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Game Thread 2023-24 Knicks vs. Jazz (The Return of Taj opener, which is hilariously a thing)

Older Knick fans will undoubtedly remember how the Knicks kept trading Herb Williams and then resigning him when the other team cut him (the NBA literally changed the rules to disallow this super harmless thing). That’s what Taj Gibson feels like now.

In any event, the Randle and OG-less Knicks take on the decent Utah Jazz tonight, and logically, the Knicks should lose, but fuck, man, the “next man up” mentality has been insane, and it is like every hurt Knick just lends his energy to the next guy, and they all play better than they did before the other guys went down with injuries, and Brunson is so amazing, I think they totally can win this game.

Let’s go, Knicks!

180 replies on “Game Thread 2023-24 Knicks vs. Jazz (The Return of Taj opener, which is hilariously a thing)”

Feeling an L tonight but Brunson and the Nova Knicks could prove me wrong. Markkanen always plays well against us and we’ve had our problems with big teams (see Orlando). But we’ll see!

Go Knicks!

TNFHsays:
January 30, 2024 at 19:46
The Jazz might be too frisky for the skeleton crew

BigBlueALsays:
January 30, 2024 at 19:51
Yeah I think Knicks might be in for a long night…

Fuck Team Pessimist

These Knick lineups remind me of the Linsanity team with Brunson obviously playing the part of Jeremy Lin.

These Knick lineups remind me of the Linsanity team with Brunson obviously playing the part of Jeremy Lin.

Yes, except Jalen has a proper sidekick in Devo.

But these games have a certain fun element that was very similar to that run.

The ball is flowing, the defense is happening, pretty good 1st quarter all things considered.

Guys are stepping up, love to see it.

So, we have these guys like Charlie Brown and Duane Washington and Obi’s brother. Do we think they can play or not? If they can’t why are they on the roster?

Please tell me why it took ten guys getting injured or traded for our other 4.0 bpm guard to finally get proper minutes.

As I was saying the other day… We just gotta play Precious more *cough cough*

Donte isn’t an All-star because his 4 BPM is redundant with all the other all-star’s 4+ BPM

I’m starting to think Thibs and this staff should be getting a lot of credit as development coaches. A lot of players get better by more then you expect and faster than you expect for this group (other than RJ).

I mean, as much as I understand the criticisms pointed towards Thibs, you have to admire what he’s done with this team and how they just compete every night, no matter who’s out and who’s playing. It’s an extremely unfamiliar feeling as a Knicks fan in the last 20 years or so.

I love the Breen has learned to live with Markatten but the butchery of Fontecchio is just a bridge too far.

Weak drafts usually just mean weak lotteries. These are actually best drafts to be picking in the teens and 20s, as teams ahead of us will be reaching for upside to justify high picks. Kawhi slipped to 17 in such a draft. Giannis went 15th in the weakest draft in recent memory.

If we have to give up our pick to get Malcolm Brogdon, so be it. But I would definitely try to hold onto to both our picks and use the protected ones instead bc I think two picks in this draft could be great.

Hubert, this is a great point. I hope it comes true.

Can’t believe they’re playing this way with so much of their strength sidelined. I never thought Precious had this in him. Not saying that Masai got Masai’d in that trade, because I still love IQ’s game, but we got so many things we needed and that we didn’t even know we’d need.

And tonight it seems like Precious is better than RJ. But of course Divo is overpaid 🙂

only 1 board from big sneeze but I am not going to be mad if he keeps scoring, he’s been perfectly playable so far.

What? Thibs is a decent coach? Noooooo….

Precious looks like a decent backup PF for next year, I wonder if he wants to stay…

Donte isn’t an All-star because his 4 BPM is redundant with all the other all-star’s 4+ BPM

Maybe it’s all the winning but I’m starting to like your posts a lot more

I think this game comes down to who runs out of gas first….I’m thinking that the Jazz are thinking about getting back home and will tire but we’re looking ragged out there as well…

I never thought Precious had this in him. Not saying that Masai got Masai’d in that trade, because I still love IQ’s game, but we got so many things we needed and that we didn’t even know we’d need.

After the trade I started reading Raptor’s blogs trying to get some insight into him. I came away from it thinking we would see signs of a very talented player that just couldn’t put together consistently and we’d get frustrated by him. Maybe he’s starting to put it all together at just the right time. He’s only 24. He should get better.

Well, I am definitely pleasantly surprised by the competent play of Previous Achiuwa’s son.

We still need some more competent players at the back end of the roster, so I hope we are active in the buyout market. A lot of the other contenders are over the apron and thus can’t sign buyout guys, but we are under.

I also hope we don’t send out any players, and only send out draft picks, if we acquire the Brogdon type player that we seem to need. After watching this many guys go down I’m all about having as much depth as possible.

@krispursiainen
Quentin Grimes is back on the Knicks’ bench with a rather large wrap around his right knee. On top of that, and on his other knee as well, are padded compression wraps.

I also hope we don’t send out any players, and only send out draft picks

Ditto. I like our guys.

I also hope we don’t send out any players, and only send out draft picks, if we acquire the Brogdon type player that we seem to need. After watching this many guys go down I’m all about having as much depth as possible.

I’d send out Frenchy, but otherwise I agree

I’d send out Frenchy, but otherwise I agree

Oh yeah. Forgot about him. Haha.

Hartenstein with the active hands again, DiVo immediately pushing the ball, defense and transition like this makes me so happy.

Precious doesn’t have many rebounds tonight, but the Knicks are still leading the Jazz in rebounding, so I’m not worried at the moment.

I just hope we’re not looking at something like that Oakland A’s Moneyball streak 🙃

When Good Donte plays like this, it almost inevitably will lead to an Evil Donte sighting in Extended Gar-bage Time.

It’s remarkable how easy most of these wins have been in the end, this is 1994 Knicks stuff.

Hot take: injuries are actually good for a basketball team bc it gives depth players the opportunity to spread their wings

Taking care of business against lesser teams is kind of taken for granted, but we’re doing it right now with 3 of our 5 starters out

Props to Thibs.

When Breen gives you a BANG for a shot that extends a lead to 23 points, you know you’re having a hot night.

Maybe it’s all the winning but I’m starting to like your posts a lot more

The winning has made me soft

so much for the drawback of a smallish backcourt…

i gotta be honest, at the present moment – you can keep: mitchell, booker, bridges…

donte is one hell of a good starting shooting guard…

I know Hart made it but that was a dumb shot…

It bugs me that it only took a minute for the lead to go from 25 to 20 after Deuce and Hart came in…

Sexton poked the bear. Jazz are fucked.

The Jazz were up by 9 when this happened 🤣

Our big 3 of Brunson, Precious Achiuwa, and Donte DiVincenzo—just like we drew it up at the beginning of the year

I have no clue how we got Big Ragu so affordably. Dude can ball on both ends of the court.

If Kith is smart they’ll add Donte and make a sequel to that commercial with Brunson and Hart 😉

Damn, am I gonna be the first one to say it?

Leon Rose is the executive of the year!

(And that’s true even if Stevens wins it.)

“I have no clue how we got Big Ragu so affordably. Dude can ball on both ends of the court.”

That’s the going rate for redundant hustlebunnies…

Our big 3 of Brunson, Precious Achiuwa, and Donte DiVincenzo—just like we drew it up at the beginning of the year

All chrome and leather. Hahahaha.

DiVincenzo and Brunson are the Splash Brothers 2.0.

They’re the Splash Paisans. I called it 6 weeks ago, was just waiting for coach to figure it out 😉

(Maybe the Splash ‘Cats, I dunno.)

Damn proud of how the other guys have stepped up. I didn’t think we could beat anyone with this roster without Brunson going into god mode.

I think Brunson might be the most effortless scorer the Knicks have had since Bernard King. Yes, even more effortless than Melo, IMHO. He looks like he can turn it on and isn’t forcing it in.

They’re the Splash Paisans. I called it 6 weeks ago, was just waiting for coach to figure it out 😉

(Maybe the Splash ‘Cats, I dunno.)

The Wet Boys?

There’s something wrong with Thibs. Seriously, he’s begging to wear these guys down or get someone hurt.

Hubert IVsays:
January 30, 2024 at 19:40
We’ll win by double digits.

I am good at optimisting

I’m with Strat, Thibs is playing the fire leaving the starters like that. Someone from high up gotta get on his ass for that stupidity.

But I digress. 8-in-a-row! Should’ve never doubted them!

“Apparently OG isn’t special, IQ & RJ just sucked that bad”

I do feel for them…probably hurts like a mfer.

I think Thibs left Brunson in so he had a chance to keep his streak of thirty point games going. And you could see a couple of possessions where they just stood aside while Brunson tried to score. So I think the team wanted that too.

I do feel for them…probably hurts like a mfer.

It sucks for them. They didn’t want to get traded. They are in a tank and rebuild situation potentially looking at a 3-5 year process to be on a really good team again. Can’t be happy.

Oh sure. Everyone wants on The Optimist Express *now. 😉

Listen, to have been optimistic when RJ Barrett was our #3 guy would required high levels of denial! To be optimistic now, though? hell that’s just natural.

E’s Dilemma:

1)Do I come on to take a victory lap about how well the team has played so far without Brunson?

or

2)Do I stay far away because they’ve been winning on the back side the hustlebunnies?

It’s a tough choice.

These last 2 games were fun but would really prefer for OG to return for the Indiana game.

To be optimistic now, though? That’s just natural.

Haha. Sure. I’m just playin. Still plenty of seats in the bar car 😉

Listen, to have been optimistic when RJ Barrett was our #3 guy would required high levels of denial!

And/or faith in Mr. Rose 😉

But not trolling at all (I swear). All joy.

It never made sense to me that you would miss the “usage” of a guy that couldn’t throw the ball into the goddamn basket

I’ve always defended the idea that taking a lot of shots is not a skill, so I’m feeling pretty well about the whole RJ Barrett’s usage replacement discussion.

watching games now feels really weird…no mitch, no julius, no recent phenom OG…

so what happens, almost everyone plays even better than normal…the thing that really sticks out is the team play…the players who are left are wired together pretty tight on both ends of the court…they’re always looking for each other…

i’ve been really impressed with how well precious is playing with his new teammates…

heck, precious is only 24…his stat “issue” has been offense…that’s been looking okay, kind of confident looking actually…except for the air ball three…that did not look good at all…

not sure where we stand roster salary wise – but precious seems like a really nice low cost option going forward…

Lee Nailon and Michael Beasley were pretty effortless scorers too.

I mean, Beasley was a pretty smooth scorer… he just couldn’t do much else.

I knew eating the blood of the injured Knicks would just make everyone play better!

By Post Author

Right now at least we’re the third seed.

And we’re only a game and a half from the two seed.

The team looks so locked in. I know the jazz and hornets are not great but to get these two W’s easily without OG or Randle is hella impressive. DDV is a fucking flame thrower. Love it. Precious emerging as a viable roster piece is huge. I mean when are people gonna realize Thibs is a big man whisperer?

Competition gets tougher soon so I don’t expect us to continue like this but man these last two wins without two of our biggest dudes was clutch for the team.

dang, cuz we sent the jazz to a sub .500, we didn’t get credit for beating a .500 and above team…

man, wish the jazz had beaten the nets…so, we are still minus 7 against good teams…

Not to sound too optimistic, but we may never lose a game again.

don’t be such a pessimist doug…

Just caught up with the game. This team is so freaking good. It’s incredible. A few thoughts:

– I miss Randle. But one positive change without him is how few turnovers they’ve had these past couple of games. It wasn’t only his issue, but he was a main culprit.
– Felt like Brunson couldn’t get anything to fall, especially in the first half, and he ends up with that line. What a monster.
– As DRed said, I also hope this game helped kill off any idea of trading for Clarkson. He’s so bad, and was hunted by the Knicks on defense. Thibs should realize this.
– Precious is a guy. Nice to see what he’s doing.
– Finally: are the Knicks in a mini-OKC situation, in which everyone is good and it’s not obvious that you need to use your stable of picks to upgrade? Other than backup PG (Deuce ain’t it), there are no obvious upgrades. Just keep the powder dry and draft players or wait until a truly transcendental player who can help becomes available. Imagine the Knicks having this kind of first world problem!

From KSL Sports Jazz insider Ben Anderson:

“Knicks president Leon Rose made smart acquisitions in Isaiah Hartenstein, Donte DiVincenzo, and Jalen Brunson in free agency, and savvy trades for Tom Thibodeau-type players in Josh Hart and OG Anunoby to surround Julius Randle with players that will compliment his unique skillset.

And, armed with the $18 million expiring contract of Evan Fournier, young talent in Quinten Grimes, and a slew of future first-round picks, they can add more talent to a team that will be a tough out in the playoffs.

While every rebuild across the NBA looks different, the Knicks are showing that teams don’t have to fall to the bottom of the standings before reemerging as contenders, and it’s a process Jazz fans should watch closely.”

Nice to hear positive things from rival observers…although the notion that they are building around Randle’s “unique skillset” is an interesting take…

“Building around” instead of “building on” is a telling word choice, maybe not intentional, but a difference all the same.

I think Leon’s hybrid rebuild meant he wasn’t going to grab the BPAs on the market if their skillsets didn’t mesh with Randle. Like he could have shipped out Randle for picks, or taken the short-term poor roster fit and traded Randle after acquiring said hypothetical BPA, but he didn’t.

While every rebuild across the NBA looks different, the Knicks are showing that teams don’t have to fall to the bottom of the standings before reemerging as contenders

hahahahahahahahaha…that is funny…let’s just say – fuck that process…

ineptitude should not be rewarded…we were a prime example of that for soooo long…

results are confirmation though right…over the last whatever years – the fruits of the draft may just be deuce and jericho going forward…

i’m okay with that…

the whole merc thing sounds a lot better when they are mercs like julius, jalen, isaiah, josh, donte and OG…

mercs >>> home grown

go mitch, go quentin, go deuce, go jericho…’til we can find someone who can get us one step closer to a championship…after that – bye…

that aside, i do hope we use both draft picks this year…

Knicks up to 4th in net rating in the league. 5th in defensive rating, 7th in offensive rating. I really want to see them top 5 in both categories.

We got Pacers, Lakers, Memphis, and then Luka comes to the garden for a nationally televized game that could be an event

This is pretty incredible:

@OptaStats

The
@nyknicks
allowed 124.8 PPG in December. They allowed just 100.1 in January.

That’s the largest drop in PPG allowed (-24.7) from one month to the next in NBA history (min. 10 games each month).

It’s 7.0 PPG ahead of the next-biggest drop (-17.7 by the Spurs, Nov-Dec 1987).

Hmmm I wonder what happened just before January 1st.

It’s remarkable that we surged to #5 in defensive rating so quickly. At full strength– hell, even minus Mitch– we’re probably the best defensive team in the league.

Competition gets tougher soon so I don’t expect us to continue like this

Come on, Swifty, stop being such a hater and join me on the optimist bus!

Ha! This is what happens though. My optimism is a coping mechanism so when we start doing too good I start hedging.

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