Knicks Morning News (2024.12.05)

74 replies on “Knicks Morning News (2024.12.05)”

The NBA really needs to figure out how to stop tilting the competitive balance of the league with this Cup. Both the Celtics and Cavs got one extra game against the wizards by being in their group. And now that the Wizards have been eliminated, somehow the NBA made their two extra games against Boston & Cleveland!

One extra game is random but two extra games against the worst team in the NBA is egregious. There’s two other groups in the East, it shouldn’t be hard to find a different matchup.

I mean, I hear you, but I don’t see an easy fix. The teams that are good and bad fluctuate season by season, and there is no way the NBA can predict this when setting up the Cup schedule. (If the schedule was set up to have teams avoid playing Philly, for example, because it was supposed to be a “good” team, that wouldn’t have gone well, as they’re 5-14. The NBA cannot be expected to predict injuries or general badness (or unexpected goodness). Similarly, the Wolves, Kings, and Pelicans in the West.) In addition, what constitutes “good” and “bad” teams inherently has some human biases to it in the first place.

With Precious upgraded to questionable, we’re getting closer to some roster/rotation decisions. Among them:

1)Does Precious simply take Sims’ minutes, or do we go to a 9-man rotation?

2)If the latter, does this just mean a haircut for each of OG/Hart/Mikal? Resting KAT more?

3)Whether or not Precious replaces Sims or joins him, does Thibs start to deploy a two-big lineup? If so, is it KAT/Precious? KAT/Sims? Precious/Sims? (I would very much not enjoy watching that last pairing.)

Doogie, I’m not talking about the fact that they got one extra game against the Wizards by being drawn into their group before the season. That’s random luck.

I’m talking about the fact that yesterday the NBA gave them each another game against the same team they luckily drew at random. That was egregious, and there is an easy fix for it: just make sure the two extra games aren’t against teams in the same group.

We saw this last year when we unluckily drew Boston and Milwaukee on the road. Two games of wildly different difficulty levels can really impact the season.

I suspect the rotation expands to 9 with Precious back. Just this week Thibs went on record praising Sims’ rim protection.

Got it (mostly), Hubert. I understand now that you are talking about decisions that were made *after* the NBA already knew the general standing of each team. I don’t know enough about the intricacies of scheduling for the Cup to have understood that initially, and I’m OK with that. I could be wrong, but my connotation of it is that the team pairings are unnecessarily complex. And if indeed there is any “randomness” to it, well…….that’s just stupid.

Give Precious 15 minutes, 5 each from Hart, Bridges, and OG.

LOL Paul Millsap retired yesterday. I thought that he had retired two years ago.

So a fellow Knicks fan who lurks here said that I’ve become sort of a wet blanket. Which is a weird twist, considering how many times I’ve been called a shill for Leon, Thibs, etc. over the years. But it did make me think about the impression my posting might be leaving, as I am certainly very excited about our chances and looking very forward to making noise in the playoffs, and also enjoying every regular season game as I always do.

So I’m going to try to clarify how I feel, just in case I’m being more widely perceived in that way. (not that anyone cares, but humor me!)

1. I think this is the best, most complete, and most sustainable team we’ve had since the early 1990’s.
2. Leon has done an unbelievably good job in transforming the roster and the Knicks organizational vibe to get us here without years of tanking.
3. As. result of being all-in with no draft pick cache left, my sense of excitement about our next big roster move is no longer there, at least not to the degree that it was pre-Mikal trade.
4. I LOVE Mikal Bridges, and have said so many times over the years (although not at draft time, when I was dead wrong about him and thought PHX was nuts for making that deal!)
5. I don’t think Leon was particularly astute in trading what amounts to 5 unprotected picks and an unprotected pick swap for him. That’s definitely a 80%/20% (we can quibble about those percentages, but you get the idea) trade-off for me. For example, I’d have been happy giving up Randle and 3 unprotected for Towns and having Donte here instead of Bridges, with 2 picks and some first apron space left to add a defensive wing like a Caruso type. But I never once thought that Mikal’s early struggles were a thing to be worried about. And if he re-discovers his Nets 2023-23 game and plays that way for the next 3-4, he becomes very close to being worth that kind of haul. But it’s an unprecedented amount of picks for his level of player. Definitely bugs me that not only did Leon pay that, he did it knowing that he would have no unprotected picks left. That continues to feel like he bid against himself the way that guys like Steve Mills and Phil Jackson did. But it isn’t anywhere near as unsettling as the Eddy, Joakim, and Stevie debacles. At least vintage Mikal makes a lot of sense for this team in terms of fit.
6. I think both the OG and KAT trades were excellent in terms of value going out vs. coming in. I think their salaries are a bit on the high side of market value, but not a big deal. I have issues with KAT’s game on both sides of the ball that will largely remain until I see how he does in the playoffs. I don’t miss IQ or RJ at all, but I do miss Julius and Donte and wish they had a chance to be part of this.
7. Because we are all-in and expected to be full-fledged contenders, the regular season has less meaning to me than it has in the past when we were not sure if we would even make the playoffs or if any big all-in moves were coming. Like the ’90s Knicks, we are now good enough to be highly disappointed with anything less than a championship, or at least a finals appearance. I don’t care that much about regular season seeding because whether we have home court or not in any of the first 2 rounds, we should be good enough to move on, and if we aren’t, that would be a bitter pill, since any improvement of the roster without draft picks is murky.

Again, I am thrilled to be in this spot, but high expectations brings high anxiety, and going all-in is unsettling. But as much as it can be, so far, so good!

To Alan’s question, I am really curious about how the rotation shakes up now. It seems as simple as ‘let Precious take minutes from the wings’, but I think it will be more complicated than that. Will Thibs be comfortable having just one of Hart/OG/Mikal on the floor if Precious is there? That’s the only way to give Precious those minutes.

Roughly, Thibs has used the following rotation (if memory serves):

1Q
Around 6 min left: Hart out, Deuce in; KAT out, Sims in
Around 2 min left: Sims out, KAT in; OG out, Hart in; Brunson out, Payne in
2Q
Around 10 min left: Bridges out; OG in
Around 7-8 min: KAT out, Sims in
Around 6 min left: Brunson in, Payne out
Around 5 min left: Deuce out, Bridges in
Around 3 min left: KAT in, Sims out.

If Thibs sees Sims as the main backup 5, I think nothing changes until those late 1Q subs. That’s where he could shake things up: Precious could come in for OG so that Hart sits a bit more [lineup would be Payne-Deuce-Mikal-Precious-KAT].

Then Mikal maybe comes out a little earlier than usual (maybe at the start of 2Q) so that he doesn’t play 15 minutes straight. But then you have a Payne-Deuce-Hart-Precious-KAT lineup, is that good enough offensively?

I think depending on the matchup, Precious could stay in the game when KAT comes out early in 2Q. But depending on the opponent, maybe Thibs just plays Sims (and he might do so in the beginning anyway as Precious builds up).

My guess is he’s initially a straight Sims replacement but they start to sprinkle in some 2 big lineups especially if he shows he can hit that corner 3 more regularly

6min: Mikal & KAT out. Deuce & Sims in
2min: Hart, Brunson, Sims, and OG out. Payne, Mikal, KAT, Precious in.

2Q
8min: KAT & Precious out. Hart & Sims in.
6min: Brunson & OG in. Payne out.
5min: Deuce out. Bridges in.
3min: Sims out. KAT in.

On the one hand the league is giving more wins to good teams; on the other hand good teams have taken to losing on purpose to gain better playoff matchups. Meanwhile the bad teams would prefer the wins in December vs in April. The best compromise is one where nobody is happy.

I think Precious can be really effective as a sub for Hart, where he can get lots of easy buckets around the rim in a 4 out lineup. To play with Hart, though, he probably needs to hit that corner 3 consistently otherwise he’ll just get in Josh’s way (and everyone else’s).

FWIW, James Edwards said on Macri’s pod today that he’d be very surprised if Precious simply replaces Sims, because of the message it would send to the team, given how hard Sims has worked, how much better he’s played, etc. I’m not sure Thibs thinks exactly like that, in that he’s been willing to exile guys from the rotation in the past under similar circumstances. But this is a very different roster, Edwards is in the locker room all the time, and he may have a stronger sense of the interpersonal dynamics.

Idk, I think Thibs will just end up playing Precious & Sims together, spacing be damned. Keep either OG or Mikal with the 2nd unit to space the floor a bit. Probably Mikal because he doesn’t need the spacing since he never goes to the rim anyway.

Thibs will come up with some clever off-ball screens or cuts to try and make up for the poor spacing. It won’t work great, but Deuce/Payne/Mikal might be able to hit enough pull-up jumpers to survive.

Z-Man – I don’t think you are weighing the board down with negativity. I don’t spend that much time meticulously cataloging everyone’s takes on everything like I used to but I am fairly certain you have been on the side of light and justice since whatever that brouhaha was that we all got over in the beginning of the year. Having the memory of a goldfish means I am a little fuzzy on the details but that’s how I see it….

I think everyone kind of feels the same way about Bridges. It’s a bet that has to work by having him play better than he did in BK. It’s possible he will. We just have to see how it plays out over a season.

I do keep a mental ledger of every time a guy is supposed to become better or worse by moving up or down the usage spectrum and my definitive take on it is that the signal has a hard time coming through the noise.

One last note, I would not be disappointed with this team if we didn’t make the Finals. If we didn’t make the conference finals I’d be a little disappointed.

I would not be disappointed with this team if we didn’t make the Finals. If we didn’t make the conference finals I’d be a little disappointed.

I’m already disappointed so all we have to do is make the second round again and I’ll be quite pleased.

* Except for KAT. I am elated about him.

At 6’8″ 225 lbs., I see Precious as a 4 and occasional small ball 5. I think darules has it right, his value comes as someone who can come in and spell Hart, Bridges, or OG for 10-15 minutes a night. If he can play good defense and not be a total liability on offense, we have a solid 9-man rotation going forward. Then when Mitch comes back, he will battle Sims for the backup 5 minutes and maybe give us a twin towers option with KAT sliding to the 4, which we know he can do successfully. If Precious can’t cut it, then we need one more wing.

I think the only reasonable minimum standard for success this year is to make the ECF and win at least two games. Even that would only be a mild success.

If replicating what we’ve done the last two seasons when we weren’t all in is enough, then the bar for this FO is below sea level.

I think ECF is a reasonable goal for this team, but even if they don’t make it this year, they have to run it back at least one year before making any major changes. I think realistically this team has a 3-year window.

I really hope Precious takes some of OG’s minutes if for no other reason to decrease the amount of minutes that OG is exposed to injury.

Interestingly – looking back at OG’s injury history here: he has missed a lot of time as a pro but only 2 of his injuries could plausibly be associated directly with fatigue / too many minutes (as opposed to other causes of missed games he’s had including -> sprained ankle, finger fracture, concussion, hip pointer/bruise, elbow bursitis). He had a calf injury in 2020-2021 which cost him much of the season -> notably he was playing in the 34-40mpg range prior to the injury, and then was probably rushed back too soon and ended up missing the end of the season with the calf thing. And then there was last year’s playoffs during which he truly played bonkers numbers of minutes. But so many of his other injuries seem like things that just happen – ankle sprains, wrist sprains, etc.

In any case, maybe Precious coming back would put OG in the same category as Brunson –> meaning during blowouts he would play much less and be one of the first starters to be subbed out in the 4th quarter.

Z-Man, you’re no wet blanket. I find your takes generally positive and quite reasonable, even if I don’t agree with them all.

The only time you hit wet blanket is when you engage in fights with other posters. That stuff gets really old really fast for the rest of us. Pleased that you seem to be staying clear of that of late.

I really don’t think rounds cleared is a useful marker.

I think what people are trying to say when they talk about making the ECF is that they want to end the year feeling like we’re one achievable step away from being a team that can win a title.

But you can be that kind of team and lose in round 1 (like 2023 Minnesota). And you can make the ECF and not be that kind of team at all (like 2024 Indiana).

To me the one measure of success this year is knowing we might be able to beat Boston without multiple miracles. We don’t necessarily have to do it, but if it seems reasonably possible, then that validates everything Leon’s done.

As a frequent reader, and sometimes poster, I enjoy your takes Z-Man. You seem to be quite balanced.

I am excited for Precious to come back, hopefully even tonight. It can benefit many different ways. He can play small ball 5, some 4, and add another solid defender to the lineup. Also, can keep Sims motivated to keep up his recent good play.

Hopefully Mikal keeps up his string of good games. I would like him to get to the free throw line some more tonight. But his defense seems to have improved too the past few games.

Question: if everyone is healthy, and Sims keeps playing as he is, do the Knicks maybe trade Mitch or Precious to try and get 2 solid backups?

It seems to be conventional wisdom around here that Sims has improved significantly. What evidence is there for that? His rate stats and AIOs haven’t budged since last year. I’m told he’s a better defender, but are we sure it doesn’t just look that way because the frame of reference this year is Towns instead of Mitchenstein?

It seems to be conventional wisdom around here that Sims has improved significantly. What evidence is there for that?

Pags, for me it is a combination of eye test (he actually is setting screens that seem to work) and what Thibs has been saying about him. And I think the word significant applies because of where he was, which was a garbage time/in case of emergency type player.

The AIOs say Sims got better, but not much better. Maybe they’re just being slow to change.

The models hate Sims’s offense because he never scores, or really does anything with the ball. That’s partly a lack of skill, but I think it’s also by design. Thibs Cs set picks to free ball handlers, not to get lobs. I don’t think Thibs cares if Sims never touches the ball outside of rebounds and DHOs.

I wouldn’t be surprised if the team is okay with Sims at backup C even though his USG% is basically dead last in the league. We have a 120 ORtg with him on the court this year, so it’s not as if he’s killing us like he did the last two years when it dropped from 120 when he was off to 111 and 112 when he was in. Part of that on/off split may be the 2 big lineups though.

Precious is a pretty decent one-on-one defender, is good at challenging shots without fouling, and is also quite good on switches. If he gets switched onto a speedy guard he’s probably gonna get torched but he holds his own against bigger, slower wings. Can guard certain 3’s and does well against 4’s and 5’s.

The problems come for him on the defensive end when he has to process information. His reaction time is slow and he is not great at reading opposing offenses and making the correct play. So he is ill-suited to play drop coverage. He’s a strong and agile guy, and can do some things out there, but the slow processing speed makes him a less than ideal sidekick for KAT.

I’m in the minority on Precious. I’ve seen him play well in bursts, but I’ve never seen seen him play well enough consistently for me to think he’s going to add much to this team on either side. At most, he’ll be an extra player in the rotation that will help prevent Thibs from abusing the starters and give us a chance to at least look at a combination with Towns and less space for when Mitch comes back. All that said, he’s still young enough to get better and put it all together. So we can be hopeful that he has a career season once he shakes off the rust from this layoff.

I still think the focus on Mikal and his time with the Nets is WAY off base. He was the #1 option there. He had plenty of opportunities to create and score. He’s the 3a or 3b option here – meaning there’s pretty much 0% probability he’s going to score here like he did when he was on the Nets. What we want from him here is to up the quality of his shots and efficiency given a smaller role in the offense. Of course he should also take advantage of occasional mismatches, defensive strategies and injuries that allow him to do more and have big nights. He can also do more with the 2nd unit, but overall we want him to score less than when on the Nets but more efficiently and up the DEFENSE.

IMO, the success or failure of the Bridges deal is going to hinge almost entirely on his DEFENSE. If he’s a solidly plus defender and a solid efficient albeit underutilized 3a option (because Towns & Brunson are ahead of him and OG is similar), our offense is going to continue to be juggernaut. His scoring should never have even been a conversation other than the form change.

If his defense has fallen (or even worse fallen off a cliff), no amount of pointz is going to help us.

Thanks for the feedback, guys, much appreciated.

Z-man, until you fully embrace the Emirates Cup I will tend to agree with your lurker…!!

Hi Z-Man, I generally like your contributions too. And i give you as hard a time as anyone when I think you’re wrong, and I will continue to do so. 🙂

Re: what constitutes a successful or disappointing season, I guess we all have our standards. As a Knicks fan since the Walt Bellamy days, the times that I’ve been in this position have been pretty few and far between, especially in this millenium. In one way, this feels like the 2012-13 Knicks, except with much more likeable players and a much younger, less gimmicky, more cohesive, and more sustainable roster and a “professional” POBO who doesn’t seem to be Dolan’s puppet. But the “all-in” feel is very similar, as is the feeling that we are still a notch below the top dogs.

In a way, I can relate where we are and how we got here to what Celtics fans went through from 2017 when they surprised the league by getting the EC finals, then drafted Jayson Tatum and again lost to the LeBron Cavs in spite of the Gordon Hayward disaster. From that point on, it’s been kind of championship or bust for them, and they endured several years of bitter disappointment before finally getting over the top. Thing is, they were never really as “all-in” during that stretch as we are now until they made the KP and Jrue moves, and it immediately resulted in a championship and a sustainable top-notch team. I don’t think there’s a Celtics fan alive that wouldn’t have been bitterly disappointed if they lost in the second round, or the EC finals, or the NBA finals. And I doubt that they cared much about the regular season.

So my question to the Board is, why shouldn’t we feel that way? This team is about as all-in as all-in gets. It is not analagous to when the Cavs went all-in on Spida because Mobley and Garland, not to mention Spida himself, were young enough to justify patience as they developed internally.

Not so with this Knicks team. Our starters are all at the peak of their respective primes, so there really isn’t much developmental juice to squeeze. Our rookies are a million miles away from being significant rotation players. The one youngish guy with upside, Deuce, seems much closer to his ceiling than his floor. So this year is in our peak window, and anything less than a conference finals appearance for any reason other than bad injury luck would suggest to me that we just aren’t good enough. And that would be especially true if we lose to someone other than the Celtics before the finals. But even losing to them will suck massively.

Thanks BE and Nah, again, much appreciated!

BE, as to the Cup, I will admit that there will be some playoff-ish juice to Trae & Co. coming to MSG with something on the line in a nationally televised game. The Hawks have been playing very well and have already beaten us in painful fashion. I think that game will be our best measuring stick yet. If we are as good as everyone hopes, we really have no business losing that game. PS Fuck Trae Young!

Jaylen Brown’s contract still seems pretty large to me.

I honestly don’t know how they can have all of Tatum, Holliday, Brown and Porzingis on contract with enough money to spare for a variety of good accessories.

How long can they keep the core together?

The problems come for him on the defensive end when he has to process information. His reaction time is slow and he is not great at reading opposing offenses and making the correct play. So he is ill-suited to play drop coverage. He’s a strong and agile guy, and can do some things out there, but the slow processing speed makes him a less than ideal sidekick for KAT.

Precious is nearly a full year younger than Sims. If Sims can improve, then hopefully so can Precious. Thibs has had a pretty good track record of turning athletes into solid drop Cs for us.

But I’m not sure Precious plays the 5 with us, even when he’s next to KAT. He played a lot of 4 next to Sims in preseason and is a more natural fit there against a lot of opponents. Precious can add a lot playing as the weakside shot blocker and rim protector we’re lacking anytime OG sits.

I’ve seen him play well in bursts, but I’ve never seen seen him play well enough consistently for me to think he’s going to add much to this team on either side.

I don’t think anyone believes that Precious is the panacea for what ails us (unless you’re Smeagol), but we’re excited to have guys back who aren’t rookies or moonlighting as gravediggers. He’s a solid player and offers some defense.

He’s been inconsistent, and always has been, but at least he’s had time to learn the system and go through training camp. He’s a cromulent backup with some real value and versatility on the defensive end, even if he loses focus at times.

I’m also interested to see if he can take advantage of the open paint the way OG and Hart have. He’s athletic with enough of a handle to make it happen against the right matchup.

Signing Prichard and Hauser to long-term deals for less than $20M AAV combined was a bold move. Now all they have to worry about going forward is re-signing or replacing Horford this offseason and KP in 2026. It wouldn’t surprise me if Horford signs on the cheap and KP takes a cut to stick around. Even if not, they are developing Queta and Tillman on the sly. Brad has been very good…I’m sure no one misses Danny Ainge.

I have a new dream raven…

I now hope to someday get the chance to run in to yourself and your son, just so I can casually call you Raven, and try to sneak a peak to see if he rolls his eyes 😊

DaRules said it perfectly yesterday – thank you soooooo much for what you do…

wow, talk about a meaningful life’s work…

if you don’t feel like discussing I more than understand – how did you get started on that path raven?

I don’t see KP as the kind of guy who will take a cut unless he’s matured a *lot*. Maybe he has.

and a howdy to you senor z-man…

seeing how we hung up the work stuff at about the same time (although you did seem to continue to contribute afterwards) I often wonder how your transition in to this kind of different phase in life is going…

most importantly – have you been able to lose track of the days yet…

if it wasn’t for family/friends I’d be even more hard pressed to guess at the day…

most of my time is spent gaming, TV and spending time with friends/family/dog…

I rarely get out of bed before noon, seems best to ease in to the day…

soooooo, whatcha been up to z-man?

Next year will be the Celts’ 3rd over the 2nd apron. They’re over even before they re-sign Horford.

If I’m reading Spotrac correctly, they’ll owe $212M in taxes for the 11 players on their roster, basically as much as they’ll be paying in salary.

So, yeah, they probably need to move somebody next year.

Hi geo! Actually been keeping pretty busy, working a few days a month at my old school, tutoring a couple of kids here and there, and running up to Saratoga a lot to help my son navigate his return to college. Also run into NYC quite a bit to hang with my two girls. So there’s plenty to keep me aware of the days…not to mention that my much younger spouse is working so I try to support her more around the house.

In that regard, I think keeping busy is a really good thing for retirees. And since you brought it up, I really miss having a dog. Maybe next fall we’ll take the plunge again, but only after visiting Portugal in September. (cyber has already been warned!)

Boston can probably keep this going for another five years if their new owners are willing to pay the taxes.

Aren’t the Celts for sale as well? Maybe the new owners won’t be fans of that tax bill?

The Celtics are also going to have a new owner sometime in the near future, which should complicate projecting what they’re willing to spend

Just curious, if we went into the second apron to the point that its first rounders would be moved to the bottom of the first round, does that only apply to untraded picks? Or could the picks we trade to BKN also be dropped?

I’m not gonna look into the tax tiers too closely, but salary dumping KP & Hauser might get them low enough for the tax to be palatable.

If they need to get lower than that, they’ll need to move Pritchard, another major piece, or Brown instead of KP.

Again, that’s without Horford who could make a lot of money if he wants.

only your own pick. pick gets frozen first so it can’t be traded then eventually dropped if you stay over.

It’s pretty amazing that Horford is in line for a good contract at age 38.

His longevity is 99th percentile stuff and I love it.

I love that he’s one of those guys who is 8 years younger than me but who I feel like is 20 years older.

Had no idea how much luxury tax was due. Insane.

Hi Z-Man. I live and work near Saratoga. If your son has an interest in a legal career, let me know. Hope all is good.

I, for one, find Horford’s longevity shallow and pedantic.

It’s really quite annoying how he’s still a plus defensively. How is his defense holding up better after 40k NBA minutes than Bridges’ is after 17k?

fair point there z-man, i’m gonna try and let go of the notion of a couple of old gamer guys with not much going on, that i seem to have latched on to…

you still sound very active 🙂

truly though, most certainly getting the most out of each and every day…the family keeping you young, and your passion for helping others engaged…

i got in to gaming pretty early, may myself be in a somewhat small, but growing, demographic…i have run across some older folks (60 and above) in the community, not a bunch yet though…

the large successful mmo’s have decent populations 24/7 now, even if the game itself splits server hosting in to different spots around the world, people are on all kinds of different schedules, and will play in all different regions…

there’s folks gaming all the time now…

no doubt my purposeful approach to slowing – pretty much everything i do now – way down, is probably a bit off-putting to those around me…gotta be watchful of that…

i mean, i do got a bunch of shit to do, one of my main focuses in life right now though – figuring this thing out…

Hey Judge! Thanks! He’s a history major and likes to argue, so that’s definitely a possibility! I was actually up there last night, and am going back up there again for the weekend of Dec 14-16. I think the Cup semifinals are on Saturday, so if the Knicks advance and you’re up to it we can catch the Vegas festivities at a local establishment.

Giganto waste of time.

I’m not gonna look into the tax tiers too closely, but salary dumping KP & Hauser might get them low enough for the tax to be palatable.

I’d be shocked if anyone buys the Celtics with the intention of salary dumping anyone. You’d be surprised how easy it will be for the new owners to make a fortune off the team even with a $280M tax bill. It will be like buying Amazon in 1998 when they were operating at a loss. The operating loss is temporary and will be priced in. The future gains are limitless.

Hey Judge! Thanks! He’s a history major and likes to argue, so that’s definitely a possibility!

As a former history major who still likes to argue, those aren’t good reasons to go to law school. Doing so remains the biggest mistake of my life. Be advised that if he isn’t specifically passionate about the kind of work-life balance and lifestyle prospects lawyers actually have today (i.e. not the ones that were expected 30y ago), he risks ending up like me, especially if he isn’t on track for a T14.

Hey geo, pretty simple answer to your question. Always liked animals, like most kids. Unlike most kids, I never got distracted by other things.

Thought I might be a writer (looking at you, Alan) — even supported my field trips in my early years working in publishing in NYC. Was a good writer and have written tons, but it turns out I don’t have a book in me. And anyway I forgot to take notes. Irritatingly, two of my staff did write books about the work and both were best sellers! Bastards.

interesting, work-wise that doesn’t sound like something that you will ever really put aside…wow, and you’ve been successful at it…

it sounds like your work goes contrary to human nature mostly…i’m sure many of those areas contain a wide variety of valuable resources…

good for you sir, raven junior has a dad doing good work…

“…he risks ending up like me.”

Say no more, I’ll immediately talk him out of it!

Seriously, it’s hard to find a way of making a decent living that presses all the right buttons for a given individual. Personally, I just happened to luck into the right school at the right time. Many wind up in schools that for one reason or another burn them out quickly, or alternatively, find out that they just aren’t cut out for the grind. And now the perks and job security of the past don’t seem to be there. And now that USA is going full oligarchy, it’s hard to imagine how the job market will evolve, as well as things like pensions and other retirement benefits. Not to mention that 65 will be mid-career age.

Count me among those who greatly admire the good trouble Raven causes, both here at KB and in real life.

do not take doogie’s bait…do not take doogie’s bait…do not take doogie’s bait…

Giganto waste of time.

my first thought was to think of something morose, i didn’t think you would really understand though…maybe you do…

life is hard, at time it feels like doin’ time, no, not that kind of time, more like life feels like a prison at times…different levels of hell maybe…

how you spend your time, along with your actions, is probably the most important thing…

living purposefully 😛

Z-man that could work. I will circle back!

And anyway I forgot to take notes.

sounds like a title to a book…

Thibs says Precious will be a gametime decision.

SmeagolSaysMyPreciousDotGif

I think anything less than ECF this season would definitely be a disappointment. Let’s hope that they don’t disappoint!

Waiting on game thread, but in the meantime…

@jledwardsiii.bsky.social‬
Precious Achiuwa will make his season debut tonight.

Cam Payne is OUT.

So the Mikal banked three made #1 in NBA Top Plays.

But I also watched it on the quickie video of the game, and as I wondered when I first saw it, it looks VERY much like KAT just literally fumbled the ball and it goes to Mikal. Played it three times, looks like a fumble each time.

So the Mikal banked three made #1 in NBA Top Plays.

But I also watched it on the quickie video of the game, and as I wondered when I first saw it, it looks VERY much like KAT just literally fumbled the ball and it goes to Mikal. Played it three times, looks like a fumble each time.

Was having a debate related to this with a friend the other day. I would argue that the KAT eyeroll/fadeaway play was by far the most memorable play of the night, and would have been even if Mikal had converted the three off of that insane no-look pass KAT threw him. We see guys like Joker and LaMelo throw ridiculous passes like that now and again, and see guys make shots off of them. And we’ve seen weird buzzer beaters on what may or may not have been broken plays. But that specific sequence of a superstar growing so visibly exasperated with the refereeing that he turned his exasperation into a way to psych out his defender, get around him, and make a difficult shot look unbelievably easy? Never seen anything like that before.

It was a guided fumble and a lucky bank.

Certainly a lucky bank. But watch the Emirates summary on NBA.com and it literally bounces off KAT’s hands. If it was guided it was by g*d…

he turned his exasperation into a way to psych out his defender

So, I’m not sure KAT was trying to deliberately fool Wagner there. I think he lost it with the referee, then realized he had to do something, and put up the shot.

So, I’m not sure KAT was trying to deliberately fool Wagner there. I think he lost it with the referee, then realized he had to do something, and put up the shot.

This. If the game was more competitive and the shot missed, this would be seen as Randle-esque pouting instead of a great play.

The NBA is also likely not eager to enshrine a sequence highlighting the incompetence of their officials as a top pay.

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