From Zach Braziller:
Eight minutes and 13 seconds remained in the third quarter and the Garden was suddenly quiet. A 10-point lead had vanished and the new point guard, Jalen Brunson, had just picked up his fourth foul despite hitting the floor himself.
Tom Thibodeau didn’t go to his bench, despite the situation.
“‘Thibs,’ ” Brunson yelled out to his new coach, and Thibodeau didn’t flinch.
That is how much he trusts his new floor general. Brunson responded by not only avoiding his fifth foul until the fourth quarter, but picking the Knicks up off the mat as well.
Brunson scored the game’s next seven points, and his teammates followed his lead with an explosive 25-9 run to take control, sending the Knicks to their second win in as many games at the Garden, 115-102, over the young and winless Magic on Monday night.
Another nice win! Boy, the Magic really hung in there, right? But the Knicks answered each call. It sure is nice to have a good point guard.
Surprising to see both teams only play ten guys, though.
121 replies on “NY Post: Jalen Brunson helps Knicks stave off comeback in win over Magic”
Missed all but the last five minutes of the game because it was family movie night. (Speed, which my son loved, so that was good.) Some uninformed thoughts from looking at the box score and some highlights:
* God, it’s so calming to know we have an actual point guard when things are otherwise breaking down. Imagine the end of that fourth quarter with Burks or Elf or Alonzo Trier trying to run the offense.
* On a night when he couldn’t buy a bucket, love that IQ turned into a passer. Some of those assists on the highlights weren’t easy ones, either.
* Julius returning to being Good Julius for the most part is a very pleasant surprise. The downside is that Obi’s playing time once again suffers. I have no problem playing the guy who’s playing well, but I saw some of Knicks Twitter suggesting Julius looked more tired in the second half and that Thibs should have left Obi in longer. Thoughts?
* Even in the small bit I watched, Mitch was just bullying everyone Orlando threw at him. The Memphis game was a strong reminder that he’s not going to do this every night, but he has definitely taken a leap in terms of both physicality and basketball intelligence. So nice to see.
* In Memphis, RJ tried and failed to shoot his way out of a slump. Last night, he tried and succeeded. Really hoping we get some genuine efficiency from him at some point soon.
* Obi behind the back to RJ on the fast break: Sweet fancy Moses!
* Finally, it’s time for Knickerblogger’s favorite recurring segment: Alan Asks How Cam Looked!
Obi is ridiculously athletic and Banchero is ridiculously good.
That is all
Around draft time, I remember a lot of people here being skeptical of Jabari as the presumed number one pick, and a mix of opinions on Chet, with some insisting he had to be the top pick because of his skills and production, and others understandably fearing the injury risk with being a walking pipe cleaner. I don’t recall much discussion of Banchero, but Small Sample Size Theater suggests that Orlando may have made the right choice?
I think he is really improving, he doesn’t look lost on defense anymore, there was even a time where he made the wrong switch and instead of staying still in no man’s land as he usually do, he did recover to get in front of his assignment. The offense was good, he didn’t look to force fantasy plays anymore and to me he looked to play within himself. I’d say he played pretty well.
Good job Knicks, there was a little see-saw and the Magic are frisky (albeit winless) but we never really risked too much.
Having a real PG is so reassuring, Julius is in full renaissance, Mitch is a rock and the Bench Mob looks like a nuclear weapons against weaker units.
Next up Charlotte, hoping to keep the train humming.
Play Of The Game
There were some great dunks and fastbreaks but I go with a couple of threes:
1. Brunson’s one with 7:17 remaining in the 3rd. The Magic had just take the lead for the last time on a Carter’s bomb, JB hit his third consecutive shot and the Knicks never look back.
2. RJ’s 0-for the season breaker with 4:44 left in the 3rd. Until then he had done nothing in the quarter (1 DREB, 1 TO) and looked in the same zombie-comatose state of the first half. This shot broke the spell and finally awakened him. Now he’s ready for a 30-points game against Charlotte.
Stat Of The Day
18. Knicks offensive boards. Not only Mitch (5) but Julius and I-Hart (4 each) pounded the glass with gusto.
Brunson A
He finally had his first TOs of the season but managed the decisive moments like a real leader. I had high expectations but game after game he is surpassing them. Money well spent.
Fournier C-
His usage is dipping sharply but he tries to defend, made a couple of nice passes and hit an important corner three. I expect his playing time to decrease even more when (when?) Grimes come back.
Barrett C-
Usually when the shots don’t fall he keeps thing going with rebounds, assists and defense, yesterday instead he was simply apathetic and frustrated for 30 minutes (he deserved an “F”). Then “the shot” happened (see above) and he went for a promising final stretch. I’m expecting a great game wednesday.
Randle A
He’s not been perfect and still he’s been perfect. He looks like another person, really focused, smiles with the referees, attacks the basket. This is exactly what we begged him to be last year. The biggest surprise of the season so far and if he’s able to keep his evil twin segregated in a deep hole… then we’re gonna surprise a lot of people.
Robinson A-
30 minutes of intimidation, energy and clutch offensive rebounds. Steady Mitch is a good sight.
IQ C-
Strange game, he went scoreless but I applaud his all-around contribution (6 reb 8 ast).His shot is, like another KBlogger said, a box of chocolate, you never know what to expect.
Rose C-
Only 9 minutes, he’s still in early-carburation mode. Thibs is using him with the pharmacist’s sling bar (to use an italian figure of speech) and despite that the team is going well enough, a good sign.
Toppin A-
Only 14 minutes, where he scored 10, had 4 boards and 1 assists. He’s an integral part of the Bench Mob and his energy is unmatched.
I’d liked to watch him a couple of minutes more.
Reddish B +
Started with a burst of intoxicating talent then slowed down but had his first two assists of the year and didn’t force shots. After 3 games his balance is definitely positive.
Hartenstein C-
Definitively not his best show, but I can live with a backup C that wrestles 9 boards in 18 minutes. Still in the process of knowing his new teammates.
Thibs A-
Kept his faith in RJ (game-high 38 minutes) and IQ despite their shooting woes. I was a bit scared but at the end he was rewarded with the win, and RJ’s awakening so he was right.
From the starters, Brunson, Randle and Mitch were the good, Evan and RJ were the bad. RJ had 20 pts but he played bad, it was good that he got better to end the game, but it was a bad display all the same.
From the bench, Obi and Cam were good, Hart was average, there’s something with his defense that i don’t like, don’t know what but this unit was a lot better with Noel (or Mitch), Quick was bad at shooting but was good at everything else, so maybe he was average too. DRose was bad, there’s no other way to put it.
With Obi playing so well, it’d be good if Thibs played him a little more and Randle a little less, to keep Randle fresh to be able to continue with the good play. We may need him on games against stronger opponents and it’d be good to have him well rested. Besides that, Thibs was good too, the only thing he can do is change the lineup, but he probably trusts Grimes more to do the change, and with Quick playing like last night, i think he’s right. Cam in for RJ won’t happen because RJ is our future so he needs to play, but can someone convince him that he doesn’t need to get 20 pts a night? In the 1st half i think i saw him passing when going to the rim, but not in the 2nd because he was trying to get the points he thinks he needs. This is stupid and detrimental to the team.
Alan, to me this version of Cam is a useful player and if he keeps going he deserves rotation minutes.
As Cyber wrote, he looks more aware and there’s a slim of hope he can finally become what his skills and talent promised years ago.
The coaching staff can help but it’s on him now to fullfil those promises. So far he’s been good.
Re: Banchero
I’m a bit biased but he’s really good and more polished than expected. We’ll see Chet next year and so far Jabari has been fairly inefficient in Houston, so maybe they got it right (as Indiana sure did with Mathurin).
Portland is a team I cited this summer as doing the hybrid method correctly. I’ve been very impressed with Joe Cronin’s work. The McCollum and Covington trades were very good, and Grant is a big deal (he’s a lot better than I thought he was when I said he was on par w Randle).
But you’re right about this. It’s too soon for them. They have the pieces to make one superstar trade, though. But they might use it all on Beal, and that would be a shame.
And then there’s Shaedon Sharpe, whose probable outcomes include an incredibly good player. That’s another key part of the hybrid that we don’t do.
The two easiest over/unders this year were the Knicks and Blazers and 38.5 and 39.5, respectively. Both these figures overreacted to a bad year and underreacted to strong offseason acquisitions.
As for the two biggest bellwether’s of success this year:
1. I’m not concerned about RJ. Games like this are in his DNA, and it’s probably random that he’s had a few of them to begin the year. And frankly, that kind of player is what you get for the price we paid.
2. I am still very skeptical about Randle. The numbers are great, but I’m looking for portents and he sabotaged the team in the final minutes at Memphis. Anyone who can mentally check out and start acting like a fool in the final minutes of a close game is someone I will remain scared of. I need to see some composure and intelligence in pressure moments before I believe he’s a forget-me-not (nice call on that one, Nicos).
Detroit and Orlando are terrible and the team’s played three games. I need more data.
I totally understand your caution Hubert (and Nicos).
Funny thing I did write about it (he had a couple of too aggressive/needless fouls in yesterday’s game too) but I wrongly deleted it before posting. 🙂
Yes, E, but I am encouraged by the fact that we beat up two bad teams and competitively lost to one really good team. That was our formula two years ago.
Talk is cheap and all that, and the results are hard to judge in a small sample when 2 of the 3 teams aren’t especially good. But so far, the overall process has been strong. Here’s an except of Ian Begley on the return of Good Julius: https://www.sny.tv/articles/julius-randle-new-approach-jalen-brunson-raising-knicks-ceiling
(And, as always, this is your friendly reminder to click on the links of the writers you like, because that matters in the modern media economy.)
And it kills me to say this. But if Good Julius is genuinely back — which we won’t know for sure until much deeper into the season — I think it might be time to trade Obi. It’s not only doing him a disservice to play him so little, but it’s doing the team a disservice to have a guy this potentially good who can’t get on the floor and will be impossible to properly evaluate regarding a new contract. (And/or Obi and his agent may simply refuse to sign an extension on a team where he’d be on a pitch count for many more years.)
The other option is to try to trade Randle once his reputation has been repaired around the league. I just don’t know if the FO would do that if the team is playing well. And I suspect Obi would still be easier to trade for real value, and that Good Julius might be harder to replace on this current roster.
Speaking of the Blazers, he’s still raw and 20 years old, but this is exactly the kind of guy you want at the end of the bench if you are trying to execute a hybrid rebuild:
http://www.espn.com/video/clip?id=34873312
I guess I’m not too worried about RJ because he’s now in a perfect position to improve. He’s got his contract and is locked up to be here for the next few years. He’s got a great PG with Brunson. And the team as a whole looks to be very balanced and deep and we’re gonna be pretty good this year I think. We can probably win games when he doesn’t play well so hopefully he can learn to play within himself and if his shot is not falling, do the other things he can do to contribute to wins. Cause we got really balanced scoring.
I also would not worry about the Obi situation quite yet. There will be nights he plays more when Randle isn’t as good as he was yesterday. But getting 35 points and and 15 rebounds from your power forward position is a good problem for us to have.
And it cannot be stated enough how much better Brunson makes us. Not only in late game situations but also throughout the game when the other team goes on a run. Someone over the summer kind of lamented the fact that he wasn’t a “pure pg” (ie, a high assist guy) but I think the fact that he can get a bucket to stop a run is a huge positive for us. And he just calms everyone down.
One’s priors really shouldn’t budge based on 3 games, but as that Begley article highlights it really does seem like Randle is making a concerted effort to play differently.
It would be one thing if he was playing like he was last year and just hitting more shots–that’s not going to last. He’s taken a few jumpers I didn’t love here and there, but crucially he’s taken *zero* shots from 16 feet-3P land.
His 25.4% USG is the lowest it’s been since he’s been here. That seems like a fine number for him going forward so long as most of his shots come within the flow of the offense.
It definitely won’t all be smooth sailing from here. He’s not going to keep shooting 83% at the rim and we’ll see how long the Good Vibes last re: not pounding the ball into the ground. But he’s mostly played how we want him to play through 3 games.
On the flip side, your opinion on his contract should be similar to what it was 3 games ago. Other teams are going to need a lot more than 3 games for their opinions on it to budge. Let’s check back in at game 25 or so, yeah?
Agree completely. But then you run into the trap Mike K has talked about: if Julius goes back to being bad, you can’t trade him. But if he goes back to being good, you probably won’t trade him. I guess the difference is that the team is no longer counting on Julius to be its best player, so the “what is the ceiling on a team with him as your number one option?” question goes away. But we’re still not a high ceilinged team unless one or more kids makes a huge leap from where they are now.
So… yeah. But for the moment, I’m enjoying this.
FWIW Julius was also meditating on the bench during warmups before the game. No joke: maybe he’s taken a different approach mentally as well as physically. The results (so far) are good.
Good call KBA!
I noticed that too and if he’s really into it I can relate with Julius, meditation’s very good to keep your inner demons checked…
Not an easy road (and not free from relapses) but a useful one.
“On the flip side, your opinion on his contract should be similar to what it was 3 games ago. Other teams are going to need a lot more than 3 games for their opinions on it to budge. Let’s check back in at game 25 or so, yeah?”
Sure. But if your opinion on his contract 3 games ago was that it was The Worst Contract in the NBA, it was laughably wrong to begin with, so might as well go on being laughably wrong until you have enough evidence to confirm that.
Before anyone gets all bent out of shape about what I just said, just know that I agree that GMs would not have traded for him without significant sweetener without seeing evidence that he was capable of changing his approach, and that there is not enough evidence to change that opinion yet. They are right where they were prior to this season: in “show me” mode. I doubt whether any of them were as permanently out on Julius as the haters here were.
What I always objected to was the deeply-held assumption that he was pretty much washed up at age 27, that he couldn’t get to the rim anymore, that he couldn’t change his game in the presence of a better lineup, that he wouldn’t accept anything but a #1 role, etc. And the holders of that assumption shouldn’t try to sanitize it in retrospect. Trading Julius at the nadir of his value at the cost of a first round pick just to free up minutes for The Great Obi Toppin would have been by far the dumbest move Leon could possibly have made in the context of a hybrid rebuild. I don’t know how anyone could have watched these last 3 games without seeing that.
“But if your opinion on his contract 3 games ago was that it was The Worst Contract in the NBA, it was laughably wrong to begin with, so might as well go on being laughably wrong until you have enough evidence to confirm that.”
Name 5 clearly worse contracts, Mr. Genius.
No one thought Randle would be as bad as he was last year again.
No one would be surprised if he put up a .140 type year with mediocre defense on high usage.
I still don’t think he is the future but I am happy he is in a good place again. There were some uncomfortably bad vibes last year.
I really wish we didn’t lose Mitch for nothing in the offseason, he looks pretty ok so far.
But I’m glad we traded Julius with 10 sweeteners so we can get rid of his terrible contract. He’s a total bum!
Guess today is shaping up to be one of those “tell people a bunch of things they never actually said are wrong” days. Fun!
Oh, almost forgot, it’s so great we fired Thibs, what an old, rigid coach he is.
If 3 games is the sample size, one contract is quite easy. 😛
Worse contracts than Randle? How about Davis Bertrans ($16M), Kristaps Porzingis ($34M), Bradley Beale ($43M), maybe Michael Porter Jr. ($32M), and, of course, Russell Westbrook ($47M).
“No one thought Randle would be as bad as he was last year again.”
I don’t think this is true, and even if it is, it’s a question of degree.
“Name 5 clearly worse contracts, Mr. Genius.”
Right now, Randle is playing to a WS48 of .247. and a BPM of 4.6. I don’t expect him to sustain that, but am pretty confident that he will settle into the “worth every penny of the $23,760,000 he is getting paid this year” range. Here are contracts that I would prefer Julius Randle’s to, even in cases where there are less years involved:
Bradley Beal
Tobias Harris
Michael Porter Jr.
Ben Simmons
De’Aaron Fox
Kristaps Porzingis
John Collins
Terry Rozier
Duncan Robinson
Aaron Gordon
Lonzo Ball
RJ Barrett
Jonathan Isaac
Davis Bertans
Randle’s a perfectly cromulent power forward as he’s been in the past, but that still doesn’t change the fact that this team desperately needs a top option on offense.
He wasn’t ideal, but Spida would’ve been that guy. Now it’s going to be… ? We will see.
But it’s good that all (most) of our players are playing well, primarily because they should all be on the table when it comes to trade talks. The only problem is that our picks might not look so hot to teams after a decent year, so another team could outbid us for the next star on the block.
Speaking of that star—who will it be? Some team will play worse than expected out of the gate and lean into the Wemby Sweepstakes, but who?
Obviously Sacto is always an option. Maybe the Bulls? I don’t see a lot of potential fire sales out there, and definitely not for the right guy…
What I always objected to was the deeply-held assumption that he was pretty much washed up at age 27, that he couldn’t get to the rim anymore, that he couldn’t change his game in the presence of a better lineup, that he wouldn’t accept anything but a #1 role, etc. And the holders of that assumption shouldn’t try to sanitize it in retrospect.
It’s the same mode of thought that now says RJ is an chucker who is only concerned about pointz. There seems to be a mode of thought whenever a player struggles or shoots inefficiently or whatever, that they turn into a “diva” who is “selfish.”
Maybe we just assume that these players are trying the best they can and unless they repeatedly act like a diva, that maybe they aren’t.
“No one thought Randle would be as bad as he was last year again.”
I don’t think this is true, and even if it is, it’s a question of degree.”
We had all sorts of posts about how Julius was close to the most detrimental player in the NBA last year. It takes effort to be as bad as he was and most people acknowledged that he would struggle to repeat his poor showing.
If Julius Randle is your second best player you probably aren’t a very good team. And if he is your third best player the other two guys want the ball back. That’s the analysis.
We all understand the Good Julius Bad Julius dynamic, nothing has changed here.
So I wanna talk iHart for a minute. This guy totally confuses me.
During the game I was going to write that he was missing out on more rebounds than anyone I’ve ever seen before, then Breen said he had 8 already (9 total in 18 minutes).
So what am I seeing here? Is he just scrapping for every rebound, even ones he really has no chance on, but his octopus arms make it look like he should grab them; or should he really have had 17 rebounds in 18 minutes last night but can’t jump and has something akin to butter stumps, so his dominant length gets him to enough balls to look decent in the box score?
I’m going to enjoy trying to figure this one out, not sure if anyone else has an opinion yet. Also, just because it’s iHart, I’ll mention that they used him ‘correctly’ in that second pre-season game where he was the fulcrum of the half-court game, but nothing since. Of course the Bench Mob loves to run, so I’d almost rather see Sims on those plays, but if/when it slows down and goes half court I hope they play through him more.
Z-Man in peak provocateur form early. He’s off to a better start than Cam.
Tari Eason with 11 and 9 in 18 minutes with three steals and a turnover. Just 4-12 but +7.
Ja Morant is putting up some ungodly numbers through 4 games.
Swift, I think the problem most people have here with RJ so far is that he IS acting like a diva — in that he’d doing the exact opposite of what he said he worked on all summer, which is pass out of drives and double teams. Instead he’s continuing to drive into traffic and getting blocked. In embarrassing fashion. Even when there are wide-open teammates.
That’s selfish, which is diva-like.
It’s especially bad when compared to how the ball was moving around on play after play, especially in the first half. It was like watching Golden State. Then it was like PTSD watching Barrett drive into traffic and get blocked — over and over.
You miss stuff in the flow, you’re just off your game and good luck getting back. You force things, and you’re an asshat.
“But then you run into the trap Mike K has talked about: if Julius goes back to being bad, you can’t trade him. But if he goes back to being good, you probably won’t trade him. I guess the difference is that the team is no longer counting on Julius to be its best player, so the “what is the ceiling on a team with him as your number one option?” question goes away. But we’re still not a high ceilinged team unless one or more kids makes a huge leap from where they are now.”
Honestly Alan, I don’t get this. Weren’t you all in favor of the extension Julius signed when he signed it? And wasn’t that with the assumption that he would NOT be our #1 option as the team continued to work to acquire better players?
I don’t expect people to forget that last year, or 2019-20, happened. But I do expect that people will go back to the time when Julius agreed to his extension and envisioned what role he would have on the team at roughly 19% of the salary cap. There was near unanimity at that time that a) Randle was not suited to be a #1, #1a, or even a strong #2 option, and b) the team would need to acquire those guys and Julius would eventually have to accept that diminished role. So far this year, he is by far exceeding those expectations, has said all the right things, and has backed up his words with his play.
Now there are a very few folks like E who definitively felt AT THAT TIME that Randle was fool’s gold and should not have been signed to that extension. But if the Julius Randle you are getting right now is the one you were hoping for when he signed the extension, I don’t get why you would be so upset about the possibility that we won’t trade him.
“Here are contracts that I would prefer Julius Randle’s to, even in cases where there are less years involved:”
And you’re entitled to your opinion, but I guarantee you there are a number of these, if not all of them, that other teams would prefer.
I mean, Shams literally just released a report saying the Lakers are actively *targeting* Rozier. Who is actively targeting Randle, even after a glorious three games?
Also, as long as we’re drawing sweeping conclusions based on 3 games, how about what MPJ is doing through 4? Risks, warts, and all, a team would absolutely trade something for that guy.
I’ll concede you might have a point about RJ Barrett though…
The Portland Trail Blazers would give up three unprotected firsts for Bradley Beal right now, with zero hesitation.
I don’t get why you would be so upset about the possibility that we won’t trade him.
Cause Obi Toppin dunks cool and we drafted him. That is it.
No offense meant, Noble, but I’d be wary of using “the Lakers are targeting…” as proof of concept for anything.
It’s proof that Terry Rozier could be traded for value at the drop of a hat and Julius Randle couldn’t. That’s really all there is too it when it comes to the “which contract is worse” question.
Guys, we’re playing well and winning, let’s enjoy it and be friendly with each other. It’s better if they all play well, including Randle and Obi at the same time, because we’ll need to trade guys that are playing well to lower the picks to send away, and we want the players we keep to be good too. Right now, i’m a little worried about the SG position, because neither Fournier nor Quick are playing very well. It’d be good if they were playing well for them to have a market too. And in the meantime, until there is a star to trade for, the much players playing well the better for the season outcome.
Randle
I think Randle playing better this year was as close to a lead pipe cinch as you are going to get in basketball. His overall record demonstrates he’s capable of being efficient in the “right circumstances”.
Thibs never WANTED to run the offense through Randle and turn him into the #1 option. He was just the least bad option for a team without a PG or even a real #2 option, let alone #1 option.
This year we added a solid PG that can create and score and a C that’s a little better for spacing.
His role was definitely going to change for the better.
How could he NOT play better when he’s not going to be asked to handle the ball every possession, not going to get double teamed as often etc… ?
All that said, I still see shots I don’t like and I’d prefer fewer 3s.
IMO we are still asking more from him than I think is appropriate given his skillset. But we all know we need a true #1 option and are stretching guys like Randle, RJ, and Brunson to try to do more.
Still, it’s a lot more fun watching Knicks games when you aren’t cursing at Randle every other possession.
@Raven
“Swift, I think the problem most people have here with RJ so far is that he IS acting like a diva — in that he’d doing the exact opposite of what he said he worked on all summer, which is pass out of drives and double teams. Instead he’s continuing to drive into traffic and getting blocked. In embarrassing fashion. Even when there are wide-open teammates.”
On top of this, last season RJ publicly stated that he was happy/excited that he averaged 20PPG even though he had to take 17 FGA and had terrible shooting numbers: eFG+ 88 and TS+ 90
Let’s play a little game. Assuming we like our starting PG and C as 3rd and 5th options on offense… who would you put around them right now to create the best team possible? For me it’s:
– A PF who can shoot threes and defend
– a SG who can handle the rock some, shoot threes, and defend well
– a SF with ungodly athleticism who can both shoot threes and get to the rim with ease
Out of those classified ads, the only player we have who actually fits one of the profiles is the injured Grimes at SG (a Fournier but with defense).
If you squint, Cam can pretend to be that SF, but him becoming a star is beyond unlikely. Meanwhile, neither of our PFs are ideal because of shooting/defense.
So we need to trade for a star forward and a good yeoman forward (hint: RJ is neither of these so far) or even two star forwards because drafting one will be fairly difficult if we are decent.
Banchero was invisible on defense, but man he is really smooth with the ball for a kid his size.
Randle is taking 6 3s a game. Are you not entertained?
+1 on the “things are good; we should get along” (although it is fun to read the debates).
Best thing so far for me, even if *we* think some guys are trash, it looks like (eye test) most of them actually enjoy playing with one another. Maybe they are all really buying into the rah rah team thing.
To that end, MSG keeps playing nostalgic videos about Red Holzman and how those Knicks were the Platonic ideal of basketball, sharing the ball and so on. The clips kind of feel like those “Looking back, Looking forward” vids the Yankees used to do. Maybe it’s working. Worse things could happen. Yes, Julius was batshit crazy a blink-minute ago, but the pressure of everyone buying into a team culture and all the corporate yes-speak can be powerful. If it’s moving us in the right direction, I’m all for it.
The Knicks’ offense has been good, but we’ve played three poor defensive teams so far. Memphis is a good team but they’re all offense, ranked 28th in defense. It’s early so there’s a lot of noise in there with the signal but I’d like to see how this offense holds up against tougher defensive teams.
RJ – I said my piece on RJ yesterday. When the shot is not dropping, he has to stop getting even more aggressive, stop forcing things, and instead back off, focus on other things, and take the very best wide open looks until he’s back in the grove. That would reduce the extreme swings we see from him and improve his overall efficiency. With the team we have this year, we don’t need 20 points from him every night.
Brunson – Has obviously been critical to turning the offense around and adding stability down the stretch of games. None of that is unexpected. My one fear about the lack of spacing (relative to Dallas) impacting his game I think IS an issue, but so far it’s not huge.
Cam – Was more efficient in NY in his brief stint here last year and so far has been even more efficient in the regular season this year. The current level is not sustainable, but he looks better on both sides and adds needed shot creation to the team. I like what I am seeing even with those occasional Brain farts of trying to do too much.
Rose – Interesting that Thibs is not playing him a lot of minutes in the regular season either. I thought pre season was just about taking a better look at the bench players, but he doesn’t need Rose to finish the games anymore now that we have Brunson. So he’s using him less.
Obi – Same as ever. Very good as what he does but doesn’t do enough to play over Randle given this team makeup.
Quick – I love Quick off the bench. He’s doing more than just scoring now, but his shot it all over the map. He’s got to be more consistent to be an elite 6th man type.
Fournier – We need his shooting in the starting lineup, but he sometimes forces tough ones that he’s not really that good at. We have to do something to get him better looks because defenses aren’t giving him much.
Hart – Terrific backup C and the best may be yet to come.
Mitch – Mitch is very good at what he does, but limited. Someone has to explain to me how on some nights he has as many or more OREBs than DREBs. He has to improve his defensive rebounding first. Then we can worry about expanding his role someday.
Points must not be counted, they must be weighed.
(Anonymous Chinese Philosopher)
Don’t read boxscores, watch games.
(Jeff Van Gundy)
I go a bit off-topic, not to start an argument, just to “put into words” something that annoy me, because yesterday I watched two carbon copy situations in two different games:
In Memphis, with the Nets down by 12 points with 18 seconds to go, instead of milking the clock until the end, Kyrie dribbled full court for an uncontested layup. The Nets didn’t foul or apply press after that basket, they knew the game was lost. It was pure stats-stuffing at his zenith.
In New York, RJ did something similar, up by 11 with 35 seconds to go. Orlando didn’t foul to stop the clock and try a comeback, they want the game to end. RJ score a “driving layup” and got his coveted 20th point (Randle had an assist on the play).
I have been against this stuff since my playing days, but the older I get, the less I believe in “pure” boxscores…
End of rant 🙂
Re: RJ, I’m definitely not inferring anything about his character. Never called him a “diva” or anything of the sort. Seems like a good dude.
I am concerned that through three seasons + three games, he’s been a bad, high-usage NBA player. I will remain concerned about that unless it changes, because if it doesn’t change this iteration of the Knicks is going nowhere fast.
“It’s proof that Terry Rozier could be traded for value at the drop of a hat and Julius Randle couldn’t. That’s really all there is too it when it comes to the “which contract is worse” question.”
It’s proof of nothing related to value. We have no idea what the Lakers are offering for Rozier, nor do we have any idea what 29 GMs would offer for Julius if they were looking for that kind of player. All it shows is that the Lakers are desperate for shooting and don’t need a PF.
remember – things can always get worse 😛
we definitely got that going for us…
next up charlotte…
Someone has to explain to me how on some nights he has as many or more OREBs than DREBs.
Mitch boxes out and lets Randle get the defensive rebounds
“We have no idea what the Lakers are offering for Rozier, nor do we have any idea what 29 GMs would offer for Julius if they were looking for that kind of player.”
And we know from a heap of reliable reporting that no one is looking for the Julius Randle kind of player right now. If “trade value” is “proof of nothing related to value,” what exactly are we talking about here? Sentimental value?
“The Knicks’ offense has been good, but we’ve played three poor defensive teams so far.”
**
Yes. This is the key next step. Even last year, we saw our guys get their good-feels on when beating up lesser foes or teams that were tanking: Yay! Obi scored 40 for his mom!
But now they need to step up against better competition. Example, Mitch disappeared against Adams. That can’t happen.
Of course, this is a good place for us to be after years of begging for any coherence — at all 😉
Charlotte should be an interesting test. They are off to a good start and Dennis Smith Jr. torching us would be sort of hilarious after all the shade we have dispensed.
Re Banchero, while I have made some complementary noises about him his line looks surprisingly more mediocre than I expected and almost exactly in line with what I thought it would be. Rebounding looks a touch light and the defense isn’t there. Not sure if he feels Aaron Gordonesque, it’s not a spot on comp, but empty stats pf definitely still in play.
I don’t know where Randle’s efficiency is going to settle. That probably depends on how many 3s he’s hoisting up, how often he’s making them, and how much we are depending on him to score in big possessions, but it should be a lot better than last year. If it can settle in the 55% range, that would be fine. Better than that is gravy.
That said, the thing that hurt his trade value last year was not so much his TS% and TOs. Every coach and decent GM in the league knows the Knicks were asking him to do way more than his skills warranted last year and that he could be more efficient in different circumstances.
What turned everyone off was pushing coaches, pushing teammates, giving the fans the finger, blowing off post game interviews etc… He looked like he was having a breakdown.
If he remains stable, especially during the inevitable losing streak and pressure from the NY media, that contract will be movable. If he’s making 3s at a decent clip, he’s a plus asset.
It seems futile to argue about who has the worst contracts in the NBA since its basis–what makes a contract really bad–has never been debated. There are a ton of variables. Being given one by a Knicks front office actually might be one of them (cf Allan Houston Rule).
PS — In all his interviews, RJ says he is responsible for guarding the opponent’s best player. That may seem correct when Fournier is out there, but less so when Grimes plays. Point being: RJ has (and wants) a lot on his plate. Maybe too much. All will be revealed.
And the issue with Randle isn’t where he is right now if one is desperate to unload him. The issue is whether one should be desperate to unload him in the first place, especially at his distressed market value, i.e. whether that distressed state was permanent or temporary.
TNFH (among others) made it very clear that he 100% felt that Randle should be unloaded prior to the season at the cost of significant sweetener (which it clearly would have taken) because there was a very real, if not likely, outcome that his contract would actually get even harder to trade going forward. (which refutes Owen’s claim that “No one thought Randle would be as bad as he was last year again.”)
TNFH based it at least in part on the assumption that Randle was unable to get to the rim any more due to a dropoff in athleticism. He and that he was set in his ways and wouldn’t accept a diminished role in the offense. There was also a concern that because of Thibs’ long leash with Julius, he was holding a “better player” back, and that getting rid of Julius would allow Obi to take over the role of starting PF, which would actually result in more wins. If I am not paraphrasing these positions correctly, I apologize in advance, but that’s my honest recollection.
All that being said, the only things I am challenging here is the repeated assertion that Randle’s contract was the worst in the NBA, and that it should be dumped at significant cost before it got worse. I thought that strictly from a basketball business POV it was a terrible idea then, and feel even more strongly about it now. But if folks still want to believe that he’d cost just as much to trade now as he did then, whatever.
I just want to make clear that I am NOT challenging is a belief that he should be traded at any time. I think it’s very fair to want him off the team because of a whole bunch of legitimate concerns. I just think that a) doing so as a panic move when his value is lowest is terrible business and b) that it was reasonably likely that his value would be at least partially restored with a patient and thoughtful approach to his situation, including acquiring a real starting PG to get the ball out of his hands more. So if anyone still feels that he should be traded the minute a neutral offer presents itself, I have no issue with that.
For me personally, the jury is still out. I don’t really like the aesthetics of his game, but he is definitely a legit NBA starter who can be very productive under the right circumstances and in the right role. I agree with TNFH that we should wait 25 games or so before passing judgment on that.
But as to the “worst contract in the NBA” stuff, that ship has sailed.
“TNFH (among others) made it very clear that he 100% felt that Randle should be unloaded prior to the season at the cost of significant sweetener”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GM-e46xdcUo&ab_channel=wintermoot
Max
“In New York, RJ did something similar, up by 11 with 35 seconds to go. Orlando didn’t foul to stop the clock and try a comeback, they want the game to end. RJ score a “driving layup” and got his coveted 20th point (Randle had an assist on the play).”
I noticed the exact same thing.
It was pure stat stuffing. It’s part of his mental makeup that I’m complaining about. He plays the game like he’s a star player or trying to prove he’s a star player when he’s not even very good yet.
Look at his goal last year: Score 20 points per game.
Look at his goal this year: Make the all star team.
His goal should be: Get my TS% to 55% or better.
His mental makeup can be an asset. You don’t want a player to be afraid of taking the big shots. He’s definitely not. But his lack of fear or whatever you want to call it is out of line with the reality of his game and his goals are wrong.
“And we know from a heap of reliable reporting that no one is looking for the Julius Randle kind of player right now. If “trade value” is “proof of nothing related to value,” what exactly are we talking about here? Sentimental value?”
Come on, man. You know that it’s more complicated than that. What reporting has enlightened us on a serious Randle trade discussion since training camp opened? I haven’t seen a single thing. Have you? Please share. If not, then why use phrases like “right now”?
Is there any reporting that teams are actively looking for a Mitchell Robinson-type player right now? If not, does that mean his contract is bad? Does “no current discussion” mean “bad contract”?
I’m with you Strat…I don’t like Rj’s demeanor and the fact that he doesn’t pass well (in fact…he seems like a reluctant passer) and doesn’t box his man out repeatedly which leads to easy put backs….if there was another name on his jersey…he would be on the pine…maybe he turns it around but the “I’m a star” bravado is not going to play well very long….
As far as Randle…let’s see what happens when some adversity hits before taking victory laps on that contract…he won’t be sitting in the lotus position very long after a couple of bad games…so far…it appears that he has turned over a new leaf…hope it continues…
Again, imo the idea that the major problem with Randle’s contract was his TS%, TOs and things like that is not accurate. It sure didn’t help, but coaches are not looking at boxscore stats and neither are smart GMs. They are looking at skillsets. Randle does a LOT of things well. He’s just not a point forward or #1 option, but that’s how the Knicks were forced to use him. Everyone other than more casual fans knows that.
The thing that turned everyone off was pushing coaches, pushing teammates, giving fans the finger, and blowing off post game interviews. No one wants to add a potential problem to their locker room for a bunch of years.
If he proves he’s got it all together mentally, his game and salary are fine, and imo will be much easier to move.
Ideally, I think this team needs a stretch PF to be teamed with Mitch. Randle had not been a consistently good enough 3 point shooter. So the fit is a problem unless we eventually make Hart the starter and trade Mitch. But you don’t do things like that to make Randle fit better. You do it if Hart is the better C. We have time to see how this all develops.
I don’t know, I feel that on D, Mitch is often out of position to get the rebound, maybe defending on the 3pt line, or trying to chase a block.
Z-Man – I also don’t really remember a long discussion about using sweetener to dump Randle. Who advocated that?
I think most people just wished we hadn’t extended him a year earlier than we needed to.
I think the general consensus is that it would have taken a few first rounders to get him off the books after last season. No one wanted that.
And bitching with the refs 🙂
Agree 100% Not his talent but behavior, effort and body language.
Agree again. Your point yesterday about his “Maple Mamba” mentality is spot on, he was raised with the “don’t lose confidence” mantra, but he’s only 22 and we can hope there’s hope.
He’s rarely in position for the DREB because he helps a lot, plus he boxes out while Randle get the ball.
Maybe he modeled his play on Ro-Lo, low personal numbers good team numbers… but without the hook shot! 🙂
It was in fact my whole point that we should trade Randle *before* it took significant sweetener to do so. The idea that the “ship has sailed” on Randle’s contract being among the worst in the NBA is what’s laughable–he’s played 94 minutes this season. He got off to a good 3 game start last year too, actually.
If Randle either becomes part of a contending Knicks team OR brings us back value in a trade, all of the Leon Rose boosters can take their victory laps and I’ll be delighted to watch them do it.
Doing it after 3 games is a bad look though. You should have more confidence your guy will actually materially change the situation.
We’re literally 30th in the NBA in strength of schedule. It’s nice to beat cruddy teams, and to beat them easily, but let’s see how this team looks when it’s not playing against a leading Tankathon contender.
TNFH, I sincerely apologize if I mischaracterized your positions on Julius. Can you clarify whether or not you were in favor of trading him, even if it cost a significant asset, i.e something more than a second round pick? And if yes or no, why you felt that way?
I distinctly recall you being very pessimistic that Julius would ever improve enough to get to the point where he could be traded in an asset-neutral deal. Is this not accurate?
“It was in fact my whole point that we should trade Randle *before* it took significant sweetener to do so.”
But when was that? When would it not have taken sweetener? IIRC you didn’t advocate trading him before his extension was signed (credit to E) so when exactly did you advocate for it and what was his value at that time? If it wasn’t before New Year’s Day, wasn’t it already moot?
I concede that he was already going to require something more than a second rounder to trade going back to before the trade deadline. That’s not in dispute.
So did you want him traded after the season at the minimum cost of a protected first or not? If I recall correctly, you did, and guys like Alan and cyber and Macri were also willing to pay that price, so it was hardly an extreme position. My opinion at the time was that it would be a shortsighted business decision to sell low on a guy who had 3 “contract-worthy” years out of his last 5.
And yeah, I believe have enough evidence, even after 3 games against shitty teams, to justify my take at the time that the smarter business move would be to try to restore his value as much as possible and THEN consider trading him, or if things went really well, keeping him. And I was much less pessimistic than others about Julius’ willingness to adapt his game, especially once Brunson was aboard.
Half of Randle’s 2 pt fgs have been assisted. That’s the most since his last year in L.A. when it was .534 (it was .490 in NO). Hopefully not coincidentally those two years he was over .600 TS%. His last two years here it was 34% and 36% so that’s a very encouraging number if it continues. It remains to be seen if the Knicks much improved ball movement is for real or just a product of bad defense but so far, so good.
On Mitch’s rebounds- One bad sign is the Fournier/Brunson backcourt gives up a ton of dribble penetration so Mitch has been in constant help mode which he’s done magnificently. He’s impacting almost every shot in the paint but it’s coming at the expense of rebounding position. I expect Fournier to move to the bench if either Cam or Grimes show any consistent offense.
I would also like to commend Julius for the way he has showed at MSG thus far. Overcoming self-inflicted wounds is not easy, and while he still has some lingering defensiveness in his tone, he thus far hasn’t let any lingering resentment, self-doubt, selfishness get in the way of performing reasonably well under what I think is a tremendous amount of pressure.
There definitely is small sample size theater re: Randle, but IMHO something really might be different than last year, and even the year before. He is undoubtedly moving a lot faster this year and is really pushing the pace when he gets the rebound. He has almost certainly gotten the memo about long 2’s — per B-R, he has not attempted a single 2 pointer from outside 15 feet. Not one!!
I am intrigued by the 2 man game he played with Brunson last night on one play – where they screened and then rescreened for each other. I am hardly any sort of X’s and O’s guy, but that even stood out to me, having the PG screen for Julius. It makes so much sense to have the two players who can create advantages screen for each other – so much sense that I’m surprised Thibs did it.
Other random thoughts –
– ball does not go in the hoop enough for Quickley. It is honestly quite disturbing.
– ball does not go in the hoop enough for RJ. It is honestly quite disturbing. I remain OUT on the prospect of him becoming even a #3 on a contender, although his extension was not as injurious as I was worried it would be. Positive note: he definitely leads the league in Kobe assists?
– Brunson is better than I thought he would be. His body control is truly special – how quickly he can pull-up, how easily he squares his body from the weirdest angles. And many have said it before, but his ability to control the pace of the game, and to create good shots when it seems the momentum is slipping away — it really is what the team has been missing.
– Derrick Rose – unable to get the advantage on multiple occasions when covered by Franz Wagner, who is a good defender — but a bit worrisome.
– Mitch looks like Mitch again, but still congests the lane too much on offense
Thought for a Westbrook trade:
Fournier, Rose, Obi, and a protected version of the Bucks pick (if it is pick 16-30 it goes to Lakers, if it is pick 5-15 then it converts to two seconds) for Westbrook and the 2 Lakers picks.
Who says no to that?
I love Obi and don’t want to see him go, but I truly do not see a path for him with this organization. He would be an instant celebrity in LA, and Rose/Fournier would fit well in the win-now (and also are short contracts if LA wants them to be).
Julius Randle, game scores (plus-minus) first three games, 2021-22 (*):
23.1 (+10), 17.7 (+24), 25.7 (-1)
Julius Randle, game scores (plus-minus) first three games, 2022-23 (**):
20.9 (+7), 9.6 (-1), 19.9 (+4).
(*) With new, “real”, point guard whom the fanbase was virtually unanimously celebrating.
(**) With new, “real,” point guard whom the fanbase is virtually unanimously celebrating.
Here is Fangraphs on the Yankees if we need a new topic….
https://blogs.fangraphs.com/contemplating-a-yankees-shakeup-in-the-wake-of-the-astros-sweep/
I was among those who wanted Randle traded away, but only for a reasonable deal. The fact that the Knicks held onto him is fine, though I still wonder if he and RJ can coexist fruitfully on the court together.
He’s been very good so far, only a very few examples here and there of him going into “shake and bake” mode, and no signs of even a slight meltdown. We’ll see if he can continue. I think maybe he can with Brunson’s presence reigning him in.
As Hubert has alluded to, he committed a tantrum foul in a tight game down the stretch in Memphis.
“So did you want him traded after the season at the minimum cost of a protected first or not? If I recall correctly, you did”
Well you’re not recalling correctly, because I never said this. I talked about possible scenarios in which we traded him in asset neutral fashion e.g. to the Lakers or Hornets with the logic being that we might lose that opportunity.
We still might lose that opportunity. Again, it would be silly for anyone’s opinion to move much at all about this until we have 25 games or so, or if we hear about interest in Randle around the league.
Guess the premature victory lap is a big part of what we do here.
Julius Randle is the only All-Star and All-NBA player on this roster who at 27 yrs old rakes in 19% of the $123M salary cap. That’s a bargain. Leon surrounded him with washed up garbage last year that led to him acting like a jerk while losing. Winning is fun and it cures all of that bad attitude nonsense. Come January/February, – you’ll hear MVP chants at the garden everytime he’s on the free through line.
This idea that we must give Julius away and pay a sweetner to do it, -in order for a fan favorite but materially inferior player who is only 3yrs younger get more minutes is very childish.
Has reub returned to the fold?
This is a little bit alarming. Cole Anthony was able to get into the paint pretty much any time he wanted to, and for all of Jalen Brunson’s strengths it seems pretty clear that he is not a strong pick and roll defender. He doesn’t die on screens as easily as Kemba, but it’s pretty easy to pick him off with a screen and he doesn’t really have the quickness/agility to recover quickly.
That’s one area the team is going to need to address going forward. We need some hard nosed defensive guards who aren’t zeroes on offense. Perhaps Grimey can help in this department.
Quickley is also a pretty good defender according to the eye test, especially with those freakishly long arms of his. It would definitely make more sense to swap Grimes in for Fournier, simply because he’s a more consistent 3-point shooter than IQ. But we’ve got a couple of guards who can guard people in the rotation, plus Deuce in an emergency. (Though it would help if Deuce could score against non-GLeaguers.)
Think a major factor(s) contributing to winning last night were Mitch & Hart. Knicks got 21 points and 15 rebounds on 8/12 from the center position. Mostly just cleaning up spills in mop up duty.
He committed three tantrum fouls down the stretch. He deserved a T, as well, but the refs were kind.
I’ve always been in the trade Randle camp, but I’ve also always been optimistic we could get something for him. I proposed trading Randle, Rose, and Fournier to the Lakers, for instance, for Westbrook and their two first round picks.
And you know what? I still think we might be able to do that. (Keep losing, LA!)
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. There’s always going to be a team willing to talk themselves into a former All-NBA player at a reasonable price.
IQ is probably our second best perimeter player, he should be playing over Frenchie right now. But it’s too early to get worked up about.
Orlando had some bad 3 point shooting luck last night (although some of that is probably good defense) so the final score was probably a bit flattering. we didn’t exactly shoot the lights out from 3 either, so I don’t think it was a lucky win, it’s just something to keep an eye on going forward.
To be frank i don’t remember precisely what i said, but yeah i wanted Randle out because i feared he wouldn’t take a backseat to Brunson and RJ, and that he would have a meltdown again when things aren’t going our way. I guess i was wrong about him taking a backseat, he’s doing it and seems content to do it. I’m enjoying his play a lot right now, he’s even fast when bringing the ball up court to try and attack without the defense settled. About the meltdown / losing control, we have to wait for moments of adversity to check how he’s doing. I hope we don’t get to that point, but if we’re in the middle of a losing streak of 7+ games and he keeps being this way, then we’ll be more certain that the change is for real. One thing i’d like to say is that i want both Randle and Obi to be the best players that they can, and i see some comments from Randle stans about Obi that seems to me that if Obi plays worse than Randle they’d be more happy than Randle playing good and Obi playing wonderful. Can’t understand this, we’re all rooting for the team and all it’s players.
Underrated summer move: getting the invisible 6th man back. 😀
“Can’t understand this, we’re all rooting for the team and all it’s players.”
**
+1. There are plausible scenarios in which Randle is good AND Obi is good. My only worry was if Thibs would vary his rotations based on who is playing well for a particular night. The early news is that he is willing to do exactly that for all the guys this year. Keep going.
Few random observations from my end. Randle gave good effort on D, Brunson organizes the offense well, especially in important possessions, IQ positively contributed to the game even when his shot wasn’t falling, I really enjoy Hart’s hustle.
An excellent use of useless stats
Amen
iserp
“I don’t know, I feel that on D, Mitch is often out of position to get the rebound, maybe defending on the 3pt line, or trying to chase a block.”
I haven’t been watching closely enough. but I think you may be right. “Block Chasing” and help defense could explain it. Maybe the plan is to allow Mitch to roam around and help and let Randle clean up the boards. It just seems to me that as good as he is on the offensive glass you’d expect more on the other side.
“for all of Jalen Brunson’s strengths it seems pretty clear that he is not a strong pick and roll defender. He doesn’t die on screens as easily as Kemba, but it’s pretty easy to pick him off with a screen and he doesn’t really have the quickness/agility to recover quickly.”
Now put Mitchell at the other guard position and you know why I was having tantrums during those trade discussions. 🙂
I agree with you. The ideal is to put a solid defender at the other G position. I’d settle for a solid 3&D, but naturally I’m hoping for more. We’ll see what Grimes can do.
I hope everyone doesn’t go into panic mode if Grimes gets off to a slow start. He had almost no camp and hasn’t been doing anything lately. We have to give him some time to get in top shape and get his timing and rhythm.
I’ve been in and out of the trade Randle camp.
I’m in the “he’s better than his TS% and TOs suggest and is being used improperly because we have no PG, no space, and no 1st option” camp.
I’m also in the “he’s tough to watch” camp because I favor ball and player movement.
I’m also in the “he’s not a good fit with Mitch camp”.
So I guess I’m more in the “we should eventually trade him and find a solid stretch PF to replace him” camp.
I’m not in the camp that thinks he sucks, should be dumped with an asset and Obi is the better all around player. As far as Obi goes, I think for now he’s in the perfect role as an energy player off the bench. He’s excellent at what he does, but imo he’s not complete enough yet to be the starting PF over Randle.
So to continue the Small Sample Size Theater, here’s some notable three-point shooting to date: Cam a bit over 44%, Jalen almost 42%, Rose at 40%, and Julius and Obi tied at 33%. Evan’s at almost 37%, Quick and Hart stuck down at 20%, RJ jacked himself up to nearly 19% in the second half last night, and of course Svi is rocking the 100%.
I’m in the same camp I’ve always been with Randle. Not good enough to lead a contender, too quirky a game and too notionally forceful a personality to fit into a secondary role and therefore not worth expending effort on it. Doesn’t fit, pointless to try to keep fitting him. Waste of time, waste of energy, stops progress.
There’s very little doubt that’s the widespread consensus among association decision-makers — which is why his market value is low (other than perhaps in the farflung precincts of places like Z-topia or somesuch).
Mitchell Robinson is probably gonna need to average more than 1.1 REB/36. I’m assuming that is some sort of odd anomaly.
Overall the Knicks have been very poor in terms of defensive rebounding as a team so far. They were the #1 defensive rebounding team in the NBA last year, so it’s pretty weird.
Either this is a worse injury than they’ve let on, or they are really slow playing it to stall the Cam decision as long as possible.
You meant DRB, i see. He’s never averaged more ORB than DRB in any season, so yeah, it’s an anomaly that will fade as the sample size gets greater.
“Either this is a worse injury than they’ve let on, or they are really slow playing it to stall the Cam decision as long as possible.”
IMO, the chances this is any way related to a Cam decision are very low.
Cam is not some rookie. He has 3 seasons behind him that have been well scouted, he practiced and played with NY last year, and practiced played with NY this year. They know exactly what he is now, what his attitude towards work is, what his aptitude for learning is, and if he’s making progress.
The injury is almost certainly worse than they are saying or at least one of those nagging types. My first guess was plantar fasciitis, but no one who would know has mentioned that. So it’s probably not that.
When he’s healthy, expect Thibs to bring Grimes back slowly because he didn’t have much camp and is way behind in fitness and sharpness. If he’s playing better than Cam in practice and then games or fits better due to superior defense he’ll get the minutes. If not Cam will keep them.
Cam’s spot on the team is the same as everyone else’s.
Earn the minutes.
If a great deal comes along, he may be part of it and that includes almost everyone.
No reason to hide a diagnosis of plantar faciitis readily presents itself.
“They know exactly what he is now, what his attitude towards work is, what his aptitude for learning is, and if he’s making progress.”
I have been closely studying my child for hours every day for 14 years and I still can’t answer any of those questions.
that there may just be the most honest thing i’ve heard all day…
speaking of the difficulty of relationships…my whole master plan to get my friend to relocate to my area may have already unraveled itself…
i understand sex/intimacy comes at a cost…i get it…it’s tough though when you may be judged on not your behavior/actions, but rather your thought process…
seems my whole: “peace is a lie” and “life itself is a competition” way of looking at things can upset some folks…
from my perspective, as long as you treat people “fairly”, who cares about the motivation for those actions…
i really don’t mind changing my behavior…changing my thought processes or beliefs, seems somewhat drastic…
just need to remember, when pressed for words, say less…
I read this comment as part of Raven’s very-funny reply, and I knew exactly who wrote it. Never change.
Looks like Very Smart Scholar Jaylen Brown’s business advisors got through to him on the whole “associating with fervent anti-semites” thing. I’m sure the evil-as-fuck YouTube rabbit-hole algorithm will do its best to get him back to where he was, but money does talk, sometimes.
Jeez, Brooklyn is dead last in season ticket sales this season… what a crap market. Maybe the Nets should move to Buffalo?
Or go back to Newark! 😀
Relocate them to Seattle. The Kevin Durant Full Circle of Life.
Even Krazy Kyrie can get behind that.
Oh, wait, no, he’s all about flat…
Stout effort from NO without Zion and Ingram
Without Herb Jones! Pelicans making love to the Ewing Theory tonight
The Kicks are obviously lying about whatever is wrong with Grimes. You don’t miss weeks of basketball with a sore foot
If Ben Simmons is who Doc and Embiid thoughts he was, Brooklyn could follow Utah in total tear down and rebuild strategy.
https://twitter.com/nba_university/status/1584985292544827393?s=46&t=nICE1do6evAnBiSQjnGvVg
small sample…but that’s all we have for now.
[extremely fake Owen Wilson voice]
Now, everybody knows that the pick the Dallas Mavericks owe the Knicks won’t be good because their floor is too high with a healthy Luka Doncic. What this comment presupposes is… maybe it isn’t?