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Knicks Morning News (2024.03.01)


  • What we learned as Steph bounces back in road win vs. Knicks – NBC Sports Bay Area
    [NBC Sports Bay Area] – Fri, 01 Mar 2024 03:23:14 GMT
    1. What we learned as Steph bounces back in road win vs. Knicks
    2. Warriors 110-99 Knicks (Feb 29, 2024) Game Recap
    3. Stephen Curry, Kuminga Praised by NBA Fans as Warriors Beat Jalen Brunson, Knicks
    4. Warriors win on road vs. Knicks as Moses Moody, Jonathan Kuminga rise up
    5. Warriors vs. Knicks odds, score prediction, start time: 2024 NBA picks, Feb. 29 best bets from proven model


  • OG Anunoby cleared for on-court work in major Knicks step – New York Post
    [New York Post] – Fri, 01 Mar 2024 04:23:21 GMT
    1. OG Anunoby cleared for on-court work in major Knicks step
    2. New York Notes: Anunoby, DiVincenzo, Simmons, Graham
    3. Knicks injury updates, including OG Anunoby’s possible return date
    4. Knicks Rumors: Latest Buzz on Julius Randle, OG Anunoby Injury Return Timelines
    5. Knicks’ OG Anunoby cleared to shoot, ‘premature to say’ when he’ll be back at practice


  • Jalen Brunson has ‘huge head,’ really little ears’ according to fellow Knicks star and college roommate Josh Hart – Page Six
    [Page Six] – Thu, 29 Feb 2024 21:34:00 GMT

    Jalen Brunson has ‘huge head,’ really little ears’ according to fellow Knicks star and college roommate Josh Hart


  • Kerr’s Moody experiment paying off after impressive night vs. Knicks – NBC Sports Bay Area
    [NBC Sports Bay Area] – Fri, 01 Mar 2024 10:01:19 GMT
    1. Kerr’s Moody experiment paying off after impressive night vs. Knicks
    2. Warriors’ Moses Moody, patient and professional, remains at the ready
    3. Moses Moody is filling to the Andrew Wiggins role quite nicely
    4. Watch: Moses Moody drops Landry Shamet
    5. 3 teammates Moses Moody should surpass in the Golden State Warriors rotation


  • Slumping Knicks pushing to play their ‘best’ despite rash of injuries – ESPN
    [ESPN] – Fri, 01 Mar 2024 05:07:00 GMT
    1. Slumping Knicks pushing to play their ‘best’ despite rash of injuries
    2. It’s not panic time yet for Knicks, but it’s getting close
    3. Jalen Brunson, Knicks drop 8th game in last 11 with 110-99 loss to Warriors
    4. Josh Hart dominates the glass Thursday
    5. This is now the big question the Knicks face as their struggles continue


  • Jalen Brunson refuses to take Chris Paul’s hand after getting clobbered at midcourt – New York Post
    [New York Post] – Fri, 01 Mar 2024 02:58:00 GMT

    Jalen Brunson refuses to take Chris Paul’s hand after getting clobbered at midcourt


  • Draymond Green Didn’t Hold Back With Message for Warriors Postgame Host During Interview – Sports Illustrated
    [Sports Illustrated] – Fri, 01 Mar 2024 03:48:47 GMT

    Draymond Green Didn’t Hold Back With Message for Warriors Postgame Host During Interview


  • Jonathan Kuminga’s rise as a rim pressure threat and transition weapon – Golden State of Mind
    [Golden State of Mind] – Fri, 01 Mar 2024 05:12:15 GMT

    Jonathan Kuminga’s rise as a rim pressure threat and transition weapon


  • 2024 NBA bets, lines and stats for Thursday – ESPN
    [ESPN] – Thu, 29 Feb 2024 16:30:00 GMT

    2024 NBA bets, lines and stats for Thursday


  • Jonathan Kuminga: legit #2 option for the Warriors – Golden State of Mind
    [Golden State of Mind] – Fri, 01 Mar 2024 07:25:00 GMT

    Jonathan Kuminga: legit #2 option for the Warriors


  • Klay Thompson Made NBA History In Warriors-Knicks Game – Sports Illustrated
    [Sports Illustrated] – Fri, 01 Mar 2024 05:34:02 GMT

    Klay Thompson Made NBA History In Warriors-Knicks Game


  • New Knicks Bojan Bodganovic, Alec Burks continue to struggle – New York Post
    [New York Post] – Fri, 01 Mar 2024 05:45:00 GMT

    New Knicks Bojan Bodganovic, Alec Burks continue to struggle


  • Julius Randle honored with NBA award – Posting and Toasting
    [Posting and Toasting] – Thu, 29 Feb 2024 20:30:00 GMT

    Julius Randle honored with NBA award


  • Mario Hezonja talks about his future next season, labels Knicks move as a mistake – BasketNews.com
    [BasketNews.com] – Thu, 29 Feb 2024 08:44:00 GMT

    Mario Hezonja talks about his future next season, labels Knicks move as a mistake


  • Jonathan Kuminga went from kid with big city dreams to emerging star on Warriors – New York Post
    [New York Post] – Thu, 29 Feb 2024 13:00:00 GMT

    Jonathan Kuminga went from kid with big city dreams to emerging star on Warriors


  • Spurs gift New York Knicks familiar buyout target with latest move – Daily Knicks
    [Daily Knicks] – Thu, 29 Feb 2024 23:06:40 GMT

    Spurs gift New York Knicks familiar buyout target with latest move


  • Did Klay Thompson use social media to send Knicks a free-agency message? – Daily Knicks
    [Daily Knicks] – Thu, 29 Feb 2024 20:31:18 GMT

    Did Klay Thompson use social media to send Knicks a free-agency message?


  • Jalen Brunson makes Knicks return after injury scare – New York Post
    [New York Post] – Fri, 01 Mar 2024 00:16:00 GMT
    1. Jalen Brunson makes Knicks return after injury scare
    2. Jalen Brunson’s Current Injury Status For Warriors-Knicks Game
    3. Knicks Notes: Brunson, Hartenstein, Injury Updates, Anthony
    4. Knicks’ Jalen Brunson will play vs. Warriors, Stephen Curry
    5. Is Jalen Brunson playing tonight? Latest injury update for Knicks vs Warriors Feb. 29


  • Mischa Barton glows as she attends star-studded New York Knicks game… after revealing her secret romance wit – Daily Mail
    [Daily Mail] – Fri, 01 Mar 2024 08:10:32 GMT

    Mischa Barton glows as she attends star-studded New York Knicks game… after revealing her secret romance wit


  • Lily Allen looks loved-up with husband David Harbour as they cheer on New York Knicks during NBA game after qu – Daily Mail
    [Daily Mail] – Fri, 01 Mar 2024 11:25:00 GMT

    Lily Allen looks loved-up with husband David Harbour as they cheer on New York Knicks during NBA game after qu


  • Revisiting the Raptors’ Blockbuster Trade With the Knicks – GIVEMESPORT
    [GIVEMESPORT] – Thu, 29 Feb 2024 18:39:00 GMT

    Revisiting the Raptors’ Blockbuster Trade With the Knicks

  • 76 replies on “Knicks Morning News (2024.03.01)”

    Looks like Alan said so many great things about the Knicks that Mischa Barton attended the game to see for herself. šŸ˜€

    Thought Macri’s notes were interesting, and based on that I’m super glad I missed that first quarter. Ugh.

    Amusingly, I was reading the crapping on Sims at the end of the game — and I don’t disagree, by the way, his team D was awful, which I suppose isn’t too surprising against such a disciplined and hard-cutting team as the Warriors — but was struck by the fact that he had the highest plus-minus on the team (Strat’s favorite stat) at plus 6. Macri said:

    ‘The most interesting part is that the first sub of each quarter was effective even thought it did nothing to improve the spacing. Jericho Sims checked in for Hartenstein each time, and each time, the Knicksā€™ offense began to self correct.’

    He went on to quote iHart as saying he may have come back too soon. Which well, is a thing to note I suppose. Does nobody any good.

    Iā€™m gonna save a few bloggers some time today and summarize the posts that are inevitable after last nightā€™s game:

    – The Detroit trade is an unmitigated disaster

    – DDV is falling off a cliff because of overuse

    – Josh Hart missed 13 shots last night because heā€™s exhausted from playing too many minutes

    – I-Hart is a shell of himself because he was rushed back from injury

    – the Detroit trade is an unmitigated disaster

    Your welcome!

    ā€“ Josh Hart missed 13 shots last night because heā€™s exhausted from playing too many minutes

    Actually, he missed 13 shots last night because offensively he’s abjectly terrible. A .517 TS% on 13.3 USG for a full-time association wing, this deep into the season, is beyond awful.

    Those sound like some pretty silly conclusions, D-Mar.

    I am genuinely perplexed as to why the Detroit trade hasnā€™t worked out better. I suggested last night that maybe thereā€™s a slight but meaningful step up from Pistons shape to Knicks shape, and maybe these guys are just going to be a step slow til they catch up.

    DDV is fine. I donā€™t see any cliff. Heā€™s been asked to carry an offense, shoot on sight, and thatā€™s a little more than he can do.

    Josh Hart is an indefatigable robot. To use Nobleā€™s analogy, he has a rubber arm. Thank god heā€™s here to eat this minutes and can handle them without getting hurt.

    He also shoots much better than he thinks he does. I wish heā€™d pull the trigger more.

    I am afraid you may be right about Hartenstein. He looks hampered and has not been managed well since Mitch went down.

    Iā€™d like to see Bojan start even though he was shit last night. Maybe coming off the bench is a tough adjustment for him.

    He also shoots much better than he thinks he does. I wish heā€™d pull the trigger more.

    Hubert, I think if you take a look at his numbers (and the form on his shot), you will quickly realize otherwise.

    In terms of basketball “ethics” and professionalism and going about your business the “right way,” there’s a lot to like about Josh Hart, but he has massive, gargantuan limitations. He has no business as a full-time association wing. That’s not his fault — it’s Tom Thibodeau’s.

    DDV is falling off a cliff because of overuse

    He had 1 bad shooting game

    Josh Hart missed 13 shots last night because heā€™s exhausted from playing too many minutes

    Exhausted players don’t grab 18 rebs

    the Detroit trade is an unmitigated disaster

    TBD

    Early Bird I hope you realize those are not really my positions just anticipating others

    In Josh Hart’s “good” series against Cleveland, he shot well and played well, but still only scored about 12 points per 36, which is underwhelming for a full-time wing. He did in fact do all the rebound-y, intangible-y, hustle-y stuff that Tom Thibodeau obsesses about religiously and vastly overrates as a factor in winning basketball.

    Against Miami, he shot 415/238/538 in 30 mpg and scored roughly 11 per 36. Tom Thibodeau leaning on him to that degree very much helped lose a winnable series.

    Josh Hart is being forced to do more than he should because of injuries to other players. You really think heā€™s attempting 17 shots if the Knicks are healthy?

    And stop downplaying the non statistical stuff, thereā€™s value to it whether you want to see it or not.

    “Josh Hart is being forced to do more than he should because of injuries to other players. You really think heā€™s attempting 17 shots if the Knicks are healthy?”

    It’s not a Newtonian law of the cosmos that he play 46 minutes.

    Most important takeaway from Macri today:

    I didnā€™t realize it until someone pointed it out on the postgame last night, but the Knicks play just two games over the next seven days.

    Huzzah!

    Early Bird I hope you realize those are not really my positions just anticipating others

    Just responding early šŸ™‚

    I supose were in a reel pickel with these indjures… but too games in seven dayes will give us a good brake.

    To step away from dmar’s very droll list and the inevitable very troll responses, anyone have Deuce’s breakout on their bingo card? I’m possibly his biggest fan and I didn’t.

    I’d be curious to get anyone’s take on one aspect he’s still not showing much with — passing. He’s now got the three, his pull-up has mysteriously shown up, he can get to the basket if the aisle is clear, and of course his defense is usually thrill-worthy.

    But I’m not yet impressed with his dimes. The thing I wonder about is whether that’s partly a Thibs system. Since Elf or even before, none of our point guards (or purported ones), including Brunson, have really dominated as passing savants. Do we just not run the kind of plays that lead to rocking the assists? Or have one after another of our points just not been able to see the floor the way Hali or Jokic do?

    Quite a line from Wemby. ROY feels locked up after that.

    There is a guy named Avila on Indiana Stare who looks like Jokic before Ozempic. Totally dominant but looks like an out of shape rec league hero. Twitter is calling him Cream Abdul Jabbar and I canā€™t stop laughing.

    Jericho Sims checked in for Hartenstein each time, and each time, the Knicksā€™ offense began to self correct.ā€™

    I swear last night I stopped myself from typing, “Sims seems to be having a good game” just before he was burned multiple times on D. On offense, however, Sims did *seem more energized, and there were even a few plays where he cut well and just missed a tough pass or two from Brunson that would have been an easy layup. Something good may be going on with him, albeit prolly not any major improvement. On D, he’s so big I wish he would just foul some people every once in a while like Mason: “None shall pass!”

    As others asked last night, why won’t Thibs play Bojan with the starters? Bobo def got the memo to hoist it whenever possible, but he’s rarely put in the best spots.

    And Burks seems to be running his career into the ground.

    stop downplaying the non statistical stuff, thereā€™s value to it whether you want to see it or not

    Yeah but we’re overweight guys who bring the non statistical stuff and it’s become annoying.

    The Cavs got by for months surrounding Donovan Mitchell with random dudes who can shoot.

    We’re surrounding Jalen Brunson with defense & rebounding and it’s not working out nearly as well.

    Sims was really good last night until one of the smartest teams ever decided to pick on his weaknesses. They’ve done it to much better players than him.

    Holy cow, thanks for that, Owen. For those disinclined to look at the box score: 28 pts, 13 rbs, 7 assts, 5 blocks, 2 steals, and 5-7 from three. In a win against the Thunder.

    Do we just not run the kind of plays that lead to rocking the assists?

    No Knick ever cuts to the basket. So there’s that. Haha. Thibs?

    To your point, this year Deuce seemed to switch from Deferential Bench Guy to They Need Me to Score Guy. Some of that is great. Shades of Nate Robinson? But it begs the question (yet again) of who organizes the 2nd Unit. Burks is not particularly “organized” at the moment.

    And is Kuminga good now? We made him look like Hakeem.

    Kuminga becoming good has been the major reason the Warriors have been on such a hot streak recently. Dude was a #7 overall pick, so he might just have needed longer than normal to develop.

    That Magic game next week is pretty big.

    I left them out of the injury discussion yesterday but if you believe in EPM (which I don’t think anyone other than Early Bird does), then Jonathon Isaac is just as good as Julius Randle, so getting him, Fultz, and Carter back is big.

    Their schedule is so easy it’s hard to see us finishing ahead of them unless everyone comes back soon.

    I really wanted to trade for Kuminga back when he wasn’t good, but Leon didn’t listen to me… it was only a matter of time for him.

    As for Deuce, I’m cautiously optimistic, but he still has a lot of work to do. On offense, he’s still mostly just a 3pt shooter. He’s getting to the rim a bit more now, but it’s going to continue to be hard at his height… also, the passing just isn’t there yet. And his defense isn’t quite as good as advertised… maybe because he’s going against starters more these days. Regardless, I like the kid and think he still has room for some improvement.

    Kuminga becoming good has been the major reason the Warriors have been on such a hot streak recently. Dude was a #7 overall pick, so he might just have needed longer than normal to develop.

    He sure looked good last night, completely dominated our 2 centers.

    If this Kuminga breakout is for real, the Warriors are gonna be a handful in the playoffs

    Oh and you really appreciate Draymond Green when you watch him in person, he constantly sets up Curry with dribble handoff screens and disrupts everything on defense. Heā€™s not prime Draymond but still a really valuable piece for them.

    The addition of that other guy, whose name I wont try to spell out of respect for our resident spelling pedant, also seems to have helped the Warriors.

    I caught snatches of the game last night but it felt like a mess.

    Thanks, KBA, but I was going to leave dmar’s alone.

    ess-dog is a different story altogether. I’m trying to figure out if he’s an idiot, or if he just (for some odd reason) enjoys pretending that he is an idiot. I’m beginning to think that it’s the former. Of course it could be argued that doing the latter automatically makes one the former, too. šŸ™‚

    Three things are responsible for Deuceā€™s poor passing numbers: first, when the team is healthy, he is never the primary ball handler, so he gets comparatively few opportunities to pass and ends up finishing plays from 3. Second, when heā€™s the primary ball handler, as he is now, thereā€™s not much cutting. Some of this is just being very injured (our spacing is incredibly fucked at the moment), but some of this is from Thibsā€™ offensive style. Third, and most importantly imo, Deuce doesnā€™t have enough handle or a quick enough first step to get by defenders. Since he canā€™t break down a defense, heā€™s relegated to midrangers or passing out at the elbow. His handle and first step should be his #1 project over the summer. If he manages to improve those, heā€™ll be pretty good!

    Twitter is calling him Cream Abdul Jabbar and I canā€™t stop laughing.

    Nor I

    Oh and you really appreciate Draymond Green when you watch him in person, he constantly sets up Curry with dribble handoff screens and disrupts everything on defense. Heā€™s not prime Draymond but still a really valuable piece for them.

    I feel like Draymond’s skills and, say, those of Dennis Rodman, are/should be quite teachable. I don’t understand why the Knicks (in my lifetime) have had so few players that are better than their physical gifts. Brunson is a big change in this good direction, but I want more.

    All the coaches do all day long is watch/teach basketball. Can’t they “make” Draymond Greens on a daily basis. I know I’m insane, but I still don’t get it.

    I am genuinely perplexed as to why the Detroit trade hasnā€™t worked out better.

    Not difficult to answer.

    They are playing a lot of minutes without a real PG and are being forced to create more shots for themselves, which tend to be more difficult.

    They played on the worst team in the NBA yet both had a negative on/off, meaning the worst team in the NBA was better when they weren’t playing. Noise is noise, but that’s a blast suggesting that neither can defend a lick (or in Bojan’s case he never could) because we know they contributed on offense.

    The expectation should have been that they would provide better offense than Grimes, but not as good as their recent stats because they’d be asked to create more and the defense in the 2nd unit would take a meaningful hit going from a plus to two minuses.

    If we had good PG play in the 2nd unit, they’d be more productive.

    When Randle returns Thibs will probably stagger Brunson/Randle a bit and that will help the new players on offense. The defense is another matter unless he also uses OG in the 2nd unit at times.

    MVP list at the end of February:
    1. Nikola Jokic
    2. Jayson Tatum
    3. Giannis Antetokounmpo
    4. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
    5. Anthony Edwards
    6. Tyrese Haliburton
    7. Joel Embiid
    8. Jaylen Brown
    9. Donovan Mitchell
    10. Luka Doncic

    Top teams at the end of February:
    1. Boston Celtics
    2. Oklahoma City Thunder
    3. Minnesota Timberwolves
    4. Cleveland Cavaliers
    5. Los Angeles Clippers
    6. Denver Nuggets
    7. Milwaukee Bucks
    8. New Orleans Pelicans
    9. New York Knicks
    10. Philadelphia 76ers

    Circling all the way back to Alan (and Mischa Barton) at the top of this thread, I wonder if our wonderfully astute critic has read the epic takedown in today’s NYTimes of Monsieur Adam Sandler’s latest Netflix picture, and what if anything he thinks about reviewing artistic endeavors in such a brutal (yet funny) way. Bueno, or no?

    Back to your regularly scheduled ….

    Twitter is calling him Cream Abdul Jabbar and I canā€™t stop laughing.

    Itā€™s Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Cream is the fat derivative of cow’s milk thatā€™s collected via centrifugal skimmers. Cream is also a British rock band. Nicknames that misspell real names are idiotic. The only good nickname is ā€œHot Plateā€ because it describes a plate that is hot.

    I left them out of the injury discussion yesterday but if you believe in EPM (which I donā€™t think anyone other than Early Bird does), then Jonathon Isaac is just as good as Julius Randle, so getting him, Fultz, and Carter back is big.

    Unless we’re watching a ton of games for every team very closely, the alternative is just going on vibes. Regardless, EPM is very good.

    I don’t know what you have against Jonathan Isaac, but he’s one of the best defenders in the NBA.

    Isaac needs more playing time for the numbers to balance out, but right now he’s putting up 1.8stls/36 & 2.8blks/36. Of course, his career numbers are “only” 1.6 stls/36 & 2.2 blks/36. We’re talking about an OG level defender… maybe better.

    So Isaac coming back, if he gets minutes and stays healthy, is huge for the Magic. Unfortunately for him, he plays the same position as Banchero.

    Draymond has great court vision, which includes the ability to make anticipatory reads. Similar to Pat Mahomes. That seems to be an innate processing skill and one that cannot be taught.

    Deuce doesnā€™t have enough handle or a quick enough first step to get by defenders. Since he canā€™t break down a defense, heā€™s relegated to midrangers or passing out at the elbow. His handle and first step should be his #1 project over the summer. If he manages to improve those, heā€™ll be pretty good!

    Stepbacks are just a big part of his game. His shot diet in college was also very heavy on midrange shots. That said, he also had poor spacing in college and got to the rim more when they were forced to modernize.

    I also just don’t see any PG sense in his play. He’s a small SG.

    Unless weā€™re watching a ton of games for every team very closely, the alternative is just going on vibes.

    Not exactly. Differences in basketball skill-sets reveal themselves very quickly. If you put Kevin Durant at Rucker Park with nine good mid-major D-1 players, it would take probably a half hour or less to see definitively that KD is a significant cut above. (*)

    This isn’t baseball.

    (*) As a related issue, we wouldn’t need a bunch of data to make that conclusion about KD. We really wouldn’t even need a scoreboard.

    Isaac needs more playing time for the numbers to balance out, but right now heā€™s putting up 1.8stls/36 & 2.8blks/36. Of course, his career numbers are ā€œonlyā€ 1.6 stls/36 & 2.2 blks/36.

    What is his “effective shooting percentage against” and how does it compare to his peer group? IOW, when he isn’t “stocking,” is it easier to score against him, harder, about the same?

    I always thought the next step up for Deuce (and perhaps his ceiling) was to become Patrick Beverley. I just looked at both, and if one believes that Deuce this year is for real and not an outlier, he’s already a much better offensive player than Patrick. On the other hand, Beverley has mostly been between 3-4 rebounds and assists per game, and for some reason Deuce is flatlining at around 1 for each. Which is certainly a point scored for EB’s position, although I’m still not completely convinced.

    They’re the same height (6′ 2″), although Deuce has 20 pounds on Pat, if b-ref is to be believed.

    What is his ā€œeffective shooting percentage againstā€ and how does it compare to his peer group? IOW, when he isnā€™t ā€œstocking,ā€ is it easier to score against him, harder, about the same?

    I don’t look up random numbers to draw conclusions, I use them to support conclusions.

    From this article:

    So far, opponents are shooting 38.9 percent from the field with him as the nearest defender, per Second Spectrum. Among players who have been the closest defender to a minimum of 100 shots, thatā€™s the fourth-lowest percentage. Only Patrick Beverley, Kris Dunn and Isaac Okoro have better marks.

    But, really, when you look deeper into the analytics, J.I.ā€™s numbers are more mesmerizing. Nearly 30 percent of the shots Isaac has been near have come in the restricted semi-circle and 53 percent have come in the paint in general ā€“ way higher than those other three who are perimeter based.

    there’s some really bad teams in the league…unfortunately we haven’t played a lot of them the last month…

    our record against sub .500 squads is still a stellar 23 – 2…we’re just getting crushed (minus 11) by plus .500 teams…

    oh well…

    I donā€™t look up random numbers to draw conclusions

    You literally did that yesterday (and many other times) when you just dropped OG & Bamā€™s EPMs next to each other and acted like it was definitive proof.

    EPM is not WAR. Itā€™s some random dude on the internetā€™s invention and, while interesting, it has some pretty obvious defects, like how it overweights defensive contributions and players who have great teammates.

    A system that tells us, for instance, that Jonathon Isaac and Julius Randle are equal, or that Derrick White is better than Jayson Tatum, Steph Curry, and Jalen Brunson, really isnā€™t the be-all-end-all you act like it is.

    You literally did that yesterday (and many other times) when you just dropped OG & Bamā€™s EPMs next to each other and acted like it was definitive proof.

    You made a claim with zero evidence that Bam was better than OG, I provided evidence that your claim isn’t true? If you have a stronger argument than “vibes”, then make it.

    EPM is not WAR. Itā€™s some random dude on the internetā€™s invention and, while interesting, it has some pretty obvious defects, like how it overweights defensive contributions and players who have great teammates.

    And was selected by several NBA FO staff as one of the best publicly available metrics.

    DARKO comes in first. You can use that if you want the numbers less entangled. It attempts to understand ability instead of context dependent effect. I don’t use it as often because the formatting on my phone is crap and they incorporate past seasons into their valuation.

    really isnā€™t the be-all-end-all you act like it is.

    I don't think it is, however, I take it over unjustified assumptions.

    You made a claim with zero evidence that Bam was better than OG, I provided evidence that your claim isnā€™t true?

    “Zero evidence”? You can’t be serious. You really can’t see a single stitch of support for the proposition that Bam is better than OG?

    He averages more points/36. He averages way more rebounds/36. He averages way more assists/36. He creates way more offense overall. He’s considered by most to be, and there’s all indication to believe he’s better than OG on defense. He has a much wider-ranging offensive skillset than OG.

    Etc., etc.

    All that is “evidence.”

    It’s really not even close.

    There really isn’t some “missing” or “hidden” part of basketball that is confusing basketball watchers that only someone like the data-intensive EPM dude can “really” see. That entire premise is simply false. Same with Wages of Wins.

    Heā€™s considered by most to be, and thereā€™s all indication to believe heā€™s better than OG on defense.

    And there’s that lazy assumption

    Draymond has great court vision, which includes the ability to make anticipatory reads. Similar to Pat Mahomes. That seems to be an innate processing skill and one that cannot be taught.

    Point taken. For sure there will be players more gifted in this Vision/passing skill set, for lack of better terms, just as there are better shooters and shot blockers, etc.

    I was just fascinated by D-marā€™s reporting of how useful Draymond still is at perhaps 2/3 of his prime quality, and I was wondering if the coaches teach specifically what he does as much as they tell guys to take reps shooting threes from the corner.

    Sadly, most every Knicks team Iā€™ve ever watched going back to 1988 has struggled with what Clyde enthuses about every game: passing and cutting to get easy baskets ā€” again the Vision stuff. Maybe we can train some guys up to 2/3 Draymond quality, if not to his full gift.

    There really isnā€™t some ā€œmissingā€ or ā€œhiddenā€ part of basketball that is confusing basketball watchers that only someone like the data-intensive EPM dude can ā€œreallyā€ see. That entire premise is simply false. Same with Wages of Wins.

    But RJ Barrett is good because he has moxie.

    I don’t think it’s so much that there are hidden things, it’s that a lot of things that are valuable (esp on defense) are either hard to record or hard to value. Like you can see a guy go past Duncan Robinson and then dribble the ball back out to the perimiter because Bam cut off his path to the rim, but it’s not going to be easy to know how to assign value to that. I think we’d agree that it’s a good play by Bam though.

    governor’s reprieve for the evening – no friday night knick nightmares…

    who knows, maybe we get lucky saturday against the cavs…I wouldn’t count on it, but it could happen…

    we need that game against the hawks on tuesday…cuz after them, we play the magic, we got no shot of winning against them, even when we’re healthy, we got bad mojo with the magic…

    we need folks flashing signs to thibs to: free bogey…he should be averaging 30 a night right now…

    Although there are some guys that Thibs might play 48 minutes (which is what would have to occur in order for Bogey to average 30 points per game), Bogey is not one of them.

    I donā€™t think itā€™s so much that there are hidden things, itā€™s that a lot of things that are valuable (esp on defense) are either hard to record or hard to value. Like you can see a guy go past Duncan Robinson and then dribble the ball back out to the perimiter because Bam cut off his path to the rim, but itā€™s not going to be easy to know how to assign value to that. I think weā€™d agree that itā€™s a good play by Bam though.

    It’s stuff like that, or even just answering questions like, is Kuminga or Moses Moody a good defender? If they’re good, are they closer to OG-level good or Hart-level good?

    I don’t have any real idea what the answer is without watching film or looking at an all-in-one. Sometimes you find a blog that says a player is good on defense without elaborating on how good, mostly because nobody really knows how to qualify those statements from an eye test except in the broadest strokes.

    I donā€™t have any real idea what the answer is without watching film or looking at an all-in-one.

    My answer is to just live with the ambiguity because a lot of these questions are unanswerable, particularly at the types of granular level people would like to see.

    Is OG Anunoby a better defender than Bogie? Easily answerable question. Full, 100% confidence.

    Make the players closer, demand more precision in the measurement (*) and the question becomes so difficult that anything more than minimal confidence is possible.

    (*) How much better is OG than Bogie? You’ve already shrunk the confidence level significantly simply by posing the question that way.

    so what is the answer then doogie…relying on solid games from jalen, donte and josh – all at the same time?

    we have no frontcourt at this moment…none…

    worse yet – riddle me this: how in the heck is julius gonna deal with screens when he gets back?

    that is all just folks slamming their shoulders in to one another…

    A lot.

    One thing I’ve liked about Bogey so far — although it’s not only eye test it’s really small sample size so I definitely get to take this back later. But I do appreciate that he seems to be trying. He throws himself into rebound scrums, tips rebounds back, etc. He’s not fast and can’t jump worth shit, but he’s not drifting around aimlessly like RJ would sometimes do, or taking plays off like Julius sometimes does.

    I’m still not ready to give up on Alex Burkina-Faso, but i’m getting there.

    My answer is to just live with the ambiguity because a lot of these questions are unanswerable

    if i drank, i’d drink to that…i’ll fire up a juiced Sluggers though in honor of your fine wit and wisdom…

    in regards to the AI thing – i’m curious to do some reading on how machine ethics is developing…and hopefully being implemented…i wonder who’s ethics are being modeled…

    my current thought in regards to ai/bots/synths/whatever is that the expectation is that they will just be better versions of us…

    nice cyber…even nicer i see she’s a cali gal, sweet…she’s performing at The Novo (downtown live) at the end of the month…

    how the heck do you know cool stuff like this?

    ugh, there’s another nice venue in “LA” called the youtube theater , Godsmack is performing there, real nice, comfortable small crowd thing…i mean, the music itself isn’t comfortable stuff, but… šŸ™‚

    problem is – LA area is at least an hour and a half each way…just not a big fan of being on the road these days, in traffic…got no patience for finding peace of mind

    Liquid Mike is my new favorite band. They’re from Marquette, Michigan in the Upper Peninsula. Yoopers. They’re unsigned and they have almost no social media presence (there are only a few photographs of them). They release their records on Bandcamp.

    It’s 90’s-style powerpop/punk in the style of Guided By Voices, Sugar, The Hold Steady, Superdrag, and Pinkerton-era Weezer. Their new album is 13 songs, 25 minutes. No fucking around, just a series of fuzzy two minute gems, one after another. Great lyrics too, many of them about the aimlessness and ennui of living in a small town.

    Their last two albums, 2023’s self-titled release and this year’s Paul Bunyan’s Sling Shot, are both excellent. They’re starting to gain some notoriety despite their low profile, because their music is so good. Throwbacks in every sense.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6Q3epKowgc

    sheā€™s performing at The Novo (downtown live) at the end of the monthā€¦

    If you go see her, don’t forget to tell me all about it. šŸ˜‰

    problem is ā€“ LA area is at least an hour and a half each wayā€¦just not a big fan of being on the road these days, in trafficā€¦

    I hate traffic, Porto is a small city compared to LA, a little below 2M people, and i hate it here. Can’t even imagine it in LA.

    Liquid Mike is my new favorite band.

    That’s a great tune too, JK. Tomorrow i’ll listen to the rest of their album. šŸ™‚

    Itā€™s 90ā€™s-style powerpop/punk

    That mixed with a little HĆ¼sker DĆ¼/solo Mouldā€¦

    Liquid Mike is my new favorite band.

    blink 182 meets the title track from Sonic Youth’s Daydream Nation album

    oops…before Doogie jumps down my throat…not the title track but rather the first track…gotta be careful here now…

    Yeah, Sugar is another band I compare Liquid Mike to often, especially the album Copper Blue.

    Speaking of Sonic Youth, I co-wrote a tune on Kim Gordon’s upcoming solo album that drops next week. Every time I tell this to one of my friends, I say “You may be cool, but you’re not “co-wrote a song with Kim Gordon” cool.

    yeah…that tops most any coolness…
    btw…i just was searching on wiki…and it said that Teenage Riot was the last song they ever played live…

    So I gave in to the Ads played during the Knicks games and bought tix for the Doobie Brothers w/ Stevie Winwood. Iā€™m tired of regretting not seeing bands before they died. Although they might be dead by thenā€¦

    Tough times for the Knicks but I found solace in watching Indy being run over by the Pels. The plus/minus column is wonderful with Siakam being a -43 in 20 minutes and Haliburton -40 in 22 minutes. Isnā€™t that lovely? šŸ˜„šŸ˜„šŸ˜„

    before Doogie jumps down my throatā€¦not the title track but rather the first trackā€¦gotta be careful here nowā€¦

    Thereā€™s no way he was going to catch that. Maybe if it was a Kenny Gorelick title you got wrong. But definitely not this.

    So I gave in to the Ads played during the Knicks games and bought tix for the Doobie Brothers w/ Stevie Winwood.

    At least you did not donate a car to Kars for Kids.

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