[news.google.com] — Wednesday, April 26, 2023 6:03:54 AM
Cavs vs. Knicks series likely over unless Donovan Mitchell delivers Akron Beacon Journal
[news.google.com] — Wednesday, April 26, 2023 5:25:20 AM
Why Cavs still believe they can come back against Knicks to win series: ‘It’s not over’ The Athletic
[news.google.com] — Wednesday, April 26, 2023 5:00:00 AM
Can the Cavs use Julius Randle’s search for rhythm against the Knicks in Game 5 of the NBA Playoffs? cleveland.com
[news.google.com] — Wednesday, April 26, 2023 4:35:06 AM
New York Knicks vs Cleveland Cavaliers Prediction & Match Preview – April 26th, 2023 | NBA Playoffs, Game 5 Sportskeeda
[news.google.com] — Tuesday, April 25, 2023 11:28:00 PM
Quentin Grimes questionable for Game 5 with Knicks eager to get his defense back New York Post
[news.google.com] — Tuesday, April 25, 2023 10:06:00 PM
Jalen Brunson’s past playoff failure fueling him controlling series for Knicks New York Post
[news.google.com] — Tuesday, April 25, 2023 9:51:00 PM
New York Knicks at Cleveland Cavaliers Game 5 odds, picks … USA TODAY Sportsbook Wire
[news.google.com] — Tuesday, April 25, 2023 9:20:00 PM
St. John’s Rick Pitino was forced to change his phone number following a Knicks playoff game Fox News
[news.google.com] — Tuesday, April 25, 2023 9:09:00 PM
Knicks’ Julius Randle on Game 4 benching: ‘I’m a competitor. Obviously, I would like to play’ Yahoo Sports
[news.google.com] — Tuesday, April 25, 2023 8:40:00 PM
Tom Thibodeau’s transformation saved his job and the Knicks New York Post
[news.google.com] — Tuesday, April 25, 2023 7:00:50 PM
Knicks: Dolan missed golden opportunity to start recruiting a superstar at Game 4 Daily Knicks
[news.google.com] — Tuesday, April 25, 2023 4:50:16 PM
Knicks Lack Assets to Land Western Conference Superstar: NBA Exec Heavy.com
[news.google.com] — Tuesday, April 25, 2023 2:55:19 PM
Cavs: JB Bickerstaff reveals Game 5 mentality vs. Knicks Cavs Nation
[news.google.com] — Tuesday, April 25, 2023 1:59:00 PM
How Julius Randle dealt with Knicks playoff benching New York Post Knicks’ postseason run hinges on Julius Randle finding himself New York Post Cavs vs. Knicks Game 5: Odds, preview, injury report, lineups, TV cleveland.com
[news.google.com] — Tuesday, April 25, 2023 1:26:50 PM
Knicks must improve inconsistent free-throw shooting going forward Posting and Toasting
[news.google.com] — Tuesday, April 25, 2023 12:11:06 PM
Rick Pitino Changes Phone Number After Fans Read His Lips During Cavs vs. Knicks Game Bleacher Report
[news.google.com] — Tuesday, April 25, 2023 9:53:13 AM
MSC Cruises Hosts Jr. Knicks Onboard New York Based Cruise Ship Cruise Hive
[news.google.com] — Tuesday, April 25, 2023 9:06:33 AM
Early Takeaways from Knicks’ 2023 NBA Playoff Performance Bleacher Report
80 replies on “Knicks Morning News (2023.04.26)”
very good thread on one of the rougher stretches of the series
https://twitter.com/BenRitholtzNBA/status/1651095385652305921?s=20
Man, it is such a weird fucking feeling seeing everything lining up perfectly for the Knicks heading into tonight. I know they are doomed, and I am not optimistic for them at all, but, well, fuck, right? It’s nucking futs how well things are going. It doesn’t matter, they’re bound to lose three in a row to Cleveland, but, well, damn!!
Yeah, they’re doomed so they have no chance of beating Cleveland, much less be fortunate enough to play the 8 seed rather than the 1 seed in a second-round matchup that isn’t going to happen anyway because they’re doomed.
And then if they were to win that entirely hypothetical and unpossible second round matchup, they’d have a great chance of playing the Eastern Conference Finals against a team coached by Joe Mazzulla.
But there’s no sense in salivating over that possibility even though were it to happen — it’s not going to because they’re doomed — it would be very much worthy of salivating over. Because there’s no way it’s gonna happen. Because they’re doomed.
I tend to agree with this Ringer Odds Machine:
https://twitter.com/KnicksMuse/status/1650920465710424065?s=20
Fanduel update:
Knicks 11-1 to win the East, 31-1 to win the chip.
Half of that happens too fast for me to process during the game, but Julius in deep drop, or hands down, or not rotating…all of that was obvious as could be in real time. Bewildering.
This season is like an updated version of the NBA’s “That 70s Show.” Pre Magic/Bird. Superstars, but no real prime superstars that can carry a team, no superteams, teams like the ’75 Warriors, ’76 Suns, ’77 Blazers, ’78 Bullets and Sonics coming out of nowhere to make the finals or even win it — sometimes when better teams lose a key guy or guys to injury (’78 Blazers, for example).
Were the utterly doomed Knicks to impossibly reach the Finals — which isn’t going to happen since they’re utterly doomed and utterly doomed NBA teams don’t make the NBA finals — would anyone here really fear the Suns or Nuggets?
He loafed and pouted through a playoff game. Embarrassing display.
I pick the Cavs tonight. Because the Knicks are doomed, but mainly because this is the flow of a series that has the road team lead 3:1 coming into game 5. At least that’s what my imperfect memory seem to indicate.
It’s a must win for them, and they want to save face. It’s not a must win for us. So unless “this fucking team”, as Macri said, is once again “this fucking team”, get ready for game 6.
Was going to post the same thread.
Randle is Randle. This is the erratic defensive effort that is baked into the cake. Didn’t expect it in the playoffs and he might be hurt but it’s still baffling.
Regarding the Randle – drop coverage thing – it couldn’t be more obvious even to a lay person like me that he’s terrible at it. Is Thibs blind/stubborn or is Randle just not doing it? he’s pretty good when he is aggressive on defense!
Anyway, here’s to hoping the 3 point shooting wakes up- we’ve generally had good 3 point looks, just missing 3/4 of them for whatever reason. It would be great just to have a lights-out shooting game to remove any doubt and get this thing over with tonight.
Rithotlz pointed out that Randle was better in game 1
Is it a coincididence that he was shooting well in game 1? Nah. As Clyde might put it, when the shots aren’t falling and the refs aren’t calling, his D is appalling.
I did like that block on Spida tho…
More generally, it will be interesting to see how he responds to the benching on the court. And that’s the beauty of having two leaders/winners on the team. If Julius can’t handle the moment and wants to sit on the end of the bench and pout, Brunson and Hart are just going to continue to do their thing and we have a much better shot of winning without him than we did in 2020-21. If he gets his head screwed on straight, they will welcome him back with open arms.
In other words, since Thibs referred to him as our “horse,” who can serve as the horse whisperer in this critical moment?
Everything is more beautiful because we’re doomed.
— Homer
I don’t know, but given how much I’m yelling at the TV because of him I could be the hoarse whisperer
the number of knicks fans just skipping ahead like we already won this series is anxiety inducing….
It is the beginning of the end of our world as we knew it. Doom is the operative ethic.
— Hunter S. Thompson
It’s sadly quite common in the NBA, but yeah, no excuse for it.
I have absolutely no pleasure in the stimulants in which I sometimes so madly indulge. It has not been in the pursuit of pleasure that I have periled life and reputation and reason. It has been the desperate attempt to escape from torturing memories, from a sense of insupportable loneliness and a dread of some strange impending doom.
— Edgar Allen Poe (or Strat, or Z–Man, or really any of us)
Will be interesting if we advance and maybe even win the next round but Randle continues to play poorly (while Obi thrives), if Leon will look to move Randle this summer.
Even with a bad playoff performance, there are probably teams out there that would take a 2 time all-star on a good contract.
I support Randle and think some of this is the ankle still bothering him plus Cleveland being a bad match up for us. But there is no denying that while we might lose rebounding and (sometimes) defense with Obi playing, we gain a more team oriented style, more fast breaks and it possibly opens things up for RJ.
That hits
I think you mean, is anyone afraid of the Kings? And yes, I would worry about them.
https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania/status/1651227944277139457?s=20
So I guess Kawhi wasn’t faking it…
Here’s a question – would you still pursue Kawhi this off season? I mean, if he’s healthy (big if) he’s a perfect fit for this team and would make us a legit championship contender.
I guess it would depend on what the Clips ask for. Tough call imo.
How long does it take to heal from a meniscus tear?
Kawhi is tempting but probably best to pass at the price he will command, even with his knee issues.
At this point, no, I would not trade for Kawhi.
I know he is ideally a perfect fit for us. But The Clippers thought him and PG would be a perfect compliment too and it blew up in their faces.
They will want a lot of picks to recoup back if they trade him. They’ll probably want young players too. Even if he’s healthy, he will want to load manage and you can’t really bank on him staying healthy even if you do that.
Call me crazy but I think load management of star players to the level that they’ve been doing it with Kawhi is super detrimental to a team. Yes, he’s a star, two way player, etc. But basketball is a team sport. It’s gotta be weird for teammates to learn how to play with and without a key player and I bet it messes up chemistry and also probably pisses off lesser players who get to play big minutes when a dude is out but no matter how well they play, they’re immediately relegated to a lesser role when said star player comes back.
Also, it seems like we’re in a weird era right now where there are no really dominant teams or peak Lebron level superstars who are sure things to win or go to the finals every year. So a team like the Knicks, with two all-star level players and a super deep team has a legit shot right now. We’re seeing with Cleveland how trading for Mitchell wrecked their depth and that is hurting them (until we lose because we’re doomed).
I don’t know. I’d rather keep our depth and upside wiht RJ, Mitch, Grimes, IQ, McBride, Obi…and see if we can be even better next year with largely the same team.
I’m not opposed to a big time trade for a “star” or supersized role player. But it’s gotta be at the right cost and they have to be the right age and a player who actually plays.
I literally don’t know what do do with myself. If this is a long playoff run I may end up with heart problems, lol.
Please tell me. If we play MIA in the next round do we have home court advantage?
I’m happy we won two games this post season…that’s awesome…
“Please tell me. If we play MIA in the next round do we have home court advantage?”
Definitely.
someone mentioned yesterday they expected julius to get out of his funk and have a good game tonight…
that sounds very probable…it won’t help us win the game tonight, but, I do expect julius to go hard on the boards and pull it together for this game…
or not…
Poe, Thompson, Homer… and this, my own contribution
kawhi should have financial freedom…we all love doing certain activities…
he probably should just start focusing on his ability to stay mobile for the next several decades of his life…
that was great EB…
I love BC’s doomed smile…
“Definitely.”
Gosh I might be getting optimistic. Please someone slap me.
I can’t believe I’m saying this, but at this point I’m a hard no on Kawhi. He’s done physically, he’ll never be able to be a consistent playoff performer anymore with his knees.
It’s so unfortunate because he was on a hall of fame path, one of the best performers in the league in games that matter, but I really don’t want to go through the constant heartbreak the Clippers have had, where every year it’s the same story: if we’re healthy we’re a championship team, but they’re simply never been healthy. It’s not worth it.
Yeah I get it Bruno, the guy is literally never healthy. I guess I’d be hoping for a lightning in a bottle Raptors season where everything breaks right and we get our chip.
How about Paul George? Similar issues
Hard no on Kawhi. He can’t stay on court for more than 2 games at a time. No no no.
How about something like Kawhi for either Randle or RJ, plus Fournier and two unprotected picks and one of our protected picks?
I say no but it would probably take at least that much to get it done…
He’s still going to the hall as two time finals MVP.
Well if Barrett hasn’t turned a corner just now, I’d trade him and some burnt toast for Kawhi, as I’d rather have the sea captain from ‘The Ghost and Mrs. Muir’ at small forward than Bad RJ.
Last playoffs Kawhi was healthy was the Toronto season? Last time he played more than 60 games in a season was 8 years ago…no thanks
Yeah, Kawhi is an easy Hall of Famer as is, but, well, come on, his knees just don’t work.
Can anyone think of an example of a player who was injured as often as Kawhi and managed to take his team to a championship?
Raven, I had to Google “The Ghost and Mrs. Muir” to try to get the ref.
But then, I couldn’t get past the pics of Gene Tierney!
So, I have what we in the legal field call a conflict of interest. I have a friend who got two free tickets to game 6 through work and was nice enough to think of his friend thenoblefacehumper with the extra one. The seats are quite good too.
OBVIOUSLY I will be a good soldier and root very, very hard for us to close it out tonight. Wouldn’t be a bad silver lining in the alternative though…
It’s hard to fathom how insane it is that we’re up 3-1 with Randle playing like absolute dog shit. The conventional wisdom, and I agreed with it, was that we needed him to be both healthy and extremely productive to have a shot at winning. Brunson is the main reason we’re here, but it also speaks to how much Mitch, Hart, the other Hart, and for 50% of the series RJ have stepped up.
As djphan alluded to we don’t want to play with fire, so I hope Thibs has the onions to give Randle 20 minutes or so if it’s clear he doesn’t have it. It’s silly to handicap ourselves and you can sell it to him as giving him a chance to rest and regroup for round 2, which we won’t be playing in as we’re doomed.
“How about something like Kawhi for either Randle or RJ, plus Fournier and two unprotected picks and one of our protected picks?”
Z-man, if we’re going to do this type of a trade then why not do it for a guy who is younger/healthier? Like someone who doesn’t have the theoretical ceiling that a healthy Kawhi would have but who can stay on the court and raise our ceiling a little bit. Like OG for example?
Bill Walton, unless you specifically mean a guy who led them to the title after he started having major injuries.
Also, Kawhi was injured a lot before his Toronto title, right?
How about Steph? He’s had a lot of major injuries.
Yeah, I mean he sat out for an entire season in San Antonio. That’s what started this whole load management stuff.
seems like your day has started off pretty well there raven…pray tell – what puts you in such a jovial disposition?
“Well if Barrett hasn’t turned a corner just now, I’d trade him and some burnt toast for Kawhi, as I’d rather have the sea captain from ‘The Ghost and Mrs. Muir’ at small forward than Bad RJ.”
Hahahahahahahahahahahaha! Great reference!
Something so amazing just happened to me that I can barely believe it. Well, it hasn’t happened yet, but it seems like it might.
My 30-year-old son, who does not care *at all* about *any* kinds of sports (guess he missed getting that gene from me) said he’s planning on watching the Knicks game tonight.
He happened to be visiting me this past weekend, and I “made” him watch the Knicks game with me on Friday night. He literally knew none of the players’ names…….like, at all. I was shocked that he didn’t just stare at his phone the whole time, since he was only watching at all so that he could hang out with me. But he watched.
By the end of the game, he only knew Brunson’s and Randle’s names. He started out thinking that Brunson was arrogant or cocky because of the green shoes, but once I told him Brunson’s story he got over that narrative. By the end of the game, he loved (and was impressed) by him.
And then he watched again with me on Sunday afternoon just before he left. He was happy for me that my team went up 3-1, but I still didn’t think he cared beyond that.
I texted him mostly kiddingly this morning to let him know that Game 5 was tonight, and that I’d be watching. When he told me that he’d be watching, too, I thought he was kidding…….but he said that he wasn’t.
We shall see. 🙂
this was not going to be Randle’s best matchup.. in fact it was most definitely the worst possible kind in the entire playoffs barring a matchup vs AD… he was also coming off injury….
Randle has never handled the kneejerk reaction to adversity well… but he’s worked hard at addressing the larger problems.. the transformation of his entire game to something more sustainable is proof positive so it’s really disheartening to see so many ready to toss him aside after a few bad games….
and for whatever it’s worth… Obi is not the answer to whatever question we’re asking…. if we’re going to do anything meaningful.. now or in the future.. it’s going to involve Randle.. whether he plays for this team or gets shipped out for a better piece….
Just that all-encompassing sense of doom, Geo. Once you know where you stand in the world, you can just shed the worries and get on with things.
And Clashfan, sorry to trap you in Gene Tierney. The ref was regarding Kawhi not actually being on the court. His not showing up would still be better than Bad Barrett.
Also a quite mediocre TV show that Alan can probably wax eloquent about..
Raven, I did, in fact, watch a bunch of Ghost and Mrs. Muir episodes when it aired on weekday syndication when I was a kid. I remember nothing about it save for Charles Nelson Reilly being in it. And I was unaware that the movie even existed for a very very long time afterwards. Gene Tierney >>>> Hope Lange.
(Honestly, Gene Tierney >>> a whole lot of actresses, past and present.)
Kawhi, despite his age and his robust injury history, was, quite possibly, the best player in the NBA this year when he played. And he actually played quite a lot, after a very slow and conservative first two months, averaging the same mpg as RJ Barrett on the season.
Donnie Walsh, with yet another slap upside the narrative…
1. We are doomed
2. Hard no on Kawhi for me
3. We are doomed
Seriously, I’m very happy with our current position, but I’m not the least bit comfortable. We are an underdog tonight. If we should lose, the entire season may come down to a single game at MSG under extreme pressure. I’d really like to close this out tonight. There’s plenty of beer in the refrigerator chilling for when we get close to game time.
I don’t think I’d go for Paul George either, he’s less often injured but he’s also worse than Kawhi when he does play… so if you’re making a risky move for a injury prone star, it better be for the guy who looks like a top 3 player on the rare occasion he does play.
I still think it’s more viable to move towards someone younger and less proven, like Anunoby for example. I guess like every year we’ll get a clearer picture of who is possible to target after the playoffs are done.
Gene Tierney might be the most distractingly beautiful actress ever. I can never stop gawking at her long enough to tell whether she can act or not or whether the film is any good. That’s coming from a gay man so take it with a grain of salt but holy cow was she beautiful.
Fortunately, we don’t have to make any decisions on who to try to trade for yet. Some more players might shake loose after the playoffs.
I feel like we are reasonably close to serious contention right now because there are no real super teams out there anymore. I’d like to stay with the current plan of selectively adding players via draft, trade and FA that make us better both short and long term. I’m not a fan of going all in for an older often injured player. Mid 20s is ideal, but 27-28-29 is OK.
I’ve made the case for Kawhi in the past but I don’t really have a hot take now. Seems like it’ll be downright impossible for the Clippers and anyone else to agree on a trade for him–how do you possibly value one of the best players in the sport who you can safely assume will not play in the playoffs?
Needless to say, from my POV there’d have to such a heavy injury risk discount there’s no way the Clippers would agree.
Honestly, given that reality the Clippers’ best path forward might be to just keep running it back and hoping for the best.
I agree with the sentiment that we should really aim to close this out tonight. 1/ Because 2 of 3 games left are on the road, 2/ Because not many players across both teams are playing well for the series … for the Knicks – Hart, Mitch, Brunson (and as of late, Barrett), for the Cavs – Garland and maybe Mobley on the defensive end, maybe). We can play a lot better on offense, but the Cavs can play way better too. We can’t give these guys any momentum, esp Mitchell.
Today is my day to agree 100% with DJ.
This right here is making me super anxious too, we haven’t won anything… yet. And please, talking about NBA Finals? Not fearing anyone? That’s madness, we are in the 1st playoff series, and if you matchup well you look like a championship contender, let’s wait for the next matchups to see if this holds up. The champions have to win all kinds of matchups, let’s keep being humble, going to the 2nd round is great, let’s try that first. And then we’ll try the next step, and so on.
And this too, Randle is inconsistent, maybe mentally inconsistent, but he has proved he’s a great player. We all knew this matchup wouldn’t be good for him, so let’s hope we go to the 2nd round and then we’ll see if it’s a Randle problem or a matchup problem.
I believe 1 person suggested tossing him aside.
So many…
it was more like 2 but as there’s like 5 people who post on this board that will carry….
I think our frustration with his lackadaisical defense and inconsistent effort isn’t the same as wanting him gone. Lots of people wanted to trade him when he was terrible last year (I was not among them, though that had more to do with faith he’d at least become a neutral asset again), but E is the only one who’s been clearly against keeping him even when he was going well this year. People have generally appreciated the Randlesance; we all just recognize that even in good games Julius will make three or four dumb mistakes. But people are fine with that if the effort (and self-awareness) is there.
Loafing in a playoff game, though… baffling. Bewildering. Befuddling. Bemusing. Be-what-the-ever-living-fuck-ing.
At this point Randle & RJ are politically untradeable, so it doesn’t matter. Randle is an all-star and RJ just carried us the last 2 games. Maybe that’ll change but it’s looking unlikely, especially without a pick this year.
Also, nobody is getting ahead of themselves we’ve all been very clear that we’re doomed 😉
We could not possibly be more doomed. What are we even doing here?
This thread is terrifying me. The gods are watching.
In 2021 the Knicks had homecourt advantage and we weren’t able to force a game 6. Maybe this time around we can be the party poopers and take the series on the road.
It’s less than 3 hours to game time. I’m feeling on edge and starting to pace my apartment. The beer is chilled and starting to call my name.
Straaaaat!
Straaaaat!
Straaaaat!
Game six at home is the big game. We can expect Cleveland to be at their best tonight. Can they come back and do it again in NY on Friday? I don’t think so. I would probably rest Randle tonight and hope he is 100% on Friday.
Grimes is a game-time decision, according to Thibs. Yet another reason why we are doomed.
Wait, is this Jackie Chiles?
NBA Playoffs at their best tonight, 4 very important games,
a true NBA fans Paradise…
Good Jared Dubin piece on how Brunson reshaped his game after getting wrecked by the Clippers a few postseasons ago:
https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nba/how-jalen-brunson-turned-past-playoff-weaknesses-into-a-strength
It’s just too bad that his improved play won’t be enough to keep us from being doomed.
Doomed.
I just went out to water my lawn and that patch of dirt I can never get to grow grass is finally sprouting some beautiful bluegrass this spring. We are so doomed.
What would we do without the bold font
I say, Billy, what’s the use in playing croquet when you’re doomed? He says, Frankie, what’s the use of not playing croquet when you’re doomed?
— Frank McCourt
And so we go, doomed, to our playoff game…