is and will be a good team,
Charlotte, Indiana and Washington, burdened by injuries and/or Covid, will be at full strenght,
same Boston with Jaylen Brown, and we’ll see what will happen in Miami and Toronto.

We have our chance for progress (a full year of Mitch, progress from RJ, IQ and Obi, the two picks) but next season will not be a walk in the park and trust everyone to repeat this season/play better is a risk.

My mantra was and still is that we need a starting PG and if possible a starting wing to go with RJ, Randle, Robinson and a great bench.

You know this year is different, because this was the best case scenario for our pick situation!

wow… i would’ve rather taken a few ping pong balls going right for us in 2015 and 2018 but i’ll take two coinflips now….

You can’t make a cat bark.

life is hard, and so am i…

FWIW, I don’t think anyone is going to “stop” Trae Young one on one at the end of the game.

and this is the reason why frank doesn’t have a place in the nba… or defensive specialists in general… you have to do other things well… like shoot… or rebound… or make a layup when called upon…. you can’t just be a total zero and stay on the court on a regular basis…. because even at your best you’re not really stopping any of the top guards in the nba…

defensive ‘specialists’ usually do at least one other good thing that shows up in the box score…. like tony allen.. andre roberson… pj tucker.. bruce bowen… marcus smart… these guys had measurable impacts apart from their ‘intangible’ defensive impact…

for frank… it never has existed…. and that’s sort of the reason he’s had issues making his mark besides on knick internet forums ….

NBA Draft tiebreaker results: No. 19 pick: New York KnicksNo. 20 pick: Atlanta Hawks— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) May 25, 2021

NBA Draft tiebreaker results: No. 21: Dallas&No. 22 pick: LA LakersNo. 23 pick: Portland Trailblazers*&Will be conveyed to New York*Will be conveyed to Houston— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) May 25, 2021

You know this year is different, because this was the best case scenario for our pick situation!