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2022-23 Game Thread: Knicks vs. Sixers

Let’s go Knicks!

227 replies on “2022-23 Game Thread: Knicks vs. Sixers”

RJ Barrett (illness) is doubtful for tonightā€™s game.— NY_KnicksPR (@NY_KnicksPR) February 5, 2023

Pretty wild to put this out there 22 minutes after the supposed tip off time. Would be fun to think this is some kind of trade shenanigan but with Brunson having recently been sick it makes sense.

Announcer said they ā€œsaw him get sick right before the tipā€ so as much fun as the trade conspiracy would be I suspect itā€™s a stomach bug.

What are the rules for the Nets trading Dinwiddie and DFS?

DFS is a pretty good 3&D SF. He got off to a slow start this year, but he’s a legit SF. If the Nets blow it up fully and trade Durant now instead of waiting for the off season, they can probably get some value back for both those guys. I wouldn’t have said that about Dinwiddie when he went to Dallas, but he played well for them.

RJā€™s out with an ā€œillnessā€? Fournier tooā€¦

So the trade is RJ and Fournier going out. šŸ˜›

Fournierā€™s back to the benchā€¦

The 76ers have started from where they left on Christmas Dayā€¦

I canā€™t stand sidelines reporting and coaches interviews between quartersā€¦

I canā€™t stand our offense tooā€¦. Except for Brunson šŸ™‚

Thereā€™s a small but significant chance this game wonā€™t go to overtimeā€¦ šŸ˜‰

“Maybe someone explained RJā€™s advanced stats to him before the gameā€¦”

Heh.

Deuce will rescue us?

Edit: Deuce immediately gets crushed on the screen…

That we just inserted Deuce McBride while in desperate need of an offensive jolt is a pretty strong case for some kind of trade

If you don’t already make yourself a gift and follow NBA Cobwebs on Twitterā€¦. šŸ˜€

You can make fun of Deuce McBride at your peril, but we’re coming back…

“That we just inserted Deuce McBride while in desperate need of an offensive jolt is a pretty strong case for some kind of trade”

take that, hater…

Well we were teetering on the edge of the abyss so that was a nice way to end the Q…

Nice comeback, but we’ll only know if this is for real when their starters are back on the court.

Gotta give our guys credit, they never quit

(and they owe it to the home fans not to get blown out, but instead lose in excruciating fashion)

Say what you want about Thibs but this team plays hard. And both Deuce and Grimes putting it on the deck and drawing fouls is good to see.

76ers on a B2B off a tough OT loss and we are trying hard. Got to give to Thibs and these players for even showing up and trying hard today.

Edit: I see Nicos and D-Mar beat me to it.

We’re halfway thru the 2nd quarter and my emotions have already been all over the place watching this game.

Brunson just did the Trae Young thing. I thought they werenā€™t calling that anymore?

The comeback was nice but as long as Harden and Embiid are in the game the Knicks have no chance.

“Nothing more fun than watching Embiid parade to the foul line”

…except watching Harden flail away

“The comeback was nice but as long as Harden and Embiid are in the game the Knicks have no chance.”

You are underrating the impact of RJ being out šŸ™‚ , but I tend to agree with you since they are better than us and we are likely gassed from yesterday.

Randle should patent that move of jumping in the air and making a two handed bullet pass out of bounds…call it “the Randle”

They should never, ever, ever have Julius Randle take the last shot at the end of a quarter. Never. Never ever.

I hope Thibs has some Red Bull (or something stronger) to keep these guys going for another half. This team is very close to being very good even if they tire in this one of the tough B2B. They are hanging with some of the best teams in the NBA game after game.

“Awful week for the DRed family, we lost my father today. Could use a W tonight.”

I’m very sorry to hear that DRed.

Wow- Randle has the third most points on iso’s in the league? Wouldn’t have guessed he’d be quite that high.

DRedā€”so sorry to hear. Really hope the Knicks get the W tonight to help you take your mind off things.

Sorry to hear DRed, wishing you all the best during this tough time. Will root that much harder for a win!

Sorry to hear DRed, I’ve lost both my parents the past few years.

The Knicks starting lineup tonight has been beyond atrocious defensively.

I’m glad Sims survived that fall….ouch! He’s having a pretty good shift here…

“I wish IQ would escape from the funk he is inā€¦.”

It could be RJ with a Quick mask on. The real Quick is probably tied up in the locker room. RJ has to get his 20 somehow.

Tommy T has the worst in-bounds plays I’ve ever seen. They just stand around. And then he yells at them when it’s a five-second violation? That’s all on Thibs for not having his players actually DO SOMETHING.

That Sims fall was terrifying, no idea how he seemed to escape unscathed but glad he did.

Shotmaking is off but very impressed with our defense tonight.

DRed, really sorry to hear about your father. Hope you and your family can find a way to celebrate his life amidst the sorrow.

This team is super frustrating to watch at times but shit they never quit and always play their asses off.

The “you’d be better off replacing RJ with a replacement-level player” is not exactly being refuted tonight…

Third consecutive nice offensive game for Deuce,
Iā€™m glad Fournier did find a ticket for the Siberian Shuttle.
The bench is making waves todayā€¦

We sure do keep the fans entertained

(Now if we could actually win one of theseā€¦.)

Very sorry for your loss, DRed.

May the Knicks for one night tap into your GM powers and pull out a W tonight against a title contender!

Deuce clearly has done some awesome shit tonight

If he can hit threes I am cool with Deuce. And he is lately

Sorry to hear DRed. There’s few things tougher than losing a parent. Take special care of yourself and your loved ones this week.

Man seems lately in all these close games Knicks miss too many wide open 3pters that could be huge shots.

The whole game has been whistled with different standards,
Harden and Embiid milk fouls just on reputation,
itā€™s really annoying.

I mean look this is probably gonna be another devastating loss, but impressive regardless

(And monsta gangsta rebound by Hart)

He really does look so much more spry this last week or so.

You can tell Fournier is playing with a chip on his shoulderā€¦ right from earlier in the gameā€¦ he was making up for his lack of mobility with some hard fouls

Can we PLEASE not have a gut wrenching end to this? Itā€™s been such a great team effort.

Just when I thought Iā€™d figured it outā€¦ took sixers +5.5 with a Knicks under 112.5ā€¦ didnā€™t have to bet the Knicks to outright loseā€¦ was comfortable ā€¦ now weā€™re in jeopardy

Thibs should just run full court press drills every practice from now on we canā€™t keep turning the ball over in crunch time

Outstanding job from the bench guys.

We just need to improve at SF, like we did adding JB at PG this seasonā€¦

Well that was unexpected

Say what you will about this team, theyā€™ve got big cojones

OMG what a bounce back win for the ages! A less gritty team rolls over after last night and getting down 21 early. NOT THIS TEAM!!!

And good for you DRed, glad the Knicks smiled on you today!

Take all the time you need RJ! Rest and recovery is so important.

Lol. Yep. Even more impressive considering IQ didn’t have a great game filling in.

To have Deuce, Fournier and Hart play massive roles in a win like this is as inspiring as it is shocking….

Imagine this team actually had a ā€œproductive two way SFā€ instead of RJ being a negative on both sides.

Imagine Thibs being a little more flexible with the bench unit depending on matchups and what we need on any given night.

Imagine adding a defensive PF that can shoot the 3 to come off the bench when needed.

This team is VERY close to being very good with just a few minor moves. It may not be top of the heap good, but replace RJ and this team will be a tough out for anybody in the NBA. We have the ammo!

GET OGA!

Fell asleep during flag football and just woke up. Sounds like a good win from the thread. Sorry for your loss DRed.

Maybe the rotation stands after the deadline with more Fournier thrown in.

Cam & Rose can be dealt solely for picks.

The casual disrespect of not doing a postgame interview after interviewing the coach of the pro bowl flag football team winnerā€¦.

Iā€™m not a huge Fournier fan, but imo it has been preposterous having him in jail all this time. Heā€™s been a starter all his life. Heā€™s been one of the best players on team France for a long time, played in big games, and handled the heat. He may not be a starter in the NBA anymore and he may be a bad match with Brunson/RJ, but how is he not still a useful scorer off the bench? He may not be as talented as RJ, but imo heā€™s the better and higher IQ player than RJ right now. Heā€™s been buried in jail and RJ often leads the team in minutes and shots. Itā€™s all so idiotic.

it has been preposterous having him in jail all this time.

He was shooting .301 prior to today’s game. He can’t drive as well anymore, and he’s a liability everywhere else. Hopefully he’s found his shot again.

Play of the Game: The offensive rebound on Brunson’s bricked FT that lead to the Deuce corner 3 off a Fournier assist to make it an 8 point leade with 3:22 left. Sixers never got closer than 7 after that.

Imagine Thibs being a little more flexible with the bench unit depending on matchups and what we need on any given night.

Yeah, imagine that with a team as deep as the current Knicks…

Play of the Game: The offensive rebound on Brunsonā€™s bricked FT that lead to the Deuce corner 3 off a Fournier assist to make it an 8 point leade with 3:22 left. Sixers never got closer than 7 after that.

Taking notes… šŸ˜‰

(I loved that play)

Miles ends up +34 (I was laughing at the announcers using +/- all game like I do, only seriously…).

Hart was just ferocious on the boards. Really nice to see.

I “sort of” agree with strat, but not really. It was important for Thibs to commit to a short rotation and when you do that but sub guys out when they are not producing they lose confidence. I think that Deuce is a great example of that this year. Thibs had every reason to bench him in favor of Fournier, but he stuck with him and it finally seems to be paying off. That 3 that Fournier set him up for had to be the biggest shot of his NBA career, hopefully he will now be able to relax a bit and just shoot freely.

I know folks hate that about Thibs, and sometimes he takes it too far (like he did last year eith Randle and this year with RJ) but it’s also one of the qualities that made a win like this possible. Guys like Deuce and Grimes are stepping up and knocking down huge shots under pressure, and not just “game” pressure but “fighting for playoff position” pressure.

Our old friend Willy had himself a solid game for NOP. Seems like he’s having a solid season (in very few minutes)

So a couple of weeks ago we lost 4 straight, including 2 to Toronto, and were lamenting Mitch going down in advance of this brutal stretch. My confidence was definitely shaken and I was bracing for us to dip under .500, the only question was how far.

And since then, we beat the Celts, Cavs, Heat and Sixers, and 2 of our three losses were OT gut-wrenchers.

Never did I think we were capable of that level of play.

We can nitpick the coaching all we want, but give credit where credit is due. Going 4-3 during the last 7 is an accomplishment.

ā€œI ā€œsort ofā€ agree with strat, but not really. It was important for Thibs to commit to a short rotation and when you do that but sub guys out when they are not producing they lose confidence. I think that Deuce is a great example of that this year. Thibs had every reason to bench him in favor of Fournier, but he stuck with him and it finally seems to be paying off.ā€

I know what you are talking about when it comes to confidence issues and young players. I agree on that. But Iā€™m not suggesting yanking players and changing rotations all the time because someone has a few bad games. Iā€™m on the opposite side of the spectrum on that. A lot of stuff that everyone else gets upset about is mostly just noise to me. Iā€™m always looking at skills. I expect the stats to reflect the skills and how the players are used over the long term. I excuse bad YEARS let alone bad games.

Iā€™m mostly talking about matchups and some nights when a guy just doesnā€™t have it.

Iā€™m not sure Deuce and Fournier are really a choice anyway.

I generally want Deuce in there to be disruptive to the opposing PG, put full court pressure on and run some time off the clock so the other team has a shorter possession, and stuff like that.

Fournier will never be guarding the opposing PG.

You could even make the case for those two guys and Quick to play together. That would be two scorers to make up for Deuce and two defenders to make up for Fournier.

There have been nights the 2nd unit couldnā€™t score at all. It could be matchups or someone is just off, but throwing a guy like Fournier in there for that game to see if shakes things up is not going to be an issue as long as you go back to the normal rotation afterwards. In our case it would be even easier to just stretch the rotation to 10 players instead of 9 and not use RJ close to 40 minutes.

ā€œHe was shooting .301 prior to todayā€™s game. He canā€™t drive as well anymore, and heā€™s a liability everywhere else. Hopefully heā€™s found his shot again.ā€

He has all sorts of liabilities on defense. Thatā€™s why he canā€™t be a starter. But imo the 3p% is just noise. Itā€™s a highly volatile stat even year to year. Iā€™m in favor of keeping him unless a good deal comes up. IMO heā€™ll be an asset as an expiring next year and can still help this team now.

“I generally want Deuce in there to be disruptive to the opposing PG, put full court pressure on and run some time off the clock so the other team has a shorter possession, and stuff like that.

Fournier will never be guarding the opposing PG.”

But Deuce could have been displaced by increasing IQ and Brunson’s minutes and playing Fournier to take IQ’s minutes at the 2 and to back up Grimes. Not doing that to Deuce was important.

I mean if Hart is getting healthy and all this PT is starting to loosen up McBride on offense, it might change the math as far making any trades. The bench has looked ALOT better offense wise. I donā€™t know. Might be time to go back to 10 man and give Evan some minutes.

I think there’s just a minute crunch issue.

There’s 144min for the 1-3 spots.

Assuming 32min for IQ/Grimes/RJ and 36min for Brunson, that’s 132min.

Deuce should get 8-10min.

Fournier could play the final 2-4min but I don’t know if that’s fair to him either.

I’m also glad Fournier was played because I believe he’s still a useful player on a short leash. Get him some minutes if the shot is falling, if it’s not he sits and it’s fine.

I’m not sure Toronto even wants to trade Anunoby and if a decent package could be put together that wouldn’t gut our team, but thinking about this roster with him instead of Barrett on the 3 spot is a pretty enticing proposition. There’s some real promise here, but we absolutely need better production from the wing spots to make some noise in the playoffs.

So a couple of weeks ago we lost 4 straight, including 2 to Toronto, and were lamenting Mitch going down in advance of this brutal stretch. My confidence was definitely shaken and I was bracing for us to dip under .500, the only question was how far.

At the time, I said that I think Thibs will adjust well, so they probably would be close to .500 in the games Mitch misses. But if they could be over .500, that’d be even better than I expected, of course.

I sadly missed the game, but the highlights have been fun to watch! I was out and my phone was dying (which is why there was a late, very brief game thread, as my phone was literally at 1% when I posted the game thread, and I didn’t want to risk it not getting posted). I guess I’ll just do one-sentence game threads until they lose again. šŸ˜‰

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My condolences, DRed. I’m glad they got the win on this day even more so now.

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This game really shows why Sixer fans are so sick of Doc. There is no rhyme or reason to the Sixers, it’s just simply, “We have two of the best players in the NBA, so we should just win, right?” And because those two guys are so good, they typically do, but whenever they face adversity in a game, the whole team falls apart. The Sixers really aren’t a team the way that the Celtics, Bucks, Heat and, yes, the Knicks, clearly are.

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