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2022-23 Game Thread: Knicks @ Nuggets, Sans the Two-Time MVP

The “We’re never going to get rid of Thibs” tour continues with a certain win against the Denver Nuggets without their star player, Nikola Jokic.

Let’s go, Knicks!

163 replies on “2022-23 Game Thread: Knicks @ Nuggets, Sans the Two-Time MVP”

Can’t believe Knicks haven’t won in Denver since the Jamal Crawford game winner in 2006!

That last shot sucked, but no complaints about Randle on either end other than that.

RJ on the other hand…

there was that stretch of games at the end of that season where julius looked like the best player on the court, it seemed like a 5 or 6 game stretch…

julius does some suspect stuff, calling that meeting to rally the troops for thibs, was a good thing…

i mean, not a good thing in that thibs will now most likely be here way longer than necessary…still though…

go julius, don’t drive us crazy please…

I would not be opposed to giving RJ the Fournier treatment.

Randle does a lot of dumb stuff, but he’s been absolutely on fire recently.

whaaaaaat!?!?!

thibs, i know it’s a back to back in denver – but – this should be your rotation pattern at all times, and don’t be so quick to yank everyone from that second group out…

get brunson back in there…

I think Randle’s pissed at himself because he can’t stop fumbling the ball. He only has one official turnover, but has about four almost-turnovers.

Meanwhile Barrett is “sick,” and 0-5 so far. Super glad he’s back in and surely going to get the most minutes for the team two nights in a row.

I guess Barrett is in because he can stop Murray, who’s going for 40 so far.

I really need RJ to stop playing.

Meanwhile, Sims is really becoming a force.

I think it’s nearly unanimous on the board:

NO ONE UNDERSTANDS WHY OBI ISN’T PLAYING 30 MINUTES PER GAME

what can anyone on the bench, coaching staff, announcers, and fans all be missing that is causing our coach to leave a severely struggling player out on the court…

is thibs trying to send some kind of message – to RJ, to the FO

this is way weird…from any kind of competitive standpoint, it doesn’t make sense…

what happened to fournier and grimes wisely sitting last night just in case one of our players, say, looks like he needs oxygen and nyquil but also won’t stop shooting?

Playing against the ghost of DeAndre Jordan seems like a good time to deploy Obi/Randle but what do I know

“what happened to fournier and grimes wisely sitting last night just in case one of our players, say, looks like he needs oxygen and nyquil but also won’t stop shooting?”

Strat will calmly explain it to us peons tomorrow.

Randle ignored a wide open RJ under the basket to take a contested 3.

I can’t say it was a bad decision.

Looks like they’re targeting RJ on defense again too.

They should trade Randle tomorrow after showing this game film. He looks great by comparison

I heard a rumor that Sims tried a jump shot.

And, Jesus, 3bounds, 2assts, 2steals, 2blocks in 8 minutes.

Um, play Sims.

“what happened to fournier and grimes wisely sitting last night just in case one of our players, say, looks like he needs oxygen and nyquil but also won’t stop shooting?”

B2B into Denver is ridiculously difficult. He should definitely pull RJ. If he doesn’t that may say more about where Grimes is than anything else. We know he loves Grimes. They need fresh legs out there.

More of a push/flip but yeah Sims feet were all the way out of the paint.

Kinda wish he bullied his way to the rim instead

Wally just called Fournier the consumate pro because he was waving a towel on the bench…..hahaha

Apparently, Randle is enjoying the altitude. Maybe there’s a spot in Denver for him 😉

“He should definitely pull RJ. If he doesn’t that may say more about where Grimes is than anything else. ”

The guy with one more point in less than half the time that Barrett has been wandering the court aimlessly probably has pretty fresh legs.

Especially as he only played 18 minutes in the last game.

This could be a very rough second half after last night. Randle isn’t going to have another half like that and these guys are going be tired.

brunson, cam, obi, julius, sims for the win…

edit confession: although no one will ever know, mere seconds ago, i listed six total players to secure the win…removed quik…

as long as one of them wasn’t RJ – we would easily win with six players…

The major problem with RJ is what I’ve been complaining about. He’s one of the least efficient players on the team at this stage, but he plays like he’s a star that’s just having a random spell of dry shooting. So he keeps firing. That’s what you are supposed to do if you are Curry, Durant etc.. not if you are RJ. If you want to criticize Thibs, that’s a valid criticism. It’s on the coach to reign him in, especially when he’s bricking from everywhere or under the weather. He should be 4th option on THIS team behind Brunson, Randle, and Cam, but he often leads the team in shots and Cam is 4th option. Even Cam should have the ball in his hands more than RJ.

It would be interesting to put together a least aesthetically pleasing basketball team, All-NBA. I think we might have two starters.

Cooked Deandre Jordan might be the backup center.

“Just get RJ out of there.”

Thibs must have a contract rider bump if RJ gets his 20.

That was disastrous end to the quarter. Two mistakes in a few seconds.

I can’t believe he put RJ back in.

RJ back in for Cam for the last minute of the quarter because … defense?

Brunson, IQ, Cam, Obi, Sims to close will win this game, but …

I’m going to bed. Even if we win watching this coaching clusterfuck will put me in a foul, foul mood.

Yeah…I can’t watch this…I think thibs is a clown…and Barrett is a bench player on any other team in this league…

They look a bit gassed. Someone has to dig deep. Denver B2B on the road has killed a lot better teams than the Knicks. Thibs was supposed to stretch the rotation either last night or tonight. That he didn’t is either a mistake or Grimes is not doing well.

to say that Grimes is the only option when you have the 17 million man fournier on the bench is not accurate…

Barrett is a bench player on any other team in this league…

which country is the T.H.I.S. league in again?

“to say that Grimes is the only option when you have the 17 million man fournier on the bench is not accurate…”

I thought Fournier might get some run tonight also, but let’s be honest, if he did play Fournier everyone would be whining about that move too. 😂

“if he did play Fournier everyone would be whining about that move too. 😂”

ce n’est pas vrai!

“everyone would be whining about that move too. 😂”

Yeah, I’m def. whining too much. All my guys are actually a mess in the 2nd half and Randle is basically keeping us alive. Who knows what to do on this one 😉

If they can pull this one out it would be miraculous.

Did the doctors give Randle something extra at halftime? Holy crap.

Bones looks like he’s can become a serious player. Denver is going to be very tough if they stay healthy.

All I can think of when they keep saying Bones is William Shatner’s Captain Kirk voice…

THAT’S HOW U PLAY MAN TO MAN D QUICKLEY!!!!! Yaasss!!!

Derek Harper would be so proud!

That Murray possession was a thing of beauty. It should be included in How-To videos from this point forward in “The worst possible ATO play possible at the end of a game.”

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“Thank you, Jamal Murray!”

Yeah, curious why no Bones there. Great D by IQ, and on the previous play from Sims. Talent will out.

If this team could hit a three or two, they may have won this going away late.

Very fun win, very good overall game by Randle, some really nice defense down the stretch, Brunson continues to be the reliable, steady presence and RJ stayed on the bench when Quickly and Reddish deserved the minutes more.

Yeah, LOL at Murray for two heroball possessions where he basically just wanted to shoot a three and had no answer to the tough Knicks D. Just dribbled the shot clock down to nothing.

THAT’S HOW U PLAY MAN TO MAN D QUICKLEY!!!!! Yaasss!!!

It was the damndest thing, in that Murray was, like, “He’ll just let me shoot the game-tying three if I keep dribbling, right?” What a fucking moron.

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Glad the Knicks pulled it out- Randle deserves to go to bed happy rather than kicking himself for missing free throws.

Hahn: “The Knicks need to be a team that it isn’t easy to play against…”

Right fucking on….

Everyone gets As. Except Barrett. He gets an F. And because an F is ambiguous between 0-59, I’m gonna be very specific—he got a zero.

How about Sims replacing Obi and then covering Murray on the penultimate possession. Could it be that our defensive stopper is not Grimes or Deuce but rather our (currently) third string center? Sims can move, man. Great work.

1. This is a huge win. It’s not easy to go into Denver on any night, B2B on the road in Utah and then Denver is miraculous even with Joker out.

2. Thibs is improving. He finally yanked RJ. 😂😂😂

Seriously though, Thibs has to put a leash on that kid. He should be 4th option on this team. He has already bricked us into a couple of losses and it would have been on him tonight again if we didn’t win. I’m a patient guy with development, but the role has to fit the skill level of the player. He cannot take this many shots unless he’s got one of those rare matchups that’s allowing him to get to the basket easily.

3. I wish I believed the company line on Grimes. We needed some fresh legs tonight, especially with RJ in a coma. He should have played tonight unless he’s still not right. We know Thibs likes him and he had to know this was a tough B2B, but he didn’t use him.

4. Randle is an enigma. He figured to be dead tonight, but it was one of his best all around efforts as a Knick.

5. Quick was awesome on that last play. He really is coming around defensively. We know it’s not going to happen, but I like him starting over RJ. Let RJ try to get his 20 points against bench players. It just isn’t going to happen after the extension and hype.

6. Just want to be clear. I still think RJ is going to get better, but he needs a leash badly. No more green light star treatment. This one is on Thibs.

5. Quick was awesome on that last play. He really is coming around defensively. We know it’s not going to happen, but I like him starting over RJ. Let RJ try to get his 20 points against bench players. It just isn’t going to happen after the extension and hype.

100% on this…he would have more success playing against bench players…you cannot have a starter with that much inconsistency…but….they’ll keep running him out there on a wing and a prayer…

Reddish led the team tonight in minutes played. Who had that in mind for game 15?

I know we do a lot of hand wringing about Randle and want to trade home (some more than others) but that was an absolutely beast of a game by Randle. A few bad shots in the third and a couple of missed free throws but an amazing first half and gritty defense and boarding all night. He was phenomenal.

This was by far the best win of the season. Subbing in Sims for the defense and rebounding at the end was a huge right call by thibs as well as yanking RJ and going with the small ball line up to get them back in it at the end when it looked like we were done. Really proud of our boys tonight. I don’t care if there was no joker. Back to back on the road wins in Utah and Denver. That’s huge. I don’t want to jinx the team cause I’ve been burned before with statements like this but these are the moments early in a season that can be the moment when the season goes from disappointment to success. What a win.

ah yes, the pipeweed my hungry churchwarden will be feasting on this evening:
– Herer Hashplant x Afghani Bullrider flower
– topped with Chocolate Diesel bubble hash
– topped again with Sitka traditional hash flattened out

IQ played great defense all night. Really the whole team did. Sims was impressive too as was Randle.

Yeah it felt like Brunson had a quiet game but then he ended up with 20 and 7 assists. Just a steady hand. Hitting those two free throws at the end was huge especially after we missed some.

Be prepared boys! I’m gonna be extra swifty in the threads tomorrow. That game got me hyped!!!

“Good thing we won because TNFH would be on fire re: bones…”

— Bones taking either one of those last Murray possessions and we might be crying in our beers.

Allons-Y for Friday. Sims man to man on Curry. Who says no? 😉

Can we all agree that Cam is playing like a keeper?

He’s playing well defensively, he’s starting to limit the really bad shooting and other decisions, he’s showing that he can score in a variety of ways, and can even explode on some nights. IMO he’s the most talented player on the team, has the most upside, and is still very young. It’s time to put all the controversy about the trade in the past and start rooting for this kid to keep putting it together. The talent is there and it’s developing in NY. He can be very good. 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

ah yes, the pipeweed my hungry churchwarden will be feasting on this evening:
– Herer Hashplant x Afghani Bullrider flower
– topped with Chocolate Diesel bubble hash
– topped again with Sitka traditional hash flattened out

all you’re missing is a little crumbled up quaalude on top and you would have the perfect sundae…

“Be prepared boys! I’m gonna be extra swifty in the threads tomorrow. That game got me hyped!!!”

Optimist Express departing on track fifteen. All aboard 😉

a little crumbled up quaalude

i had to look it up to check…i remember in the wolf of wall street movie thing they mentioned having some legally manufactured quaaludes, and that they were super rare…

fuck all if fentanyl didn’t make popping any old pill not so sexy…

ha, getting ready to write some meeting notes…this’ll be fun…

Fuck y’all, those are 2 massive wins….

dude…like Mitch told Berman last year “relax”…taking pot shots at game 15 doesn’t end well…

I’m trying to figure out how to figure out how we won without giving all the credit to Obi’s +7…

i had to look it up to check…i remember in the wolf of wall street movie thing they mentioned having some legally manufactured quaaludes, and that they were super rare…

it was thing at some point in the 80’s (or at least at a few parties I went to) to sprinkle some of dem dere ludes on top of the old bond and fire it up…good times…

“dude…like Mitch told Berman last year “relax”…taking pot shots at game 15 doesn’t end well…”

dude….we all know how it will end…the question always is who is to credit or blame…

ma had valium in her medicine cabinet…i used to take a shot of whatever liquor was in the house, pop a valium and head off to physics…

i’d wake up out of a stupor around halfway through that first class…

goodness gracious, no wonder my teachers used to make fun of me on occasion, no doubt i deserved it…

Team Optimist has been a see-saw of extremism all year. It’s been pretty fun to watch.

This is what mediocrity looks like. We’re neither good nor bad. It sucks.

Missed the game b/c I fell asleep, but looking at RJ’s box scores, I dont know who to be more mad at: him for taking so many (likely bad) shots or Thibs for not reigning him in sooner before he could take so many shots?

I’m all for young player development, but with the number of games I’ve seen this season already, I’m close to making the conclusion that this is just who RJ is: an inefficient chucker who can average close to 20ppg. I was originally against trading him at all costs b/c I thought he was still young and had potential, but the more I watch him play, the more I think he’s hit his ceiling as far as the type of player he’ll become. I mean statistically, he’ll probably be able to average more points, but he just doesn’t seem to know what a bad shot is and how NOT to take one.

Good win! Couldn’t watch. Saw the clip of IQs defense on the final play and I definitely approve.

Cam Reddish continuing to be a no stat superstar

Saw on twitter today that IQ leads the team in deflections per 36 at 4.1 (good for 6th in the entire league.) Cam is second on the team at 2.6. What’s especially impressive is that IQ averaged 1.8 deflections per 36 last year—everything indicates that he’s taken a defensive leap.

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