[ESPN] – Sun, 28 Apr 2024 23:42:00 GMT
- Embiid: ‘Disappointing’ Knicks fans flooded Philly’s arena
- Joel Embiid disappointed Knicks fans flooded 76ers’ arena for Game 4
- Joel Embiid was ‘disappointed’ with the Sixers crowd. Right back at ya, big guy.
[NBA.com] – Sun, 28 Apr 2024 16:18:56 GMT
New York Knicks vs Philadelphia 76ers Apr 28, 2024 Game Summary
[New York Post] – Sun, 28 Apr 2024 23:44:00 GMT
- OG Anunoby proves vital in slowing down Joel Embiid during Knicks’ win
- ‘It kept falling in their hands’: The Sixers, unable to match the Knicks’ intensity, are on the brink of elimination
- 3 observations after Brunson scores 47, puts Sixers on the brink of elimination
- Sixers Bell Ringer: Hello darkness, my old friend
- Without Mitchell Robinson (ankle), Knicks hold Joel Embiid bucketless in 4th quarter
[ESPN] – Sun, 28 Apr 2024 22:44:00 GMT
- Jalen Brunson’s 47 points power Knicks to 3-1 lead over 76ers
- Jalen Brunson vs. Joel Embiid is living up to the billing as Knicks are one game from advancing
- Game Recap: Knicks 97, 76ers 92
- Playoff Game Thread: New York Knicks at Philadelphia 76ers, Game 4, April 28, 2024
- Jalen Brunson earns place in Knicks lore with legendary performance
[CBS Sports] – Mon, 29 Apr 2024 04:30:00 GMT
NBA playoffs scores, highlights: Wolves complete the sweep over Suns, Knicks take 3-1 lead over 76ers
[New York Post] – Mon, 29 Apr 2024 00:58:00 GMT
- Precious Achiuwa delivered crucial impact when Knicks needed it most
- Ankle injury keeps Knicks’ Mitchell Robinson out of Game 4 vs. 76ers
- Knicks center Mitchell Robinson questionable for Game 4 vs. Sixers
- Knicks Could Lose Mitchell Robinson After Nasty Foul
- Knicks’ Mitchell Robinson dealing with significant discomfort in left ankle
[The Wall Street Journal] – Mon, 29 Apr 2024 09:30:00 GMT
The New York Knicks Are a Playoff Nightmare
[Sports Illustrated] – Sun, 28 Apr 2024 11:18:59 GMT
- Sopranos Star Calls Out Kelly Oubre for Knicks Talk
- Ben Stiller vs. Kelly Oubre is the random beef the NBA playoffs needs
- Sixers set bright-light sights on Knicks and celebs, too
- Evan: Kelly Oubre made mistake ripping Knicks celebrity row
- 76ers’ Oubre throws shade at Knicks’ celebrity row
[Sports Illustrated] – Sun, 28 Apr 2024 19:56:59 GMT
- Dawn Staley Became an Iconic Meme After Waving Goodbye to Knicks Player in Game 4 vs. Sixers
- Dawn Staley, Allen Iverson lead celebrity cameos during 2024 NBA playoffs
- South Carolina’s March Madness-winning coach Dawn Staley attends Sixers-Knicks playoff game as the Philly nati
- Dawn Staley is Trending After Sixers’ Game 4 Loss
- How South Carolina’s Dawn Staley celebrated 76ers’ NBA playoff win
[New York Post] – Mon, 29 Apr 2024 00:21:00 GMT
Knicks’ Josh Hart still comes up huge despite not making any field goals
[hoopsrumors.com] – Sun, 28 Apr 2024 19:40:00 GMT
Knicks’ Bojan Bogdanovic Suffers Foot Injury Mid-Game
[CBS Sports] – Sun, 28 Apr 2024 22:46:31 GMT
- 2024 NBA playoffs bracket, schedule, games today, scores: Knicks top 76ers in Game 4, Lakers avoid the sweep
- 2024 NBA Playoffs schedule: How to watch tonight’s games
- 2024 NBA playoffs bracket, schedule, games today, scores: Clippers survive Mavs, Knicks top 76ers in Game 4
- NBA Playoff Bracket for Round One – Up-to-date series results for the 2024 Playoffs
- 2024 NBA Playoffs announcing schedule for April 26-29
[Blazer’s Edge] – Sun, 28 Apr 2024 16:45:00 GMT
- Video Highlights: Wolves Sweep; Knicks, Clippers, and Pacers Get Big Wins
- NBA playoffs scores, takeaways: Wolves complete the sweep over Suns, Jalen Brunson gives Knicks 3-1 lead
- Playoff Power Rankings: Celtics, Nuggets lead 16-team field
- Fridays NBA playoffs scores, takeaways: Suns on brink, Mavs overwhelm Clippers, hero Haliburton
- Ranking Each Team After The First Week Of The NBA Playoffs
[Al Jazeera English] – Mon, 29 Apr 2024 06:55:46 GMT
NBA Playoffs: Clippers survive epic Dallas comeback, NY Knicks edge Sixers
[Yahoo Sports] – Mon, 29 Apr 2024 10:30:14 GMT
New York Knicks 97 – Philadelphia 76ers 92: Final score, results, recap, box score, stats
[FOX Sports] – Mon, 29 Apr 2024 05:56:38 GMT
New York Knicks vs Philadelphia 76ers – April 28, 2024
[CBS Sports] – Mon, 29 Apr 2024 04:35:00 GMT
NBA playoffs bracket, schedule, scores: Timberwolves eliminate Suns, move on to second round
230 replies on “Knicks Morning News (2024.04.29)”
Yep. It still is a thing.
Waiting for news on Bogey. If either he or Mitch can play tomorrow, it’s still an 8-man rotation, since Precious will be part of it. It’s just a very different look with Precious in there than either of those guys.
The Embiid comments about Philly are getting so much play I almost want us to lose tomorrow just to hear him get booed by Sixers fans in game 6 harder than Knicks fans in game 5.
Almost but not quite, though.
little nervous about game 5…
feel like embiid is gonna go down swinging and try to take somebody out!
classic Knicks ptsd lol
Embiid is 2 for 16 in the 4Qs of the 3 losses.
Embiid is an amazing player – such a talented shooter for a big man. But the foul grifting is what takes him to another level. But when you can defend him without fouling which is what OG did in the 4th…
Unreal performances by OG and Precious. Crazy to think that Precious and Hart missed all their shots and yet played such a big part in the win (of course if they had hit more shots it probably wouldn’t have been that close!).
Now that Precious has shown he can hang in there against Embiid (with help from doubles and with OG taking some of the load) — I think you have to rest Mitch and make sure his ankle is really right. Even if we get past Philly, gonna need Mitch at the height of his powers (like in game 1) at some point later.
(Speaking of foul grifting – wtf was that Lowry play where Brunson fell down and Lowry tripped over him on purpose. How is that not within the “emphasis” from the beginning of the season where the offensive player creates and exaggerates the contact?”
I can’t believe there’s people out there saying Brunson wasn’t efficient enough getting 47 yesterday. 10 assists 1 turnover and he’s not efficient enough.
there are people saying that?
he had 47 points on roughly 39 shooting possessions (~1.2 PPP) whereas the team had about 1.06 PPP even with him. I am not sure how one complains about this.
Btw from the completely crazy department…
I was the primary antagonist against the trade for Embiid camp last summer (for reasons that all were confirmed in this series). And now that nearly all of you have joined my camp…. I’m kinda ready to switch!
I’ll tell you why:
1. I think he seriously diminished his trade value this year. We’re not trading for the MVP anymore. We’re trading for a 30 y/o six-time-can’t-get-it-done-in-the-playoffs bum with bad knees who doesn’t have the backing of his fan base anymore. (Talk to Sixers fans, they’re done with the guy, would be happy to build around Maxey.
The cost will still be high but it won’t be prohibitive.
2. He wouldn’t have to be the man here. It would be like Porzingis to the Celtics. We could play him 24-28 mins a game and then let Brunson handle all the heavy lifting that he’s so clearly incapable of carrying. We would dominate the minutes he plays, and we wouldn’t need him to overextend himself.
3. I completely trust Thibs & the culture to straighten out his mental weakness.
Sometimes the Post is funny.
Embiid isn’t in full-on basketball shape because of his knee and the layoff.
I’d trade for him in a heartbeat.
Sorry, Hubert, it’s a no.
1. We know that Morey is stubborn about getting value in trades. He’s not going to move this guy, even if he’s coming off another disastrous playoff appearance (assuming it continues to be so), unless he’s getting what he wants.
2. He has now moved past Bam, Trae Young, any Celtic, and any other member of the National Basketball Association, to become Knicks Villain Number One. It is a terrible idea to bring in a guy the fanbase is conditioned to despise, when said guy already has a looooong history of both injury problems and mental breakdowns. They would turn on him in about five seconds, and it would become an ugly feedback loop. No.
I feel you, Alan. Leon Rose loves the guy, though, and I doubt that’s changed.
I would’t go blowing the team up or anything. I was just thinking maybe if Leon can leverage something along the lines of Bojan, Donte, Mitch, and draft capital.
If we could post a lineup of Brunson, Hart, OG, Randle, Embiid and re-sign Hartenstein… I mean, I’ll learn to love Joel.
Knicks down to 13-1 to win it all.
Betting favor seems to have shifted to the top two teams, Boston and Denver. Boston is only +115, Denver +250. ODC next all the way down at +950.
Anyway this was just me having my morning coffee and thinking crazy things out loud. It’s not a position I have strong feelings about and I won’t argue it or anything. I’m just a former trader conditioned to buy the dip if the case for a bounce is strong.
Buying dips is how you win. You certainly don’t win by paying retail, or even more.
In terms of Embiid, as Alan noted, I don’t actually think there’s going to be a dip. No one sane could hold him as the responsible party for this (looks like, but not done yet) loss, and I fully believe Morey is sane.
Everyone in the fanbase is rightly hating on Embiid now, but that’s because of his douchiness. In basketball terms, he’s clearly a superstar. You retool around that; you certainly don’t tear that down.
I think Denver and Minnesota are the two favorites right now but they play each other so that’s impacting their odds. After them I’d go Boston, OKC, Knicks in that order.
Leaks about KD not liking his role on the Suns offense have already begun.
– Great win, but this series isn’t over yet and we have a lot of injured/nicked players, we need another great game tomorrow and I’m really scared about the refs.
– Notoriuos idiot Kelly Oubre Jr, who in his spare time likes to be run over by ghost cars while intoxicated, suggested that Brunson was inefficient, he said that “everyone in the NBA can do that while shooting 34 times”.
Good call loser!
– To me Bojan’s injury is a basketbal play, Batum wasn’t try to hurt him, just to get the ball. Lowry on the other hand is a slimy bag.
– Tyrese Maxey is a class act, great player, nice guy, there’s a a stark difference between him and his lousy loser coach or the Whiny Queen.
– One of Thibs main criticism over the years was his inability to adjust and/or react quickly in playoffs series (and it was deserved, for the most part).
He’s doing quite the opposite so far. Old dogs can learn new tricks!
– Go get Booker Leon!
The defense in the fourth was great but the Knicks threw a few dumb doubles at Embiid and were not punished for the open 3s. A few of them were just doubling off Maxey one pass away. I don’t think that is very sustainable, and hope they can be a little smarter about those doubles.
I can’t stand KD, but imagine him at the 4. Jeez.
Edit: I think Booker could be the guy to get if Giannis is not available. It’s clear the Knicks need a second outlet – though it might have been different with Randle – and maybe the cost is not prohibitive after these playoffs.
Suns are most likely just going to change the coach, attribute the whiff primarily to him, retool around the “Big 3,” and run it back.
If the Bucks lose, I anticipate them attributing their whiff to injuries (and probably rightly so).
I’m not sure much is going to shake free, especially when we remember that these teams have massive 1RP future debts as well.
Yeah the Suns new owner ain’t rebuilding.
No to Embiid.
No to KD.
No to Lebron.
No to Paul George.
Maybe to Booker.
Yes to Giannis.
YES TO MIKAL.
I know Mikal seems like the most impossible one but I still think he’s the move to make.
DDV can move to the bench (and would be fine with it). A bench backcourt of McBride and DDV would be the best bench back court in the league.
Mikal gives you two elite defenders at the 2 and 3 who are super switchable. Our defense would be sick. He’s a great 3 point shooter and can be a great 3rd or 4th option.
Brunson/MrBride
Mikal/DDV
OG/Hart
Randle/Precious
iHart/Mitch
This is one of the squads in the league with elite defense, three point shooting, switchable players and 2 all-star level scorers and one superstar top 5 player. We would win a championship. The vibes would be off the charts with the 4 Nova boys.
Bojan and 4 picks. 5 picks if necessary.
Or don’t trade for anyone.
Make your draft picks, get Randle healthy, resign iHart and Precious and bring this squad back with a healthy Randle and 2 rookies at the end of the bench to develop while we compete for a title.
I’ve committed to not commenting too much on Thibs this postseason, but what happened yesterday was actually another testament to his inability to adjust or react quickly.
He was indefensibly idle while Hartenstein picked up 5 fouls in the 3Q. And this whole thing of making iHart go mano-a-mano with Embiid all the time makes no sense. He’s just been too rigid to use anything other than “center guards center”, and it has largely deprived us of iHart’s impact on both ends of the court.
Proactive adjustment is using your best strategy before necessity demands it. OG has always been the right move for Embiid and I’ve been calling for it since before the series started. Maybe not for 48 minutes but definitely in the 4Q. I’m glad he finally discovered it but it took 3.75 games, one injury, and 5 fouls to get there.
And you know what the damning thing is? I’ll bet you $10 that tomorrow Thibs goes right back to the bad strategy of using iHart one-on-one and sticks with it unless he’s forced to use the good one again.
Funny thing, the italian announcers (yes, I was spared of RJ and Co.) were relentless calling Embiid offensive moves “offensive fouls” all game long.
“How can a defender do his job if Embiid’s always leaning to him provoking contact and the refs are rewarding him? I understand the Knicks frustration, I’d be as pissed off as they are” said a former player.
It was refreshing and infuriating at the same time.
What is wild to me with this series is how every game has basically played out the same.
Philly jumps out to an 8 to 10 point lead in the first and looks like the much better team. Knicks claw back a little in the 2nd. Knicks pull ahead in the 4th. Philly makes one last push in the 4th. Knicks close it out at the end of the game with defense and rebounding. Maxey continues to keep it close but Embiid is too exhausted to not do the little things to win down the stretch.
The only difference was game 4 when Philly shot insanely hot in the 3rd quarter.
Hubie, as long as the adjustments are within a game it’s a progress for Thibs, he used to take entire series (if ever) to change his strategies… 😉
I only recall one open 3. The Knicks rotated well and did a good job positioning themselves to cover 2 men off the ball. It really speaks to the Knicks’ preparation and the speed that group can get from the paint to the arc.
The Suns and the Lakers are in the same boat. They have two or three stars and a forgettable supporting cast. They both made it to the first round and probably aren’t going any farther. I don’t think changing coaches will help that much. Ham actually seems pretty good but got unlucky in the first round match up. Vogel doesn’t seem to be coaching as well, but I’m not sure he has the horses to organize a good team defense.
Just 2 things:
1. Godspeed Brunson, Bogdanovic, Mitch, Hart, and OG. If all 5 are available and showing minimal effects from yesterday- this series is over tomorrow. I feel like Bogdanovic was in line for a good game yesterday based on his activity and the way he looked locked in before he got hurt. And when I say activity, I really mean the energy in his movements. Had he not gotten hurt, we probably win by 10 points because all we needed was one more shot maker.
2. I waited 3 games to say this, because I first attributed to frustration with physicality. But clearly Embiid isn’t accustomed to physical defense as he is used to pushing guys around due to most bigs playing him like they’re more worried about officiating. I thought our guys naturally play with that grit and are effective at doing so, and it just got in his head. But no- Embiid really has turned into a dirty player this series and I don’t like it. He’s way too good to devolve into a guy who has to do dirty things to effect the series and get calls. Shit..he’s already averaging around 14 FT’s a game! Cut the bs Joel!
If Morey trades Embiid to the Knicks after losing a round 1 series the city of Philadelphia is going to burn, there’s no way in hell this ever happens. It would be absolutely insane. For better or worse Embiid is their guy, their best player since forever, there’s zero chance unless Embiid himself comes out with a hard-line trade request, and that’s also super unlikely. They have no choice but to wait and hope he ever gets a postseason without injuries (which is also super unlikely but it’s still their best chance). There’s just no such thing as trading a MVP level player for adequate value.
When given a choice between using Hali, Mathurin, or Hield to guard an opponent’s star, Vogel went with Hield because the other two were worse on defense.
Btw Hield was a DNP-coach’s decision last night, because his defense was so that bad Nurse wouldn’t let him touch the floor.
To Donnie from last night, a big no. I want this to end Tuesday partly because the team needs to rest, but mostly because I do, too. Lengthening this series might kill me.
I’m not sure how you call 35 ppg 9 rpg and 5.5 apg with a +34 in his 160 minutes “another disastrous playoff appearance”.
For comparison a pretty fair bb player named Michael Jordan only averaged 33.4 ppg 6.4 rpg and 5.7 apg for his career.
He is a whiney, dirty bleeper, but one of the top 2 or 3 best players in the league,
Exactly what he needs is to play 32 mpg with a good backup, with a coach that won’t coddle him with players that don’t fear him.
But it will never happen because the price would be excessive.
Bob, you know what I mean. He killed us in game 3, and has been unstoppable whenever he has energy. But his fourth quarters have generally been rough — including the kind of moment for which he and Doc drove Ben Simmons out of town — he’s played dirty as hell, and the team seems likely to go out in the first round. I’ve been skimming Liberty Ballers and other Sixers fan places for the schadenfreude of it all, and it’s remarkable how thoroughly most of the fanbase has turned on the guy. Even with the numbers, it’s a terrible, terrible look for him.
Good stuff from Begley on OG and Precious’s defense in the fourth quarter, including this:
Full article here: https://sny.tv/articles/og-anunoby-precious-achiuwa-joel-embiid-knicks-game-4-76ers
I said it after the game yesterday, this series has been too competitive between 2 very good teams that it doesn’t feel like it should end in 5 games. I hope I’m wrong cause the Knicks could definitely use a few days off but it wouldn’t be surprising if Philly wins tomorrow but the Knicks close them out in Philly.
Hopefully Philly had their spirit broken yesterday and Knicks for once can get off to a quick start and make Philly basically quit early but I assume tomorrow will be another tough game that goes down to the wire.
Looks like the Suns are, in fact, going to make Vogel the scapegoat for everything:
More here: https://theathletic.com/5456932/2024/04/29/phoenix-suns-season-end-frank-vogel-kevin-durant/
There is no way in hell OG can guard Embiid even for half of the game. Part of the strategy – which has worked wonders – is to tire Embiid, who notoriously suffers in 4th quarters. I-Hart has been undisciplined but is also pushing Embiid a lot throughout the game. OG did a tremendous job on him yesterday, but it was also Embiid at his most fatigued.
Thibs hasn’t had to make major adjustments defensively because the plan has been mostly working outside of the ridiculous foul bating and shot making in game 3. Mitch shut Embiid down late in game 1, I-Hart shut him down late in game 2. But it’s clear to me that they know Embiid cannot hold up with them physically so they want to keep a big guy at him the whole game.
The other very good adjustment that Thibs made yesterday was to start with Hart on Maxey and OG on Oubre (I think), playing mostly as a free roamer. The Knicks were down in the first because they couldn’t hit shots, but their defense was good. He also basically fixed the way the Knicks guarded Embiid-Maxey P&Rs. You can’t say he hasn’t been flexible. He has stuck to his plan by and large because it was working, but adapted on the margins as needed throughout.
I think lots of folks are forgetting that this was proposed as a gap year for the Sixers and how Embiid might react negatively to that. And Morey almost pulled off making the team a contender while not sacrificing future position. I think Morey had his best year as Philly GM. It has been derailed by an unfortunate (but imo predictable) knee injury to Embiid.
So after this quality “gap year” Morey is in an excellent position to improve the supporting cast around Maxey and Embiid. It would literally be insanity for him to consider trading Embiid at this point.
They need to get rid of and replace Oubre Jr. and old man Batum, make Lowry a 10-20 mpg backup at most, and get a legit backup C. There are going to be some good players available, Morey is gonna have lots of opportunities this offseason and has cap flexibility and assets. Embiid isn’t going anywhere.
I thought the acquisition of Durant at such a high cost was a mistake, and the Beal move was unforgivable. The Suns are a mess.
I’m not even sure how the Suns could try to run things back. As The Athletic article notes, they desperately need both a real starting point guard, and some kind of wing defender. But they can’t use the midlevel exception because they’re over the second apron, and they can’t take back more money in trades than they send out. They do have the ability to trade a couple of firsts (this year’s and 2031) on draft night, but, again, they would have to be very delicate in the cap machinations on that.
Wasn’t this the story around the Harden Rockets year after year?
They have flexibility, but who is available that could really help? They are losing a ton of shooting and defense around Maxey/Embiid: Lowry, Hield (who has not obviously not worked), Batum, Melton, Oubre and Payne and all FAs. They have bird rights on some of them (not on Lowry, Oubre or Payne though) and could bring them back. But between a good back up center and a good wing 3&D, $60 million won’t take them that far. And who is really available in FA that could help significantly? Plus, once Maxey’s extension kicks in, they will be locked into this core.
So I’m a bit skeptical on their ability to turn it around quickly. I don’t think Morey will trade Embiid, to be clear, but I’m bearish on their future with Embiid now reaching his 30s on bad knees.
Yeah, the city of Philadelphia seems incredibly receptive to a Joel Embiid trade this summer.
I’m sure Isiah Thomas will figure it out for Phoenix.
Have we unlocked a way to guard Embiid or is it just a question of having a different look that he hasn’t adjusted to yet? He did seem to, um, take care of our other centers, one way or another…
The player with 6 rings was Oh for his first six trips to the playoffs. Once they put Horace Grant, Bill Cartwright, Scottie Pippen and BJ Armstrong around him and later Dennis Rodman, Steve Kerr, Toni Kukoc and Ron Harper, only then Michael Jordan’s playoff runs weren’t disastrous disappointments.
MJ reached the Conference Finals in his 5th and 6th seasons before winning it all in his 7th season.
The glorious 4th quarter defense here: https://x.com/JustEsBaraheni/status/1784690386084003967
I thought there had been more open 3s off doubles, but there aren’t many in this clip (not sure if it includes all defensive plays).
I heard Kelly Oubre hint at something like that, but look at the source.
MJ had more energy in the flu game than Embiid has ever had.
It’s amazing that he still thinks if you keep adding scorers that’s enough to win a championship.
I suspect Philly management will tell themselves that injuries derailed their season and that if they can improve their depth with their salary cap space and not have to overuse a recovering Embiid they will do better next season.
Two or three times in his press conference Thibs was asked specifically about OG’s defense, and each time he switched to talk about Hart’s defensive flexibility, and tremendous play.
Anyone else notice it? I wonder what was it about, and if it’s a thing in the locker room.
]f Morey is as smart as I think he is, he will throw the kitchen sink at OG. He is the perfect player with Embiid and Maxey.
There is no indication whatsoever that OG won’t re-sign with the Knicks.
Embiid is what he’s been the last few years-when healthy he’s one of the 2 or 3 best players in the NBA and a guy who is never healthy in the playoffs. Philly can rebuild almost that entire roster this offseason around him and Maxey, they aren’t going to trade Joel because some of their fans are in their feels
I read recently (not sure where) that PG is a Morey target.
There are Super Teams on paper that simply don’t click and there are Super Diva Players that anywhere they go the team gets fucked.
There are also Teams with a culture that manage to use players effectively and coaches that get the best out of their roster.
It’s not just stats and stars and you get the chip. It takes a specific Way to go there.
And We’re not that far away as it seems to need Embiid or other cancerous superbitches
I’m not sure what that is supposed to mean, but Embiid looked pretty good putting up 50 the other night. He can’t play 44 minutes after missing 43 games during the regular season, if that is your point.
I get the criticism, and no one is above it, but he missed the finals the Kawhi year because Kawhi hit a “Hail Mary” fall away 3 rail billiard shot 3 at the buzzer. Twice he was hampered with eye socket orbital bone fractures from taking elbows to the mush. The majority of his career he has been surrounded with “clutch” players Tobias Harris, Ben Simmons and James (trade me) Harden.
I didn’t say he WOULD sign with Philly, but he is the best available free agent for Philly due to age , skill and style. If Morey throws a max contract his way it puts Leon in an uncomfortable place.
That happened in the 2nd round, not the ECF. I get really annoyed that people constantly bring this up like he was one shot away from the finals. He wasn’t. He still had another round of games to get through. You can’t 1 to 1 it and say oh since the raptors won it all, they would have. We have no idea how they would have played in the ECF.
Leon would still pay after what they gave up for him (and can’t the Knicks offer an extra year?). Plus, given how quick NBA FA moves, the Sixers can’t put all of their eggs in this basket.
I think that’s the most likely scenario right now. They may just add some bench depth and wait until the NEXT deadline.
The Knicks are competitive with and may beat one of the best teams in the East while down Randle and Mitch. That’s impressive.
I’m not buying that Embiid’s injury is a major factor. He’s been playing great. He always gets gassed at the end of games. That’s been a problem his entire career because he’s never fully fit and at a good weight due to the injuries.
IMO they are going to want to take a better look at this team at 100% for a longer stretch before making a major move unless there’s something out there that’s too good to pass on.
It’s not even 100% clear to me what they should do.
I guess they can try to upgrade DDV and turn him into the 6th man off the bench instead.
It’s kind of fuzzy to me because both J-Hart and DDV have been critical to our success at times, but both have flaws as starters. When Randle comes back one of them will go to the bench.
Maybe this period is revealing what I’ve always thought about Randle in that he doesn’t add as many wins and people think despite the lofty boxscore stats. They are going to need a solid 2nd option scorer, but it doesn’t have to be Randle.
Also, the game was tied when Kawhi hit that shot. It would have gone to OT, with the Raptors at home, and the Sixers could have still lost that game (especially given how Embiid does on high minutes).
“Peak” Embiid’s Team on paper will always be a constant Contender.
On paper
On the court despite being matched with pretty good players he’s getting beaten each year on a different style.
Embiid has become a Playoff Spanked Diva that makes fans hate him despite his game “looking” Stellar.
Randle’s absence is going to really standout in a series vs Indiana. With him the Knicks should handle them easily in 5 games, without him it will probably be a 6 or 7 game series.
I would have no problem running it back with hopefully using both 1st rd picks and maybe using one of the smaller exemptions to add a veteran bench piece. It will be very interesting though to see what players get traded this summer and how involved the Knicks will be in trade talks. Obviously OG and iHart free agency will be a huge talking point this summer too.
“Wasn’t this the story around the Harden Rockets year after year?”
I despised the Harden Rockets, and am not a fan of Morey or D’Antoni. But that was a legit contender, and like a lot of legit contenders, they came up a bit short due to some bad breaks and variance at the wrong time. But all in all, Morey did a fantastic job there. And for a cold-blooded dick, he was on the right side of the China issue. I have very begrudging respect for him.
This offseason is a great opportunity for him to pull something off. Ditching Embiid would be insane. You just can’t replace him, and whatever haul you got for him would set things back several years.
I hate Joel Embiid. I am not alone among Knicks fans. He will never play for New York.
To me, trading for Embiid would be just another dead end version of the Melo trade. You don’t gut the team for the likes of him. Just like the Suns should not have gutted their team for the likes of old man Durant.
If it happened, I wouldn’t be happy at all. However, I’d root hard for him to get us a chip, just like I did for Melo. I don’t think he’s a bad guy, just a big, frustrated loose cannon doofus who tries too hard to be cool.
I’m not looking forward to playing Indiana any more than I was looking forward to playing the 76ers. The Pacers don’t play much defense, but the addition of Siakam makes them formidable, especially because as you said, we don’t have Randle for that specific matchup.
Again, fuck Embiid
No interest in Booker. He is soft and is a B minus version of Jalen
Thinking about IHart, maybe a poor playoff performance lets him come back at the number we need.
I actually thought our perimeter rotation was great yesterday, at least in the second half. You are going to give up open threes but the contrast with Hart Deuce and OG rotating versus the slow as molasses shit we had here for 20 years is stark. To be fair, Grimes and IQ did a great job but it has made a big difference not having RJ out there. What is great too is that even with the frenetic switching we still manage to get boards.
The Sixers inability to defensive rebound yesterday probably made David Berri sleep very well. I don’t think you can take a defensive rebound for granted when Kelly Oubre is on the court.
This team is good and I would rather watch it for a few years then wreck the vibes for an overrated star. In Leon I trust too. Lots of people still hate him but the guy hasn’t put a foot wrong in a while.
Me neither. He’s played fine.
A question for all How does Randle fit in with the current group in terms of role and minutes?
He fits in the way he fit in during January when we were destroying teams.
Hart has been great but Randle is also a monster rebounder and a better scorer by a thousand miles than Hart. Hart should be a 3, not a 4.
Guys, Randle is REALLY FUCKING GOOD.
I love the intel on fans turning on Embiid (along with Katz fanning the fire). Philly fans are some of the meanest out there, and nobody deserves it more than Embiid. I sure hope he stays…
No interest in Booker. He is soft and is a B minus version of Jalen
A B minus version of Jalen is easily an all NBA player.
Just a slight revision on my opinion of trading Embiid, it would be a lot like the Nets trading Durant to the Suns for a huge haul and they aren’t all that far from being good again. So “insane” might be a bit hyperbolic. Maybe “suboptimal” might be better?
I’m not worried about Siakam, OG will take care of him. The problem is their PGs and just overall pace. I’m sure the Knicks will impose their strength and will probably find it easier playing the Pacers after this grueling series vs Philly but still it won’t be an easy series.
Adding Julius Randle might even be something people on this board would pitch if he was elsewhere. And that January Knicks team was amazing, maybe also the “cheapest” top five team? But you guys know that stuff better than I do.
Randle and picks for Durant?
Probably not. I don’t think the Knicks will be significantly better, and their window will be 1-2 years max.
Randle, Mitch, and picks for Embiid?
You have to do it. Brunson, DDV, Hart, OG and Embiid, with IHart, McBride and Precious is as good a rotation as any in the league.
Bringing Booker in would create a lot of conflict. He is just too duplicative with Brunson. When Randle is back we have another creator.
And I have just never liked Booker that much. Good player but not great.
He’s never been able to.
I hope no one thinks this whole out of breath, out of shape thing is new or bc he missed 40 games. It’s the primary knock that’s followed him since he was at Kansas.
When I brought it up last summer everyone thought I was insane but that’s only bc that’s often how people react to ideas that aren’t covered in national media. Philly fans knew about it, though. They were the ones who put me on to it.
He’s been in suboptimal shape his whole career. He’s also been talented enough to be incredible anyway. But it always seems to catch up w him.
I’m generally not the superstitious type, but I think we should stop discussing our next round opponent until we’ve actually closed out this round.
Also, if I was a Philly fan I would be so infuriated by Tobias Harris. He’s kind of the anti-Josh Hart, a guy who just disappears over long stretches and seems to have no impact on the game.
Yesterday, 34 minutes, 4-10 FG, 10 points, 8 rebounds, no blocks, no steals.
Oh, and he’s in the 5th year of a $180 MM contract
A question for all How does Randle fit in with the current group in terms of role and minutes?
Good question and the answer is probably TBD. But as Swifty says, the January sample size looked mighty good. Beast-mode Randle, especially when he starts the game as that, looks like a great fit. But the MVPish Jalen leap happened sans Julius. So there may be spacing and some fringe issues. Personally, I would rather not trade him other than for a like-for-like PF upgrade (versus eg a SG upgrade), and I don’t see any available on the horizon.
Of course, if/when we reach/win the Finals my tune may change.
https://twitter.com/AndrewJClaudio_/status/1784719836016148892?s=19
Booker’s stats are incredibly similar to Donovan Mitchell’s. I love this team to death but last night the only person who could consistently create offense was Brunson. Would love a second guy…
who the fuck is running this book club? hey, today seems like a good today to talk about, idk, trading for joel embiid. knickerblogger having a worse playoffs than tobias harris.
Paul, that’s Randle. Assuming full recovery.
20+ years of expecting bad outcomes don’t go away overnight I guess…
edit: and yes I know Randle is here, and I’m crushed he can’t be a part of this. But are we burying the good Randle/bad Randle narrative? There’s a small part of me that wonders if these team is succeeding now because in Randle’s absence they are completely and totally unselfish… Of course any star who come bring his own ego so…
Not only that, I proposed we offer Donte, Mitch, and Bojan!
It was a terrible job by me. I should give up caffeine.
Looks like Stephen A was already on TV this morning saying Booker wants to go to the Knicks…
“Randle, Mitch, and picks for Embiid?
You have to do it. Brunson, DDV, Hart, OG and Embiid, with IHart, McBride and Precious is as good a rotation as any in the league.”
Morey would kill himself before making that trade. You make that trade in a heartbeat and then try to make Embiid into ancient Shaq on Miami or ancient Duncan on SAS or ancient Kareem on the Lakers.
JAnuary was a long time ago but RAndle was not playing selfish then. OG brought more movement with him for whatever reason and RAndle was playing into that. This is a guy who can dish out 6 to 10 assists a game when he feels like it. He’s a really good passing big man! Turnovers be damned!
He’s also a perfectly capable defender and a beast on the boards. Not to mention he can drop 20 in his sleep. We would be crushing Philly right now if we had Randle.
If we traded for Booker, hopefully Thibs and the general Knicks culture of grit and grime would rub off on him. But as it stands, his defense is a problem.
Probably an equal proposition to Donovan Mitchell in my book. Not ideal, but interesting. Depends on the price.
Or Randle could be struggling in the playoffs again. We really don’t know, and it sucks that we were deprived of learning.
“He’s also a perfectly capable defender and a beast on the boards. Not to mention he can drop 20 in his sleep. We would be crushing Philly right now if we had Randle.”
The way we were just demolishing teams after the OG trade was pretty cool. I’d be down for a full year of that! And one of the main reasons? Deuce’s emergence. He’s been pretty awesome as a backup combo guard. In 4 playoff games, he been putting up a .643 TS% on 19% usage, has a 4:1 AST/TOV ratio, and is playing to a 4.9 BPM. And he’s only going to get better. Dude has enormous cojones.
“cancerous superbitch”
New favorite term.
Stephen A is a known idiot who says things just to say them.
And I agree, let’s just ask and what’s going on so far, keep our fingers crossed that we close it out, and worry about later later
I understand how strong we were in January with Randle, but it seems that the ball movement and spacing on the offense improved in his absence and the defensive intensity and rotations improved with jHart. Obviously having both Hart and Randle is much better and gives Thibs more flexibility.
I think Randle would have been much more useful against the Sixers than in a potential Pacers matchup. They are really missing another creator in this series. It’s another story with the Bucks, as I think he has generally done a good job on Giannis. I don’t see the Pacers’ being interested or disciplined defensively to do what the Sixers are doing to Brunson (and even then it didn’t matter in the last two games). I think the main challenge will be defensively, where Randle doesn’t help as much.
This is where I am. I’m not a championship or bust person, and I’d love to see this team give it a run at full strength next year. The vibes are fun, and let’s keep it that way. Improve on the margins/bench and they’ll be fine.
A close friend was recently offered to be fixed up with SAS. I showed her about 5 minutes of him on YouTube and she wisely demurred.
it’s okay hubie i know someone who had a divorce lawyer officiate their wedding.
taking OG off maxey has been a clear improvement. i don’t thinking keeping him on embiid for an entire game is likely to go well, but keeping him on oubre as a helper and then sometimes on embiid as a change up, especially when embiid is tired, seems like the way to go.
ihart really wasn’t himself on defense yesterday and it wasn’t just the fouls. happily surprised we could win with so much detritus. it was really huge to have deuce as yet another workhorse alongside og and hart — a workhorse who you have to guard at the line.
again, imagine first game of the season hearing we’d win a playoff game in philly with a closing lineup that didn’t include any of: randle, rj, quickley, grimes, mitch, ihart, or donte
If this was posted, I missed it…Per Begley:
Edit: ptmilo, I deleted my post after learning that this may not be the real Brock Aller?
zman:
https://x.com/brock_aller/status/1784612333102244195?s=46
brian pls delete post before this that was unfair competition
Thanks, guys. That’s what happens when you spend a weekend at Montauk looking for wayward golf balls and doing a bad job of saying no to anything that involves a glass, bottle, or bowl.
‘has a 4:1 AST/TOV ratio’
Z-Man thanks for posting this. Lost in the general cheering for Deuce is that while he’s perhaps a mediocre passer (i.e., he’s no iHart!), he very rarely turns the ball over. That’s a useful skill right there (and one I’m not used to from previous years of Knicks watching…).
You and your friend realize his act on ESPn is mainly to create controversy and clicks, right. He might be a fine fellow in real life. I have no way of knowing by his persona on TV. At least you know he is a lifelong Knicks fan so you know he understands suffering like the old masters*
Respect to W. H. Auden….
Grunfeld offered Reggie Miller a contract back in ‘96, if my memory serves me well.
I suspect Randle is eager to play with this group and to have a much easier time scoring.
It wasn’t so long ago that most Knick possessions were just “give it to Julius” by design. It was always a chore for him, and a chore to watch, even when it worked, which, truth be told, was surprisingly often.
One positive result of Randle’s injury is that the team “learned” to pass. I don’t think that’s ever going away now. My guess is Julius can’t wait to join in, and we should be a frightening force in the future.
Edit: ptmilo, I deleted my post after learning that this may not be the real Brock Aller?
shit that should have been obvious
We should keep in mind we had a very soft schedule for awhile when we were at 100% and winning all those games.
Anthony DAvis was the same way. Then he got to take 4 months off before the playoffs without missing any games and won his championship. EMbiid could benefit from a cataclysm one day, too, you never know.
BPL
You are probably right about his on-air schtick, but as a woman who has been pursued by a variety of men from professional athletes to Nobel Peace prize ( in economics) winners she has developed a pretty accurate and uncanny sense about how high profile men will treat her.
And yet …. 😉
“We should keep in mind we had a very soft schedule for awhile when we were at 100% and winning all those games.”
So what? Were the teams we playing trying to lose? Was Miami trying to lose the game in which Randle went down?
It’s not that we were winning, it was the way we were winning. Teams had no answer for us on either end.
PS we were not 100%, Mitch was out and OG’s elbow was barking.
If this is accurate and Ju also does not take off as many plays on D as he has in the past, we will indeed be a scary force to be contended with.
Reggie was different. We hated him because he kept ripping our hearts out, and because he took such obvious pleasure doing it. He didn’t try crippling our guys.
I was formerly pro-Embiid for all the obvious reasons. The Knicks probably have not had a player as good as the fully healthy version of Embiid in the history of the franchise.
You can probably see where this is going though–I’m now all the way out. “Chronically unavailable or hampered in the playoffs” is just not a wart you can hand wave away, and there’s no point in even entertaining a scenario in which Daryl Morey trades him to us with that massive flaw priced in. It would be an “all of the picks, all of the players” type of trade. Building a team around the guy has been a total dead end for the Sixers.
The “gap year” approach with a player like Embiid had such glaring risks I pretty much assumed it was a bluff from Morey to get the best present-oriented Harden deal possible, but nope, he really just…took a gap year in Embiid’s prime, with no guarantees whatsoever that the gap would be closed.
The Harden situation left them with no easy answers so I won’t pretend I could’ve done any better, it was just pretty wild to watch them go about it. I guess it’s 34 year-old Paul George or bust?
I’m an optimist, but I suspect Julius might also be inspired by the D going on out there. I’m sure he wants some blocks, too 😉
Again, we’re all just spitballing, but our lineup with Julius — on paper — is something to be admired on both sides of the ball, especially if Deuce really has a solid shot now, etc.
Overall the schedule was sort of soft but we also beat the T-Wolves (without OG having a practice), beat Philly with healthy Embiid by 36 in Philly, and beat Denver by 38.
Every game is still sort of a rock fight. Sometimes the 3 ball is there but if it isn’t, it is very much Jalen-centric and the offense goes as far as he takes them. With Julius, it’s much easier for us to outscore other teams and probably not need every ounce of energy for every game.
But the major difference between us and Philly – we are designed to withstand bad shooting nights because we absolutely crush the possession game and we defend like a pack of rabid hyenas. Without Embiid getting an unbelievably friendly whistle in a game that he should have been ejected from (and to be fair, putting on an absolutely insane shooting exhibition in the 2nd half), this would have been a sweep.
I was all for signing Reggie. I hated him but thought we could come together on defeating the common enemy that was the Bulls.
I don’t think I can root for Embiid if this is the kind of guy he is.
PS — I wonder if any of you good folks have a source on the performance incentives earned by Knicks on contracts this year.
I know iHart got a 350K bump when we won 40 games. I’m wondering what other such bumps might be there for all players, and how many have kicked in or are likely due to playoffs, etc.
Just avoiding work on a Monday 😉
EDIT: Frank just made Thibs’s day, “… and we defend like a pack of rabid hyenas.” Haha.
If we make it to the second round any team we play will be difficult. No one gets to the second round without playing competitive basketball
I doubt just putting OG onto Embiid is a simple solution-I think Embiid at the start of games is just going to push him under the basket
Yeah, I’d be on board with Embiid if the cost was reasonable to get him, but it won’t be, so…
I’m just enjoying the team as is. It sucks that Randle is out and Mitch gimpy, but other guys have and are stepping up. Let’s hope they close out game 5 to make my prediction come true (:D) and get the team some rest.
Imagine being on Sunsblogger today thinking about another 3 years of Brad Beal at 50 million
It’s ok, ptmilo, I know a friend who once got a parking ticket bc the Mayor Bloombito twitter account said alternate side of the street parking was suspended.
Joel Embiid is averaging 35/9/5.5 in 40 MPG on a bad leg. With basically one supporting weapon.(*)
If that’s to be classified as “chronically hampered or unavailable in the playoffs” then one has to wonder what terminology to use about, say, a Julius Randle or a Spida Mitchell.
(*) I get that everyone hates him, and he has in fact been a mega douche in this series. Ultimately, we all root for laundry. We don’t like to say or think we do smack dab in the middle of a high-bile playoff series — but we do.
The fate of Celtics-haters rests on Jamal Murray’s health and he just picked a calf injury.
Nah, it rests in the hands of the Nova Knicks. 🙂
Fair rejoinder E, but in about 2,000 career playoff minutes, his production falls off a cliff. It’s still quite good, but much closer to “generic all-star” than “perennial MVP candidate.” Funnily enough, these playoffs are arguably his best yet (SSS, obviously), but he still has not looked the part of someone you want to rely on.
It’s just pretty devastating from a team building perspective if you pay the price for an MVP candidate and get all-star-ish production in the playoffs…and that’s when Embiid is actually playing in them.
Devin Booker is a good player. IMO he’s a better fit than Mitchell. At least he’s a bit taller.
The Suns are using him as a PG this year because they don’t have one, but I think he’d be fine playing off the ball with Brunson. IMO he’d be a clear upgrade over DDV and could run the offense when Brunson is out.
The biggest question is how do we match salaries. He’ll be making close to 50M next year. We have the 20m Bojan contract, but after that it starts getting sketchy. I suspect that most of the Villanova boys are protected politically unless one of them wants out. That leaves Randle.
We could theoretically move OG to PF full time and start I-Hart, OG, J-Hart, Booker and Brunson. DDV becomes the 6th man scorer we need off the bench and staggering Booker and Brunson at times gives us a backup PG besides Deuce.
Booker is a better scorer than Randle and we are getting the rebounds and playmaking Randle provides from J-Hart anyway. I don’t hate that, but I don’t think Randle is going anywhere. It feels like this management team likes Randle. So I don’t know how to make it work even if they include Mitch.
The whole point of my Embiid thing was really just that he needs to get to a situation where he’s like Porzingis on the Celtics in order to really win. And that includes having a Horford or Hartenstein kind of guy behind him.
Unfortunately for him, his cost is never going to be low enough to actualize that potential. The closest he’ll probably get to it is on Team USA this summer.
OG is the second most important player on the team, you would never want to risk getting him into foul trouble in the first three quarters by primarily putting him on Embiid. Anyone who thinks that OG or anyone else can easily avoid getting into foul trouble on Embiid is not paying attention. Embiid led the NBA in FTA/36. When he’s not exhausted or hobbled, he is the MVP of the league, specifically because he can’t be defended without fouling, and because he makes almost 90% from the line.
Thibs has to conserve fouls on our depleted bigs by any means possible. iHart did a fine job of not fouling him in the first half, but if he gets into foul trouble early on I would rather see Sims taken out of mothballs than risk OG as the primary defender on him. Even go small and double him every time he touches the ball.
Here’s an interesting one…
Chet for Embiid
Would you do that if you’re OKC? That’s nearly a straight trade, in my opinion, so OKC would still have a gazillion picks to add quality around SGA, Williams, and Embiid. And that’s a place Embiid doesn’t have to be a 30 plus minute guy.
“in about 2,000 career playoff minutes, his production falls off a cliff. It’s still quite good, but much closer to “generic all-star” than “perennial MVP candidate.” Funnily enough, these playoffs are arguably his best yet (SSS, obviously), but he still has not looked the part of someone you want to rely on.”
Embiid has been a bit unlucky in that he has had lousy GMs, and by extension, coaches. All of this is traceable back to the Hinkie firing. The Sixers were in prime position to build a winning culture around Embiid, but they got impatient and didn’t let Hinkie finish the job.
But Embiid himself has been a part of the dysfunction. He’s a weird dude, not really a leader, and not the most heady player. Way too emotional, way too candid. He needs to be paired with a true alpha, and I don’t think Maxey is that guy, at least yet.
I agree that the KP role would be ideal for him, but I doubt that he would ever accept that until he is clearly out of his prime.
The biggest thing the Randle injury did was prove that Brunson could up his usage and score efficiently even if the opposing team is focused on stopping him and he has no real 2nd option. That’s what derailed Randle in the playoffs a couple years back. He couldn’t do it. That doesn’t mean we wouldn’t be way better off with a legit 2nd option, but Brunson keeps proving anyone that doubts him wrong.
I wouldn’t be happy if we traded Randle. He earned his shot at glory with this team. I want to see him win with us.
You don’t need the Randle “floor game” if you have Jalen Brunson (and to a degree Josh Hart, who’s better at it than Julius.)
I mean, yeah, you could be giving a few of JB’s possessions to Julius here — but why? To what end?
What they really need, if they’re going to Swiss Army knife things with Josh Hart (*) is a better wing than DDV. All we can do is hope that he picks it up.
(*) Which I have no objection to, so long as he keeps the shooting at at least passable levels. Check, so far. Hopefully yesterday is just a bad one and he’ll bounce back.
Why on earth would OKC add 40,000,000 in salary and 8 years in age to the already #1 seed in the West?
The Suns won’t blow it up; they can still build around KD and Booker.
First, they must move Beal to the bench. He might be fine as a microwave shooter for 15 minutes a game. Allen is a good player… but they might have to trade him for a real point guard like a Tre Jones/TJ Maconnell type. Next, draft Ryan Dunn as your wing defender. Then find a decent backup center abroad or as an undrafted free agent.
It’s not enough to get out of the West, but they will always be competitive with KD/Booker and a tighter D.
A couple of things:
First, I am not at all worried about the Pacers if we make it out of the first. Guys, we’re playing Philly with a relatively healthy Joel Embiid and are making them look pedestrian. If we beat Philly in 6, I’d expect a gentleman’s sweep at worst against Indiana. If we beat them in 5, I’d expect a sweep. Indiana plays a soft, regular season brand of basketball that we would hammer into the ground, unless they had outlier shooting luck.
Second: My friend mentioned what this series would’ve looked like with RJ instead of OG and the image it brought to mind made me guffaw. It would be a bloodbath–imagine RJ getting switched onto Embiid or Maxey and just getting totally cooked over and over. And then imagine him trying to drive into Embiid and Oubre. That trade is the gift that keeps on giving, especially with IQ showing some growing pains as a lead guard in Toronto.
Finally, I also think the FO is undecided w/r/t next season’s strategy. This team is really good and is missing its all-NBA forward and the healthy version of its starting center. We’re the 2nd favorite team to win our conference. If we make it to the ECF and give Boston a good run, I imagine the FO will only tinker at the margins. If something goes really wrong this series or next, we may make a more drastic move. Personally, I’m for keeping this group intact–they are so, so much more fun to watch compared to Embiid foul-grifting theater and Tatum and Brown chucking stepback jumpers.
I disagree that this series shows you don’t need Randle. As good as Brunson has been these last two games, the team shooting stats overall are ugly:
https://www.basketball-reference.com/playoffs/2024-nba-eastern-conference-first-round-76ers-vs-knicks.html
A .532 TS% is not sustainable. Philly has a .572 TS%. Thankfully we grab all the offensive rebounds.
Randle can do a bunch of things, and perhaps the most important of them is creating easy shots for Brunson. I don’t have the numbers in front of me, but Brunson’s 3PT percentage has fallen a lot without Randle, because he no longer gets catch and shoot opportunities anymore. I think you can count how many of those opportunities he had this series on one hand.
“It’s not enough to get out of the West, but they will always be competitive with KD/Booker and a tighter D.”
Soon to be 36yo Kevin Durant just had the worst season since he was 20 years old. He’s still an all-star level player, but seems like the years are starting to catch up with him. Not everyone can be LeBron.
On top of that, Bradley Beal might be on the single most toxic contract in the NBA right now.
Constructing a Big 3 of Booker/KD/Beal might be one of the most ill-conceived FO moves in NBA history. They had Mikal locked up on one of the best contracts in the NBA and vastly underestimated his value to winning. They sold low on Ayton and Beal is a mirage.
I don’t see a possible solution other than trading all of them and starting from scratch.
Because Jokic isn’t going anywhere.
Yeah … maybe that is another reason why you don’t want Embiid on your team.
Randle, like Embiid, is overly-emotional, not a leader, and has an inflated sense of self. Unfortunately, he is not on Embiid’s level as a player.
But that aside from that, Randle would absolutely help us. He keeps OG at the SF spot, which I think is optimal. He constantly draws hard doubles, creating space. He seems to have become a better cutter off the ball. He physically pounds the shit out of defenders, especially on switches with smaller players. He gets opponents in foul trouble. He’s an all-NBA rebounder. And now that RJ is not in his space, he seems to be freed up.
Having Brunson as the clear brain of the team is a check against Randle’s worst tendencies. He’s on a value contract right now. We should just roll with it until something too hard to refuse comes up.
marechal,
I didn’t say we don’t need Randle. I said Hart has been giving us the rebounding and playmaking Randle usually gives us and that Brunson upping his usage and remaining relatively efficient despite no 2nd option has proven how good he really is. We still need a solid 2nd option to help Brunson. It just doesn’t have to be Randle given J-Hart’s best attributes .
It’s not unusual for a team’s TS% to drop in the playoffs.
Our offense has been dependent on offensive rebounds all season long. That’s our differentiator.
The offense would be better with Randle playing.
I feel this way too. I get that “vibes” is not a stat and not how you should build a team but fuckin’ A, man. Randle came here when we absolutely SUCKED. He helped drag us to the playoffs for the first time in almost a decade. He was here before Leon or Thibs or Brunson or OG. He deserves his shot at a title with this franchise that he helped turn around.
And please don’t tell me we don’t need him. He’s a 25 and 10 guy who can also dish out a bunch of assists and plays a very physical style.
Our “we here” team was not that good in hindsight. It’s no wonder Atlanta was able to slow him down. And last year he was hurt. He deserves a shot.
I think best scenario is trading Bojan for Mikal. Mikal’s play this season has been subpar, and he might not be the alpha player that Nets thought he would be. That may render him available just for a shit ton of picks.
That, together with keeping iHart and having a healthy Randle would makes us absolutely a contender.
I agree with you on most of this. I think the two attributes that Hart doesn’t bring and Randle does are gravity and tough shot-making. Randle, when he’s going right, creates space for Brunson and others. Hart is kind of the opposite. He makes it work with the other parts of his game, but they still need someone to create those easy spot-up threes from inside. I agree it doesn’t have to be Randle – OG and Hart’s versatility give the Knicks flexibility – but they need the defense breaking gravity/passing, which only Brunson can offer.
I haven’t seen anything during the playoffs that would make me even entertain the idea we’re better off without Randle. There are still plenty of stretches in which scoring seems like getting water from a stone. That said, we are obviously better off without the version of Randle we’ve gotten in the playoffs. I think a fair takeaway is that Randle should probably be more of a 30-32 MPG guy than a “full Thibs load” MPG guy. We’ve got some lineups that are versatile on both ends that can’t really include him.
The Suns can probably salvage something out of this team with moves on the margins. They gave a shocking number of minutes to genuine scrubs. Ultimately though, I think they invested too heavily in a big 3 that just isn’t good enough for the stars-and-scrubs approach now that KD has aged out of being a bona fide MVP contender. Could get very bleak very quickly!
Last night’s closing lineup was the first in a long time to remind me of our January team. The defensive rotations were immaculate — a simultaneous movement of ball and defender — that we had not yet matched since OG’s injury.
The defense was suffocating, not merely the oft cliched epithet but in its true meaning of a prolonged constriction depriving the 76ees of oxygen. Shots were met with hands on the ball, repeatedly, despite finishing the season 29th in blocks.
Embiid was met at the 3pt line by Precious Achiuwa. Tobias Haris and Nic Batum smothered at the rim by Josh Hart. Achiuwa found the ball in Embiid’s hands again as he contorted his body to avoid contact, effectively choking out the 6ers last hope.
Our 11 blocks last night tied our season high, which unsurprisingly was set in January. There’s one notable difference, that game came against a Grizzlies team that featured a starting lineup of:
* Vince Williams, Jr
* Xavier Tillman, Sr
* David Roddy
* Luke Kennard
* Jacob Gilyard
This game came against one of the Eastern Conference favorites and reigning MVP.
Alan, thanks for the SNY article. The 2.5 years of OG-Precious experience is a good reminder that continuity matters. One of a few reasons I’m in the run-it-back camp but with our All-NBA power forward. Not to mention that without Randle the biggest hole we have is power forward — it’s been wildly fun to watch OG and Josh fill that role, but it’d be even more fun to have an All-NBA guy in that spot.
Considering OG’s versatility, I think Thibs could even run lineups like this in certain situations where they need to score:
Brunson-Divo-Hart-OG-Randle
Or he could go extra big and do Brunson-Hart-OG-Randle-center when they need defense/rebounding.
It’s just such a flexible roster when everyone is healthy. They need a good wing/creator off the bench and I think they can run it back.
Embiid has been fine on offense but it’s his defense that has really been lackluster. He barely contest shots now and I’m glad the Knicks are driving into him instead of away…
Embiid is an unbelivable all time great talent. This is undisputable. Best comp for Embiid is KD. Can never be the leader of a championship team. He can be the best player but not the actual leader. He lacks big cojones, heart and he’s not a leader of men. He’s an emotionally soft man. Embiid showed his emotions on that Brunson basket with 55 seconds left and only down three points by trying to guard him full court…and then off his poor leadership Maxey double teams Josh 40 feet away from basket…lol. Embiid was then was scared to take that wide open jumpshot from the sideline and instead drove in hopping to draw a cheap foul.
Embiid would win multiple finals MVP awards playing with Luka, SGA, Jimmy or Brunson. If he stays in Philly, his career will be full of what could have been. Same as KD.
“I was formerly pro-Embiid for all the obvious reasons. The Knicks probably have not had a player as good as the fully healthy version of Embiid in the history of the franchise.
You can probably see where this is going though–I’m now all the way out. “Chronically unavailable or hampered in the playoffs” is just not a wart you can hand wave away, and there’s no point in even entertaining a scenario in which Daryl Morey trades him to us with that massive flaw priced in. It would be an “all of the picks, all of the players” type of trade.”
Glad to see that you have come around on this, although respectfully, it should have been very obvious at the time. Nothing that has happened since you advocated for acquiring Embiid is surprising, and there was ample evidence that it was the rule, not the exception.
Not that Embiid in a vacuum is a bad thing. He’d be a great acquisition at the right price. He’s not Bradley Beal, but he’s an awful lot like Amare. Getting him at anything resembling a “right price” was never, ever a possibility, given the risk.
The entire defense of Leon’s hybrid methodology was that it would work well if Leon emulated Riley and:
1) built a team culture and a cohesive roster by making value trades and signings
2) avoided the deadly albatross
3) was prudent about the all-in trade for a superstar that left the team and asset-bank gutted
4) got commensurate value for draft capital
5) got lucky
There have been ups and downs, and we are not there yet, but even with considerable fuck-ups (the Hali whiff, the Grimes trade, the draft-day trade-outs, the Cam debacle, the running it back in 2021, etc.) and stipulating that Thibs is not the best coach in the NBA, no matter what happens in the next few weeks, the Knicks are in a phenomenal spot. And that’s because, as strat insisted, none of the moves were of the debilitating all-in variety.
And that’s what’s so exciting about this team. It has a culture of 100% rootability, there are plenty of assets to improve further, it is not yet capped out, we are not a laughing stock in NBA circles, and MSG is rocking out past tax day and giving fans their money’s worth for those high-priced tickets every night, win or lose.
I mean, everyone knew what they were doing with Beal was terrible except for them (more proof Zeke shouldn’t be anywhere near an NBA front office!) but the FO and coaching have been comically bad… sort of ironic after KD bashed the Nets organization so hard.
All they need is a FO who can fill the gaps around their big two and a coach who can force Booker and KD to take most of the shots. Not saying they’ll ever win a chip, but they can have a good team through the rest of KD’s contract at least.
You do not seem to have thought it was “very obvious” at the time.
Fred Katz was on Zach Lowe’s podcast today and he seems to think the Knicks plan is to make a move this summer.
https://x.com/KnickFilmSkool/status/1785016064503636311
This is such a smart play. Look at how I-Hart draws the third defender, opening Deuce for a 3. We really need to keep him.
In his presser, OG specifically mentioned Precious and how they play well together from back in Toronto. Gave his teammate big credit. It was a class comment.
Also just a reminder that we all felt like Precious was just a “throw-in.”
Dude has been huge for us and if we can get him to be the permanent back up 4 at a good price, we should absolutely keep him. He’s still very young.
Did you actually read my posts?
“I suppose you have to go all in for Embiid if he becomes available, but it doesn’t really excite me. He just doesn’t seem to have the ability to stay healthy for a 100 game season, and the tail end of his deal might get ugly.”
“I’m probably a bit on the no side of neutral re: Embiid. Even though he’s clearly a top 5 player in the league when he’s healthy, he is often gimpy and isn’t getting any younger. I would rather overpay for him than to have overpaid for Spida, but there’s still just too much risk to have a capped out team with no trade assets left. Not to mention that we’d be even more iso-heavy and slow-paced.”
And that was in July. By October, my position was much more of a no.
I said the following: “But I sure as hell wouldn’t do it. No way.” Could I possibly be more definitive than that?
You, on the other hand, were enthusiastically in favor. Among the many reasons you gave was the following:
“The injury concerns are well-known, albeit exaggerated by you for rhetorical flourish–he has played in ~76% of his team’s regular season games in the last 4 seasons and ~87% of his team’s playoff games.”
And just to clarify, my position was always about cost. I would take Embiid right now for Mitch and a single unprotected first.
“I don’t think we’ve talked nearly enough about the addition of Precious. Thibs is gonna love this guy. We got him a new Taj.”
https://knickerblogger.net/2023/12/31/knicks-morning-news-2023-12-31/#comment-876911
Precious reminds me of Jared Jeffries. Hopefully Brunson won’t throw a bullet pass to him under the basket with a playoff game on the line!
And you people think I hate Thibs…
Y’all just don’t understand my love language.
My GF has watched three of the four games with me (never watched an NBA game in her life previous to now), and wondered how the Knicks are pulling this off (up 3-1) when it seems that they are down for around 75 percent of the time (not based on anything but eye test). But I agree that it seems that way to me, too, and I gave her my idea of why that statistical anomaly might be occurring (BTW, it is also occurring in the Lakers/Denver series, in which the Lakers have had the lead for 73 percent of the time).
My question is this: Where can I find out *exactly* how much time that the Knicks have had the lead, beeen behind, and been tied up for this overall series? Thanks in advance.
Not sure where it’s calculated but you can go to ESPN’s gamecast, it’ll show you a graph of the score with the exact time and you can do the math yourself. Not the most fun way to find out but it probably wouldn’t take too long.
Presti once had three future MVPs on his roster at the same time, for multiple years, and also had two of those three players during their absolute primes, and concurrently.
He only managed to field one team with a better SRS than this year’s squad. Prime Durant, prime Westbrook, and that excellent young team that met peak LeBron in the Finals. And yet, just once better than this year’s team in the regular season.
Their best player is 25. They have a guy looking like a future Middleton/Iguodala-level 3rd star who turned 23 two weeks ago. They have another guy who looks like he’ll be battling Wemby for PF/C First Team nods for the next decade, and he’s 22 tomorrow. Giddey is inching close to understanding very important life lessons like shooting efficiency and American age of consent laws. ptmilo loves Lu Dort and that’s good enough for me.
The Thunder take their excess cap space and draft picks and find just one excellent and durable 3&D wing, they’re a perennial 65-win team, and they slam the door on these Nuggets and Celtics during what should be their three-year window to win some rings.
So yeah, you trade Chet for Embiid if you want to turn an eight-year championship window into a three-year window.
At the very least, you’re asking a question about whether the West’s best team should add the East’s 2nd-best player. That’s a valid question, in a vacuum.
“Not sure where it’s calculated but you can go to ESPN’s gamecast, it’ll show you a graph of the score with the exact time and you can do the math yourself. Not the most fun way to find out but it probably wouldn’t take too long.”
Thanks, EBW!
Well, if Mitch plays, at least it’s an 8-man rotation. We’ll just need DDV to shoot better, and/or for Deuce to fire away a lot more, since we can’t count on Precious for much/any offense.
english_knick approves this message. 😉 😛
It’s a reasonable argument but the odds of an 8 year window in OKC may not be as great as their ages would suggest.
Windows are about money and ego as much as age.
With regards to the money… the Warriors had to pay nearly $600million just in luxury tax during their 8 year run. The payroll itself cost well over a billion. How’s Clay Bennett gonna foot that? He doesn’t have a downtown San Francisco arena and huge money from tech companies and VC firms.
With regards to ego… Chet and Jalen are in the same rookie class, so in two years one of them is going to get a super max and one of them isn’t. You think the other is gonna be happy about that? Why should Jalen Williams accept making considerably less money than he can if he gets traded? That’s precisely what upended their last 8 year window prematurely.
Last and most important point: not all windows are equal. If you have two of the 5 best players in the NBA on your team (and Jalen Williams is a top 25 guy, too), your window is HUGE.
Right now they have a window but Jokic is standing it. And when he’s done there’s a good chance Wemby will standing in it.
I don’t know, man. This Thunder team may not be built to last. And a team of SGA, Williams, and Embiid that has depth down to the 12th man would likely dominate the NBA as much as the Durant Warriors did.
off day sugar plum
https://youtu.be/e4E4nnQLyHo?si=lnAq4mdLZisHho6O
I didn’t get a chance to listen to it yet.
Did they mention any names?
The biggest obstacle I see is that I think they are going to be reluctant to trade J-Hart or DDV because of the Brunson connection and Brunson and OG are off limits. That more or less leaves some combination of Bojan, Mitch and Randle depending on the salary. I think they are going to try to keep I-Hart as the better fit. My gut tells me they are going to run it back to see what we have when everyone is healthy unless the perfect deal is available and then do something at the deadline. I still feel like Mikal is a possible target.
DDV needs to play better. He hit that huge game winner but need him to step up to close this out, and if we are gonna make any kind of noise. 97 points not gonna cut it. With Jalen off from 3, and Bogie out , he had Deuce are our only legit 3 point shooters
recent talk with josh, jalen and clyde…
clyde as always looking so comfortable and speaking so cool…
i think some of josh’s impact on defense has been a lot less in the spotlight this post-season…actually, maybe since he arrived and was hot shooting from 3…
he’s an effective defender…i don’t know – averaging almost 45 minutes, 17 points, 13 rebounds and 4 assists can kind of overshadow his good defense…
this is the full episode, clyde is just such a treasure…
In this thread we learn taking a player who will make 40.000.000 the next 3 years and swapping with a guy who makes 165,000,000 improves your financial position. Chet is 8 years younger and still wet behind the ears (does he even shave yet) but gives better rim protection with almost exactly the same true shooting efficiency and half the usage.
Embiid is a super talented player who is chronically unhealthy who probably will not age well due to chronic knee injuries.
And OKC’s real problem was choosing to pay Serge Ibaka rather than Harden.
Embiid is amazing but….
I do think he is not as mentally strong as a 1A needs to be.
He also is never in actually great cardiovascular shape. Some of that is injuries and maybe not being able to keep his wind up through the season, but you can’t tell me he wouldn’t be better off 15-20 pounds lighter. He just looks dead at the end of games and it is not just this playoffs where it looks like that.
And even aside from how unlikable he has become, there’s no way we throw all our chips in for a guy that can’t stay on the court. He is as un-Thibs-like as any superstar could be.
Assuming we re-sign Hartenstein, the Mitch + Hartenstein combo is as good as it gets for a Thibs center that isn’t a primary offensive focus (ie. Jokic/Embiid). That leaves Randle and DDV as potential upgrade positions. Hard to imagine DDV gets traded out given the Villanova connection. Obviously Devin Booker would be a great upgrade, but honestly what this team might need more than another high usage scorer is the one we already have on the team (a healthy Randle) and someone like Collin Sexton to supercharge the 2nd unit offense. But who knows – maybe we already have that with Deuce, who is showing a lot of juice. Or maybe it is a draft pick we haven’t made yet, or Rokas?
Yes, Bob, it actually does improve OKC’s financial position. By an incredibly significant margin, too.
PS your facts are wrong again. Chet is only signed for two more seasons.
No, no names at all. I think Fred said the plan has changed a bit with Jalen’s emergence as a bonafide star, but the plan would still be to get another guy in this summer.
pt that was a great clip, thx!
Severin0…
I think the theory that Spo’s tactics get Heat players to shoot lights out from 3 has some holes.
Derrick White en fuego
Didn’t they shoot horribly against us in the playoffs? I distinctly recall a brick fest.
kp just limped off
That Porzingis injury did not look good
Looked like a non contact injury too.
But KP this year has developed magic powers. Things that would keep him away for weeks get healed over the course of a quarter.
Edit: apparently he hurt it on a previous play.
Instead of all this load management and taking it easy during the regular season then trying to ramp up the minutes plus intensity during the playoffs maybe actually giving a shit during the regular season prepares yourself for the playoffs better.
knicks heat was pretty much a rock fight but they had a bunch of scrubs who couldn’t miss against the bucks and celtics
Seems like a distinct possibility, Al.
The Heat shot .306 from deep against the Knicks, .450 against the Bucks, .434 against the Celts, and .343 in the finals. The Knicks got the best of it. If only they hadn’t shot .299 themselves.
Speaking of Randle, has anyone seen him this series? Him not showing up for the games is very disappointing.
“The Heat shot .306 from deep against the Knicks, .450 against the Bucks, .434 against the Celts, and .343 in the finals. The Knicks got the best of it. If only they hadn’t shot .299 themselves.”
Musta been the ISM
he’s doing a commercial with Brunson…i can’t recall the product…but I though I saw him at one of the home games…
Randle had been sitting on the bench until his surgery, don’t think we’ve seen him since.
“knicks heat was pretty much a rock fight but they had a bunch of scrubs who couldn’t miss against the bucks and celtics”
Hopefully we can scrub our way to the NBA finals
Not exactly a defensive clinic by the Heat…
I asked one of the beat writers about this this morning, actually, and was told he is still in recovery and not with the team at the moment.
The Porzingis injury has me giddy. I hope it’s a bad one.
It’s a calf injury… shades of Giannis and Durant.
Agree, great clip pt.
And it really drives home that Oubre might be long but he’s got the basketball IQ of a chipmunk.
I loved that the clip shows how much is going on that you either miss or wouldn’t even understand if you saw it. The description of the Hartenstein screening was very cool.
Guys, I really think Porzingis is out. “Hey, he didn’t blow his achilles” is a really bad starting point!
When Durant injured his calf in 2019 he missed 4 weeks (and he came back too soon).
Giannis injured his calf three weeks ago and is out at least a week more.
I’m so giddy right now.
What a shock, Bam injured someone!
You will all be shocked to hear Bam just slid his foot under Tatum as he was shooting…ON A GOD DAMN DEAD BALL
Fuck Bam
I think Bam practices that dirty-ass move.
What the hell was SVG trying to argue there? That you can do dirty stuff when the ball is not in play? Crazy argument.
SVG sounded downright unhinged. I know of no “dead ball warm up shot” exception to the unwritten “don’t try to injure people” rule.
I think that’s a written rule, TNHF!
I always questioned Randle but, ironically, I feel his absence all the time this postseason. The reason is that the current Knicks roster is more capable compared to last year and Randle would make us so much more versatile and stronger. With all his faults, he was playing the best basketball of his career before going down. Boston would be literally scared to death at the ECF. I wouldn’t bet against us.
This is one of the sweetest Randle memories I have. The contrast between him and the unconfident Brown is priceless. We beat them twice in Boston last year. Those Thibs Knicks are a gutsy team!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZolgDVa9Ro&t=3s
Bam and Tatum are close friends, he’s one of the last people I think Bam would try to injure intentionally.
KP? The path to the chip beckons us …
ha, so glad i checked in…happy to see i’m not the only one who thought van gundy was crazy with that: in all things bam we love – bullshit defense…
that was stupid…and then he kept apologizing over and over for saying that stupid thing he said about bam…
embiid is dirty…bam is even dirtier…
excuse me – that’s simply their competitive spirit, trying to hurt everyone in another uniform…
that’s like the draymond green defense – well, he’s not really trying to hurt anyone…who cares about that…
I think it’s hysterical that Bam can’t not invade a shooter’s space even after the whistle. Take THAT rule book!
Isn’t reckless just a euphemism for dirty? You have professional and moral responsibility to be careful enough not to injure your opponent. When you play dirty, you do that intentionally. When you play recklessly, you don’t intend to injure the opponent, but you don’t care if he gets injured. What’s the difference?
Just watched the last five minutes of the Kakers trying not to be eliminated. Tomorrow is definitely not going to be easy.
better luck next year los angelos…
oh yeah, almost forgot – the clippers are still playing…and no one really cares…
nuggets are a really good team…the wolves are a really good team…that series is gonna be great…it shall require an impressive performance from more than a few folks throughout the series…
i’d say nuggets in seven, maybe wolves in six…in order to be victorious it shall require many turns of strength…tour de forces…
ant man on jamal murray…gobert on joker…KAT getting guarded by gordon…mcdaniels trying to stay with MPJ…
the celtics have to face an even more desperate/reckless team in a closeout game…
i’m sure jalen will remind both the refs and embiid about that elbow he threw at his face…
josh won’t say nothing about him getting stepped on, maybe not mitch either when he returns…donte will probably say enough for the others…
isaiah, and even more so precious and OG seem pretty alert to any foul play…
Oh…so sad the Lakers lost…… …… not
Heat only 14p down!
I take the L boys!
Spo is a genius!
;-p