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Game Thread 2023-24 Knicks vs. Nuggets (Defending Champs MSG opener, which is a thing)

The Knicks host the defending NBA champion Denver Nuggets, who are in a bit of a rut, and are ending a long road trip tonight, so they are prime to be picked off, but the Knicks will be without iHart, so that’s scary.

Just do what you always do, Knicks, play hard and never give up, and let us hope they get a big W tonight.

Let’s go, Knicks!

232 replies on “Game Thread 2023-24 Knicks vs. Nuggets (Defending Champs MSG opener, which is a thing)”

So did Brunson miss the ASG starters because the biggest market in the country decided to sit on there behinds and not vote? If so that’s pathetic

No way should Dame be starting

I had the TNT broadcast on and they had Luka in the studio and it was surprising to see how much bigger he is than Chuck.

We have nobody who has a chance of slowing down Jokic, idk maybe we can get some 3 point luck

Having your 3rd string center who is a borderline NBA player starting and defending the best player in the league should go as expected

Jeri started positively
If he avoids jumping at Jokic’s pump fakes he’ll be fine

I don’t think you start OG on Jokic to start the game. Gotta see how the game flows. If Joker starts dominating then you switch it up. But for now, defense assignments seem ok

Two on OG is bruuuuuuuuuutal.

Daily Donte reminder: things would be kinda beak if we didn’t have this guy.

I like the challenge, even though we probably won’t win it. Without OG we’re cooked. Can’t survive without our centers and without OG.

Edit: sweet, we won it!

Daily Donte reminder: things would be kinda beak if we didn’t have this guy.

Bah bah bah

Does Nuggetsblogger complain that the entire Nuggets offense is just Jokic and Murray? Who’s the 3rd Nugget that soaks up usage?

That Jokic pass…come on.

Without him do these guys make the playoffs? Seems like play-in kind of crew.

“Who’s the 3rd Nugget that soaks up usage?”

Last year it was Gordon and Porter. This year they are less balanced, but we know they are capable of shifting that. But it’s also less critical when you have the best player in the world. No one is going to shut that guy down in the playoffs with an adjustment or double team.

Doesn’t feel like Jokic is dominating but I’m sure the box score says otherwise.

Not bad!

Does Nuggetsblogger complain that the entire Nuggets offense is just Jokic and Murray? Who’s the 3rd Nugget that soaks up usage?

By usage, pretty sure it’s MPJ but he might not be the best creator. The Nuggets fans I know dislike MPJ fwiw

Hard to watch Grimes these days…almost hope a trade happens soon before his value craters

Premium Assata is more talented than any waiver wire backup center option but he does so much dumb stuff the idea of even 5 playoff minutes for him is terrifying.

Deuce Deuce

Bench unit has some ugly offensive possessions but they definitely play their asses off.

OG looks like he’s doing a body search on folks out there…

Genuine lol

But I’m so psyched about this start I might be generous

the 843rd bomb wing to be exact…

best old school military motto in the world: peace is our profession

edit: stuff is only funny when it’s true…

how does he get away with it…he does like a pelvic bump on folks too…

crazy agile and balanced for that size…

If we keep our foot on the gas Malone might just pull the plug early with them on the back end of a road trip, would be nice!

This has been the best half of two way basketball the Knicks have played…..so far.

I saw we come out Q3 and knock these guys out cold so Malone throws in the towel.

We have so many guys to throw at Murray, he was well defended the entire half. The Nuggets look sluggish and tired and obviously without Jokic to end the 2nd it got ugly, but our defense is 100% legit.

We have so many guys to throw at Murray, he was well defended the entire half.

There was a sequence where he was hunting switches and went from OG to Grimes to Deuce and the Knicks were clearly ok with all of those matchups.

OG is one of those guys where the box score doesn’t tell you anything. I used to check the stats from the Raptors games and wonder what all the fuss was about.

Now I know.

The Nuggets may be a bit tired at the end of the road trip, but pinch me. What a half.

I was very impressed by Sims’ defensive shift, he forced Jokic into some tough shots…

I do have to say, and I don’t mean to inflame anything, but the narrative that our defensive improvement post trade was all on Hartenstein improving massively is dying a slow death… not that he isn’t great, because he is and we miss him, but this team has a lot of other pretty great defenders.

This is going great, but after so many losing seasons it feels out of my comfort zone! 😛 😀

Holding a full Denver team (Jokic missed what, 4 min?) to 41 points in a half is so impressive.

“I do have to say, and I don’t mean to inflame anything, but the narrative that our defensive improvement post trade was all on Hartenstein improving massively is dying a slow death… not that he isn’t great, because he is and we miss him, but this team has a lot of other pretty great defenders.”

+100000000000

Can someone explain to me why a man as obviously vain as Michael Porter Jr. would go on television with those pubes on his cheekbones

The Nuggets are trying to make the Sixers feel better about their ass-whooping!

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Philly also getting obliterated by the Pacers… relatively enjoyable night indeed!

End of a long road trip or not, this will be a statement win if we pull it off. Still lot of time left, but we have come out from the start and punched the reigning champs right in the mouth, poked them in the eye, and showed no fear. Just calm cohesion and confidence.

I know Denver isn’t playing their best, but this is a genuinely amazing performance from our team without its starting centers. We might have to reevaluate just how good this team is.

This doesn’t count, Nuggets are at the end of a road trip and they’re missing Julian Strawther.

Michael Porter Jr. is the lowest IQ “good” player I’ve ever seen.

We might have rob reevaluate just how good this team is.

Some of us might.
And the chemistry is just starting to develop.
I don’t know how desperate the Knicks should be to make a trade.

Nuggets go on a 5-0 run to cut the lead to 26 and Thibs angrily calls a timeout!

… because this would most certainly be the …

OG showing off the bag a bit, interesting.

Starting to entertain the idea no trade package should be off the table this season!

I bought tickets to this game way back when I thought it would be the biggest obstacle to a 16-0 January. Never thought I wouldn’t even get 4 quarters of Jokic.

Randle playing with controlled fury tonight. No whirling dervish moves and only took a couple of D plays off…

If OG can be more of a scorer like this, we should probably not do anything big before the deadline other than strengthen the bench scoring.

OG’s having a great offensive game but I wouldn’t hang my hat on it just yet…

But he does seem cool as a (very sweaty) cucumber out there…

That was really Grimes steal, but all in all, with OG plus 2 of Hart/Grimes/Deuce, this defense is ferocious

Play your starters the whole second half against Washington because you can rest them against Denver.

Hustlebunny merc Anunoby moneyballing his way to the mezzanine

It’s gonna take a helluva imagination to come up with something to complain about in tomorrow’s thread.

OG was simply the right piece for this Knick puzzle. Leon Rose has put together a really nice team. It’s the sum of the parts.
While we praise OG, let’s praise the entire team defense. Everyone and I mean everyone contributes there. And to think, we will be adding iHart back soon and who knows, maybe Mitch off the bench?

The Knicks are whupping the champs’ asses and my son turns 1 this Saturday.

Life is good. Definitely raising him to be a Knick fan.

This is the best win of the season, right? Better than the Sixers win, and that was a crazy good win.

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Sixer win was better – beat down on a conference rival, not a western conference team at the end of a long road trip.

But I still feel like a cigarette, and I’ve never smoked

“This is the best win of the season, right? Better than the Sixers win, and that was a crazy good win.”

Definitely up there…the Minny win on New Years Day was pretty good…the Lakers game…

“There’s no way anyone else will make up for RJ’s usage.”

Grimes: “Hold my beer…”

Yeah, the Sixers win was probably better due to the rivalry and all, but tonight we were without Hartenstein against the MVP and we wrecked them. They’re wins 1A and 1B of the season for sure so far.

Aaron Gordon was their 2nd leading scorer with 12. Nobody else was in double digits.

Heat gonna be a desperate team come Saturday. Just got blown out by Celtics.

It’s starting to show how much that team last year was so strong defensively. Herro back in gives them scoring but he’s a sleeve on D. And Rozier can’t guard either. Curious to see how Spo figures it out.

Not to think too far ahead, but if I was head of the Knicks development, I’d spend a lot of the off season working on OG’s handle and finish. He’s quick, athletic, and so damn strong but his handle is a bit wonky. With a better handle I could picture him being a terror getting to the basket.

Ha ha! Devo giving Brunson’s dunk a 1 rating and saying it was weak. That shit was gold.

Imagine watching just this game and the Nets game and thinking, “Who is this team?”

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agree…strat…if he could get better off the dribble..he’d really be tough to defend..

Imagine watching just this game and the Nets game and thinking, “Who is this team?”

I’ve watched pretty much all the games and I’m wondering, “Who is this team?”

Knicks and Celtics heading for the inevitable Conference Finals showdown

Am I getting ahead of myself? (-:

I was about to post that same link to the shot chart but I thought the Knicks don’t have a modern offense!

Knicks and Celtics heading for the inevitable Conference Finals showdown
Am I getting ahead of myself? (-:

Circle February 24th on your calendar. Celts come to town.

if you showed me this in like 2008 I wouldn’t have believed it was possible

@DJAceNBA
The Knicks took 85 shots tonight. 82 of these shots were in the paint or from three.

edit: lol I see I’m a little late with this

“Hustlebunny merc Anunoby moneyballing his way to the mezzanine”

Post of the year! I’m going to stop second guessing this coach and this front office and just sit back and enjoy the ride. I love this team!

Holy shit.

I mean end of a long road trip for the nuggets so can’t take too much away from this but still pretty impressive without IHart (or Mitch for that matter).

Bench did good tonight but man, if we can shore it up with one more piece like Brogdon and Mitch can be healthy for back up C by the playoffs, we can do some damage. Gotta get that third seed! Plenty of time to do so.

50 wins? Yes please!

I think it will be funny to just see them continue to lose starting centers, and just get better and better.

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Not to bash RJ or IQ, but OG really fits this team like a glove. Obviously teams will adjust to what we are doing defensively but he’s like prime Kawhi or Draymond on that end…he just ate Murray alive and still helped off of him!

Bogdon would be awesome but damn it if Deuce isn’t making a case for himself…the 3’s just keep on falling!

The team’s chemistry is so great right now. I don’t think I’d make a move. Let the bench figure it out. Defensively they’re already there. It’s time for Strat to change his name back.

There is certainly an argument to just sit and wait to see what comes out of the buyout market, for Lowry and Hayward specially.

I still think we should make a more substantial move, as long as the price is right, but standing pat also works if nothing comes up.

Give me DLo as a throw away asset and we can Fournier him if the 2nd unit holds steady with Deuce & Grimes

Yeah I’d be down with some waiver wire pick ups too so we don’t waste assets ina trade. Burks would be nice too and he definitely would not mess up chemistry.

Great game from everyone. That was fun to watch.

I am still sad we didn’t try harder to keep IQ (I still think we probably could have by offering a couple protected 1sts in his place), but I am very happy we got OG. I was worried about his upcoming payday but what he has done for this team seems to be worth whatever we will have to pay him.

Let’s not compound our mistake of letting IQ go by moving real assets to try and find a temporary replacement. For me, it’s either a big swing trade for a star or holding pat. I do not think we should spend assets to overpay for a bench player, especially one on the downside of their career. I think McBride and Grimes are figuring it out, Hart is doing his thing, and Precious can hold down the fort until Mitch returns.

And Leon, please, do not trade Grimes unless we are getting a long-term piece back and only if he is truly valued by the other team and not just a throw-in to save a couple 2nds.

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