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Knicks Morning News (2023.03.28)

  • New York Knicks Magic Basketball | National Sports … – Winchester Herald Chronicle
    [news.google.com] — Tuesday, March 28, 2023 5:53:59 AM

    New York Knicks Magic Basketball | National Sports …  Winchester Herald Chronicle

  • New York Knicks Magic Basketball | National Sports … – Winchester Herald Chronicle
    [news.google.com] — Tuesday, March 28, 2023 5:53:59 AM

    New York Knicks Magic Basketball | National Sports …  Winchester Herald Chronicle

  • Kevin Garnett explains how Damian Lillard can “be considered one of the best to ever do it” – Basketball Network
    [news.google.com] — Tuesday, March 28, 2023 3:31:11 AM

    Kevin Garnett explains how Damian Lillard can “be considered one of the best to ever do it”  Basketball Network

  • NBA Rumors: Grizzlies Land Knicks’ RJ Barrett In This Trade – NBA Analysis Network
    [news.google.com] — Tuesday, March 28, 2023 1:59:23 AM

    NBA Rumors: Grizzlies Land Knicks’ RJ Barrett In This Trade  NBA Analysis Network

  • Immanuel Quickley has career night in Knicks’ win over Rockets – A Sea Of Blue
    [news.google.com] — Tuesday, March 28, 2023 1:43:00 AM

    Immanuel Quickley has career night in Knicks’ win over Rockets  A Sea Of Blue

  • NBA Rumors: Knicks Land Wizards’ Bradley Beal In This Trade – NBA Analysis Network
    [news.google.com] — Tuesday, March 28, 2023 12:02:56 AM

    NBA Rumors: Knicks Land Wizards’ Bradley Beal In This Trade  NBA Analysis Network

  • Houston Rockets fail to match up defensively vs. New York Knicks – Houston Chronicle
    [news.google.com] — Monday, March 27, 2023 11:40:04 PM

    Houston Rockets fail to match up defensively vs. New York Knicks  Houston Chronicle

  • Despite Immanuel Quickley’s talent, Knicks need Jalen Brunson – New York Post
    [news.google.com] — Monday, March 27, 2023 11:40:00 PM

    Despite Immanuel Quickley’s talent, Knicks need Jalen Brunson  New York Post

  • Rockets vs. Knicks – NBA Game Recap – March 27, 2023 – ESPN
    [news.google.com] — Monday, March 27, 2023 11:33:44 PM

    Rockets vs. Knicks – NBA Game Recap – March 27, 2023  ESPN

  • Rockets Fall To Knicks As Immanuel Quickley Scores Career-Best 40 points – Yardbarker
    [news.google.com] — Monday, March 27, 2023 10:43:43 PM

    Rockets Fall To Knicks As Immanuel Quickley Scores Career-Best 40 points  Yardbarker

  • Photos: Rockets vs. Knicks 3/27/23 Photo Gallery – NBA.com
    [news.google.com] — Monday, March 27, 2023 10:30:34 PM

    Photos: Rockets vs. Knicks 3/27/23 Photo Gallery  NBA.com

  • IQ Best! Brunson-less Knicks Ground Rockets, End Losing Streak – Sports Illustrated
    [news.google.com] — Monday, March 27, 2023 10:30:32 PM

    IQ Best! Brunson-less Knicks Ground Rockets, End Losing Streak  Sports Illustrated

  • Immanuel Quickley dazzles as Jalen Brunson-less Knicks blast Rockets – New York Post
    [news.google.com] — Monday, March 27, 2023 10:25:00 PM

    Immanuel Quickley dazzles as Jalen Brunson-less Knicks blast Rockets  New York Post Game Thread: Knicks vs. Rockets-03/27/23  Posting and ToastingKnicks Honor Willis Reed in Return to Madison Square Garden  Sports Illustrated

  • Game Recap: Rockets vs Knicks – NBA.com
    [news.google.com] — Monday, March 27, 2023 10:23:38 PM

    Game Recap: Rockets vs Knicks  NBA.com

  • N.Y. Knicks 137, Houston 115 – New Haven Register
    [news.google.com] — Monday, March 27, 2023 10:04:48 PM

    N.Y. Knicks 137, Houston 115  New Haven Register

  • Hand injury keeps Jalen Brunson out of Knicks’ tilt with Rockets – New York Post
    [news.google.com] — Monday, March 27, 2023 8:05:00 PM

    Hand injury keeps Jalen Brunson out of Knicks’ tilt with Rockets  New York Post

  • Rockets on a back-to-back against Knicks – The Dream Shake
    [news.google.com] — Monday, March 27, 2023 6:56:56 PM

    Rockets on a back-to-back against Knicks  The Dream Shake

  • Knicks’ Derrick Rose: Unavailable Monday – CBS Sports
    [news.google.com] — Monday, March 27, 2023 6:43:00 PM

    Knicks’ Derrick Rose: Unavailable Monday  CBS Sports

  • What do the Knicks need to fix to get back to their winning ways? – Posting and Toasting
    [news.google.com] — Monday, March 27, 2023 5:41:38 PM

    What do the Knicks need to fix to get back to their winning ways?  Posting and Toasting

  • How Low Can Mavericks Go? Not Much Further, Knicks Hope – Sports Illustrated
    [news.google.com] — Monday, March 27, 2023 5:11:18 PM

    How Low Can Mavericks Go? Not Much Further, Knicks Hope  Sports Illustrated

  • Julius Randle finally responds to Knicks outburst involving Immanuel Quickley – Daily Knicks
    [news.google.com] — Monday, March 27, 2023 5:00:00 PM

    Julius Randle finally responds to Knicks outburst involving Immanuel Quickley  Daily KnicksJeff Van Gundy: Julius Randle’s lack of poise could hurt Knicks in playoffs  New York Post Julius Randle yet to address latest outburst as Knicks teammates come to his defense  New York Post

  • NBA Buzz: Wizards, Draft, Trade Rumors, Knicks, MVP Voting, Cavs – FortyEightMinutes
    [news.google.com] — Monday, March 27, 2023 2:35:17 PM

    NBA Buzz: Wizards, Draft, Trade Rumors, Knicks, MVP Voting, Cavs  FortyEightMinutes

  • Knicks’ NBA Draft plans could be impacted by Mavericks’ tailspin – AMNY
    [news.google.com] — Monday, March 27, 2023 1:41:15 PM

    Knicks’ NBA Draft plans could be impacted by Mavericks’ tailspin  AMNY

  • Turnovers and double-digit deficits have plagued Knicks in recent losing streak – Posting and Toasting
    [news.google.com] — Monday, March 27, 2023 1:34:30 PM

    Turnovers and double-digit deficits have plagued Knicks in recent losing streak  Posting and Toasting

  • Knicks Look to Ground Rockets, End Three-Game Slide – The Knicks Wall
    [news.google.com] — Monday, March 27, 2023 12:55:41 PM

    Knicks Look to Ground Rockets, End Three-Game Slide  The Knicks Wall

  • Rockets’ Jae’Sean Tate: Ruled out against Knicks – CBS Sports
    [news.google.com] — Monday, March 27, 2023 12:21:15 PM

    Rockets’ Jae’Sean Tate: Ruled out against Knicks  CBS Sports

  • Atlantic Notes: Embiid, Anunoby, Knicks Draft, Brunson – hoopsrumors.com
    [news.google.com] — Monday, March 27, 2023 10:28:00 AM

    Atlantic Notes: Embiid, Anunoby, Knicks Draft, Brunson  hoopsrumors.com

  • Knicks sign DaQuan Jeffries through 2023-24 season – Posting and Toasting
    [news.google.com] — Monday, March 27, 2023 9:26:19 AM

    Knicks sign DaQuan Jeffries through 2023-24 season  Posting and Toasting

  • 4 Best undrafted talents the New York Knicks put on the map – Daily Knicks
    [news.google.com] — Monday, March 27, 2023 8:00:00 AM

    4 Best undrafted talents the New York Knicks put on the map  Daily Knicks

  • 69 replies on “Knicks Morning News (2023.03.28)”

    If the Mavs make the play-in and then don’t have one of their ping pong balls drawn, is their pick guaranteed to not be in the top 10? Or could they still have pick 9 or 10 in that scenario?

    it could still be 9 or 10. the play-in is irrelevant unless you also make the playoffs. just take the teams that didn’t make the playoffs and sort by record.

    practically it would be very hard for the mavs to make the play-in and have one of the 10 worst records. by definition they’d be above 5 teams in the west. and to make the play-in they’d pretty much have to finish ahead of indy and washington. so we’d only lose the pick in the play-in case if they jumped in the lottery.

    by definition they’d be above 5 teams in the west.

    Pt, is it possible that they could have the same record as a team or two below them and own the play-in tiebreaker, but in terms of draft position the tiebreaker is a coin toss?

    Last night, Luka played like a guy who really wants to get into the play-in. The road is a tough one, though, starting tomorrow night in Philly. Embiid ducked Jokic and will be rested for that game.

    I’m guessing that DAL will have to get to 40 wins to be outside the top 10. That would mean going 3-3. In the best case scenario, one of those wins would come on Saturday in Miami. Of course, that’s April Fool’s Day.

    Are we sure IQ isn’t the next All-Star that we need to “add” to this team?

    I don’t know. Seems like watching those highlights, he’s using a lot of moves from Brunson’s bag of tricks in the paint.

    Would it make sense next season to move IQ to the starting line up and move Grimes to the bench? Go with a 10 man

    Brunson/McBride
    IQ/Grimes
    RJ/Hart
    Randle/Obi
    Mitch/Hart

    This is assuming RJ and Obi are still here but regardless, feels like IQ is itching to take that next level jump. And maybe Grimes would get more scoring opportunities on the bench?

    I realize it’s the Rockets, too. But IQ has put together a hell of a third season.

    “Pt, is it possible that they could have the same record as a team or two below them and own the play-in tiebreaker, but in terms of draft position the tiebreaker is a coin toss?”

    My understanding is that once the play-in is over, ties in lottery position is determined by splitting up the combos of numbers evenly and having a coin toss for any “odd” left-over numbers. Then after the lottery is held, actual draft positions for any tied records are determined by coin toss. Is that correct?

    IQ is so good on both sides of the ball I honestly am not sure he isn’t the best player on the team.

    Pt, is it possible that they could have the same record as a team or two below them and own the play-in tiebreaker, but in terms of draft position the tiebreaker is a coin toss?

    yes, it is technically possible. this seemed like a great question for gpt-4. i asked it if it was possible for the mavericks to make the play-in but finish bottom 10, after making sure it considered the complexity of who is playing who in the remaining schedule and the coin flip / tiebreaker possibility. it ran a large simulation and estimated that there was less than a .03% chance (including the coin flip) that they make the play-in with a bottom 10 position. gpt-4 makes a lot of mistakes. but it seemed to be processing the question pretty well.

    IQ is so good on both sides of the ball I honestly am not sure he isn’t the best player on the team.

    Hmm. His offense has been a lot more inconsistent than Brunson’s or Randle’s. But he brings defense every game, whereas Brunson is hugely limited there and Randle’s D comes and goes depending on effort and headspace.

    IQ has a lot of ways to contribute to winning. He still lacks consistency on offense though. In the last 10 games, he’s had the following shooting performances:

    5-16
    1-11
    8-18
    3-9
    6-16
    1-8
    7-17

    But it does seem like when he plays well, we usually win. And he is absolutely vital to any playoff success we might have.

    I remember last year when both IQ and Obi went off at the end of the season. I thought at that time that what IQ was doing (triple-double kind of stuff) seemed more real that what Obi was doing. That seems to have played out as expected.

    At the very least, IQ has probably lifted his value in the trade market to unprotected (or maybe top-5 protected?) first round pick status. He’s definitely top-10 in a 2020 redraft. That’s pretty fucking awesome!

    The guys from that draft I’d trade straight up for IQ:
    AntMan
    Hali
    Bane

    I’d have to strongly consider LaMelo and Maxey, but would definitely hesitate. Even Bane is a question mark if you consider ceiling.

    I’ve reached the point with Quickley that for a mix of perfectly rational and totally irrational reasons I simply do not want to trade him, period.

    I mean, he’s good enough that even a cold-hearted rationalist would support holding out for a player(s) that unambiguously makes a contender.

    But I’m pretty much at “if we win, I want it to be with Quickley.”

    Alan, to add to ptmilo’s answer, if the Mavs made the play-in there would be five teams with a worse record than them in the west; so, ping pong balls aside, they couldn’t have a better draft choice than sixth. How much worse than sixth will depend on how many teams in the east have a worse record than them. Detroit and Charlotte will certainly be in that category but conceivably the Wizards and Pacers might not. So you can’t predict how many teams in the East will be bad enough to push the Mavericks pick to worse than tenth.

    I’m pretty much at “if we win, I want it to be with Quickley.”

    +1

    The Knicks’ grim on TNFH Threshhold for Contender Status has slipped lately…our only 4.0+ BPM player right now is Josh Hart, and that’s built on the illusion of all-time great 3pt shooting. But it was fun while it lasted!

    “Alan, to add to ptmilo’s answer, if the Mavs made the play-in there would be five teams with a worse record than them in the west”

    This is not actually true. There could theoretically be a 3 or 4-way tie record-wise for the last play-in spot, and the Mavs could get in on the basis of tiebreakers. Then if they lost, the tiebreakers wouldn’t count any more and the final order would be based on the outcome of the lottery and coin flips. At least that’s the way I interpret the rules…

    I don’t know if it’s my perception or reality, but IQ seems to be a bit of a streaky shooter both game to game and even for periods of time. In my mind, that has always been the profile of a 6th man. That’s what I’ve been saying about him for awhile now. A 6th man comes in, if he’s on a roll he can blow the game open or get you back into a game that wasn’t going well, but you have the option of staying with him longer or pulling him depending on how things are going. The one difference is that the 6th man usually isn’t much of a defender. IQ is a good defender. So he’s a lot closer to being a starter. No one is going to shoot well every night, but I think he has to get his overall efficiency and scoring more consistent. Then he’d clearly be a starter or better. I think he’s on that path. We should demand a LOT in any trade (which I’d probably be against in most circumstances).

    IQ is so good on both sides of the ball I honestly am not sure he isn’t the best player on the team.

    I mean…at the very least I would argue that our mid three is Brunson, Randle and IQ (NOT RJ).

    I wouldn’t trade IQ for Ant- certainly not at projected cost. Only for Hali. Bane has those T. rex arms.

    IQ had a dreadful stretch to start the season but he’s been amazing since. And as TNFH said, he’s our most rootable complete player.

    Thing is, IQ has a craftiness similar to Brunson where he can get to an array of shots that he feels comfortable taking. And he will probably add to that in every offseason. He is now taking 12% of his shots at the rim and hitting nearly 70% of them. That in and of itself is a massive leap in terms of his shot and efficiency profile.

    The place he definitely needs to make a further leap is from 3, where 36% is not great for a guy who takes half of his shots from there. If he can maintain his efficacy from inside 10 feet and hit 39% or so from 3 on slightly higher usage without changing his shot profile all that much, that’s an all-star level player that simply has to get 30+mpg whether he starts or not. But given his inconsistency and that we have Brunson, the 6th man/backup starting PG role is pretty ideal for now.

    The four best “6th man” types I’ve ever seen are Havlicek, McHale, Manu and Ricky Pierce. Honestly thought of all of those guys as nominal starters, and they were always in the game at the end. So whether IQ starts or not is pretty irrelevant to me.

    That Kyrie trade never really made sense to me. Kyrie and Doncic both do their best work with the ball in their hands and neither wants to defend much. IMO, they have more holes now than they did before the trade and way more than last year. We have to hope they get on a roll shooting and just outscore some teams because they have no defense, can’t rebound, and can’t protect the paint.

    “The four best “6th man” types I’ve ever seen are Havlicek, McHale, Manu and Ricky Pierce.”

    They were legit starters. That’s some of Hall of Fame talent there. They were coming off the bench for lineup construction reasons. They’d start almost anywhere else.

    I’m talking about the prototypical 6th man whose role is scorer off the bench that can really light it up and carry the 2nd unit, but not good enough to start on a very good team because of other deficiencies.

    “I’m talking about the prototypical 6th man whose role is scorer off the bench that can really light it up and carry the 2nd unit, but not good enough to start on a very good team because of other deficiencies.”

    IQ’s only deficiency right now is he is below league average from 3 and maybe a bit undersized against big 2’s. He’s a very good defender and passer, so pidgeonholing him into “scorer off the bench” seems overly limiting. He’s only 23 years old and is already doing “legit starter” things.

    “He’s a very good defender and passer, so pidgeonholing him into “scorer off the bench” seems overly limiting. He’s only 23 years old and is already doing “legit starter” things.”

    I said previously he’s on the path to becoming a starter and maybe more.

    My feeling right now is that he’s a bit inconsistent to be a starter on a very good team. On this team, I’d rather he start than RJ if we had another scorer in the 2nd unit. But we need two scorers in that 2nd unit. We saw what can happen when Brunson is out and Quick starts. Either Quick has to play a lot minutes, Deuce or someone else has to step up and do a lot more than usual, or the bench has trouble scoring.

    IQ has proved himself for the last two years and I would have no problem throwing a lot of money his way this offseason. Him taking over the lead guard spot as Brunson ages would match up perfect with his prime years.

    The Grimes and IQ picks look like slam dunks for their position and I still have hope Deuce can turn it around offensively. Sims is found money as well if hes a rotation big at the minimum.

    Deuce could become an important piece if we make the kind of consolidation trade that seems inevitable. Also, maybe not insane to think he could have a small role in a playoff matchup against the Cavs?

    The sample sizes are too small to bother looking into this but it *feels like* he’s been a little more offensively competent lately.

    no doubt IQ is our best 2-way player in terms of highest floor on both sides on any given day. His real only weakness is that he’s just not a big guy. But Brunson has already shown he is an elite isolation scorer in the playoffs, and Randle just has such a physical advantage over most people.

    Will be very interesting whether Thibs does the smart thing late in close playoff games — meaning – offense/defense subs taking Brunson out. IQ/Grimes/Hart clearly the best defensive 1-3 on the team.

    I truly don’t know what to make of Deuce’s offense. On the positive side, he’s doing more than just shooting 3’s…penetrating, making cuts (beautiful one last night) but on the other hand it doesn’t seem remotely reliable yet.

    other candidates for best six man modern era:

    vinnie johnson
    michael cooper
    iguadola (in warriors years)
    bobby jones
    cornbread maxwell/downtown freddie brown (short time span guys)

    Small sample size alert, but Deuce pre and post all-star break:

    Minutes played: 592 vs 106
    FG%: .337 vs .467
    3P%: .288 vs. .400
    TS% .457 vs. .612

    Seen some people say Deuce will be more valuable vs the Cavs than Obi and I probably agree with that. Having 48 minutes of good defenders on Garland/Mitchell(more the latter) could be huge. Could just up Harts minutes so he can play some PF minutes and RJ could fill in some as well.

    Man, I want to love Obi so much but every game he does something on defense that galls me, and what’s worse is that it happens when he’s locked in and trying! (unlike say Julius, who plays well on D when he’s locked in and trying).

    deefense,

    see, assuming RJ won’t move to the bench, I actually think moving Grimes to the bench and letting IQ start would be beneficial for both of them. I think Grimes could get more scoring opportunities off the bench. I think Hart and Hartenstein’s passing would be great for Grimes and he’d get to take more shots in general not in that starting unit with RJ, Randle and Brunson.

    Beal getting charged with simple battery for an altercation with a fan who jeered at him for having lost a $1300 bet (or payout)

    that which is libertarian in me recoils at much of actuality of legalization

    I feel like Bunny Colvin walking through Hamsterdam sometimes

    you can’t really afford to play deuce in the playoffs…. i realize people like his defense but there’s more to defense than just keeping up with your man…. and what he’s good at is so narrow from that perspective that it doesn’t really justify putting him on the floor…. he’s going to be left wide open and unless the offense is prepared for him to take every wide open 3 given to him every time down the floor you cannot play him…. and i’m willing to bet that garland or mitchell are not going to have too much difficulty vs him either…

    this is why we got hart…. if we’re not going to use him vs difficult perimeter matchups then there was no reason to trade for him….

    I agree Djphan but I like Hart more as an offball defender than an iso one. He should be fine vs Mitchell or Garland 1v1 either way.

    Its not that I think Deuce is good but his minutes might be more valuable in the Cavs matchup than Obi for 10 mins or so a game. Extremely small sample size but hes been efficient post AS break.

    Thibs will probably just cut the rotation down to 8 so neither Obi or Deuce plays.

    I doubt that Thibs tinkers much with the 9-man rotation, beyond “situational” uses of Deuce (see: inserting Frank for defense on Trae in game 1 lol). Thibs rarely will vary from what he trusts, and what he trusts is based on what he has settled on (see: Payton starting lol).
    So Obi will play his 8-12 minutes, Grimes will start, RJ, Hart, IQ and Grimes will have minutes adjusted (especially in crunchtime) by how the game/series is going, and Deuce will sit unless someone gets hurt. That’s what I’m expecting anyway!

    Jimmy Butler is out tonight with a sore neck. I think he should rest it tomorrow too, needs to be healthy for the playoffs…

    Butler is scamming, he knows the Knicks game is way more important and wants to be rested

    The Knicks game loses a ton of importance if the Heat don’t win tonight.

    “The Knicks game loses a ton of importance if the Heat don’t win tonight.”

    You’re obviously not a Mets fan…

    But seriously, we’d be 3 ahead in the loss column. If we then lost to MIA on Wednesday, we’d be 2 ahead, but they would own the tiebreaker. If we then went 2-3 and they went 4-1, they would get the 5th spot and it is possible that we would slip to 7th.

    No matter what happens tonight, the game tomorrow night is immense.

    I’d pump the brakes a little on Quickley. He’s terrific, but that Houston defense is miserable.

    A big problem for the Knicks moving forward is the elite positional size and skill the NBA is trending towards.

    Our guards, wings, and forwards are all relatively small. You could argue that Randle and Mitch each have outlier skills on offense and defense, respectively, as do our PGs (Brunson and Quick) on offense.

    But all our wings are either a work in progress or just aren’t good or big enough (hello, RJ.)

    That’s my long way of saying I think Quickley must be a PG to start, next to a larger wing, in today’s NBA. I think it’s fine to groom him as Brunson’s eventual replacement, though, while he perfects his 6th-man role.

    But in the meantime, we really need to get an exceptional wing asap, and it will be tough to find one in this draft.

    And even it we finish 6th, to me that’s a bad outcome. It will not only mean that we sort of limped into the playoffs, but that we are playing one of BOS or PHI. I’d way rather take our chances with CLE.

    Are rooting for Toronto or Miami?

    If Miami loses it takes some heat off our game with them but if Toronto loses it inches them closer to Dallas.

    Z-man, I hear you on the size thing. On the whole, our lack of perimeter size is nearly as big a problem for us as the lack of a true super-superstar alpha dog talent. Maybe even bigger? Like, I don’t know that swapping OG Annunoby in for RJ and leaving the rest of the rotation the same would make us a title contender, but I can also see us becoming a really tough and well-balanced team as a result. Getting us some real size at the wing, as well as a backup to Randle who would make Thibs comfortable playing small lineups more often when necessary, are priorities for this offseason.

    And I do think IQ could function well as a starting SG on a team with more size at the 3. His wingspan is huge. The issue is that he’s usually playing next to guys who are 6’1″ or 6″4′, and/or someone like RJ who plays smaller than his height. It’s not an IQ problem so much as a roster construction problem.

    I’d be perfectly happy fielding a strong but not elite team for the next 4 years. Ideally, we’re then able to retool around IQ, Grimes, Mitch, Deuce and RJ or whichever young guys happen to be leftover.

    OG fills a lot of gaps and it’s the defensive side of the ball we struggle on anyways. It’s not ideal. We’ll see if any of Jaylen, Jimmy, George, or Kawhi actually become available.

    At this point Cleveland might finish 3rd ahead of Philly! I agree tomorrow is still a huge game regardless but I’m not gonna complain about backing in or whatever. The Knicks have earned their playoff position, heck their point differential says they should actually be a game better at 44-32. They are a legit good team, unfortunately the East this year is stacked up top with 4 teams that are gonna win 50+ games.

    I don’t know how we stop Harden or Embiid… even with a pretty talented C group. But Philly has a lot more holes on their squad than Cleveland does.

    I don’t know how Philly guards Randle or Brunson. I doubt Tobias Harris can slow down Randle and an RJ/Harden matchup could make RJ look pretty good.

    More than anything, give me Doc Rivers in a coaching matchup.

    On the other hand, Cleveland’s stars aren’t on the level of an Embiid/Harden tandem.

    Zone is the big question against any team.

    Anyways, I don’t have much of a preference facing either of them. I’m tempted to want the 6th seed just to dodge MIL as long as possible.

    Alan, I know IQ has wingspan and all that, but he’s still on the small side, especially at the 2, and especially especially when switched on to bigs/long wings. He makes up for it in lots of ways, but there are limits. Guys like Butler, or Kawhi, or Brown, or Tatum, or DeRozan, etc., are not going to be bothered by IQ, nor are 6’8″ wings with high releases from 3. And the more he plays well, the more defenders will catch on to the rhythm of his moves, causing him to miss more, get fouled less, and turn the ball over more. He’s just not really physically a mismatch for anyone beyond guile. So it’s not so much that he’s a detriment, it’s that you need other guys to make up for what he lacks, and our team just isn’t built that way. In other words, it’s not him per se, it’s him surrounded by Brunson, Grimes, RJ, Hart, and Julius.

    That said, I’ll take my chances with him because (aside from the Glory to God stuff) he’s just very lovable and rootable. He’s my wife’s favorite player, mainly due to his dancin’ and prancin’.

    @TommyBeer
    Knicks are listing Jalen Brunson (sprained right hand) as questionable for tomorrow’s game vs. Miami

    Come on, Jalen…

    Obviously I don’t want our team losing five straight and limping into the playoffs with dudes injured by IMO heading into the playoffs with “momentum” is overrated.

    Two years ago we were flying high when we went to the playoffs as the fourth seed and then we flames out in five games.

    Having some adversity and tough games now might actually make us more prepared for the playoffs. It’s not like our recent losses have been blow outs where the team gave up.

    Thought I’d see how post-all-star Deuce compares to RJ:

    FG%: .467 vs. .467 (was .438 pre all-star!)
    3P%: .400 vs. .297
    TS%: .612 vs. .558

    Hmm. Max Miles?

    Jesus, I broke the site.

    Okay, forget it, don’t max Miles.

    Maybe now that the Raps are back to .500 after starting out at 20-27, BBA will stop shitting on them…

    I prefer to praise the team 5 games ahead of them in the standings who are 10 games over .500 🙂

    That’s fine, but honestly, if I were any of the top 4 teams in the East, I’d rather play us than Toronto.

    On that note, my guess is that 5-8 will be some combo of Knicks, Heat, Atlanta and Toronto. Maybe the Nets hang on or the Bulls finish with a flourish, but if not, there’s a real chance that one or more of the top-4 teams gets beat in the first round.

    Here’s a great tidbit from the Fred Katz interview with Clyde re: Willis:

    Willis used to go hunting with a bow and arrow and all that, and I remember (legendary broadcaster) Curt Gowdy used to have this hunting show. He was on there. So (Willis) was always asking me ‘Clyde, you want to go hunting you want to go hunting?’ I go, ‘Yeah, D-E-A-R hunting.’ I’m not going to sit in a tree all day waiting for some (animal) to walk by.

    Hopefully Harden fucks Philly over and goes to Houston next year, and the Eastern Conference eases up by default.

    By the way, is Gallo out for the year, or does he have a chance of playing for the Celtics in the playoffs?

    We’re at a point where I’m more worried about the Dallas pick conveying than I am about our playoff seeding. It’s not impossible that we’d fall out of the top 6, but it seems incredibly unlikely. And we’re going to face a steep uphill battle no matter who we draw in the first round. Whereas the Dallas thing is a real nail-biter, considering how many teams are clustered around the West’s last play-in spot.

    Mavs games left:

    Philly
    Heat
    Hawks
    Kings
    Bulls
    Spurs

    It’s not an easy schedule but there’s beatable teams. It’ll depend a lot on who decides to load manage when.

    NO is 1 game up on Dallas but have the toughest remaining SOS. They might be a good candidate to fall behind them.

    TOR has the 2nd toughest remaining SOS, also 1 game up.

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