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Game Thread 2023-24 Knicks vs. Jazz (Mitch/Randle/OG/Grimes-less opener, which is sadly a thing)

The Knicks host the Indiana Pacers tonight with a very small rotation of available players. They’re down so many players that Evan Fournier is even going to be part of the rotation tonight!

Now, again, logically this should lead to a loss, especially since Hali is playing for the Pacers, but, well, this team is not logical at all!

Everyone just feasts off of the skills of the injured players and they all become better players. It’s freaking amazing to watch. DDV is suddenly a superstar. Precious Achiuwa is a stud. If Brunson were ever to get hurt, Malachi Flynn would become Steve Nash or some shit like that. So while, again, this logically should not be a win, I think we all know the Knicks are kicking some Pacer ass tonight.

That said, I won’t bring back the 53 win tracker…just yet.

Let’s go, Knicks!

246 replies on “Game Thread 2023-24 Knicks vs. Jazz (Mitch/Randle/OG/Grimes-less opener, which is sadly a thing)”

I really don’t get why anyone would trade for Steven Adams to be their backup center next year.

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Torn meniscus for Embiid. Ouch.

Yikes.

That’s another one of those injuries that could be bad (like, missing a month) and could also be really bad (like missing the rest of the season). We’ll just have to see in a few weeks.

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Congrats to Brunson and Randle! Boy, the “big” position in the East has oddly slim pickings. Bam and Banchero also made it.

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I don’t understand what Philly is doing. Joel was obviously lumbering around hurt last game and they just kept putting him back out.

Boy, the “big” position in the East has oddly slim pickings.

The East is small, man

Presumably he was pushing them for it because he wanted to win the MVP.

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He had already played 20+ minutes and he had 14 points on 18 shots against a team with nobody tall because he was obviously hurt, someone there needed to be an adult

I simply can’t imagine us winning this game. Things have been going way too well and the Pacers seem shockingly good even with Hali out.

I don’t know how their SRS isn’t that great because every time I check a box score they’re beating or hanging tough with extremely good teams.

This is one of those games where our unserious approach to the end of the roster bothers me. Archie is fine–worth the investment if he makes Brunson 1% happier or whatever.

But Duane Washington Jr. will be 24 soon. If we don’t think he can give us competent emergency minutes we should give his spot to someone who can.

Well, we’re fucked. Pacers are hitting everything AND refs are calling nothing for us.

Yeah this is what I was scared about, the Pacers just turning up the pace and we can’t keep up offensively.

The way they play, they turn the game into a lottery where if they hit their threes, they win. Without OG I just don’t think we have the guys to defend this shit.

Incredibly dumb that only Divo gets a t when hali is literally impeding him from inbounding for a fast break

everything is gonna be alright pags…i promise…

you smoking, drinking or enjoying any other vices while watching the game?

I wish, geo! It’s only 5PM by me so Knicks games don’t line up with my vice windows as well as I’d like.

If I had my druthers I’d have had a couple tokes by now.

I love that Hali is being cocky and stunting after that dunk because it’s been a while since we had real reasons to hate the Pacers, and I love to hate this team.

Precious with the Tyson Chandler impersonation on those tip outs

Looks like Deuce’s shooting is regressing, making him the worst offensive player in the league. I miss IQ

i wonder if we’ll go down by 20 this game…i totally see that happening…not to say we wouldn’t come back and win…

the pacers aren’t that good, we are just due for an off night…

does OG have a history of tendinitis?

Is Fournier going to get some burn tonight? Might be the perfect time since we couldn’t play much worse on defense anyway!

“the pacers aren’t that good, we are just due for an off night…”

They aren’t, but they have a coach who understands this and adjusts accordingly, which is why they are better than what they technically should be. Carlisle really understands how to take advantage of this roster with the insane pace they play in.

It’s not a team anyone should be super scared to face in the playoffs because this shit very probably won’t work to win 4 out of 7 playoff games, but we’re too injured to contest it today unfortunately.

We’re losing by 30+, we just don’t have the horses and the NBA has decided our record is too good or something with this officiating.

I would absolutely be scared to play them in the playoffs, I think Carlisle will Spoelstra the shit out of us.

…they are better than what they technically should be. Carlisle really understands how to take advantage of this roster with the insane pace they play in.

You might even call them… hustlebunnies

The third-stringers didn’t get blown out of the water! A resounding success.

They didn’t? I mean we are on pace to lose by about 40…

Carlisle hasn’t won a playoff series since the first Obama administration.

Ok but that last win was a pretty good one

…is Brunson in the locker room?

Evil DD seeing court time in Q2 suggests he is.

FUCK!

This is a bit closer to what I expected us to look like while down Randle, OG, Grimes, and Mitch.

…and I guess Brunson?

The reffing has been atrocious—it’s been the entire difference and then some

Thibs has adjusted and made deuce full court press hali to stop the break and it’s worked real well so far. And Jalen is now on a mission.

When Brunson’s head jerks back because of contact, do the refs really think he’s acting or something?

You can see the sweat fly off Brunson’s head from the impact on the slow motion replay

It really sucks that OG is out. He was complaining about his usage in Toronto. With Randle out he would have gotten his opportunity and we could have used him.

Brunson realized that the Pacers’ defense sucks and that nobody can stop him.

They really miss Randle on offense tonight. The Pacers can’t guard him.

Rather miraculous we managed to whittle this thing down to 7. I would’ve been estatic with single digits at any point in that 2nd quarter.

Brunson is amazing

I dont really know who Nesmith Sumner is. I feel like we talked about him being good during the draft. Maybe just against the Knicks.

I thought it was a great trivia question, but I have no idea of the answer even though I think I should.

not really seeing how a minutes restriction is in place for hali…oh well, still a close game…

It seems like it’s 25 minutes, looking at game logs. He’s already at 16 tonight

One of the clearest charges you will ever see

That pause was the refs thinking if they could get away with calling it a blocking foul

Maybe we should have drafted Halliburton?

idk, that obi kid was available in the same draft and he got 2 blocks and a steal in about a 1 min span

Hart had been pretty bad today. Missed a few assignments on defense, and hasn’t done anything on offense either.

They are playing hard now, but there’s not enough offensive talent out there with all these injuries on top of the trade. They need to make that one last trade.

Finally we see Deuce driving with some confidence, now let’s keep doing that!

Deuce really stepping up, I love it, the kid has talent, he really needs to keep up this level of confidence.

They showed Sims in slow motion making a great effort and blocking a shot and he still was expressionless.

Celtics losing at home to the Lakers without Lebron or AD would be the biggest upset of the season…

I am happy we have Deuce locked up. Sometimes he’s good, sometimes he isn’t, but the vibes are always great.

The Pacers seem to be in shock at how hard the Knicks are punching them, I fucking love this team.

How the fuck do the Pacers use up all of Hali’s mins in the first 3 quarters??

yeah like was Carlisle hoping they would make it an early blowout?

That possession with multiple shots up 6 and coming away empty could’ve put the game away.

When we were up 6 with the ball we had a chance to hammer them. We blew that possession.

The whole NBA is setting offensive rating records and the Knicks are just here playing 90s ball

This game would be over except for that horrible non call that cost us a possession and a bucket.

I mean cmon guys, we all know about Jokic, Giannis, Luka etc. but isn’t Brunson in that class now?

The defense has been impeccable since the first quarter. Held the best offense in the league to 66 points in the final three quarters.

Edit: 69 with that last three pointer. Nice.

Down 3 starters and a key reserve, didn’t play all that well, and still beat a playoff team because we have Jalen Brunson and they don’t

Goosebumps watching the MSG crowd reaction to Brunson while he’s being interviewed.

Coaches who have unlocked Precious Achiuwa

Erik Spoelstra: X

Nick Nurse: X

Tom Thibodeau: √

I love this team!!! We’re playing tough as shit! Real grown-up basketball, none of this soft shit that is plaguing the league,

Go NY, Go NY, Go NY!

I still can’t believe Jalen Brunson, it truly feels like a dream… what a fucking unbelievable player.

Holy shit… was at the Garden… that was insane! I feel like I’m drunk but I haven’t had a drink since November.

Knicks were outshot 40%-20% from deep, had 3/5 of their starting lineup and seventh man out of the game, faced god awful refereeing, had to give Malachi Flynn actual real minutes, and won the game. It’s so impressive.

This is Linsanity 2.0. And look who’s coming to town Saturday. (crazy they beat the Celtics tho.)

35 combined boards for Achiuwa and Hartenstein, 12 more for Hart, this team is incredibly tough holy shit.

Everyone in the NBA is scoring like 150 points every night. Then they come to Madison Square Garden and the Knicks beat them with metal bats for two hours— Dreadlef Schrempf (@TheLesterLee) January 27, 2024

it truly feels like a dream

Hahaha. Missed the game. At a play. I turn on my phone. This the first thing I see. Hahahaha. I love you guys. I love this team!

I never thought I’d ever love a Knick player as much as I loved Ewing but Brunson might change that.

By the way, for the record, Thibs whole “treat it like a game 7” thing ain’t so bad when you shell out for a ticket. There was absolutely zero part of me asking him to play the bench tonight!

good job hubie…went to see the va doc for a checkup…only two things they really care about:
– do you smoke tobacco? told them about the weed, they didn’t care…

– do you drink alcohol?

stay away from those two, keep your blood pressure and sugar levels right…you are on your way to a thousand…plus 🙂

Depleted, tired, and shooting atrociously for most of the game. I don’t know how this team is doing it. I don’t know. I gave them little chance before the game, and zero chance after the first quarter when Indy scored 36 points. Still, they pulled if off. It’s simply incredible. Thibs is a magician and those so-called “role” players are heroes. Wow!

lol, we won playing Precious Achiuwa 43min. Indy got the wrong Raptors PF

Precious held Siakam to 8-19 with 5 TOs too.

He rebounded so well too (16 in total, 8 offensive).

i got the vibe early with how he was able to “control” julius on the court – it really has felt like it’s been about a year now that it feels like we are watching the Jalen Brunson: Champion at every level (including the Olympics) story…

serious…it’s a unique thing…

we now have:
– a top 10 (maybe number 8) player
– a top 20 (maybe number 17 or so) player
– a top 25 (maybe 25 🙂 ) player

after that – we have donte, josh, isaiah, and hopefully deuce and precious that can be trusted to play in the post season…impact play and games…

maybe get lucky and get some mitch minutes…

DEUCE HAS BEEN CUT LOOSE!!!

60 rebounds…60 rebounds…

i don’t know if the pacers win that one even with more hali…

I guess we got to find a way to pay both Hartenstein and Precious next offseason

I’ve honestly never seen anything like what I saw tonight. That was some of the most objectively terrible basketball we’ve ever seen and it was so electrifying and exhilarating. Only this team, at MSG could have made that game feel so awesome.

We were looking so long for a superstar and then we just signed one off the Mavericks for 25 million a year

he may not be a great point guard, not so bad a shooting guard though maybe…i like the form of his shot – strong, tight and consistent…

now it looks like he can get inside a bit too…go deuce…

15-2 since I became an optimist on Jan 1, 2024.

You guys got to the party first.

But I got there on time 😉

That was one hell of a game.

They could put Brunson’s eye out and he’ll be on the floor for the next play.

So much for the vaunted Indy offense…and they have scored lots of points even without Hali so no excuses. Our defensive resolve is legit like a mfer.

“It’s not just that we’re winning. It’s that we’re winning the New York way.”

Yeah, it’s definitely one of the reasons I’ve been so in on this team. It really brings back the memories of why I started to root for the Knicks in the early nineties, the toughness, the defense, doing more with less talent, etc.

I just love this group and I can’t wait to see them at full strength.

That was just astounding. I feel like I was watching a Schwarzenegger movie. You punch the guy in the face, no call, then steal the ball from him, dunk it — and he just turns into a monster who cannot be stopped. Or maybe even more of a monster who cannot be stopped.

What an impressive win. For Brunson, for the coaching staff, and for all of us. Just wow.

Depleted, tired, and shooting atrociously for most of the game. I don’t know how this team is doing it. I don’t know. I gave them little chance before the game, and zero chance after the first quarter when Indy scored 36 points. Still, they pulled if off. It’s simply incredible. Thibs is a magician and those so-called “role” players are heroes. Wow!

I’m just now assuming that they’re going to win every game, whether it makes sense or anything.

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For those who think Thibs is inflexible, how about him leaving Deuce in there for most of the 4th quarter and keeping Donte on the bench?

I don’t think you want to go there, d-mar, on a night when Josh Hart played one of the worst offensive games any Knick has ever played. They doubled Brunson off Hart on literally every play in the second half. It was like playing with three centers out there.

Jeez Hubert, Hart only took 6 shots. If we had lost, I don’t think you could hang it on him.

I thought this was basically a scheduled loss and it sure seemed that after the first quarter.

I’m getting the same feeling you all are getting. This team is truly onto something.

Hey I’m just saying… 38 mins without a single field goal is probably a team record for futility. Not exactly a banner night for making adjustments. Great effort, though.

Hart is struggling, but he’s still making key hustle plays. I read that he’s having knee issues that are probably going to be bothering him all season. He’s just playing through it. Maybe that’s impacting his ability to finish around the rim. Normally we could get away with a low usage guy like him as long as he’s rebounding, making some plays etc…. But right now we are going to need something from him. We can’t count on 40 points from Brunson and 24 OREBs every night.

Lots of good comments tonight. By far the best:

The Unbearable Knicksiness of Beingsays:
February 1, 2024 at 20:00
It’s fine, we’ll blow them out in the 3rd quarter

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