[theknickswall.com] — Wednesday, October 5, 2022 7:24:58 AM
Takeaways from the Knicks’ Preseason Opener The Knicks Wall
[www.sportskeeda.com] — Wednesday, October 5, 2022 1:59:36 AM
Who is Isaiah Hartenstein? Evaluating his career trajectory so far in the NBA Sportskeeda
[www.ourmidland.com] — Wednesday, October 5, 2022 12:52:30 AM
Williamson scores 13 points in return after missing season Midland Daily News
[www.nytimes.com] — Wednesday, October 5, 2022 12:01:08 AM
Jeremy Lin Finally Loves ‘Linsanity’ Just As Much as You Do The New York Times
[www.cbssports.com] — Tuesday, October 4, 2022 11:25:23 PM
Knicks’ Julius Randle: Drops 15 in preseason win CBS Sports
[clutchpoints.com] — Tuesday, October 4, 2022 10:31:54 PM
Jalen Brunson gives Aaron Judge shoutout after Knicks debut ClutchPoints
[wtop.com] — Tuesday, October 4, 2022 10:19:41 PM
Barrett leads Knicks to win over Detroit in Brunson’s debut WTOP
[news.yahoo.com] — Tuesday, October 4, 2022 9:57:48 PM
Jalen Brunson scores 16 points in Knicks preseason debut win against Detroit Pistons Yahoo News
[sports.yahoo.com] — Tuesday, October 4, 2022 9:49:00 PM
Detroit Pistons too turnover happy in 117-96 preseason debut loss to New York Knicks Yahoo Sports
[www.postingandtoasting.com] — Tuesday, October 4, 2022 9:22:04 PM
Knicks 117, Pistons 96: Scenes from a fun preseason night at the Garden. Posting and ToastingPistons vs. Knicks: Play-by-play, highlights and reactions Yahoo SportsDetroit Pistons too turnover happy in 117-96 preseason debut loss to New York Knicks Detroit Free PressBarrett, Brunson, Rev Knicks’ Preseason Win over Pistons Sports IllustratedJalen Brunson ready to help Knicks get past last season’s struggles NewsdayView Full Coverage on Google News
[www.si.com] — Tuesday, October 4, 2022 9:21:46 PM
Barrett, Brunson, Rev Knicks’ Preseason Win over Pistons Sports Illustrated
[heavy.com] — Tuesday, October 4, 2022 8:29:00 PM
Proposed Trade Swaps Knicks Guard for Former NBA Champion Heavy.com
[www.si.com] — Tuesday, October 4, 2022 7:15:13 PM
Knicks Preseason Profile: Lean, Clean Derrick Rose Looks To Make MVP Impact Sports Illustrated
[hoopshype.com] — Tuesday, October 4, 2022 5:28:29 PM
Tim Bontemps: The Knicks will start Jalen Brunson, Evan Fournier, RJ Barrett, Julius Randle and Mitc? Hoops Hype
[sports.yahoo.com] — Tuesday, October 4, 2022 4:55:32 PM
Knicks 2022 training camp progress report: What fans should expect? Yahoo Sports
[www.si.com] — Tuesday, October 4, 2022 4:38:51 PM
How the NBA Has Prepped Coach Mike Woodson for Success at Indiana Sports Illustrated
[www.si.com] — Tuesday, October 4, 2022 12:38:46 PM
Tiffany Jackson, Liberty’s 2007 First-Round Pick, Passes at 37 Sports Illustrated
[www.skysports.com] — Tuesday, October 4, 2022 12:07:30 PM
New York Knicks: Fan perspective on the big talking points Sky Sports
[www.sportspromedia.com] — Tuesday, October 4, 2022 11:36:16 AM
New York Knicks choose Sportfive to find new jersey patch sponsor – SportsPro SportsPro Media
[www.sportsbettingdime.com] — Tuesday, October 4, 2022 11:26:00 AM
NBA Preseason Picks & Odds (Oct. 4) ? Pistons vs Knicks, Pelicans vs Bulls & More Sports Betting Dime
[en.as.com] — Tuesday, October 4, 2022 10:43:14 AM
Which NBA teams have the most expensive tickets? Knicks, Lakers, Warriors… AS USA
[www.nba.com] — Tuesday, October 4, 2022 9:00:02 AM
2022-23 Season Preview: New York Knicks NBA.comNew York Knicks 2022-23 NBA preview: Can RJ Barrett become an All-Star? Is Jalen Brunson worth the money? CBS Sports2022-23 New York Knicks preseason roster, schedule, key questions, how to watch, more AMNYObi Toppin Is The Key To Finding Success For New York Knicks Sports IllustratedHow to watch New York Knicks vs. Detroit Pistons: NBA preseason time, TV, live stream syracuse.comView Full Coverage on Google News
105 replies on “Knicks Morning News (2022.10.05)”
The sickness runs so deep that I am somehow more excited to talk about Knicks preseason basketball than Aaron Judge hitting his 62nd bleeping homer.
Thanks for the live impressions Z-Man!
New season, clean slate for everyone, I’m positively impressed with the defensive effort, a lot of unexpected bent knees out there (E4, Randle, even Cam) and with Randle trying to fit in the flow (zero turnovers!).
This team is really deep and if the new bearded coach can manage egos and depth better than his predecessor did last year, we can play spoiler to heralded teams all year long.
And kudos to Aaron Judge for giving us an historical season, what a player.
It’s weird because I want to talk about Henderson V. Wembanyama but it’s the same sickness.
Only saw snatches but RJ and IQ and the German Joker looked good and Deuce is an offensive game away from being a great player.
They will be watchable. It’s fine. If this had been a tank year though I would have been ok with it.
Here is Fangraphs on Judge.
https://blogs.fangraphs.com/aaron-judge-colossus-of-clout/
This is the most important thing to me. At last having a real PG is a win for the offseason to me. And we’re now going to see how having a very good PG will turn everyone around better.
About the other guys, i’ll wait for more preseason games to check how they’re doing, it’s very easy to have a good game and look fantastic, or a bad game and look like a scrub.
“Bojan looks like a square peg in a round hole.”
I suspect Bojan is in Detroit primarily for locker room reasons. They have a very young club. Most coaches believe having a few veterans around helps the very young players stay on track and develop faster. They are probably placing more value on him mentoring young players than worrying about a few extra wins come lottery time. Plus, they can probably flip him for an asset at the deadline.
I missed most of the game, but have seen highlights, including Deuce throwing the cross-court pass to Obi. Was he used on-ball much, or was he again largely camped out on the three-point line while IQ or Brunson ran the offense?
Well last night was probably the apex of our season, with our 3-lefty lineup all playing well and efficiently. But I did manage to catch about 15 minutes of the Wemby-Scoot-fest, and man — those two are awesome. It makes me sad that Danny Ainge is probably going to end up with one of them and that our team is going to try as hard as it can to have the smallest chance of all the non-playoff teams of getting them.
A few things I really liked about the game last night.
1. Evan Fournier. Stats didn’t looks great, but he looked really focused on defense and moving without the ball. This is why we should keep him if we can. He’s out there trying to do whatever the coach needs for him to contribute to winning, and he has an elite level skill that the team needs- shooting.
2. Jalen Brunson looked like he’d been a Knick his whole career. He’s just so poised out there.
3. Adjusting to the Big Lefty Three spacing questions. Many possessions I saw the court shrinking and wondered what Randle, Brunson, and RJ would do to make it work. So far so good. They didn’t really look uncomfortable. And I don’t necessarily think the Pistons’ defense was the cause of that. I think our 3 picked their spots rather intelligently for the first preseason game. Can’t wait to see them build on it.
I also appreciated seeing Quickley in attack mode. Obi and RJ looked really comfortable and confident as well.
Does Thibs’ handling of Rose’s minutes signal a change in his handling of the rotation? Seems like he’s purposely not trying to run Rose into the ground- maybe those changes will leak over to the starters because our bench is really good. Doesn’t hurt that Deuce seems primed to remind folks that he’s still on the roster lol.
Sad to see Cam injured again. That may bode well for re-signing him later at a lower number. But the kid can’t stay healthy enough to seize his opportunities.
Yeah hard to make too much out of one pre-season game against Detroit (but they have such a rosier future than us!).
But still…that was…fun? Yes, it was fun.
Brunson is going to be a god send for us. THE KNICKS HAVE A REAL POINT GUARD WHO ISN’T OLD!
He can score and pass and run an offense. But he’s more than that. He’s just in control and knows what he’s doing at all times and in close game situations that is going to be HUGE for us. Man, if D Rose can stay healthy, our PG rotation is going to be really good.
our center position seems a lock too.
The key will be 3 point shooting. We know Evan can knock ’em down. IQ is good but inconsistent. Rose and Brunson are fine. Hartenstein looks like he might be a good 3 point shooter. The key will be RJ and Randle. The thing is, they are capable of shooting well from 3. Hopefully with Brunson running the show, they’ll get good open looks from deep and will be able to knock them down.
If those 2 shoot decent from 3, we’re going to be a problem.
OK, yeah, I’m making too much out of this. But that was….fun.
First pre season game against a young lottery team doesn’t mean much. I expected us to play well, especially because Thibs tends to have his teams fitter at the start of the season. So I’ll focus on the negatives instead of all the apparent positives.
1. Since most of us don’t think Randle is the long term solution at PF due to spacing needs and other issues, it’s on Obi to prove he is. I didn’t see any reason to think Obi did much work on his outside shooting. That one UFO (or do they call them AFPs now) was pretty embarrassing.
2. Cam started out well and seem engaged, but the shot didn’t drop and then he got hurt “again”. You can’t get better if you are always hurt.
3. Hart did a lot of terrific things, but he looked a little stiff to me at times. Not that I’ve changed my mind, but I think the chances he can win the starting C spot and improve spacing are probably a little lower than I was hoping. He’ll get his chance though. I doubt Mitch will stay healthy all season.
Other than that, Brunson was as good as advertised, we played well as a team on both sides, and Mitch looked like he’s been working on expanding his skills a bit (which is great). I saw some of the same strengths and weaknesses from everyone else.
I’m also hoping that Thibs sees the light this year with our depth and uses that to our advantage. I think he might do it this year. IQ and Obi are now 3rd year players. The knock on Thibs is he won’t play young players. It’s not really true but it does seem like they have to earn his trust and he takes an old school approach to minutes allocation when it comes to young players, bringing them along slowly and upping their minutes each season. So with IQ and Obi now being 3rd year players, McBride not a rookie. Grimes not a rookie, etc. Maybe he’s going to be a little more willing to give those guys more minutes and rest Randle, RJ and D Rose more.
But he’s going to be REALLY tempted to play Brunson a ton of minutes. Hopefully McBride can show some real promise in preseason and can work into the rotation. Maybe give D Rose some nights off from time to time and limit how much he plays per game.
I was close to where Reddish appeared to come up lame. (Corner baseline on the Knick bench side.) There was no one even around and he was grabbing more for his groin or quad than his ankle. He was limping around pretty badly, Thibs asked him if he was ok, Cam waved him off with a “yeah, I ain’t giving up my minutes,” Thibs body-languaged him a bit but left him in.
After that he had no lift at all and was clearly laboring. It’s possible of course that he rolled his ankle somewhere prior, but don’t be surprised, if the truth is ultimately told, that it settles as a pulled or strained groin or quad. Dude seems to be just injury-prone.
Cam seems a bit equivalent to Toney on the Giants: tantalizing talent that manifests itself only in fits and starts, in part due to lots of injuries. It stinks, both for Cam and for the team that foolishly traded for him.
Brunson’s a nice player. He and Barrett are decent building blocks, guys you can envision playing serious roles on really good teams.
Jalen really isn’t a distributor, though, so it’s hard to see how Randle fits in. For purely basketball reasons, he shouldn’t be featured above RJ, rendering him surplus to requirements.
Geo-
RE: our nerd stuff from the thread before the game thread
D&D: My son actually does both, but he kinda prefers the board game. Which reminds me of what kept me drawn into season 4 of Stranger Things- apart from the fact that it’s a dope story in general. But I LOVED how they made The Hellfire Club so integral to the plot. Growing up, I wasn’t really into that side of things, but I was never far from it.
Elder Scrolls: my son loves that and Skyrim. I haven’t gotten into either because I haven’t had the time or energy to immerse myself in it. I’ve taken brief jaunts..but I’m scared that if I immerse myself in it, I’ll get lost. Those 2 worlds are so rich. But- I am also a gamer. Though, I haven’t played anything new since the new consoles were released being that I am a console gamer and hasn’tyet gotten a hold of a Series X. My son has moved to PC. I was last into PC gaming and mods in between 20 & 30. Being 45 now, I just cheer on the new Gen lol. I still desperately want to play Cyberpunk- which has a pretty decent adaptation on Netflix btw. I thought the game was fairly true to the source material from what I’ve seen.
I also wanna go back and get into the Halo graphic novels after being teased by the show which showed the Chief’s face WAY too much. But the biggest thing I’m waiting on is the RE4 remake. Holy shit that’s gonna be dope af in their new graphics engine
Oh..and I’m also waiting for the Dead Space remake
Hart’s 3 point shot looked pretty good. Not sure if that’s just because it went in but he took them in rhythm and didn’t seem to hesitate.
>I’m also hoping that Thibs sees the light this year with our depth and uses that to our advantage.<
He should take a lesson out of George Karl's playbook. Karl won 57 games with a Denver team whose best player was arguably Gallinari. He knew he had perhaps the deepest team in the NBA. The idea was to run, run, run, attack the basket, and wear the other team down. Then hit them with another wave of fresh very good players that would do the same thing until the other team crashed. Of course he also had one of the fittest teams in the NBA playing in thin air in Denver where road teams would struggle, but playing fast makes sense when you are deep. The only problem is that the game changes in the playoffs, slows down, rotations get shorter and depth means less. Executing in the half court in the playoffs is a worry for later.
+1
Spot on comp, let’s hope he hear you.
Joel Embiid might play for France in 24. That might make things a little spicy if VW turns out to be the real deal.
Re Deuce I only watched bits of the game. He looked like himself on offense.
Thing about Deuce is that his shot looks fine in the G-League. I’m not giving up on it just yet.
E, I was in section 109, would have been funny if we bumped into each other and didn’t know it…
Two other observations: first, the Aaron Judge moment was classy, nice job by MSG, and second, the bootleg PA announcer made you realize how good Mike Walczewski is and how different the game is without him. It’s similar to watching a broadcast without Breen or Clyde.
Also, are the Knicks City Dancers not a thing anymore?
Scoot Henderson is going to make some All-NBA teams and quickly
Alan, Deuce was off-ball most of the game when he was wreaking havoc, played point the last few minutes when the super-scrubs were out there and he did not look fantastic then (although his scrubby-scrub teammates were all going mad iso every time they touched the ball in a desperate and mostly futile effort to stand out).
I must say, after Deuce the bench mob really falls off a cliff. Harris, Keels, Hunt, Cam, Obi, IQ, Rose, none of them can carry his jock…
Did Deuce change his shot at all? It looks different to me, but maybe I’m misremembering.
0-4 in the halfcourt… 3-3 & 1/2 FTs on transition dunks/layups off his own steals.
I think it was Harris who had some pretty egregious me-first play on both sides.
But Deuce didn’t really get into the paint either from what I can recall. Definitely looking at him like a SG, which I can live with since he averages over 9stls/36
I’m not all that worried about Deuce’s shot. What I do worry about is his complete lack of burst and footwork with the ball, he just can’t seem to get by anyone off the dribble or do anything particularly crafty in the lane. But he can do enough PG stuff with the right guys on the court with him to be a combo guard.
I also think he racked up a bunch of steals against young players who don’t know how to protect the ball. He’s really good both on and off the ball, but not good enough to account for his lack of offense because he’s undersized. Killian Hayes shot right over him a couple of times, and he is so predictable going left it was purely a size thing. He’s got to hit some 3’s and has the makings of a pull-up game from 10-15 feet…maybe Brunson and Rose can help with his footwork in the paint.
Glad I have this blog to give some colour as I did not watch the game, just saw the box score which had me worried. Julius hoisted 10 shots in 18 minutes while Mitch and Evan managed 6 shots in a combined 36 minutes. That ratio has got to change.
Mitch has yet to miss a shot (expected) and RJ has yet to miss a FT (unexpected!).
Scoot versus Wenbanyama was just as good as advertised, both really looked like blue chip, 1st overall pick type of players. I wasn’t expecting much particularly out of Scoot but he impressed me a lot, whoever gets the 2nd overall pick is drafting a hell of a talent.
I second the idea of the George Karl Nuggets, as I think this Knicks team will struggle the most when the game slows down and they have to play half court against good defenses, because no one on this team is a reliable iso scorer. Brunson can do it in spurts, Randle might do it a bit if he recovers his form, but that’s it really. The best version of this team would be if the defense holds together well and we play mostly on transition. I’m mildly excited, which is a welcome feeling.
I don’t think we learned much last night, but it reinforced my opinion that Brunson is probably the best overall player we’ve had since prime Melo. That of course says more about what our rosters have looked like since then than it does about Brunson, but it really feels like forever since we’ve had an unambiguously good player like him.
Wembanyama and Henderson…I mean what is there even left to say? I saw basically no identifiable weaknesses from Scoot, and yet I wouldn’t even think of taking him first, nor would I entertain any package to trade down from the first pick to the second in this draft.
It’s obviously unlikely any prospect hits their literal ceiling, but I can’t even fathom a 90th or above percentile outcome for Wembanyama. Durant meets Giannis meets Gobert?
Is it too late to trade every half-decent player on our roster and see how the Westies hold up in the NBA?
Is it too late to trade every half-decent player on our roster and see how the Westies hold up in the NBA?
Here we completely agree but only with a frozen envelope
I have to say again, the sheer size of Mitch really stood out. He looked like a man among boys.
France with Frank + Joel would be A PROBLEM
Am I the only one seeing strong some parallels between this Wemby-Scoot dynamic at the top of the draft and the one we had a couple years ago with Zion & Ja?
The presumptive first overall pick being a complete physical freak mold-breaker who’s such a “1 of 1” player that generating comps is basically meaningless and that imagining how he might look in the NBA kind of leaves your mind reeling. And then in stark contrast to that you have the presumptive second pick who’s a straight from central casting lead guard that’s pretty much plug and play into your most basic NBA offense.
Even their weaknesses kind of line up – the #1 overall pick is dogged by some concerns about whether his body can hold up due to his frame or whether he’ll be perennially injury prone, and the #2 pick has some questions around his jump shot.
The joints and tendons and ligaments of freaks of nature like Wenbanyama tend to disappoint.
Brunson looks great. Could rival Chandler as my favorite player we have acquired. Leaving the win curve out of it.
VW is hard to believe. He seems unlikely to grow into his body the way Giannis did. Durant seems like the better comp. It’s remarkable someone that tall can shoot that well. I agree injuries are a major issue but I am going to enjoy stanning him while I can.
Wembanyama seems more physically developed than Chet, more like Ralph Sampson iirc. Chet otoh just seems to have almost no muscle development.
What bothers me about VW is the very long, skinny legs with high knees. They seem very vulnerable to knee injuries from smaller, bulkier players barreling into them. He also seems to jump really high for a guy his size, which puts them at even more risk. Kareem was on the skinny side but had a much stronger and proportional base.
So VW might be one of the most dominant players the league has ever seen if he can keep those knees from melting down. You just have to take him at #1, damn the cartilage!
I must’ve been missing for a lonnnnnng time. Love the new look! Sad that my username was expunged. Glad it wasn’t taken 🙂 It’s a new season and yes, I’m back. It’s tiring reading dumb crap everywhere else.
I really like where this team is at right now. I really do. The entire Donavan Mitchel saga was tiring. I was firmly against giving up so much for one player. I feel good about what we didn’t do because of this team. It was the wrong time to pull off a trade. We weren’t negotiating from a position of strength.
There are a number of players that have higher ceilings to realize this season. RJ and Julius are coming off down years (RJ’s PPG were up but all of his shooting % were down). Rose was hurt. The
This team is very deep but has no established super-stars. There are 13 players that should be playing significant minutes. We all know that’s impossible. This is a collection of players who are at worst C+ and at best A-. The bulk are B’s. If a few players take a step, we could be in the right position to trade 4 players and 4 picks for a major superstar.
Brunson, RJ, Fournier, Julius and Mitch, are fully under team control for two more years after this season. Then in 2025-26 Fournier is a UFA. That is one solid base that gets to continue to gel together.
Maybe I’m dreaming, but my crystal ball says that RJ will become a true top-20 player and that Julius will be right there with him. I see a stronger and more polished Mitch Robinson. Brunson gives us a true, reliable point guard. Fournier played like a champion in Europe over the summer. The second team of Rose, IQ, Grimes, Obi and IHart could be a starting-5 in this league. Sims, Cam and Deuce are afterthoughts but deserve significant PT.
I predict that the Knicks trade four young 2nd/3rd team players plus a collection of picks to a non-contender for a superstar at the trade deadline. Without the trade the Knicks are a 40-win team. With such a trade? Hmmmm.
An open question, what true superstar do you think might come available?
I don’t think Brunson needs to be a traditional “distributor” type of PG to be inordinantly valuable to this team. He just needs to be the brain and the pulse of the team. There are lots of ways to do that without racking up double-digit assists. I think he will have his share of high-assist outings but what’s far more important is that Julius and RJ see that he always makes the most favorable play given the situation. Tilt and spread the defense; take advantage of mismatches, generate wide-open looks and attack seams and imbalances to get high percentage looks; ride the hot hand…that’s the way that the early ’70s Knicks played. No one cared about numbers, only about winning, and yet guys got their numbers anyway. Everyone in the starting lineups on those teams could iso, and they often did situationally, but almost never to the detriment of the team.
So I hope people don’t expect RJ and Julius not to iso at all. Of course there are going to be many times when they fail to score, and even look bad trying to do so. It’s more about when and how often. It’s also about having a varied offense with many ways to go and lots of tempos to play at.
And if Mitch can play like he did last night, he will clean up on Kobe assists. He’s gonna be very tough to keep off of the offensive boards. Guys just bounced off of him last night. I’d like to see him tip balls out more when he doesn’t have position, though, like Tyson used to.
“Does Thibs’ handling of Rose’s minutes signal a change in his handling of the rotation?”
I think Rose could see 15 minutes one night 10 another and sit every 3rd game. Playing him less and giving his knees time to recover, is smart. I think he’s a really important Knick to have healthy in the playoffs. If he’s smart, he accepts that. He can play 42 minutes in game 7 of the NBA finals.
“Maybe I’m dreaming, but my crystal ball says that RJ will become a true top-20 player and that Julius will be right there with him.”
You’re definitely dreaming 🙂
Top-40 is more realistic, and that would be a great outcome. Or more accurately, if RJ, Julius, Brunson and Mitch could all be top-10-15 starters in their respective roles, and Fournier top 15-20, this team will be incredibly fun to watch and may make some noise. If those things happen, I would put them in the same tier as TOR, MIA and ATL. That’s probably the hard ceiling of this team, but I would sign up for that right now.
Yeah Z-Man, I got the same feeling about Brunson watching the starters: he doesn’t need to be a John Stockton-style pass-first traditional PG to benefit the offense a lot. When the ball is in his hands, good things tend to happen even if he is not a guy who is going to rack up a 40+ AST%.
Brunson handling the ball means less of Randle and RJ handling the ball, and fewer of those hopeless forays into the paint that end in low-percentage bricks.
If there was one thing that was disappointing yesterday, it was that the Knicks’ perimeter defense looked a little soft. It was only game one of the preseason and the game had a ragged pickup quality to it, but it seemed like the Pistons got off a lot of open looks from 3.
Can someone point me to the online markup manual?
If anyone feels particularly confident, Brunson is +2300 to win most improved on Fan Duel. (Bet $10, make $230).
RJ +2100 (bet $10, make $210).
You know, if we want to go full degenerate gambling site.
Betting on the Knicks, what could go wrong?!
I would love to see Brunson getting less than 30 mpg, Rose somewhere between 15-20, and ample time for IQ and Deuce. While obviously Brunson and Rose are the closest to pure PGs that we have, all four of those guys are really combo guards, and IQ and Deuce have enough lead guard chops to slot in there for short stints.
I am trying not to get too excited about last night. Our only real preseason test will be game 4 vs. the Wiz. They have a very legit rotation and could surprise just as much as we could. Until then, this is all fluff, but what the hell, let’s enjoy the fluff!
I’m proud to have already degened and bet (separately) on Jalen averaging more than 20 PPG and Jalen winning MIP. I think the line on the latter is a little too generous.
I also bet the over on the Knicks and Pacers (a line of 23.5 for that team just seems transparently wrong) and the under on Chicago, ATL, and GSW
Markup Guide:
Replace the ‘]’ with ‘>’ to close and ‘[‘ with ‘<' to open.
Doing the close 1st to avoid text in-between disappearing.
________
Quote: [blockquote] *quote* [/blockquote]
Link: [a href="*link address*"] *text you want link to show as* [/a]
Bold: [strong] *Bold text* [/strong]
Italics: [em] *Italicized text* [/em]
Welcome back GoNYGoNy and all the other regulars who took the summer off. It will be great to hear some different perspectives.
I agree depth is our strength and Thibs needs them to play hard and fast at both ends. If they do that, this season will be a lot of fun. Duece, Cam, and Sims are all situational at best and need more development. I’m sure Duece and Sims can handle that, I hope Cam can as well.
I’ll also say that a healthy Zion probably runs away with MIP.
It’s not about whether Jalen improves, it’s about whether another player could improve more.
“If there was one thing that was disappointing yesterday, it was that the Knicks’ perimeter defense looked a little soft. It was only game one of the preseason and the game had a ragged pickup quality to it, but it seemed like the Pistons got off a lot of open looks from 3.”
Yeah, I noticed that too and remarked to my son about it during the game.
I’ll be honest, it’s hard for me to tell what “defending the 3” looks like any more. The Pistons took 41 3’s, the most taken of any team that played last night, only 1 of the 8 that played had less than 30 (Bulls had 27). It’s hard to know what a “contested 3 rate” should be on a good defensive team. The Pistons shot 31.7% so were they just missing? Were they taking 3’s from lower % spots? Were the wrong players taking them? Were they more geared towards stopping penetration by Cade and Ivey?
A defense is always going to give up something, so I couldn’t tell which open 3’s were more by design and which were about poor defense.
I said this yesterday but the starters made a very concerted effort to get out in transition, and Mitch was very much engaged in that effort. He made some long passes that I don’t recall seeing much of in prior years. There was also that highlight reel play where Mitch emphatically blocked a shot. Brunson wound up with the ball and in one quick motion threw a 3/4 court outlet to Julius, who must have released on the shot, for an easy dunk. That was one of the most important sequences of the night for me.
Obi aside, we do not have a ton of speed on this team. (Even Quickley doesn’t quite live up to his name, but seems like he does because he’s constantly in motion.) And that may ultimately prevent us from going full Karl/Gallo Nuggets. But at least for one night, they walked the walk in addition to talking the talk. If a conscious effort to play faster moves us from near the bottom of the league in pace to, say, 20th (or, we should hope, middle of the pack), then that’s a huge thing to go alongside our defense.
But, man, I just want Victor or Scoot. It’s a bummer that we won’t have a shot at them barring utter catastrophe.
Cam looks so good in highlights, but last night reminded me of why it will probably never work with him.
Aside from being injury prone, he just doesn’t have it between the ears. He makes a great play or two but eventually just lapses into playground-style ball.
I just don’t believe he’s ever going to put it all together. That trade should never have been made (unless there was a plan to flip him), but now I think we should try to move him asap, maybe as a sweetener since he probably won’t get us a 1st back.
re: pace, I’d surely like to see us play more in transition, but not sure how that will affect our pace numbers relative to the rest of the league. I still expect us to be methodical in the half-court, far from a 7SoL kind of team. I’m more concerned with the kinds of shots we take in the halfcourt and the impact on efficiency. Ultimately there are only going to be so many transition opportunities against teams that know how to get back on D, and those games will come down to half-court execution. But we seem to be very capable of being a hard-nosed, in-shape, physical team with excellent bench depth. I see transition as more of a way to wear other teams’ starters down than a significant component of our starting unit’s scoring. The bench is another story!
Thanks Early Bird for the markup!
@Z–man
RJ’s numbers
20/21:
FG% 44.1; FT% 74.6; 3pt% 40.1; Usg% 23.4; PPG 17.6; PER 13.50
21/22:
FG% 40.8; FT% 71.4; 3pt% 34.2; Usg% 27.6; PPG 20.0; PER 13.72
I want to see what his numbers look like if his efficiency continues to improve and he his shooting percentages match or exceed 2020/21. I can see a 25-27 ppg, 4 assist, 6.5 TRB season. But you’re probably right.
As for Randle, I was impressed by the way he collected himself after a crappy start and righted the ship.
He’s probably never going to be all-NBA again, but if he can just adjust and become what this team needs—a 3&D rebounder who can push the pace after a defensive board—then I coils be ok with him starting.
The biggest thing for him will be hitting open threes. If he can do that at even a 36% clip, that would be huge.
That said, it’s still early, obviously. Randle and Fournier both showed good energy on D in game 1 but let’s see if they’re still doing that at game 20. I’m hesitant to believe the energy will still be there.
Re: Wemby and Scoot, yes they both look amazing, but I also think Amen Thompson is the real deal. Bookmark this post!
GNYGNYG It’s more that being a top-20 player is a really high bar.
Jokic, Giannis, Luka, Embiid, Steph, Durant, Butler, Lillard, Tatum, LeBron, AD, Kawhi, PG13, Booker, Ja, Trae, Zion, KAT, Harden, Spida, Bam, Ingram, Siakam, Beal, Gobert, DeRozan…there’s just so many players to pass to even sniff the top 20. But if you look at the top 40, there is some lower hanging fruit to displace. Realistically, if both RJ and Randle are even in the top 60, that would be a very favorable outcome.
It’s important to keep in mind that both guys aren’t really paid like top-20 players not on rookie deals, so just playing to their contracts would be enough for me to be optimistic. Same with Brunson.
I’m totally rooting for Cam, but I question whether he’s explosive enough to put it all together. What really separates a lot of guys is whether they can athletically gather at NBA speed in order to get off a stepback or similar shot. Jordan, Harden, Kobe — those guys do quick moves and fakes and hesitations, then they stop on a dime, then they efficiently and quickly gather, and only then do they shoot. When they’re done hesitating and faking and gesticulating and gathering, they’ve created space and they’re athletically in position to shoot an essentially normal shot.
The Cams of the world have the right idea in their head, they know that generating offense like the Hardens of the world is the way to stardom, and they even properly conceptualize the types of movements they need to do it. Cam Reddish knows that a really good offensive player can go behind the back or through the legs to get space, stop, step back a tad, and shoot. But when Cam Reddish tries it, he doesn’t get as much space and it all just takes too long and, unlike the greats, when he’s done with all that stuff, he’s not shooting the basketball the way he shoots it in warmups or in pickup games, because ultimately he’s not really moving and gathering himself at NBA speed.
This reality I don’t think he’s conceptualized and I doubt has much of a clue about. If he’s been told or coached on the point, he’s likely cast the idea off as a little beneath him and retreated to the comfort of what he can do with a basketball when there’s no one around or when it’s being played at pickup pace.
He needs to spend almost all his training time improving his explosion and almost all his basketball training time working on doing at NBA speed the things he’s capable of doing with a basketball. He misses a lot of shots because when he shoots in traffic or on the move or off the dribble he doesn’t stop and gather effectively at NBA speed. At a split second slower than NBA speed, he absolutely, positively can shoot a basketball through a basket very well. Unfortunately, they don’t play NBA games at that speed.
“a 3&D rebounder who can push the pace after a defensive board”
If this team wants to win in the 40’s, he needs to be significantly more than that. He has to be a medium-high usage player at medium-high efficiency.
I agree that somewhere in the mid-30s on 3’s is very important to achieving that goal. But he definitely has to be a volume scorer on this team, not just a 3-and-D guy. It’s really a question of whether he can become one at reasonable efficiency. Same with RJ. For better or worse, that’s the bed that Leon has made.
I’m with E on his Cam critique. He’s sort of like a rich man’s Kevin Knox. The game is just too fast for his current skills/physical package. He also seems to have very limited situational awareness. I could see him being better later in his career, kind of like Wiggins, but he has a long way to go to get there.
I really think he needs time in the G-League, sort of like Timmy did. Let him get to the point where he dominates down there every night. If he the star he thinks he is, prove it down there.
Apologize for the posting frenzy, it’s raining and I’m bored!
re: Julius, the most important thing I saw last night was that he seemed to accept not being the primary leader on the floor. He still went iso at times, but it was much more in the flow of the game. That’s what I hope to see consistently as the games start meaning something.
It's actually not about whether Jalen improves, but whether Jalen increases his PPG more than another player can improve his.
“ If this team wants to win in the 40’s, he needs to be significantly more than that.”
I don’t think we are thinking that differently, but he can’t be forcing face-up, one-on-one moves or trying too many drive passes aside from kick-outs. He just isn’t that guy.
Randle is who he is at this point and that’s not a bad player, but he shouldn’t be a prominent ball handler. The one play where he got the ball at around 12 feet from the basket, did one power dribble, and faked his way to a basket should be his scoring pattern (aside from threes).
Idk, maybe that makes him a “medium-usage player”? Honestly, I think the brunt of the inside scoring should be on Brunson/Barrett, but Randle can obviously help there and with cuts to the basket, scoring in a variety of ways.
I guess I’m thinking a “Marcus Morris-plus” type player, which is really around what he’s paid to be. So yeah, more than a basic 3&D guy but the 3 and D definitely need to be there or else he’s a poor fit.
And re: Cam, he should accept that he’s a 3&D guy and hone those skills.
He’s a great shooter but needs to learn to move better without the ball like Fournier does to get more open threes. And he’s a pretty good man defender but needs to be a lot more aware as a help defender.
Like E said, all the other stuff is not in his bag (he’s also a terrible rebounder, which maybe makes him more of an oversized 2 than a 3.)
One thing about that Nuggets team, they were 38-3 at home while playing under .500 on the road. They were able to run and wear teams down playing at altitude but not really so on the road.
Z–man:
I get that the top-20 bar is high. Two years ago Randle was top 10 (argue all you want, but the definition I use is all-NBA 2nd team). I think RJ’s ceiling is much higher than Randle. He’s a 22-year old 3-year vet and just approaching his prime. The gamble is that he has that break-out season. Betting on that for this year is a long-shot but it’s not out of the question. I can see RJ ousting a number of those players you listed from the top-20. I think his ceiling is NBA all-star starter.
Ess-Dog:
Why not? He’s still in his prime, in good shape and is not dealing with the stress of having a newborn. (I became a Grandpa this year and watching my son stressing out with his most-excellent, precious son, reminds me of how hard it can be). I’m looking for how Brunson helps Randle out. Brunson > Burks by a lot!
E, all merc’d out:
Interesting analysis of Cam’s game. I really haven’t seen enough of it to judge. My judgement was that the Knox for Cam was a very even trade. My flotsam for your jetsam. He’s a player that needs to go to a team that is looking to develop players.
“I don’t think we are thinking that differently, but he can’t be forcing face-up, one-on-one moves or trying too many drive passes aside from kick-outs. He just isn’t that guy.
Randle is who he is at this point and that’s not a bad player, but he shouldn’t be a prominent ball handler. The one play where he got the ball at around 12 feet from the basket, did one power dribble, and faked his way to a basket should be his scoring pattern (aside from threes).”
It seems that we actually are thinking differently. I think he actually IS that guy, but just not THE guy. He needs to do many of the things he did both last year and the year before, just to a lesser and more cerebral degree.
And that is where Brunson comes in. He can score just as well and as often as Julius ever could, if not more. But if he did, defenses would tilt to stop him and he’d get swallowed up just as much as Julius did last year (and in the playoffs vs. ATL.) Brunson doesn’t really force the issue, he takes what the defense gives him and is great at recognizing points of leverage. When Julius does that, he’s a force. When he doesn’t, he’s pretty easy to defend.
For this team to win in the 40’s, I don’t expect Julius’s usage to drop into the very low 20’s. Maybe 26 or 27%, but no lower than that. I just expect that his shot profile will change. More transition buckets, more spot-ups, more drives to the basket in 1-on-1 situations, more FTs. I also expect that he will commit fewer turnovers. And I expect that he will be a more engaged defensive player. I’d like to see Thibs keep him down to 30-32 minutes or so, with less minutes on nights where Obi has it going.
We’ve always said Randle is more of a 3rd option. This year he should at least be down to the 2nd option. That, a PG, and some shooting regression could be enough to make hin valuable.
I question his commitment once the actual games start and the offense bogs down.
Also, on one highlight of Brunson driving, Mitch was running up to the FT line AKA out of the paint. If he spends less time out of the paint the spacing should be much better. May be tied to being in shape this year after sitting in a cast all last offseason?
Another highlight showed Brunson using his go to post spin after driving. Mitch was in the paint but it didn’t matter. So at least Brunson has the tools to score in a crowded paint.
“argue all you want, but the definition I use is all-NBA 2nd team”
In my book he was not a top-10 player that year, and probably not top-20. Regardless, it was a quirky year, and I think this year’s top-20 will be deeper than that year’s.
The larger point is, we are both hoping that he and RJ move significantly up the player ranking ladder. Top-40 is good enough for me!
“We’ve always said Randle is more of a 3rd option. This year he should at least be down to the 2nd option.”
I see the most favorable outcome for this team is to actually not have a designated first option, but for Randle, Brunson, and RJ to be options 1a, 1b and 1c, and for Brunson to control whoever is the first option on any given night.
Cam is like Knox in that any physical contact completely discombobulates them. He needs to get a whole lot stronger.
Watching Mitch last night I think he’s going to have a Chandler-like year defensively and step up to elite level. I miss pogo stick Mitch blocking three pointers but his positioning is so much better than it used to be and he’s learned how to impact shots without necessarily blocking them. And he’s smarter with his hands- much less swiping and more just using his length to disrupt things. I like Hart but Mitch takes up so much space defensively it’s hard to see Thibs making a switch.
You don’t need fast players to play fast. All of these dudes are fast NBA players.
A half court pass is faster than even the fastest point guard dribbling the ball up court by himself. And even then if Brunson gets the ball and is crafty, a guy like him can go coast to coast and score with his craftiness. Transition basketball isn’t about having fast players. It’s about the defense creating turnovers/getting stops and sharing the ball down the court quickly with passing.
https://nypost.com/2022/10/04/rj-barretts-theory-on-why-he-and-knicks-dont-get-respect/
the headlines never really match up well with the article in the post, i.e., his theory is not really outlined very well…
Jokic isn’t fast enough to be good on the fast break?????
Finally got around to looking at the box score, and one thing that stood out was 1) Barrett leading the team in scoring with 21, yet I never really noticed him scoring, which likely meant he was doing it in the flow for a change; and 2) Barrett going 8-14 overall, and 3-5 from three, along with 2-2 from the line. 57/60/100% is fairly decent efficiency, yes?
I know, first pre-season game. And against a bunch of kids. Still, better than a sharp stick in the eye, which was what watching Barrett last year often felt like.
I’m starting to think we could have three guys scoring right at 20 pts/game this year. Which is similar to Z–Man’s comment about 1a, 1b, and 1c.
Jowles, not sure what your comment means, exactly.
Jokic is an amazing passing. Good passing is just as important as having “fast” players. Almost all of these dudes can run pretty fast in short bursts when needs be. Playing in transition is about getting stops and creating turnovers and pushing the ball up the court quickly. Yeah, if you have Ja Morant that helps because he can be a one man fast break just by zooming up the court with the ball. But a guy grabbing a rebound and throwing an outlet pass up the court is just as fast.
And when you got 2 on 1, 3 on 2 fast break opportunities, it isn’t about how fast your guys are. Are they making the correct passes to throw off the defense that is back peddling.
“One thing about that Nuggets team, they were 38-3 at home while playing under .500 on the road. They were able to run and wear teams down playing at altitude but not really so on the road.”
I mentioned that as a factor when I brought them up, but I still think it’s the right strategy for a deep team. Even if you normalized it for the Denver altitude home advantage, they would still be a pretty good team with Gallo as arguably their best player.
It may be pointless to keep debating about Cam.
My main reason for wanting to give him more time, aside from the occasional flashes of talent, is that his development has been badly interrupted by injuries going all the way back to college. So whatever his is now, IMO he would be better if he had stayed reasonably healthy and gotten more time in the gym and on the court. Despite the injuries he has been inching forward. So there is “something” there. But at a certain point even these non serious injuries are going to prevent him from becoming the player he should have been. Whether he is injury prone or just has had bad luck, he’s not going to get where he has to go like this. He’s not the first Knicks player or ex Knicks player whose development was stalled or limited by injuries.
triggered…
ha, still reading through the thread, got to your post…very cool…
I’m still a console guy, spend too much time working on a computer to wanna game there too…
I think maybe I might just be going through some period where gaming just isn’t grabbing my interest too much…
you did mention something that got me excited: Dead Space…
one of the most surprisingly fun games I ever played…
thing I likes most about it were getting attacked from above by creatures crawling on the ceiling…very few games do that…such a blast…
the halo comics should be pretty fun…
very cool to see the growth of graphic novels continue to spread…
thanks EB…love the avatar…
that’s interesting E, during the broadcast at the beginning of the second quarter you could see cam clutching his groin area and limping pretty clearly…
yeah, he didn’t wanna come out but was comprised at that point…
Watching the game now
1Q
Brunson means business
Balls moves faster
Well paid Mitch looks more confident
early on during a break in game action you could see julius, excited and engaged talking in evian’s ear on the way off the court…
the moment just made it seem like julius was excited and wanted to share whatever he was “seeing” out on the court…
evian didn’t really move his head, just kept heading to the bench…
later on in the game there was some physical play, think a foul had been called…julius was again kind of amped up and started talking, prop joe junior just walked right by while he was talking…
I remember that scene in Apocalypse Now, when Lance is hanging out with the dog and tripping on acid, when Martin Sheen asked the grenadier: hey soldier, do you know who’s in command here and the soldier simply replies – yeah…
yes, I fully believe proposition joe junior knows exactly who is in charge…
2Q
2nd Unit is electric
Cam is active but not very smart
D ain’t perfect yet but seems veeery promising
3Q
Playing intense D while up30p in a preseason game is a great sign
It was between that and Tweety Bird.
Mostly just don’t like the minecraft character, can’t tell which comments are mine. I end up scrolling past where I last posted and rereading extra the same posts a hundred times
Jowles, not sure what your comment means, exactly.
I was agreeing
I don’t bother arguing anymore — I’m pretty sure one of our regulars is actually Jordan Peterson and another is my conspiracy theorist compulsive gambler ex-friend who thinks Kyrie was right all along and that his sister had a miscarriage from being vaccinated (and apparently has become an unofficial MD/PhD in the past 3 years)
I can’t hang with the likes of them (and Ben Shapiro got banned a couple years ago but that’s not reason enough to spar)
4Q
Some delightful garbage time
Conclusion:
When your highest paid player is committed to fast moving teamball while also playing body sacrificing D you just follow him.
49Wins
Also when the Most Valuable and presumably Star chasing team of the league decides to be upgraded with guys like Hartenstein and Brunson you should start believing that the scouting department is not how it used to be.
I don’t really care if Julius is 1st or 3rd (or whatever) on the team in shots just having Brunson be able to unsettle defenses should be a huge upgrade on what we had last year. Randle had 2 problems last year-he missed a bunch of open shots he’s usually pretty good at making and he took a ton of fucking stupid shots in the teeth of the defense. Part of the latter was him being stubborn/stupid/bad coaching/etc but part of it was the Knicks offense having nobody who could make a defense have to react. Even if Jalen isn’t John Stockton just giving the ball to guys against a defense that is scrambling or recovering should be a huge boost for the offense.
I’m skeptical as usual on Brunson having an impact on RJ and Randle’s efficiency because I still hold the opinion that players are largely responsible for their own efficiency in the grand majority of cases, and playing with better or worse players doesn’t alter that much, but that’s an arcaic knickerblogger debate that I’m not particularly keen on reigniting.
I do believe, however, that simply introducing Brunson will make our lineups much more coherent than the monstrosity we were running last season, with Alec Burks and Kemba as the PGs, which should theoretically put Randle in a role much better suited for him. Just not having him bring the ball up the court every other possession should help already, and if he understands and adapts to a role where he finishes plays more than he starts, then there is hope for a more efficient Randle. RJ on the other hand simply has to become a better shooter and a better finisher at the rim, and that’s more on him than playing with a true Point Guard or anything else. Yes, the improved spacing might help a bit, but it’s on him to show he can be a volume scorer on at least decent efficiency.
I have come to believe that there are a select group of elite players (Luka, Steph, Jokic, Prime Harden, Prime Westbrook) that can drastically improve looks for their teammates but most ball handlers are interchangeable. Gary Payton Jr., for one, will continue to be an elite perimeter defender but he’s going to see a huge drop in efficiency when he is taking jumpers instead of cutting on every other possession.
If you play next to MJordan you won’t turn to Pippen miraculously but if you don’t bring your A game while playing next to him you soon be gone.
When your best player gives his 100% in every game then Accountability is inevitable.
Can Randle play better?
Yes. And unfortunately for his lazy-angry egos we know it too.
Will he?
If he’s interested to play next to This kind of Brunson He definitely will.
If not… he ll be out sooner or later
It’s hard not to get irrationally exuberant about Brunson.
you’d be proud of me jowles…been dog sitting for a week and i’m actually enjoying it…
didn’t think I had it in me…
like everything, I think I just fall in love with the gear: playpen, water, leash, collar, grooming products, food, harness, fetch balls, sling and tug toys…
it’s this cute furry 8 month maltipoo…smart animal…always thought I might want one of those jack terriers…perfect house size and smart as can be…
the maltipoo though seems to just read people extremely well, okay smart too…
probably gonna have to give her back soon…
one of the things I’ve had to work on is setting/maintaining better sleep/diet/fitness/work/kids routines…
surprisingly enough the dog helps a bunch for that…they don’t seem too preoccupied with either the past or future…
they’re very present…I’ve had dogs when I was younger, didn’t have the patience for them then though…
I hope you’re well sir…
thanks geo
“I have come to believe that there are a select group of elite players (Luka, Steph, Jokic, Prime Harden, Prime Westbrook) that can drastically improve looks for their teammates but most ball handlers are interchangeable. Gary Payton Jr., for one, will continue to be an elite perimeter defender but he’s going to see a huge drop in efficiency when he is taking jumpers instead of cutting on every other possession.”
While this is likely true, there’s a special level of shittiness to the Knicks’ lead guard (or point forward) situation, especially in the more recent few years. The works have been really gummed up.
Brunson is not one of those guys, but he is better than competent, in his prime, and understands winning basketball. He should help those guys a lot, if they let him. That’s a big if, but I am eager to find out how it plays out.
I do agree that the Knicks PG situation was so putrid that Brunson might have a big impact on the shot quality for the others, I’m just not very confident that this improvement in the shots Randle and RJ are going to take is going to be significant enough to make a big difference in terms of their efficiency. In fact my expectation is that we’re going to be a better team precisely because Brunson will be taking shots away from them and he’s flat out better at converting them. And yes, I do hope Randle gets his shit together and accepts a lesser role that fits his skillset, but that’s something I’ll have to see before I believe it.
“I do agree that the Knicks PG situation was so putrid that Brunson might have a big impact on the shot quality for the others, I’m just not very confident that this improvement in the shots Randle and RJ are going to take is going to be significant enough to make a big difference in terms of their efficiency. In fact my expectation is that we’re going to be a better team precisely because Brunson will be taking shots away from them and he’s flat out better at converting them. And yes, I do hope Randle gets his shit together and accepts a lesser role that fits his skillset, but that’s something I’ll have to see before I believe it.”
Re: Randle, in 3 of his past 5 years, he’s put up TS%s of .606, .600 and .567, all on moderate to high usage. I understand that his shot profile was different in those good NOP and LAL years. In particular, both his % of shots taken at the rim and to a lesser degree his efficiency on those shots has fallen off. I disagree with TNFHs suspicion that it’s due to physical decline…in fact, he looks healthier and fitter than ever.
My point is that Randle’s efficiency is different for the several subsets of shots that he takes. If Brunson takes a random sample of the shots Randle was taking away from him, then yes, Randle’s efficiency likely won’t change much beyond a regression to the mean for his 3-pt shooting.
The hope is that Brunson not only redistributes shots away from Randle, but those shots largely come out of Randle’s least efficient shot type, for example, pull-up threes above the break, or contested fadaway 2’s from the left side.
Even better, Brunson might help Julius keep his usage in the high 20’s but with a more efficient shot distribution. This outcome would not result in less shots for Julius, just better ones. More open catch and shoot 3’s, or shots at the rim vs. the shitty contested 2’s and pull-up 3’s. That dunk on that runout is a good example of an opportunity to improve Randle’s efficiency. It certainly helps Obi!
I think the modest .567 TS% he put up in 2020-21 seems attainable for Randle even at higher usage if he redistributes his shot profile. At that number, and with a more positive attitude in a more cohesive starting unit, he can be a valuable (tradable?) player again.
The same is true for RJ, but being that he’s just 22 years old, I don’t feel that his shot profile is super-reliable yet. But Brunson might be helpful in funneling him in to better shooting and driving situations.
Hopefully Thibs will insist on these things.
***I’m pretty sure one of our regulars is actually Jordan Peterson***
… is it me?
donnie, glued to the et for these pre-season games…
tell the truth…are you gonna watch some games this year?
i so badly need to get rid of my cable and those noisy boxes…ugh, i hate calling people…anyway, gonna go with nba league pass on amazon…much cheaper than what it used to cost me through fios…
holy cow, what’s an et?
***holy cow, what’s an et?***
It’s an extra testicle.
no reason to boast of your bountiful progeny 🙂
have you got any of them interested in the knicks…or watching any sports…
i’m 0 for 3 so far…dog doesn’t seem to mind hanging out and watching games though…i do have that going for me…
I think the reason for the decline in Randle’s work around the hoop is a guy named Mitchell Robinson. Mitch’s inability to operate far from the dunker’s spot on offense has really limited Randle’s ability to get down low the way he did in previous stops. Katz and others have talked about this, which is one of the reasons I hope Thibs finds ways to play Julius and iHart together.