We are currently 4th in the East and I think that feels right.

Way to early for seeding and assuming Cavs hold on to that #1 seed, but NYK highest probability path to EC Finals is to see Cavs in the 2nd round unless a healthy Philly or Milwakee is the 8th seed.

Well, losing by three when your opponent shoots 54% from three on high volume in one of the unfriendliest locations in the world is not really something to hang one’s head about.

And they were missing 4 key guys from their regular rotation. That game for them was the equivalent of the Knicks playing without Bridges, Deuce, Precious, and Payne. Except they still used a full 8 man rotation, and only two guys played more than 31 minutes (Mitchell and Mobley at a reasonable 40 & 38).

Not to mention the Celtics played very well.

All in all a very respectable showing for a Cleveland team that looks to have put some distance between themselves and us as the top contender in the East. I’ll probably win that over 48.5 bet by early March, and I’d be very surprised if these two teams are not in the ECF.

We are currently 4th in the East and I think that feels right. I like the Magic a lot, too, but they’re not out of reach. I think the Cavs and Celtics definitely are.

if he’d put more shots through the basket here rather than off the rim, he’d already be a star.

It’s been a long thread for you, E. Your fingers are tired and your head is hurting. Someday we will all look back on this and have a good laugh.

It’s early in the season, but there is no such thing as a good offensive player with a 90 TS+. That is a detrimental offensive player.

MOBLEY AND MITCHELL ARE PLAYING 38+ MINUTES IN A MEANINGLESS NOVEMBER GAME DOES THE BUTCHER ATKINSON WANT TO GET EVEN MORE GUYS HURT

WP, sir… Bridges is leading the league AVERAGING 38.5 MPG. He and Hart played 91 minutes v the Nyets, not 78, but who is counting.

Would’ve been nice if he showed more here and we could’ve traded him at a better price.

IQ had a similar effect on team defense that OG did but was never going to stop guys like Giannis or Embiid the way OG can. IQ doesn’t do as well against smaller players either.

OG has been one of the best defenders in the league. It’s plainly obvious to just about everyone except a select few on this board and is backed up by the numbers.

One player doesn’t make a defense work, just like one top-10 offensive player doesn’t singlehandedly make an offense work. Look at Giannis’s top-10 OBPM and the Bucks’s 20th ranked offense.

RJ & IQ cost $58M this year compared to OG’s $36M. We can fit nearly all of Mikal Bridges into that space.

The cloud potential of RJ is great but at some point that wave function needs to collapse into a particular player that’s actually great at basketball.

When you’re doing well you take low variance strategies. When you’re doing poorly, you take high variance strategies. The Knicks are doing well and are better served with the low variance OG. The Raptors suck and need the higher variance of RJ & IQ.

The nebulous “someday” isn’t helpful either. RJ cohering into a cromulent player in Brunson & KATs down years is a waste. OG is good now.

Using him the right way matters and can help boost his math, but ultimately it comes down to whether his form wonkiness continues to make too many shots hit the back rim or go in and out, rather than through the basket. Thibs didn’t use him right, and he was saddled too much with Julius’s backwash, but if he’d put more shots through the basket here rather than off the rim, he’d already be a star. That’s on him.

I’ll leave this one alone for awhile. Diminishing returns and all.