[New York Post] – Thu, 11 Apr 2024 02:04:00 GMT
- Knicks clinch top-6 playoff spot after Heat fall to Mavericks
- Knicks clinch spot in 2024 NBA playoffs, officially avoiding Play-In Tournament
- Ranking First-Round Matchups for the Knicks
- Knicks Bulletin: Wake up.
- The Whiteboard: Knicks making their case as dark horse contenders
[New York Post] – Wed, 10 Apr 2024 07:03:00 GMT
- OG Anunoby rounding back into form at perfect time for Knicks
- OG Anunoby’s offensive aggression vital for Knicks playoff hopes
- Knicks Notes: Anunoby, Bogdanovic, Burks, Hart, Thibodeau
- Knicks Notes: OG Anunoby’s return, missed opportunity to climb Eastern Conference standings
- Knicks’ OG Anunoby back after 9-game absence, scores 12
[New York Post] – Wed, 10 Apr 2024 23:43:00 GMT
- Knicks get final piece of Kristaps Porzingis trade after Mavericks tank fiasco
- Mavericks finally complete Kristaps Porzingis trade with Knicks
- Dallas Mavs Finally Pay Off Kristaps Porzingis Trade with New York Knicks After Clinching Playoffs
- Five years later, Knicks are finally paid off for Kristaps Porzingis trade
- The fate of the Mavericks’ first-round pick in this summer’s NBA draft has officially been decid
[New York Daily News] – Wed, 10 Apr 2024 21:20:28 GMT
Former Knicks guard Nate Robinson needs kidney transplant, doesn’t ‘have long to live’
[USA TODAY Sportsbook Wire] – Wed, 10 Apr 2024 23:29:00 GMT
- Boston Celtics vs. New York Knicks odds, tips and betting trends | 4/11/2024
- Celtics Release Lengthy Injury Report for Thursday’s Knicks Game
- New York Knicks vs. Boston Celtics Prediction, Preview, and Odds – 4-11-2024
- Celtics injury report: 6 players listed for Knicks game
- New York Knicks vs Boston Celtics Prediction, 4/11/2024 Preview and Pick
[New York Daily News] – Thu, 11 Apr 2024 00:41:37 GMT
Knicks vying for same championship window as Celtics, who agreed to extension with Jrue Holiday
[NBA.com] – Wed, 10 Apr 2024 13:11:10 GMT
Starting 5, April 10: Clippers, Mavs clinch; Knicks, Pelicans climb
[Hoops Hype] – Thu, 11 Apr 2024 07:35:34 GMT
Knicks vs. Celtics: Start time, where to watch, what’s the latest
[Heavy.com] – Wed, 10 Apr 2024 13:26:12 GMT
Nate Robinson Bats for Knicks to Trade Julius Randle for Former No.1 Pick
[Heavy.com] – Wed, 10 Apr 2024 21:51:44 GMT
Knicks Among Favorites to Land 9-Time NBA All-Star in Offseason
[New York Post] – Thu, 11 Apr 2024 00:51:00 GMT
- Jalen Brunson’s red-hot Knicks stretch has him hitting next level of dominance
- Could Jalen Brunson Lift the Knicks to Postseason Glory?
- Atlantic Notes: Brunson, Bridges, Oubre, Porzingis
- How Knicks can counteract the defensive attention on Jalen Brunson come playoff time
- Knicks’ Jalen Brunson Talks Success in Off-Ball Plays: ‘F–k It, Let’s Keep Doing It’
[Heavy.com] – Wed, 10 Apr 2024 23:29:25 GMT
Knicks All-Star Undergoes Successful Surgery: Report
[sny.tv] – Wed, 10 Apr 2024 13:46:38 GMT
Josh Hart or Deuce McBride: Which player should Knicks start in playoffs?
[Daily Knicks] – Wed, 10 Apr 2024 12:00:05 GMT
Knicks News: Donte ruins Giannis’ LEGO fun, Bojan Bogdanovic playoff rotation debate
99 replies on “Knicks Morning News (2024.04.11)”
Okay, with the standings being what they are, and so many uncertain seeds in both conferences this late in the season, let’s try this for the Question of the Day:
Rank our potential first round opponents from the most favorable matchup to the least.
Don’t worry about seeding, other than recognizing that we won’t play the eventual 8th seed, because Boston has long had the top spot sewn up. Just rank everybody from 2 through the the potential 7th seed (which would include everyone other than Boston, Atlanta, and Chicago).
You do not have to provide explanations for each, but you certainly can.
“I really want the Knicks to get the third seed (and hopefully for the Sixers to get to the #4/5 seeds). Man, it is crazy how good this Sixers team is with a healthy Embiid. With cap room next year, that could be a scary team. Thank goodness the Knicks are keeping OG, as otherwise, the Sixers would be all over him as a free agent. He’d be a perfect fit there (he’s a perfect fit in a lot of places, since he is such a well-rounded player, and since he can play so many different positions and defend so many positions. I am so happy the Knicks acquired OG).”
I’m with you, Brian. But it sort of doesn’t matter, does it? So long as there is something to play for, Thibs is going to play to win. They will play guys 40+ minutes tonight if necessary, and again on Friday. If they win both, I would expect everyone in the rotation other than Deuce and maybe Bojan to be rested, meaning that our starting lineup would be Sims, Precious, Deuce, Burks, and Bojan, with the deep bench scrubs getting lots of time.
I don’t think the Knicks want any part of a seed lower than #3, even if it means playing the Sixers in the first round. They will just let the chips fall where they may. As a fan, I would way rather play the Magic, Pacers, or Cavs, but whatever.
Just read this morning another scenario I hadn’t considered: Knicks, Bucks and Cavs all finish 49-33. If that happens apparently Cavs finish 2nd, Bucks 3rd and Knicks 4th. Only positive to me is in that scenario the 5th seed would be Orlando which I’ve said all along would be the easiest 1st rd scenario.
But I assume the Knicks will play to win every game remaining, try to finish with 50 wins and whatever the matchup is let’s go.
Alan, I don’t think there’s much chance that we will play the Bucks in the first round, but that said, my rankings from most to least favorable:
Magic
Pacers
Bucks
Cavs
Heat/Sixers (tie)
I don’t put much stock into the “Sixers and Embiid are choke artists” narrative, same with “Cavs were easy outs last year.” All three of those teams would be formidable first round opponents.
The Bucks would be less favorable if Giannis was healthy, but without him, I would definitely rather face them than the Cavs. However, they are a veteran team, so I would keep them above the no-D Pacers and the newbie Magic.
If you put a gun to my head and told me to choose between the Heat and Sixers, I’d probably choose the Heat. OG gives us a great defensive option against Butler, and we have the best player overall. But it’s very close.
The Heat have been my least favorable matchup for a while but they’re kinda bad and I think I’m being irrational.
I know they keep losing but the Magic are the only team I think can actually beat us. They matchup very well against us.
Most favorable to least favorable as of 9am on 4/11:
Cleveland, Indiana, Miami, Philadelphia, Orlando
Rank our potential first round opponents from the most favorable matchup to the least.
Bookends are MIL (Doc coached, subpar Giannis) and PHIL (Joel should be healthy for at least the 1st 3 games). In between are CLE (poorly coached), IND (we have the best player), ORL (Jalen v Jalen a concern), and MIA (best player toss up but they have Spo).
Philly is the only team that truly worries me, and even there, Embiid could easily miss, like, half the series while nominally healthy!
Obviously you also don’t want to play a healthy Bucks team, but the odds of that happening are so slim that I’m not even really considering it.
I’m not concerned about Orlando, Indiana, Miami or Cleveland. Could any one of them beat the Knicks? Sure, but I wouldn’t worry about it. Philly I’d actually worry about. They’re one of the few teams where the Knicks wouldn’t have the best player on the court.
This is how I see it ending up:
2 NYK 50-32
3 CLE 49-33
4 MIL 49-33
5 ORL 47-35
6 IND 47-35
7 PHI 47-35
8 MIA 46-36
I have Cleveland beating Indiana at home tomorrow in those results. But if the Pacers win that game, it would likely create the scenario I imagine most people want:
2 NYK 50-32
3 MIL 49-33
4 IND 48-34
5 CLE 48-34
6 PHI 47-35
7 ORL 47-35
8 MIA 46-36
Man, that Clippers/Mavericks series is going to be nuts. A very good team is going to be out in the first round.
Cleveland/Indiana (or Cleveland/Orlando) #4/5 would be hilariously the opposite in terms of an iffy team advancing no matter what.
I don’t think Milwaukee is a potential first round opponent.
btw, that 7v8 play-in game is going to be huge. The winner avoids Boston and likely plays Milwaukee with a subpar/missing Giannis.
I don’t think Milwaukee is a potential first round opponent.
Agree but can happen with some serious tie-breaking activity.
Arguably the best first round matchup since that Clippers/Spurs series with Chris Paul and Tim Duncan that could have easily been a Conference Finals matchup.
I particularly love the Kyrie/Harden subplot. Apparently they didn’t break up well, and Kyrie reportedly emasculated Harden on the practice court in Brooklyn before things ended there.
Frankly it’s nice to have Kyrie back in the mix. He’s one of the most entertaining basketball players on earth.
Orlando, Indiana, Cleveland, Miami, Philly.
If Philly is truly healthy, which I doubt, the Knicks are going to have a tough time.
I got the Knicks book in hardcover, soon to be delivered — impossible to miss the derivative shades of Mailer’s “The White Negro” in the author’s preface/intro (*), but at the very least should be a good trip down memory lane. Thanks for the recommendation!
(*) And even in his description of the book’s raison d’être.
All I know is that I want those 50 wins.
Gonna be interesting to see who plays for the Celtics tonight.
Took some family members to Barclays last night (no MSG games while they were here) and was happy to see Quick drop a 32-9-7 line. He looked like the best player on the court, easily. Mikal wasn’t even on the floor when the Nets finished the game. I love him, but I don’t think offering the Nets the farm is the right call right now.
Those teams are bad, though.
The West is crazy. There are real reasons to believe that the Pels fall into the play-in, and that ultimately the 6-7-8 post-play-in configuration will somehow involve the Suns, Lakers and Warriors, with the Pels and Kings being eliminated. If that were to happen, all 4 first round matchups should be fun, with every road team having a puncher’s chance or better.
As for Alan’s question, from least to most dangerous:
1. Orlando: it wouldn’t be an easy matchup because Suggs can guard Brunson pretty well, but they also can’t score and I think are somewhat overrated because they are one of the few teams (with Boston) that were healthy this year.
2. Giannis-less Bucks (though I don’t think this is a possible matchup).
3. Indiana: Hali scares me, and it would be a battle of styles, but I think the Knicks can impose theirs. Their defense hasn’t been all that shaky after Siakam trade/ASB/getting rid of Hield (basically average, if I recall correctly).
4. Cavs: They have been bad lately, but Mitchell finally had a good game after his injury last night. I also think we tend to put too much stock on last year’s performance (though we owned them this year too). If healthy, they are a good opponent that planned their offseason exactly around the flaws they showed in the playoffs last year. But then, the Knicks aren’t the same team either, and I think their offense will pose problems to the Cavs. Mitch would really need to be healthy for this series.
5. Miami: I think Spo’s coaching advantage is real but overstated. The Knicks just couldn’t hit shots last year, and the Heat’s scrubs did. They might be a slightly better team this year, but I think in normal circumstances the Knicks should be favored to win. But I want no part in Bam’s antics.
6. Bucks with Giannis: I still think the Knicks can beat them if they don’t hit all their threes, but would prefer a second-round matchup.
7. Philly: if healthy, they are probably the only threat to Boston. Oubre is not a great match up for Brunson, and I think Deuce would need to really step up to guard Maxey. I’d like the Knicks more in this matchup if Randle was playing (he would bully Harris to no end, and maybe even force Philly to play two centers). Of course, “if healthy” is doing a lot of work there, but I’d prefer them in a second-round matchup.
The dream scenario is really Knicks-Magic with the Magic falling to #6. A win gets you a second round match-up after what will probably be a bruising Bucks-Sixers series. Boston’s path is easy but they probably get the Heat in the first round, so Bam can do his damage there.
This sounds exactly like something that the NBA gods would give to the Heat.
The Heat Culture shit on the court and on the Heat’s jerseys really makes me want to barf. Fuck them.
By the way (because I spoke of coaching advantages just above), I don’t think we have given Thibs enough credit for the offense the Knicks have been running this past month or so. It’s a beautiful, motion offense, with a bunch of sets inspired in the Warriors. Brunson’s amount of off-ball actions has increased tremendously. There are cuts and staggered screens and all that stuff we have been clamoring for. It’s fun that a bunch of commentators are picking up on it (the KFS podcast with Steve Jones this week was great, and I’d recommend his thread on the Knicks-Bulls game: https://x.com/stevejones20/status/1778033470872195320
Fred Katz’s latest article on Brunson’s off ball movement was excellent too:
https://theathletic.com/5404756/2024/04/10/jalen-brunson-movement-knicks/
On the one hand, yes, he’s been fantastic. On the other, we probably could have run this offense the last 2 years if we designed it around iHart instead of Mitch from the jump.
“On the one hand, yes, he’s been fantastic. On the other, we probably could have run this offense the last 2 years if we designed it around iHart instead of Mitch from the jump.”
Maybe, but running it with Julius, RJ, and Grimes along with everyone’s favorite C at that time (especially the first half of the year when iHart was terrible) was a bit more complicated.
Seriously. Fuck the Heat.
For a Celtics viewpoint, you could look at this:
https://www.celticsblog.com/2024/4/10/24126571/the-best-worst-playoff-paths-celtics-jayson-tatum-jaylen-brown
They really don’t think about the Knicks much except to hope they wear out teams on the other half of the bracket from them. They definitely don’t want Miami.
Really curious to see how much he signs for this summer. I’m guessing Leon got this one right.
KFNINJ, you left out the quote explaining exactly why they don’t think much of the Knicks!
He definitely had the ball in his hands all the time when he was on the court, so the fit would still be iffy in New York even if he can play alongside Brunson. But yeah, he’ll probably get close to the max he can, and I think the Knicks have other priorities for those dollars, especially with Donte producing like he has.
Really neat passage from the article Marechal linked to:
How do you guys who are fathers feel about this? I feel like there are important parts of fatherhood I’m afraid I may not be able to pull off, and this is one of them. I’m very much a “great job, good effort!” kind of dad so far. The author is intimating that this kind of thing is good for a young man’s development, but it seems really hard to do! The thought of yelling at my son in public to discipline him and help him grow seems almost impossible to me.
Yelling at your child in public is not something that I’d advocate for, but when you’re preparing that child to be in the public eye it might make sense. Whatever Rick Brunson did in raising Jalen seems to have turned out damn well.
If you sense that your kid might one day be coached by Thibs, yelling at him in public might be good preparation.
Good question, Hubert, but the answer, as with most things, is it depends — in this case, on the kid. My father was a bad man, so I wanted to be the opposite…but I wonder, as my kids become adults, whether I should have been tougher on my son. He is more obdurate than my daughter, so maybe he needed different treatment. All I know is that however I did it, it would have been wrong…
Like anything else, it depends. One size does not fit all.
Kids have superior bullshit detectors. But they also have different personalities and what works with one doesn’t necessarily work with them all. My experience tells me they appreciate being told the truth…. it is just HOW you present the truth to them that can matter.
My 35 yr old was a really good athlete and a good student, but he was happy going through life with an 80% effort. You had to ride him and get in his grill sometimes to get the best out of him. He’s a neurosurgeon today and I’m not sure he would have gotten there if I kept telling him his 80% efforts were wonderful.
The 21 yr old is as different as humanly possible. He is a Math major and is as meek as a church mouse. He thrives when he is encouraged profusely. I learned early on he didn’t respond well to serious criticism. When you criticize him constructively, you have to be more circuitous about it and make it almost into a parable.
I don’t think there is a cookie cutter approach to child raising….
It’s nice that there aren’t many game-changing free agents out there, so the Sixers will have to trade for guys instead. It would suck if there were some really good FAs for them to sign (although yes, they likely will at least offer OG enough money for him to get a nice bag from the Knicks).
Would Malik Monk be a good fit on Orlando? I’m trying to think what Orlando needs. It’s gotta be shooting, right?
“How do you guys who are fathers feel about this? I feel like there are important parts of fatherhood I’m afraid I may not be able to pull off, and this is one of them. I’m very much a “great job, good effort!” kind of dad so far. The author is intimating that this kind of thing is good for a young man’s development, but it seems really hard to do! The thought of yelling at my son in public to discipline him and help him grow seems almost impossible to me.”
It is hard, and the answer is not straightforward. It depends on the kid, the dad, the topic, the relationship, and the circumstances. With my kids, it was kind of Mom’s job to blow smoke, and mine to be the heavy. I always told them that a) the message is more important than the way it is delivered, and b) there would always be folks to lie to them, either by telling them what they wanted to hear, or by putting them down when they didn’t deserve it; but they could always count on me to “tell it like it is.” But even so, what I told them was just an opinion, and they had the right to value it, discount it, or ignore it. I also gave them lots of room to give back to me as good as they got from me when I was over the top. They’ve all had license to talk to me in ways I never could have gotten away with with my father.
In that sense, I think Rick was trying to “tell it like it is” to Brunson. He could have done it more delicately, but it seems like both Brunson and their relationship is resilient enough so that it didn’t matter much. A different kid might have internalized it differently, and may have even quit basketball or revolted in some way against his dad. In this case we’re talking about a very smart, tough-minded, and driven kid who wanted to overcome disadvantages, and an ideal role-model of a dad who fashioned a pro career largely through grit and guile rather than raw talent. I would guess that a huge part of that journey is being able to bite one’s tongue when being dressed down by a hard-ass coach, even undeservedly.
What I like here is that Brunson insists to this day that he wasn’t point-chasing. That’s a very healthy thing. I bet that even if he truly wasn’t, the message that he shouldn’t in the future was communicated.
So while there is no simple answer, it is probably best to not go on humiliating tirades in front of others like Rick did. But if the kid is capable of hearing the message and not getting bent out of shape about how it is delivered, that’s a good thing.
I’m thinking my future messaging to my 1-year old will be more along the lines of, “Son, we need to work as a team if we’re going to win the climate wars, so don’t go chasing your own kill-count. You have to work with the other murder drone pilots in your squadron or it’s off to the plastic mines with you!”
One thing that is always hard to gauge is whether your words to your kids will result in them hiding really important things from you. The instinct to avoid pain and shame is strong, so while a parent might think that all is good and “my kid tells me everything!” it is often not nearly the case. Nothing hurts more than to find out later on in life that your kid was in some kind of distress but didn’t want to talk to you about it out of fear of your reaction. And nothing feels better than when your kid thanks you in retrospect for showing grace when they didn’t necessarily deserve it.
Thanks for the thoughtful post, Z-Man!
From things that I’ve read, Rick approached his son at one point and was like “is this really what you want?” and “do you want me to do what it takes to get you there?” So he had his son’s buy in all the way.
Anyway this is just something that’s been on my mind a lot lately as my son is 5 now and I have anxiety about how well I’m doing. Like, where’s my performance review? Isn’t anyone gonna tell me how I did last quarter? NO!?! WTF
“It’s nice that there aren’t many game-changing free agents out there, so the Sixers will have to trade for guys instead. It would suck if there were some really good FAs for them to sign (although yes, they likely will at least offer OG enough money for him to get a nice bag from the Knicks).”
Philly is in a great position, if if if Embiid stays put and stays healthy. Seems like they have a decent window to build something special.
“Would Malik Monk be a good fit on Orlando? I’m trying to think what Orlando needs. It’s gotta be shooting, right?”
Definitely.
In reading his obituary, I learned today that OJ Simpson committed a double murder. I always thought he was on trial merely for ruining a Knicks game. (Didn’t Johnny Cochran tell the jury “If you can’t beat Kenny Smith, you have to acquith”?)
“Thanks for the thoughtful post, Z-Man!”
What are friends for?
Kenny Smith wasn’t a problem, it was freaking Sam Cassell at the end of Game 3.
My son is going through that box of baseball cards and just lit up when he found two Dwight Gooden rookie cards!
Hubert, great question and it applies to all aspects of life, including academics, ethics, morals, values, etc.. and not just sports.
My short and overly simplistic answer is that no specific method should be forced as greater than. The optimal method depends on both personality of the child and Dad. Another factor is the inclusion of the 2nd parent and their specific (nurturing role). You can hear his Mom supporting him while he’s Dad is screaming at him on that video in a hot summer July.
I tried and failed with my daughter on the hard ass tactic becuase it suited my personality but not hers. She completely shut down when I screamed and stopped having fun. So, I had to grow and adjust instead of asking her at 6yrs old to change and be more “coachable”. Also, she excelled playing for coaches that didnt bark comments from sideline. Kid won a U14 ECNL championship and now plays division 1 women’s soccer (no athletic scholarship) while in pre-med. So far, so good.
I made this post a few days ago, but in service to Alan’s Question of the Day I will repost:
The Katz article is great and I agree Thibs deserves credit for re-working our offense in the absence of Randle (though I also agree it raises some questions as to where this kind of movement has been all along).
That said, I’m not sure how sustainable it is for a usage monster like Brunson to be moving off the ball all the time. The precedent for that, to my knowledge anyway, is basically Steph and Steph alone. But hey, I ain’t putting anything past our guy.
We’re 2.5 point favorites tonight, so Vegas seems to think Boston will be resting their guys. I am irrationally emotionally attached to getting 50 wins, maybe because so few Knick teams (read: one) have done so since I turned 5, so fine by me.
My $0.02:
Except in rare cases, no one single interaction with your kid has that much impact.
Parenting is more like water slowly re-shaping a stone in a riverbed, by flowing over it for years & years.
the parenting question I like is whether it’s okay to be your child’s friend – or, is it important to keep some distance and focus mostly on their development…
I’ve gone with the friend approach mostly because it suits my personality…
it’s tough though because sometimes it does not seem as though the messaging is getting through…
2 of the kids take things very personal and get their feelings hurt easily…thankfully the youngest though has a harder shell…
I started speaking to all three the way I spoke to the youngest, and it didn’t work so well…
it’s true, you do kind of have to approach each child differently…that’s kind of frustrating from a parenting perspective, but necessary…
personally I feel as though unconditional love is the most important aspect of building trust with the kids…
parenting is easily the hardest stuff I have ever done…it’s also one of the only sources of guilt that gets to me…
Edit: I love your water and time analogy MKinLA…
Damn, I forget at times how rough it’s been for the younger Knicks fans. I don’t remember much Pitino’s 52 win Knicks team but I remember like it was yesterday all 4 of Riley’s 50 win teams and both of JVG’s 50 win teams. All 7 of those teams advanced to the 2nd rd with 4 of them reaching the Conference Finals and of course 2 of them reaching the NBA Finals.
For me it would be something like this:
1) Indiana
2) Orlando
3) Cleveland
4) Philadelphia
— Some Gap —
5) Miami
6) Milwaukee
I personally don’t like how we match up against Miami and Milwaukee, they have quite a lot of shooters, who I would say we are less effective defending, and they have very versatile defenders to thwart our offense.
Against the rest, I would say we match up quite well. I feel like we can defend them much better than they will defend us (against Orlando, it might be a slog of a match, but I think OG will shut them much more than the other way around).
Good stuff, BPL! Especially the bit about 80%.
made it through the first 3 episodes of Fallout…
I’m not sure if someone unfamiliar with the game would enjoy it though, it gets a bit campy at times…
I did see it received good reviews from critics…for me though it’s a crazy thing how the game I played and the show blend together…
I found it interesting that they used sooooo many recognizable actors in the show…
also cool to see the folks from Westworld guiding the show…I enjoyed the heck out of Westworld…
It’s crazy that back in the day I’d pray we get matched up with the Heat in the playoffs and nowadays no matter how bad they look in the regular season I want no part of them in the playoffs whatsoever.
This came up in the KFS pod I mentioned above, where Steve Jones was questioning whether the reason why Brunson has been player very reasonable minutes lately is to ensure that he can take that load.
After the game with the Bucks, Doc also pointed to Brunson’s top notch conditioning, which seems an underrated aspect of his game. I’m pretty sure he has the highest usage in the NBA since Randle went down!
What a wonderful conversation about parenting. This is one of the main reasons I keep coming back daily to read this blog. The insights from all of you intelligent and mature men about life. Kudos. I have a 9 year old boy and 12 year old girl. Night and day. Boy needs to be killed with kindness. Girl can be dealt with directly. But who knows if that will change in the future. As with all things life is always in flux.
Tatum, Brown and Horford all playing tonight. Still a chance KP and Holliday sit but looks like Boston won’t be making it super easy for the Knicks tonight.
Reading the Rick/Jalen Brunson stuff, it reminds me a little bit of the Murry Wilson/Brian Wilson dynamic, where the mediocre dad is living vicariously through his more talented son. Joe Jackson/Michael Jackson is another example of this.
Jalen turned out to be a great basketball player and apparently a well-adjusted person, but that kind of parental relationship makes me cringe a little. In this case perhaps it served Jalen well, but that is the kind of parent I am committed to NOT being.
hi rama, I hope your day is well 😊
i found what you said about your dad, not being such a great person, very interesting…
ran in to a situation where both myself and their mom needing to explain to one of the boys that their father wasn’t a very good person…
that they were a danger to their safety…
made me reflect on my own dad, who was not such a great person, and whom at times was a danger to both myself and sister…
my mom never told me/warned me about my dad…didn’t get all the details of some of the bad stuff til he had passed…
I asked her why she never told me these things before – she said there was nothing I could do about it and didn’t want to worry me…
if this isn’t a good subject, please no need to answer, did your mom ever “warn” you about your dad?
Zman- it’s cool that your son was happy to find the doc rookie cards. I have docs 85 tops rookie card. I’ve met doc many times (I play in a Mets fantasy camp yearly and he comes yearly as a coach). He’s a very sweet man, who is constantly fighting and overcoming his demons. I’ll be at his jersey retirement game this Sunday at citi field. With my kids. My first met game was at Shea in 1985. doc was pitching. It was July. I was 10. And we all know what a magical year 1985 was for him. I was hooked. Probably my favorite athlete of all time. It’s close between doc, Patrick Ewing, and the great number 56.
I figure I’m a near-total failure as a dad, primarily because Little Raven is extremely talented and extraordinarily lazy despite everything I and Lady Raven try. However, he recently said I was ‘not the worst dad,’ so perhaps I’m more at the 50% level. Replacement level?
My own father was brilliant but distant; he led almost entirely by example, which he did quite well (I could never…). Also, while never hugging or kissing or saying much, I somehow always felt utterly loved and protected — not sure how he pulled that off, but in retrospect it was hugely important.
Almost his only advice to me was an off-hand comment that he “wouldn’t post bail” as I entered my mis-spent teens. Which I actually took to heart, as meaning “You’ll be an idiot and I can’t stop you, just don’t get caught.” And so I never did.
I got the chance to say hi to the great number 56 in Tampa, was at some strip club, saw him and bought him a drink…
one of my favorite athletes all time…
Who wore #56? I mean, a lot of good-to-great players have, but who is being referenced here? LT?
I don’t care who we play in the first round. I’m already thinking about next year. Let’s just get started already! I want to see what we have and what we need in clearer terms.
Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out yesterday, parenting today – much like the Knicks this year, the blog keeps adapting, growing, and getting better. Tip of the hat to everyone for keeping it interesting.
yes sir, I need to go find it, but probably my favorite sports photo of all time is LT as an old guy, sitting on the bench, wearing a big old parka with snow on him – and him dozing off…
one of the very greatest ever to play that game…
llcoolbp what’s funny is when he asks stuff like who’s Rickey Henderson…
There’s two boxes of full “archive” sets of replications of Topps 1953 cards. He has to figure out whether they are better sold individually or collectively.
In descending order:
1. Indiana. I think they’re going to get stomped if they play one of the higher seeds. I don’t think their push-the-pace style of play will work in the playoffs and they can’t get a stop if their lives depended on it. I’m also Hali-skeptical, since his game is so predicated on shooting from the hip in a run-and-gun offense. I think the playoffs is a significantly tougher environment for his game, since he thrives so much in transition and doesn’t really draw fouls. Orlando can flummox us with our defense in a way that I think is more dangerous than whatever the Pacers can throw at us.
2. Orlando. Bizarro Pacers. They can defend but can’t score. Next.
3.Bucks without Giannis. Not a good team but more threatening than Indiana or Orlando solely in virtue of Dame and Knicks-Killer Bobby Portis.
4. Miami. I’m less high on Miami than consensus here–I don’t think they’re very good and I think Jimmy is losing a bit of his mojo. That said, I wouldn’t lay any money on it; it’s genuinely hard to know with them.
5. Cleveland. They’re a better team than the last time we faced them–they have a bit more shooting and Levert has become a genuine 6th man type–but they are still Charmin-soft. They would need a huge series from Mitchell and Mobley to beat us.
6. Bucks with Giannis. A good team that doesn’t play much defense, but will have two of the three best players on the floor at any one time. Pretty evenly matched imo.
7. Sixers. Healthy Embiid is very scary. Again, I’m higher on the Knicks/lower on the Sixers than consensus here, but they clearly seem like the best opponent we could draw just given the Embiid/Maxey pairing.
Update: Tatum, Brown and Horford AVAILABLE.
KP, Holiday, Tillman QUESTIONABLE
Brissett WHO CARES
I assume we’ve established that when talking about NY athletes when you say number 56 its obviously only referring to LT.
No one specified that we were only talking about New York athletes, though. Just because the other athletes mentioned were Dwight Gooden and Patrick Ewing didn’t necessarily mean that the other player (“the great number 56”) played in New York, as well.
Since these things are unlikely to change much:
The Knicks are likely to finish 6th in SRS (4.28), 5th in Net Rating (+4.9), with a top 10 offensive rating (8) and defensive rating (9), in a season where they did not have several big pieces for significant chunks of time.
For context, in the 2012-13 season, they finished 7th in SRS (3.73), 6th in Net Rating (+4.8), 3rd in ORtg and 18th in DRtg.
Of course, playoff results matter, but this is the Knicks’ best regular season this century.
Good question, besides LT what other great athlete in any sport or city wore 56?
Only 3 NBA players in league history have worn 56
Looking at baseball, Mark Buhrele wore 56 but he’s more a very good than a great player.
Mark Buehrle of the White Sox wore #56.
Lance Mehl
Bill Hewitt of the Bears also wore that number.
there are a bunch of good football players who wore 56, but it seems pretty rare in other NA sports
What does “NA” represent in “NA sports”?
My order easiest to hardest:
Orlando – their size could give us trouble but they are the least experienced and probably the least playoff ready team.
Pacers – easiest potential but their pace and shooting gives them a punchers chance in every game so with luck they could upset anyone.
Miami – potential to be easily beaten but Spo can coach and their physicalness makes them more dangerous than their talent.
Milwaukee – without Giannis they are very vulnerable but his potential return and their experience makes them a risky matchup.
Cleveland – their talent level is through the roof and when healthy their point diff this year and last is very good. They have yet to fully put it together and we have handled them well but they still worry me.
Philly – worst 1st round matchup. With Embiid they are a top 3-4 team in the NBA. His health is always a question but I want no part of a healthy Sixers team if possible.
If it’s any consolation, pre-college TNFH was the laziest person alive and it had nothing to do with any failures on the part of my dad, who did everything he could. Positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, being hands on, being hands off, hiring tutors, etc.
None of it did anything because you can’t fix lazy. I was basically failing out of middle and high school because I spent too much time doing things like calculating what JR Smith’s TS% would be if he would optimize his shot chart and reading about current events (this made me much more knowledgable than the average kid while doing nothing to address the whole “failing out of school” problem).
Here’s where the consolation might kick in for you–I did a full 180 once I got to college. There was no Come to Jesus Moment, I just figured since I did actually have real ambitions it was time to stop fucking around.
OJ’s passing brings to mind watching the split screen of the white Bronco chase with the Knicks-Rockets championship series game on TV ( IIRC, the Knick game was much smaller). Truly weird.
Doogie come on, man! 56 is always LT. And don’t you dare ask me what LT stands for 😉
And the NA in NA sports = North American
I must be a very late bloomer. I’m 65 and I never took a day of school or work seriously beyond meeting my minimum responsibilities.
I dropped college classes because it was interfering with my ability to work on my pool game with a semi pro that used to play on campus.
I cut classes to got to the track and bet on races.
I spent extended lunch hours at NYC OTB.
I took a week off from work to go to Florida and bet on dog races in the middle of hot project because I made a big score at Belmont and wanted to party.
The list is endless.
“Doogie come on, man! 56 is LT. And don’t you dare ask me what LT stands for 😉”
I’m actually the first one who specifically mentioned that “the great number 56” most likely = LT. Or at least mentioned it in my initial query. 🙂
Little bit of english_knick history. Before I was born my parents spent a year teaching in upstate New York. They befriended an older couple one of whom was also a teacher and remained friends after my parents came back to England. That couple became like an extra pair of grandparents to us – many years later I spoke at David’s funeral.
Anyway, David was a NY sports nut. His cats were called LT and Clyde. The very first bit of NY sports memorabilia I owned (probably the first bit of sports memorabilia for any team or sport) was a Super Bowl 1986 t-shirt with 56 on it. I was 5. LT is probably my favourite sportsperson of all time.
David was also responsible for my Knicks fandom and for the fact I follow the Knicks and Giants more closely than any football (soccer) team in spite of that being the game I later grew up watching and playing.
Noble that’s a great post on many levels but above all it makes me feel great about parenting because I probably matter less than I think I do, and there’s something great about that. All I can really do is set the guardrails and be present as much as possible. (And make sure he doesn’t grow up rooting for any Florida sports teams.)
Excellent advice from ex-wife re our son, roughly 10 years ago (he’s now 19):
“You’re not your father and [our son] isn’t you.”
56 is always LT. The greatest defensive player who ever lived in nfl history, and one of the greatest athletes of all times. Struck fear into the hearts of opposing offenses. Changed his position forever and how it was played and viewed. In 1987 (strike season) I saw him play the second half of a game with a broken collar bone on the right. Right arm immobilized in a hard sling. He came out and had 2 sacks and a forced fumble with his left arm. Absolute maniac and beast of a player.
Great story, English-Knick. I was curious about the cause of your fandom.
I remember the Giants winning their first Super Bowl but didn’t really get into football until I moved to Miami so Dan Marino is my childhood football hero. But I still rooted for the Giants especially in Super Bowl 25 and once Marino retired I was done rooting for the Dolphins too and became solely a Giants fan.
Celtics aren’t sitting any of their best players tonight. Now I really hope we fucking beat them.
Obviously, fuck the Celtics also
Great thread today on ParentingBlogger.net, congrats to everybody. My youngest is going to college this fall and the stepdaughter is already working, so i think Lady Cyber and me did great. But i usually don’t like to take credit for what isn’t owed, so i guess a lot of them being two young adults we’re proud of is on them. We just have to try to guide our sons to what we think is best for them, while at the same time trying to understand what they feel and like, to really guide them to what they want and not what we want.
Didn’t LT actually own a strip club or am I misremembering? He really was truly every boy’s idol.
dang, son just called to say hi, and after reading through this thread today I damn near started crying…
yeah man, them crumb snatchers are hella work and some trouble to boot – good for the soul though…
I wanna beat these assholes soooo bad!