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Knicks Morning News (2024.03.08)


  • OG Anunoby takes critical step in injury recovery as Knicks return gets closer – New York Post
    [New York Post] – Thu, 07 Mar 2024 23:37:30 GMT
    1. OG Anunoby takes critical step in injury recovery as Knicks return gets closer
    2. Knicks hopeful Jalen Brunson can return from knee contusion against Magic
    3. Knicks’ OG Anunoby, Jalen Brunson, Mitchell Robinson and Julius Randle inch closer to returning
    4. MRI on Jalen Brunson’s knee clean; still out vs. Hawks
    5. New York Notes: Knicks Injuries, Nets, Johnson, Sharpe, Thomas


  • Minnesota and New York listened to the NBA on load management and guess what happened – Deadspin
    [Deadspin] – Thu, 07 Mar 2024 17:20:00 GMT

    Minnesota and New York listened to the NBA on load management and guess what happened


  • Hurting Knicks face key three-game stretch with playoff implications – New York Post
    [New York Post] – Thu, 07 Mar 2024 08:23:00 GMT
    1. Hurting Knicks face key three-game stretch with playoff implications
    2. Breaking down and predicting every game remaining in the regular season
    3. JJs Back! Knicks Fight Through Injuries, and Giants vs. Saquon
    4. With 20 games left, depleted Knicks in standings dogfight: Were going to get guys back soon
    5. With a banged-up roster, are Knicks running out of time to get back to their winning ways?


  • Jalen Brunson, Knicks proof that a Napoleon complex isn’t all bad – Deadspin
    [Deadspin] – Thu, 07 Mar 2024 19:45:00 GMT

    Jalen Brunson, Knicks proof that a Napoleon complex isn’t all bad


  • Knicks know they must put together strong effort in ‘extremely important’ Magic matchup – New York Post
    [New York Post] – Fri, 08 Mar 2024 01:04:00 GMT

    Knicks know they must put together strong effort in ‘extremely important’ Magic matchup


  • What makes Knicks’ Josh Hart such an awesome rebounder – New York Post
    [New York Post] – Thu, 07 Mar 2024 13:20:00 GMT
    1. What makes Knicks’ Josh Hart such an awesome rebounder
    2. Hart & Soul
    3. New York Notes: Hart, DiVincenzo, Simmons, Claxton
    4. Josh Hart logging big minutes for banged-up Knicks
    5. Hart began the season as a key member of the Knicks’ second unit, but he has started the past 14 g


  • New York Knicks fans were right to be patient with Precious Achiuwa – Raptors Rapture
    [Raptors Rapture] – Thu, 07 Mar 2024 13:00:11 GMT

    New York Knicks fans were right to be patient with Precious Achiuwa


  • Should the Detroit Pistons be concerned about Quentin Grimes? – Piston Powered
    [Piston Powered] – Thu, 07 Mar 2024 20:00:00 GMT

    Should the Detroit Pistons be concerned about Quentin Grimes?


  • Magic vs. Knicks: Start time, where to watch, what’s the latest – Hoops Hype
    [Hoops Hype] – Fri, 08 Mar 2024 08:32:44 GMT

    Magic vs. Knicks: Start time, where to watch, what’s the latest


  • Tom Thibodeau Says Knicks Mitchell Robinson Wants Everyone to Know This – Heavy.com
    [Heavy.com] – Thu, 07 Mar 2024 20:43:20 GMT

    Tom Thibodeau Says Knicks Mitchell Robinson Wants Everyone to Know This


  • Knicks Fan-Favorite Center Surprisingly Signs With Pistons: Report – Heavy.com
    [Heavy.com] – Thu, 07 Mar 2024 19:26:59 GMT

    Knicks Fan-Favorite Center Surprisingly Signs With Pistons: Report

  • 34 replies on “Knicks Morning News (2024.03.08)”

    Beautiful to see Jokic quell my “the Celtics are inevitable” fears a bit. I still think they’re going to be very hard to beat in a seven game series because of the depth of that top 6 and the shooting of that top 8. That said, it feels weird that a title favorite would go into several potential playoff matchups without clearly having the best player on the floor. That’s more to do with whom they’d face if they make it out of the East, since Giannis and a theoretically healthy Embiid are the only guys who are obviously better than Tatum. (Playoff Jimmy, too, assuming he makes a return appearance.) But Jokic, Kawhi, SGA, and healthy versions of Durant, LeBron, and Steph?

    I agree Alan about them not having the best player in a lot of potential matchups.
    They are very very well built, they’re top-6 are all two-way players, their 7th-8th are dangerous shooters and they’re the favorite to win the East (“easily” according to some pundits), as long as Embiid isn’t full healthy and barring Giannis-Dame going nuclear for an entire series.

    But year after year they lacked the killer instinct to win it all and sometimes they did look too cute, so I still think that in a mud fight, dirty series both the Heat and a full roster Knicks could give them trouble.

    Against the West it’s a different story and, since I can’t stand them, I’ll always root against and hope they lose.

    good night for us all around, Indy lost last minute and regular season Jimmy no-showed in Dallas.

    Dallas right now is too firmly entrenched in a play-in spot to even attempt to tank again. There are only two games between them and the sixth-seeded Suns, but Sacramento stands between the two. So while the Mavs could easily go on another run to close out the season, we’re almost certainly getting their pick, and it could be a pretty good one. Especially since the NBA doesn’t follow the NFL model of using playoff success as a factor in draft order.

    The West playoff/playin teams look pretty set. I just read Steph rolled his ankle last night and thought the Warriors might be in trouble but they’re 6 up on Utah and the Rockets, who are both pretty bad

    Also we need to figure out what they’re feeding RJ up in Canada he’s making 55% of his 3s post ASB

    Right now we are in 5th and would draw the Magic, which is a *really* bad matchup for us. We might be better off in 6th and playing the Cavs again, as counterintuitive as that might sound.

    I’m fairly certain that I’m not the first one to suggest this.

    I don’t put too much stock in regular season games in Denver. Just the altitude alone throws things off.

    But it was nice to see the Celts get manhandled, especially by Jokic and Gordon. It kind of shows that they might have some trouble with playoff physicality. Brown was a force, except obviously at the FT line. But beyond that, Tatum played like he had altitude sickness, he gave them nothing. And KP is no match for the Joker.

    If we ever get healthy versions of Mitch, Randle, and OG in the playoffs, maybe, just maybe we can bully them. The lack of elite shooting is a problem, but so is their lack of physicality up front.

    The Celtics just need a good coach. They have plenty to win with. But they don’t have a killer instinct and do too many dumb things to beat the elite players like Jokic unless a good coach shows them how to do it.

    I really want this game tonight vs Orlando, feels like they’ve kind of owned us this season

    But without Brunson it’ll obviously be very tough.

    The Celtics just need a good coach.

    A side benefit of the Knicks good record and thus Thib’s job security is that he would not be available to coach the Celtics. He would be perfect for that team right now.

    The Celtics just need a good coach.

    Don’t the Celts have JVG on retainer?

    I’m not that worried by a matchup with the Magic in the playoffs. I mean, I am worried, because I worry about all matchups, but it seems like one of the best ones they could get?

    Who else would be a better matchup? An Embiid-less Sixers, sure, but if Embiid is back all of a sudden, they would be favored to win. I don’t want to face the Heat in the first round. Indiana has been bad, but I feel their pace can be a real problem in a 7-game series, and Haliburton is a really tough matchup for the Knicks (they have not been able to stop his P&R at all, even when he was hobbled). I don’t think anyone wants to see the Bucks in the first round. I suppose there is an argument for Cavs vs the Magic, but isn’t that based more on recency bias? They certainly have more talent than the Magic, even if the Knicks have owned them.

    I know Suggs creates problems for Brunson, but I think OG can take care of Banchero, with Julius on Wagner. The Knicks have more depth. Have they even faced the Magic with mostly good health? I don’t really recall.

    Indy, Philly, and Miami losing games has been a nice gift, but we are not out of the woods as long as injured players are not back AND playing at a high level. This will take many more games. ANY win we get in the meantime is pure gold. Every game counts. Without those players, our roster is not top six and, unless those teams right below us keep losing and losing games, I expect us to be in the play-in at some point soon. I hope I’m wrong.

    After we get our players back, we have a good chance to climb and finish anywhere between fourth and sixth. The third place Cavs are already four wins ahead of us and it is tough to pass them with 20 games remaining. We would need to go, for instance, 14-6 while the Cavs go 10-10. This is very unlikely to happen.

    I don’t think we have a good chance against the physical play of Orlando Magic tonight. We shall see. But we do have a good chance to get one or even both upcoming games against the collapsing Philly. This will be huge for us.

    Banchero tends to have his way with us, but a certain all-NBA defender with the initials O and G would make his life a lot more difficult

    a certain all-NBA defender

    Among the bummers about the injuries is that OG likely won’t make an all-defense team (and Mitch certainly won’t), and Randle’s outside chance of making All-NBA for the third time in four years is gone. (The last two times, his durability was one of the things pushing him ahead of guys who were better but didn’t play as often.) I doubt Brunson’s occasional absences will cost him a spot on one of the All-NBA teams now that it’s positionless, but he may wind up moving down a team depending on how much he’s out the rest of the way.

    How long has it been since it was Friday Night Knicks on MSG? Feels like it’s been a while.

    Kyden Randle reports his dad is “shooting lots of 3s”

    There are at least five good outside shooters on the roster right now: Brunson, Deuce, DiVo, Burks, and Bogdanovic. OG is not bad either. The need to do their job. What Randle needs to do is post up and battle down low, especially at nights when the threes don’t go in. This is why his healthy shoulder is so critically important.

    Also we need to figure out what they’re feeding RJ up in Canada he’s making 55% of his 3s post ASB

    Whatever they fed him, it’s caused his FT% to drop to 58% since the trade.

    If Brunson can’t give it a go tonight we still might be able to Shake it off and steal a win.

    I think Marechal is right about the Magic being one of the better matchups for us. I know we’ve had a hard time with them this year, and I assume we’ll lose tonight to be 0-3. But RJ Barrett played in the first game, and Jalen Brunson didn’t play in the other 2. They’re going to be a very green team in the postseason and their lack of shooting will be tough to overcome. They remind of me of ’21 Knicks in that sense. And we lost to a Hawks team we were 3-0 against during the regular season, too.

    If Brunson can’t give it a go tonight we still might be able to Shake it off and steal a win.

    I fear an unrelenting wave of shake puns is upon us.

    @IanBegley
    Jalen Brunson (left knee contusion) is going through his warmup and if it goes well he’ll play tonight, Tom Thibodeau says.

    @SbondyNBA
    OG Anunoby has participated in practice. “He’s doing everything.”

    @IanBegley
    Tom Thibodeau says OG Anunoby (elbow surgery) did ‘quite a lot’ on Thursday in practice. He didn’t want to speculate on if Anunoby would be back within the next two games. The last hurdle is for Anunoby to be cleared by medical staff.

    The recent losses by the Knicks’ rivals in the standings just goes to show how the Knicks will almost assuredly wrap up HCA once they get OG back. They’re already winning games occasionally without Brunson, OG, Randle and Mitch, they’ll be fine once OG is back.

    Lovely paean to Clyde and Breen in The Ringer. Breen’s humility is remarkable considering his stature.

    It’d have been a lot more painful to watch the 2000s and 2010s Knicks without Clyde and Breen. We’re very fortunate to have them! 🧡💙

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