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Game Thread 2023-24 Knicks vs. Rockets (1994 Finals Revenge Opener, which is not a thing)

I remember the Knicks and the Rockets playing a close game at MSG in February 1995 that the Knicks won (after the Knicks had previously crushed them in their first meeting of the 1994-95 season in January in Houston) and that, to me, was actually somewhat of a big deal following the Rockets defeating the Knicks in the 1994 NBA Finals and, well, that really didn’t matter at all.

Just like how this game really doesn’t matter at all, but, well, it’d be nice if the Knicks could win it!

The Rockets aren’t that good, but nor are they that bad, either, so they won’t be pushovers, so hopefully the Knicks can pull this one out. It helps that it looks like Brunson is trending towards returning tonight. They certainly miss him (as do we all).

Let’s go, Knicks!

106 replies on “Game Thread 2023-24 Knicks vs. Rockets (1994 Finals Revenge Opener, which is not a thing)”

E, was that you ranting on KFS Study Hall right after the OG trade? Do you have a “Fire Thibs” t-shirt?

You can never be stuck in the mezzanine with a player like Halliburton.

Not to mention they have all but one of their firsts from 2025 on.

That team is definitely not stuck.

I don’t like betting against Hali, but is Siakam really the #2 you want to go to war with? Im not sure who the #3 is.

As far as the picks go, they can only trade two 1sts this year or next. It’s not enough to get you a 3rd star. Maybe they make smaller upgrades a la the Knicks, but I don’t see that being enough.

The Pacers have an SRS under 2. SRS isn’t the end-all-be-all of numbers, but that’s below the level you normally see contenders at.

They’re betting big on Mathurin who has been awful so far.

Hope IHart stays out of foul trouble. Challenging assignment tonight for him.

Challenging plays at the rim is mostly futile imo. You can always find some contact. Save it for more clear cut out of bounds or 3pt plays.

Edit: what do I know.

Rockets have a similar profile to Orlando. Very good on D (6th in defensive rating) but with a bottom 10 offense.

This bench lineup is so lost. In a way it’s good that Randle is not there, but they don’t seem to know where to stand even. It’s weird.

Ok we have missed 9 3pt in a row. How about driving to the hoop now, boys? We’re 20% from 3 and HOU is 17%. What a turdstravaganza of shooting.

I have the impression that every time i watch Jeff Green play he’s on a new team! 😀

I have the impression that every time i watch Jeff Green play he’s on a new team! 😀

But he’s always killing the Knicks 😉

Divo with the unselfish assistant to Randle. What does Randle do after? Thank Divo…Nope. Whine to the ref.

But he’s always killing the Knicks 😉

Yeah, or else i wouldn’t remember him. 😛

OG is too tentative…especially for someone that is rumored to want $35ish million.

Randle is not passing well out of double teams and Brunson isn’t looking to pass on drives. Knicks can’t generate open 3pts it seems. Most of their makes are somewhat contested.

Feels like we start pulling away and then make some dumb plays that let them back in.

Bench unit 2-12 from the floor

Randle compensates his disinterest on defense making fouls on offense, he only plays “one side” of the ball…

Randle compensates his disinterest on defense making fouls on offense, he only plays “one side” of the ball…

he seems to be regressing these past few games after numerous puff pieces in the papers about how he is embracing his new role..

Like OG but he doesn’t have much ability off the dribble. More of a very good 3 and D. But we lost a lot of ball handling ability with the trade.

Knicks defense has been pretty solid tonight, very active hands generating a bunch of deflections.

Rockets defense really is phenomenal, especially getting back in transition.

There is no reason Hart should be playing these minutes. Grimes should have been there.

Hart has played well, just can’t score. Had a couple fastbreaks that turned into halfcourt possessions or failed assists thanks to Houston’s defense.

Do they really think that splitting the screen and giving us some player’s blabbering instead of good game vision they’re giving us a “better” experience?

Huge minutes for starters so far. Deuce with only 7. Thibs does a lot of all or nothing type minutes with players.

Thibs needs to go back to having either Randle or Brunson on the court with the bench unit.

OG and I-Hart with 3 steals apiece

For the record they changed the play by play, giving one of I-Hart’s (now 2) to OG (now 4). 🙂

I just fucking can’t with Randle at times….

🙂

What did Phil say about tigers changing their stripes?

Thibs is about to play OG 42 minutes again. He’s a maniac.

We are so much better with OG on the court even when he’s not scoring it’s hard to take him out. For Thibs that means we need a 40 point lead with 3 minutes left. 🙄

A little thing I appreciate about these Knicks is how good they are at running out the clock after opponent baskets when they are ahead. Randle just did a masterclass there. Legitimately took out 10 seconds from the clock before he inbounded the ball.

Big difference down the stretch of this game compared to the loss vs Orlando, I wonder what it is…

Turns out Jalen Brunson is pretty important to the Knicks

Nice little W. Still have some issues but when we have our guys healthy it’s a tough team.

What did Phil say about tigers changing their stripes?

He really got one over on the guy he made the highest paid player in the NBA with a full no-trade clause

Someone showed Clyde the Malachi Flynn/Evil Donte meme and that person has my appreciation

for posterity, Randle had a monster game, he just has a knack for doing stupid shit and triggering the haters

Good win, nothing new under the sun, we have some issues but there’s time to work on them.

Nice to have the Generals tomorrow.

And before I forget: fuck Dillon Brooks…

for posterity, Randle had a monster game, he just has a knack for doing stupid shit and triggering the haters

Now that I can’t yell at RJ, I’m going to end up yelling at Randle even when he has a good game overall. He was very frustrating on a number of sequences.

“And before I forget: fuck Dillon Brooks…”

Randle did a number on him tonight…

Just a completely different team when Brunson is out there, the most irreplaceable piece of this team.

That block and then steal on Sengun followed by forcing a Brooks turnover in the next possession is my favorite OG sequence since the trade.

I wish I had been at this game and not Orlando. Oh well, seemed smart at the time…

My favorite play was the iHart block picked up by Hart ahead to Randle touch pass to sprinting OG for the slam. I think defense creating offense is going to be big for this team dude the rest of the regular season. Playoffs it’ll be the Jalen and Julius iso show, though… We’ll see…

Randle even when he’s playing well has a knack for throwing the dumbest pass you’ve ever seen or just completely falling asleep on defense

“OG needs to play 43 minutes???”

We went from having no backup PF to having no backup backup PF…

He really got one over on the guy he made the highest paid player in the NBA with a full no-trade clause

We’ve had enough drama today to debate this again, but imo Melo was playing the best basketball of his life for us when he got hurt, struggled to play for awhile that season and then eventually sat out for the KP tank. He was never the same player after that. He had no lift and lost a step. Not that it would have mattered to the Knicks but he would have been easier to move later if he was healthy and still playing close to his best. People knew he was close to done.

OG needs to play 43 minutes???.

What makes it so brain damaged is that we already had the game won, we play tomorrow, OG looked tired and he tweaked his ankle a little earlier. So it’s not even like is was a close finish and we needed him out there or had a couple of days off. There’s something wrong with Thibs.

There’s something wrong with Thibs.

“It’s my birthday, guys. I want every starter to play 40 minutes.”

Missed the game. Thread seems scary. Onward.

Anyone who didn’t see the postgame, Julius just said in response to a question about how he felt about Jalen’s return, “I told Jalen to get his ass back in the court, it’s too hard for me out there right now, I’m getting beat up.” There had been a lot of talk here about whether he’d be ok taking a back seat to someone else; seems pretty apparent that he welcomes it. He’s not a 1A, and he knows it.

Which is good, because Jalen IS a 1A. No he’s not LeBron, but he’s very clearly the leader of the team and the reason we do have a puncher’s chance IF we stay healthy, if Mitch comes back for the playoffs, and if we get another creator off the bench.

Wow, the Raptors just waived Koloko. When I was scouring the league for backup centers before the OG trade, I found him much more intriguing than Precious when it came to the Raptors.

Unfortunately, sounds like he’s not close to playing due to what must be an awful respiratory issue…

on the boxscore, the shop distribution amongst the starters looks good…on defense, OG is a vacuum and isaiah is still blocking folks…

finally josh had a good game…nothing else from the bench…nothing…

thank goodness it’s january…

just saw isaiah had five assists…wonder how good he really could be…

Nothing in that quote, rama, indicates Randle sees himself as 1B or in the backseat. A boss would say the same thing about his assistant after being out sick.

So 24-17 at the halfway mark…obviously on pace for 48 wins. There’s 14 games before the ASB which will bring us to the 55 game mark…to be on a 50-win pace, we need to go 10-4. Seems doable but far from easy, and a lot will depend on whether we stay healthy and whether Leon makes another move before then. There doesn’t seem to be a large margin of error right now, and Indiana just improved and we play them twice in that stretch.

Nothing in that quote, rama, indicates Randle sees himself as 1B or in the backseat. A boss would say the same thing about his assistant after being out sick.

I agree, but if you had seen it I think you would have felt it, too. It wasn’t the “my little brother” vibes he gave with RJ and others, it was clearly, We need The Man back.

finally josh had a good game…nothing else from the bench…nothing…

Grimes was pretty good, not great. Bricked a couple garbage time shots, but 11pts in 16min is a success.

RJ is doing some serious work for the Raps. Good for him, and I hope he keeps it up (just not against us).

IQ had a good game tonight too; 17 point, 9 assists and 8 rebounds in 30 minutes. It was an expensive trade for us.

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