[news.google.com] — Saturday, April 1, 2023 7:00:00 AM
Life and education reach beyond sports at the Earl Monroe New Renaissance Basketball School New York Daily News
[news.google.com] — Saturday, April 1, 2023 6:24:25 AM
“Man worked on it for 10 minutes and tore their a** up” – Udonis Haslem on the time LeBron James torched the Knicks with same move Basketball Network
[news.google.com] — Saturday, April 1, 2023 6:04:12 AM
Donovan Mitchell confident Cavs will improve for playoffs Akron Beacon Journal
[news.google.com] — Saturday, April 1, 2023 5:05:16 AM
‘Machine’ Brunson powers Knicks past likely playoff opponents Yahoo Eurosport UK
[news.google.com] — Friday, March 31, 2023 11:00:00 PM
Knicks’ RJ Barrett, Obi Toppin need to be separated during timeout New York Post
[news.google.com] — Friday, March 31, 2023 10:13:04 PM
Brunson scores career-high 48 as Knicks down Cavaliers TSN
[news.google.com] — Friday, March 31, 2023 10:10:00 PM
Jalen Brunson erupts for 48 points to lead Knicks past Cavaliers without Julius Randle New York Post
[news.google.com] — Friday, March 31, 2023 10:00:09 PM
Julius Randle’s Injury Changes A Cleveland Cavaliers-New York Knicks Matchup Forbes
[news.google.com] — Friday, March 31, 2023 9:21:00 PM
Knicks Trade Proposal Brings Paul George to the Big Apple Heavy.com
[news.google.com] — Friday, March 31, 2023 7:30:18 PM
Cleveland Cavaliers vs. New York Knicks gamethread Fear the Sword
[news.google.com] — Friday, March 31, 2023 7:00:00 PM
ESPN’s Zach Lowe writes what Knicks fans fear about Obi Toppin’s future Daily Knicks
[news.google.com] — Friday, March 31, 2023 6:52:04 PM
NBA Rumors: Bulls Land Knicks’ Mitchell Robinson In This Trade NBA Analysis Network
[news.google.com] — Friday, March 31, 2023 6:18:52 PM
Knicks Clinching Scenarios: How Does NY Clinch a Top 6 Spot? Sports Illustrated
[news.google.com] — Friday, March 31, 2023 3:41:38 PM
Knicks bench is building something special Heavy.com
[news.google.com] — Friday, March 31, 2023 2:54:00 PM
Knicks confident they can withstand Julius Randle’s injury absence: ‘100 percent’ New York Post
[news.google.com] — Friday, March 31, 2023 2:00:20 PM
Luka Lands in New York? Knicks Named ‘Top Spot’ in Potential Trade Sports Illustrated
[news.google.com] — Friday, March 31, 2023 2:00:00 PM
NBA Trade Rumors: Damian Lillard can land in New York Knicks next season Sportskeeda
[news.google.com] — Friday, March 31, 2023 1:28:19 PM
Jacob Toppin, Obi’s Brother, Declares for NBA Draft – Knicks & NBA … Sports Illustrated
[news.google.com] — Friday, March 31, 2023 12:24:19 PM
Foolin’ with Frazier: Remembering Clyde’s famous April Fools’ prank The Athletic
[news.google.com] — Friday, March 31, 2023 12:07:16 PM
JB Bickerstaff Sends Message on Evan Mobley Before Cavaliers-Knicks Showdown Heavy.com
[news.google.com] — Friday, March 31, 2023 11:27:48 AM
Propsed Trade Sends Knicks $94 Million Sharpshooter Heavy.com
[news.google.com] — Friday, March 31, 2023 10:31:00 AM
New York Knicks at Cleveland Cavaliers odds, picks and predictions USA TODAY Sportsbook WireJalen Brunson, Donovan Mitchell Duel Has NBA Fans Craving Knicks-Cavs Playoff Series Bleacher ReportCould the Knicks’ offensive rebounding prowess doom the Cavs in Round 1 of the NBA playoffs? cleveland.com
[news.google.com] — Friday, March 31, 2023 8:55:26 AM
Jamal Crawford says Dallas Mavericks lost their identity after Jalen Brunson left: “He was somebody that Luka respected” Basketball Network
[news.google.com] — Friday, March 31, 2023 8:00:00 AM
3 Knicks decisions Tom Thibodeau must make after Julius Randle injury Daily KnicksJulius Randle’s playoff status in doubt after brutal Knicks injury update New York Post With Julius Randle out, what’s next for Knicks as NBA playoffs loom? The Athletic
74 replies on “Knicks Morning News (2023.04.01)”
Let’s trade RJ and draft Caitlin Clark and start three guards
Like they’ve done so many times this season the Knicks took the opponents’ best punches, kept their composure and later put them down for the count, reaching my preseason prediction of 45 wins with 4 games to spare.
The 1st quarter was crazy (47-42 Cavs), with Brunson (21 pts, 8-11 FG) and Mitchell (23 pts, 9-10 FG) going mano a mano like they were at Rucker* but I was right not worrying, because when our Bench Mob went to work the game turned.
J-Hart gave us the lead midway through the 2nd quarter then a JB’s flurry and Mitch’s tip-in at the buzzer gave the Knicks a 79-72 lead at halftime.
After the break shooters started to cool off and defenses (that weren’t bad from the start, just victims of crazy shooting) took advantage.
The Cavs tried to regain the lead but the Knicks were always ready to answer and Cleveland never tied.
The start of the 4th was crazy, because RJ Barrett had one of his trademarked 2-minutes sequence**, making many of us scream and throw objects to the screens but anyway just then the haymaker came.
The Knicks went on a 14-2 run in a 4:24 span, with RJ re-collecting himself to score the last 2 baskets and the lead stretched to 15.
Cleveland had a last chance when JB missed 2 FTs and they closed the gap to 7 with 3:08 remaining, but after a timely Thibs’ timeout they never scored again and Brunson redeemed himself with two quick buckets, with his final three putting the Cavs to rest.
Thoughts:
– Allen’s absence (and in part Okoro’s) was huge, because the Cavs bench is thin to start with, but we were without our lone All-Star, right?
– Ewing’s theory aside I’m not surprised we did well without Julius. Players gave 110%, shots were distributed and let’s be honest, there was much less isolation and more ball movement especially from the 2nd quarter on.
– Brunson had a career game and shushed for a couple of weeks all the chattering about our supposed “Mitchell mistake”.
The guy is a fantastic basketball player and he’s perfect for New York.
– I want RJ Barrett to do well and become a star and I’ve been very patient with him (it doesn’t mean I didn’t criticize him). He’s not athletic, he’s not a natural shooter (that’s why he changes his form every week or so) but I like the kid and want him to succeed.
But the vast majority of his mistakes are “mental”, due to lack of focus, misguided self awareness and apparent lazyness.
And I have problems with talented but low BB-IQ players.
– I’m happy that Obi and RJ tussled, they both played better after “the clearing”.
– IQ didn’t have his best game, but our Bench Mob is the best in the league, the Hart Foundation (and Deuce) presence raise our intensity and smartness level by a couple of notches.
Play Of The Game:
4th 8:39 Miles McBride makes dunk (Isaiah Hartenstein assists NY 115 CLE 104)
4th 8:38 Cavaliers Full timeout
Before JB’s last bomb this was the play that shocked the Cavs and it was a beauty!
Stats Of The Game
48-33. We dominated under the boards.
15-24 (62.5%). I’m a 76% (very low level) career FT shooter and I was always mad at myself for missing too much, maybe they just didn’t care…
Grades:
Brunson A+
Did he look healthier, uh? An efficient career game (48, 11-20 2FG, 7-12 3FG, 9:2 AST/TO) just when we needed him to step up.
Had a chance at “fiffy” but alas he missed 3 FTs…
Great signing, great contract, great leader. All hail the Little General. I’d like to watch Luka’s face, he must be furious…
Barrett C+
He can be so much better if he clear up his mental breaks…
I still want you to be good RJ, come on!
Grimes B
Solid offensive game and very good defense, even when Spida was hitting everything.
Toppin B
Hit his first couple of threes and then stop shooting them (Hooray!) and went to work inside.
His defense will never be good thanks to his hips “problem”, but the boxscore shows another one of his weakness, rebounding, and he can work a bit on this one…
Robinson A-
The starting half of out two-headed monster at center had a very good game (10 pts, 5 DReb, 9 OReb, 2 STLs, 2 BLKs).
Once again he wasn’t there for the last 18:32 and I can’t help but think if this will become a problem.
Quickley B-
Off-night shooting (5-16 FG), always useful (4 Reb, 4 AST), a little slow on some defensive shifts…
Hart A
The epitome of “team player”, another gem (4-4 FG, 7 boards) for a great trade deadline pickup…
He and I-Hart have superior BB-IQ and they’re developing a nice chemistry.
Hartenstein A
Superb game with a lot of good things that didn’t show in the boxscore (but we saw them Isaiah, trust me) great inside defense and fantastic passing.
McBride B
10 useful minutes of selfless play and defensive energy, with the dunk as the icing on the cake.
Thibs A
I’d like to get me some Fournier when RJ loses his mind*** but he did a good job with the rotations and used his timeouts at the right times.
When he keeps them engaged this team can beat almost anyone.
* I’m more a Chris Paul/Steve Nash guy than a Allen Iverson/Trae Young one, meaning that I like my PGs to set teammates in rhythm first and shoot later, but this time it was a little different.
Spida was trying to make a statement and involve the crowd, JB had to answer and did it in a BIG way.
**
1. Brain-freezed baseline turnover after a Cavs’ miss (no need to touch the ball, it was ours!)
2. Blocked (by Dean Wade!) head-down drive
3. Missed three
***
Evan can’t be more harmful for the team in those stretches, at least he’s a smarter player and a good, albeit streaky, shooter…
mikal is up to 770 brooklyn minutes at 28 per 36, ts 64.5 and only 1.9 tov/36. if his bpm was full year he’d be sandwiched right between tatum and booker. a little shooting fairy help but he’s up to 6.8 fta/36.
Just saying…
2018-19 Warriors Death lineup – Steph/Klay/Iguodala/Durant/Draymond – +32 points/100 poss
2022-23 Knicks Death lineup (4-man) – Quick/Grimes/Hart/iHart – +31.6 points/100 poss
Anyway- that first half was just a completely ridiculous display of shotmaking by Mitchell, Brunson, and also Garland. What a fun game. Even with an off game by Quickley, it’s nice to beat our future playoff opponent in their building going away in the 4th. Hart just put the CLAMPS on Mitchell in the 4th. Really impressive.
Excellent cap Max, fully agree the Deuce dunk off the Hart dime was the point at which we could start to really believe.
I don’t think we can say much about the Ewing Theory potential at play until we see a game in which Brunson doesn’t play like Game 7 Clyde, but it’s absolutely something to watch for even if I’ll never believe our ceiling is higher without Randle.
As usual when this team plays well, it’s very hard to settle on a runner up to player of the game. I lean Hartenstein, but I thought Hart-no-stein was excellent on both sides too.
Max is right to highlight Obi’s rebounding issues, which make him very hard to play at what is probably his best offensive position (the 5). That said, we saw glimpses of the Obi of yore last night and it was intriguing IMO.
So ummmm when did Hartenstein turn into Bill Russell? He was freaking everywhere on defense last night. And what a weapon he is at the top of the offense – drawing the opposing big away and throwing all those pinpoint passes. So fun.
Re: RJ – to be fair to him on that Wade block – seemed like RJ got bumped, felt the contact and threw it up to get FTs – but the refs were really letting them play last night. I remember that one play where Quickley drove into a guy and there was enough contact that the defender went to the ground (non-flop) and they didn’t call anything… everyone stopped expecting a foul call.
How did Obi look last night? I didn’t get to watch the game because my daughter’s school had a students & teachers basketball game, so I was on girl dad duty. I felt like a traitor because the game was held at a rival school’s(from when I was in high school) gym- but it was weird because my daughter’s school has the same colors as my high school. Well..the same exact color scheme as it did when I was in HS. My HS has darker shades of those colors now lol..but still..
Quick reminder that the Ewing theory has 20 years of refuting evidence. The team sucked for two decades once his career was over.
Also: what a game for iHart. His two backdoor passes were incredible, and his presence on the inside in the 4th was so intimidating the Cavs misses one layup after another after another.
When he was trying to be Julius on the block, he didn’t look great, and got stuffed once or twice. But then he just went back to leaking out and being good on the break. Alan Hahn(*) put it well in the third quarter by saying something like, “You have to ask yourself, ‘What can I do that will help the team?'”
Also, I will give him something of a pass on the lack of rebounding, if only because he’s usually playing alongside guys like Mitch, RJ, IQ, and Hart who are great rebounders for their position. It’s not a Robin Lopez thing where the team rebounds better with him on the court even though his individual numbers are low; just that I don’t think it hurts the team as much as it theoretically should.
(*) God, I hope someone at MSG Networks recognizes how much better Hahn is than Wally. Really, how much better every one of the backup analysts is than Wally. I will be so frustrated if Wally remains the choice whenever Clyde retires. Maybe the whole Hali “fake All-Star” fiasco has tarnished Wally’s image enough within the organization that he’s no longer the obvious heir apparent?
The Ewing Theory is (and always was) unfair to the Big Fella, just one in the endless list of Bill Simmons’ slights to the Knicks. and now is unfair to Julius, or at least to an engaged and focused Julius, like he was most of this year.
We’re a better team when he plays well (read: “between the team boundaries and with his mind clear”).
At the same time it’s nice to know we can function (in short spans and against the right opponents), at a good level even without him.
Agree about Hahn, Alan, he does a very nice job as the the color guy, sooo much better than homer Wally.
On another topic, every time I look at one of FVV’s box scores, I thank the lord we didn’t throw huge $$ at him (although maybe we didn’t have the chance). At this point, he’s basically just an average PG, if that.
@Alan
You’re giving a lot of passes to Obi lately, let’s hope he can dunk some of them instead of shooting airballs… 😉
P.S.
And yes, Hahn is in another league and Wally’s one of the worst in the business…
I have my blind spots, what can I say? But as soon as he and RJ started jawing at each other, my immediate thought was, “Obviously, Obi is right and RJ is acting a fool.”
That was never in doubt!
It seems strange to have a pundit in the color guy ex-player position but Hahn is much better than Wally.
I was quite satisfied with that win. The Hart Foundation was unbelievable last night, so much fun to watch.
Obi leaks out on defensive boards and in certain lineups I do think it’s positive EV. He looked good in space and when he was allowed to get some momentum on offense. Overall it wasn’t the star turn some people may have been hoping for but it was fine.
I look forward to the lip reading analysis of the dustup.
Thanks Alan
It’s still odd to me how someone so athletic can still be stiff and upright. I still love Obi though. I just hope he grabs the bull by the horns while Randle is out and maybe take some cues from Hart and do whatever it takes to contribute to winning basketball. Warts and all..Julius has won me over- albeit due to the gap between he and Obi. So, the tea leaves have been converted to ink to write on the wall that there will be an Obi trade in the offseason. My only issue with that is finding a 3&D big forward to replace him. As good as Hart has been, I really don’t want him playing more minutes at the 4 than RJ. Mainly because RJ is about an inch and a half taller. But hell, if 5’7″ PJ Tucker can be a full time 4 at 90 years old, we can get away with throwing Hart at that position when needed lol
I’ve always hated the Ewing Theory moniker because it refers to a near 40 year-old Ewing. Players get worse as they age, great insight Bill.
Unfortunately it really has stuck in the lexicon. What can we replace it with, DeRozan Theory?
Seems like (and I’m hoping this is true) that Hahn is getting more of the color work next to Breen than Wally who I think was on the radio. Maybe the execs at MSG are going to get something right and choose him as a potential successor. Agree with everyone he is much more insightful and less of a homer than Wally. He did play college ball I believe in the local area. Maybe it was at Fordham.
Interestingly he and Wally are very close friends. Wonder if there is competition on this issue.
Great win! We got ourselves a helluva player in Brunson.
Edit: it was CW Post
The Ewing Theory was coined about Ewing’s Georgetown and early 1990s Knicks teams, based on a friend of Simmons thinking that the Hoyas and Knicks played better when Ewing was hurt or in foul trouble (I’m not saying it was a good point, as Ewing’s Hoyas obviously won a fucking title). The first “Ewing Theory” candidate was UCONN after Donyell Marshall left, where they were supposed to be so much worse without him, but went a round further in the tournament the next year without him. It just got a lot more attention when Ewing himself was the center of it in 1999. Just noting that the Ewing Theory is from 1994. Not defending it as a concept.
Yeah, Hahn has roughly the same level of basketball experience as John Andariese, who was such a fantastic partner for Marv Albert during the Pat Riley era.
RE: Hahn and Wally
I’ve always felt like Hahn was always more personable and relatable, while Wally was more of a dick and tried way too hard to be sparky. I don’t necessarily dislike Wally because he provides valuable insight and he has his good days, but yeah- Hahn is so much better on TV than Wally. Probably because it’s something Hahn had to work for since he didn’t have an NBA career. It’s like Wally still carries that unreasonably cocky disposition that got under KG’s skin to TV
Also..I’m rooting really hard for Dallas tonight. They can help us in 2 ways by beating Miami. I hope both of Kyrie and Luka go for 50 lol. I do hate the way that roster is constructed though. At least they’re not like GS- meaning they have size, but they just don’t use it. Who would start Bullock at the 4? Fawkin ridiculous lol. Hell..they might as well start Bertans if they really want shooting because even with Bullock starting- they still don’t play defense. And I don’t get how McGee somehow isn’t good enough to pull 10mpg on that roster. Maybe Kidd wants another job. He is known for that lol
“It seems strange to have a pundit in the color guy ex-player position but Hahn”
John Andariese was one of the very best in the business for a long time. And some of the ex-players and coaches we’ve had have been duds. I’d be great with Alan Hahn taking over that role.
But in the larger sense, there is simply no replacing Clyde. He is on the Mt. Rushmore of sports commentators.
Of course not. We’re just hoping for a replacement who is competent.
Re: Obi, at this point he is just not very good, simple as that. You could replace him with virtually any journeyman tall wing and improve the team. It truly pains me to say that because I love the kid’s personality and work ethic and he’s from the town next door to me.
Now, can he improve and become a legit NBA rotation player worth, say, a mid-level type of salary? Sure.
But the notion that “He’s being used incorrectly” always seemed far-fetched to me.
Defend on and off the ball. Rebound fon both ends. Score opportunistically and efficiently. Set good screens. Make smart passes. Handle the ball as needed. Get out in transition. In other words, do everything Josh Hart does to the best of your ability. Is that too much to ask? Obi has major physical advantages over Hart, and yet a guy 4 inches shorter than him is a far better PF in pretty much every facet of the game. Thibs didn’t have to do a single thing to the offense or defense for Hart to fit in seamlessly on day one. Obi has been here for three years and he still can’t figure out how to fit in.
And I am extremely confident that if he is traded to a good team with a good coach, the same issues are going to rear their head, unless it’s someone like D’Antoni who doesn’t give a shit about defense. But I bet that “journeyman 30th pick” Josh Hart would be a better PF on that team too.
Re: RJ, I’m *slightly* more optimistic in the long run about him than Obi, but the clock is ticking. He’s still only 22, and I’ve long believed that age is more important than NBA experience in holding out hope, although it’s looking more and more like his ceiling is lowering by the day. Obi Toppin is 25 years old. That’s pretty freakin’ old to hold out hope.
“Of course not. We’re just hoping for a replacement who is competent.”
In that sense, Alan seems actually very good. Wally just sucks. The only thing Wally gives you is some insight into strategy/routine stuff that most non-players don’t have. But he’s just grating.
As great as Clyde is, how about the dropoff from Breen to the next guys? I remember when Breen first started doing games when Marv was still a tough act to follow and thinking “Wow, this guy is really good!” And in many ways (particularly likeability) he has far surpassed Marv. How the hell are we going to replace him? I hope he keeps doing it into his ’90s!
Thx for the cap, Max. It’s wonderful to see Brunson and JHart lead by example with stoic toughness. IHart was just extraordinary last night, regardless of box score. Along with Grimes, those three “play the right way” every game.
I want RJ to learn from them instead of believing he needs to lead them. If my eyes were correct, that rebound where RJ stepped out of bounds looked like JHart might have gotten to it cleanly. And I’m not sure what RJ was whining about to Obi, but I am sure the players see Barrett’s careless mistakes and misguided sense of privilege.
And I still prefer our roster to Cleveland’s 😉
I think our top ten guys should get their jobs back next season. This team could win mid fifties just on internal improvements. RJ and Obi are frustrating but there’s a great likelihood they haven’t reached their ceilings and I’d hate to give that up for known commodities.
We may add pick number 11 via Dallas as well.
What a season. Wow. Anyone EVER see them play a better offensive first half? And in CLE? Against our round one opponent? Without arguably our second best player? But no, Obi…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54Ez7myjZNg
Donovan Mitchell’s post-game comments are really awesome. I wan’t in favor of the trade but he has a great personality and his insights seemed spot-on.
He specifically mentioned Mitch’s 9 offensive rebounds in 22 minutes as game-changing, and kept saying that Brunson’s 50 points (sic) were great but his 9 assists were even more impressive. He talked about how the team plays much faster without Julius, and they tried to adjust but didn’t do it well enough.
Dallas pretty much has to win this game tonight for us to be hopeful of that pick conveying. If they go 3-2 in their last 5, that ought to do it, but it’s crazy that 40 wins wouldn’t guarantee a better than 10th in the lottery finish. Bam is questionable with a hip issue, but beyond that both teams seem healthy. Miami is trying to avoid the play-in so they could be very tough to beat, although I’m not sure they can catch BKN at this point with the Nets having the tiebreaker.
Just watched a replay of last night’s Sinner Alcaraz tennis match. Both Jimmy and Luka were there. Jimmy didn’t look happy; Luka looked relaxed.
Good omens for tonight’s game.
While I’m glad that the CBA looks to be renewed for another six years (labor peace is generally a good thing), some of the changes are striking to me.
The most notable one, of course, is the in-season tournament, with the top two teams ending up with playing 83 games. That one isn’t bad, it’s just weird.
The one I don’t like, though, is this new tax apron bullshit where teams that got $17.5 million over the tax apron will no longer have access to the Taxpayers MLE. That seems like horseshit.
Many interesting things in the (still to be ratified) new CBA:
Extensions upper limit going from 120% to 140% can impact free agency.
Having one more 2-way contract (3 instead of 2) can be interesting for development.
The In-season “tournament” makes me laugh. It makes a bit of sense if they decided to ditch the ASG, but they won’t do it.
The small market/cost conscious (tightfisted?) teams tried to limit the big spenders’ power (today they can spend well over the tax in free agency/extensions and still add another “decent” player with the MLE).
Hmm, Cam got a DNP last night, even though Kevin played 27 minutes — Cam was even DNP-DND, which took me a minute (did not dress).
Trying to decide if we traded RJ and Julius for Mikal, would we be a better team?
Maybe, maybe not, but I’d bet fewer shoes thrown at the screen…
@Raven
On ESPN Cam is DNP-Back Spasm (he missed the previous game too).
I was thinking the same thing about Mikal right after the game yesterday and I’m leaning “yes”, but the Nets will never do it. 🙂
I don’t know if it was already pointed out, but Zach Lowe’s 10-things had a chapter on Julius this week:
https://www.espn.com/nba/insider/insider/story/_/id/36006889/lowe-10-things-secret-tell-anthony-davis-one-greatest-offensive-seasons-history
The title sums it all:
“The Julius Randle shots that make us all nervous”
LOL
“The one I don’t like, though, is this new tax apron bullshit where teams that got $17.5 million over the tax apron will no longer have access to the Taxpayers MLE. That seems like horseshit.”
It’s weird Brian, my feelings are sort of the opposite of yours. I think the elimination of the MLE for teams way over the tax apron seems fair in terms of competitive balance, and I think the in-season tournament seems contrived and phony….I mean, what teams are legitimately going to risk their season going all out for a relatively meaningless showcase that amounts to a regular season game? $500,000 is chickenfeed for the stars, and even the MLE-level guys. There was a discussion about awarding an extra draft pick to winning teams…but I doubt that even that would serve to motivate players or coaches. It just doesn’t make much sense to me at all.
I agree it doesn’t make sense, but I think it’s more silly than anything. I don’t think it’s a good idea, but some goofy in-season tournament won’t really change much overall, so I don’t mind it. But yes, it is definitely very silly and no one will really care about it. But those that do care about it will get a it more of a kick out of those games than they normally would some mid-season games, right? And obviously, the NBA can get higher ratings for those games, making their TV package more lucrative in the future. So I get it, but it’s very goofy.
I’m a big fan of the idea of a midseason tourney, though I’m not sure how to implement it.
One of the worst things for players in the NBA is the rings or nothing mentality, it has for decades now warped what is seen as success and what is seen as failure in terms of careers and has been responsible for some of the bullshit like Durant joining the Warriors or the Heatles. If the mid-season tournament takes off, and I know that’s a huge if, it creates another goal for teams and players to care about even on seasons when they don’t really have a chance at the championship.
All it takes is a couple of really good games in the tournament that create hype and people will start to care, as long as the NBA finds a way to make players care about it. It won’t ever be seen as a real ring, just as winning the FA cup is not as good as winning the Premier League in England, but there’s a lot of potential in the idea if it develops well enough. Just like the domestic cups in soccer, it also gives youngsters and smaller teams a chance to showcase themselves and play higher stakes games, which is also welcome.
I just wonder how teams will approach it. Wouldn’t you think that in an era of load management, the better teams will prefer the rest over going all out for the “glory” of winning a bullshit tournament in the first couple of months of the season? And if the winners are the shitty teams, then doesn’t that further water down the validity of the winner?
I mean there has to me more at stake than $500,000. Maybe a guaranteed playoff berth (i.e. exemption from play in if you are in the top 10 in your conference) would do it.
It doesn’t look like 18 year olds are getting any love in the new CBA.
Does anyone know the Knicks net rating with and without RJ in the lineup?
I dunno Bruno, it seems like changing the American mindset about its long-established mores on what constitutes success will be really hard to do. As a longtime fan. I really can’t imagine getting more excited for a win in an in-season tournament than I would for a typical regular season win unless there were real stakes attached to it. A pittance of extra money for the players just isn’t gonna do it for me, and I doubt that it will do it for the players, especially if it means less rest. But I’ll try to keep an open mind about it until I see it play out.
It won’t ever be seen as a real ring, just as winning the FA cup is not as good as winning the Premier League in England, but there’s a lot of potential in the idea
There is huge potential in the idea and I like the fact that they took the first step.
Single game elimination can be exciting
Have to throw this up there in honor of the day.
https://youtu.be/fHXb1zY-SS0
But the point Z-Man is that you, as a viewer, is losing literally nothing over this. If you care about the games as much as you care about a regular season game, then well, it’s going to be the same thing for you. All were “losing” for this to happen is a couple of meaningless regular season games anyway.
If the players don’t care either and just load manage through it, well, it’s just regular season games anyway so the same result would happen.
No one is losing anything meaningful for this to happen, while there is potential for something meaningful to be built, not now, but maybe in a couple of years or decades. For example, imagine if the Sixers and Nuggets played in the tournament this season with all the talk about Jokic vs Embiid etc going on, are you telling me people wouldn’t be hyped about it? People were going crazy over Embiid resting in a completely meaningless regular season game already.
I’m not saying it will be great, just that the potential outweighs any risk, which is kinda zero at the moment.
Bruno that’s fair although I think it disrupts the schedule somewhat and some teams will play more than others so there is a marginal loss of continuity and equity. But I’ll keep an open mind and see how it plays out. The FA cup is like 500 years old so not sure it’s a valid comparison but who knows? Adam Silver has been a good innovator so I will give him the benefit of the doubt, but my first impression is that it will be underwhelming. We’ll see!
From what I’ve read the in-season tournament games are counted in the regular season standings, only the championship game isn’t which would be the 83rd game for those 2 teams.
Thing is the Final 4 of the tournament is being played at a neutral site so those 4 teams I assume would be losing a home game on the schedule. Plus if the semifinals are regular season games and we don’t know who those teams will be until after the pool games the regular season schedule can’t be totally completed until the in-season tournament is done.
Yeah, it will disrupt some match-ups and some home and aways but in a 82 game season that’s barely meaningful. From my understanding the teams eliminated from the tournament will simply keep playing regular season games while the tournament unfolds, so they won’t “miss” games overall.
I just think things have to start somewhere, maybe it feels pointless now but it might become something interesting, and if it doesn’t work just drop the idea and nothing of value was really lost. I personally wouldn’t care if they took away like 10 games from the regular season because I think it’s unnecessarily long, but that’s another conversation the league won’t hear because it means less money overall.
Cavs only had 3 ORebs so at least Obi’s poor job on the boards didn’t hurt
We are optimistic we can beat the Cavs while they admittedly have a very-very good roster, strong center play with their twin towers, strong guard play with Mitchell who can get hot and be unstoppable, and so on. Now, imagine those two rosters throughout this season, theirs and ours, but the Cavs coach is Thibs. Question one: would we still finish fourth and fifth and meet in the playoffs? If yes, then question two: are you equally optimistic we can beat them? My answer is no to both, and my view is that Thibs does not get enough credit for who/where the Knicks are this season.
If I only show up after Knick wins, does that make me the oppo of E? 😉
Pagliacci, congrats on your new blessing. In between the lack of sleep I hope you can enjoy the daily glimmers and growth your little one gives you. My son began smiling regularly over 2 weeks ago – you see him emulating our lip movement and facial expressions, and he opens his mouth like he’s talking to us (obviously his vocal chords still has a lot of development to undergo), but things like that just warms my heart. And certain things have begun to capture his attention – you’d never think it can be such a relief to be able to sit your baby down for 3-5 minutes so you can get up to, say, use the bathroom.
Yeah, where are E and Hubert?
Hubert is on the Wizards board suggesting they trade for Miles Bridges
Just kidding, Hubie, we know you’re an actual fan
I do very much like the FO’s approach to teambuilding. Still a ways to go but this is such a great situation to be in.
Need E to show up so I can thank him for encouraging me to bet on the Knicks win total
Bam is out tonight yet Dallas still allows the Heat to score 44 pts in the 1st quarter.
There’s a 21% chance a team jumps Dallas and we get 11… assuming they can stay ahead of the clearly tanking Utah
Lets go Mavs!!!
5 points
Wow Dallas sucks
How does Kidd not get fired after this season?
Looks like we’re not going to have a pick this year, what happens to that Mavs pick next season?
WOW Jimmy Buckets is a mfing GAMER beating Maxi on a jumpball to clutch the win.
Top-10 protection in 24 & 25, else 25 2nd rd pick
I believe the pick rolls over to next season with the same Top 10 protection.
I mean there was like a 90% chance we were going to do something dumb with that pick but I hate having nothing to be interested in going into the draft
At least now Knicks can celebrate clinching a playoff spot by winning at MSG tomorrow.
I think this is more on the GM, honestly. But yes, I’d probably bring in a new coach anyways to make Kidd a scapegoat.
BBA, as I recall almost every move Dallas has made recently replaced defense with offense. So in a way, this is an expected result.
We would be better off having the Dallas pick this year, especially because it’s so close to being quite attractive. But I suspect they are going to try to make a trade in the off-season using a couple of picks anyway. They’ll still be able to trade it. It’s shocking how badly and how fast the Mavs screwed up that team.
I know the NBA wanted parity, but now the playoffs are probably going to happen without two of the most fun players in the league playing at the top of their games. It’s on Dallas and Portland’s FOs, of course, falling short of rebuilding teams like OKC and Utah, but it sucks for the casual fan of the game, and, more cynically, it’s just not what the league’s historic success has been based on. Top priority for the league should be putting its true superstars on display when the games count.
Brian, I agree it’s on the GM. But you and I both know Kidd may take the fall. It’s the same way Vogel took the fall in LA for their managements mistakes.
What a weird turn for Dallas, eh? I mean who’d think they’d dovetail like they’ve done over the past month?
I’m sure some will bemoan the now-realistically potential loss of a 1RP this June, and to be sure, I’d rather have the pick than not. That said, I think you have to survey the current and near-future NBA landscape and judge it against the progress of the team this year. Other than maybe the Bucks, who’s the surefire NBA Finals favorite this season? Taking it a step further, I think the league is in a transitional phase where there’s no super teams now (nor likely in the immediate future). Thus the barrier to “contender” is lower than what it usually is.
We’ve been saying for a little while that we’re a SF away from getting to that next level. Normally I’d feel that level would be “consistent playoff 2nd round/maybe ECF” which normally I wouldn’t quite consider title contender-ship. But as I said, the barrier to title contention right now is lower than normal: I don’t think the gap between where the Knicks are now and “legitimate” title contender is as wide as it would be in most other years. So this summer, I think the Knicks should take a hard look at cashing in most their assets for the right SF. Obviously, that should be a pretty short list.
Kawhi would be at the top: quirkiness and all, that’s the one guy that I believe absolutely makes this team a surefire Finals contender next season.