[ESPN] – Fri, 26 Jan 2024 22:00:00 GMT
NBA Rivals Week: Debating Heat-Knicks, Embiid-Jokic, LeBron-Steph and more
[New York Post] – Fri, 26 Jan 2024 23:42:00 GMT
Knicks’ latest success stories don’t happen without Tom Thibodeau
[sny.tv] – Fri, 26 Jan 2024 13:48:24 GMT
Quentin Grimes drawing trade interest from Hawks, Wizards, Jazz; Knicks intrigued by Daniel Gafford
[Bleacher Report] – Fri, 26 Jan 2024 15:58:27 GMT
NBA Power Rankings: New York Knicks Surging Ahead of Trade Deadline
[New York Post] – Sat, 27 Jan 2024 03:47:00 GMT
- OG Anunoby’s unreal plus-minus making ‘life a lot easier’ for Knicks
- Can the Knicks reach another level the more OG Anunoby plays?
- Kristian Winfield: Knicks front office hits another mid-season home run with OG Anunoby trade
- Precious Achiuwa says what every Knicks fan is thinking about OG Anunoby’s defense
- The Knicks are dominating defensively, and OG Anunoby is not the only reason why
[Blazer’s Edge] – Fri, 26 Jan 2024 17:00:00 GMT
- ESPN Proposes Knicks Trade with Trail Blazers Malcolm Brogdon
- NBA Trade Rumors: Malcolm Brogdon Linked to Lakers, Knicks, Rockets Ahead of Deadline
- Report: Timberwolves interested in Blazers guard Malcolm Brogdon
- ESPN fake trade has Sixers acquiring Malcolm Brogdon from Trail Blazers
- NBA trade rumors: Lakers targets locked, Miles Bridges interest, Brogdon asking price
[Yahoo Sports] – Fri, 26 Jan 2024 21:06:57 GMT
- NBA Fact or Fiction: Should we be excited about Knicks basketball?
- Katz: Knicks are not a perfect team, but they shouldn’t fix something that isn’t broken
- Knicks: The Knicks are legitimate contenders and we should talk about them like it
- Narrative surrounding the Knicks oddly remains disproportionately negative, fictitious, and unfair
- It’s been a long time since we could talk about the Knicks like this
[Sports Illustrated] – Fri, 26 Jan 2024 22:51:10 GMT
- BREAKING: Nikola Jokic’s Injury Status In Nuggets-Knicks Game
- Nikola Jokic expected to play against 76ers on Saturday despite eye abrasion
- Nikola Jokic Made NBA History In Nuggets-Knicks Game
- Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic: Overcomes eye poke to log 31 points
- Nikola Jokic (eye) probable to play Saturday
[Posting and Toasting] – Fri, 26 Jan 2024 22:00:00 GMT
- Game Preview: New York Knicks vs Miami Heat, January 27, 2024
- Heat vs. Knicks Prediction, Player Prop Bets & Odds for Today, 1/27: ABC
- What channel is Knicks vs. Heat on Saturday? Time, free live stream
- Heat vs Knicks Picks, Prediction Today | Saturday, Jan. 27
- Miami Heat, New York Knicks going in opposite directions
[Miami Herald] – Fri, 26 Jan 2024 22:10:19 GMT
With Jaquez and Love to return vs. Knicks, Heat just about whole for first time this season
[New York Post] – Fri, 26 Jan 2024 06:47:00 GMT
Jalen Brunson chided by Knicks teammate after ‘weak’ dunk: ‘Like a 1’
33 replies on “Knicks Morning News (2024.01.27)”
I would very much enjoy beating the Heat’s brains in.
Meanwhile, Knicks PTSD has me looking at the fact that Zach Lowe and Bill Simmons both did “the Knicks are now awesome” segments on their podcasts yesterday, and worrying that we’re now getting too much love. But the actual on court product doesn’t merit my fears.
To quote a favorite movie, hope is a good thing — maybe the best of things.
This should be a fun trade deadline: Will the Pistons really trade for LaVine’s massive contract? Will someone actually trade for Miles Bridges? Can the Lakers “dump” a guy who has probably been their 3rd best player? How much will the Hawks, Hornets, and Raps tear down their rosters? Will Ainge buy or sell (or both)? Will someone be dumb enough to trade for Kuzma?
GAME DAY!! I can’t believe how excited I am for this matinee matchup.
Yesterday I brought up a comparison between what the Leon/Thibs braintrust is building here and the late ’80s Pistons.
That team was built on leadership, high b-ball IQ, and defense. They had a sort of tentpole star in Isiah, surrounded by a) some all-star level players who, like Isiah, sacrificed individual stats for the betterment of the team, and b) some of the best role players the game has ever known. If you look back at the team stats page, there weren’t any high-BPM players except for Isiah in the playoffs…but that was by design. And you had personnel that both reflected the character of the coach and that were totally committed to each other…especially after they swapped out Dantley for Aguirre…both all-stars but one more willing to embrace a diminished role.
It took some massive frustration, as well as catching a seam between the Celts/Lakers dynasty and the Jordan/Pippin/Grant Bulls, for those Pistons to get over the top. And that is what I’m hoping for here…that Leon and Thibs will continue to tinker until they get that kind of mix, and then they hit a seam or just some good injury luck and have an opportunistic run to the finals.
In other words, it may not require a roster/draft asset/cap-depleting megastar acquisition to get there. Just keep on keeping on with the incremental improvement, like those Pistons did…and start looking for players in the draft!
I’m getting bored. I wish somebody would trade for somebody.
Why is this so hard? What are they waiting for?
I think it’s advantageous to trade quickly like the Knicks tend to do. Then you have a chance to see how it’s working and still have time to make another move.
People tend to think about D’lo as a high draft pick starter that was disappointing on offense and big negative on defense. However, he’s both more efficient now and less bad on defense. I wouldn’t want him in my starting lineup and I don’t think he’s worth his current salary, but I think he could help our bench unit now and next year he’d be an expiring contract that could be used like Fournier in another deal. I’m not advocating for it, but I could think of worse ideas as long we aren’t giving up anything significant (like Grimes or a good 1st rounder). I still like Brogdon best.
“In other words, it may not require a roster/draft asset/cap-depleting megastar acquisition to get there. Just keep on keeping on with the incremental improvement, like those Pistons did…and start looking for players in the draft!”
I agree. Not only that, but by the time we pay OG, Randle, Brunson, Hartenstein, etc… will there even be enough cap room for megastar? Realistically, a Murray or Brogdon type move is the most they will be able to pull off unless they trade Randle. I just don’t see that happening. I’m also not that worried about how Randle ages. He doesn’t really rely on explosive athleticism, I could see him turning into a Z-Bo type player in his 30’s. I’m more worried about Brunson falling off a cliff on day a la Kemba.
“I’m getting bored. I wish somebody would trade for somebody.
Why is this so hard? What are they waiting for?”
It’s a high stakes poker game. I think I would lose every time! If you trade for a playmaking guard, they will be taking McBride and/or Grimes minutes anyway. Why not include one of them in the trade instead of a pick?
Kemba had chronic knee issues…doesn’t seem to be an issue for Brunson.
“If you trade for a playmaking guard, they will be taking McBride and/or Grimes minutes anyway. Why not include them in the trade instead of a pick?”
I don’t think Deuce can be traded due to his recent extension…
Kemba didn’t fall off a cliff until after age 30, we’ll have to see how Brunson holds up. Deuce can be traded in the summer. Grimes obviously could go any minute now, the point is they won’t likely be in the rotation anymore, so why keep them out of a trade. Question for one of our cap experts: if we trade for Alick Birds now, can we then sign him to a one year deal for like $20 million to keep that salary slot alive for a trade?
Ha. That was my team as a child growing up in Detroit. I recall seeing them in the Silverdome with half the place blocked off by tarp or something.
At the time of that “seam” we didn’t realize we were lucky and that Jordan was going to dominate the rest of the century. Of course, once I moved to NYC and “found” my beloved Knicks, Jordan started to hurt my brain for real. Also, as a Knick fan in the 1990s, I def felt our teams were continuing a similar kind of Bad Boys Pistons legacy.
As for the league right now, I totally agree there might be a similar opening “seam” between dynasties. None of the best teams look particularly overwhelming, and I hope that continues to be the case through to championship. Why not us?!
Brunson is a similar kind of magician like Isaiah (I mean “Zeke”) and JB does wear number 11 — Haha — although the current Knick team is not only about knocking people over like those Pistons (Laimbeer, hahaha, prototype stretch 5?).
PS — speaking of Zeke — having one of your childhood player heroes take over your favorite basketball team as president and then shit the communal bed worse than you could ever imagine is not an experience I would recommend.
PPS — Back in Detroit my family also had season tickets to the 1979 Lions 2-14 Season that got them the draft pick for Billy Sims (the ur-Barry-Sanders). Speaking to the previous threads, this Lions season is my very first sports memory. As a toddler, I went to every single home loss, so I was basically born into sport heartbreak 😉
Anyone holding out hope for a Bridges trade should keep in mind that the last Net-Knick trade was in 1983 according to Bobby Marks on KFTV. It was that blockbuster trade of Len Elmore coming to the Knicks for a second round pick.
Brunson doesn’t rely on blowing by people like Kemba did. Obviously he’s little and takes a beating sometimes but his scoring is more amazing footwork, a great midrange and great three point shot. Barring some big injury I think he’ll age better than kemba.
I believe we can only offer a 5% raise in an extend-and-trade or for the next 6 months post-trade, which would put his starting salary around $11M.
Also, the extension cannot exceed 2yrs. Of course, that shouldn’t be an issue for us.
The Heat are on a five game losing streak, we’re on a five game winning streak. I smell a beat down.
ha, that’s funny KBA…
I will always be scared that a random Heat bench player that I will find out exists today will drop 25 points on us and swing the game, so I’ll manage my expectations by saying I hope the Knicks play hard and whatever happens, happens.
Let’s just hope everyone has fun out there
Optimistic. It’s the Heat, they’ll have at least 2 of those guys starting.
That won’t happen til game 1 of the playoffs.
The January Heat seem relatively benign. This recent losing streak includes unfathomable home losses to the Grizzlies and Hawks (w/o Trae), blow out losses to the Raptors and Magic, and an epic beatdown by the Celtics.
They just don’t give a fuck about the regular season, it seems.
I’m kind of optimistic about this game. Our team seems hungry and confident, and Miami is vulnerable. Obviously I’d be even more so if iHart is available. But I love that we now have OG to deal with Jimmy and that Randle can pummel whoever Miami throws at him…if JJJ is the matchup, he’s in for a rude awakening. My biggest fear is that Herro, Duncan, Love, and Scary go off from 3, but our guys can hit some 3’s as well.
Should be a classic bloodbath, though. I would love for the late-90’s rivalry to be revived full bore!
Quick note on lineup stats, btw, following up on yesterday.
Lineup data does not present a compelling reason to play Hart over DDV at shooting guard for 6-8 mins a game, as Thibs is currently doing.
The four man combination of Brunson, DDV, OG, Randle has a net rating of 22.1 in 211 minutes. As this is our starting lineup, most of these minutes are against team’s best 5 man units.
The Brunson, Hart, OG, Randle combo has a net rating of 58.9. Yes, that is a nuclear rating. But it’s in only 51 mins, and over half of them come from one game against Philadelphia (Hart’s best game of the season).
Is 51 mins of an incredible but unsustainable net rating really enough reason to bench the third most productive player on the team? I don’t think so.
The BPM gulf between DDV and Hart right now is over 4.8. Let’s put that in some perspective:
the difference between RJ Barrett as a Knick and OG Anunoby as a Knick is 4.6.
Can you imagine if we had both those guys and Thibs was benching OG for RJ?? That’s how bad this is. It’s being ignored because we’re winning, but we’re winning in spite of it and it’s going to cause problems eventually. It actually cost us the Orlando game already.
And here we are, this allegedly enlightened community of statistical analysts, somehow acting like there are enough things that don’t show up in the box score to cover for a 4.8 gap in a box score metric!? I find this to be rather crazy.
Hart is having a bad statistical season and he’s playing way too much. He should only be playing at forward. Reduce his minutes about 6-8, give them to Devo and prosper.
I sure do 😀
Difference with Hart is he was excellent last season after they traded for him and also had a great series vs Cleveland. So you don’t have to look too far back to see that he could be a very valuable player.
Re: DLO
There are few players I’d want on my team less than I want DLO.
One of the lowest BB-IQ in the League, streaky shooter, disinterested defender, trouble maker in the locker room, discarded with no regrets by every team he’s been on, always dangled in trades.
I know he can score and explode for 40 on any given night, but he’s the Michael Beasley of PGs and we’ve been down that road before…
Thibs would kill him after 2 practises and he’ll earn praises (and the presidential pardon) for it 🙂
Now obviously if he become a Knicks I will reluctantly root for him, but I trust Thibs to sparing me the trouble.
Also, I don’t like to trade with the Lakers because I hate the idea of “helping” them in any meaningful manner, no matter how little…
Rokas Update:
Yesterday’s game was the best of the three times I’ve seen him live.
As usual he didn’t start, but helped by teammates’ foul troubles and injuries he did play 24 minutes, mainly as the main ballhandler.
In the 1st half he made a couple of alley-oops (one to our old pal Willy Hernangomez) and hit a nice floater from the side, but Barca was down by a lot.
He started the 2nd half and played 16 of the 20 minutes, orchestrating a fake comeback while activating former Wizards’ lottery bust Jan Vesely, who had a monster game, over and over.
He still looks reluctant to shoot if not forced or provided with miles of space and his shot looks a bit too “mechanical”, but his passing skills always shine and his ability to command the tempo looks better.
On the other side of the ball he defended very well, keeping his man in front most of the time (I did count only 2 times where he was beaten), very alert and quick on cuts/passing lanes and basically defending the 1-3 positions on players with different skills: former NBA PG/Guards Shabazz Napier and Rodney McGruder plus 6’7″ Olimpia’s star forward Shavon Shields, the one who gave him more troubles.
Final statline: 4 points on 2-6 2FG (but one is a tap-in with 00:00 on the clock), 4 rebs, 6 assists, a steal and +8.
My take: slightly more positive about his future, as far as a pass-first PG can be useful in the modern NBA. Maybe he can be “unlocked” and shoot more in the freeflowing NBA-Style. Defensive improvements looks real.
Some highlights, the Rokas-Vesely connection can be seen at 1:20, 2:00, 2:45.
https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/videos/ea7-emporio-armani-milan-fc-barcelona-round-23-highlights-2023-24-turkish-airlines-euroleague/?feedId=60dee8825eb4fd8da365da78&title=Latest%20Videos
Side note: Jabari Parker was in the game, I remember him on the SI cover years ago, both alone (“The new LeBron?”) and with Wiggins, and it saddened me a bit…
@Max. You are too good to us. Willy! Thx, much!
Hm apparently we are looking into Gafford and Washington likes Grimes… I don’t like the sound of that.
Katz: “Isaiah Hartenstein will warm up and the Knicks will decide from there, Tom Thibodeau said. If he feels good, he’ll play.”
Yeah but we are never going to see Josh Hart be a 52% 3 pt sniper at high volume again.
And I’m not saying he isn’t valuable. As a backup forward who can spell both Randle and OG, he has a lot of value.
We’ve expanded his role too far, though. No guard minutes for Hart. Play Devo more. All i’m saying
I like Gafford but to me the news raises some random questions:
– Does it means the end of our dream about a Mitch’s comeback?
– Does it means we’re not going to re-sign I-Hart?
– Does it means we’re going to re-sign I-Hart and we’re ready to make Mitch available in trades?
Uhm…
Grimes going out just to get Gafford !? No, thank you.
Thanks for the Rokas update, Max. I still don’t see an NBA player there, but who knows? He looks exactly the same as in the first season at Barcelona, i think we’d probably select some rookie with a 2nd rounder first than we bring him to NY.