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Knicks Morning News (2024.10.29)


  • Cleveland Cavaliers vs New York Knicks Oct 28, 2024 Box Scores – NBA.com
    [NBA.com] – Mon, 28 Oct 2024 22:58:38 GMT
    1. Cleveland Cavaliers vs New York Knicks Oct 28, 2024 Box Scores
    2. Darius Garland ignites Cavs to comeback victory over the Knicks: Wine and Gold Talk podcast
    3. Cavaliers 110-104 Knicks (Oct 28, 2024) Game Recap
    4. Knicks blow 13-point lead and survive Jalen Brunson injury scare in tough loss to Cavaliers
    5. Knicks can learn from Monday’s loss to Cavaliers, but it highlights issues that need sorting out


  • Knicks secure rights to sharpshooter Matt Ryan as potential depth piece – New York Post
    [New York Post] – Tue, 29 Oct 2024 07:02:00 GMT
    1. Knicks secure rights to sharpshooter Matt Ryan as potential depth piece
    2. Former Celtics guard goes No. 1 overall in G League draft
    3. 2024 NBA G League Draft Results
    4. Knicks Make Unique Move to Acquire Former 76ers Guard
    5. Matt Ryan, Landry Shamet expected to play for Knicks this season


  • Knicks’ First-Round Pick Jerrod Mustaf Dies at 55 – Sports Illustrated
    [Sports Illustrated] – Mon, 28 Oct 2024 18:05:32 GMT

    Knicks’ First-Round Pick Jerrod Mustaf Dies at 55


  • Exclusive | What ‘shocked’ Clyde Frazier about Knicks’ ugly preseason incident after Donte DiVincenzo trade – New York Post
    [New York Post] – Mon, 28 Oct 2024 17:07:00 GMT

    Exclusive | What ‘shocked’ Clyde Frazier about Knicks’ ugly preseason incident after Donte DiVincenzo trade


  • Knicks’ Miles McBride can do something no New York player has done in a decade – The New York Times
    [The New York Times] – Mon, 28 Oct 2024 09:04:25 GMT
    1. Knicks’ Miles McBride can do something no New York player has done in a decade
    2. New York Notes: McBride, Towns, Claxton, Fernandez
    3. New York Knicks Backup Could Earn Starting Role
    4. SEE IT: Knicks’ Miles McBride showing leadership to rookie Ariel Hukporti
    5. Miles McBride Set to Make History for Knicks as Sixth Man of the Year Contender


  • Knicks Bulletin: I had to play a lot of 2K to get that style down – Posting and Toasting
    [Posting and Toasting] – Mon, 28 Oct 2024 11:00:00 GMT

    Knicks Bulletin: I had to play a lot of 2K to get that style down


  • Bill Simmons Links Embattled Star to Knicks – Sports Illustrated
    [Sports Illustrated] – Mon, 28 Oct 2024 20:00:00 GMT

    Bill Simmons Links Embattled Star to Knicks


  • Knicks urged to trade All-Star center for Suns’ superstar guard – Empire Sports Media
    [Empire Sports Media] – Mon, 28 Oct 2024 13:38:00 GMT

    Knicks urged to trade All-Star center for Suns’ superstar guard


  • Kenny Atkinson has Cavaliers poised to be thorn in Knicks side – New York Post
    [New York Post] – Tue, 29 Oct 2024 06:33:00 GMT
    1. Kenny Atkinson has Cavaliers poised to be thorn in Knicks side
    2. New York Knicks Legend Analyzes Julius Randle’s Legacy
    3. Knicks legend ‘was flabbergasted’ by trade with Timberwolves
    4. Kenny Atkinson thinks Karl-Anthony Towns makes Knicks title contenders
    5. Karl-Anthony Towns’ reaction to his blockbuster trade revealed by NBA star


  • NBA Champion Says Knicks Have ‘No Chance’ vs. Celtics – Sports Illustrated
    [Sports Illustrated] – Mon, 28 Oct 2024 11:00:02 GMT
    1. NBA Champion Says Knicks Have ‘No Chance’ vs. Celtics
    2. Warriors legend doesn’t believe Knicks have a chance to beat the Celtics
    3. Draymond Greens Strong Critique on Knicks Shot Against Celtics
    4. Draymond Green Doesn’t Believe in Knicks over Celtics
    5. Draymond Green Writes Off Knicks’ Chances Against Celtics


  • Lakers reportedly eyeing young center that Knicks previously tried to trade for – Daily Knicks
    [Daily Knicks] – Mon, 28 Oct 2024 18:45:00 GMT

    Lakers reportedly eyeing young center that Knicks previously tried to trade for


  • Knicks’ top bench piece dodges knee injury – Empire Sports Media
    [Empire Sports Media] – Mon, 28 Oct 2024 14:52:20 GMT

    Knicks’ top bench piece dodges knee injury

  • 122 replies on “Knicks Morning News (2024.10.29)”

    Really nothing negative to say about the Knicks, just positive things about the Cavs. I went into the season thinking they would be better than us and am increasingly confident they are Boston’s true challenger in the East.

    I think the Cavs may be a reasonable analogue for us, too. They traded the farm for Mitchell and had two years of mixed success that included some very high highs. Now in year 3 they seem to have formed under a new coach and with access to some future draft picks again they look like one of the best positioned teams in the NBA. (I am marking them now as a strong contender in the inevitable Giannis sweepstakes.)

    If I had to guess, I think our next two years might look a lot like the Cavs last two, though I am holding out hope Mitch fixes a lot.

    Reminder: the season has 3 games (Knicks) and 4 games (Cavs). No one wins a championship in 4 games, let’s wait and see how the season plays out.

    I hope the panic on the end of the game thread is just that, a reaction to the game without having time to think about it. Let’s discuss what we can discuss, like KAT not having the number of FGA that’s expected of him, but not this tendency to try to be the first to say if this team will reach it’s goals or not. It’s to early to do the latter, so just discuss the former.

    I sometimes think that some of you get happy when you predict something that is not in favor of the Knicks and it happens. I can’t be that way and don’t really understand it… if the Knicks lose i’m sad, i don’t care if i had predicted that it’d happen or not.

    Forgive me if I told this story before: my wife and I knew of each other via various web chatting svcs from back in ‘99 (Blackplanet, Yahoo chat, etc). She always lived in the LA area if not the IE.
    Fast fwd to December ‘14 – we catch each other on Facebook msgr. After taking the past year to undergo some personal growth, I realized that my optics for what I thought I wanted in a woman were too checkbox-y; moreso, to distance myself from those nagging voices that told me that I had to (at least) once in a while bed a woman to prove that I was desirable to the opposite sex. So, being in a much better headspace, I messaged her that I realized that after all those years, I didn’t really know her. She felt the same – so I asked only that we simply get to know one another. That’s how it all started.

    I love this CDiggy, good on you for undertaking that personal growth.

    I would gladly welcome a “How KBers met their true love” thread to avoid discussing the current state of NY sports teams.

    Of course we can always avoid that the way we normally do, i.e. by hurling insults at each other and mocking people’s past opinions like we’ve been doing for the last week. I just thought this might be nicer.

    Really nothing negative to say about the Knicks, just positive things about the Cavs. I went into the season thinking they would be better than us and am increasingly confident they are Boston’s true challenger in the East.

    Yeah, the Cavs had really bad injury luck last year, and a terrible coach. They now have a pretty good coach, and less bad injury luck this season so far (although Max Strus is also out for a month and a half, so it’s not like their luck is perfect). So, yeah, they’re going to be towards the top of the conference. I think the Knicks are going to be better than them, though, but they’ll be in the mix for sure.

    Not optimistic about Thibs adapting to this roster and the style it needs to play. And if Hubert’s narrative is accurate, all it took for the Cavs to jump back up over the Knicks — who smoked them in the playoffs 18 months ago and have since improved and modernized the talent — was a new coach.

    If true, that doesn’t exactly engender a lot of confidence in the current coach.

    Karl-Anthony Towns can’t spend games pointlessly and aimlessly standing around and getting eight shots. I have no idea just exactly what that offense was last night.

    No, that’s not all it took, E. The two years of playing together was pretty important, too. So was Mitchell ending all the speculation about whether or not he’d leave. I do think Atkinson is going to be a big upgrade for the Cavs but coaching is not on my list of things the Knicks should be concerned about.

    (FWIW #1 on that list is Mikal Bridges dying on every screen; that’s been a revelation I wish I’d known about sooner.)

    The fact that our teams been together such a short time has got to be a factor

    The two years of playing together was pretty important, too. So was Mitchell ending all the speculation about whether or not he’d leave.

    In context, I don’t see either of those as that big a deal, all due respect. If the Knicks aren’t as good as the Cavs 18 months out from a playoff curb-stomping, something isn’t working. Definitionally.

    “(FWIW #1 on that list is Mikal Bridges dying on every screen; that’s been a revelation I wish I’d known about sooner.)”

    I’m not too far away from the conclusion that neither him nor Anunoby are as good as the salivated-for versions. Not there yet, but I’m not wildly impressed by either. If they’re going to be the 2/3 options on offense while KAT stands around pointlessly and gets eight shots, that isn’t going to work. They aren’t good enough for that.

    Missed the sports last night- the only thing that really stands out in the box score is kat only taking 8 shots what did the cavs do?

    KAT’s a career 27 USG guy; his USG this year so far is barely over 19. (*)

    That’s … not what we’re looking for.

    (*) While he leads the association in DREB%.

    We’re also not looking for a team with two 3 & D’ers at key wing positions and the best shooting stretch 5 in association history to be 29th in the association in 3 point attempts per game.

    It’s three games in, for sure, but they weren’t really clicking in preseason either. Early signs not encouraging. More data needed.

    Looking at the big picture, our overall defense was pretty good most of the game. What turned the tide in favor of the Cavaliers in the fourth was series of offensive possessions where we either gave the ball away, had a shot blocked or had some other dismal outcome, and after each of these possessions the Cavs got the ball and immediately scored.

    Keep in mind that we looked like shit early last year despite running the prior year’s starters.

    We stomped Cleveland because of Mitchell Robinson. We didn’t have Mitchell Robinson.

    The Point Guard is supposed to be the table setter. Last night Brunson chucked 24 times and made 8 of them. Other players around him were efficient and needed more shots. That’s the reason the Knicks lost last night.

    I was flipping between games but…

    * OG was great on defense when I saw him

    * Hart had too many TOs but frequently looks like our most impactful player

    * Hunted mismatches instead of running offense. Thibs iso-ball cometh.

    * We’re missing Donte’s volume shooting. Shooting isn’t just percentages

    * KAT is a really nifty passer out of the post

    I really wish they wouldn’t schedule Knicks games on the same days the Yankees are in the WS. Silver lining is that it won’t last much longer.

    While I agree that Brunson was a tad out of control and not distributing very well last night ….didn’t the Cavs make their run right after he took that knee and left for the rest of the quarter?

    It is nice to not be hearing Mitchell Robinson for Christian Wood and Gabe Vincent rumors any more. Hopefully we let him finish his rehab, don’t rush him back, and he can be the midseason acquisition we usually make to get a jolt.

    The Knicks also sitting last in the NBA in Three Pointers attempted. You will not win in the modern NBA if you aren’t taking a ton of threes.

    I really wish they wouldn’t schedule Knicks games on the same days the Yankees are in the WS.

    Once you accept that this Yankee lineup only gives you 12 ABs a game worth watching it helps you focus on the Knicks.

    I wouldn’t be overly concerned about the Towns usage rate.

    1. Brunson is going to be the #1 option almost every night because he has the ball in his hands and looks to score.

    2. Towns is going to be the #2 option on most nights.

    3. I have been wondering how efficient Bridges is going to be at higher usage rates creating for himself because I wasn’t sure if we were getting the lower usage efficient Suns version or the higher usage efficient Nets version in season one. So far it looks like we are getting the better version. If so, that means on some nights he’s going to be the #2 option. We can also ask him to carry a bigger load with the bench unit. That’s GOOD news even if it means his shots come from Towns or someone else sometimes when the matchups favor it.

    4. OG is going to score his 14-15 and if they leave Hart open, he’s going to take some shots.

    When you have this much efficient scoring talent you don’t complain because a player or two is going to be underutlized on some nights depending on matchups, defensive strategy or who has it going.

    What I will say is that the Knicks have a LOT of excellent 3 point shooting and they aren’t taking nearly enough of them so far. To me it looks like OG and Bridges have been a little hesitant because they weren’t shooting well and Hart is always a bit hesitant. I think that’s one legitimate issue that needs to be ironed out. The other is Brunson’s tendency to try to do too much. He has shooters and scorers all around him now. It’s time to start thinking more about making plays than forcing tough shots. Kick it out!

    The Hukporti jam was not a foul (in my heart).

    Work in progress sign should be front and center on the homepage. There are flashes where they look great; it’ll come in time.

    Yankees so disappointing.

    From what I’ve read, style of play indicators tend to stabilize much faster than results so while I’m not worried about 1-2 or the fact that we’re 30th in defense, the two things I’m watching closely are the 28th in 3 point attempt rate, and the 30th in pace. For a team that made a lot of moves this offseason to try to make things easier on offense it still looked like a slog a lot last night – I was having deja vu down the stretch seeing Brunson try to make magic out of a sliver of daylight in the lane when that was the #1 thing that was supposed to be different this year. We’re talented enough to still get decent stuff even if it isn’t always pretty, but this team should be capable of generating a lot of easy offense and I’m not seeing that so far.

    It’s too early to conclude that Thibs isn’t adapting to the skillset of his philosophically-new roster. (*)

    That said, if he wasn’t doing that, the data and eye test would look much like it looks now.

    (*) It’s not too early to conclude that his strong preference would be not to play the way this roster plays best.

    Frustrations aside I will say this, so far thru 3 games Knicks are 3rd in offensive rating despite playing the 3rd and 6th best defenses from last season. No surprise the one bad defensive team they played Knicks easily put up 125. Next game might not pretty for the offense either playing against the Heat.

    They had the association’s best defense in the 2023 playoffs and Thibs nonetheless chased regular season defense a third into the next season.

    My base case is that, based on his long track record, he will chafe at the numbers and the aesthetics, and chase regular season defense again this season.

    That’s a bad idea.

    I would gladly welcome a “How KBers met their true love” thread to avoid discussing the current state of NY sports teams.

    She was working as a Knick City Dancer, I was in town for a job interview with the Yankees. Brian Cashman gave me his tickets to the knick game where James Dolan introduced us. The Jets and the Mets were there, too. It was crazy.

    Yankees so disappointing.

    There’s a part of me that thinks if they can just avoid a sweep tonight, Cole can win tomorrow, and then maybe the law of averages can propel Judge in LA.

    But there’s very little part of me that actually believes they can avert a sweep. This series has felt like a major step up in weight class for a fighter who was woefully unprepared.

    “There’s a part of me that thinks if they can just avoid a sweep tonight, Cole can win tomorrow, and then maybe the law of averages can propel Judge in LA.”

    Are they actually playing three World Series games over the course of three consecutive nights?!? Wow.

    The Dodgers seem to have caught a very lucky break in that Walker Buehler found himself just in time to give them two excellent starts in crucial games. If they’re beating you in the Walker Buehler game it’s going to be tough to beat them in a series, as the Mets and now the Yankees are finding out.

    The Cavs played well. And that’s because they ran it back for the most part. Even for as tough as they played us, it still came down to open shots not falling and KAT not being aggressive enough. That will come with time. It is a little bit odd to see Brunson working out the kinks in real time. But it’s also a good thing to see him trying to figure out how to get his guys goin. He could easily say “this is my team- get it in where you fit in”. We will play another good defensive team in Miami this week, and hopefully we talked another step towards figuring out how the pieces fit by then.

    Godspeed, Josh

    The Knicks were 11th in the league in 3PA rate last year, and even though DDV isn’t here anymore you wouldn’t expect them to fall off to 28th, which is where they currently rank.

    What’s killing us is an abysmal 2pt% allowed, with opponents shooting an absurd .632 against us from 2pt so far, dead last in the league. That’s another thing that seems like it should regress to the mean.

    The Cavs played well. And that’s because they ran it back for the most part.

    There was a lot of talk at the end of last year that they’d trade Allen to unlock
    Mobley. It seemed strange that, of it were true, that Presti would have given $87,000,000 to Hartenstein when Allen could have been had for a small combination of stockpiled assets and was only going to be paid $20,000,000. Turned out Cleveland’s intention all along was to run it back, and that’s why Z-Man and Face Humper are fighting now.

    “…why Z-Man and Face Humper are fighting now.”

    I feel this is more akin to Lazarus and anti-matter Lazarus wrestling while tumbling forever through space a la Star Trek.

    On the basketball side of things, I was very impressed with Cleveland’s harassing and very disciplined defense. We did some stupid things, but they were very good.

    On the need to take more threes, I wonder if Thibs will unlock Dadiet a bit more since his main skill is moving without the ball to get open threes? Although, between Mikal, OG, Brunson, KAT, and Deuce, at least a league-average amount of threes should be getting hoisted…

    This stuff takes time. We have a whole new starting 5 that will work ideally very differently than the starting 5 we’ve had the last few seasons.

    Looking at the box score, if we had just scored 26 points in the first quarter like we did in the 3rd and 4th quarters, we win by 2 and the team was rolling until Brunson got hurt and had to come out for a bit.

    A few thoughts, though.

    Brunson is an all-NBA player but he is not a traditional “pass first” PG. He can get there but it’s not like we have a PG like prime Nash or Kidd who you can just put the ball in his hands and he makes magic constantly finding the open man. They’re all gonna have to learn how to play with each other.

    But also, maybe Kolek instead of Payne, eventually, would help with some of this. Seems like Payne just hunts for his shot whereas Kolek is the type to look to set up his teammates.

    So basically early returns are:

    -We appear to be the worst defensive team in the league or pretty close, and it’s not to do with outlier 3pt shooting from Boston as opponents have now shot below average from 3.
    -Above is mainly because we can’t stop anything inside the arc, a direct result of losing a DPOY level rim protector and bringing in a poor one.
    -Worst of all, the defensive wings that cost 1/3 of our cap and all of our assets don’t really seem to move the needle defensively. We don’t have anyone who can credibly guard a Tyrese Maxey.
    -We have adjusted to a large change in personnel away from grit/physicality and towards spacing and shooting ability by… continuing to play like last year but shooting way less threes.
    -Our highest paid player in team history and the best shooting big man in NBA history is playing under 30 MPG and averaging a crisp 2.5 3PA/36 for 15 PPG.

    TL:DR we went all in on 3&D wings and got the worst defensive team in the league that never takes threes. Dolan’s Razor is undefeated.

    Walker, the premiere PGs in this era are all shoot-first; that said, i think Brunson needs to fully realize who he has in KAT and feel comfortable in deferring in those rare instances he’s off-kilter.
    As others have said, it’s going to take some time, especially with this early schedule.

    Right, I’m sure we’re going to be the worst defensive team in the league and that isn’t a histrionic exaggeration that is eventually going to look completely ridiculous.

    We’ve played 3 of the top teams in the East. We got blown out by the best one, blew out the one most likely to be the worst of the three and barely lost to the one in the middle.

    The sky is not falling. Jesus we’ve done this the last 2 seasons. Can we not?

    Thibs biases are getting the best of him. With this team, a young naive but untainted coach like JJ Reddick and Joe Mazzullo is needed. Inexperience and youth is actually an asset over years of scars and failure with this group.

    Exhibit one: Trust a 10yr vet over a rookie at all times, no matter what.

    While I’m definitively not a fan at all, Cam Payne is valuable when the team is struggling and needs a burst of energy. Through unorthodox chaos, elite improvesation insticts, courage to take low percentage shots and a ton of effort, Cam is capable to turn the momentum on a dime and insert life when a team is just going through the motions. However, he can not methodically manage a game with a lead and continually make the highest probability outcome decisions with the basketball. After he took 2 terrible shots and turned the ball over, KAT then did the same thing and took a long contested two when were were up 10 that led to a wide open transition three which cut the lead to 7. Poor pays lead to others making poor plays. Thats how loosing teams consistently loose. Cam did switch momentum but in the wrong direction last night. This why Nick Nurse benched him last year and played him in the playoffs after NY established dominance in the series, – because Nurse knew the team needed a spark.

    Kolek on the other hand is the opposite of Cam. He’s unlikely to make a material difference in a 5-6 minute span but he’s is likely to move the ball and run high percentage plays dictated by Thibs. The difference last night would have been that when Brunson returned, the team was steadily up double digits and the game was ready for him to close.

    Problem is that what I’m suggesting, does not fit Thibs’ bias of choosing a 10yr vet over an inexperienced rookie at all times, no matter what.

    It’d be nice if we stopped playing the best teams in the East. I’ll be pretty darn happy if we pull through these opening 4 games at 2-2. I wouldn’t have been surprised to go 1-3 and we’ve already got the 1.

    We will need to clean up the following 3 games against DET, HOU, ATL.

    Right, I’m sure we’re going to be the worst defensive team in the league and that isn’t a histrionic exaggeration that is eventually going to look completely ridiculous.

    Tbf to those overexaggerators, the last time this team had legit championship aspirations, I was in high school (I don’t count the ‘99 run bc that was more a surprise than anything). I’m now 47 with a whole-ass family and career.

    That is to say, most of us aren’t used to cheering for a team set up to be consistent title contenders. So even the doomsayers need time to get used to our new normal and work out the kinks 🤣

    Thibs absolutely has gone to rookies when they’re ready. It happened with IQ and Grimes, it’ll happen with Kolek eventually. So far, Kolek has 3 TOs in 9 minutes. It’s probably noise, but he’s not exactly demanding more playing time the way Huk did.

    Director, while I agree with you on paper, Kolek is not yet a fully functional point guard, especially on the defensive end, and the Cavs killer back court would have eaten him alive.

    Plus I’m kind of hoping Thibs gives him more time once they’re out on the road, as the chants for Kolek toward the end of the game in the Garden against the Pacers felt kind of icky.

    As much as we shouldn’t overreact to the Knicks 1-2 record, let’s not get carried away with the Flavor of the Month 4-0 Cleveland Cavaliers. They’ve played 3 really bad teams and us, and I just can’t get out of my mind how we absolutely owned them in the playoffs 2 years ago when they basically had the same team (albeit a shitty coach)

    I still think we finish ahead of them in the standings when all is said and done.

    I don’t think there is anything to “panic” about. Brunson had a bad game, Garland went off, and KAT is still figuring it out.

    But there’s definitely cause for at least some level of concern, and there would have been whether we won this game by 30 or lost it by 30.

    Cavs last two seasons: 99-65

    Knicks last two seasons: 97-67

    But we’re a real contender and they’re a flavor of the month?

    The 2023 playoffs are a distant memory. You don’t think we can’t beat the Miami Heat, do you?

    Good point Hubie, CLE is much more credible as a true contender than we are. They were 2nd in SRS in 2023 (higher than any team we’ve had since ’94). Last year their best 3 players all missed 25+ games.

    Unlike us, they have significant internal development upside left as well as some assets to improve the team. Garland is 24 and Mobley is just 22. He doesn’t get a ton of respect but he is an elite defender and his numbers compare pretty favorably to KG at that age.

    The reasonable default assumption is that they are a tier above us until proven otherwise, whatever we did in 2023 with a completely different team.

    Good point Hubie, CLE is much more credible as a true contender than we are.

    The reasonable default assumption is that they are a tier above us until proven otherwise.

    Is that really what I said, Pags?

    I think they’re in the same tier as us, but bc they don’t have gelling problems I like them to win more regular season games.

    I’ll sit here and see the Cavs get bounced by some team like Philly in RD.1 come playoff time

    Garland and Mobley are young enough to make a leap. Don’t assume they’ve plateaued.

    What’s killing us is an abysmal 2pt% allowed, with opponents shooting an absurd .632 against us from 2pt so far, dead last in the league. That’s another thing that seems like it should regress to the mean.

    This makes me wonder about multiple things.

    Are they getting high quality 2 point shots because our perimeter defense hasn’t been all that we hoped?

    Are they getting a below average number of them because our perimeter defense has been good but converting them at a very high rate because we’ve gone from plus interior defense to minus interior defense?

    Are they just getting lucky short term?

    I know I’ve seen a few instances where something broke down and Towns just sort of stood there and allowed the guy to get off a great shot without even trying to stop him. So maybe that’s part of it. He has to make that extra effort on every play.

    Cavs last two seasons: 99-65

    Knicks last two seasons: 97-67

    But we’re a real contender and they’re a flavor of the month?

    The 2023 playoffs are a distant memory. You don’t think we can’t beat the Miami Heat, do you?

    My point was that the Cavs bandwagon is close to capacity and I’m not convinced they’re a true threat in the East.

    All I can say is I’d be thrilled to see them in the playoffs again (assuming we have Mitch back)

    “He has to make that extra effort on every play.”

    FIFY: He has to give some effort on every play.

    FIFY: He has to give some effort on every play.

    Why? He hasn’t tried on defense for years. Just being a good shooter got him the supermax and that’s a lot easier to keep up.

    Now I’m looking forward to when The Incredible Huk shoots past KAT on the depth chart…

    “Why? He hasn’t tried on defense for years. Just being a good shooter got him the supermax and that’s a lot easier to keep up.”

    It’s hard for him to remain a good shooter if he won’t…….ummmmmmm, you know…….shoot. Eight shots in a close game isn’t going to cut it.

    Garland and Mobley are young enough to make a leap. Don’t assume they’ve plateaued.

    More importantly they might be good enough to win the Giannis sweepstakes. A package of Garland, Allen, their unprotected 2031 pick, and swaps in ‘30 & ‘32 for Giannis and someone like Trent is a pretty good offer if Garland shows out this year. Then you’re looking at Mitchell Mobley & Giannis surrounded by an army of shooters. Oh my.

    Thibs biases are getting the best of him. With this team, a young naive but untainted coach like JJ Reddick and Joe Mazzullo is needed. Inexperience and youth is actually an asset over years of scars and failure with this group.

    now this, this is ageism…thibs is too old (with years of emotional scarring embedded into his soul) to adapt…

    it is kind of funny though…

    We’ve played the teams who were the two best offensive teams in the NBA last year and the Cavs, and we have a lot of new players. The hot takes around here are getting kind of silly.

    I’m not convinced they’re a true threat in the East.

    Do you think the Knicks are? I think the Cavs have more bona fides than anyone else currently does.

    Garland and Mobley are young enough to make a leap. Don’t assume they’ve plateaued

    Garland has been in the league 5 years and his shooting statistics are pretty consistently average to above average year after year

    I guess he could get better, but not sure I see it happening

    And every year it’s “this is the year Evan Mobley could make the leap to stardom” and it still hasn’t happened.

    Just not a believer in the Cavs, but maybe I’ll be proven wrong this season.

    for me, my main thibs gripe is still player health management, and out of bounds plays…

    he seems to be adaptable, and it’s more and more evident this is Leon’s team…and he has elevated jalen, and brock, and who knows else…

    thibs still has a lot of pull, as he should, but yeah, the roster dictates the style of play and expectations…the medical staff should dictate player availability…coach does practice, strategy, minutes, all with staff input…

    Thibs doesn’t really want KAT as his center (*) playing stretch 5 style. He didn’t six years ago and doesn’t now. He’s gonna look for any escape hatch, and already is — thus the senseless insertion of Huk in last night’s fourth quarter, Sims in the Celtic game less than six minutes in, KAT’s mere 29 mpg, and the failure to do anything to play to KAT’s strengths.

    It’s not really age; it’s more personality. He was set in his ways at 40. He wants rim protection and offensive rebounding.

    We’ll see where it goes. My priors are multiple years old — if it’s KAT and modernity, or Thibs, it’s “thanks for your excellent service, coach, best of luck in your future pursuits.”

    I expect turbulence ahead.

    (*) He probably is ok with KAT on his team, generally. I’m not going to go to that level, yet.

    I think the Cavs have more bona fides than anyone else currently does.

    If they’ve burned the asset chest for a team that’s gotten passed over by the new-coach-only Cavs, that’s a clear process fail.

    (Note the “if” here. I’m not necessarily where Hubert is on the underlying question.)

    Decided not to look at anything in the first few games, so started delving into the G league (because there was a draft a few days ago that I did not know existed nor why it would exist). Really interesting as to what it is trying to do and fascinating how they try new ideas for the NBA game. Particularly like the FT and OT tweaks.

    Edit-just trying to move the conversation from an incessant narcissistic troll.

    People be like “you can’t write the Knicks off after 3 games” and “let’s not call the cavs contenders after a 4-0 start.”

    Well what exactly are we basing the Knicks’ status as contenders on? Press clippings & vegas odds, it seems like.

    Maybe the overreaction was crowning us in the first place. Telling everyone we’re so much better than last year based on zero games strikes me as more of an overreaction than saying we don’t look like title contenders after three.

    Maybe the overreaction was crowning us in the first place. It certainly wasn’t based on any hard evidence.

    I personally am not sold on OG and Mikal. Particularly at the price point they paid.

    Trying hard to be sold, but not getting there.

    For them to remotely work, this has to become a 5-out, bombs away team. As we sit here today, it’s nothing like that. Mikal’s becoming more of a 2024 poor man’s Rip Hamilton, which no.

    And every year it’s “this is the year Evan Mobley could make the leap to stardom” and it still hasn’t happened.

    This is an objectively bad take. He’s 22! He’s younger than every player on our team except Dadiet!

    His BPM the last 3 seasons:
    2022 0.6
    2023 1.7
    2024 2.9

    TS%, REB%, and AST% have risen steadily every year.

    What the hell more is the kid supposed to do? Is everyone who isn’t Luka a bust? Are we really gonna label him a bust while we bank on the potential of *checks notes* Ariel Hukporti and Tyler Kolek to fill in key roles?

    Sigh. I am editing an incredibly annoying and repetitive document filled with extremely dubious suppositions, and it is reminding me very much of this site.

    On the other hand, Rip Hamilton won a chip while leading his team in scoring during the regular season and in the finals. I’ll take that, even a poor man’s version, thank you.

    But you’re right, they do remind me of each other a bit.

    plenty of minutes at the five:
    – mitch 24
    – huk 12
    – KAT 12

    unfortunately no mitch right now, or precious, so, that’s not good…

    even though KAT’s “max” value may be at the five, let him spend most his time as a power forward…

    josh will strengthen the bench…a starting big five to protect the rim and scoop rebounds, a backup who can maybe do even more…and then a stretch five to match other teams who have one of those…or, to go all offense…

    Who do y’all think would get more wins out of this team, Thibodeau or D’Antoni? I feel like this teams has a lot of components that would make D’Antoni happy, and that he would in particular be more intrigued by the rookies

    On the other hand, Rip Hamilton won a chip while leading his team in scoring during the regular season and in the finals. I’ll take that, even a poor man’s version, thank you.

    But you’re right, they do remind me of each other a bit.

    You sure Rip Hamilton was the main driver of their success? How was that team defensively? Asking for a friend

    Who do y’all think would get more wins out of this team, Thibodeau or D’Antoni? I feel like this teams has a lot of components that would make D’Antoni happy, and that he would in particular be more intrigued by the rookies

    D’Antoni, hands down. He’d have us bombing 50+ threes per game and winning 60 before we flame out in the playoffs.

    Thibs’ choices so far have been about as discouraging as they can possibly be on the question of whether he understands this roster’s strengths.

    d’antoni??…bring back Pitino …that was the bomb squad..

    oh…and …lets go rangers!

    On one hand, this thread is full of takes that are patently ridiculous 3 games in. On the other, I get it. The season has started and we want to fire off takes.

    As a compromise, I humbly suggest trying to focus next-day threads on micro commentary on the games themselves until we have enough data for big picture conclusions (10 games, bare minimum, but realistically probably more like 20).

    I would say all the summer takes (specifically that we had a great offseason, that we’re so much better than last year, that Leon Rose proved his doubters wrong, and that the Knicks are officially contenders) were the ones that were premature and patently ridiculous.

    The takes right now that this is going to take a long time to come together, that maybe losing three of our 5 best players set us back, and that maybe this team isn’t built to beat the Celtics after all… these are the takes that are actually based on watching the team play.

    Everything from E & Pags is admittedly over the top but what else is new?

    Speaking of hot takes, I think we should have signed Freddie Freeman instead of Anthony Rizzo.

    Rudy Gay just announced his retirement. Am I the only one who thought that he’d already stopped playing? I recall him playing a little bit for the Jazz maybe a couple of years ago, but that’s about it.

    hit behind the knee, couldn’t move, then the ball finds him, doesn’t move, lays it up to score…gets help off the court…

    hope he’s okay…

    “Ant with 24 in the first.”

    I was going to ask you if you meant in the first quarter or in the first half, but I see now that the answer would have been the same either way.

    As a recovering Cubs fan, that dude that ripped the ball out if Betts’ glove just gave me some serious pts. That fan is Bartman on roids. (Poor Mark Prior had to see that, too)

    As a recovering Cubs fan, that dude that ripped the ball out if Betts’ glove just gave me some serious pts. That fan is Bartman on roids. (Poor Mark Prior had to see that, too)

    In all seriousness, those 2 dudes could have seriously injured Betts’ arm by grabbing his glove and not letting go.

    Pretty fucking stupid.

    How do we convince Jokic to demand a trade to the Knicks?

    Seriously… he is a huge harness racing participant and the Meadowlands is the biggest harness track in NA. It is 9 miles from MSG…

    Honestly I’m so sick of watching these MFs dance at 2B if the Yankees don’t want to throw one at Betts for doing it let the psycho fans go after him.

    let the psycho fans go after him.

    Um, these psycho fans just wanted a souvenir. You on the other hand…

    You on the other hand…

    I was actually thrown out of game 1 of the 1996 World Series but I’m not telling you why.

    Btw it cost me $12 to get a ticket in the RF bleachers to that game.

    I’m watching this at a bar full of Cdiggy’s co-workers. They’re not that bad, he should give them another chance.

    Preposterous shot followed up by screaming curses at the crowd, you have to respect how much he hates Minnesota

    I was at the last Yankees WS game where they hit a grand slam in 98. I was in the left field upper deck and a very large man a few sections over got his foot caught between the stairs and the vertical bar of the handrail and they had a couple ushers come try to pull his foot out while the whole outfield crowd chanted get that foot out clap clap clap. Probably the most fun game I’ve ever been to.

    Great call by Boone bringing in Weaver there. I wouldn’t ask him to get 7 outs, though.

    I’m watching this at a bar full of Cdiggy’s co-workers. They’re not that bad, he should give them another chance.

    They don’t know that you know me, that’s why 🤣🤣🤣

    I also think Judge getting an RBI single in the eighth is not nothing. With the Dodgers rotation turning over, it’ll be better-late-than-never if he starts to finally heat up.

    n NBA history, one player in their entire career has had all three of:

    – A 25/15/15 game

    – A game with 40+ points on one or fewer made free throws

    – A game with 7+ made threes

    That player is Nikola Jokic, who did each of those in a different game over the last four days.

    the categories are not meaningful but what a ridiculous player

    Why’d you get thrown out of game 1 in ‘96?

    He was working as an Atlanta Braves RF, I was in town for an undergraduate degree at Fordham. Gene Michael gave me his tickets to the WS game where Dave Checketts introduced us. The Rangers and the Islanders were there, too. It was crazy.

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