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Knicks Morning News (2024.11.05)


  • Sources: Knicks, Hukporti agree on two-year deal – ESPN
    [ESPN] – Mon, 04 Nov 2024 14:53:00 GMT
    1. Sources: Knicks, Hukporti agree on two-year deal
    2. Knicks converting rookie center Ariel Hukporti from two-way to standard rookie contract
    3. Knicks Rumors: Center Ariel Hukporti Lands 2-Year Contract amid Giannis Trade Buzz
    4. Knicks To Promote Ariel Hukporti To Standard Roster
    5. Karl-Anthony Towns Finally Gets Help as Knicks Fans Celebrate James Dolans Move for 70 Giant


  • Knicks adding Matt Ryan, Ariel Hukporti before NBA roster deadline – New York Post
    [New York Post] – Mon, 04 Nov 2024 20:10:00 GMT
    1. Knicks adding Matt Ryan, Ariel Hukporti before NBA roster deadline
    2. Knicks signing former Celtics sharpshooter (report)
    3. Knicks to sign shooter Matt Ryan to contract, rounding out roster
    4. Knicks To Sign Matt Ryan
    5. NBA rumors: Knicks make two additions to bolster roster depth, including signing of sharpshooter


  • Knicks Notes: Getting Karl-Anthony Towns more involved, plus what’s next for the roster – sny.tv
    [sny.tv] – Mon, 04 Nov 2024 15:38:59 GMT
    1. Knicks Notes: Getting Karl-Anthony Towns more involved, plus what’s next for the roster
    2. Former NBA Star Explains New York Knicks’ Karl-Anthony Towns Problem
    3. Wild statistic shows just how insane the Karl-Anthony Towns/Jalen Brunson duo already is for the Knicks
    4. Smart Knicks Fans All Understand Reason for Early-Season Struggles
    5. Ian Begley talks to TNTs Kenny Smith about Knicks’ championship chances | The Putback | SNY


  • Rockets and Knicks tonight in H-town – The Dream Shake
    [The Dream Shake] – Mon, 04 Nov 2024 22:54:21 GMT

    Rockets and Knicks tonight in H-town


  • New York City’s NBA Stars Lead Kith for the New York Knicks 2024 – HYPEBEAST
    [HYPEBEAST] – Mon, 04 Nov 2024 15:56:47 GMT

    New York City’s NBA Stars Lead Kith for the New York Knicks 2024


  • Jalen Brunson falters late as Knicks fail first late-game test in loss to Rockets – New York Post
    [New York Post] – Tue, 05 Nov 2024 04:23:00 GMT
    1. Jalen Brunson falters late as Knicks fail first late-game test in loss to Rockets
    2. New York Knicks vs Houston Rockets Nov 4, 2024 Box Scores
    3. Game Thread: Knicks at Rockets, November 4, 2024
    4. Alperen Sengun, Rockets hold off Knicks
    5. Rockets pull away late for victory against Knicks


  • Knicks predicted to trade for ‘realistic target’ $13.5 million Pistons guard – Sporting News
    [Sporting News] – Mon, 04 Nov 2024 17:50:34 GMT

    Knicks predicted to trade for ‘realistic target’ $13.5 million Pistons guard


  • Tom Thibodeau stews over controversial Knicks call: Big play – New York Post
    [New York Post] – Tue, 05 Nov 2024 05:46:00 GMT

    Tom Thibodeau stews over controversial Knicks call: Big play


  • New York Knicks 97 – Houston Rockets 109: Final score, results, recap, box score, stats – Yahoo Sports
    [Yahoo Sports] – Tue, 05 Nov 2024 08:01:57 GMT

    New York Knicks 97 – Houston Rockets 109: Final score, results, recap, box score, stats

  • 69 replies on “Knicks Morning News (2024.11.05)”

    I keep seeing trade ideas for the Knicks, but what can they even realistically do this year, trade-wise? They’re hard-capped at, like, $500,000 more dollars, and the only real “spare” player, Precious, they sort of need. So…. what’s up?

    I think it’s mostly Knicks for Clicks?

    Clickbait headlines and articles are getting worse and worse. The new LLMs are not helping this s**t.

    Oh well. It was a rare night when neither Brunson nor Deuce were playing well. That won’t happen much.

    But we could use a few more bench points (usually Payne) and a defensive big (Mitch/Precious) right now.

    Damn, didn’t realize RJ shot 6 for 22 last night. I saw Toronto had a close loss at Denver so assumed RJ had another good game.

    Knicks bench right now is depleted. Going into the season bench was supposed to be Deuce, Precious, Payne and Shamet. Not great but all solid veterans who played well together during preseason. Now only Deuce is healthy. I assume on Wednesday if Payne is out again Kolek will get a much longer run since Knicks should dominate Atlanta.

    Denver has been garbage this year. I’m sure it’ll work out because they have Jokic and no other team does, but they do not look anything like contenders right now.

    RJ’s usage is insane right now, I guess he’s the only guy on Toronto who can get by anyone

    I think the Ks and our country are going to be ok I hope. And not necessarily in that order lol.

    I actually want to touch on the Embiid controversy once more in light of the Jason Kelce revelations. Does it make a difference what you’re sticking up for if you use violence?

    As an educator I’m taught to look at misbehavior through the lens of what the communicator is trying to accomplish. Of course we have empathy for children that we don’t have for bigots, but look at the guy who challenged Kelce. He’s just a pathetic person trying to glean attention from someone who is a millionaire, played a kids game, and hangs with Taylor Swift. We know that kids sometimes seek bad attention rather than get none.

    I guess what I’m saying is that, though I’m sympathetic to Kelce, I think he should pay a price for reacting the way he did. You cede the higher ground the minute the hands get involved. We need to grow out of this as a society.

    I watched the 4th qtr of that denver game…rj is the go to guy on that team now…just rimmed out a 3 at the buzzer…his O looks better…still no dee

    We have clarity on the Knicks situation now:

    -Ariel Hukporti signed to a prorated standard rookie minimum deal (two-year deal with a team option for 25-26)

    -Matt Ryan signed to a prorated standard veteran minimum deal (likely will be non-guaranteed)

    -Boo Buie signed to a two-way deal

    Knicks will be about $596K under the second apron after these moves. That’s enough to add a veteran minimum player in the 15th standard spot in late-February. New York can still finagle a bit more wiggle room, if they were to waive Ryan and use up their final 14 allowed days with less than 14 players on standard deals.

    That’s Keith Smith. So my guess is we won’t be signing Shamet prior to late February. I hope Matt Ryan can play…

    Signing Boo Buie is the culmination of my life’s work (reading Knick names)

    Udoka out coached Thibs. Ran a game plan and no adjustments were made. Udoka post game says Brunson driving into length was the game plan. The Team needs to take way may more 3 pointers. 28 isn’t enough.

    The bench scored 3 points last night. If Thibs has no faith in the rookies the Knicks need to sign players he will use. TJ Warren should get a look. If the Knicks continue with this bench the starters will get burned out.

    TJ Warren should get a look.

    Too late for that. We literally can’t afford to sign another player right now. Matt Ryan is the reinforcement, at least until Precious, Mitch, and/or Landry Shamet is healthy, and/or until we trade Mitch for a healthy guy or two.

    Unless Ryan is ready to play big minutes — and, just as much, unless Thibs is ready to play Ryan big minutes — I do not love the way they set up these transactions. We need bodies, and Ryan still being two-way eligible seemingly gave us an avenue towards adding two depth pieces, instead of just the one.

    I thought Brunson had a pretty bad game yesterday, and it took him too long to realize (if he ever did) what the defense was doing to him. Yes, he makes some of those shots normally, but he also put himself in a really tough position. It felt like late 2023-24 Brunson, only that guy did it because there was no help on the team.

    There is a clear issue they are facing with switch-everything defenses (BOS, CLE, HOU), which makes their offense stagnant. Hart said they were over-hunting mismatches rather than moving the ball, which seems right to me (even if KAT ultimately started to punish the mismatches in the second half). But they have not been able to generate ball movement when the defense is not playing drop, basically.

    Signing Boo Buie is the culmination of my life’s work (reading Knick names)

    If he ever gets to the free throw line, I’m sure some Howard Stern fan out there will yell “Baba Boo Bue”

    Too late for that. We literally can’t afford to sign another player right now. Matt Ryan is the reinforcement

    Could they have chosen Warren before they picked up Ryan?

    The offense looks very much like we made a major shake up on the eve of training camp, yet it’s still 4th in the league because at long last we have a plethora of guys who can score. I expect it to get even better as we have a chance to gel–I don’t think we’ll finish 23rd in AST/G.

    The defense is more of a concern to me, though there are still some things we’re doing well (limiting free throws and defensive rebounding). It’s kinda funny that after all of the justifiable rejoicing about getting a stretch 5, we could really use…a solid rim protector.

    Precious should certainly help a bit, but Mitch is the skeleton key. Get well soon big guy.

    Knicks take the 3rd lowest attempts from 3 with 31 attempts per game. The Celtics lead the NBA in 3 point attempts with 50.

    This team really shouldn’t be relying on TJ Warren to create shots. If KAT, Bridges, Brunson, et al., can’t get the job done, then your team is fundamentally broken. Ryan could be a better supporting piece even if his ceiling is lower. Idk, Warren looked pretty good in preseason for whatever that’s worth.

    Could they have chosen Warren before they picked up Ryan?

    They could have signed Ryan to a two-way, and signed Warren to a non-guaranteed standard contract, which would have given them the flexibility to cut him later on if Shamet returned and they weren’t impressed enough with what Warren was giving them. That they did not do this has several possible, potentially overlapping explanations:

    1. They were not particularly impressed by what Warren has showed in training camp, practices, and now in Westchester, and didn’t feel he’d be helpful enough to bother.

    2. They think Matt Ryan is ready to help right now.

    3. They see something in Boo Buie that has their development people thinking he’s an unpolished gem, and not one worth the risk of some other team signing away from Westchester.

    4. They are trying to have their cake and eat it, too, thinking they can stay afloat, depth-wise, until they can legally sign Shamet in late February, which allows them to eventually have Shamet, Ryan, and Buie, as opposed to eventually having just Shamet and Ryan. (With Warren or some other placeholder hanging onto the 14th spot for the time being.)

    There’s also the possibility that they’re giving Ryan the standard slot for now, but will cut him, cut Buie, and give Ryan a two-way deal if a better option than Shamet presents himself, and/or if Shamet heals faster than expected.

    This team really shouldn’t be relying on TJ Warren to create shots. If KAT, Bridges, Brunson, et al., can’t get the job done, then your team is fundamentally broken. Ryan could be a better supporting piece even if his ceiling is lower.

    The Knicks got 3 points off the bench. You shouldn’t need your starters to score every point. If Deuce is off and Payne is out the Knicks have no scoring on that bench.

    EB, I just want guys whom Thibs will trust enough to play, and limit the crazy minutes load on guys we need to stay healthy all year and into the playoffs. If Thibs trusted Warren enough to soak up minutes — which I do not know to be true — then I would want him on the roster right now. An 8-man rotation is untenable early this season, let alone basically doing a 7-man rotation last night because Kolek isn’t in the circle of trust yet.

    The Knicks got 3 points off the bench. You shouldn’t need your starters to score every point. If Deuce is off and Payne is out the Knicks have no scoring on that bench.

    You need points off the bench, but that doesn’t mean the bench needs to be the creator on those plays. Ryan just needs to hit shots off kickouts, and we probably rather have him doing that than TJ. Just like we’d rather KAT, Bridges, or even Deuce and Payne have the ball in their hands than in Warren’s.

    EB, I just want guys whom Thibs will trust enough to play, and limit the crazy minutes load on guys we need to stay healthy all year and into the playoffs. If Thibs trusted Warren enough to soak up minutes — which I do not know to be true — then I would want him on the roster right now. An 8-man rotation is untenable early this season, let alone basically doing a 7-man rotation last night because Kolek isn’t in the circle of trust yet.

    I agree. We should definitely just sign whoever Thibs might actually use. The minutes are crazy, and they’d be even more bonkers if half our games weren’t blowouts.

    I will say that I think Kolek is getting benched for his defense as much as a lack of trust. He was really bad on that end.

    They could have signed Ryan to a two-way, and signed Warren to a non-guaranteed standard contract, which would have given them the flexibility to cut him later on if Shamet returned and they weren’t impressed enough with what Warren was giving them. That they did not do this has several possible, potentially overlapping explanations:

    1. They were not particularly impressed by what Warren has showed in training camp, practices, and now in Westchester, and didn’t feel he’d be helpful enough to bother.

    2. They think Matt Ryan is ready to help right now.

    3. They see something in Boo Buie that has their development people thinking he’s an unpolished gem, and not one worth the risk of some other team signing away from Westchester.

    4. They are trying to have their cake and eat it, too, thinking they can stay afloat, depth-wise, until they can legally sign Shamet in late February, which allows them to eventually have Shamet, Ryan, and Buie, as opposed to eventually having just Shamet and Ryan. (With Warren or some other placeholder hanging onto the 14th spot for the time being.)

    There’s also the possibility that they’re giving Ryan the standard slot for now, but will cut him, cut Buie, and give Ryan a two-way deal if a better option than Shamet presents himself, and/or if Shamet heals faster than expected.

    Ok, thanks. I’m of the belief Warren could help this team in it’s current form , but they do see him up close and maybe don’t feel the same way. I hope Matt Ryan comes in and can help because players are going to get burnt out eventually with the short rotation.

    Like I mentioned earlier, the Knicks during preseason had a legit 4 man bench that you could tell Thibs trusted. Unfortunately 3 of those players are out injured right now not to mention also Mitch.

    Basically Sims and McBride lost this one for us. We got out rebounded (Sims’ job) and didn’t get bench scoring (Deuce’s job). And as usual we didn’t get enough threes up. Not impressed with Thibs’ version of a modern offense so far…

    We have to figure out how to deal with switch-heavy defenses, because we’re going to see more and more of them h til we do.

    I’ll just add that Mikal Bridges did absolutely nothing to alleviate my concerns about his defense after yesterday’s discussion. Somebody get him to read KB so he can prove us wrong.

    KAT is also not good at defense.

    I think the issues we are seeing are the issues we expected to see.

    1. We don’t have a legit 6th man with DDV gone. Deuce is a good bench piece, but he’s not a scorer even though he’s been looking to do that this year by taking a lot more shots (imo overly so). Shamet would have helped, but he wasn’t the answer either. Payne can score but he has no conscience.

    2. The defense is a bit suspect. We knew the interior defense was going to be an issue at times compared to last year, but I don’t think the perimeter defense has been as good as we hoped so far. I hate to put it all on Bridges, but we need him to be a plus defender or we have a major problem.

    3. The offensive rebounding has taken a hit.

    I think when Precious returns that will help and when Mitch returns and gets in shape that will help even more. We’ll see if Thibs plays Mitch and Towns together at all.

    Bench scoring is probably going to continue to be an issue unless eveyone gets heathy and the rookies are ready to contribute sometime this season.

    When Precious is back, he should start. Move Hart to the bench and all of a sudden you have a strong 2nd unit.

    When Precious is back, he should start. Move Hart to the bench and all of a sudden you have a strong 2nd unit.

    THIS IS WHAT I SAID BEFORE THE SEASON STARTED!

    Precious is a switchable 4/5. It moves OG to his “best” position as a long 3 and Mikal to his best position as a long 2. You don’t give up THAT much offense going from Hart to Precious and the rest of the starting 5 is good enough on offense and shooting, you don’t really need HART to start. But as the leader of the bench/6th man, Hart can wreck fools.

    You have Hart with Deuce and Payne…eventually mitch…and now the bench is good.

    Not really seeing it from Mikal. Needs to pick it up. Five ones for him is preposterous; now the hope is that he’s even really a top 50-ish player. He might be but … he might not be.

    Can’t escape the sense that they obsessed with chasing something that really didn’t need to be chased.

    He’s slipped to 3&D levels of usage, not what was hoped or advertised.

    With middling D, at best.

    Needs to pick it up.

    Never going to be worth five 1s.

    I have to disagree with ess-dog. The reason we lost that game is because Sengun and FVV significantly outplayed KAT and Brunson. Sengun in particular scored at will against both KAT and OG, actually telegraphing his patented move across the paint. Meanwhile, it seemed more often than not that KAT was being guarded by a guy 6″ shorter than him and couldn’t consistently make him pay. It didn’t help that he went 0-2 from 3 while his main antagonist, Dillon Brooks, went 3-5.

    So yeah, Mikal, Deuce and Sims all sucked. But this team will largely go as Brunson and KAT go. It would have been nice if Mikal and Deuce gave them more offense, but it’s not on them that we lost. And expecting anything more from Sims is not sound thinking, he is who he is.

    I called the trade an overpay when the news broke that night. I had Bridges value at 3 first rounders and was surprised a guy who has never made an all star team returned 5 picks, but Leon Rose wanted the Nova thing here.

    Somewhat amused by The Athletic’s NBA rankings this week (Knicks drop from 6 to 12) — they talk about starting and bench line-ups, and unlike most teams, who have 9-10 players listed, they only have 8 listed for the Knicks. Which is so Thibs.

    Yeah the bench is a PROBLEM. I get Precious and Payne are both out but it feels like we’re the only team in the NBA who refuses to go to the deeper parts of our bench even when we’ve got injuries. i mean it’s like the freaking 2024 playoffs didn’t end. 7 man rotation for a game in November? Thibs, come on man! You gotta give Kolek and Dadiet and Huk some burn. Let them play through the mistakes!

    Larger picture, this team is gonna blow some teams out a lot of nights when the offense is clicking but there gonna have to figure out a way to grind out games because that’s been how thibs teams rolled the last few seasons with defense and rebounding and those things are gone (or a work in progress) right now.

    I do feel like Jalen had a bad game last night and forced a lot of shots. A lot of nights he’ll make those but OG was shooting well. KAT needed more shot attempts.

    I don’t know. I am nervous but then again, I’m nervous today for other reasons lol.

    Last night game was not an anomoly that we should ignore.

    Here was the materially significant delta:

    Points on the paint – 62:38 – aka rim protection
    Rebounds – 50:39 – aka size and skill
    Fast Break Points – 15:7 – aka style of play
    3 FGA – 33:28 – offense centered towards lower value targets.

    These are ALL structural issues that will be difficult to consistently correct for Thibs. We have snipers…yet we gave them a knife and send them to hand to hand combat 72% of possesions last night. That’s on both sideline and floor general. Knicks fought the wrong battle. We needed to be at 50/50. 88 total FGAs should have yielded 44 3FGA and we would have won easily. It needs to be the topic of conversation during every timeout. Shoot more threes.

    Love that we didn’t quit, fought and scrambled to the very end and STILL had a chance to steal a game we didn’t deserve to win but JB failed to close because he had no legs yet he still tried to play hero ball. This is actually the oldest Thibs structural issue.

    I would not call this a stellar coaching job from Thibs so far. Knicks are 26th in the league in 3PAr, and that is just flat out unacceptable. We ain’t winning shit if we’re 26th in the league in 3PAr. Making it extra annoying is the fact that we rank #1 in 3PT%.

    Defensively, it looks like a lot of baskets we surrender are due to scheme, and a lack of adjustments on defense. As noted here, Sengun went to the same move again and again and no adjustment was made, he just kept racking up buckets. Opponents seem to easily get plenty of space inside the arc by setting simple screens.

    Maybe this is just taking a while to come together, but it just doesn’t look like a well coached team right now. It’s a talented team that isn’t getting the most out of its talent.

    Brunson is taking 3 threes per game and shooting 50% from the 3 point line. He needs to shoot more threes. Last night he had plenty of chances to take the 3, but kept driving into the defense and failing.

    I would not call this a stellar coaching job from Thibs so far. Knicks are 26th in the league in 3PAr, and that is just flat out unacceptable. We ain’t winning shit if we’re 26th in the league in 3PAr. Making it extra annoying is the fact that we rank #1 in 3PT%.

    Yup, zero reason for a five out lineup if you don’t get the three point attempts up. It’s a new roster, but Thibs being able to use this roster properly is something to watch.

    If we’re noticing here that we are 28th in 3-point attempts but first in 3-point percentage, I’d like to believe that folks within the Knicks organization are also cognizant of it. It’s too stark of a difference to be missing it.

    Rebounds – 50:39 – aka size and skill

    We’re 7th in DReb% and 17th in Oreb%. I don’t think rebounding is a major issue for us. Houston has some elite rebounders in Eason, Adams, and Sengun.

    The issue with Mikal is that he isn’t really a 2 anymore. He looks slow guarding on the perimeter and doesn’t have the offensive game expected of a modern 2. He can shoot 3s, but he’s much better in the corner than above the break. He can dribble/pass/create to some extent, but probably below average for a starting guard. Honestly I think he would be better off bulking up and being a full-time 3/4.

    The more existential problem for the Knicks is what they do offensively against the switch. If it’s going to be all Towns post-ups and Brunson ISOs, that’s not good. In that case, they’re better off without Towns and his defensive warts and instead going with something more similar to last year’s lineup construction (Brunson offensively carrying a defense-focused lineup).

    In that vein, I thought Towns killed the team on both sides, especially in the first half. Sims wasn’t good, but I don’t think his +/- was such an anomaly.

    Knicks players Plus Minus so far

    Jalen Brunsom leads +33
    OG – +29
    Josh Hart – +21
    Towns – +15

    Mikal – (-)14

    Aaron Gordon and Anthony Davis out for a while.

    Seems like a brutal start to the season.

    So the NY Giants decided they are going to try and win and didn’t get any draft picks for players they should’ve traded away.

    Murray is already out. If Jokic can win with that bench plus no Murray and Gordon NBA should gift him another MVP.

    Mikal – (-)14

    I’m a huge fan and still thing he was worth those picks…but those 6 minutes that Kolek played, Mikal did some silly stuff and broke the offense with turnovers and bad shots.

    The suspension isn’t supposed to start until Embiid is ready to play, but I wonder if the Sixers would have the ability to game that system and now claim he’s ready sooner than he actually is. (And then if he’s still not 100% by the end of the suspension, they can claim that he had a setback.)

    Denver didn’t have enough depth and then lost KCP without replacing him. It was hilariously stupid.

    IMO, we are still seeing growing pains, but I will start to get a little worried if we lose to Atlanta.

    I am not in the Sims was terrible camp. He got a reasonable number of rebounds for the minutes he played and he was subbed in early so he played significant minutes along with the three of the starters. It’s not surprising they did the scoring and not him.

    The substitution pattern also meant that KAT played some minutes against Houston’s bench when he came back in. He should have cleaned up against them, but I’m not sure he did.

    I’ll tell you what I don’t want to see. I don’t want to see Kolek on Trae. That could get ugly fast.

    Word is the suspension officially starts tomorrow which means Embiid will of course make his season debut in the NBA cup tourney opener vs the Knicks.

    Precious is a switchable 4/5. It moves OG to his “best” position as a long 3 and Mikal to his best position as a long 2. You don’t give up THAT much offense going from Hart to Precious and the rest of the starting 5 is good enough on offense and shooting, you don’t really need HART to start. But as the leader of the bench/6th man, Hart can wreck fools.

    Not that Hart is a big threat from 3 but he’s better than Precious and he’s not enough of a scorer to solve the bench scoring issue. With Precious at the 4 the 5 out idea is gone. So it’s not like there isn’t a significant trade off that won’t even solve the bench problem

    All the scorers from our planned bench are hurt. Thibs is managing by never playing an all bench lineup.

    All the scorers from our planned bench are hurt. Thibs is managing by never playing an all bench lineup.

    Which will lead to everybody playing with dead legs by New Years if this bench doesn’t open up. They need Matt Ryan to help if Thibs isn’t going to trust his rookies. The rookies take up 3 roster spots now.

    I wouldn’t say that I’m surprised. She is a woman of color and sexism is very strong . Two strikes against her.

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