[The Players’ Tribune] – Thu, 18 Apr 2024 13:40:31 GMT
- To My New York Family by Jalen Brunson | The Players’ Tribune
- All-NBA picks: Jayson Tatum edges Jalen Brunson for First Team, plus All-Defense and All-Rookie selections
- Lupica: Jalen Brunson, Knicks are best sports show in town
- Knicks Bulletin: He should win MVP.
- Ranking the best NBA players to win in playoffs, to start franchise
[The Ringer] – Thu, 18 Apr 2024 13:06:34 GMT
- The Sixers Survived. Now Can They Advance Past the Knicks?
- Heat’s Jimmy Butler injures knee in play-in loss, set for MRI
- Sixers-Heat takeaways: Nico Batum saved the day, Joel Embiid hampered by knee injury, and more
- 76ers’ Joel Embiid salvages Play-In stinker with clutch finish, but playoff questions are already starting
- Joel Embiid and the 76ers dig deep to top Miami, but now the real challenge begins
[CBS Sports] – Thu, 18 Apr 2024 18:44:35 GMT
- Sixers wanted ‘easier’ Knicks as backup center Paul Reed tosses first barb of NBA playoffs
- 76ers opened as favorites over Knicks, a rarity for a No. 7 seed in the NBA playoffs
- Knicks’ Jalen Brunson gets chance to slay 76ers’ Joel Embiid in David vs. Goliath playoff showdown
- Knicks vs. 76ers: Breaking down the first round 2024 NBA playoffs matchup
- Knicks-76ers: Schedule, how to watch, predictions & analysis
[New York Post] – Thu, 18 Apr 2024 11:40:00 GMT
- Inside look at Tom Thibodeau’s legendary work ethic: ‘no shortcuts’
- One Potential Key to Knicks’ Season: Friendship
- Tom Thibodeau Reveals How Knicks Additions Will Help in Playoffs
- Knicks see value in what Tom Thibodeau is saying, not volume in how it’s said
- Tom Thibodeau Established A Winning Culture For The New York Knicks
[The Athletic] – Fri, 19 Apr 2024 09:02:25 GMT
NBA Playoffs odds, expert picks for Cavs-Magic, TWolves-Suns, Knicks-76ers, Nuggets-Lakers
[The Ringer] – Thu, 18 Apr 2024 18:14:07 GMT
End of the Warriors, Knicks Ceiling, Zion, and Lillards Future With Frank Isola. Plus, Comedian Dan Soder.
[New York Post] – Fri, 19 Apr 2024 00:44:00 GMT
Eric Adams reveals potential vegan cheesecake bet with rival mayors over Knicks, Rangers playoffs
[Posting and Toasting] – Thu, 18 Apr 2024 19:41:47 GMT
Knicks Media Roundup: Jalen’s letter to NY, OG appreciation, and an ‘inside look’ at Thibodeau’s work ethic
[Bleacher Report] – Thu, 18 Apr 2024 13:00:56 GMT
Knicks’ Early 2024 Free Agent Targets
[New York Daily News] – Thu, 18 Apr 2024 23:37:51 GMT
Knicks ready for unique defensive issues Sixers pose to Jalen Brunson: ‘He’ll continue to find a way’
[New York Post] – Fri, 19 Apr 2024 01:31:00 GMT
Knicks’ playoff venture will run into Kyle Lowry once again
[New York Post] – Fri, 19 Apr 2024 03:02:00 GMT
Kendrick Perkins refuses to pick Joel Embiid over Jalen Brunson for one major reason
[Daily Knicks] – Thu, 18 Apr 2024 12:00:02 GMT
Stephen A. Smith has horrid Knicks-Klay Thompson take after Warriors’ season ends
[Basketball Network] – Fri, 19 Apr 2024 01:09:00 GMT
“Every night I dreamed about him; it was a regular horror movie” – Walt Frazier on how competing against Earl Monroe impacted him
[New York Post] – Fri, 19 Apr 2024 10:30:00 GMT
Knicks-76ers Tale of the Turnpike: New York has always been the star city
130 replies on “Knicks Morning News (2024.04.19)”
No follow-up on Bojan other than Thibs saying “He’s practicing.” He’s not on the injury report at this time. Seems like that story from the Fordham guy was bogus, or at least overstated.
Four out of five experts at the Athletic pick the Knicks to beat Philadelphia.
https://theathletic.com/5423400/2024/04/19/nba-playoffs-odds-picks-cavs-magic-timberwolves-suns-knicks-76ers-nuggets-lakers/
Yes, but do 30 Helens agree that we will beat the Sixers?
Revisiting yesterday’s discussion of whether OG, Deuce, or someone else (Hart? DDV?) tries to be the primary defender on Maxey, my thinking at the moment is that OG is most valuable as the switchable Swiss Army knife, and that while he can defend small and fast guards, that’s probably the archetype against which he is least strong. So that would mean a lot of Deuce, which in turn means fewer minutes for one or both of Hart and DDV. Hart is going to beast on the boards against this team, which is huge, but DDV is our best floor spacer, even with Deuce’s quantum leap in that area and Brunson’s usual (not always) brilliance at that. So how do you make that math work, factoring in that the team will probably try to make sure OG and iHart are both on the floor in the non-Brunson minutes, to do whatever possible to keep the offense from plummeting to the bottom of the ocean?
I listened to the first half of Bill Simmons latest podcast. He likes the Knicks to beat Philly. Given his track record as a forecaster, this did not actually make me feel optimistic, but he clearly has watched the Knicks and thinks they play good team ball.
@Alan
True to form you put the relevant question perfectly. IMO the flow chart goes is DDV shooting the lights out? Yes- play him as many minutes as possible. No- Deuce gets some of Donte’s minutes with Brunson but still keep Donte on the floor for the non Brunson time.
They’re one weapon short. (*)
Which isn’t to say they don’t have a shot, because they do.
(*) We’ll save the discussion of how and why that came to pass for the after-season. It’s playoff time now.
I am annoyed at the fact that basically all predictions are talking about Embiid’s health. It’s certainly a factor, but it’s almost as though a Knicks win will carry an asterisk because of it – when the Knicks second most important player is not even mentioned. I would give the fully healthy Knicks pretty good odds against the fully healthy Sixers.
Q2: Are they completely ignoring Hart and is he a complete non factor on offense? Then Deuce takes Hart’s spot for any non Brunson minutes and potentially more. If Hart is at least keeping them honest he probably plays 40 min
I think OG will guard Maxey and our center will guard Embiid.
I agree with the poster yesterday who said that OG’s biggest weakness on D is lightning quick off the dribble guards. Unless he has a great plan to force Maxey to spots he doesn’t like then I prefer OG as free safety in this matchup with occasional bouts on Embiid and on Maxey. Lots of Deuce. In fact if Deuce can replicate his regular season performance in the home games then he may actually be the key to keeping this 6 games or less.
I am annoyed at the fact that basically all predictions are talking about Embiid’s health.
I view it in the context of health as the key variable–Joel’s is, Julius’ is not–rather than a referendum on what legacy a series win will have.
The thing about having OG on Maxey is less about the 1v1 match-up imo and more about having length guarding him. Maxey is so fast he’s gonna blow by anyone if he gets a head start, Deuce, Hart, OG. anyone. But the key is closing down the lanes and forcing him to slow down, and then OG’s length is key to contest his shots.
At the end of the day it’s a 7 game series and adjustments will be made by both sides, so everyone will get a chance to be the Maxey stopper eventually.
I think with Maxey you have to trust your centers to protect the rim. It won’t work every time, but keep him somewhat in check and you are ok. If he is super hot from 3, then maybe put OG on him for his length.
I would try to put OG on Oubre, and basically help off him like Philly is going to help off Hart. He’d be the best free safety out there, and can muck things up for Embiid or Maxey as needed.
I also think you have to live with the centers on Embiid 1-on-1 as much as possible. Let him score 30. It will tax him, but doubling him can lead to guys like Batum having the game he had against Miami.
I was at MSG for game1 vs. the Hawks back in 2021 and that might have been the loudest I’ve ever heard the Garden over the last 30 years. Part of it was the catharsis of emerging from COVID lockdowns.
I actually think tomorrow night might be louder tho because fans are so into this team and our fearless leader the Little General (and also because it’s Saturday night and there might be a few beverages consumed beforehand)
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GLiJ2ZcWEAAdCZh?format=jpg&name=large
Brunson finally cracked the list
The popularity Lamelo is able to hold while never playing is interesting
Lamelo is super exciting on the occasions when he actually plays. Kids love him in the same way they love Steph.
Tatum being that high is a bit surprising, though maybe not given how popular the Celtics are outside of New England. Not quite Lakers level, but still pretty big.
I was telling my girlfriend about Caitlin Clark last night, and even showed her some Steph Curry-esque highlights to give her a sense of how great a shooter she truly is. Then I looked up her new WNBA contract: only about ~$75K!!! Now it is true that she’ll make over $3M in endorsements and has been offered a lot more money to play in the “Big 3,” but that didn’t make me any less aghast at the fact that her WNBA salary is that low. Yes, I know that they don’t make as much as minimum-salary NBA players ($1.1M), but I still thought that they’d make something like $150K. The $75K figure both shocked and saddened me. Here in the DC area I wouldn’t say that making $75K as a single person would make one destitute, but it would be pretty awful to try to make ends meet. (Yes, it will go further in Indiana than it would here, but still.)
The good news, Doogie, is that her endorsement money is about to skyrocket:
https://theathletic.com/5424729/2024/04/17/caitlin-clark-nike-endorsement-indiana-fever-wnba/
There’s been a lot of talk over the years about whether any player or team could start elevating the WNBA’s profile beyond the most hardcore fans of basketball and/or women’s sports. She seems like she has the chance to do it. And if she does, those salaries may start to look less scandalous.
I really don’t care how much entertainers make; I don’t know that I’ve even given even a second of thought to how much the stars and other actors in a movie I’m watching in a theatre make. I don’t care how much the producers make, I don’t care how much the thing grosses. It’s not important.
Frankly, the world and society would be better off if Caitlin Clark went into law or medicine or nonprofit work.
I don’t know — I’m starting to think that Whitey’s continuing concern about the mechanics and ins/outs of his bread and circuses and entertainment is starting to bore and tire. There are better, more worthy things to care about.
It is just a fact. If Embiid was at 100% without Randle, we would be in deep doo-doo. They have a better win percentage when Embiid plays than Boston did for the season. That is the fact of the matter. Philly with a healthy Embiid would be a real threat for a ring.
Next season we will get to see the Knicks with Randle, et al vs Philly and Boston which should be great fun.
However, starting this weekend we will see the Knicks sans Randle and Philly with a compromised Embiid. How compromised Embiid is will tell the story. He looked horrible physically (and still put up decent numbers) the other day. I don’t see how he can physically be better on that knee in the short term.
Knicks in 5….
Whitey needs to understand that Bill Russell made $75,000 a year over his first 8 championship seasons. Clark wants that much as a rookie! Such entitlement.
https://twitter.com/JDSportsTalkNY/status/1781179642256253261
Draymond has made his prediction
And yet, in the one game the two teams played with healthy players, the Knicks blew them out by 36 points in their home, despite Embiid scoring 30 in 36 min and Maxey scoring 27. Yes, it’s one game, and there was some 3PT% stuff (though it would have been a blowout anyway), but it feels weird for everyone to ignore the one data point we have about these two teams in good health.
I’m not even getting into the argument that Embiid is never really healthy in the playoffs, so how could this be surprising and an X factor is beyond me.
I think we should stop paying attention to most national basketball coverage. Most of them don’t know what they are talking about. It’s one of the few things Perkins is right about. Most of these guys don’t pay close attention to the details of every team and certainly don’t watch ALL the games. I think the local coverage is generally better.
No one says it is surprising…. it is just a fact he needed knee surgery 6 weeks ago and he is clearly sub par.
That is a gigantic influence on the out come of this series. Embiid was playing like the MVP finalist he has been for the past few years 8 weeks ago. His injury is a huge factor in this series.
It is just reality. It is not the Knicks fault he is injured, but it surely changes the probable out comes of the series.
I am not arguing it doesn’t improve the Knicks’ odds, I’m arguing that the two teams, when healthy, are evenly matched up, and this seems to be lost in the conversation. Again, the Sixers were blown out by these Knicks (with a healthy Randle but in a game he didn’t play well at all) when Embiid was playing like the unanimous MVP.
A healthy Embiid would be the best player this series. A healthy Maxey might be the 3rd best player. But I’d argue that the next 4 or 5 best players all play for New York, and the gap between Maxey and, say, DDV or OG is negligible.
In fact, maybe I-Hart is the third best player this series.
Doogie, I did a very bad math effort to assess Caitlin’s salary by comparing it to Victor’s (WNBA vs. NBA first-round picks) vs. both leagues’ overall revenues, and since nobody corrected it I’ll point out that it said that Caitlin is more or less paid a third what she should be based on league revenue (i.e., she should be pulling in ~200k).
It’s a questionable way to look at it, albeit maybe better than comparing it to Bill Russell back in the day, or LeBron after 20 years.
I think we don’t really realize how good Hartenstein is sometimes. He ranks FOURTEENTH in EPM, just ahead of Jayson Tatum and Anthony Davis. He doesn’t score as well in BPM but still ranks a robust 27th.
He’s absolutely the third best player in this series.
Fully healthy I think the best players are:
1. Embiid
2. Brunson (and the gap between him and Embiid at this point is razor thin).
3. Randle
4. Maxey
5. OG (again close to Maxey though much different roles.)
6. iHart
7. DDV
8. Mitch (again, talking full health)
9. Hart
10, 11, 12, etc…the next best dudes on Philly.
Raven, ~$200K for Caitlin sounds about right to me.
Randle has a career playoff FG % of 34 %, so putting him at # 3 would require him to be closer to his regular season self.
By EPM:
1. Embiid (10.5)
2. Brunson (5.9)
3. I-Hart (4.7)
4. Maxey (3.6)
5. OG (3.1)
(Randle 1.8)
(Melton 1.7)
6. Donte (1.6)
7. Mitch (0.7)
By BPM, I-Hart is still #3, but Donte is above Maxey. BPM hates OG, though.
Good points, Alan. But I’d bet against Thibs adjusting his rotation to matchup with another team. I think he’ll find a solution with the starting unit.
Hartenstein has become Tyson Chandler with better passing and a floater
I’m with you. But let’s hope he keeps being under-valued for another 3 months until the Knicks resign him.
If you’re the greatest chef in the world but no one goes to your restaurant, you don’t get paid.
I love iHart but I seem to remember at least one monster alley oop finish per game from our beloved T-1000
That’s a hard argument to make when , with Embiid in the linup Philly was on pace to win 65 games and the Knicks won 50. Add Randle to the equation and we have a different discussion. However, I think Vegas would make Philly the favorite, but we will see next season (maybe). But that isn’t the reality we have today.
As great a season as the Maestro had, Embiid’s advanced (and counting ) stats dwarf Brunson. Healthy Embiid is an all time great player:
https://stathead.com/basketball/versus-finder.cgi?player_id2=brunsja01&year_min=2024&player_id1=embiijo01&seasons_type=forall&request=1&utm_campaign=2023_01_wdgt_player_comparison&utm_source=bbr&utm_medium=sr_xsite&utm_id=embiijo01
Ok then we’ve arrived at a point where Brunson is overrated. Embiid’s impact metrics are like 2x as good as Brunson’s. He is a great defensive anchor on top of being the best scorer in the league.
Come on, man.
He’s played in 3 playoff series and in two of them he had a bum ankle. Which is why I said healthy.
By the way, the part of the Bill Simmons podcast where he discusses Knicks versus Philly is a fun listen.
Data is life… but don’t tell me you think DDV is a more valuable player than Maxey….
No one but Julius on the injury list per Thibs.
I don’t know who Kris Pursainen has as a “source” but it looks like he really got taken for a ride. It never did seem plausible that Bojan had wrist arthroscopy without being ruled out for a while after. I’m all for people making their name in sports but I am unsure whether he really knows something or just really wants to be a guy who knows something.
Are we doing picks yet?
I am going Knicks in…5.
Based on how Embiid looked in that last game.
I know we have the slowest pace in the league, I really do hope we run off both makes and misses, and even if we dial it back and get into a halfcourt possession, we make Embiid run up and down the court every time.
I’m going with Knicks in 7.
I think we’ll win it but it won’t be easy.
If we’re doing official predictions, Sixers in 5.
We win game 2 and lose the rest, generally by small margins.
The WNBA would probably have been out of business years ago without the support and subsidies from the NBA. That may even be true now. The WNBA is lucky it has had a sugar daddy keeping it alive.
Everyone gets that’s she’s underpaid relative to the revenue she’s probably going to generate as an individual this year, but that’s true of many of the men also. Those elite stars agree to the terms because they want an overall healthy league for ALL the players. They also know some of them are going to make more on the endorsement side than from basketball anyway (as she will).
The WNBA is going to grow. Ultimately everyone is going to make more money in line with the growth of the league that she is going to help stimulate.
Strat, more or less in agreement, but first, the NBA hasn’t subsidized the WNBA for a few years now. And second, if I’m right Caitlin is making a third of what she should make, unless somehow the NBA is not a healthy league (I think Adam would beg to differ). This has nothing to do with whether or not she’ll drive revenue for the league (which she will), just whether she’s being paid fairly as compared to the guys.
Caitlin’s about to become a multi-millionaire and her base salary can be used to cover restaurant tips going forward, but it’s a bad look.
All I know is that I am more successful than Caitlin Clark because I currently make more money than her.
cut to the chase – gender pay inequities are a thing…
a rotten and terrible thing…hopefully we’ll continue to see improvements during my lifetime…
I wanna say knicks in five, but I’ll hedge and guess knicks in six…
we shall see…
They are Geo, but WNBA isn’t an example of that, any more than OnlyFans is in the other direction.
I’m a Liberty season ticket holder and am very, very excited for our home opener against Caitlin and the Indiana Fever. The mainstream discourse around the WNBA is so toxic I basically just tune it out as someone who is genuinely a fan, and not because I’m trying to make some ideological point. That said, I’ve never been more optimistic about the league’s prospects. Last season already set all kinds of viewership and attendanc records (having a super team in NY helps), and Caitlin has a chance to be a Magic/Bird level game changer.
The prospect of starting DDV on Maxey doesn’t worry me too much. Donte is pretty mobile, fights through screens reasonably well, and there’s no size disadvantage. I’d probably go that route to allow OG to be the free safety (I guess he can nominally, and I do mean nominally, start on Harris). You can always adjust quickly if need be.
well let’s think about it pags, the nba started when? the wnba started when?
I remember many years ago daughter complaining about racial prejudice in like the second grade…
told her race ain’t the big issue she needs to really worry about – tried to explain that her gender places her at a larger societal disadvantage…
truth is, daughter was just very willful and obstinate as a kid…it’s wonderful to see how she’s smoothed her edges out over the years…
it just ain’t a fair race though…
Nope. Bill Russell is the perfect comp, I stand by it fully. And he didn’t ask for endorsement charity either, he just manned up and played ball, happily, for $75,000.
Geo, I’m of the view that disparities when it comes to race & gender are absolutely dwarfed by those arising from economic class. I’d much rather be Kobe Bryant’s daughter than Cletus J. Redneck III’s son.
The fact that class disparities are never discussed in media outside of extremely limited constraints is IMO evidence that powerful forces want to keep it this way.
The NBA is rich and the WNBA is poor, similar to how the NBA in the 50’s and 60’s, when guys generally had to have day jobs. Clark might just be that Bird/Magic figure that legitimizes the league as more than just an appendage of the NBA. By the time she’s done, I think we’ll see WNBA salaries approach the low 7-figures based on the increased drawing power of their tickets and TV deals.
It might be in the world at large, but the WNBPA has a collective bargaining agreement with the league which codifies compensation.
https://wnbpa.com/cba/
well said pags…as always…your writing is just so smooth…
the economic caste system started with the domestication of wheat and farming, like 9,000 or so years ago…
food surplus creates job specialization…separates folks within society…
I myself also tend to see many/most injustices related to economic status…then again, I’m white looking and a male, so…
I’ve also always been a member of the lower to middle class…not to say I don’t like rich folk, i just have never really known any…
lmao
It might be in the world at large, but the WNBPA has a collective bargaining agreement with the league which codifies compensation.
Stupidest comment of the year. Not surprising given the author.
I’m not going to try to weigh what matters most, but there’s no question at all that where you start is a factor in where you end up.
To people like me (2nd and 3rd generation immigrants from Italy), the beauty of America was that you could come here uneducated, broke, and unskilled like my grandparents and in a couple of generations your grandchildren might be arguing about where the S&P 500 is going next while on a beach in the Hamptons.
I grew up lower middle class. There was never one moment of any day of my entire 65 years of life so far that I felt envy because a lot of people had more educated and wealthy parents that could guide them better and afford other advantages. Sure they had an advantage. But all I ever wanted was a fair shot at what I was doing to make my life better. Beyond a certain point (and it’s not that high), all that excess wealth is bullshit anyway. There’s almost no correlation between wealth and happiness. You just need to be comfortable.
Knicks in 5
Knicks in 6
Knicks in 6.
NBA gross revenues = 13 billion, WNBA revenues = 200 million. I can’t imagine why there would be a disparity in pay… The WNBPA has negotiated a more egalitarian system where the minimum salary is 64k and the max salary is 264k.
https://www.cnbc.com/2024/04/18/caitlin-clark-salary-criticism-a-false-narrative-wnba-commissioner.html
You forgot to mention the part in your prediction where OG’s arm falls off and Brunson immediately demands a trade back to Dallas and iHart and his wife get divorced.
Those are baked in. 😀 The iHart part isn’t necessary though because he’s gone this offseason, wife or no wife.
BPL, you can argue the leagues are not a 1:1 comparison for various reasons, but 12 mil of 13 billion not the same as 76k of 200 million. Or:
,00092 vs. .00038
I was initially looking at 2023 numbers, but she’s still making less than half of the equivalent of the NBA first rounder.
The self-serving drivel from the WNBA commissioner is embarrassing. “No, you put their bonus, you put their stock options, you put everything.” Yes, maybe when weighing a CEO’s pay. But I’m pretty sure base salary of professional athletes isn’t based on stock options, bonuses, or how much he might make on top of it through promoting stuff.
(That’s not entirely true, of course — someone might take less because he/she can make more overall by coming to a big-market team. But a rookie doesn’t choose where to go, and the league doesn’t decide that hey, this person’s going to make a mint from products, let’s make the base pay peanuts.)
Feels like picking the Sixers has become trendy… hope the Knicks are reading all about that and are getting fired up.
Can’t believe the Athletic would use a Pistons or Wizards executive for their playoff previews.
I mean, how unbelievably silly is this?
New York is going to be playing tired, and the Sixers are fully healthy!
silver should have just said the whole fucking world needs to do a much better job making shit more fair for women…and, in some small ways – they are doing their part…
to try to mansplain or corporatesplain the situation is basically just blowing air out yer face on shaky ground…
it sounds and smells like bullshit…cut to the chase…
or, as Rough so eloquently put it: stop dancing, get to the fucking point already…
i’m sure in some way/fashion this inequity has served some civilization type purpose – 8 billion humans i guess…
same thing for the “industrialists” of societies…as strat so accurately said – we ain’t making ourselves any happier…
geo living out the cave, and fishing nearby may have been better off…of course the likely hood of getting eaten by some creature is far less…i am always thankful for that…
but damn, to not fully utilize half the population seems very ineffective…
from an entertainment aspect also – i just love watching kayla harrison pummel people…
oh yeah, i’m off the anxiety meds and edibles – public beware…
This isn’t silly at all. Why is it surprising that the foolishness of our Game-82 seppuku is considered to be a dumb move to a basketball executive, who necessarily has a mindset of taking rational action in his team’s strategic interest?
The basketball gods aren’t real. If they were, and there’s some karmic benefit to worsening our chances of success, you may as well advocate we trade Brunson for D’Angelo Russell or some shit like that, because real men don’t need superstars to win.
Everything else he says is purely factual. We are tired and banged up. We are small. Hartenstein can’t guard Embiid because no one can. We’re going to lose this series because we chose to put ourselves in a position to, and if anything he is being generous by predicting we’ll take it to 7 games.
Thank you, Raven.
Sixers have listed Embiid as questionable for the game. Does anyone know if they’ve been doing that since he came back or is this new?
Geo, my theory is that women are smarter and generally better than us when it comes to things other than physical prowess, and if we hadn’t done that whole “200,000 years of patriarchy” thing, we’d now be living in some sort of futuristic gynocracy where only a tiny population of male slaves persists, living a similar existence to stud horses.
Women seem to now be back on their rightful track towards leaving us in the dust as men become increasingly expendable in a world that no longer needs them. Sorry, son…
Knicks in six. Shouldn’t we have a poll up?
Those reading Marechal’s post should be aware that the coach and scout both picked the Knicks to win the series. Only the executive thought they would lose (and still expected seven games). In a separate article, Hollinger picks the Knicks. I sure hope he’s correct.
Has any opposing star listed as questionable not suited up against us recently? Last time I recall was SGA stealing our souls with the umpteenth opposing buzzer-beater at MSG in the past couple years.
Yeah, I think he’s going to play.
I get the argument on the surface, but you guys aren’t looking at the reality. The WNBA plays a 40 game season. If the league generates 200M each of the 12 teams has an average revenue stream of ~ 17 million.
Besides player salaries, they need to pay all the expenses: 20 charter flights for away games, hotels, meals on the road, the team facilities to practice, the coaching staff, the medical staff, the training staff, all advertising publicity, the cost of the arenas they play in, etc. Plus, they are entitled to make a profit for their investment.
These costs are similar to the NBA costs, less a 50% factor due to the number of games, but the revenue streams are 1/65th.
The WNBPA has negotiated the best deal they thought they could make at the time. That is the way business/management relationships work in a capitalist society. They can opt out of their deal in 2025 if they think it unfair.
I don’t get the argument. The WNBPA made a business deal and a contract and the contract is being fulfilled by their partners. I don’t see this as an affront to womanhood. If the WNBA revenue stream increases 5 or ten fold, salaries will skyrocket. But it isn’t unfair that they are paid much less if they don’t generate commensurate profits.
Seriously, what am I missing?
in societies not considered “civilized” it seems women did get a better deal…
as much knowledge as can be gleaned from 5,000 year old (and older) artifacts, it seems women did have more an equal footing in roles…
your right pags, us dudes may just become superfluous to the whole moving civilization thing…
was watching some anthropologist visiting this tribe in Africa where the “traditional” roles were reversed…men carried the water and cleaned…
all the women answered the same when asked if they would like to marry – no…
they saw no need for it…
Watch more women’s tennis. It’s good product and they sure as hell deserve their equal prize money.
as you frame things, nothing really Bob (sounds much better than BPL), nothing at all…
I’ve now eaten, so at least low blood sugar ain’t affecting me any longer…
one thing I find fascinating – it seems the only folks that think we need even more humans on the planet are those super wealthy industrialists…who think it’s our purpose to spread McDonald’s throughout our galaxy, and/or just want more people to sell their shit to…
Sixers have listed Embiid as questionable for the game. Does anyone know if they’ve been doing that since he came back or is this new?
he’s been questionable a lot and was against the heat.
and, I’ve heard some of them older ladies are feisty and fast 🙃
Listening to jazz in the car (!), and it switched to NPR news, and before I could turn it off some guy came on and said the most intriguing playoff series coming up was the Knicks-Sixers and he wished it was best of nine instead of seven.
Interesting take.
Oh, Knicks in 5. Unless it’s Knicks in 7, but I won’t go there until Game 6.
Knicks in 6
I think “questionable” means we don’t want to give any information about whether he will play or not.
The world will always need men. Who else is going to monitor Tom Thibodeau’s minutes allotments and/or assign proper blame for the Knicks’ failures? Not women, I’ll tell you that right now.
I think Embiid will start Game-1, after that who knows?
Knicks in 6.
knicks in 7….it’s our low margin for error vs embiid’s gimpy knee…not sure which one will win out…but he did look physically challenged in that last game…each game from here on in will chip away at that gimpy knee…
In a world with no Tom Thibodeau, we won’t need a minutes police. 😀
Knicks in 4. Embiid misses half the series.
Knicks in 5.
Women’s tennis is awesome. I’m basically indifferent between them and the men, that’s how good they are.
Women’s basketball? Not so much. Nowhere near enough explosion on the x-axis for my tastes and not really interested in watching a ground-bound shooting contest of not-really-jump shots. Others’ tastes may vary, and that bromide can be thrown out about pretty much every entertainment form out there. I don’t really catch much Sri Lankan cricket, either — though many millions do.
Nothing of any meaning can be gleaned or imputed from the economics of a 250-person niche guild.
Knicks in 6 for me, but I don’t feel strongly about it. I’ll have a better idea after Saturday.
https://x.com/bkaplan4/status/1781321254181482866?s=46
Are the Bulls tanking?
the heat just ain’t dead yet…
don’t they understand they’re supposed to lose…
Trying to dodge us in the ECF
bulls gittin “spo’d”…
ESPN had a predictions article today for all the playoff series and 10 of the 11 analysts making predictions picked the Knicks. Even Hollinger picked the Knicks in his predictions article on the Athletic. In fact pretty surprisingly from what I’ve seen the majority of media predictions are picking the Knicks.
I agree, Knicks in 6.
Knicks in 6. I imagine all games to be low scoring and Knicks may lose a game or two due to cold shooting. But they are going to wear out the Sixers.
So the same people who assured us that Bojan & Burks was the best trade of the deadline think we’re gonna win?
Shit, I might downgrade my prediction to Sixers in 4.
Geo, I’m going to give you some advice to give to your daughter.
Studies on pay gap mention something that men do that women don’t do as much. Men are much more likely to advocate for themselves. Men are more likely to demand pay raises, negotiate pay raises, change companies to get pay raises.
Teach your daughter to advocate for herself and she will be more successful than people that are of her skill level.
Sixers in 4. This one will hurt.
Love this from Lebron re Jokic
https://x.com/mikeascotto/status/1781469825904111869?s=46&t=0wqff4cNt-sCGcDs-uMExw
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tennis/2023/05/23/tennis-can-only-afford-equal-prizemoney-because-wta-are-sub/
I think it will all hinge on Embiid. If he truly is limited or if he misses more than one game then I’d say Knicks in 5. If Embiid is close to healthy and especially if they steal one of the first two games I’d call it a coin flip. In that case, let’s say Knicks in 7.
If both Embiid and Melton are fully healthy I’d sadly say Sixers in 6. But that scenario seems pretty unlikely.
Miami is just so well coached. Even without Butler, they still know how to run winning plays. It is such a contrast from Atlanta. I’m starting to really question Quin Snyder’s ability, they put up zero defensive resistance.
that is very sage advice bidiong…really holds true for all three of the kids (2 boys)…
had this friend from Kabul, we were having this conversation about how much of the world (ugly/dangerous parts too) to share with kids…
understandably he felt thr need to shield his children from some of the harsher realities
his perspective was to shield his children as much as possible…mine was to share the dangers out there…
my pov being the world can be very cruel and harsh place for some…especially if you do dumb shit…
before daughter first went off to school her ma and I preached to her try to be cool with folks, but if someone messes with you – hit them back hard…
over the years it seemed daughter grew more and more on the aggressive side of dealing with folks…
that whole: don’t take shit from anyone, turned it – dang, can’t you just get along with folks…
to her credit, she’s done a fantastic job at raising her self-awareness…it’s been cool to see…
there was a time though not that long ago that whenever we spoke I would ask her to calm down and slowdown…
aggressive people trigger my aggression…
her vocabulary is outstanding (my contribution to the kids), but she was really emphasizing the first syllable of each word – spitting her words at people…
daughter’s a bit like my mom now – she don’t pay full price for stuff…haggles for eveything…
any slight injustices have to be met head on…
You can see through the glasses, huh?
Kevin Love is Batuming
“You can see through the glasses, huh?”
I would never joke about someone’s need for prosthetic lenses.
Even at 66, my eyes and my memory are quite good. The eye test says Snyder’s teams suck at team defense. To the point where they actually made me think that Coby White was good.
I started using readers years ago. I was totally dependent on them, like chapstick. Then I took a break from screens and didn’t return to using them. Haven’t needed them since. It’s quite strange.
Bulls played like dog shit at the end of the half.
If the Heat can steal a game in Boston and then get Jimmy back for game 3, the Celts will be excrementing in their pants…
The Heat defense held the Bulls to 60 points through three quarters and a 34% shooting percentage so far. That’s amazing. I suspect they are making some Boston fans nervous.
Spo figuring out how to unleash like 85% of T-Wolves Kevin Love on Boston would be really funny
Juan Soto is even better than I thought and that’s saying something considering how incredible I already knew he was.
It’s not just that Soto is so good, it’s that he is the most incredibly fun player there is. Sign him forever. Hal will become persona non grata in NYC if he doesn’t.
I might have to get with the program and watch some Mets tonight!
It really feels sometimes that Spoelstra is just a magician.
I really want to see the Heat take game 1 against Boston just to see them having a collective mental breakdown.
rangers =1 seed =check
knicks =2 seed = check
yankees = 1st place =check
zach wilson = not in camp = check
life is good
I have mixed feelings about that Players’ Tribune post by Brunson. On one hand, it is incredibly heartfelt and candid, and he does have a great story to tell. On the other hand, I’m wondering why he felt the need to write it. Surprised that there isn’t more reaction to it here.
feels like jalen and josh are just very contemporary in how they present themselves…
who’d have thought they’d kick off a podcast this year…a very measured young man…
I was surprised a bit by the length of the piece he wrote…you can tell he did his whole 4 years of school…
Edit: ah, just checked – he was a communications major…nice…
These two games tonight are why I don’t bet.
So there you go, the 8th seed in the west won 49 games this year. One less than the #2 seed in the east. The Warriors were struggling a lot this year, so it’s not shocking they are in the lottery, but the Kings have to be one of the better non-playoff teams of all time. They were sitting in 5th place just a few weeks ago. The NBA has done a great job creating a competitive league that everybody (except the Wizards) can legitimately compete in.
I want Owen to wear readers to my first KB meetup so I can gently wrist-slap him in the testicle area (through the pants) with the back of my hand and call him a four-eyed old man
thank goodness you included the disclaimer jowles, I was worried about Owen for a moment there…
I think it’s just so odd that no one really wants to touch it.
Just turned 70 and my memory fell off like Malek Durxx’s game ( but thx to cataract surgery lost the glasses)
Knicks in 7 (I’ve read too many Pag’s posts* and now fear the Knicks will blow HCA in 1st two) We may have to charter a KB bus and join Noble in Philly!
* Pags KB influencer of one?