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2024-25 Game Thread: Knicks @ Rockets – The Refs Owe the Knicks One!

After last year, when the Knicks were screwed by the refs in Houston, the refs owe them this one!

Then again, the Knicks should have won that one with pretty much a threadbare roster, so they should definitely win this one with their current roster.

So don’t even let the refs get involved, Knicks, just kick their ass!

Let’s go, Knicks! It’ll be great to get to 58!

205 replies on “2024-25 Game Thread: Knicks @ Rockets – The Refs Owe the Knicks One!”

Good discussion of defense today. A few scattered things outside of AIOs and the eye-test I personally look at:

1) Stocks–please refrain from yelling at me about how bad defenders can get them and good ones sometimes refrain, I am aware. Still, ending possessions and preventing FGA that disproportionately come at the rim is a serious value-add that, to me, comes with the rebuttable presumption that a player is an asset defensively.

2) On/off that accounts for lineups over a large sample–see what impact a player has on his team’s defense with well-known defensive asset/liability teammates both on and off the floor. Try to create your own DRAPM, basically. I’d never consider this (or anything else for that matter) definitive, but I think it can be insightful.

3) Tracking data–there are serious limitations to this, as e.g. DFG% can be all kinds of noisy. Still, I think over a large enough sample size it’s worth looking at, and is especially useful for centers since they rack up a large sample of defended FGA quickly.

Are we really good, or are Lakers really bad, or were Pistons asleep? (pistons 20pts up on lakers)

I don’ think you can accurately measure a player’s defensive impact without analyzing what he does relative to what he’s expected to do, relative to what other players in the same role and circumstances do.

It is also dependent on what opposing offenses do as a result of you being on the floor. Are you hunted or avoided? How switchable are you vs. various offensive players? How much do you cover for your teammates? How good are you at controlling the player you are guarding?

For example, if your coach wants you to switch everything, then you are not going over screens by design. If that player scores post-screen, it might be a blown hedge or switch rather than a failure on your part. If teams. If a player scores on an alley-oop because the C had to overcommitt on a blow-by, that’s not his fault he didn’t protect the rim. There is so much nuance that most AIO stats are blurred. They aren’t useless…just not at all definitive.

During Monica McNutt’s pre-game interview Deuce was in the background behind her and I watched him drain like 10 treys in a row. Looked incredibly smooth and dialed in. Let’s take care of business here boyz.

Are we really good, or are Lakers really bad, or were Pistons asleep? (pistons 20pts up on lakers)

As I mentioned before, I think the Pistons may have learned something about playing us. They had to play harder after being embarrassed by us in the first half and it looks like they are keeping it up, first against Brooklyn and now against the Lakers.

Mikal guards FVV, gets over first screen, dies on second screen, FVV hits wide open jumper.

Another PnR, Mikal gets over slow and FVV hits Sengun on the roll.

KAT needs to start doing something different if Mikal can’t get around screens.

Knew FVV would do all his regression to his shitty mean today. Guy always destroys us.

Sims seems like a nice guy, and looks to be in great shape. It’s too bad he’s terrible.

I was just thinking OG has been doing some weird stuff. Plus he’s on the ground every time I look up. Drunk is definitely an option.

I was just thinking Sims played that possession well then makes the stupid goaltend.

OG with another decent look at the basket that doesn’t go in.

This is a loss. This team just owns us.

Yeah 6 point leads are basically impossible to overcome in the NBA

Was that weird watching Brunson dribble in place with his back to the guy guarding him for like 10 seconds?

I just turned it on. Is FVV playing really well or are we having a defensive issue?

I just turned it on. Is FVV playing really well or are we having a defensive issue?

He has it tonight but Brunson has been on him quite a bit, which makes it a lot easier.

Knicks seem to struggle against switch. They keep going to mismatches instead of running offense, and they don’t really feel like mismatches.

These guys are a god damn handful, it feels like everyone can jump out of the gym. Gonna have to outshoot them.

Kolek looking like something less than a speed bump on that one.

Tari is electric.

McBride and Kolek are playing together, but McBride is bringing the ball up the court. That doesn’t leave much for Kolek to do. I’m not sure why they are doing it that way.

Rockets are 16-26 from 2pt, and we are only within 20 points because their perimeter shooting isn’t very good.

We’re a step slow and missing everything. They are energized and are hitting everything. We’ll make some adjustments at the half and things will revert to mean.

At least when Bridges gets beat it’s cause of a screen being used, Deuce just gets burned clean off the dribble.

Sims has to be subbed out for Hukporti ASAP. I’d rather play Hart at C

Sims is sub-replacement level. What exactly does he do well? They really need Precious.

It seems like this Knicks team every couple of games is gonna get reality checks following blowout victories.

Well we stunk out the joint for the vast majority of that half but somehow are only down 5

Oh man Trae Young got hurt tonight if he’s out on Wednesday with the rest of the Hawks injuries Knicks should probably be 20 pt favorites.

Sims had one nice defensive possession near the end there.

They’re shooting 23% from 3. We’re shooting 53%.

KAT & Bridges need to step up.

KAT is immense and has deserved many additional free throws

This does not look like a well coached team right now. Nobody is in sync on defense and the offense looks like it’s a preseason game. We’re hanging around on sheer talent but this is not quality team play.

Seems like we’re always the team that ends shooting slumps. FVV was shooting 28% going into this game

We’re being outshot, outhustled, out defended, outrebounded and outoffciated. Be interesting to see if they can dig deep in Q4 and gut out a win like they did so much last year.

Still only down by six despite getting seemingly outplayed from whistle to whistle. Jericho Sims is so bad I actually feel bad for him

I’m sick of this shit..

Sengun has traveled EVERY DAMN TIME he put the ball on the floor. Yet the refs whistle seems clogged

KAT absolutely has his defensive deficiencies but the rebounding sure helps. Ideally our talent edge would carry the day here.

Whoever called the fake comeback was apot on. We’re amazing at staying 1-2 possessions behind but never taking the lead

They still need to iron some things out on offense, brunson shouldn’t be heroballing like this, and the team needs to work to create more 3s, everyone can shoot

They couldn’t hit a key basket, couldn’t get an OREB on key possessions like they used to last year, the defense sucked and Brunson has to stop playing hero ball on a team with this much firepower.

Even though we’ve shot way better from three, Houston still shot five more than us… unforgivable.

Brunson outta gas and trying to do too much by himself. Never got the PnR going, never got KAT 3pts, and had no answer for Shengun. Missed opportunity. Hope they learn from it.

Brunson needs to start recognizing when he isn’t having a good shooting night. Plenty of guys out there that can hit shots.

Stunk to high heaven down the stretch of this one. This is a collection of players and not a team at this point.

I’m sure Brunson will say post-game that he has to play better. They’ll blow out Atlanta then probably blow a 4th quarter lead at home to Milwaukee.

questionable sportsmanship on that dunk

I was thinking this but I’m cool with it if the disrespect helps motivate our boys

KAT & Bridges were a disappointment. Deuce can’t go 0-9.

Kudos to Houston for playing some good defense.

Also really can’t win games in the NBA when your bench scores 3 points

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TJ Warren is currently on the Westchester Knicks. Not sure why Matt Ryan would be higher on the list if he gets a standard deal

Knicks bench is McBride, rookies and Jericho Sims who are available to play.

Don’t know why you thought Sims was bad. He scored just as many points as Deuce on nine fewer shots.

More seriously, the Rockets are one of the best rebounding teams in the NBA right now. They’re basically us last year. Us, not so much.

It’s very early obviously but the idea that we’re a threat to Boston is kind of laughable

We have the core of a very good team. We need Mitch back for those nights Towns is having a tough time defending the opposing C and we need real 6th man scorer off the bench. I like Deuce, but he’s not a 6th man caliber scorer.

Well D- Mar Rose should be fired if his product doesn’t develop to challenge the team he had his eyes on.

We have the core of a very good team. We need Mitch back for those nights Towns is having a tough time defending the opposing C and we need real 6th man scorer off the bench. I like Deuce, but he’s not a 6th man caliber scorer.

A trade is impossible, they need to try out TJ Warren

Oddly enough, Sims and McBride had the only positive plus/minuses on the team, with +14 and +10 in 16 and 28 minutes, respectively. It’s not a small difference from the other Knicks (the best of whom was OG at -5 in 40 minutes). I don’t understand it, but maybe Sims was actually trouble for the Rockets on defense in the paint. Does anyone have other thoughts?

It’s really depressing how many western teams there are that have had multiple contending windows more recently than us, tanked, and are again a lot better than us. Houston is one of them. We would be a and b-.500 team if we didn’t play in the shitty East.

+/- at its best

New York Basketball
@NBA_NewYork
Jericho Sims in Houston:

0 points
0 shots
4 rebounds
4 fouls
+14 game high

That was a very frustrating loss. I hope they beat the Hawks by 4,000 points on Wednesday.

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During Monica McNutt’s pre-game interview Deuce was in the background behind her and I watched him drain like 10 treys in a row. Looked incredibly smooth and dialed in. Let’s take care of business here boyz

I read up to here and then skipped to the end.

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