[Basketball Network] — Saturday, October 28, 2023 6:47:32 AM
“It was like Ali and Joe Frazier” – Charles Oakley reflects on the … Basketball Network
[ATS.io] — Saturday, October 28, 2023 6:02:50 AM
New York Knicks VS New Orleans Pelicans Betting Pick & Preview … ATS.io
[Basketball Network] — Saturday, October 28, 2023 4:14:41 AM
“I would love KAT in New York” – Stephen A. Smith wants the Knicks … Basketball Network
[New York Post ] — Saturday, October 28, 2023 3:55:00 AM
Tom Thibodeau praises Knicks’ Mitchell Robinson after win: ‘great value’ New York Post
[Bleacher Report] — Saturday, October 28, 2023 3:21:22 AM
Knicks beat Hawks 126-120 Bleacher Report
[CBS Sports] — Saturday, October 28, 2023 3:21:00 AM
Knicks face Pelicans to complete back-to-back road games CBS Sports
[ClutchPoints] — Friday, October 27, 2023 11:33:00 PM
Knicks’ eye-opening reason for not pushing hard on Donovan … ClutchPoints
[Henry Herald] — Friday, October 27, 2023 10:55:32 PM
NBA: New York Knicks at Atlanta Hawks | Fieldlevel | henryherald.com Henry Herald
[The Albany Herald] — Friday, October 27, 2023 10:23:00 PM
Julius Randle’s late flourish helps Knicks hold off Hawks The Albany Herald
[New York Post ] — Friday, October 27, 2023 10:21:00 PM
Knicks avoid late collapse against Hawks to secure first win of season New York Post New York Knicks at Atlanta Hawks odds, picks and predictions USA TODAY Sportsbook WireKnicks 126, Hawks 120: “Our depth is our strength.” Posting and Toasting
[Sports Illustrated] — Friday, October 27, 2023 9:56:18 PM
Knicks Take Flight in Atlanta, Handle Hawks Via 3-Pointer Sports Illustrated
[The Action Network] — Friday, October 27, 2023 9:52:00 PM
Knicks vs Pelicans Prediction, Picks Today | Saturday, Oct. 28 The Action Network
[sny.tv] — Friday, October 27, 2023 9:25:00 PM
With shots not falling, Julius Randle helps Knicks defeat Hawks in … sny.tv
[Sports Illustrated] — Friday, October 27, 2023 8:17:35 PM
WATCH: Jalen Johnson Posterizes Two Knicks In the First Quarter Sports Illustrated
[Yahoo Sports] — Friday, October 27, 2023 5:44:40 PM
Former Knicks GM said team didn’t see Donovan Mitchell as solo … Yahoo Sports
[NBA.com] — Friday, October 27, 2023 4:53:00 PM
Injury Report: Three Pelicans out for home opener against New York Knicks NBA.com
[Sports Illustrated] — Friday, October 27, 2023 4:36:42 PM
Knicks’ Embiid Trade Offer ‘Not Taken Seriously’ by 76ers Sports Illustrated
[CBS Sports] — Friday, October 27, 2023 3:30:39 PM
Atlanta Hawks vs. New York Knicks: How to watch NBA online, TV channel, live stream info, start time CBS Sports
[Daily Knicks] — Friday, October 27, 2023 3:00:21 PM
NBA Rumors: Knicks’ Joel Embiid trade offer not good enough for Sixers Daily Knicks
[Celtics Blog] — Friday, October 27, 2023 3:00:00 PM
Three leaf clover: Jayson the giantslayer, signs of a great defense, and sad excitement Celtics Blog
[New York Post ] — Friday, October 27, 2023 2:01:00 PM
Knicks didn’t view Donovan Mitchell as a solo franchise-carrying player New York Post
[Newsday] — Friday, October 27, 2023 1:56:43 PM
In terms of satisfaction, referees’ admission of wrong call on Jalen Brunson is a flop Newsday
[Sports Illustrated] — Friday, October 27, 2023 12:06:34 PM
Robinson: Knicks Lacked ‘Full Potential’ in Boston Celtics Loss Sports Illustrated
[Sports Illustrated] — Friday, October 27, 2023 12:00:00 PM
FanDuel Promo Code: Bet $5 on Knicks vs. Hawks, Get $150 in … Sports Illustrated
[Sports Video Group] — Friday, October 27, 2023 11:01:00 AM
MSG Networks Leverages AI to Curate Social-Media Highlights for … Sports Video Group
[Posting and Toasting] — Friday, October 27, 2023 10:30:00 AM
Knicks set to pick up Quentin Grimes’ team option. Is he the Chosen Guard? Posting and Toasting
[Celtics Blog] — Friday, October 27, 2023 10:00:00 AM
Celtics defense will feature a framework that welcomes controlled chaos Celtics Blog
[Sports Illustrated] — Friday, October 27, 2023 9:05:06 AM
Knicks Player Preview 2023-24: Second Unit Can’t Box Out Sims Sports Illustrated
[Bleacher Report] — Friday, October 27, 2023 8:37:29 AM
Joel Embiid Trade Rumors: Knicks’ Reported Offer Wasn’t Taken ‘Seriously’ by 76ers Bleacher Report
[The Knicks Wall] — Friday, October 27, 2023 8:10:29 AM
Knicks Have Focus Areas After Season Opener The Knicks Wall
[Daily Knicks] — Friday, October 27, 2023 8:00:01 AM
3 Adjustments Knicks desperately need to make during tough road trip Daily Knicks
[Celtics Blog] — Friday, October 27, 2023 8:00:00 AM
Role with it: Celtics starters getting used to new responsibilities Celtics Blog
39 replies on “Knicks Morning News (2023.10.28)”
2 games. One a “not bad” RJ game where he wasn’t the most efficient but he didn’t kill us in that department either. Second game a great RJ game.
If RJ can just do this. Not be horrible when he isn’t good and then be good more frequently then he truly will have taken a huge step in the right direction and our team is going to win a lot of games.
Also great Randle game too! Love to see him contribute when he isn’t scoring 30.
Road wins are always good and you know Atlanta still gets up for us. End of the game was a bit sloppy but nice team effort all around and we led the whole game.
Nice to see DDV also get his first good game. This is where having him and IQ and hart and grimes comes in handy. At least one of them will have a good game every night.
Mitch Mitch!
I am among those who continue to me mystified by the criticism of the Donte DiVincenzo signing. Count me among those who think acquiring good players on good contracts via free agency is a winning strategy.
RJ and Randle both made very smart decisions with the ball (well, not really very smart, just unselfish, which is good enough for me!). Randle now has 16 assists vs. 3 turnovers. RJ has 8 assists and 5 turnovers but is shooting very well and getting to the line.
Tough B2B tonight, then a B2B vs CLE coming up on Tuesday and Wednesday. Not sure if Jarrett Allen is going to be back, he’s recovering from an ankle injury. Garland has a hamstring issue and didn’t play last night. Would be nice to take 2 of the next 3 before going into Milwaukee and then playing the Clips at home.
RJ was great last night and I loved it.
In other news, Wemby did some amazing stuff. Also, Jokic threw the pass of the season.
And Caruso did his usual stuff. Great highlight package.
https://twitter.com/michaelvpina/status/1718243971799847330?s=46&t=0wqff4cNt-sCGcDs-uMExw
People were laughing about Berman the other day saying the Brunson signing had a cost but Duren seems to be amidst an unmistakable breakout.
Glad the Knicks got a W and so excited the NBA is back.
I figured that if Duren broke out it’d at least be a couple more years down the road. He might lead the NBA in rebounds at 20yo.
There’s nothing wrong him. I even said there would be nights we are happy we signed him. But a better strategy is acquiring good players on good contracts that fill a need.
Derrick Rose with 16/4/3 in 22 minutes. I’m kind of getting tired of the “we’re too good to use our draft picks” and “we’re too good to fully utilize our bench players to their potential” ways of thinking.
“Good player” is a need. It’s always a need. So are shooting and defense.
I’m disappointed we’re not seeing anything new from Grimes on offense. He continues to be Thibs’s “stay in the corner and shoot when passed to” option. If that’s the plan for him this year, he’s not going to develop much.
“Derrick Rose with 16/4/3 in 22 minutes. I’m kind of getting tired of the “we’re too good to use our draft picks” and “we’re too good to fully utilize our bench players to their potential” ways of thinking.”
While I don’t disagree with your general point, I don’t really understand why you would cite Derrick Rose in defense of it based on his play thus far. Last night, Derrick Rose had 16 points on 14 shots plus 3 assists and 3 turnovers. The prior game he was 3-11 for 8 points. His team is now 0-2 and is -11 when he’s on the floor. He seems like a generic deep-bench guard at this point in his career. I have no problem at all with the way he was utilized last year, and if anything, it dispelled the notion that Thibs would play him no matter what.
The Knicks got their first win of the season on the road against hated nemesis Trae Young.
It was a strange game, that we lead almost from the start (Atlanta’s lone lead was 6-5) but couldn’t close until the last seconds, thanks to a couple of JB’s unusual mistakes.
Next: B2B in New Orleans against the rested Pels. Let’s Go Knicks!
Thoughts:
– Far better ball movement (good!) waaaaay too many lapses on defense (bad!).
– The smallball lineup worked pretty well at times, especially with Octupus Mitch patrolling the paint.
– We missed some confortable layups (DDV was the main culprit) but the Hawks did worse. Capela botched 2 easy ones and The Rat missed another in crucial moments.
– I really liked Randle’s game even if he took only 10 shots. When he uses his “gravity” to create opportunities for his teammates without being stubborn we’re a better team.
– Chalk another one under “(very) good RJ” and hope for the best.
– Strong game for Mitch.
Play(s) Of The Game:
3rd 1:52 Donte DiVincenzo defensive rebound NY 90 ATL 90
3rd 1:40 Donte DiVincenzo makes 26-foot three point jumper (Julius Randle assists) NY 93 ATL 90
3rd 1:23 Julius Randle shooting foul
3rd 1:23 Jalen Johnson misses free throw 1 of 2
3rd 1:23 Jalen Johnson makes free throw 2 of 2 NY 93 ATL 91
3rd 1:05 Isaiah Hartenstein misses two point shot
3rd 1:04 Jalen Johnson defensive rebound
3rd 1:04 Jalen Johnson steps out of bounds turnover
3rd 53.1 Donte DiVincenzo makes 25-foot three point jumper (Immanuel Quickley assists) NY 96 NY 91
3rd 48.0 Donte DiVincenzo shooting foul
3rd 48.0 Trae Young misses free throw 1 of 2
3rd 48.0 Trae Young makes free throw 2 of 2 NY 96 ATL 92
3rd 28.1 Isaiah Hartenstein makes alley oop layup (Donte DiVincenzo assists) NY 98 ATL 92
This sequence start after ATL tied the game for the last time and game’s momentum was on the balance.
Then Donte went to work, I-Hart missed a close shot but on the rebound forced Jalen Johnson to a turnover , the Hawks missed some FTs and the Knicks never relinquished the lead.
4th 1:47 Dejounte Murray blocks RJ Barrett ‘s 3-foot driving layup
4th 1:43 RJ Barrett offensive rebound
4th 1:41 Julius Randle makes 24-foot three point jumper (RJ Barrett assists) 121 114
After a Murray’s miss, Julius grabbed the rebound, RJ lost the ball attacking the rim (it was a steal/turnover more than a block) but kept his focus to regain control and find Ju in the corner for the three.
At the time it felt like the final dagger, but Jalen had other ideas 🙂
Stats Of The Game:
30. Knicks’ assists on 43 made basket. Sparkling ball movement.
20-44 (45.5%) Knicks’ 3FG%. And IQ went 1-9!
Grades:
Brunson A-
He loses half a grade for his careless, stroke inducing play in the last minute (he joked about it postgame), but sank a career high 8 triples and has the best +/- of the team (+13).
Randle A
He gains a half grade for his play in the clutch. One assist shy of a triple double (with 17 points and 12 Reb), very smart and humble game, recognizing the shots didn’t fall he went “facilitator mode”, attracting defenders and finding open shooters.
Barrett A
Very very very good. Efficient (9-15, 3-5 3FG), ready to pass (6 Ast), active on D (2 Stl).
Very composed, we need him to be engaged on defense all the times, plus he’s hitting his FTs and looks better at reading the game.
He has deceived and let us brokenhearted many times in the past, but sometimes internationals competition really help players grow (see Markannen great Euro Championship in the summer of ’22) let’s hope RJ’s case is similar.
Grimes B-
If only he were half as brazen as DDV… Good defense but surprising mental mistakes and I want him to shot at least ten times a game.
Robinson A
A beast on defense (4 BLKs 4 STLs) strong under the boards (13 rebounds) and 75% on FTs! His hands were everywhere and Capela is his kind of player to guard.
Quickley C+
Strong first half then he went cold (0-6 in the 2nd half) and made some questionable choiches with the ball (4 TOs), but 6 ASTs, 6 REBs and solid effort on defense compensate.
Hart C-
2 Games aren’t enough to certificate a (expected) “regression to the mean” and he scored a couple of meaningful baskets. He’s still not in his 22-23 apex, but he’ll round into form.
Hartenstein C
He whacked his presence to only 10 minutes (4 Fouls), but he did a lot of good things (and few bad ones) in limited time.
DDV A-
Against Boston the defense was there but the offense was missing, this time both sides were present and he really made his presence felt. Impressive performance despite the missed (reverse) layups.
Thibs A-
Showed faith in small lineups and was rewarded. Good game for him except maybe for when he was just a tad late with a shift, while players puff and pant into bad choices.
“People were laughing about Berman the other day saying the Brunson signing had a cost but Duren seems to amidst an unmistakable breakout.”
I really liked Duren at draft time, as well as Walker Kessler. I know folks here frown upon taking project bigs in the lottery, but they sure look like they might wind up being top-10 impact players in their draft class.
The Pistons look like they are a big, bruising team…Baby Bad Boys?
@Z-man: I know they play different positions, but I guess I’m saying that DDV doesn’t bring many more different things than DRose did. Don’t get me wrong—I really like DDV as part of the ‘Nova Mob. But would I rather have a utilized DRose and Obi rather than DDV and no Obi? Very likely. We already had it and squandered the hell out of it.
ah yes… i guess we’re also ready to do mea culpa’s on mil’s 5 pf strategy….
or instead spend endless ink on how this is totally different because.. leon rose…
It’s still kinda hard to tell how good (or bad) our team is right now…we could easily be 2-0 or 0-2 were it not for a break here or there.
The Pels should be a really good test for us on the second half of a road b2b. Their starting lineup is massive…Jonas V, Zion, Herb, Ingram, CJ…I wonder how we’ll match up…but their bench is meh.
Nice cap Max! Hope your wife forgives you for enlightening us.
Z-Man – I love project bigs. My feeling about Brunson and the trade down is that it never should have been an issue in the first place. Bad management to be put in that spot.
But I am delighted we have Brunson.
Thanks Owen!
The dinner with my niece (who’s pregnant with 3 little twins girls) is over, my wife’s quiet and I’m full of braised ravioli and Croatina wine…
It’s time to take a nap and regain energies for tonight’s game! 🙂
Caruso was grown in a vat to play next to Lebron it’s still crazy to me the Lakers let him walk.
Grimes’ game is very frustrating to me. It seems like he has talent but he is one of the least aggressive players I’ve ever seen. His best attribute is his on-ball defense. On the offensive end he’s just not impactful enough.
Three little twins is what we would call triplets! That is crazy! Glad you had a nice night.
Lakers found Reeves so maybe they don’t care but I love Caruso’s game so much.
Owen, agreed. The decision to roll with the ‘20-21 vets was dumb, and signing Kemba and Fournier did not work out.
It still feels like they will not draft first rounders as part of Plan A but at least it’s still an option. At the end of the day, having Mitch and iHart as our 2 bigs on their contracts is just fine.
Really frustrating. You would think he’d become more selfish in a contract (extension) year. I hope it happens.
*blows trumpet*
Poindexter’s 2 game overreactions:
1. Thibs is different this season. He seems happy, comfortable, and more personable. It also seems like he’s making more modern adjustments, and faster too. He still won’t play small ball, unless you consider RJ & Hart’s minutes up front as small ball- but his adustments are modern enough with the way he’snow willing to experimenta little. I dunno- it just seems like he really loves this team, and this team really loves him.
2. Even though his shot isn’t falling, I LOVE the way Randle’s playing so far. He’s careful with the ball, getting guys good shots, and attacking the painted area consistently. When his shot starts falling- he will be a great asset for us. On the court, and in a trade- if we wish to move him.
3. Hartenstein. Seems to me he loves being a Knick. I am officially on board with the idea of moving Sims if the opportunity comes up, and re-signing Hartenstein. He and Mitch are so good for this team.
4. I’m starting to think that Lou Williams comp is no longer valid for Quickley. He’s better than that- and that says alot because Lou was GOOD. Quickley looks like a man on a mission right now. As good as RJ has been so far, I think I’d rather trade RJ before I trade Quickley. He and DiVincenzo look smooth together on the court.
5. Hart is still scared to shoot. We need him to take and make open jumpers. He should never drive when he has an open shot. I understand the pump fake on a close-out, but he’s gotta get over that mental hump if he’s gonna maximize his minutes.
– Re: Grimes, even if his ceiling is only “excellent 3 and D guard”, I’d be fine with that, although he definitely needs more volume on his threes.
– If this is the new RJ we’re getting, Grimes becomes a terrific fit between him and Jalen.
– It’s nice to see Julius adapting his game. I still hope he starts shooting better though.
– Re: DDV, maybe he’s not the perfect fit, but boosting our 3pt shooting and pesky on-ball defense is never a bad thing… although his finishing ability is pretty disgusting lol.
Overall, it’s a nice team. We just have to hope Jalen can become our Luka (basically impossible but as close to that as we can get).
JK47 said:
Very interesting notice. I just saw a tweet from someone complaining about why Grimes is starting ahead of IQ. I won’t engage him, but I bring it up here.
If I were Thibs or Leon Rose I would want to start Grimes for reasons other than what he brings to the table now. The Knicks will be in the same boat with Grimes next fall that they were with IQ this fall. When I think about it I have to wonder, if I could only keep one and not the other, between Grimes and IQ, who would it be?
I’m not sure that I have the answer yet. I would want to see how fast Grimes grows. That is why I start him now. Is he the long-term answer at SG? If he is, then I let IQ go, either as a FA or as a trade chip. If not, then maybe we pay for IQ.
I believe that is the undercurrent of what’s happening with the Knicks roster. Thoughts?
IQ shoots a lot. That makes him a worse fit in the starting lineup next to RJ, JB and JR.
I agree. I’ve been making the case for IQ instead of RJ in the starting lineup because it would still give us that third scorer, upgrade the defense, and improve spacing.
I’m not going prematurely fall for “new and improved” RJ based on a couple games, but if he is, it’s going to change the outlook for the season a bit.
I had a sneaking suspicion Derrick Rose did not turn into a pumpkin overnight. Time will tell.
“But would I rather have a utilized DRose and Obi rather than DDV and no Obi? Very likely. We already had it and squandered the hell out of it.”
That’s an interesting opinion…I disagree with it, but then again I was never very high on Obi. And honestly, I think DDVs market value on his contract is higher than Obi and DRose combined.
“I’m not going prematurely fall for “new and improved” RJ based on a couple games, but if he is, it’s going to change the outlook for the season a bit.”
Every day that he earns his contract is a good day.
I wonder who he will mainly match up with tonight.
These matchups are pretty much set:
Mitch vs. Jonas
Brunson vs. CJ
then what? I’m guessing:
Grimes vs. Herb
Julius vs. Zion
RJ vs. Ingram
CJ really isn’t a PG and none of the Pels are great passers so I expect a lot of iso’s and PnRs with Zion and Ingram. They turn the ball over a lot.
The key to this game is getting the Pels’ starters off the floor…their bench doesn’t look good at all. It will be a really good test for RJ.
I really like what I am seeing from RJ. He is looking composed. If this is at all real we could be a lot better than the 43 wins I predicted.
As for the cost of Brunson, I don’t think we needed to trade the 13th pick to sign Brunson. It was more the cost of getting the space to sign IHart. But honestly, with some creativity and the will to keep the pick we could have signed Brunson and IHart and still taken a player at 11 or 13. That is a mistake that will cost us. The players people on here were stumping for Eason, Griffin, Duran, Kessler, and J Wiliams all look fantastic and would already be in our rotation and probably playing an important role.
Not making that pick is why we had to sign DDV. So it is not that DDV isn’t a good player it is that he is the result of a bad process that made us pay market value for a good journeyman bench player rather than having that role taken up by a promising young player on a rookie contract.
Yeah, I think that if we are going to bottom-line the primary thing that Leon is not particularly good at, it would be not handling opportunity cost very well.
Brooklyn might have lost both their games but they look like they could make some noise. Ben Simmons is playing well and Cam Thomas is playing out of his mind. If Ben Simmons is back and Cam Thomas is a legit #1 scorer that really changes their dynamics. Mikal as your leading scorer isn’t ideal but as your #2, he is great. They could challenge for a top 5 spot.
“As for the cost of Brunson, I don’t think we needed to trade the 13th pick to sign Brunson. It was more the cost of getting the space to sign IHart. But honestly, with some creativity and the will to keep the pick we could have signed Brunson and IHart and still taken a player at 11 or 13.”
There were other ways to clear cap space. All of them had negatives. For example, waiving and stretching Kemba would result in dead cap, which is never a good thing when operating on the margins of the cap, as we have been doing.
We also would have fewer picks than we do right now. ptmilo evaluated the exchanged picks in terms of value gained/lost, and came up with a pretty even net exchange of value.
I think out of the players mentioned, the only player that we should rue missing out on is Jalen Williams, who has some real pop. Drafting him might have made a trade for either Josh Hart or DDV unnecessary. I don’t think either Duren or Kessler are worth pining over when we have Mitch, iHart, and Sims as our C rotation and Thibs as our coach. I’m not as much of a believer in Eason’s upside as some here.
But that’s the way this FO rolls. The results are pretty good thus far, so I’m not going to do much hand-wringing about what could have been. I would have gladly signed up for where we are right now when Leon took over. Alas, opinions vary!
“They could challenge for a top 5 spot.”
I like the current Nets but would be shocked if they finished anywhere above 7th or 8th. Cam Thomas can be a prolific scorer but he’s terrible on D. They have way too many similar players, even if it’s a good kind of player to have. But they will probably be fun to watch!
*with the caveat that they have some good trade assets, so maybe they make a significant move at the deadline. But as currently constructed, they look like a below .500 team to me.
Cam Johnson is the guy I wanted for NY. He’s exceeding my expectations so far.
I think they’ll be better than .500 but I don’t think it’s likely they can challenge for better than 7. That is unless Cam Thomas is truly an elite scorer and Simmons is back to his old self then I think they will be in the mix for 5 or 6. Both their games against good teams came down to the wire.
As for us, I am happy about where we are. I just think if we don’t start utilizing the draft better, instead of waiting for some mythical trade, our good times won’t last and we won’t improve much.
I have said “I hope I’m wrong” more times on this website than anyone could ever count, and there’s no topic about which I mean it more than RJ Barrett.
If he’s good, it changes everything. Our current ceiling is higher and our ability to swing a big trade without gutting the team is much clearer. But I’ve been teased before and need at least 20 games before I budge at this point.
After a lot of handwringing about what the fully healthy rotation would look like…it seems totally fine? I guess ideally IQ plays more than 24 minutes, but RJ was playing really well and IQ was a bit off so that’s hardly egregious.
This team has had way too many deep seated issues during my lifetime for me to be worried we have too many good guards.