Very good first, balanced offense, nice intensity on defense, now keep it up.
Looks like we have Good Julius back. I hope it’s to stay.
Where’s Frank?
Knicks bench looking like shit so far tonight.
I believe Frank is out of the rotation
BigBlueAL:
Knicks bench looking like shit so far tonight.
Zero rhythm on offense, defense a little leaky but they are hitting some jumpers and we are definitely not. Noel needs to get back to old Noel. He doesn’t look himself but I guess to be expected …
Love that sweet Grimes stroke.
Fat doncic backing guys down with his fatness
KJG: Fat doncic backing guys down with his fatness
Now picture super fat Zion backing guys down. LOL
Grimes is a cheat code
Evan seems to have turned it around. that shoulder injury seems to have been legit
Thinking he’s playing up against his hometown team
Man the Mavs even have Theo Pinson
ess-dog:
Aside from missing Kemba, THIS is perhaps the team Leon envisioned…
Me too…
Wouldn’t mind to have this Brunson kid. 😉
Nice to have Noel and his blocks back.
I like what I am seeing with Mitch but needs to track the ball handlers a little better. Luka and Brunson pretty tough though.
Well. That half shows some promise.
Love the Noel halfcourt heave, lol
not sure Dallas will shoot 17% from 3 in the 2nd half…invisible 6th and 7th man out there tonight
STOP THE COUNT! 😀
Wonder if Julius is going to take Nerlen to task at halftime for taking a terrible last-second half-time shot instead of letting Julius do it.
Best first half in a while, 13 assists on 20 made baskets, 4 players in double figure, only 3 turnovers.
Consistent effort on D against a strong offensive opponent.
KP is in H&S protocol. Randle seems to be making extra effort last few games to pass to the wing when he is driving and draws a double. Don’t love when he leaves his feet to do so but tonight 3 assists and 0 turnovers.
I know most hate the Burks PG experiment but I can see why Thibs likes on defense. It allows for more switches and doesn’t give the opponent a size advantage as it would if Kemba was there. Plus Burks is a very capable defender and fights over screens.
Breaking out a new half-time incense burning and ceremonial dance ritual to ward off the dreaded 3rd period meltdown.
Dallas starts making 3s and this lead is going to evaporate
Stop doubling Luka in the post.
Solid start here
Mitch! Hey, the rim has feelings too!
Breaking out a new half-time incense burning and ceremonial dance ritual to ward off the dreaded 3rd period meltdown.
dance harder please…
Seriously just let Luka go one on one all night without doubling him.
NOW it’s solid !!!
These dudes are too small to stop Mitchell
Can you imagine if that pass had gone to Nerlen instead of MItch?
Per nerlens … getting hit with a -5 instantaneously !
The Knicks are having the traditional 3rd quarter meltdown… it’s just that it’s the Knicks west! 😛
I had to look to see if Obi had even played yet. But this is the first game in I don’t know when that I won’t complain about the rotation. It’s working, don’t fix it. As compared to it’s broken, stay with it.
Really nice defense with Noel anchoring
THAT’S what it would look like if the pass went to Nerlen instead of Mitch…
here comes bad julius
Not the best game for the Noel is better than Mitch theory.
We get this team every night with Rose back and we can go on a run
cybersoze:
The Knicks are having the traditional 3rd quarter meltdown… it’s just that it’s the Knicks west! 😛
Jabbing pins into my Kristaps/Mavs voodoo doll…
Julius …? Really ?
He just can’t help himself, even on a good night…
hoo boy. classic Randle…
Had to do it, to show Noel how it’s done.
Bing Bong Hits: Jabbing pins into my Kristaps/Mavs voodoo doll…
LOL
cybersoze:
Not the best game for the Noel is better than Mitch theory.
That ship likely sailed now that Mitch has lost the fat and isn’t injured … Knock on wood
I can’t imagine the coaching staff thinks iso Randle is the high percentage play at the end of a qtr….can they?
Grimes really is something else. His shot just comes off his hands different.
KevinR: We get this team every night with Rose back and we can go on a run
Looks like Rose will be our “new” addition at the deadline 2 years in a row. 😉
See now 2 things Noel does that Mitch typically doesn’t … take a charge and adjust mid flight
Nerlens better than Doncic
BOOM! SHAKALAKA!!!!
Arcidiacono still in street clothes on a 10-day obligatory post
Yeah, the Noel-Mitch debate lives on.
Seriously, Noel hasn’t played in like a month. Give him a chance to fit back in.
Setting aside the shooting, RJ looks healthy and high energy again.
I like the way he was hitting the boards little more in the 1st half. We want him rebounding and making plays more. He has those skills. That way when the shot is not falling, at least he’s doing something out there.
Seriously, Noel hasn’t played in like a month.Give him a chance to fit back in.
I concur … I’m liking mitch results lately but I still don’t love his overall game / development … Noel is rusty …
Early Bird: Seriously, Noel hasn’t played in like a month. Give him a chance to fit back in.
I was just joking. Because whenever Mitch plays bad, he’s roasted here.
I thought the layoff might help Nerlens. He’s been playing hurt all year. Maybe the knees, ankles and everything else is finally back in order. We could use the version from last year. Give it a few games.
This is that same suspect lineup Thibs had to call timeout in first half … it’s quite suspect
So this is three games in a row for Barrett. Can we expect DJphan now?
Mitch is roastee because of all the expectations. I want him to be great … Noel we just appreciate him going about his business in business like manner… no nonsense … good Noel is pretty consistent …
Ok get it together guys
KJG:
This is that same suspect lineup Thibs had to call timeout in first half … it’s quite suspect
Yeah, I thought the 2nd unit would play much better together. Obi flubbing dunks. IQ fouling all over the place. Odd. I mean Kleber is the Mavs’ biggest guy out there, we should have layups and every single rebound.
KB Apprentice: Yeah, I thought the 2nd unit would play much better together. Obi flubbing dunks. IQ fouling all over the place. Odd. I mean Kleber is the Mavs’ biggest guy out there, we should have layups and every single rebound.
The unit just doesn’t run like they used to … is it Rose missing ?
Doncic has the Tatum problem where he falls in love with the 3 too much
mitch…coming out party…
After the missed dunk Obi will not play again until February…
There’s a fine line when attempting to comeback with 3s vs. good open shots. They’ve gotten a lot of good open shots that happened to be 3s tonight so we are a bit lucky on both sides of that line … back to .500
Mitch 19 and 9 with 2 blocks. I can live with that…
Brunson actor
Anyone else feel like Doncic sleptwalk through this game? This is the Garden man, put on a show!
Well I still want the Knicks to win lol but disappointed in his performance.
Frank gonna get some burn
SoNiceWeShowItTwice:
Anyone else feel like Doncic sleptwalk through this game? This is the Garden man, put on a show!
Well I still want the Knicks to win lol but disappointed in his performance.
Deserves some flak … “star” just taking night off
Luka OLE!
Without doubt, the most “competent” game we’ve played all season. Everything from defense to ball movement to shooting to free throws and even coaching (timeouts/rotations) has been solid. Even the balance of scoring across the team. That’s how it’s done boys.
That RJ contract extension is getting more expensive.
And a nice exclamation point from RJ just as I hit send. 😉
KJG: The unit just doesn’t run like they used to … is it Rose missing ?
Yeah, think so. Obi missing him in particular.
EDIT: Watching Deuce feed Obi just then makes the point, too.
Frank Frank!
Frank sighting
Lol that Frank three…..
Great win. Knicks are good again, just as we all have been predicting.
Frank!
Now a Frank 3P as the cherry on top
Randle and Mitch with double-doubles.
RJ with 32 and 7.
Nice win. Randle handing the pressure is the most important thing. I’ll sleep well tonight.
Ok, my feet hurt from all that dancing and the haze in here is pretty bad…
Frank, Pinson and the young Knicks hugging it out is nice to see.
aw look how happy everyone is to see Frank
And definitely a good Mitching.
Rebecca does a good job. She has come a long way.
Frank was plus 1 in a game his team lost by 23.
The legend continues, you’re just too dumb to understand.
11 teams in the East at .500 or better.
Good win, most consistent game in months.
RJ with another 30-plus game, Randle better in the first half (5 TO in the 2nd) but solid overall, Mitch a beast on the boards, Burks and Fournier both very consistent.
Good to have Noel back, Grimes belongs, IQ and Obi were a bit off.
And the final scene with RJ hugging Frank was a blast.
Hubert:
Frank was plus 1 in a game his team lost by 23.
The legend continues, you’re just too dumb to recognize it.
Damn, you beat me to it
Bing Bong Hits: Ok, my feet hurt from all that dancing and the haze in here is pretty bad…
LOL. But now you gotta do it every game, if we want to be 6th. ;D
Yeah, that was interesting. RJ, Quickley, and Knox seemed real happy to see him. RJ gave him a real big hug.
Anyways, really hoping that this is not just a tease by RJ. Let’s keep it going.
Randle had a bunch of turnovers but more of them seemed to come from him trying to force it inside. I’ll take that over his usual turnovers.
2nd half of the season starts. 1st game on the way to those 50 wins 😉
Great game all around. Let’s keep this going (L10: 7-3). 🙂
I can tolerate the Randle TO’s as long as he gives the effort on D that he did tonight.
Early Bird:
Randle had a bunch of turnovers but more of them seemed to come from him trying to force it inside. I’ll take that over his usual turnovers.
Yea if he gets stripped down low or something so be it … he’s supposed to be down there at least …
Doncic has been out of shape, struggling with injuries, and in Covid protocols this season. He’s been a mess all year. It’s Doncic though. So he’s going to make some great plays, pile up boxscore stats, and score lots of points. He always has the ball. But a lot of the time the team looks better with Brunson on the court. The ball moves better. He has plenty of time to get healthy and in shape for the playoffs, but it better start soon. Right now he’s nowhere the player he was last year let alone better.
Early Bird:
Randle had a bunch of turnovers but more of them seemed to come from him trying to force it inside. I’ll take that over his usual turnovers.
Agreed. And each of those inside turnovers looked like it was as much on the receiver as Randle.
RJ scored from everywhere tonight … spectacular
Julius’ effort was there tonight, no doubt about it.
He defended well, rarely forced and his turnovers were of the “good” variety.
17-12-8 despite a mediocre shooting night, it shows that he can get his numbers just staying in the flow of the game.
Fournier tried on defense too, took mostly good shots and made a couple of great passes to Mitch.
And honestly RJ played like a star.
Everyone was engaged, ball movement was good, it’s the closest thing to the team I dreamed of at the start of the season.
“That RJ contract extension is getting more expensive.”
Don’t worry. There will be plenty more games with mostly bricks. Then the consensus that week will be to trade him for a bag a rocks rather than bring him back again with a big extension. 🙂
He was great again tonight.
I think some of what we saw tonight was matchups and no KP in the paint. That helped people get closer to the rim because there was no help. But you have to take advantage of the good matchups and situations because sometimes they are tough.
I am digging this poor man’s Draymond Green version of Julius Randle we’re seeing the past couple of games. Just play that defense, collect those boards, pass those dimes Julius and both our offense and defense will see improvement.
RJ was great tonight. If he plays like this every night we can give him the max.
If he plays like this every night, give him the supermax.
Ha. 1992 Jordan, in fact. Although he’s going to have to steal some assists from Randle…
Knicks at .500. RJ & Fournier coming around. Charlotte pick slotted at 20. It’s all coming together boys!!!
I see Kevin Knox failed to score tonight. Was it Frank’s D that shut him down?
Cool that RJ is over his tummy trouble, or whatever it was that Strat said was bothering him all season.
Nice shot of Ntilikina and Knox after the game. It looked like they were talking about being roommates in Dallas next year.
Bing Bong Hits
January 12, 2022 at 8:53 pm
Breaking out a new half-time incense burning and ceremonial dance ritual to ward off the dreaded 3rd period meltdown.
tomorrow’s new york sports page headline:
Bing Bong Hits delivers new york back to .500
The last win was a good win because they had to have it. This was just flat out a very, very good win.
Definitely. We have the same record as the Lakers, but are tied for 10th in the conference instead of tied for seventh.
Was at the game, great ambiance, nary a Julius boo and lots of RJ chants. It was nice having a relatively stress-free game on a weeknight. Mitch was an absoute monster, and it was great seeing Nerlens out there. Fournier playing like we hoped when he was acquired. Only negative was that IQ and Obi didn’t have it on O. It was great that the queasy feeling when Thibs put the starters back in at the end was not a thing this time.
Hopefully RJ and Julius will both keep playing like they did last night, especially at home.
We have 5 more games, before the “road trip of hell”, so it’d be amazing if we go 4-1 in this games to get to 3 games above .500, as Max said in the last thread. I can’t see us going better than 9-13 on that road trip stretch, so this would put us right around at .500 (1 game below). Then in the last 14 games, the schedule gets easier and i think we can go 9-5 or even 10-4. Some teams are already thinking about the playoffs, like BRK in the 3rd to last game.
But even in the best case scenario, i think our ceiling isn’t higher than 7th, most likely we’ll be 9th or 10th.
ATL has dug quite a hole, they’re 6 games below .500.
Was at the game, great ambiance, nary a Julius boo and lots of RJ chants.
That’s great to know. I think Julius is adapting to not being “the man”. I hope he builds from this game.
Mitch was an absoute monster, and it was great seeing Nerlens out there.
We need both at a high level. The team plays much more comfortably on O when they know Mitch and Noel are going to get a lot of stops on D.
Next stop: ATL. A win there to help derail their season a little more, it’d be some kind of a revenge from the 2021 playoffs.
Dedicated to CDiggy: “Russell Westbrook 2-for-14 as Los Angeles Lakers lose to Sacramento Kings again” 😀
I’ve only gotten to see snippets of these last few games. What’s changed about RJ that has him playing so much better than earlier in the season? Just that his shot is falling again? Having the ball in his hands more thanks to Julius’ struggles and our lack of a traditional point guard? The relative weakness of our opponents? Something else?
(And even the opponents thing only seems to go so far. Like, San Antonio was severely depleted against us, but they still had Poetl, aka the kind of rim protector who in the past has given fits to RJ and his mediocre athleticism.)
Having the ball in his hands more thanks to Julius’ struggles
I don’t know if it’s because of Randle’s struggles or not but they seem to be running the offense more through him. He also just seems to be shooting with more confidence and attacking the paint more. And while Randle has struggled, last night at least he really seemed to be making the effort to attack and then dish. The defense has to account for Randle so I think things are opening up for RJ a bit?
RJ is a pretty good playmaker. It makes sense for us to run things through him more.
Also, yeah no KP but Mitch again with a great game. I’m tellin’ ya, Mitch has been so much better recently. He seems to finally be in shape and has some of that skinny Mitch bounce back. Would love to see a bit more variety in his offense but what he is giving us now is light years ahead of what he was doing earlier this season. If Noel is finally healthy, we may FINALLY get to see this elite rim protection all game that we thought we would have. That will shore up our defense and rebounding so much.
IQ wasn’t great last night but overall he is controlling the ball and offense so much better.
I keep saying it. We’ve slowly been righting things these last few weeks. Schedule will get tougher though but honestly, I do not worry about strength of schedule that much. I would much rather we face tough teams and be playing well than face bad teams when we’re not playing well. If you play well, you can beat anyone.
171 replies on “2021-22: Knicks vs. Dallas Knicks”
That got a chuckle.
Go Knicks!!!!
Let’s Go Knicks (East)!
Did anyone mention Noel as a Mav-Knick?
I hope every ex Knick does well… except for kp oh wait he’s not playing!
Allons-y!
They Do Exist:
Loch Ness Monster
Frankenstein
Magnum, P.I.
Non-Catholic Gods
Darth Vader
The Phantom of the Opera
The Beast of Craggy Island
Knickerbocker Joy
i see ya jingling baby 🙂
The Knicks pick and roll …
Come on mitchie baby
Randle should take note of how Fournier handled that double
RJ looking for Mitch twice already. Yes. More please.
Mitch needed to put more pressure on Luka there
Let’s win this game against our old friends of high school. 😀
I fear a luka game
Hope it’s the RJ game!
It’s going to be the Julius game! 😉
Noel weird shot
I used to like doris…now it’s painful
Oh la la, Fournier run to get a rebound !?
Fournier already with three rebounds 😉
EDIT: Four rebounds. CPR staff standing by for some of us.
This is going way too well…
Only if we survive the 3rd quarter. 😛
Clyde, “That’s still a travel, folks.” Hahahaha.
RJ with the 2nd unit is much more fun
Randle playing well so far
Very good first, balanced offense, nice intensity on defense, now keep it up.
Looks like we have Good Julius back. I hope it’s to stay.
Where’s Frank?
Knicks bench looking like shit so far tonight.
I believe Frank is out of the rotation
Zero rhythm on offense, defense a little leaky but they are hitting some jumpers and we are definitely not. Noel needs to get back to old Noel. He doesn’t look himself but I guess to be expected …
Love that sweet Grimes stroke.
Fat doncic backing guys down with his fatness
Now picture super fat Zion backing guys down. LOL
Grimes is a cheat code
Evan seems to have turned it around. that shoulder injury seems to have been legit
Ball movement! I’m passing out…
Pun intended?
Aside from missing Kemba, THIS is perhaps the team Leon envisioned…
boy does rj do dumb shit….he’s not far behind Randle in the bball iq meter…
Why cant Randle do this more
Offense stagnating…
Strong court and PR move by Julius on the same play.
Got me 🙂
Thinking he’s playing up against his hometown team
Man the Mavs even have Theo Pinson
Me too…
Wouldn’t mind to have this Brunson kid. 😉
Nice to have Noel and his blocks back.
I like what I am seeing with Mitch but needs to track the ball handlers a little better. Luka and Brunson pretty tough though.
Well. That half shows some promise.
Love the Noel halfcourt heave, lol
not sure Dallas will shoot 17% from 3 in the 2nd half…invisible 6th and 7th man out there tonight
STOP THE COUNT! 😀
Wonder if Julius is going to take Nerlen to task at halftime for taking a terrible last-second half-time shot instead of letting Julius do it.
Best first half in a while, 13 assists on 20 made baskets, 4 players in double figure, only 3 turnovers.
Consistent effort on D against a strong offensive opponent.
Is Kristaps hurt again?
I think that was my favorite moment of the half … it’s always worth a shot … wish other guys thought that way
Mitch only starter under 10 points (at 6). Evenly distributed 10, 10, 11, 11. This is how it should be.
KP still in protocols
The half half-court heave.
KP is in H&S protocol. Randle seems to be making extra effort last few games to pass to the wing when he is driving and draws a double. Don’t love when he leaves his feet to do so but tonight 3 assists and 0 turnovers.
I know most hate the Burks PG experiment but I can see why Thibs likes on defense. It allows for more switches and doesn’t give the opponent a size advantage as it would if Kemba was there. Plus Burks is a very capable defender and fights over screens.
Breaking out a new half-time incense burning and ceremonial dance ritual to ward off the dreaded 3rd period meltdown.
Dallas starts making 3s and this lead is going to evaporate
Stop doubling Luka in the post.
Solid start here
Mitch! Hey, the rim has feelings too!
dance harder please…
Seriously just let Luka go one on one all night without doubling him.
NOW it’s solid !!!
These dudes are too small to stop Mitchell
Can you imagine if that pass had gone to Nerlen instead of MItch?
whatever you’re doing bing bong hits – keep doing it…
This is the team we wanted all season
mitchinator
Keep doing it in every game!
Best ball movement all year
Puff, puff, puff…fap, tap, tap…
RJ is the best post up player on the Knicks.
Per nerlens … getting hit with a -5 instantaneously !
The Knicks are having the traditional 3rd quarter meltdown… it’s just that it’s the Knicks west! 😛
I had to look to see if Obi had even played yet. But this is the first game in I don’t know when that I won’t complain about the rotation. It’s working, don’t fix it. As compared to it’s broken, stay with it.
Really nice defense with Noel anchoring
THAT’S what it would look like if the pass went to Nerlen instead of Mitch…
here comes bad julius
Not the best game for the Noel is better than Mitch theory.
We get this team every night with Rose back and we can go on a run
Jabbing pins into my Kristaps/Mavs voodoo doll…
Julius …? Really ?
He just can’t help himself, even on a good night…
hoo boy. classic Randle…
Had to do it, to show Noel how it’s done.
LOL
That ship likely sailed now that Mitch has lost the fat and isn’t injured … Knock on wood
LOL
I can’t imagine the coaching staff thinks iso Randle is the high percentage play at the end of a qtr….can they?
Grimes really is something else. His shot just comes off his hands different.
Looks like Rose will be our “new” addition at the deadline 2 years in a row. 😉
See now 2 things Noel does that Mitch typically doesn’t … take a charge and adjust mid flight
Nerlens better than Doncic
BOOM! SHAKALAKA!!!!
Arcidiacono still in street clothes on a 10-day obligatory post
Yeah, the Noel-Mitch debate lives on.
Seriously, Noel hasn’t played in like a month. Give him a chance to fit back in.
Setting aside the shooting, RJ looks healthy and high energy again.
I like the way he was hitting the boards little more in the 1st half. We want him rebounding and making plays more. He has those skills. That way when the shot is not falling, at least he’s doing something out there.
I concur … I’m liking mitch results lately but I still don’t love his overall game / development … Noel is rusty …
I was just joking. Because whenever Mitch plays bad, he’s roasted here.
I thought the layoff might help Nerlens. He’s been playing hurt all year. Maybe the knees, ankles and everything else is finally back in order. We could use the version from last year. Give it a few games.
This is that same suspect lineup Thibs had to call timeout in first half … it’s quite suspect
So this is three games in a row for Barrett. Can we expect DJphan now?
Mitch is roastee because of all the expectations. I want him to be great … Noel we just appreciate him going about his business in business like manner… no nonsense … good Noel is pretty consistent …
Ok get it together guys
Yeah, I thought the 2nd unit would play much better together. Obi flubbing dunks. IQ fouling all over the place. Odd. I mean Kleber is the Mavs’ biggest guy out there, we should have layups and every single rebound.
The unit just doesn’t run like they used to … is it Rose missing ?
Doncic has the Tatum problem where he falls in love with the 3 too much
mitch…coming out party…
After the missed dunk Obi will not play again until February…
There’s a fine line when attempting to comeback with 3s vs. good open shots. They’ve gotten a lot of good open shots that happened to be 3s tonight so we are a bit lucky on both sides of that line … back to .500
Mitch 19 and 9 with 2 blocks. I can live with that…
Brunson actor
Anyone else feel like Doncic sleptwalk through this game? This is the Garden man, put on a show!
Well I still want the Knicks to win lol but disappointed in his performance.
Frank gonna get some burn
Deserves some flak … “star” just taking night off
Luka OLE!
Without doubt, the most “competent” game we’ve played all season. Everything from defense to ball movement to shooting to free throws and even coaching (timeouts/rotations) has been solid. Even the balance of scoring across the team. That’s how it’s done boys.
That RJ contract extension is getting more expensive.
And a nice exclamation point from RJ just as I hit send. 😉
Yeah, think so. Obi missing him in particular.
EDIT: Watching Deuce feed Obi just then makes the point, too.
Frank Frank!
Frank sighting
Lol that Frank three…..
Great win. Knicks are good again, just as we all have been predicting.
Frank!
Now a Frank 3P as the cherry on top
Randle and Mitch with double-doubles.
RJ with 32 and 7.
Nice win. Randle handing the pressure is the most important thing. I’ll sleep well tonight.
Ok, my feet hurt from all that dancing and the haze in here is pretty bad…
Frank, Pinson and the young Knicks hugging it out is nice to see.
aw look how happy everyone is to see Frank
And definitely a good Mitching.
Rebecca does a good job. She has come a long way.
Frank was plus 1 in a game his team lost by 23.
The legend continues, you’re just too dumb to understand.
11 teams in the East at .500 or better.
Good win, most consistent game in months.
RJ with another 30-plus game, Randle better in the first half (5 TO in the 2nd) but solid overall, Mitch a beast on the boards, Burks and Fournier both very consistent.
Good to have Noel back, Grimes belongs, IQ and Obi were a bit off.
And the final scene with RJ hugging Frank was a blast.
Damn, you beat me to it
LOL. But now you gotta do it every game, if we want to be 6th. ;D
Yeah, that was interesting. RJ, Quickley, and Knox seemed real happy to see him. RJ gave him a real big hug.
Anyways, really hoping that this is not just a tease by RJ. Let’s keep it going.
Randle had a bunch of turnovers but more of them seemed to come from him trying to force it inside. I’ll take that over his usual turnovers.
2nd half of the season starts. 1st game on the way to those 50 wins 😉
Great game all around. Let’s keep this going (L10: 7-3). 🙂
I can tolerate the Randle TO’s as long as he gives the effort on D that he did tonight.
Yea if he gets stripped down low or something so be it … he’s supposed to be down there at least …
Doncic has been out of shape, struggling with injuries, and in Covid protocols this season. He’s been a mess all year. It’s Doncic though. So he’s going to make some great plays, pile up boxscore stats, and score lots of points. He always has the ball. But a lot of the time the team looks better with Brunson on the court. The ball moves better. He has plenty of time to get healthy and in shape for the playoffs, but it better start soon. Right now he’s nowhere the player he was last year let alone better.
Agreed. And each of those inside turnovers looked like it was as much on the receiver as Randle.
RJ scored from everywhere tonight … spectacular
Julius’ effort was there tonight, no doubt about it.
He defended well, rarely forced and his turnovers were of the “good” variety.
17-12-8 despite a mediocre shooting night, it shows that he can get his numbers just staying in the flow of the game.
Fournier tried on defense too, took mostly good shots and made a couple of great passes to Mitch.
And honestly RJ played like a star.
Everyone was engaged, ball movement was good, it’s the closest thing to the team I dreamed of at the start of the season.
“That RJ contract extension is getting more expensive.”
Don’t worry. There will be plenty more games with mostly bricks. Then the consensus that week will be to trade him for a bag a rocks rather than bring him back again with a big extension. 🙂
He was great again tonight.
I think some of what we saw tonight was matchups and no KP in the paint. That helped people get closer to the rim because there was no help. But you have to take advantage of the good matchups and situations because sometimes they are tough.
I am digging this poor man’s Draymond Green version of Julius Randle we’re seeing the past couple of games. Just play that defense, collect those boards, pass those dimes Julius and both our offense and defense will see improvement.
RJ was great tonight. If he plays like this every night we can give him the max.
If he plays like this every night, give him the supermax.
Ha. 1992 Jordan, in fact. Although he’s going to have to steal some assists from Randle…
Knicks at .500. RJ & Fournier coming around. Charlotte pick slotted at 20. It’s all coming together boys!!!
I see Kevin Knox failed to score tonight. Was it Frank’s D that shut him down?
Cool that RJ is over his tummy trouble, or whatever it was that Strat said was bothering him all season.
Nice shot of Ntilikina and Knox after the game. It looked like they were talking about being roommates in Dallas next year.
tomorrow’s new york sports page headline:
Bing Bong Hits delivers new york back to .500
The last win was a good win because they had to have it. This was just flat out a very, very good win.
Definitely. We have the same record as the Lakers, but are tied for 10th in the conference instead of tied for seventh.
Was at the game, great ambiance, nary a Julius boo and lots of RJ chants. It was nice having a relatively stress-free game on a weeknight. Mitch was an absoute monster, and it was great seeing Nerlens out there. Fournier playing like we hoped when he was acquired. Only negative was that IQ and Obi didn’t have it on O. It was great that the queasy feeling when Thibs put the starters back in at the end was not a thing this time.
Hopefully RJ and Julius will both keep playing like they did last night, especially at home.
We have 5 more games, before the “road trip of hell”, so it’d be amazing if we go 4-1 in this games to get to 3 games above .500, as Max said in the last thread. I can’t see us going better than 9-13 on that road trip stretch, so this would put us right around at .500 (1 game below). Then in the last 14 games, the schedule gets easier and i think we can go 9-5 or even 10-4. Some teams are already thinking about the playoffs, like BRK in the 3rd to last game.
But even in the best case scenario, i think our ceiling isn’t higher than 7th, most likely we’ll be 9th or 10th.
ATL has dug quite a hole, they’re 6 games below .500.
That’s great to know. I think Julius is adapting to not being “the man”. I hope he builds from this game.
We need both at a high level. The team plays much more comfortably on O when they know Mitch and Noel are going to get a lot of stops on D.
Next stop: ATL. A win there to help derail their season a little more, it’d be some kind of a revenge from the 2021 playoffs.
Dedicated to CDiggy: “Russell Westbrook 2-for-14 as Los Angeles Lakers lose to Sacramento Kings again” 😀
I’ve only gotten to see snippets of these last few games. What’s changed about RJ that has him playing so much better than earlier in the season? Just that his shot is falling again? Having the ball in his hands more thanks to Julius’ struggles and our lack of a traditional point guard? The relative weakness of our opponents? Something else?
(And even the opponents thing only seems to go so far. Like, San Antonio was severely depleted against us, but they still had Poetl, aka the kind of rim protector who in the past has given fits to RJ and his mediocre athleticism.)
I don’t know if it’s because of Randle’s struggles or not but they seem to be running the offense more through him. He also just seems to be shooting with more confidence and attacking the paint more. And while Randle has struggled, last night at least he really seemed to be making the effort to attack and then dish. The defense has to account for Randle so I think things are opening up for RJ a bit?
RJ is a pretty good playmaker. It makes sense for us to run things through him more.
Also, yeah no KP but Mitch again with a great game. I’m tellin’ ya, Mitch has been so much better recently. He seems to finally be in shape and has some of that skinny Mitch bounce back. Would love to see a bit more variety in his offense but what he is giving us now is light years ahead of what he was doing earlier this season. If Noel is finally healthy, we may FINALLY get to see this elite rim protection all game that we thought we would have. That will shore up our defense and rebounding so much.
IQ wasn’t great last night but overall he is controlling the ball and offense so much better.
I keep saying it. We’ve slowly been righting things these last few weeks. Schedule will get tougher though but honestly, I do not worry about strength of schedule that much. I would much rather we face tough teams and be playing well than face bad teams when we’re not playing well. If you play well, you can beat anyone.