Knicks Morning News (2023.03.04)

POR has lost 5 of their last 6 with Cam Reddish as a starter, all blowouts. They did beat HOU though when his sidekick had a pretty good game.

Every teams’ best players get doubled, that’s kinda predictable. Others will have to step up. Hopefully IQ, Grimes, Hart and RJ are up to the task.

TNFH I was thinking the same about watching a replay. We are playing them 2 more times and Spo is a genius so my guess is whoever we play in the postseason is going to be studying that film…

For the record, I’d be very happy if we acquired either Jimmy Butler or Kawhi Leonard. Mikal would be great too, more due to his age and health.

I have an irrational love for Butler, so he’d be first. I’d have to look at Kawhi’s health real carefully, because if he can stay reasonably healthy, it’s a no-brainer for me to take him over Bridges. I’m still not convinced that Mikal is good enough of a shot creator to be in that class, but would be thrilled to find out…just don’t think it’s possible.

Well we know for sure that Butler is a Thibs guy, and hard to imagine Kawhi not liking Thibs although he’s a strange dude. Any of those 3 guys would vastly improve the team, although healthy versions of Butler and Kawhi are perennial all-NBA first ballot HOF types…Mikal isn’t quite there.

Re: Mikal vs. Kawhi vs. Butler, my sense is that this team needs an elite closer if it is going to make the leap to true contender. Brunson and Randle are sort of okay in that role for now, but Kawhi and Butler are, well, better?

DeRozan gives you another excellent closing option, but there are defensive concerns and he doesn’t shoot the 3. I’d rather stick with what we have than take the risk with him.

“I think this clearly disqualifies Leonard.”

I wouldn’t go that far. It’s not really the coach’s call re: all cases of load management. With a guy like Kawhi who is coming back from a serious knee injury, you can live with him not playing b2b’s if that’s the extent of it, as it seems to be right now. He’s putting up great numbers and playing 33mpg, and he’s only going to be 32 when next season begins. He also has the shortest contract.

I don’t have enough info to conclude that I’d trade the farm for him, but a reasonably healthy 32-36yo Kawhi would be just fine in my book.

I guess I need to apologize to the big Serb I punched out…

Sounds good.

I watched the replay. Couple of thoughts:
-Clyde alluded to the soft rims…it did seem like a bunch of shots that looked like misses rolled in
-RJ seemed to play pretty well on both ends, especially getting into the paint and finishing.
-Randle got the props he deserved, but that turnover leading to the Herro basket and the fumbling just before the shot were yikes-inducing. The last deflection seemed to hit off his heel and kick back to him.
-Brunson made 3 monster hoops in the fourth. Dude has icewater in his veins.
-iHart was very solid. The thing that pisses me off the most about him are the handsy fouls, especially the pushes in the back.
-IQ continues to play phenominally, can’t imagine winning any of these games during the win streak without him
-Love JHart but Butler’s size advantage was pretty evident
-The ambiance was that of a home game…soooo many Knicks fans!
-Obi got absolutely smoked like 3 times. We need more out of him, even if his role stays the same.

When Julius was being interviewed, on the court, Brunson gave him a low bear hug for like 10 seconds while Julius was talking. He subsequently said “we love each other” about his teammates and it sounded really genuine. That’s great to see!