[ESPN] – Sun, 28 Jan 2024 23:48:00 GMT
- Knicks’ Julius Randle (shoulder) won’t play vs. Hornets on Mon.
- How Knicks can adjust without Julius Randle after injury
- Knicks Bulletin: Thibodeau, Brunson, Hartenstein on win over Miami, Randles injury
- Knicks forward Julius Randle suffered dislocated shoulder vs. Heat, will have an MRI
- Knicks need everyone to step up in Julius Randle’s absence
[Page Six] – Sun, 28 Jan 2024 18:06:00 GMT
Drake’s son, Adonis, 6, looks all grown up sitting courtside with dad at Knicks game
[sny.tv] – Sun, 28 Jan 2024 15:03:04 GMT
- Ranking the Knicks’ most likely 2024 NBA trade deadline additions based on fit
- Wolves 2024 NBA Trade Deadline Rumors and News Tracker
- The Knicks Don’t Need to Rush a Trade
- Pros and cons of reuniting with former Knicks guard in trade
- Knicks have needs, but they might be best served by doing nothing at trade deadline
[Posting and Toasting] – Sun, 28 Jan 2024 16:53:06 GMT
- Preview of the Knicks upcoming week, Jan. 28 – Feb 3
- Red-hot Knicks facing 2023 NBA finalists in next two games
- Preview of the Knicks upcoming week, Jan. 21-27
- Knicks, shorthanded in middle, face tall order defending Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic
[Sports Illustrated] – Sun, 28 Jan 2024 21:53:35 GMT
Miami Heat Make Roster Move After Knicks Game
[USA TODAY Sportsbook Wire] – Mon, 29 Jan 2024 06:59:00 GMT
- New York Knicks at Charlotte Hornets odds, picks and predictions
- Hornets to Host Red-Hot Knicks on Monday Night
- Spread & Over/Under Predictions for Hornets vs. Knicks
- New York Knicks vs Charlotte Hornets Prediction, 1/29/2024 Preview and Pick
- Jalen Brunson, Top Knicks Players to Watch vs. the Hornets – January 29
[Posting and Toasting] – Sun, 28 Jan 2024 12:00:00 GMT
- Knicks 125, Heat 109: Youre finished, Miami. You hear me? Finished
- Knicks 125-109 Heat (Jan 27, 2024) Game Recap
- Knicks Hailed as Legit NBA Title Contenders by Fans After Win over Jimmy Butler, Heat
- Game Thread: New York Knicks vs Miami Heat, January 27, 2024
- Heat vs. Knicks odds, line: Proven NBA model reveals picks for a matchup on Jan. 27, 2024
[Sports Illustrated] – Mon, 29 Jan 2024 09:55:17 GMT
How to Watch & Listen to Hornets vs. Knicks
132 replies on “Knicks Morning News (2024.01.29)”
Downtown Doogie Brown says:
January 29, 2024 at 05:18
OK, but still……. Who the fuck are Bregson and Dali?
Brian Cronin says:
January 29, 2024 at 06:06
If you’re actually curious, they are typos two different posters made while meaning to type Malcolm Brogdon and D’Angelo Russell.
Downtown Doogie Brown says:
January 29, 2024 at 07:05
I was truly curious. With the way that people are purposely butchering Burks’ name, I wasn’t sure if “Bregson” was supposed to be him. And “Dali” being a typo is one thing, but then it was used four or five times by multiple posters after the first instance, so I had no way of knowing that it was DLo. “Dali” isn’t even close to “DLo.”
Thanks, Brian! 🙂
I’m pretty sure “Dali” is an unnoticed spell check correction of DLo. After all, the first is probably in spell check directories and the second certainly isn’t.
Seems like OG and JHart have some nice defensive chemistry going on. From Macri’s newsletter:
I said yesterday I won’t be shocked if the defense is “better” with either Hart or Grimes in the starting lineup instead of Randle. It’s the offense that’s going to be a problem. It was already lacking enough scoring. Brunson may drop 40 and win games for us here or there, but someone else is going to have to step up if we want to be consistent.
Looking forward to being at the game tonight. We should be able to take care of business even without Randle in what always feels like a home game. I hope we get some news soon. The injury and the trade deadline are going to make the rest of my hair fall out.
Give us some news, Knicks PR. Please.
By the way, how do people feel Precious has looked on defense so far? I know this isn’t what our coach is going to do, probably, but it makes more sense to me to just start him and power forward, rather than sliding everyone else around on the positional scale.
Alan, I agree but beyond starting, I think Thibs should look carefully at having that configuration of iHart, Precious, and OG with Brunson and DDV vs. other teams starters…which would involve Sims getting some backup C minutes…
I would say mediocre on Preshuss. Passable certainly but nothing special. NBA body but the instincts seem average.
Fell asleep during 3rdQ and woke up finding out that our season was in danger! Daaaaamn!!!
Tbh my surreallistic optimism and my Spartan faith believes 100% in Thibs Next Man Up system but having your starters healthy is “Most Times” better than throwing the bench players in the arena against opponent lions….
I agree Alan. Precious is a good defender. Having him out there would be like having Randle out there on a bad shooting night.
Precious at the 4 will pose alot of problems for the offense. Prefer OG at the 4 with Hart or Grimes at the 3. Although regardless they’re gonna probably have to use both sets of lineups anyway but I anticipate OG at the 4 being used more often.
If anyone needs an amusing distraction while we wait for news, The Athletic’s Pistons beat writer wrote a column where he pitched fake Bojan/Burks trades to the Lakers, Knicks, and Thunder, followed by all three of those teams’ beat writers (Katz included) immediately shooting them down as something the other front office would never, ever, do:
https://theathletic.com/5231965/2024/01/29/pistons-lakers-knicks-thunder-trade/
I think I subscribe to the Athletic, because I subscribe to the Times, but I get my paper in paper form on my doorstep each morning, and I don’t know how to access any internet sites that aren’t .net, so can you provide the amusing distraction here, in the name of anti-ageism? Thanks.
-Donald “Boomer-At-Heart” Walsh
It’s just unbelievable this completely freak injury happened at what would otherwise probably be, without exaggeration, the single most optimistic point of my Knicks fandom.
There’s still plenty to be excited about, but this is an enormous downer and every second that passes with no news makes me more convinced it’s season ending or seriously compromising.
I’m staying optimistic and hoping we’ll be seeing Randle again sometime in March.
Woj Cherry Bomb!
As testing continues on Knicks All-Star F Julius Randle’s right shoulder, indications are optimistic that his absence will be measured in weeks and not months, sources tell ESPN.
https://giphy.com/gifs/theleftovershbo-season-2-the-leftovers-ann-dowd-26tP6asrAfdobXSr6
Woj bomb:
“As testing continues on Knicks All-Star F Julius Randle’s right shoulder, indications are optimistic that his absence will be measured in weeks and not months, sources tell ESPN.”
I think is positive news (praying hands emoji)
Per DW’s request re “Pistons receive: 2024 first-round pick (via Detroit), Evan Fournier, Isaiah Hartenstein and Quentin Grimes
Knicks receive: Bojan Bogdanović and Alec Burks”
“Fred Katz (Knicks beat writer): If I’m New York, I’m denying this offer. Burks is a known quantity, a former Knick who can shoot the 3 and create his own shot, but his value shouldn’t be higher than one or two second-round picks. Bogdanović, meanwhile, made more sense for the Knicks before the OG Anunoby trade. The outgoing pieces are too much, as well. Hartenstein is too important to part with, especially considering the team doesn’t know if or when Mitchell Robinson will return from his ankle injury. Hartenstein has rolled in his stead. The current Knicks starters are outscoring opponents by 19.3 points per 100 possessions, according to Cleaning the Glass.
Grimes is on the trade market — and, as I’ve reported, the Knicks are actively fielding calls about him. I could see them trading him, but I imagine the return would have to address a position of need. The Knicks could use a guard to hold up the offense with Brunson off the court. If they’re parting with Grimes and a first-round pick and their starting center — a move that would promote Jericho Sims or Precious Achiuwa into the starting lineup, which would be far from ideal — the return would have to be much greater than the one here.
The Knicks have expressed interest in Burks, according to sources, so I would counter with an offer built around just him. Because he makes $10.5 million this season, matching salaries becomes difficult. The Knicks don’t have many guys who earn in that range. But one maneuver they could try is to trade Achiuwa for someone who makes a little north of the big man’s salary (somewhere in the $5.2 million range) and then flip that guy along with a second-rounder or two for Burks. It’s a different trade than the one James proposes, but it would make more sense for New York and would still land Detroit draft compensation for a veteran on an expiring contract.”
MY FAITH NEVER WAVERED, WHO’S MEETING ME ON THE PARADE ROUTE?
Donnie – this was what the pistons guy proposed.
Pistons receive: 2024 first-round pick (via Detroit), Evan Fournier, Isaiah Hartenstein and Quentin Grimes
Knicks receive: Bojan Bogdanović and Alec Burks
I love the athletic but this was such a lazy piece – I’m amazed Katz was able to be polite in his response.
*Edit* – Bo beat me to it.
Seems like the best possible outcome for Julius given the injury. Wonderful news!
Wonderful news! (but let’s hope the Knicks docs aren’t the ones from NORTH DALLAS FORTY).
That Pistons’ beat writer proposal is hilarious. Why stop there, do you want Brunson too? How about we throw in Clyde to grease the wheels?
No significant damage, phew…. season is still alive!!
Looks like Julius and I will be on the same recovery schedule since I’m actually getting shoulder surgery(A-FUCKIN-GAIN) tomorrow lol
Apparently I have the shoulders of a Biden Year Old lmao. This will make 2 on each shoulder. Left shoulder 07 and 08, right shoulder Jan 2020 and tomorrow..sheesh
Anyways…VERY happy to hear there isn’t the type of damage to keep Randle out terribly long. Knowing him, he will attack his rehab like a maniac. It was shocking how flat his shoulder was, considering how cut up he is normally.
Begley, more directly plugged in, is also slightly less rosy in his report:
I don’t hate this…
How dare Begley throw cold water on the vibes as I lay here getting the 2024 Larry O’Brien tattooed on my chest.
I am definitely not an orthopedist but my feeling is that this is going to be a rest/rehab for 4-6 weeks and if no setbacks he will play through it the rest of the year, then have offseason surgery to fix any labral tear. So surgery is not ruled out but minimal damage feels like they’ll try to avoid doing anything now.
This is the kind of report I was expecting given the delay— kind of inconclusive.
Still better than “definitely out for the season, amputation possible.”
The NY beat reporters for The Athletic have been great, I think some of the smaller market guys aren’t quite on the same level.
Both Burks and Bojan are really good, but old and playing for the crap-tastic Pistons, which lowers their value. Combining them also seems like a bad idea, teams don’t need both.
Including Hartenstein is an immediate no. He’s untouchable, at least until Mitch comes back and even then he might be.
I don’t hate the Lakers trade. It’s a little much, but Reaves isn’t that young and isn’t as good as he looked in the playoffs. Lakers are a win now team in desperate need of offense and Reaves is a 1st percentile defender anyway.
The Rui inclusion might be the line in the sand, he’s useful and was great in the playoffs, but hes generally been subpar.
The prospect of bringing in 2 guys whose defense is bad (at least by EPM) could scare teams off, but Burks might look better or try harder on a decent team… or he may just be old.
Geez, man. What have you been doing to your shoulders?
I hate this.
Any chance a minor surgery has him back for the playoffs?
Fournier making his way back into the rotation would require at least one more injury, so if he has other stuff to deal with, go deal with it.
Assuming iHart is back to reasonable health, looks like our 9-man rotation would be:
C: iHart/Sims
PF: OG/Previous
SF: Hart/Grimes
SG: DDV/Grimes
PG: Brunson/Deuce
This would be a very good time for Grimes to get aggressive again. We’ve seen in spurts that when he gets a lot of touches, good things happen. We have to make up a lot of usage now.
This is about the time I would expect MRI results to be known. The radiologists who read MRIs and CT scans do not work weekends. A resident probably did the initial x-ray read. At my local hospital, you cannot even get a phlebotomy draw on the weekend only sample drop-off at the lab.
Pretttyyyy sure the Knicks aren’t dealing with residents reading the MRI because it’s a weekend. My best buddy from growing up is the lead Dr for the Rangers. The guy works 24/7.
I’d think the Knicks could get an MRI read faster than the average person.
If they don’t have a specific guy for that, a quick $10,000 bonus probably gets a doctor in the door. If not, just keep adding zeroes till it does.
I don’t really believe it. But huzzah.
Haha. Yeah, Julius is not waiting in the ER filing out forms on a clipboard. This is all about getting second and third opinions, and choosing when best for Julius to have subsequent tests/scans taken as necessary.
From the Knicks POV, I’m sure there’s also plenty of, Let’s figure out what our narrative should be before we announce the things out of our control. What are we gonna do is as important as the What happened.
Please re-read my post.
This is about the time I would expect MRI results to be known. The radiologists who read MRIs and CT scans do not work weekends. A resident probably did the initial x-ray read. At my local hospital, you cannot even get a phlebotomy draw on the weekend only sample drop-off at the lab.
Also, lead team doctors would wait for the radiologist report on Monday before publicly commenting
“Early Bird Writes says:
January 29, 2024 at 11:20
@IanBegley
There’s nothing conclusive yet regarding Julius Randle’s timetable, per league source. Source said Randle will be out at least a few weeks, which was obvious given shoulder dislocation. Surgery hasn’t been ruled out but testing to date has led to some optimism it can be avoided.
I hate this.”
I’m confused. The same exact information came out just before you said “I don’t hate this.” But now you hate it?
Alan says:
January 29, 2024 at 11:02
Begley, more directly plugged in, is also slightly less rosy in his report:
@IanBegley
There’s nothing conclusive yet regarding Julius Randle’s timetable, per league source. Source said Randle will be out at least a few weeks, which was obvious given shoulder dislocation. Surgery hasn’t been ruled out but testing to date has led to some optimism it can be avoided.
Early Bird Writes says:
January 29, 2024 at 11:03
I don’t hate this…
I said something similar. We are playing incredibly well and I think we can weather this storm. I expect a few weeks of great defense and Atomic Brunson to carry us through. It won’t last forever, but I think we keep crushing teams for a while.
I’m also not ruling out an OG evolution. He has been wanting this opportunity for a while.
And this could be what Leon needs to pull the trigger on brogdon instead of another defensive ace like Brown.
All in all I feel surprisingly optimistic today.
“Previous” instead of “Precious.” Great.
As if I didn’t already hate his first name enough.
Previous Achiuwa is his dad
lolz 100000% that the Knicks are not waiting around for a radiologist to waltz in Monday AM, and there is zero chance a 27 year old resident 5 minutes out of medical school is doing any sort of read on imaging on a professional athlete unless they happen to be sitting next to the attending radiologist / orthopedist at the time.
The team orthopedist (not sure who it is) can and certainly does read MRIs and x-rays.
The most likely reason for the delay is that they were coordinating several opinions and talking through options. And also, it’s not their job to inform the public as soon as possible no matter how much we might want.
Forgive. Not mocking you in any way. Just the nature of “flip” posting online.
My point: The Knicks have radiologists (and any specialty in the world) on call 24/7. If they wanted to do the MRI five minutes after Julius entered the locker room and get it read, they could have.
Rather, it’s the parsing of information and probably/possibly the choosing of a “best time” to do an MRI (bc swelling etc.) that is the reason for delay, not the unavailability of staff.
I don’t want Grimes in the starting lineup. He’s started playing really well with the 2nd unit since the trade, I don’t want to mess with that.
He’s sustained a 20% usage (exactly) during that time, which the bench needs. Hart did get over 18% on a .600 TS% in 2022, maybe he can do that again versus bench units, but it’s definitely (I’m a hypocrite Doogie 😞) an outlier.
On the other hand, if we need OG’s size & strength at the 4, maybe Grimes goes back to defending the PoA. Wouldn’t be the first thing I try, but if PFs start killing us on the boards I’d test it.
Precious at the 4 would worry me on offense. He’s capable defensively—looks good on switches except giving Lonnie Walker as many feet of space as there are Lonnie Walkers—but has been a zero on offense. Actually, less than zero after flubbing the finishes off of the PnR last game.
And hopefully this highlights the foolishness of giving away Grimes. We have one of the shortest rosters of useful players in the entire NBA.
LOL
I’d be surprised if Thibs doesn’t start OG and Hart at the forward spots with Randle out. That would give us strong defense, athleticism, and capable shooting. Precious has been a nice surprise, but he’s not an outside shooter and not as swift down the floor as Hart… and he’s not fully in the Thibs circle of trust yet.
Hopefully, Thibs will try to engage iHart more in the halfcourt since he’s a fairly gifted passer, maybe running some pick actions with Brunson. Also, DDV needs to up his shooting volume. Then (I guess) Grimes might have to be a focal point with the bench unit.
Not gonna lie — these coming weeks are going to be tough! But as a silver lining, we’ll get to see how far some of our guys can stretch their games. I still think Grimes, DDV, and iHart have untapped potential, so I still think we have a chance at 50-plus wins.
I think the “don’t” was a response to the Shams report Noble posted. The “hate” was directed at the Begley quote suggesting surgery was still on the table, didn’t see Alan’s post till after.
I should’ve quoted Shams. It’s happened a number of times, the context changing before I hit post. Then I don’t edit it because the context still makes sense in my head, despite it not making sense on page.
Got it. Thanks for the clarification.
So Steph had a similar injury last season and was out approximately 4 weeks.
If Randle is out 4 weeks (give or take), that takes us to February 27th which would be 13 games missed (the All Star break really helps)
If we can stay above .500 during that time we’re still in pretty good shape for the stretch run
I fall very firmly in the Start-Precious-at-the-4 Camp because it provides maximum continuity. I trust Brunson to be able to compensate for Precious’ weaknesses.
The adage is “next man up”, not “slide half the team to a different position.”
Hubert, there are definitely good arguments for that, and it seems to be how Thibs likes to operate… I’m just not sure he fully trusts Previous yet. Playing Charlotte does seem like the perfect time to experiment, though.
This was all extremely obvious to me, but maybe I’m biased as someone who would like to implement a blanket policy of never correcting, clarifying, or apologizing for anything at Doogie’s request.
Moving Hart into the starting lineup seems like the obvious move, and I agree with Hubert that this is a great time for OG to earn the money he’s going to get regardless. OG’s usage has been creeping up a bit these past few games, so hopefully he’s ready to keep that up. Not like he’s been overworked or anything.
I hope we see zero minutes of Professor Ashoua at the four. He’s found something of a niche as the back up 5, don’t mess with it in the name of a doomed experiment.
I’d like to see us try to avoid the siren song of Brunson being a 40%+ USG guy until Randle is back–work in iHart’s skills, let DDV create a bit, see what OG can do, etc.
But my guess is we mostly just smash the Brunson button a lot.
before julius busted up his shoulder i was thinking we could swap deuce and donte in order to have a “creator” ball handler for the 2nd unit…
no with julius out, may just be best to move josh in to the starting line up as the 4…
“Precious,” ess-dog, not “Previous.” “Previous” is the player’s father, so he’s not playing in the NBA.
“Ashoua.” Nope: “Achiuwa.”
Ha! I wish I knew cuz this shit is for the birds, man
Not to be confused with his grandfather, Cretaceous
Doogie doesn’t really bother me, maybe he goes a bit overboard sometime but it doesn’t ruin threads the way some of us do (me).
We should be more sympathetic to Doogie, it’s difficult to turn off your work brain. Grammar/editing brain in particular is hard to shutdown. You start seeing mistakes everywhere after spending an hour or two doing it, and he’s done it quite a bit more.
Of course, it’s always fun to mess with him a bit 🙂
Different context, but our fun with names reminds me of an old joke about the movie “Young Guns.” Every actor is Martin Sheen’s son, but no one has the same last name.
There’s a great headline in the ringer today:
“Of all the NBA coaches, Doc Rivers is one of them.”
I have no idea how this guy keeps getting paid so much money.
Thanks, EB. I think. 🙂
Got Hartenstein’s mom coming in today. Any questions?
I don’t know about you guys, but I’m certainly feeling a newfound appreciation for Randle after thinking we’d be losing him for the whole season.
We really have underappreciated the guy. 24/9/5 with TS% creeping up since the abysmal start. Mental mistakes trending down and he really ties the team together by enabling others to focus on their strengths. Plus, while this is often a double-edged sword, you can never doubt that he cares.
I suppose this is why I’m not so sympathetic to Doogie. I post during breaks at work, where I have to file meticulously proofread documents that need to be formatted in various archaic ways.
I of course try to make my posts grammatically correct, readable, etc. but to me it’s a feature of this here website that no one is expected to do all that. We’re really just shooting the shit about a hobby we all share!
It’s obviously cool to ask for clarification if something is genuinely misunderstood–deciphering swifty’s Dali reference from the other day required some context clues–but I think if you know what someone meant, it’s a best practice to not reach for the fainting couch even if they misspelled Alvin Brogdonovich’s name.
Yeah ask her if her son needs private wealth management. You can earn a 10% referral fee 😉
Imagine we traded for Brogdman. We’d get scoring, rebounding, and downtown boogie. (Ok, trying too hard. I’ll stop).
Randle despite his ups and serious downs during his knicks tenure he recently earned the right to be considered core player imo in this Rose-Thibs-Brunson attempt for respect-continuity-contention.
But when we’re simultaneously discussing Alec Burks. Malcolm Brogdon, and both Bojan and Bogdan Bogdanovic, it matters *a lot* when someone purposely types “Bregson” in order to spell Burks’ name in a “funny” way. No one knows who the hell is being written about! LOL
I have it on good authority that I Hart wants to stay a Knick after the season.
And he knows how much they can pay him, versus how much he might get elsewhere. Hmmm…. Exciting times?
I am relieved the injury does not look season ending.
I think we should slide Grimes back into the starting lineup and move OG to the PF. I think our defense should be fine and that way we don’t lose shooting. Also I think Grimes is more capable than Hart to increase his usage and take pressure off of Brunson.
If we move DDV and Grimes up to 30 minutes a game and increase McBrides minutes a bit we should be able to fill Randle’s minutes and just shrink our rotation to 8. If we need more help Precious can play more or we can bring Fournier off the bench.
We need to not panic with trades. We should not move any 1sts or Grimes for anything short of a very good young player that fills a need or a star. No trades to “plug” holes or help us through the injury. We should be fine without them.
Part of my concern iHart might get a mega offer was due to the fact that it appeared his offensive role was increasing after the OG trade. I’ve been a little disappointed that turned out to be a very brief renaissance.
To echo Noble above, I would really like to see us sprinkle some more Hartenstein into the offense, but we’re probably just going to increase Brunson’s USG to 50% instead.
And, yes, I am aware that I’ve got a period rather than a comma after “Burks” in my previous post.
I had a hot water break down and flood my basement with water, and I also just found out that my 91-year-old Dad went to the hospital this morning, and no one can figure out what should be done with my 89-year-old Mom (with dementia) in his absence. Not a banner day in Doogieland.
When I was younger I used to deliberately get into the movie theater 10 minutes late so it would be a challenge to understand the context. Sometimes it’s good not to know what people are talking about.
Here’s a trade we’d technically have to break into two trades (Fournier for Brown, Schroeder for Grimes/Archie/Sims) due to Brown’s restriction, but works:
NYK gets: Dennis Schroeder, Bruce Brown
TOR gets: Fournier, Grimes, Archie, Sims, draft compensation we can fight about
I don’t like the idea of trading Grimes for guys of this quality, and if you want to make this even more complicated and find a 3rd team willing to take Evil Donte into cap space (Pistons?) it’s technically doable without including him.
I’m still not excited about the potential Brown fit despite being the audience for it i.e. a Miami alum who’s also a lifelong Knicks fan, but for better or worse it seems like we want him, so might as well see if we can get Schroeder too.
Randle didn’t shoot, though. He mostly just created for himself.
I doubt Hart or OG want to play PF for a month. It’s going to wear both of them down at a time we really can’t risk it.
Just think of what you’d be asking OG to do:
1. Continue being the most influential defensive player on the court
2. Continue shooting corner threes at over 40%.
3. Add some offensive USG to your game.
4. Bang with power forwards for nearly 40 mins.
Seems like a lot to me. I prefer to let him just keep doing what he’s been doing.
Precious is a natural PF. Sims is a natural C. Neither is particularly good but they are what we’ve got.
Who cares what Woj and Ian are saying?
What is Robert Randolph saying? 🙂
I like the way Grimes has been looking defensively lately and his confidence on offense seems to be returning also. OG and Grimes on the court at the same time really takes the pressure off our Cs.
Doogie, so sorry. Maybe you can see if your employer will let you work remotely or take leave to look after Mom. I don’t know if you’re in NYC, but I have a good amount of experience with Adult Protective Services and have always found them to be professional. I’m not sure if they could accommodate some kind of temporary arrangement, but it might be worth a call if you’re out of ideas.
Randle shot 5 threes a game. He didn’t make them at a great rate, but he wasn’t totally ignored from out there.
Precious would be totally ignored. I don’t think he’s a natural 4 at all–the 5 is clearly his best position. He doesn’t do anything a 4 is expected to do. He can’t shoot, carry usage, and isn’t really a playmaker. If we use him at the 4, between him and the center we’ll have two low usage guys who can be totally ignored from 3 in the same lineup.
That’s an offensive disaster in the making, and I don’t even think the defense would be all that great either. It’s not like Precious is the most mobile guy in the world.
You know my 16-0 prediction wasn’t too crazy after all. The Mavs game was destined to be an L, but the only reason we lost to Orlando was bc Brunson got hurt, and if we’d maintained our health we’d surely have wrapped this month up at 15-1.
Utah might be tough without Julius but we’ll probably still end up 14-2 on the month.
Swifty, let’s get matching shirts.
I’m obviously happy about the Randle news in general, but it does have a bit of a tint of, “This could still be bad,” right?
The craziest part was predicting we’d beat Denver.
Utah has played well recently. They wouldn’t be a pushover even if we had Randle.
Threes that he almost always created for himself.
He wasn’t standing in the corner spacing the floor, is all I’m saying.
I hate to break it to you but all of that is true for Josh Hart, as well.
We’re talking about one guy with a .500 eFG% and another with a .510.
One way or another, we are replacing Randle with a total zero on offense who is going to be completely ignored.
I say play the one who keeps OG in his optimal position. OG is our 2nd most valuable player. I’m not making his life harder just to get Hart on the floor instead of Precious. It’s a negigible Dvanfgae
Comes down to whether his shoulder pops out again after he rehabs 4-6 weeks and tries to play without surgery. It’s far more likely to than it was last Friday, pre-Dislo I.
I don’t see any indication he’s on the Steph Curry path, though I admittedly don’t have full transparency on exactly what puts you on that path with a dislocated shoulder versus the more typical path.
This is what happens when you’re editing a comment with 3 seconds left.
He just ate and left?
No, it is not. Josh Hart has a 35% career 3PT% on over 1,500 attempts, is working on his 5th consecutive season with an AST% at the 57th percentile or above for his position, and is the Knicks’ first ranked player when it comes to transition frequency (12th in the league). I don’t think I need to post how Precious Achiuwa compares in each category.
Josh Hart is certainly offensively limited in important ways. Precious Achiuwa he is not.
There’s also of course the other side of the ball. Josh Hart can very credibly guard guards and wings, do you want Precious Achiuwa doing that?
“I’m obviously happy about the Randle news in general, but it does have a bit of a tint of, “This could still be bad,” right?”
It is still bad depending on how well his rehab goes and how Thibs uses him. I’d much rather have him back at full strength next year than risk further damage and a surgery that pushes his recovery into next season. To me, they have from now until this offseason to make any more trades or roster adjustments. After they pay OG and hopefully Hartenstein, I don’t think there is going to be a whole lot of maneuverability. I don’t think Randle or Brunson are going anywhere. The roster will be pretty much set for the next few seasons, which I think will be great.
I love his game, but it’s a bit premature to be projecting the U5 Aboriginal Basketball League’s best player. Might be the next next next LeBron Jr.
A lot of sympathy here.
Your life sounds a lot like mine.
My 89 year old mother fell on Thanksgiving day and fractured a bone in her spine. It took multiple trips to her doctors and the ER to finally get her admitted to a hospital (all done by me). Then she caught Covid in the hospital and was out of commission for a few weeks. Now she’s in rehab and can’t walk. In the meantime my special needs brother (who normally lives with her) is alone. So I had to get an aid to check on him daily and do some cleaning. I’ve been taking him to all his scheduled doctor appointments, making sure he has food to eat, and taking care of anything that breaks in that house (awning fell down), my apartment, and my girlfriend’s house (broken boiler) all while paying all the bills.
Seriously, I have a lot of sympathy for you.
Take a deep breath. You’ll get through it.
Yeah, I don’t think Josh Hart’s five year average is more significant than what he’s actually doing this year. And what he’s doing this year on the offensive end is indistinguishable from what Precious is doing.
I would not disrupt OG Anunoby and the entire second unit bc I expect Josh Hart to have sharp regression to career norms that may be permanently behind him.
I don’t recall Julius Randle having to cover many guards and wings. Brunson, Devo, and OG have been doing it and there hasn’t been a problem. If the other team goes small, of course you take Precious out.
Bottom line is you guys are talking about sliding OG to the 4 like it’s a video game or something. You’re seriously underestimating the physical toll of being an undersized power forward. It will absolutely diminish his impact, and it is not something we want to subject OG to every single night when we’re paper thin as it is.
Here’s the trade off in a nutshell:
A) Precious at the 4, OG at the 3 = a major dropoff from Randle to Precious, everything else stays the same.
B) OG at the 4, Hart at the 3 = a major dropoff from Randle to Hart, a major loss to our second unit, and a significant diminishment of OG’s impact with an increasing likelihood of wearing him out.
At the end of the day, it’s all gonna come down to Brunson. Keep the structure intact.
It’s good news on the Randle front. The best news possible.
I hope he doesn’t rush things.
PT in a few weeks. Let’s see him when spring training ends. He can work out with the Bomber in Tampa.
Ok, for some bizarre reason let’s weigh Josh Hart’s last 45 games at 100% and the 372 that preceded them at 0%. Cool.
It seems he’s still besting Precious Achiuwa in *deep breath* eFG%, TS%, 3PT%, FTr, FT%, AST%, and transition frequency.
It happens quite frequently! Take a look at his most frequent matchups. Something I think the Randle haters don’t give him enough credit for is he holds up…decently-ish, when this happens.
Of course, it’s also the case that the Knicks losing their highest minutes getter will likely spur some changes to the defensive scheme and they’ll look to take advantage of OG and Hart’s versatility.
This is literally a list of forwards.
So the one poster who actually is a specialist in this field, and whose history of posts show he only comments when his expertise is of value…is dismissed. Because we know how MSG allocates its medical budget. Yes, bad news on JR, but let’s value an informed comment as it should be. Keep posting KnickFan!
Do you think this definitely costs Julius an All-Star spot? Or do you think they might name him as a reserve, knowing that he won’t be able to do it and they can immediately add Banchero or another forward as his replacement?
Hart is a much better player than Precious, so are Donte & Grimes. I’m pro getting them on the floor more. Precious, not so much.
An “opportunity” to get Josh Hart more minutes — many at a position not really his own — is something to dread, not celebrate.
Alan, I was wondering the same thing. You could make an argument either way, as it’s not his best statictical season but the first 10 games or so that he was working his way back from surgery and since then he’s been rock solid. I’d give him the nod and replace, but understand why others might be upset by that.
If you are worried that it means too much work for OG to guard fours remember that Hart has done this in the past with not horrible results. So if he’s on the floor with OG they can split duties there.
God forbid a SF starts at SF!!
When you can get your crappy 3rd string C to play out of position at PF instead, ya gotta do it!
OG has been the backup PF since he’s been here.
I think Randle still makes the All Star team, but yes, it pisses me off that he might miss it because of this injury.
OG is a physical beast. IMO he can handle the PF spot. It’s not ideal and we should probably try some other things, but at least now everyone understands why I was so upset that we didn’t have a backup PF (which was another reason I was so hot for OG to begin with). Imagine if we didn’t even have the option of debating OG, Precious etc…
The need for a backup PF was widely recognized and discussed by everyone. We had long threads largely dedicated to allegedly real people with names like Isiah Roby and Nathan Knight. Everyone agreed that it wasn’t a super pressing issue with Randle healthy, but would become one if he got hurt.
Let’s call up Jacob Toppin and give him some burn. How hilarious would it be to feature him with two upcoming games against the Pacers? 🤣
Given our two best non-Randle rebounders have leg issues that need management (jumper’s knee for Hart, Achilles Tendonitis for iHart) my guess is that Precious is going to play a lot of minutes and at least a few of those will be at the four so we’ll see how that works out.
I think Randle’s injury might make it more likely he gets the all-star nod- his big competition is probably Banchero. Randle’s had the better season but I could see wanting to give Orlando an all-star given how much they’ve improved. Now that Randle almost certainly won’t play in the game coaches can vote for the better player while knowing that Banchero probably replaces him.
Finally, since moving to the bench Grimes has a .581 TS% on 18+ usage. If he can develop any kind of off-hand he still has a chance to be very good- don’t trade him for just in-season help; if you’re going to move him make sure you’re getting back someone you think can be a legit piece of a championship team.
Thanks, TNFH and Strat. I’m in Northern Virginia; parents are in Florida. Messy situation, for sure.
LaMelo out tonight. The Knicks last few against poor teams have been a little too close for comfort so let’s hope they stay focused and take care of business.
LaMelo Ball is out tonight. You know what that means. Frank Ntilikina may get a some minutes. He just got back from his fractured tibia. He should be good for a 0/4, 1, 1 boxscore line and a +3. 😉
There was very little discussion and even some resistance until I made such a huge stink about the need to replace Toppin. That was part of why I kept saying that even though DDV was a good player, that move left us vulnerable to certain matchups off the bench and even more so in case of disaster where Randle got hurt. Then there was a discussion about who might be available. This is not fantasy basketball and we have Dolan’s Razer working against us . 😉
I suppose we mirror Frank’s minutes with Deuce’s and have a second-by-second breakdown of their relative performances tomorrow
That will actually be fun if it happens. I like Deuce’s offense better but I like Frank’s length, fast ball movement and ability to switch better. But Frank has been injured so often and in so many ways I’m not sure what he has left. He’s probably on his way out.
Strat if you are going to try to pull a fast one on someone, make sure it is not, if I do say so myself, Knickerblogger’s finest archivist. I have dug up opinions on the 2014 draft, this is nothing to me.
Here is the thread from the day we found out about the Obi trade. See how Ben R and JK47 immediately bring up the backup 4 issue? You certainly brought into as well! It’s just that…so did everyone else, making the “at least now you all see why…” bit as grating as it always is.
Oh for fuck’s sake now OG is out with elbow inflammation. You have got to be kidding me.
Fournier should play tonight. With no Randle or OG we need the offense.
So Precious and Hart BOTH get to start… everyone’s happy. 🙂
Fournier’s out, too, Oakman.
Calling a Grimes game right now.
Yup, with OG out, these are our starters:
Damn with OG out, the Heat literally said, “if we can’t beat em, beat their bodies up.” Fuck those guys
It’s pretty much what happened in the playoffs too, Bam injured about half our rotation.
I guess Sims plays off the bench?
Time for DiVo to shutdown further DJM rumors