Categories
Uncategorized

Knicks Morning News (2024.02.10)


  • The New York Knicks Are So, So Back – The Ringer
    [The Ringer] – Fri, 09 Feb 2024 15:28:03 GMT
    1. The New York Knicks Are So, So Back
    2. 2024 NBA trade deadline — How the Knicks became contenders
    3. Knicks’ bet pays off: Built to win now, with flexibility to chase additional stars
    4. ESPN’s Zach Lowe says something about Knicks that’s surreal for fans to hear
    5. What will determine the Knicks’ fate this season?


  • Mariska Hargitay Makes Rare Appearance with Son August, 17, as They Sit Courtside at New York Knicks Game – PEOPLE
    [PEOPLE] – Fri, 09 Feb 2024 17:35:54 GMT

    Mariska Hargitay Makes Rare Appearance with Son August, 17, as They Sit Courtside at New York Knicks Game


  • Knicks can’t use open roster spot to reunite with traded Villanova piece – Daily Knicks
    [Daily Knicks] – Fri, 09 Feb 2024 13:00:07 GMT

    Knicks can’t use open roster spot to reunite with traded Villanova piece


  • Trading Throwbacks: Reviewing 5 Knicks deadlines of yesteryear – Posting and Toasting
    [Posting and Toasting] – Fri, 09 Feb 2024 17:00:00 GMT

    Trading Throwbacks: Reviewing 5 Knicks deadlines of yesteryear


  • Knicks’ Jacob Toppin scores first two NBA points in career on dunk – New York Post
    [New York Post] – Fri, 09 Feb 2024 07:17:00 GMT

    Knicks’ Jacob Toppin scores first two NBA points in career on dunk


  • Dinwiddie, Cuban Seen Talking at Mavs vs. Knicks: Signing Coming? Lakers Competition? – Sports Illustrated
    [Sports Illustrated] – Fri, 09 Feb 2024 13:50:13 GMT

    Dinwiddie, Cuban Seen Talking at Mavs vs. Knicks: Signing Coming? Lakers Competition?


  • Precious Achiuwa’s Impact on the Knicks’ Frontcourt – The Knicks Wall
    [The Knicks Wall] – Fri, 09 Feb 2024 12:46:41 GMT

    Precious Achiuwa’s Impact on the Knicks’ Frontcourt


  • Indiana Pacers vs. New York Knicks Prediction, Preview, and Odds – 2-10-2024 – Winners and Whiners
    [Winners and Whiners] – Sat, 10 Feb 2024 01:26:34 GMT

    Indiana Pacers vs. New York Knicks Prediction, Preview, and Odds – 2-10-2024

  • 84 replies on “Knicks Morning News (2024.02.10)”

    The Ringer article has a few hopeful bits about Bojan’s defense:

    While Bogdanovic was a sieve defensively for the Pistons team, which had little reinforcements, the Knicks have the personnel to protect him. He is big and smart. Though he’s 34, two years removed from his successful stint on the Jazz, he can funnel opponents to the likes of Isaiah Hartenstein, Precious Achiuwa, and Mitchell Robinson (if the latter is able to return for the postseason) as he once did with Rudy Gobert. The Knicks might lose something defensively, especially in lineups that feature Bogdanovic and Randle, but they’ll have enough depth and variability to construct optimal postseason lineups, especially when Anunoby, who just had a surgery on his elbow that will sideline him for three weeks, returns.

    I don’t discount the possibility that his defense has fallen off a cliff in the last two years, but Utah was able to put together top defenses with him at the 4. They just had a good rim protector behind him – which the Knicks, when healthy, also have. They should be able to survive his bench minutes on defense.

    On a separate issue: is Robin Lopez cooked? Could the Knicks use him while IHart is out?

    Arguing over who is good in the playoffs and who isn’t is pretty pointless. There really isn’t a way to prove things one way or another because the sample sizes are so small and the teammates and opponents are so variable.

    If the general point is that what works during the regular season, both for individual players and for teams, might not work in the playoffs, no shit! It’s so obviously true that it really isn’t worth arguing about. Not at least until we know where we will be seeded and who we will be playing.

    As to how that pertains to either the current Knicks, or Leon, or Thibs, again, I don’t see the point of the argument. There is absolutely no way to predict how we will do in the playoffs beyond what we know from the regular season. The odds currently are that we will be a top-6 team in the East, with a reasonable but unlikely chance to get up to as high as the 2 spot. So we know nothing about who we will play, whether we will have home court, who will be healthy, etc. And we certainly don’t know anything about who will play well and who won’t. We don’t even really know how these new pieces will fit.

    As a player, Burks is far better than Bojan because he can handle the ball, run an offense and play defense. Bojan is simply sniper off the bench, but one of the best snipers. His inability to defend is worrisome for sure but we have to rely on Thibs to not put him in position to have to guard dynamic playmakers and back him up with rim protection.

    Tambourine Man is at least a great song, albeit one being butchered. There’s no good version of All-Star.

    Unless you have a decent sample size, the best you can probably do is try to identify player attributes that are more or less useful in the playoffs.

    The most obvious differences are that the game slows down a bit, gets more physical, there are more adjustments and there’s more pressure.

    So if you are a player that relies heavily on scoring in transition, getting to the FT line and doesn’t like physical play you “might” have a little more trouble than a guy that excels in slow halfcourt play and that likes to bang. The ability to handle pressure sometimes reveals itself in the regular season, but “late round playoffs” are a different animal. However, these would be guesses. Now if you predicted that player X would have problem and then in a single series he had that exact problem, then there might be more than randomness involved.

    Yeah Strat, I agree that those kinds of things are predictable. Sort of like how Novak was exposed.

    And that’s what’s great about Bojan and Burks, they have well-rounded offensive games and aren’t dependent on a particular style or having the ball put right into their shooting pocket.

    BTW, I’m going to the game tonight…are they both available? Without them we are screwed!

    I hope we start Deuce, Burks, Bogey, Jacob Toppin, and Precious, and leave Good Donte and Jalen in bubble wrap.

    I dunno, Alan. Aside from my preference to see them play because I will be at the game, I think that this game will decide the tiebreaker with the Pacers in terms of playoff seeding. My guess is that both Donte and Brunson will play. And if they don’t, I’ll probably be a bit worried about the severity of their injuries.

    Alan, Hunter did a fairly decent cover IMO, albeit acoustic. Although she’s no Joe Cocker…

    Probably everyone’s read this already, but O’Connor’s take on the Knicks at the moment. A bit excessive, but better than what we’ve been reading the last 20. It’s ‘odds to win the championship’ as compared to just ranking, which is a little different, and the movement up and down for some teams is unsurprisingly bigger than usual (also trade deadline effect). Anyway:

    The Finals Contenders With Big Questions
    8. New York Knicks
    33-19 record, plus-5.7 net rating
    Last ranking: no. 16

    It was almost a perfect trade deadline for the Knicks, until it was revealed that OG Anunoby will be sidelined for at least three weeks following elbow surgery. But reinforcements are coming, as Bojan Bogdanovic and Alec Burks are being imported from Detroit. These two fit perfectly around New York’s existing core, with Jalen Brunson and Julius Randle serving as the offensive engines. But the Knicks’ two stars need support. Bogdanovic and Burks can create in their own ways when needed, while primarily serving as off-ball threats. The Knicks continue to nail every acquisition they make and are proving that they’re one of the smartest teams in the entire league. What a world.

    Dinwiddie to Lakers.

    And Taj signed to another 10-day. If we want to keep him past that, he’ll be signed for rest of season.

    “The Knicks continue to nail every acquisition they make and are proving that they’re one of the smartest teams in the entire league. What a world.”

    Wait, less than two years ago we were a rudderless mess with no plan…wtf happened?

    Dinwiddie’s pretty shot now. I don’t see LA making much noise unless LeBron hits another crazy level.

    Wait, Donte is injured now?? I seem to have missed that.

    Wait, less than two years ago we were a rudderless mess with no plan…wtf happened?

    Jalen Brunson took an unexpected and unpredicted massive leap into potential tentpole status.

    It really is hard to fathom that we picked up OG, Burks and Bojan at all, let alone without expending a single first rounder. I just watched a bunch of Burks highlights and was reminded of how versatile of an offensive game he possesses. I mean, we’ve essentially swapped out RJ, IQ, and Grimes for OG, Burks, and Bojan for the cost of 3 second rounders. And that’s on top of acquiring a SG for nothing who is putting up a .647 TS% on 22% usage since becoming a starter.

    I mean, for sure, none of this works as well without the Brunson deal, but all of these other moves make me pretty confident that Leon would have significantly improved the team even without that move. He’s running rings around the other FOs right now. And that’s not me saying it, it’s the entire NBA punditry.

    “Wait, Donte is injured now?? I seem to have missed that.”

    No, just banged up from playing ridiculous minutes and carrying an oversized offensive load. He’s been wincing a bit and occasionally limping. He desperately needs rest. Not sure tonight is the game to rest him, though.

    I mean, we’ve essentially swapped out RJ, IQ, and Grimes for OG, Burks, and Bojan for the cost of 3 second rounders.

    That’s really not that great a return for those guys.

    “Jalen Brunson took an unexpected and unpredicted massive leap into potential tentpole status.”

    Maybe “unexpected and unpredicted” is a bit strong…this thread from the day after the Brunson announcement suggests that some of us saw a bright future ahead, thanks to Leon’s rounding into the job. A couple of tidbits:

    Z-man says:
    July 1, 2022 at 11:09
    Brunson is easy to underestimate because of his appearance. But he’s 25 years old and his play during the last two years is already better than any year in Felton’s career. He’s not CP3 or Dame, but he can be every bit as good as Lowry, FVV or other short small wingspan PGs who think the game on a high level and have enough skill to make teams pay for underestimating him. He’s really, really good and has room to get even better if he can be a more consistent 3-pt shooter. I think he has been hurt more than helped by Doncic and he’s gonna make believers out of Knicks fans in very short order as he evolves into the unquestioned leader of the team. And there is no doubt in my mind that he will be just that, and if Julius doesn’t go along with it, he will be dumped.

    Z-man says:
    July 1, 2022 at 11:18
    I’ve said from the beginning that Leon Rose was gonna have a learning curve until he determined which voices on his Team of Rivals to listen to and until he made some mistakes to learn from. Clearly he is settling in to the POBO role and is no longer making rookie mistakes.

    Hopefully this will put an end to the “rudderless mess” narrative. [SPOILER ALERT: IT DIDNT] There’s still lots of work to do to build a contender but there is clearly a plan and there is clearly a good deal of success in executing that plan. Sure, it’t not the “tear it down to the studs and acquire a bunch of top of the lottery picks” kind of rebuild that some folks have been clamoring for, but there is zero doubt that we are better positioned for building a sustained winner in the future right at this second than we have been since the Ewing era. Maybe there will be less “if we lose this guy for nothing…” or “if we miss out on this guy in free agency…” stuff now, for at least a few months anyway.

    Granted, things might not work out. Even the best-laid plans can crash and burn. The injuries are piling up and if that continues, we aren’t going anywhere exciting in the playoffs this year. And Julius has a lot to prove in the playoffs. So does Thibs. But for right now, the Knicks are the fucking talk of the NBA, and we’re not talking about a bunch of crazed fans yelling Bing Bong in the wake of an opening day win vs. the Celtics.

    Jalen Brunson took an unexpected and unpredicted massive leap into potential tentpole status.

    Yes for virtually all KB posters. But not necessarily for the decision makers who ”literally” scouted him from birth and signed him knowing a tampering penalty might come at a price his current team thought excessive.
    Good fortune but it ain’t luck.

    Someone was complaining that the sports media world is always way behind the facts, and the glorifying of the Knicks right now sort of feels that way. Don’t get me wrong, at full strength I love this team to death and think if things break right it’s an actual contender for a chip (so don’t flame me, Swift).

    But things have really broken wrong right now. It’s possible that for the next few games our best players on the court are a couple of cast-offs from the worst team in the league. (And I’m okay with the trade, partly because of what I just wrote; but still…)

    And even when our all star is back, it’s basically Jalen and the Pussycats for a while. Thirty or so games left and OG is liable to miss at least a third of them, and be rusty for a bit so say half the game left he’ll be out or scraping off the rust.

    Big Ju is no better, and probably worse, both in terms of being out longer and taking longer to get back in all star shape (given how the injury will affect his play and the really high level he was playing at).

    And Mitch is really unlikely, and if he does come back odds are good he’s just going to be a tall guy for however many games he plays this year (probably a step up from Taj and Sims and Precious, but still…).

    And Jalen and Donte are dinged, but the need for them means Thibs is going to grind their bones if he can.

    It might be a really tough slog for a while. Just saying.

    Good thing is the Knicks have built a decent cushion on the 5th-8th seeds and Philly is crumbling big time right now. But losing to Indy and Orlando right before the All-Star break would be a bit annoying.

    Yeah, I agree with Raven. I’m not super optimistic about this season. And it’s a bit of a bummer that the trade was made for this season. You never know, Julius’s should could hold up, OG could come back strong, Mitch might contribute in the playoffs. But Ju could reinjure the shoulder, iHart could be really hurt and unable to offer much for the rest of the season, Mitch might not make it back at all, etc. We’re a mess right now. We could all get healthy and make a run to the finals, or we could be a first round out, with a slew of surgeries in the off-season.

    And if it’s the latter, the trade won’t look nearly as good.

    I doubt that OG takes much time to get back into the swing of things. It’s a very minor procedure, and one that he can work out with while recovering.

    I mean, we’ve essentially swapped out RJ, IQ, and Grimes for OG, Burks, and Bojan for the cost of 3 second rounders.

    The other cost is upside/age. You can argue that IQ and Grimes are getting paid in the near future and so the upside isn’t as significant when they’re at new salaries, but at the same time, we know Burks expires this year and Bojan is old. OG is another story, but he’s about to get paid, too. No regrets there, but I’m not so convinced about losing Grimes for a 34-year-old who can’t defend no matter how good a scorer he is.

    All in saying is, it was a win-now trade that may not look so good if we aren’t healthy enough to justify that approach. We won’t win now, and we’ll have lost future value.

    Julius is the most worrisome to me because he uses that right shoulder in so many ways, particularly as a battering ram when he posts up. And there really isn’t a device to keep your shoulder in place that isn’t terribly restrictive, it’s not like taping an ankle or wearing a knee sleeve.

    But the OG/Bojan/Precious acquisitions make me a bit more comfortable about Julius being either compromised or out….at least we have some players to plug in there. That wasn’t the case in December…

    “The other cost is upside/age. You can argue that IQ and Grimes are getting paid in the near future and so the upside isn’t as significant when they’re at new salaries, but at the same time, we know Burks expires this year and Bojan is old. OG is another story, but he’s about to get paid, too. No regrets there, but I’m not so convinced about losing Grimes for a 34-year-old who can’t defend no matter how good a scorer he is.”

    I guess, but not to the degree that it matters all that much, especially because OG is only 26. RJ on his extension has very little value in a trade…he was recently described as a toxic asset by some executives. IQ was not happy in his role and was on the verge of getting overpaid. Grimes regressed and had his minutes and role cut to Obi territory.

    So while they were younger, I didn’t really see much upside except maybe for IQ, but there was enough redundancy at his position, and I don’t think you get OG without giving him up. And finding a lower-than $25M AAV option like Burks to replace IQ’s void will probably never be that hard unless he becomes a star. Finding another OG is very difficult.

    And Mitch is really unlikely, and if he does come back odds are good he’s just going to be a tall guy

    ha, i thought that was deandre ayton’s thing – JT (just tall)…

    i’m waiting to start seeing folks throw out numbers for OG’s contract and then julius’ and jalen’s…

    any chance any of those three sign for below 38 million per year on their next contract?

    geo, $38M? Brunson definitely no. OG probably not but possible. Julius is a tough one…he has the credentials but maybe not the market at that price.

    The best empirical documentation I’ve seen of how the playoffs differ from the regular season naturally came from a Reddit post.

    The tl;dr is mostly what you’d expect based on the conventional wisdom: lower scoring, worse shooting percentages across the board, slower pace, lower AST%.

    The only thing that somewhat contravenes the conventional wisdom is there are more fouls called, and more free throws taken. This doesn’t necessarily mean the playoffs don’t come with a more hesitant whistle though–it may well be that generally physicality increases by a degree even greater than what is shown by the relatively minor increase.

    I wouldn’t say there’s much here that justifies a deviation from a “get the best players who fit well together” approach, but you can see how certain skills/attributes might take on more importance.

    All things being equal, you want guys who can score efficiency without an assist and can “handle” increased physicality however defined. Since efficiency goes down across the board, naturally you want to be starting from a high bar–going from a .570 eFG% to a .550 eFG% is better than going from a .550 eFG% to a .530 eFG%.

    I actually think we’ve done a good job of putting together a roster of these type of guys. For all the handwringing about our relative lack of assists, we’ve put together a top-10 offense regardless and the data would seem to indicate that’s a positive sign.

    The kicker is our shooting efficiency. It’s crept up, but is still 18th in the league. That’s not going to be good enough at the highest levels. However, that’s kind of what the whole “trading RJ Barrett” and “acquiring Bogey et al.” things were about. So if we’re fully healthy, (Wilt sized “if”), I’m cautiously optimistic.

    thanks z-man…i look at some of the teams (except for boston it seems) with a super top heavy payroll and just don’t think it’s the way to go…

    although, all recent champions have at least one of those ballooned salaries at the top of the roster…

    definitely rooting for leon and company to keep the salary cap in order…

    i really dislike the notion of one player taking up half the cap…two players two-thirds of the cap…

    that’s how you get stuck rooting for guys like russell to save your season…

    i so hope the lakers crash and burn this post-season…

    This season has made me nostalgic. Being in my 40s I have missed the Knicks success of the 90s a lot.

    The last few years, especially this year has me pumped. Who knows how this season will finish but they are a good team and possibly even better. I am glad the team is competent again and this year and the next few years should be good.

    Hopefully they pull out at a Championship bc getting so close numerous times in the 90s has left us age fans dreaming of one once again.

    Go Knicks!!

    The Knicks continue to nail every acquisition they make and are proving that they’re one of the smartest teams in the entire league. What a world.

    Yeah, but they incinerated 10 cents on the dollar rolling out picks we haven’t even used yet. 😉

    Julius is the most worrisome to me because he uses that right shoulder in so many ways, particularly as a battering ram when he posts up.

    Yeah, that one bothers me too. I hadn’t considered it, but it could be an issue. He may even avoid contact and start shooting more fade away shots.

    Dinwiddie to Lakers.

    I was surprised by that. He was so good next to Doncic I thought for sure Dallas would want him back.

    Good one, Strat. Who needs Jalen Williams when you have press clippings!

    How exactly do we hang these podcasts anyway?

    I’m not used to the Knicks getting universal acclaim for winning the trade deadline. Lowe, Simmons, JJ Redick, you name it, they love it. Even Gilbert Arenas, known Knick hater.

    I was surprised by that. He was so good next to Doncic I thought for sure Dallas would want him back.

    The Lakers are sponsored by Crypto.com. It was a wrap.

    I’m happy with the moves Leon has made and I love the fact that with all these picks we could not only make an offer for a star but probably still have a few picks left over to restock the team with a few young prospects.

    But right now it is very hard to know how to feel about this team with all the injuries. Like we could be good or really good in the playoffs if we get healthy but right now it looks very dire.

    Zman, don’t get me wrong, I loved the OG trade. It was exactly what I’d been pushing for for 2 years. I hated losing IQ and his upside, but OG is such a perfect fit, and is young enough, that it was an A+.

    The deadline trade, not so much. It wasn’t dumb; it just isn’t the amazing thing so the pundits say it is. Plenty of risk – even if Grimes’ upside is only 10% possible, that’s more than Bojan, who will just be a better version of Fournier matching salary after this season. We do need some live players right now just to avoid slipping too far, but if he plays more than spot minutes in the playoffs, I don’t think that will be a good sign.

    I think we could have got Brkzz for Fournier and a weak pick (Wiz?), and I would have preferred that now and long term. They only way that changes is if Bojan is indeed the outgoing salary in a “star” trade. Could happen… But if it doesn’t, I think his piece of it was a mistake.

    rama, I get the concern that Bojan might be just another version of Fournier, but I don’t agree with it. Bojan was coveted around the league, whereas no one was making a peep about Fournier. Not that this proves anything, but the fact that he was scoring 20 on a .600+TS% on 25% usage in 33 mpg is pretty clear evidence that he is going to be way better than Fournier. His D will not be anywhere near as much of an issue because he will score enough to overcome it.

    just tuned in to the thunder/mavs game…

    Cool, geo — enjoy.

    I’m checking out the Boneheads (*) going for their third straight out west against the Clippers. BHs up 9. Good game.

    (*) A/k/a, The Dudes Who Made Bogie Loaf.

    what the heck with that score – are the clips not playing any of their starters?

    i switched to suicide squad…only so much b-ball i can take in a day…and goodness knows i’ll be tuning in later to see alec’s return…

    i remember alec being an interesting guy who would never ever ever talk about himself at the end of games…

    him OG and sims should all having a staring contest…no way sims blinks first though…

    Good thing is the Knicks have built a decent cushion on the 5th-8th seeds and Philly is crumbling big time right now. But losing to Indy and Orlando right before the All-Star break would be a bit annoying.

    Yeah, between Milwaukee’s collapse, Sixers being useless without Embiid and Indy and Orlando being so mid, I’d be shocked if the Knicks didn’t have home court in the first round (and very likely the #2 or #3 seed).

    I’d be shocked if the Knicks didn’t have home court in the first round (and very likely the #2 or #3 seed).

    Sigh

    I’ll say 4th seed, don’t see Bucks continuing to struggle and I do think Knicks will probably struggle a bit over the next few weeks but will finish strong and clinch the 4th seed.

    I’m switching between the two games,
    I like Duren and to me Cunningham is better than a lot of people think, he’s basically only in his second year…

    I think we are going to regret trading Grimes. Not because he is some world-beater but because he is, at worst, a solid rotation player we would have had locked up at a very low price for at least one more year. He is a good shooter, has really made some strides since the new year in his aggressiveness, and is by far a better defender than either Burks or Bojan. In fact, he was probably our 3rd best perimeter defender.

    I have said a lot about Bojan, so I won’t repeat it, but I don’t think he is going to help much. I also think Gallo is available, for free, and he would probably be as good, if not better, than Bojan. I still hope we pick him up, he could help with the injuries and I would love to see him in a Knicks uniform again.

    I also think people are going to be disappointed in Burks’s shot creation. He is not the player he was two years ago. He never gets to the rim, his assist% is down, and his 2pt% is under 40%. He is still a decent player but I do not think he is any upgrade over Grimes. At this point, he is a slightly more consistent 3-point shooter who gets to the line a bit more but that is where his advantages over Grimes end, and he gives up a lot defensively and has zero upside. At best he will be a push and most likely he will be a step-down, who is on the decline, and not signed cheap for next year.

    We probably could have sent Fournier and a bit of cash for Dinwiddie and picked up Gallo. That would have added two more bodies that can create almost as much offense as Burks and Bojan, with a lot less defensive downside, and let us keep Grimes, Flynn, Archie, and our picks. Dinwiddie, while he is having an off year, is actually a PG so he would have filled a real need, as opposed to Burks and Bojan.

    I love Gallo but he looks semi-cooked, a lot more than Bojan.
    While his shot’s still pure last year’s injury made him even slower than I remember.

    There are a lot of talks here, on italian papers and basketball blogs, about him trying to find a last chance with a contender or coming back to the roots and close the season playing for Olimpia like Rubio has just done with Barcelona…

    Yeah, between Milwaukee’s collapse, Sixers being useless without Embiid and Indy and Orlando being so mid, I’d be shocked if the Knicks didn’t have home court in the first round (and very likely the #2 or #3 seed).

    Milwaukee’s collapse? My brother in Christ, they currently have a better record than us and aren’t missing half their team. Doc’s had a shitty start but he has coached about 10 teams to better records than we currently have.

    Did you forget that just about every player on our team is injured, with two starters likely to miss the playoffs?

    EDIT: Sweet Jesus looks like Bojan is already injured

    Gallo is semi-cooked but so is Bojan. Even with his injuries his stats aren’t really worse and he is a better, though still not good, defender.

    Mainly he is free so any production he gives us is gravy. And I’d love to see him finish his career here.

    EDIT: Sweet Jesus looks like Bojan is already injured

    Source? Katz tweeted Bojan and Burks are going to play 30 minutes ago! :-O

    Bojan is doing his intro press conference like right now. Where’s the source that he’s hurt

    I know it’s cool nowadays to say just being able to score pointzzz is overrated but nobody who’s washed up can score 20 ppg on 60% TS%.

    Bojan Bogdanovic on expectations around the Knkcks: “I missed one playoffs in my career. I’m used to big expectations and playing for a playoff team.”

    He’s missed the playoffs a few times. It’s such an odd thing to say.

    Ben I’m not trying to be a dick and I almost always find your posts thoughtful but that Bogey/Gallo comparison might be the worst take we’ve had here in a while. I think you can cogently argue we shouldn’t have traded Grimes for short-term help without saying something downright discrediting.

    Milwaukee’s collapse? My brother in Christ, they currently have a better record than us and aren’t missing half their team. Doc’s had a shitty start but he has coached about 10 teams to better records than we currently have.

    Did you forget that just about every player on our team is injured, with two starters likely to miss the playoffs?

    Look at these standings – who is catching the Knicks on this list for HCA?

    Ben, I think the plan may be to draft another “grimes” – low cost rotation player…

    did you ever notice he couldn’t really jump very high around the rim?

    the bucks are not really this bad though…

    they have to turn it around at some point…just too good a roster not to…

    the cavs may not be slowing up any time soon…they very well may be the 2 seed…

    let’s hope we get the fourth at least, of course Philly will probably be the 5th seed…

    with embiid coming back rested just in time for the playoffs…

    BC use your imagination to wonder what might go wrong…chances are good that is what will happen…

    hopefully seeding and opponent don’t slow us down from making it past the 2nd round…

    the bucks are not really this bad though…

    they have to turn it around at some point…just too good a roster not to…

    Oh sure, the Bucks might finish ahead of the Knicks (or they might not), but who is going to pass them for fourth?

    Ben, I think the plan may be to draft another “grimes” – low cost rotation player…

    I do think that is the plan; I’m just not sure that Grimes-level players are as easy to find as people think. Could be wrong!

    Right now the standings are literally exactly what I predicted at the beginning of the season. Still plenty of time to go, though…

    PG13 took command and spoiled a valiant effort by the Pistons. Detroit is too young to be good in the clutch, but some of their youngsters are fun.

    On the other hand OKC was very disappointing, if a dispirited 35-points loss is what you get after 3 full days of rest maybe Daigneault and Presti should ask the League for more back-to-backs…

    P.S.
    As expected both Gafford and Washington look very useful for Dallas…

    If the Raptors don’t beat Cleveland tonight, the Cavs could be on a 17 game winning streak when they come to the Garden in March. Their schedule is just loaded with cupcakes.

    Geo, totally eye test, but I seem to remember Grimes soaring for long rebounds like a mini-Sims. I think he had tremendous hops. What he didn’t seem to like is contact, so he generally stayed away from the rim unless he had a clear path.

    The Quentin Grimes TNFH is now describing is a virtually unrecognizable facsimile of the player he spent the better part of three seasons pretty much gushing about.

    The Quentin Grimes TNFH is now describing is a virtually unrecognizable facsimile of the player he spend the better part of three seasons pretty much gushing about.

    What the hell are you talking about? When did I even “describe” Quentin Grimes?

    Did you not describe him as, among other things, defensibly worth only Bojan Bogdonovic and Alec Burks?

    Yeah, I did. Is that too low a value on Quentin Grimes according to the guy who wanted to bench him for Cam Reddish?

    It’s too low a value for the player you described in the three years before he was traded. Or for the one who was deemed “untouchable” in the Spida negotiations. Etc., etc.

    It all just comes off as kind of provisional and flighty. “He’s gone now, so forget all that stuff from before.” That’s all.

    Geo, totally eye test, but I seem to remember Grimes soaring for long rebounds like a mini-Sims.

    oh shoot raven, you gonna send me to the stat page now to start looking for stuff 🙂

    he’s looked gimpy to me all year…

    Edit: his % from 0 to 3 feet went down and his rebounding was down from last season…

    I literally never said anything about Quentin Grimes indicating he was too valuable for that package.

    I admittedly argued with someone that said he was less valuable than Cam Reddish, because that was really stupid of that person, but I certainly never said he was “untouchable.”

    I literally never said anything about Quentin Grimes indicating he was too valuable for that package.

    A young guy who can shut down people like Spida and Jimmy Butler in major playoff minutes and TS% 590ish, with still some upside to show, is worth only two aging bench pieces — one a complete turnstile?

    At least have the power of your convictions.

    If the Raptors don’t beat Cleveland tonight, the Cavs could be on a 17 game winning streak when they come to the Garden in March. Their schedule is just loaded with cupcakes.

    Their March schedule is pretty tough on the other hand. Minny x 2, Knicks, Celts, Suns, Pelicans, Pacers, Heat x 2. Even their gimmies are not of the easiest kind: Hawks, Nets, Rockets.

    I could see them ending the season badly.

    It’s so embarrassing that the guy who coined the term “hustlebunny” in reference to Quentin Grimes now has to turnaround and say he’s the Jimmy Butler Stopper because he committed himself to a bit

    That was your description, not mine — kinda the point. My description is that during Thibs’s mania phase over the guy, Thibs overrrated him — but he was a potentially useful young piece who should have brought back more.

    social protocol 101 noble – things people say and do are stupid…individuals themselves as a whole take a little longer to evaluate…

    because it’s really hard to tell just how stupid someone is, unless you’re familiar with them…

    maybe they were just a little less than 100% at that moment…maybe that got fed some bad data…hard to tell…

    although as carlin put it so well: “Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.”

    thankfully we are now in a new enlightened age though, it is no longer the 70’s…

    what it was he said, was true though…

    oh yeah, now we have to also parse out whether their actions/statements are more stupid in terms of their ability to problem solve and recall facts – or – if they are just really stupid when it comes to dealing with others…

    so yeah – what you said was stupid, not you are stupid…small, but important stuff…

    Comments are closed.