Knicks Morning News (2024.10.08)

ess, no one is being a dick about iHart. Everyone here is sorry that he jilted us for more money, and there will be plenty of opportunity to read his boxscore numbers and weep. But preseason game 1 against assorted scrubs and dwarfs? Come on.

BTW, I i-hearted iHart a lot more at $9.2M than at $30M. Not that I’m crazy about OG at $36.6M or KAT at $49.2M, or giving up the most first rounders for a non-all-NBA player in Mikal, but since we’re likely to have a pretty fun team for the next 4 years, I’ll just have to live with it.

KFS did a 5th starter debate today.

I like the Deuce; I think he can be 80-90% of Donte at his best. But the Knicks just spent a year and a half insisting that Immanuel Quickley was too small to play next to Brunson. It would be weird if they did an about face.

I find Deuce’s defense to be vastly overrated and think a Brunson-Deuce backcourt would invite endless PnR action with Towns, turning OG and Bridges into expensive bystanders.

The offense would be sick, though, and we might just lean into it.

Ultimately I think one of Deuce or Hart needs to be traded for the 5th starter we need to balance the lineup. We don’t need two wildly versatile 6th men. We need one of them, and a better starting lineup.

But the Knicks just spent a year and a half insisting that Immanuel Quickley was too small to play next to Brunson.

There was a lot of talk about that here and in the media, but I have no idea that the front office was concerned about that. DDV stands 6′ 3.5″ in bare feet (combine measurements) IQ 6’2″, but IQ’s wingspan is 2.25 ” greater than DDV’s.

I think they were much more concerned about paying him 35M per year and how that could limit other things they wanted to do.

I think it’s probably a bit from column a and a bit from column b. Deuce is under team control for the next three years, at a bargain, so he’s part of the near-term future. In addition to the height thing, Quickley was gone the moment he didn’t sign an extension. Deuce is smaller than IQ, and not the team defender that IQ is, but IQ isn’t the on-ball defender that Deuce is.

Still, I think Hart makes much more sense as a starter, since that bench unit will be desperate for the offense Deuce can provide (though, like Macri, I’m guessing Thibs will try to have two starters on the court at all times), while Hart’s rebounding, defensive versatility, and general connectivity will be more valuable.

The real question is one that I doubt a single person on the Knicks’ coaching staff is asking: should Precious start over Hart? I still think Hart makes the most sense, especially if Sims isn’t going to be in the rotation. But I think there’s a better argument to be made about pushing OG and Mikal each down one position, and the benefits of that.

But preseason game 1 against assorted scrubs and dwarfs?

Looking at former Knicks’ box scores is a huge part of what we do around here, and it’s ridiculous that I’m being singled out by the Positivity Police (BBA, Z-Man), especially when I’m probably like a 75%-positive commenter.

I pretty much agree with Hubie above, except you know it would be Deuce going out with Mitch’s contract. That would leave us über-thin on the bench and for what? It’s hard to imagine us getting a top-20 PF in return unless you’re considering Kuzma, which… yikes.

Ultimately, you might just be better off hoping Mitch comes back 100%, so we can run a tall lineup when need be.

There’s nothing we can do about I-Hart. Let’s just hope Towns remains healthy and returns to his peak form for Thibs playing at C instead of PF. I think he may have better passing skills than we are giving him credit for if teams choose to double him.

We’ll see what happens with the defense.

I’d like to see some Precious at the 4 but it makes sense to explore Josh with the starters first. Those are our 5 best players and should close games even if they don’t start them.

Ess, you are not being singled out, just rebutted. That’s also a big part of what we do here! Lighten up!

Alan, I think KAT was very effective as a combo stretch 4/power 4 with Gobert at the 5. I can’t imagine that Thibs won’t try that with Mitch when (if?) he returns.

Which is why I’d like to see how that works with Precious…although Precious is no Mitch. Maybe try it with Sims or Huk…just to have a look at it.

Beyond that, I don’t think who starts matters all that much early on. For me, it’s really about the minutes distribution in general and which lineups are on the floor the most, especially at the end of games.

I also keep coming back to the idea of Precious starting at the 4. I think there are multiple benefits to this idea.

1. OG and Mikal move to their more natural positions.
2. You get HART as the energy guy/vet leader off the bench.

Downside…Hart might rebound better than Precious and Precious is probably a worse outside shooter than Hart.

Ultimately, it’s semantics. Whatever our starting 5 is, it’s going to take a bit for them to really all gel.

On to Mitch. Honestly, the more I think about it the more I think we really should just hold down the fort and hope he can come back, especially if Sims and/or Precious are showing any sort of improvement.

Mitch off the bench for 15 to 20 is perfect for him and gives us exactly what we need.

HOWEVER, I just wanna say FUCK the NBA for not giving us an injury exception last year when Mitch got hurt.

If we had been given that, Leon would have picked up another Center and Mitch would not have come back for the playoffs and reinjured himself and probably would be ready to play by now. He came back too early and sleazy Embiid hurt him cause Mitch was owning him.

Honestly, if I was Leon Rose I’d highly consider applying for an injury exception for Mitch AGAIN this season to really drive home the point that this dude is not ready to come back and point directly to his reinjury in the playoffs as proof that the NBA fucked this dude up by not giving us an injury exception last season.

Hart had a down year shooting the 3 last year, but he was ridiculously good for us when we first got him. I think his shooting varies a bit based on his confidence level, but I’m expecting a mean reversion this year.

Precious is young and could still improve his shooting, but overall I think the spacing, switching ability and playmaking will be better with Hart. That doesn’t mean we can’t try Towns/Precious once in awhile if the matchups call for it. Maybe it will work better.

When in doubt play your 5 best players regardless if the fit isn’t perfect. In this case I think Hart is actually a great fit with the other starters.

I still say Shamet with the starting lineup might not be a bad idea.

I still say Shamet with the starting lineup might not be a bad idea.

It would be nice if Shamet turned into this year’s DDV but even cheaper.

There was a lot of talk about that here and in the media, but I have no idea that the front office was concerned about that.

I think we know Thibs was concerned about it because he said it a few times and (more importantly) he hardly ever played them together, even when the offense was suffocated by poor spacing.

Brunson and Deuce seems like something he wouldn’t like. But maybe that stretch of basketball last year where we started Brunson Deuce Donte and Hart has made him see things differently.

A healthy Mitch would be a very useful player for us, and I’m still optimistic that Precious might have a little bit of development left in him as well. If you get KAT, Precious, and Mitch healthy at the same time that is not a bad frontcourt rotation, especially considering that you have two completely viable smallball 4 options in Hart and Anunoby.

It seems like the FO is hell bent on trading Mitch, so maybe we’ll never get to see it. But maybe by the end of the year we have a more developed Kolek, McBride, Precious, and Mitch available to us off the bench, with Shamet also available for some shooting. That’s a pretty solid group of ten players. Maybe you could use another wing off the bench in that scenario.

When in doubt play your 5 best players regardless if the fit isn’t perfect. In this case I think Hart is actually a great fit with the other starters.

I agree, although I think there will be a few teams we struggle against. Our games against Orlando probably won’t be much fun, but they never have been.

The imbalance of the starting lineup is a first world problem. I hope it’s clear that when I talk about it, I don’t present it as something that’s going to lead to a disappointing 48 win season. I present it as something that would be our achilles heel in the NBA Finals, where Denver, Minnesota, and OKC are all built to punish anyone who dares to line up with an undersized frontline. (That’s why I wouldn’t trade Mitch even if he’ll miss 80% of the season.)

I don’t think who starts matters all that much early on.

This is probably the ultimate takeaway. We have 4 great players and 3-5 really good players, so 7 guys will probably get 30-plus minutes each, and 2-3 others will get close to 20 each, roughly the same as last year.

HOWEVER, I just wanna say FUCK the NBA for not giving us an injury exception last year when Mitch got hurt.

First of all the disabled player exemption is for players whose injury is expected to end the player’s season. Mitch’s injury didn’t come close to ending his season. Mitch played 16 games before a subsequent injury ended his playoff run. 16 games!

The DPE doesn’t give you that much latitude because it is restrictive.

Th league doctor who evaluated Mitch did the correct thing according to the rule.

ess-dog, I think the old quote “too soon” fits here as well for iHart. A lot of mixed feelings about what happened, and it still feels a bit raw for some.

Speaking of quotes, I wanted to say something about the Yankee fans (especially vs. Mets fans) on here but couldn’t quite find the words, as well as the trade-happy Knicks posters feeding quarters into the trade machine like old ladies at the slots. But I like Macri’s opening today for both:

‘We were talking about the latest rumored roster upgrade and lamenting the fact that we couldn’t just enjoy this team as it was. He summed up that feeling up perfectly by quoting the classic Don Draper line from Mad Men:
“What is happiness? It’s a moment before you need more happiness.”

First of all the disabled player exemption is for players whose injury is expected to end the player’s season. Mitch’s injury didn’t come close to ending his season. Mitch played 16 games before a subsequent injury ended his playoff run. 16 games!

Dude, I watched pretty much all of those 16 games. He was hobbling around most nights. He was not 100 percent when he came back.

Last year was full of pleasant surprises but top of my list was the leap taken by Deuce. Gets extended the day IQ was shipped out and lives up to the extension and then some. I’d hate to see him packaged with Mitch (I am 100% resigned to losing Mitch) to “strengthen” or “balance” the rotation since we don’t know yet whether it needs either one, particularly since another leap or mini-leap from Deuce is more than possible.

I don’t get why people think contemplating roster improvements equates to unhappiness.

If you’re on a journey and you don’t have everything you need to finish it, you can be mindful of what you need to acquire without ruining the happiness in each step in your path.

If there’s a point in the path where you know you’ll need a rope, for instance, and you don’t have a rope with you, I don’t see how pretending you won’t eventually need one adds to your happiness. You can still enjoy the journey knowing you eventually need to acquire a rope.

Dude, I watched pretty much all of those 16 games. He was hobbling around most nights. He was not 100 percent when he came back.

But he was back. His reinjury had nothing to do with him being back, it had to do with Embiid pulling him down. A lot of his hobbling came after that injury.

The league doctor did his job whether or not the team or Mitch’s camp did theirs

Jesus… Mike Francesa is a pompous pain in the ass, but he called for the Jet’s coach to be fired yesterday, and…. poof….. @ the 8:45 mark… https://youtu.be/nQ4hLiBSREo?list=PLPuDCHPI0LJkRlq_8l9oLIW76rge67xUG

“I don’t get why people think contemplating roster improvements equates to unhappiness.”

You’re not wrong. But I imagine it’s because we get attached to certain players, especially if they seem to be “good guys,” and so we are sad when they are no longer a part of our squad…….purely basketball reasons notwithstanding. For example, I’m still sad about the loss of DDV, even though I can clearly see the (potential) roster improvement that comes with his departure.

Dude, I watched pretty much all of those 16 games. He was hobbling around most nights. He was not 100 percent when he came back.

Playing against Embiid his per 36 rebounds/steals/blocks were all above his regular season per 36 numbers and his rebounds and steals were above his career numbers. He was playing Mitch basketball.

Speaking of football, the Giants really don’t suck. That loss to the Vikings doesn’t look so bad anymore, and if they’d just dressed a kicker against the Commanders they’d be in a three-way tie for first!

I am really happy they had all their stupid trade offers rebuffed by the Pats so they could take Nabers, who most likely will be the best player in this draft.

Precious is probably a worse outside shooter than Hart.

And Jalen Brunson is probably better than me at basketball…Hart is a .344 career 3PT shooter on reasonable volume. Precious has a single year above 27% to his name on much lower volume.

I think Hart should start, but there’s a reasonable-ish argument for Deuce. I don’t get the argument for Precious at all. Why would we start our backup center alongside our starting center, completely tanking our spacing in the process?

I don’t get why people think contemplating roster improvements equates to unhappiness.

Honestly, speaking as leader of team optimist, I think some of it is just defensiveness from years of defending the team and being hopeful and, more recently, when we did start to get better, certain posters refusing to acknowledge any of the improvement and acting like if we weren’t raising a banner, we were failing.

I think it’s just a reflexive defensiveness from that. I’m trying not to be like that. We should talk about how we can tinker and make another move to make us even more favorites. Nothing is guaranteed yet and we should all be thinking championship now.

Speaking of football, the Giants really don’t suck. That loss to the Vikings doesn’t look so bad anymore, and if they’d just dressed a kicker against the Commanders they’d be in a three-way tie for first!

They easily could have won the Dallas game as well. Now that they have the OL patched up and seemingly fixed, the QB is 12th in the league in QBR and 5th over the past 4 games. He laid an absolute egg in game one. Once he figured out he wasn’t going to get sacked 86 times like last year, he calmed down and played well the past 4.

It’s funny Raven how differently I root for and enjoy watching the Yankees and Knicks.

Obviously all the championships I witnessed with the Yankees from 1996-2000 made me unfairly take a championship or failure attitude with them, granted it was what the Boss and Jeter would always say too. I appreciate greatly how good the Yankees always are even if it doesn’t lead to championships but these past few years despite having the pleasure of watching Judge and now Soto everyday the baseball they play just frustrates the shit out of me.

On the other hand I’m so used to the Knicks sucking just having success like they’ve had the past 2 seasons is just as rewarding for me as winning a championship. I see Mets fans getting all excited about their team when they just barely made the playoffs and the Yankees fan in me is thinking how embarrassing to get excited for that but that’s how I excited I get about the Knicks.

I said it the other day, Giants have a chance by next season to have a legit Top 10 Defense. They currently lead the NFL with 22 sacks and that’s with both Burns and Thibs not really contributing as much as expected yet.

It’s not the lack of winning world series that turned me off the Yanks. It’s the lack of fun.

The 2017 team was one of my favorite Yankee teams ever and they lost in the ALCS. They were fun AF, though.

Every team since then has been very frustrating to follow.

BBA, as I’ve said I greatly enjoy your takes on the Yankees (especially as a Mets fan). Don’t change for my sake!

And Hubert, I don’t disagree with you re the Knicks, it’s partly what Swift says and partly a difference of opinion on whether we need a rope or just an upgrade in what we’re packing for lunch, as in it’s a drag to have your hiking companion go on and on about how bad lunch is going to be when you’re trying to enjoy the view.

Having said that this is a basketball blog so of course we’ll argue about tinkering and change and trades and the sort. If we all just dreamily posted about how lovely the team is now I would literally just be here for BBA’s Yankee takes.

2019 Yankees was the last Yankees team I really enjoyed and was fun to watch.

Problem with the Giants is that Jones is an incredibly limited QB. This is now the second season (out of three) where Daboll has managed to scheme around those limitations, but the team clearly needs to upgrade on him. And if they wind up with a decent record, finding a replacement becomes substantially harder.

As great as Nabers has turned out to be, I’d probably still rather have lost a couple of those Tommy DeVito games and drafted Daniels. The impact of a QB is just exponentially greater than any other position in that sport.

Man, that OKC team is really hard to look at. My hot takes on them:

-They are the best team in the NBA. They added two borderline all-star caliber guys to a 57-win core and lost only Giddey, a net negative player in his current form. They are durable, deep, and have shitloads of internal upside left on top of that.

-I don’t think any team has ever been this good and this young at the same time. Over the next 10 years I expect them to win 600+ games and 3-4 championships. Presti is likely to sell very high on any assets he can’t afford to keep, rolling over elite picks forever like the Celtics have starting from KG/Pierce, only Prestier.

-We would have no shot against them in a series:
SGA > JB
Holmgren > Towns
JDub >>> Bridges
Caruso > OG
iHart >>> Mitch
Dort > Hart
Cason Wallace/Isaiah Joe > Deuce

Their depth is also super elite — 10 shooters over 39% from 3 last season! This is a dynasty that will flirt with 70 wins annually.

DJ is physically unable to throw a football greater than 20 yards, but I think he’s a decent QB when he’s healthy and his confidence isn’t totally shattered. He’s not a Pro-Bowler or anything, but I think he can be a league-average starting QB–which he has been during his good stints. He needs to be replaced to get over the top, sure, but we Giants fans would be pretty happy with baseline competence, too. I think Jones can contribute to achieving baseline competence. So I think we should keep him past his guarantee date in 2025 if his run of good play continues. After all, what would the better alternative be that doesn’t involve completely tanking (which we’re probably too good to do?)

2019 was actually the team that made me quit. They won 103 games with a lineup that could punish mistakes and then just looked pathetic and hopeless against good pitching in the playoffs when anyone other than DJ, Judge, or Gleyber was up.

And not like unexpectedly hopeless, either. Like “of course Edwin Encarnacion is going to strike out 4 times in the clean up spot”, “of course Gary Sanchez will be overmatched in this big spot”. Why would you expect anything different?

And then Cashman copy-pasted that formula 4 years in a row.

The 2019 Yankees easily swept the Twins in the ALDS then destroyed Houston in Game 1. Unfortunately the next 3 games the bats went to sleep as they usually did vs Houston but they did beat Verlander in Game 5 plus came back to tie Game 6 in the 9th before fucking Altuve walked it off.

That Astros team was probably the best of their dynasty despite eventually somehow losing to Washington in the World Series.

Feeling chatty so I’ll take the bait, Pags. I actually agree with most of what you say, except for some of the comparisons. Yeah SGA is better than Brunson, but we’re also talking second vs. fifth in MVP voting, which is pretty close. Towns is better than Holmgren that’s just a fact (at least at this point), I think JDub vs. Bridges is a wash, OG is better than Caruso (but like point guard it’s close), Dort-Hart feels like a wash to me, and comparing iHart to Mitch is the near-ultimate in apples-oranges (although it’s nice to have someone who actually plays in games).

So yeah, they’re damn good with a shiny future. Just not quite as damn good as you posit.

Watching the Yankees win 5 titles as an adult has made me much more chill about them. I’d love to see them win more but I don’t stress about it. It’s past time for the steinbrenners to sell but the expanded playoffs have made baseball a real crap shoot, if they keep getting to the playoffs they’ll get hot one of these days

I’m not sure how big the gap is between Brunson and SGA. SGA is better, but he also got to operate with an open paint last year and Brunson didn’t.

I’d definitely put JDub over Mikal, but I’m pretty down on Mikal compared to consensus. Honestly, I don’t really see this as being close unless Mikal goes returns to his post-trade form.

KAT vs Chet is incomplete till I see him play defense at C a bit more. He’s significantly better on offense, but he’s a defensive liability till he shows me otherwise. I lean Chet who I think will grow his offensive game as well.

OG over Caruso. Hart over Dort, especially if Hart’s shot returns. Hartenstein over Mitch because Hartenstein will actually be on the court.

Hopefully someone beats them before the finals and we don’t have to worry about it.

It’s past time for the steinbrenners to sell but the expanded playoffs have made baseball a real crap shoot, if they keep getting to the playoffs they’ll get hot one of these days

Why should they ever sell… they own a cash machine that makes them relevant at the country club…

Apparently Ja sprained his ankle, got put back in, and was later removed from the game. So, it’s not just our staff that makes dumb decisions.

Baseball is my favorite sport which I played competitively thru high school and then I coached my little brother so I view and analyze it differently. I can never be chill about the Yankees because truth be told they are my favorite team even slightly ahead of the Knicks if I had to rank them.

I’ve learned alot more about basketball as I’ve grown older and had friends become high school coaches so I feel I can watch games and somewhat properly analyze it. But basketball and the Knicks will always be my fun sport while baseball and the Yankees are my life.

RJ is out for remainder of preseason with a shoulder injury. Hope it’s not something too serious.

Re: the Thunder: “-They are the best team in the NBA. They added two borderline all-star caliber guys to a 57-win core and lost only Giddey, a net negative player in his current form. They are durable, deep, and have shitloads of internal upside left on top of that.

-I don’t think any team has ever been this good and this young at the same time. Over the next 10 years I expect them to win 600+ games and 3-4 championships. Presti is likely to sell very high on any assets he can’t afford to keep, rolling over elite picks forever like the Celtics have starting from KG/Pierce, only Prestier.
…….
Their depth is also super elite — 10 shooters over 39% from 3 last season! This is a dynasty that will flirt with 70 wins annually.”

I get it. But weren’t we heaping the same platitudes on the Grizzlies just two years ago? And then just look at the mess they were this past season. I’m not saying that the same fate awaits Oklahoma City—I’m simply pointing out that unexpected stuff (like injuries) happens, even to young, uber-talented teams.

OKC didn’t look great vs Dallas in the playoffs and I’m not sure defense was really their problem. Dont think bringing in Caruso and iHart automatically solves their problems.

I’d take the T’Wolves over the Thunder in a playoff series, and not just bc I like their ex-knicks better. I was all aboard the Randle express, can’t jump off just bc he’s not here.

Fun piece on NBA.com about the latest GM survey, considering the various topics discussed today (and yesterday). A few nuggets:

– Shai is #1 for MVP this coming year.
– Jalen Williams is #1 for breakout season this year.
– Luka is best point guard (Jalen 4th) AND second-best small forward. Also fifth-best shooting guard!
– OKC with best overall moves this summer (Knicks third).
– Mikal and Towns tied for second for biggest acquisition impact (PG first).
– Caruso first for most under-rated acquisition (iHart tied for third, not under-rated here!).

So sure looks like folks are in the OKC cheering section. Regarding the argument about how obvious some of the Knicks moves have been, Towns was first and Bridges fourth for Most Surprising Acquisition.

Also OG is tied for third as most versatile defender, and Thibs is tied for second for best defensive schemes. Jalen tied for second for best player leader.

Jalen tied for second for best player leader

Thanks for this,Raven. Made sense until Jalen since cannot think of someone better. Then tuned into the article and saw Curry as 1, and LBJ as tied for 2. We’ve got possibly an all time great as a leader…

Didn’t realize NHL regular season starts tonight. Been following the Rangers again more closely past few years especially since ESPN Plus carries the NHL package free to subscribers.

– Shai is #1 for MVP this coming year.
– Jalen Williams is #1 for breakout season this year.
– Luka is best point guard (Jalen 4th) AND second-best small forward. Also fifth-best shooting guard!
– OKC with best overall moves this summer (Knicks third).
– Mikal and Towns tied for second for biggest acquisition impact (PG first).
– Caruso first for most under-rated acquisition (iHart tied for third, not under-rated here!).

It’s silly how well OKC did this offseason. They acquired two elite role players with zero draft picks out the door as compensation, and even gave Hartenstein a huge salary, which could be used as trade bait for a disgruntled frontcourt superstar as soon as the right one is available.

Giddey was showing himself to be Ricky Rubio 2.0, albeit one with unbelievable matador defense at times. (OKC fans absolutely hated the guy by season’s end, and it wasn’t for his penchant for questionably-aged SoCal teens.)

They have as many as FIVE firsts in the 2025 draft — MIA (prot. 1-14) will likely hit this year, Philly’s (1-6) is guaranteed to hit, Utah may hit (1-10), and they a guaranteed swap with either HOU or LAC… plus their own pick.

They have no fewer than two 1RPs EVERY YEAR through 2030.

And here’s the kicker: I remember an interview with Jalen Williams last season saying that they were a ferociously competitive group in practices with each other. So imagine these guys realizing they have a 65-win core (which I believe pretty strongly) and that they could be the greatest team in Thunder history.

I think the title is theirs to lose, and the window is wide fuckin’ open. Presti is a genius, and really making up for the Perkins/Harden decision he (or ownership) botched all those years ago.

Looks like PJ Tucker is getting bought out today. A lot better fot than Achiuwa, a legit veteran and a Champion. Can we fit him in under the Apron instead of Laundry?

OKC is in the best possible position for years to come. It’s hard to overstate how awesome their situation is.

But, ya never know….

Looks like PJ Tucker is getting bought out today. A lot better fot than Achiuwa, a legit veteran and a Champion. Can we fit him in under the Apron instead of Laundry?

Pretty sure PJ is headed to a retirement home

Unpopular takes:

Hartenstein was a product of the Knicks.

OKC is Shai and a bunch of nobodies.

Pretty sure we can’t sign Tucker anyway unless we cut Shamet, but I’d much rather have Precious.

Yankee teams in the Judge era, ranked by level of watchability:

1. 2017
2. 2019
3. 2024
4. 2018
5. 2022
6. 2020
7. 2021
8. 2023

Yankee teams in the Judge era, ranked by level of watchability:

Good ranking but it doesn’t capture the drastic difference in watchability between rankings, so I’ll add a Knicks player for watchability reference:

2017 – Linsanity
2019 – Brunson
2024 – Melo
2018 – JR Smith
2022 – Ray Felton
2020 – Greg Anthony
2021 – Lance Thomas
2023 – Jared Jefferies

Pretty sure PJ is headed to a retirement home

Or the glue factory

Unpopular takes….

OKC is Shai and a bunch of nobodies.

After 3 or 4 championships people will probably be a little more familiar with those nobodies….

No one else is excited about Boo Buie? I hope he makes the team for Clyde reasons.

Knicks fandom meets Chappell Roan: https://www.tiktok.com/@hollywoodhandbook/video/7423142606504250655?_r=1&_t=8qNncP5G7xK

I don’t follow college ball at all
anymore. How did Boo Buie play 5 years as a starter? Are there not still eligibility rules and redshirts and stuff?

How bout those Mets?

Mets definitely get clutch hits and great starting pitching unlike another team..

Knicks tip-off party going on right now at MSG.

How did Boo Buie play 5 years as a starter? Are there not still eligibility rules and redshirts and stuff?

Covid gave everyone an extra year or two, I forget exactly. I watched a college football game saturday where one of the QBs was a 6th year senior.

Unpopular takes:

Hartenstein was a product of the Knicks.

OKC is Shai and a bunch of nobodies.

Here were the ages of their starters on a 57-win team:

Shai, 25
Dort, 24
Giddey, 21
Chet, 21
Williams, 22

They replaced a terrible shooter AND terrible defender with one of the best wing defenders in the league (30, ancient) who basically only does catch-and-shoot 3s (perfect for a SGA offense) and added another monster paint defender (age 26) who virtually only takes quality shots off of assisted FGA.

There’s one concrete thing that can stop the Thunder from a 5-year dynasty and that’s the 2nd apron. If there’s one thing that fucks them, it’s the cap.

65 wins, if healthy. They are going to be dominant.

Man it just never gets old beating the Phillies

There’s one concrete thing that can stop the Thunder from a 5-year dynasty and that’s the 2nd apron.

I reckon it will be really hard to have a dynasty in a conference with Jokic, Doncic, Ant, and Wemby.

If the o/u on Thunder titles is 1.5 I’ll take the under.

Thunder will get the 1 seed, but I’m not going to pencil them into the Finals. I still have questioms if SGA will have the consistent second star he needs come playoff time.

Eventually the Spurs are going to be the Thunder’s real rivals, as Wemby will surpass Doncic and Jokic as the best player in the league.

OKC is sitting on so much value though that they should be able to catch up. They haven’t even pushed in any of their chips yet for their inevitable superstar trade. They’re still a work in progress and they might already be the best team in the league.

The Rockets shouldn’t be slept on long term. I like Segun and Reed Sheppard and they have the assets to pull in a big star.

I’m with JK. The Thunder have so many assets they world really have to bungle it not to win a bunch of trophies. The Celtics maybe have another 1 or 2, maybe we get lucky, but it’s a matter of time before it’s OKC vs the Spurs year after year.

I hate to say, I think Jokic’s time may already be over. They just didn’t give him enough help to keep winning.

Was at the game. Atmosphere was absolutely bananas. I was well dowm the 1b line and it felt like I was in with all the Ultras. Just an incredible experience, even the part after the Alonso homer where a 220 pound guy jumped on top of me in excitement.

I am not taking anyone over the Thunder

The Thunder are going to be as good as Chet’s health. He’s awesome and only going to get better. But he weighs like 180 lbs and looks like he can snap in two if the a/c blows too hard. He held up pretty well last year, so I wouldn’t bet against him. The rest of the team seems pretty durable. Let’s see how they do now that they have these lofty expectations, when teams will be coming after them every night.

That’s awesome, Owen.

My wealthy Mets fan friend who is an extreme loudmouth wants to take me to a playoff game against the Dodgers at Dodger Stadium if Dodgers-Mets ends up happening.

I told him I’d rather not get shanked in the neck.

Glad you got to see a “relatively” drama-free game Owen! The tension buildup in baseball is almost unbearable.

JK you HAVE to go.

I still truly can’t believe that the Mets were dead and buried on June 1, only to have the best record in baseball from then on and to be one win away from the NLCS. As a kid growing up in the Bronx who chose the underdog horrific Mets to root for prior to Tom Seaver, this seems a bit like the 1969 team…massive underdogs who are just gritty and who have chemistry and who just don’t quit. It’s a pleasure to root for this team. No matter what happens, this will be a memorable season.

I am sitting down to a california chicken club sandwich and 🍟

having a blonde ale…I’m a lightweight on liquor, not because I have anything against getting hammered, I love a good booze buzz…cuz of all the cannabis I consume though – I feel constantly dehydrated already, alcohol normally will just make the feeling worse…

never saw a magic show before, getting ready to sit down to Penn and Teller…

it kinda feels like some old man stuff, but whatever…

Covid gave everyone an extra year or two, I forget exactly. I watched a college football game saturday where one of the QBs was a 6th year senior.

Ah yes, Covid, of course, I almost forgot.

(Incidentally, I think my friend’s son is a 6th year QB. Maybe that’s who you were watching? He’s, like, halfway toward completing his PhD at USC by now. But I’m pretty sure he was redshirted.)

hmmmm, just maybe we’ll have the mets out here in a much nicer setting: 120 miles or so down the road…

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84 replies on “Knicks Morning News (2024.10.08)”