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2023-24 Game Thread Knicks vs. Nets: Need These Four Games Opener, which is kind of a thing

The Knicks are back on the East Coast after an impressive (but sadly not historic) 3-1 West Coast road trip, with their only loss coming to the defending champions (while playing without OG, Randle and Mitch).

The Knicks return to take on a bizarrely bad Brooklyn Nets team. Mikal Bridges is starting to remind me of OG Anunoby, in that he probably isn’t a guy you want starring for your shitty team, but if you plug him into a good team, he will shine. So the Knicks should try to do that. However, the rumor is that the Nets are instead planning on using all of their Durant and Harden picks to go out and trade for a couple of players to pair with Bridges and…I guess Claxton? Who even is on this stupid Nets team? What a depressing team.

So, yeah, as the lede notes, the Knicks need to win these next four games, and, well, come on, they should win these next four, but matinee games after a return from the West Coast is never easy, so the Knicks will have to be very focused, but, come on, that is precisely what Thibs is all about, right? So they really, really should win this game.

Please win this game.

50 wins is still in play!

Let’s go, Knicks!

(Please win)

244 replies on “2023-24 Game Thread Knicks vs. Nets: Need These Four Games Opener, which is kind of a thing”

Really questionable scheduling but we should take care of business nonetheless.

After a very well played West Coast trip we need to keep the same level of intensity to ace the next four cupcakes, then the wounded will return and this team could do some really interesting things…

Let’s Go Knicks!

It’s games like this where I’m reallly, really glad we have Jalen Brunson. He’ll be the best player on the floor by far and will not let us lose

(There I Cronin’ed it!)

I got a color tv so I can see the knicks play basketball…

i’ve been in this crappy air bnb for like 3 weeks now…I can’t get my league pass on the tv or on my computer…so still having to watch these games on my phone…its getting old…fast…

nope…the market here is a bit messed up…just trying to stay patient…the place i am in now has chickens and roosters running around the hood…guaranteed 4am wake up call every day!

yep..we have an office here…..but i fessed up that i am retiring next Oct 2025 so mostly doing remote and showing my face a few times a week in the office…nobody’s really bothering me anymore..playing out the string like the wizards or pistons…

They’re talking about Deuce taking 500 threes a day. Josh Hart has to do that this summer. Can you imagine if his energizer bunny thing gets matched up with a deadeye from distance?

There’s a team with Hartenstein and there’s a team without Hartenstein…

J-Hart will never be a good shooter, but in the last few games his misses have been uglier than usual…

ha, playing out the string 😊

It is pretty liberating once that work end date comes in to focus…

the timing for me didn’t go as planned, but I remember just thinking to myself that I only have a few years of work left helped make the grind a little better…

Yeah, Max. The drop off in rim protection is astonishing.

Come back soon, Mitch.

a lot of guys come in to a day game cold but bogey is ready to give up the baseline within seconds of checking in

They’re talking about Deuce taking 500 threes a day.

Good for him. It shows.

Like I said earlier, thank god we have the best player on the floor…Deuce McBride

This is a cliche I usually avoid because I think every single player who has ever made the NBA works extremely hard, but you can tell Deuce has worked his ass off. The basketball is matching the rootability.

Why is Sims in the game?

Because Precious cannot protect the rim, or get a defensive rebound.

But neither can Sims.

The Sims Experience is starting to weigh on me…

And I don’t know what’s happening in Bojan’s mind but it’s not pretty…

that feeling when you play two no shoot 5s and still get beat for backdoor layups

You can’t say Bojan doesn’t impact the game on both ends , unfortunately it’s all negative

Welp, this is a loss. Play-in, here we come.

We really would have had a good shot at a deep run this year if we had shown any ability to protect our home court against the dregs of the Eastern Conference.

Can you imagine Ewing going up against this Nets frontcourt., not exactly Derrick Coleman and PJ Brown like the 1994 playoffs vs NJ.

Has a trade ever worked off as poorly as this one in terms of on court value? If you believe VORP as an approximation, the Detroit guys have cost the Knicks about 2 wins.

I love that going 2-7 (28%) and 1-4 (25%) makes Burks look like a dragon killer when compared to Bogey.

Edit: 2-8 (25%)

And yet BBA, we are 4-15 from 2pt range against these guys…

Btw where is Brunson?

Hubert, somehow it worked out perfectly for Boston getting KP from the be Wizards fir almost nothing…

The Wiz won 35 games last year, Pagliacci (in large part because Porzingis was very good).

classic knickerblogger arguing over kp when the right answer is daniel gafford

The d-e-u-c-e chant when he pulled up for that last 3 was awesome…hopefully it won’t go to his head!

My head knows Sims is probably an above average 3/4th center but my heart sinks whenever he’s in the game

Two potential and-1 FTs missed plus Precious 0-2.

4-8 in a close game, I hate them 🤓

I love watching Sims jump but this is not his best game.

Knicks doing a lot of dumb-ass things, luckily Nets are matching them for dumb-ass.

I’m not getting a we are gonna lose this game vibe…it mostly looks like we haven’t really started playing hard yet…

That was pretty funny. The Nets almost couldn’t get the ball in because one of them was just walking off the court to the locker room.

In the 1st half iHart was a +14, both Sims and Precious were tied for team worst -9.

Ok I may regret saying this, but we’re gonna blow them out in the 3rd quarter.

The Nets are 26-44 for a reason

I guess it’s a positive that we didn’t let them pull away, but we otherwise look sloppy as hell.

didn’t we sign some stiff name “ideke’ or something like that…he’s a center…can he be any worse than sims and acheewa?

If OG comes back before Mitch, we should play him as our backup C

Playing with Burks & Bojan probably doesn’t help them though

If I-Hart can play more than 11 minutes this half I think they should be ok. But Precious/Sims are not it.

“The Nets are 26-44 for a reason”

I think the main reason is that they are poorly coached. They clearly aren’t a playoff team but their starting lineup is pretty good and if their shooters get hot they can beat anyone on any given night.

“If OG comes back before Mitch, we should play him as our backup C”

Maybe, but I don’t think the backup C issue is why we are struggling in this game.

Idk, if there’s one team Brooklyn hates losing to it’s gotta be us. I’m not going to assume they fold

The glass half full view is that the Nets shot 50% from 3 and the Knicks missed everything inside, so that should correct itself. But it’s annoying that this is a game now.

I know Thibs would never do this, but I’d be perfectly fine with Milk Shake getting Bogey’s minutes in the second half.

Anybody else hate the way the refs called that first half? There was at least one and possibly two missed goaltending calls, and several baskets that should have been and-ones, including DDV’s last shot. A FT attempt there and that would have meant no 60 foot buzzer beater

JK, yeah, but there was a clear foul by a Knick on a Net three-pointer that wasn’t called that should have been three foul shots. Went both ways.

I thought there were missed calls, but they kind of swallowed their whistles for both teams.

Anytime you can pass up an open 3 to have Hart shoot, you just gotta do it

It’s really hard for this iteration of the Knick to survive a poor Brunson game. And he’s having a really bad one.

Josh Hart has zero confidence in his shot right now. That was the rap on him in his last season in Portland when he just stopped shooting 3’s but then we traded for him and he couldn’t miss. Very frustrating.

We’re gonna need Bogey or Burks to contribute today

And Bridges is frustrating the hell out of Brunson

Josh Hart should really be playing like 15-20 minutes tops. He’s just really not a very good player. Okay bench energy guy but there’s just way too much Josh Hart out there

Josh Hart has zero confidence in his shot right now. That was the rap on him in his last season in Portland when he just stopped shooting 3’s but then we traded for him and he couldn’t miss. Very frustrating.

In the Playoffs he isn’t going to be defended on the perimeter and he is going to end up playing 40 minutes a night which will limit the Knicks

Josh Hart should really be playing like 15-20 minutes tops. He’s just really not a very good player. Okay bench energy guy but there’s just way too much Josh Hart out ther

Yeah. They have no better options for now given the poor play of the Detroit guys, but if they are ever healthy Hart becomes a nice energy guy.

I’d rather have Josh Hart bouncing threes off the rim and playing hard-nosed D than Bogey air-balling threes and playing matador D.

This is one of E’s criticisms that is spot on. Hart really IS a security blanket player for Thibs and gets too many minutes.

I get it that we’re short handed right now, but you just know that dude is playing 35 minutes every night no matter what.

This is one of E’s criticisms that is spot on. Hart really IS a security blanket player for Thibs and gets too many minutes.

I get it that we’re short handed right now, but you just know that dude is playing 35 minutes every night no matter what.

Just go back to the Heat series teams aren’t going to defend him at all

He will get teams regular season wins, but his flaws will get exposed big time in the playoffs and could cost the team the series

On paper I absolutely agree Hart should be playing less but right now the alternatives are two guys in Burks and Bogey who don’t do anything but score, and are currently not scoring.

Burks is the master of losing the 2-for-1 and still getting off the dumbest shots.

“Burks is the master of losing the 2-for-1 and still getting off the dumbest shots.”

That was really annoying…

the good news is if we lose by 1 we won’t be able to cringe about any particular sliding doors moment

The feeble old man dribble that Burks did before launching that terrible pull-up made me want to cry

The Nets are going to play this 4th quarter like it’s game 7 of the finals…

Deuce is playing a really nice overall game. Making some nice passes, shooting aggressively when he’s open, staying active on defense.

It’s just a mini hot streak

If you throw out the 11 shots he’s made he is 0-9.

Miles plays every minute and tries to take a charge in the 4th quarter. I love that guy.

I don’t know what you guys think the alternatives are to Hart, we won this quarter because of defense and he’s a big part of that.

I don’t know what you guys think the alternatives are to Hart, we won this quarter because of defense and he’s a big part of that.

The alternative is OG and Randle. I have no issue with how Thibs plays him when the alternatives are this version of Bojan or Precious.

Awesome that we’re gonna blow the Nets out in Brunson’s worst game of the season

And you can see why the Nets are 26-44 they’re a really dumb fucking team

Yeah, Hart can’t hit the ocean right now, but 12 rebounds and 5 assists.

Burks and Bogey have two rebounds and an assist combined. Admittedly half the minutes, but 4 and 2 is still not 12 and 5.

Once again: other than the height difference, Deuce is exactly the player Team Frankie Smokes dreamed he could be.

We should go back and read the thread on the day Deuce’s contract extension was announced….

Once again: other than the height difference, Deuce is exactly the player Team Frankie Smokes dreamed he could be.

rubbing the strat genie lamp …he is summoned

For better or worse, Hart is our best wing defender right now. History says he’s a better shooter than this and should start making 3s eventually

“they’re a really dumb fucking team”

If Thibs coached them they’d be close to a .500 team. For one thing, Cam Thomas would never play.

The Nets are terrible but a game this early after a road trip looked like a trap and the Knicks handled their business, so that’s a nice win in my book.

We should go back and read the thread on the day Deuce’s contract extension was announced….

It was the day we traded for OG so I think we mostly ignored it. I thought it was a bit odd at the time but I was very wrong.

It’s pretty crazy that DDV was spectacular in the paint rather than from 3…

I thought it was pretty obvious why we extended Deuce, they expected him to go off and earn a bigger comtract. Some other posters were appalled for… uh, reasons. Didn’t think he’d be this good though

I don’t get the sense Donte is made of rubber like Miles and Hart, though, so I hope that doesn’t continue. We almost broke him the last time he played an entire half.

I must confess that at one time I believed quite strongly that Deuce didn’t look like an NBA player, which is why I play synthesizers and guitar solos for a living

god damn it!!!

went to go cook some breakfast at halftime – and now the freaking game is over…sonofabitch…

totally unrelated – around wednesday or so started noticing i was getting mad at the dog for no reason…just for her being close to me…

ugh, it’s begun, and now i have about another 5 weeks or so of being anxious nearly all the time…

trying to keep it together while making some waffles and sausage this morning wasn’t so easy…who stands in their kitchen cussing and deep breathing just making freaking breakfast…

took the gabapentin thursday and friday cause the boys are over…i’m not a big fan of zombie-ing out though…

probably just switch to muscle relaxants today…fuck…time to go check the mail and take a smoke break…i know the kids can smell the weed on me…

fuck fuck fuck fuck…even though i can laugh about it, it get’s pretty annoying living this way…four decades of this shit…

sorry for the burdens, just get so tired and frustrated of the situation – see E – that’s how you get it out 🙂

“Once again: other than the height difference, Deuce is exactly the player Team Frankie Smokes dreamed he could be.”

Except that Ntilikina was a lottery pick and lots of folks here were stoked that we picked him. So your point is only true after the new car smell wore off and we were just hoping that he wasn’t a bust.

OTOH, Deuce was a second-rounder and the hope was that he could be a decent rotation piece…maybe like a Javon Carter type. Right now he’s playing like a top-15 player in that draft.

I don’t get the sense Donte is made of rubber like Miles and Hart, though, so I hope that doesn’t continue. We almost broke him the last time he played an entire half.

He looked exhausted after that breakaway dunk.

So, do we figure Bogey is now permanently dungeoned? Or might Thibs try him again once he can put him in a lineup with OG?

Thibs will always use 9 or even 10 guys in the 1st half, guys get dungeoned for the 2nd half.

As terrible as Bogey has been, and he has been excruciatingly bad, you still gotta give him a chance to get it going just based on his track record. He has been a quality sniper in this league for many years.

I would get it if Thibs perma-benched him, but the better idea would be to continue to try to get him going.

Listening to Thibs talk about Dennis Smith Jr in the post game press conference makes me think there’s a good chance he’ll be a Knick this summer.

A win is a win is a win! It was a bad quarter and a half to start, but then the defense started improving, it was good in the third quarter, and very good in the fourth. The second half adjustments made the difference. There was no Bogey and Precious on the floor, Burks started finding his role, Sims played better, the Knicks started pressuring the ball better, switching more on pick and rolls, defended the rim much better, and so on. The bench is a weakness right now (Thibs had to play both DDV and Deuce with the second unit in the second half) but things will drastically improve once injured players are back and two or three of the current starters are moved to the bench. This team is deep, and I can’t wait to see them fully healthy. Will it happen this season? Let’s wait and see.

It’s so nice to see Deuce getting it finally together. Now he started developing ways to finish closer to the rim and this opens up a lot of options for him. Probs to Thibs who insisted on drafting him and kept him on the team for so long when everyone else was wondering why. Finally, I understand why, but I am still very-very worried when I see three starters playing 40+ minutes against a lottery team. This is not healthy.

I would get it if Thibs perma-benched him, but the better idea would be to continue to try to get him going.

I’d like to know where the Bojan that played in Philly (22 points in 24 minutes) or Cleveland (20 points in 30 minutes) has gone…

I was confident on the quality of the two teams, the matinee aspect was the only worrisome thing, and I’m glad that wasn’t a factor.

I must confess that at one time I believed quite strongly that Deuce didn’t look like an NBA player, which is why I play synthesizers and guitar solos for a living

Mike Pinder (who popularized the Mellotron in the 60’s) still lives in SoCal. Have you ever worked with him?

So, do we figure Bogey is now permanently dungeoned? Or might Thibs try him again once he can put him in a lineup with OG?

Even though his play has been abysmal, I think Thibs will be more comfortable letting him “play his way out of a slump” if he has OG and both I Hart and Mitch to backstop his defensive liabilities. It tortures reason that Bogey’s total offensive game has vaporized in 45 days.

I must confess that at one time I believed quite strongly that Deuce didn’t look like an NBA player, which is why I play synthesizers and guitar solos for a living

Deuce was terrible in 2021-22. It’s impressive how much better he’s made himself.

Hey Bojan’s shooting 50% from 3 for the last two games. He’s on the upswing.

Just have to train him to not jump-pass to the other team…

Holy crap, McBride played 48 minutes? Is that a typo?

Wilt played 48.5 mpg for 82 games one season and didn’t disintegrate. No private planes, no nutritionists, little understanding of electrolyte balance. Meanwhile the poster boy for skipping games and minute management (pitch counts) or whatever you want to call it (Kawhi) blew out his ACL years after he started managing his minutes.

I expect that there will be some very difficult film sessions with Bojan, focusing on his D, shot selection, and decision-making off the dribble. Honestly, there isn’t a thing he is doing right now that makes him better than Grimes, other than being healthy.

I think Thibs will not make any final judgments on Bojan until the team is at full strength and he’s put in a proper role for who he is right now. But it is not looking like he will have one if he keeps playing like a dumb rookie with the jitters.

Bogey is too good to give up on. What makes it difficult to integrate him is that he does not have a quick release (while opposing teams know who he is rarely leave him wide open), is slow and not reliable when he tries to drive to the basket (he has been doing that a lot lately) and is also slow and often unfocused on defense. But I am sure he will get more chances, and, if he bails us out once or twice in the postseason, then we will all say trading for him was worth it.

Brunson did have a crap shooting game, at least from two (4-20, 20%), but he was 3-4 from three. Also 8-1 assists to turnovers.

Holy crap, McBride played 48 minutes? Is that a typo?

Kevin Ollie pulled the Nets’ starts with 2:10 remaining. Thibs only pulled Brunson and left everyone else out there.

Donte deliberately fouled with 1 minute left and Thibs did nothing lmao

BPL, I am Wilt’s biggest fan on this site, and what he accomplished in terms of 48.5 mpg that season is maybe his single most iconic record. No one will ever touch that. I have mentioned that he once played every minute of a back-to-back-to-back-to-back-to-back and averaged ridiculous points and rebounds, all while being continually double/triple-teamed and beaten up. He was the freakiest of all the freak athletes who ever played in the NBA.

But that said, the game was very, very different back then. Wilt never had to chase players around on the perimeter, nor set screens 40 feet from the basket. He generally patrolled the paint, pulled down a rebound, passed to a guard, ran a straight line up the court, posted up, and made a patented scoring move. He would pace himself, possibly to his detriment. That he never fouled out suggests that he wasn’t giving his all at all times.

I would guess that the amount of running, jumping, and cutting that modern C’s have to do today far exceeds what it did back then, especially when it comes to play above the rim, which very few players did back then, certainly not PGs and SGs. I think freaky guys like LeBron and Giannis could probably have handled the same minutes load that Wilt did back then if they played the way he did.

Other than missing all his shots, the one obvious difference between Knicks Bogey and Detroit Bogey is he is coming off the bench.

He hasn’t come off the bench since 2017.

Seems reasonable that a plodding 35 year old who lacks the athleticism of his peers might struggle to warm up after sitting for a long period. When he first got here and “Bojan is a bucket” was a real thing, he usually had a hard time regaining that form in the second half after sitting.

I’d like to try making him one of those Elfriid Payton nominal starters who only plays 18 minutes a game but does so by playing 9 minutes at the beginning of each half, just to see if it helps him being warmed up. But I don’t get the sense we’re into that kind of experimentation.

But that said, the game was very, very different back then. Wilt never had to chase players around on the perimeter, nor set screens 40 feet from the basket. He generally patrolled the paint, pulled down a rebound, passed to a guard, ran a straight line up the court, posted up, and made a patented scoring move. He would pace himself, possibly to his detriment. That he never fouled out suggests that he wasn’t giving his all at all times.

Dudes from the past will tell you all about it. They all played the game hard as fuck, but when they weren’t the ones banging, they were taking the play off. No one takes plays off nowadays.

Bojan played 7 minutes, he took two shots, and he made one of them. We crushed the Nets, it’s fine.

The Knick have to figure out a way to trade for Mikal Bridges.

Imagine OG and Bridges on the perimeter with a solid C defending the interior

Josh Hart with the vicious quote:

“ It’s like that SpongeBob meme when Squidward is looking out the window and he sees SpongeBob and Patrick having fun. [Mikal] is Squidward.”

That thread was like a trip to Six Flags….

Deuce is doing stuff I also never expected and you know what, why not us for once?

Bojan is not a good basketball player period. I’ve been saying that since day one of the trade. He’s going to have nights where he’s hot from 3 and we’ll be happy to have him, but his defense is terrible and he doesn’t do much else well. He’s a better shooter than Fournier, but I’m not even sure he’s a better overall player than him IF Fournier was actually played regularly on some team. And I’m obviously not saying Fournier is good. He’s not (at least not anymore).

We lost that trade. Put it behind us. Let’s just hope Grimes doesn’t add some better offense to his defense over time and become a solid two way role player.

Josh Hart with the vicious quote:

“ It’s like that SpongeBob meme when Squidward is looking out the window and he sees SpongeBob and Patrick having fun. [Mikal] is Squidward.”

Hello, police? I’d like to report a murder.

I’d love to read what those guys are saying in whatever group text they have.

Calling the Detroit trade now is a bit premature…let’s see what happens in the Playoffs…shoot some roids in those two… they might blossom…

I don’t know about Josh Hart’s minutes, but a mic should be in front of him at all times

but I’m not even sure he’s a better overall player than him IF Fournier was actually played regularly on some team

This isn’t hypothetical. Fournier has been a rotation player for the Pistons since the trade.

Shooting .315 from 3 with a .510 TS%.

No idea what Detroit is doing playing Evan. Maybe it’s because Grimes is hurt?

Part of Bojan’s value on the roster is as a trade chip with his $19m contract expiring next year. It’s carrying over Fournier’s spot another year.

This isn’t hypothetical. Fournier has been a rotation player for the Pistons since the trade.

Shooting .315 from 3 with a .510 TS%.

Slow your roll, Strat. He’s only better than Alec Burks.

What has my life come to that I’m spending my Saturday night living and dieing over a Magic Kings game lol

My lovely wife and I just got served fancy drinks at a local speak easy by my daughter. Surreal.

If Haliburton is over his yips, a 3-6 against the Pacers become that much scarier.

out on the street, polluting the air, smoking that evil devil’s weed…

was watching this YouTube thing where these guys were going around new york city mean mugging, throwing out fake gang signs, and using violence trigger words (wanna get clipped, you looking to bang) with individuals and groups that most sane folk would give wide berth too…

like more than have the folks in the vids they were messing either pulled a gun or knife…

it was kind of weird, but, of note – most of the folks they were messing with were smoking out, even on the subway it seemed…

Yeah the only concern about reaching 3rd is a 1st rd matchup vs Miami or Indiana but I think Knicks would beat Indy same way they beat Cleveland last year. Miami would naturally worry me.

Dudes from the past will tell you all about it. They all played the game hard as fuck, but when they weren’t the ones banging, they were taking the play off. No one takes plays off nowadays.

Wilt lead the league in scoring 7 times and led the league in rebounding 11 time, was 4 time MVP and 2 time runner up, averaged 45.8 mpg, 30.1 ppg, 22.9 rebounds a game with a million blocks and somehow he was not running and doggin it.

And who exactly age Jokic and Embiid chasing all over the floor like Steph Curry for 48 minutes a game?

BBA, have you seen the records for the teams 1 thru 6, should be competitive no matter who plays who…teams 7 and 8 may be coming in hot too…

more and more I’m counting less and less on julius making much a mark this post season – however, didn’t think we’d have OG, didn’t imagine isaiah playing this under control and defensively dominant, wasn’t expecting top play from the shooting guard position…

so, no matter who or where we play – we still have jalen brunson…we’ll see what happens…

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