Knicks Morning News (2024.02.16)

They were missing Middleton but that’s more of a feature than a bug at this point.

Despite all their woes, though, the Bucks have at least a 35% chance of pulling a ‘99 Knicks/‘23 Heat if they get healthy and hot at the right time.

If they don’t do that, though, there’s no way Giannis decides to run it back with these guys. This team is so beneath him.

I think we’ve all (myself included) underestimated how awesome Mitch because iHart has been great. Mitch is a next level defender, though, and when he comes back there’s going to be a major “holy shit!” factor watching this team play defense with him and OG.

Precious is a perfectly serviceable backup big. I like him. But when we are healthy he is not in our rotation. Both Mitch and IHart are much better as are Randle and Hart. Since we cannot really play Randle at the 3 at all or Hart at the 3 next to Precious, Precious would be out of the rotation completely when we are healthy.

Heard that about Donte, too.

I don’t think the plan is to pay both Mitch and Hartenstein starting center money.

One of them is going to be part of Leon’s big move, and then Precious will be the backup C and backup PF.

Speaking of Donte, here’s some clips from his profile in The Athletic today:

Opponents pick up DiVincenzo at half court. For two hours every other night, palms angle themselves just in front of his nose. Guarding one of the league’s most particular marksmen is no longer about forcing difficult shots; it’s about keeping the ball away from him altogether.

Not everyone has succeeded.

DiVincenzo is averaging 26.5 points and 4.0 assists since Anunoby and Randle exited the lineup on Jan. 29. He’s at 40 percent from 3-point distance in those eight games — and it’s not like he’s been picky.

DiVincenzo won’t stop shooting; he’s splashing in 5.3 long-range makes on more than 13 attempts a game. Both figures place him second in the NBA to the ageless Stephen Curry during this time. And he won’t stop playing. His 40.4 minutes a night are second in the league to teammate Precious Achiuwa over this period.

This is not the same DiVincenzo as the one who excelled as a role player in Milwaukee, Sacramento and Golden State. Heck, it’s not even the same one who knocked down better than two of every five 3s over the first couple months of this season.

Only a few weeks ago, amidst a career-best season from 3-point land, DiVincenzo shot down suggestions that he had taken some sort of leap. He wasn’t necessarily an improved shooter but he was smarter, he said. DiVincenzo understands how accurate he is from the corners and off the catch. He insisted that after six years in the league he had “nothing to prove.” So after studying what he was best at, he leaned into all his strengths.

A higher percentage of his 3-pointers than ever were from the corners. Nearly all his long balls were assisted. And the overall success rate climbed because of it.

This is not the same, spot-up savant that once lined the periphery of the Knicks’ offense — and of opponents’ scouting reports.

Coaching staffs going up against the Knicks now game plan for him with extra oomph. Teams preparing for New York have spent long portions of game-day shootaround scheming how to bother a seemingly unperturbed scorer.

Over this eight-game heater, DiVincenzo has shot 43 percent on pull-up 3s, according to Second Spectrum. He’s running more pick-and-rolls and getting to the basket more. Without Randle, the father of more 3-pointers than anyone else on the team, DiVincenzo has to create them himself — or generate ones for teammates.

Brunson is driving to the basket 24.5 times a game during the nine games without Randle and Anunoby, per Second Spectrum, the second most in the NBA during that time and up from 17.6 before it. Yet, the sharpest difference on the team belongs to DiVincenzo, who is driving four times more often since Randle got hurt.

The ball hits the ground when DiVincenzo runs a pick-and-roll — or because of those frantic defenders who fly at one of the world’s most uninhibited shooters, hoping to deter a jumper.

But DiVincenzo’s evolution goes even deeper than just handling the basketball more. He’s not even occupying the same places on the court.

The IQ trade was ultimately worth it because OG is absolutely an improvement and a perfect fit but it didn’t seem we tried too hard to keep IQ out of the trade

Seems very likely we could have used Grimes and two 1sts instead of IQ but we were just dying to get rid of him. Damn shame.