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2022-23 Game Thread: Knicks Go for Two in Chi-Town!

The Knicks take on the Bulls again in one of the odder two-game stretches (two games in one team’s city, but with a day off in-between? Odd). I wasn’t thrilled with the Knicks’ defense in the first game, but with a whole game for Thibs to game plan against his old team, I suspect that they’ll be more than ready for Game 2.

Hopefully the offensive performances for the Knicks carry over, as well!

Let’s go, Knicks!

223 replies on “2022-23 Game Thread: Knicks Go for Two in Chi-Town!”

Chicago will come for the revenge, right? So it’s a good game to check if our improved play is for real.
Gooooo Knicks! 🏀

Deuce! Deuce!

@Owen, I think part of the evolution of evaluating players includes a very fine toothed comb when evaluating shot-type. Brunson adds more on higher usage because his role has fundamentally changed and there’s data that shows he scores very well as a ball-handler. His increase in usage raises his BPM because he has a whole other skillset that he’s able to use, and that skillset has more value in a vacuum (but maybe alongside Luka he’s best as a spot-up shooter because you want Luka on the ball… or they really screwed up).

On the other hand, IQ has a skillset that makes him better on ball. He’s better shooting off the dribble than spotting up. Moreover, he can’t draw fouls off the ball.

Or consider Hartenstein who has a lower usage and a lower efficiency/BPM. This is why people are saying Thibs is underutilizing Hartenstein. The change in Hartenstein’s stats reflects a change in how he’s being used moreso than how much he’s being used.

So the answer really just depends on what is player x’s skillset and does that skillset lend itself to increases/decreases in efficiency at higher/lower usages (and also teammates who might facilitate certain types of usage, Randle still has a high usage but increased his efficiency by playing more off the ball).

Or consider Hartenstein who has a lower usage and a lower efficiency/BPM. This is why people are saying Thibs is underutilizing Hartenstein. The change in Hartenstein’s stats reflects a change in how he’s being used moreso than how much he’s being used.

I really don’t even know what to think about Hart. He’s been very disappointing, but I don’t know who’s really responsible for it.

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Yeah, I think it’s a number of things but I’d like to see them try using him more. I partly think Deuce/Rose/IQ aren’t the most synergistic players for his passing since they aren’t known for cutting. He’s been doing a bit more when in with Sims from what I can see.

Yeah, the Hart/Sims pairing has been oddly effective. I suspect, though, that the novelty played a big part of it, so now that teams have some tape on it, I wonder if it will work as well (it’s such a funny pairing).

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I can count on my hands the number of nice passes Hart has thrown this year. He’s been terrific on the offensive glass- if he was a passing savant you’d think he’d get a decent number of assists off of those. Still, the second unit is so desperate for shot creation that getting him more high post catches is at least worth a shot.

It wasn’t exactly a small sample of Hartenstein passing well either. He had 1200 minutes last year and 300 minutes after being traded from Denver to the Cavs the year before.

I think Hart was been fine. He isn’t doing what he did last year. But he has been picking up steam and may not end too far off the mark.

I think he has made more than ten good passes.

EB – thank you. To my earlier point, I just think it’s easier to say this stuff after the fact. Certainly, I still can’t explain why IQ has been declining through his first three years. It’s pretty unusual

Back to back in Chicago!? I assumed it was a home and home. When did this silliness begin?

Back to back in Chicago!? I assumed it was a home and home. When did this silliness begin?

No idea. It’s super weird.

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Friday. Night. Knicks.

Time to reclaim Friday Night Knicks as a good thing!

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When did this silliness begin?

I think it started this season and… i hope it ends this season too! 😉 😀

Williams seems to be excited to have a career night.

Brunson has been a little ball dominant so far

And yeah, Mitch was in some strange body positions. Couple lurches.

I was going to write “this is starting great” and then i didn’t, but looks like you just have to think it to jinx it. 😛

Unpleasant offense, an ineffective string of semi-isos with few ball and player movement, and an early holiday for ISM on defense.

We can do better.

The Bulls look hungry for revenge.

Grimes is finding his stroke 🙂

Who in his right mind approved the script for the Coinbase ad? Noise to be repeated over and over!?

Grimes should probably be untouchable in trades.

We’ll take Mitchell and 3 unprotected 1st rounders for him. 🤣🤣

Who in his right mind approved the script for the Coinbase ad? Noise to be repeated over and over!?

there’s like a 10pct chance that brian armstrong is a hologram with a chatgpt script so it’s surely straight from the top

there’s like a 10pct chance that brian armstrong is a hologram with a chatgpt script so it’s surely straight from the top

LOL

Bad exchange at the end there. Derrick Jones looked like the drone filming RJ’s layup.

Hart got shoved in the back on that first one. Just for posterity I want the record to note that.

Sims is a great leaper

They might want to put someone Sims’ size out there

RJ’s ability to miss layups is elite

did several minutes of capcha so I could say one thing this team can do is get offensive rebounds

“I think I just appreciated how small Deuce is as he passed in front of Sims.”

Or how big Sims is…

one things sims still struggles at is drop in the pnr. he gets so low and back pedals so aggressively he’s often giving on balance floaters that are more like 6 foot free throws

Ayo Dosunmu is an interesting player. How did he last so long in the draft?

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Quickleys shot is broken

It’s fascinating just how off his shot has been.

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Remember that period where every Knick was wearing the same orange headband? That was so annoying.

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Fascinating point by Clyde about how they used to do these sorts of back-to-back away games in the past, but the issue back then was that the fans wouldn’t come out to the second game, which is different now.

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What I want to know is how Thibs can watch this so many times and keep him on the court. He’s so pathetic some nights it’s idiotic to keep playing him.

You gotta love the “Maybe I should pass?” while mid-air. Too dumb.

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Fuck, I really wanted to say that Caruso was definitely missing at least one but I didn’t post it quickly enough. He looked so shaky.

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our entire offense has been grimes and brunson taking not particularly open threes and refusing to miss

How are the Bulls not subbing guys out? They all look exhausted out there. It’s hilarious.

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Grimes having his best games this season after certain poster kept slighting him is probably not meaningful but it is very funny

“Our 3 man break is not reminiscent of Lakers showtime”

They ran one good one last game. I’m hard pressed to think of another.

I have the Bulls feed and they’re being insufferable. Yes, Vooch was fouled, but move the hell on.

Results over process,
I don’t like our offense at all, but we’re up so I have to shut up, Brunson and Grimes on fire saved our skin so far.

Please stop missing FTs guys.

“Grimes having his best games this season after certain poster kept slighting him is probably not meaningful but it is very funny”

But Cam would be even better….

“They can’t see that the ball hit the rim?”

That annoys the bejeezus outta me….

I don’t like our offense at all, but we’re up so I have to shut up, Brunson and Grimes on fire saved our skin so far.

I guess, but I dunno, the Bulls look tired as hell, so I think the Knicks just look sprier than them, so I think they’ll be fine, even if yes, the offense hasn’t looked great.

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“our entire offense has been grimes and brunson taking not particularly open threes and refusing to miss”

The offense was ugly. Too much dribbling and not enough player and ball movement. We can’t count on those 3s. The defense was pretty bad also except for the last minutes of the half.

“But Cam would be even better………..than RJ”.

Fixed it for you. 😜

the Bulls look tired as hell

Doesn’t make any sense because they played 2 days ago, just like the Knicks, but yeah they sure look tired.

That annoys the bejeezus outta me….

It must not be reviewable for some reason, because, well, come on, it clearly hit the rim.

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I thought Jerome would replace Curry’s production but apparently it’s Devincenzo

Big night for FVV

Doesn’t make any sense because they played 2 days ago, just like the Knicks, but yeah they sure look tired.

Agreed, it doesn’t make any sense. I mean, I guess they have some older guys, but it doesn’t really explain how they’d be this tired in the second quarter. Some total lolly gagging going on at the end of the first half. The Knicks had to basically just hold serve and they were pulling away.

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Randle with 3 steals and a block in a half- Has that ever happened before?

yes, but not as a knick

The start of the third reminds me of the overtime. They’re just embarrassing the Bulls.

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I feel like that RJ layup rolling in is the hinge point for his entire career. Gold from here

This prediction may be wishcasting

Even Clyde getting in on how pathetic the Bulls look. Like a bunch of dudes who simply don’t give a shit.

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What is this coin base ad y’all speak of? I’ve googled but haven’t found anything since the NBA finals.

Side note: I have had to work with coin base executives and I wish that company the worst.

Four seconds, and they let RJ just waltz to the rim. What a bunch of losers. Where is their coach? “Yes, this all looks good to me.”

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lavine with some major i’m taking a dive energy on those post entry passes tonight

Holy shit, right? I half expected him to shout, “I’m throwing the ball to this guy now!”

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By the way, it’s very good that the Knicks are making these guys look like chumps. That’s very nice to see them take the low energy the Bulls are giving and shoving it up their ass.

Boy, this game is surprising, because I thought the Knicks would win this one, but from improved defense, not the Bulls just surrendering. Good to see the Knicks not let up on them.

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I think it was Fred Katz who wrote in an article recently about the Knicks switching on defense more often lately and specifically doing so with Randle. Randle was quoted that he actually prefers to switch and wants to defend guards on the perimeter, he really does seem alot more engaged on defense lately.

I love that Donovan just kept his starters out there. “Yeah, they don’t give a shit, but eh, whaddayagonnado?”

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I get that the Bulls’ bench is terrible, but come the fuck on, Billy!

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How in the world do you not pull all of these losers from the game? It’s lazy pass after lazy pass. It’s like a bunch of pathetic bums. Let the shitty bench lose, they’ll at least have some heart.

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Mitch has been in berserker mode lately

It’s amazing. It’s like he’s playing with middle schoolers.

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Not a good look there by Hart. Grimes yelling at him for not contesting LaVine on the baseline.

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LaVine and DeRozan. Those are two players I would eye at the trade deadline.

RJ for DeRozan? Who says no?

Hahhahahahaha…how do you guard them so hard for 23 seconds only to give up a wide-open three with a second left?

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It’s been a weird game from the Bulls. I kind of got this apathetic vibe from them last game too.

The Knicks clearly like each other at least

Trading DeRozan seems like the most obvious of obvious calls, doesn’t it? He should get you a first round pick easily. He’s still a very valuable player. Then you trade Vooch for whatever you can get and rebuild around LaVine.

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RJ for DeRozan. Anyone say no?

I do that in a blink of the eye. Both thrive inside the 3pt line but DeRozan is better than RJ in almost every way.

Edit: I would throw in one or two of our 1st rounders to make this trade.

I remember a game the Knicks played here in Butler’s last season. That Bulls team had that same “Who the fuck cares?” attitude to them.

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You simply cannot pass the ball this poorly, can you? Can you? “Maybe this half-assed pass won’t get picked off!”

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Derozan is a guy who broke out so late it’s hard to believe. Maybe his seventh season. He got there. I never thought he would make it. So hope for RJ.

Rebounding has been on point tonight

Bleak situation for the Bulls but at least they’ll give a really good pick to the Magic

That third quarter was fascinating in that the Knicks just played hard nosed basketball while the Bulls played like a bunch of losers, so the Knicks grew their lead almost by default. Just kept playing hard and confident that the Bulls would make some pathetic play (and they did).

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It’s great to know that the Knicks aren’t going to give up. They’re not going to be a bunch of losers. They’re not always going to play well, but they’re always going to give a shit. Especially with Brunson leading the way. That guy is impossible to not give his all.

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Z-man, From the box score it seems they simply shot a higher percentage than us

Hahahaha…oh man, these losers are hilarious. I mean, the Knicks are playing fine defense, but the Bulls are also just such a bunch of losers. You’d think after, like, the sixth steal, the Bulls would stop doing half-assed passes, but nope!

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This Coby White alleyoop pass was hilarious

Down 13! Down fucking 13!!!!

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The Bulls are an embarrassment tonight.
McBride, Sims and Grimes are making huge statements.

Yes but we have taken 74 shots to their 56…that visually looks like we’re destroying that.

Alas, IQ, Hart, and Randle are 5 for 30, so there’s that…

What an embarrassment for the Bulls. Teams almost never lose back to backs against the same team, and these are home games!

Team Realist, how’s it goink?

Going fantastic, i always love to be wrong when i’m pessimistic. 😉

I think i saw RJ yelling at Hart when he committed the offensive foul, but well, RJ is not the best example to demand good play from others.

I hope the Knicks brass is watching LaVine- I want no part of him.

That’s why I think the Bulls should just rebuild around him. They’re not going to get good value for him at the moment.

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Is this current winning streak the best the Knicks have looked since the 2012-13 season?

When is Lonzo Ball coming back?

Is he? I think he’s going to miss the rest of this season.

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Perhaps it’s recency bias but I’d say no to RJ for DeRozan. Too soon to sell.

Is this current winning streak the best the Knicks have looked since the 2012-13 season?

No way. The 9-game streak in the 2020-21 season where they beat Memphis, Dallas and Toronto twice.

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I saw the comments the other day about if beating the Bulls still means a bit extra. I don’t have the vitriol for them that I did back in the 90s, so it’s not the same.

But maybe blowing them out this way and causing their announcers to check out mentally is a lil extra nice tho.

Perhaps it’s recency bias but I’d say no to RJ for DeRozan. Too soon to sell.

I just don’t think the Knicks are in a place to get an old player. Let some team like the Celtics or the Grizzlies get DeRozan.

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Okay, just caught up on the thread. Brian is on fire. Sounds like we actually aren’t playing great so much as the Bulls are a joke.

I dunno Brian, it still feels that alot of that season was a bit flukey. This stretch is beginning to feel really legit.

I dunno Brian, it still feels that alot of that season was a bit flukey. This stretch is beginning to feel really legit.

Oh sure, overall, it was a fluke, but during the streak, they were playing great.

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Okay, just caught up on the thread. Brian is on fire. Sounds like we actually aren’t playing great so much as the Bulls are a joke.

Brunson and Grimes were on fire from three, and the Knicks were putting the work in on defense. But yes, the Bulls were a fucking joke. And so was Billy Donovan for allowing it to happen. Win or lose, the idea that he allowed his starters to disgrace their uniform was embarrassing in and of itself.

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Hartenstein & IQ a combined 2-19 with a plus 7 & plus 6 respectively.

This is why plus-minus is a joke, but holy shit.

“It just occurred to me that maybe the trade rumors are getting to IQ…”

i was thinking that during the game as well…his head seems not in the game…

totally different energy for julius tonight…reserved, he seemed to at least be coasting on the offense and putting the majority of the effort in on defense and rebounding…seemed like a smart game…

also, he seems to have momentarily stopped going after the refs constantly…

RJ seems to be over whatever early season malady was making him look like he was moving in quicksand all the time…

looking at his stat page, they list a bunch of nicknames for him, i still don’t think RJ deserves any nicknames…

Yeah…that hood shit is weak…it’s like a passive aggressive middle finger to thibs…

Bulls fans are really down on their team. I quote
“Bulls offense really kicked it up a notch in the 2nd half. Their passing came alive, and it felt like they assisted on 9-10 Knicks baskets.”

If I said it once, I’ve said it at least a dozen times. Lakers should trade AD… or should’ve when he was on a roll this year. Would’ve had a clear cap next year except for LeBron and THT or whoever

Bulls fans are really down on their team. I quote
“Bulls offense really kicked it up a notch in the 2nd half. Their passing came alive, and it felt like they assisted on 9-10 Knicks baskets.”

It was crazy. It wasn’t like the Knicks were making amazing steals. The Knicks were very active, which is to their credit, but the Bulls kept making the most half-assed pass attempts and never stopped doing it. It was crazy. And Donovan just left them in there to keep doing it.

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Would’ve had a clear cap next year except for LeBron and THT or whoever

THT is now on the Jazz, which you might have missed because he is totally irrelevant, barely plays and making $21M over this season and next (unless he bets big by declining his player option and inevitably loses).

The Lakers are fucked.

I just saw Luka’s poster. Mavs fans haven’t seen a season without a top 25 all-time player on their roster since 1998.

I feel this Bulls team and us are on similar trajectory, except we’re one year ahead of them and we didn’t make the stupid Vucevic trade.

This year’s Bulls is last year’s Knicks. And last year’s Bulls was the empty-gym-season Knicks.

I think when you’re a hybrid team like both teams are, it’s probably a little dispiriting when you work your ass off all year, have as good a year as you possibly could have had, and then get summarily trounced in the first round.

I bet the same happening to the bulls now is what happened to us last year: lackluster play from their top player with a general sense of “who gives a shit” that’s rubbing off on the team.

The Knicks brought in Brunson to fix that, and it’s worked. But it’s something to keep an eye on next year.

Feel like I must have known that in the offseason at some point.

Looks like it’d be LeBron, Max Christie, Damian Jones, and whoever they feel is worth re-signing.

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