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69 replies on “Knicks Morning News (2025.01.24)”
In light of the All Star news..
Am I the only one who would be disappointed if Hart doesn’t make the team as a reserve?
I don’t know if I would be disappointed if he didn’t make it but I think he deserves it.
FWIW (and I’ve said this a few times) I am only talking about this year. I think forecasting beyond the current season is silly. There are just too many variables.
This year, because the Bridges trade capped us at the first apron and OG’s contract put us right up against it, we can see quite clearly how limited the team and its options for improvement are.
But come the offseason, things will be much different. You can do Aller magic in the offseason. And I believe strongly in what ptmilo dubbed the ebb and flow of franchise tides.
This year feels very much like a low tide season for us. We’re just too thin and depleted. But I don’t think it says much about our prospects for next year, which I think will be a high tide season for us (and a low one for Boston and Cleveland).
We do have to get there in one piece, though, and Thibs is starting to scare me about that.
I can’t imagine Hart making the team, if for no other reason than that there are four guys on the Cavs who have a legit case, which means that if a final spot on the roster is open after Dame and the other gimmes are added, it will go to someone from the best team in the East.
Good morning, fellow Knickerbloggers?
As much as I’m happy for KAT and Jalen and for the recognition they are garnering, quite honestly I just want them to have a long weekend and rest up. I’ve been of the mind the past few years that I prefer our Knicks not to play in any “extraneous” games, and that includes All-Star stuff and even the Olympics.
Is Dame really still a “gimme”? I’m not so sure. (Maybe he is. I just looked at his season numbers versus his career numbers. Kind of impressive, and I had no idea.)
Jokic with 35/22/17 last night against our next opponent (the Kings). Hopefully he didn’t piss them off too much, and instead took their morale.
Yeah, i agree. This season will be hard for us to get past the 2nd round, because we need some adjustments that will only be possible in the offseason… unless Leon and Aller surprise again at the deadline. 😉
https://www.sportingnews.com/us/nba/charlotte-hornets/news/lamelo-ball-all-star-nba-media-voters-say-hornets-star/a018e2cbccd667f8e279e1ca
I found this interesting: a Sporting News writer spoke to fans who voted for LaMelo to start the All-Star Game and to media members who won’t vote for him, to try to figure out the disconnect. Given how well he did in the fan voting, I wonder if he gets a bench spot, despite how bad Charlotte is.
Kudos to our two All-Stars for the historical feat!
Like I did for the last 30 years I wont watch the event (this year format is a travesty) and I agree with Z-man, LaClown as an ASG starter would’ve been a shame for basketball.
Now I hope Cade gets a well deserved spot in the East lineup (I think Ball will get a spot, as an homage to the fans).
Pointzzzz plus reputation plus the Bucks getting their act together in recent weeks means I would be shocked if he doesn’t make it. So you’ve got five starters. Dame is a gimme. There’s going to be at least one more Cav (probably Garland) and one more Celtic (probably Brown?), and both teams could potentially get multiple subs. So that’s at least eight spots taken right there. Cade probably gets a spot, both for his play and for how well Detroit is doing. That’s at least nine. Then just looking at guards alone, Trae, Maxey, Ball, and Hali all have to at least be in consideration, you’ve also got both Cleveland big men, Pascal… 12 spots is not a lot.
From Macri:
Almost as impressively, the three other Knick starters received ample praise from their peers. Josh Hart finished tied for 10th in player voting for the East backcourt, while Mikal Bridges and OG Anunoby finished 11th and 13th in player voting for the East frontcourt, respectively.
Thomas Bryant with 9 points (4-of-5 shooting) and 3 offensive rebounds in 14 minutes off the bench last night for the Pacers.
Banchero 1-for-14 in a 22-point loss to the Blazers last night. No bueno.
Also this (thanks Alan!):
Brunson and Payne have shared the court for 202 non-garbage time possessions, and they’re killing teams in that time, thanks mostly to an absurd 141.6 offensive rating that is good for the 100th percentile league-wide. They also give up 125.4 points per 100, which is in the first percentile, but again, these lineups are throwing haymakers.
Well deserved, he’s having a great season, in my opinion the Knicks’ best when compared to the expectations.
Is Bruce Brown back? 17/5/3 on 55.8 field goal shooting over the past three games (22 minutes per game).
Cyber, I also think this is very much just a high tide/Cinderella season for Cleveland. Like Minnesota that one year with KG & Spree, or the 2001 Sixers. I don’t think they’ve established a long term gap. The gap is attributable largely to our respective tides.
I am really beginning to like this Denver team. I think they’re the ones with a puncher’s chance to win the title.
One thing the OG, Mikal and especially the Randle/Divo for KAT trades have proved to me is that what people think is off the table or impossible for Leon is, in fact, not.
No one thought the Nova Knicks would be broken up, at least not this soon, especially after we got Mikal. But Leon was willing to do that in order to get KAT.
No one thought we would trade with Toronto because of the lawsuit or The Nets because they’re our cross town rivals, but we did.
So, when I look past this season, I don’t think our assets are empty like a lot of people do because I think, for the right trade, all of our starters (sans Brunson) are probably available.
Now would Leon trade any of them to get back picks and start over? At this point, probably not. But I think he would use any of them in a larger trade for a superstar if that was an option.
So I think things are potentially more fluid than we think they are.
We had great numbers with Brunson and Quickley, too. There’s a lot of evidence two PG lineups with Brunson work well (and Randle wasn’t a PG but he was a good secondary ball handler, turnovers notwithstanding). Thibs is thick AF, though.
I want to point out that the 125.4 Drtg is 6 points worse than the worst defense in the league.
If our offense was 2pts better than the best offense of all-time and had that Drtg, then it would still be a losing team.
From Zach Harper in the Athletic’s “The Bounce” newsletter:
“Media voting: Mobley was the only other East frontcourt player to get a vote outside of the starters. Trae Young and Damian Lillard combined didn’t have as many votes as Cade Cunningham or Darius Garland.”
I believe Steve Kerr and his assistants for Team USA loooooved Hart. Thibs obviously does. So maybe he has a real shot at the coaches voting him in!
Does Maxey really deserve it on merit? .552 TS%, .333 3P%, close to 10% turnover rate. A 30%+ usage with those numbers isn’t that great. The only thing really keeping him above water is how many free throws he gets. Lillard has been significantly better (.622 TS%). Even Haliburton has been better than Lillard.
Obviously Garland should be the top guard reserve, though.
Respectfully, Swifty, you are equating “I didn’t think ___” with “no one thought ___”.
I literally predicted Leon would break up the Nova Knicks this season if the right opportunity came along. I also repeatedly cited sources who debunked the cockamamie ideas that the Raptors and Nets wouldn’t trade with the Knicks.
Those were simple things he did. Turning our current asset chest into a player capable of making a difference before the trade deadline is a lot harder.
“Does Maxey really deserve it on merit? .552 TS%, .333 3P%, close to 10% turnover rate. A 30%+ usage with those numbers isn’t that great. The only thing really keeping him above water is how many free throws he gets. Lillard has been significantly better (.622 TS%). Even Haliburton has been better than Lillard.”
As Alan alluded to earlier today, it’s doubtful that anyone is delving deeply into the advanced stats when making All-Star voting decisions. Seems to be more of an instinctual/gut type of thing.
I love KAT but if we traded him for Giannis I would be totally fine with it.
I love Giannis
https://x.com/eric_nehm/status/1882663511027073298?s=46&t=0wqff4cNt-sCGcDs-uMExw
That is a COLD take, my friend. :). And yeah, seems like a really good dude. As does KAT!
Re: Maxey when I hear “merit,” I think that some guys just become perennial All-Stars and get the nod even when they’re on the fence. So I think Maxey and Jaylen Brown have really good odds.
spent 15 minutes listening to bill simmons complain about the Celtics, good times
All-stars via advanced stats (min 1,00 minutes played)
Straight BPM:
East: Giannis, Tatum, KAT, Garland, Allen
West: Jokic, SGA, Wemby, Sabonis, Curry
OBPM:
East: Giannis, Garland, KAT, Tatum, Tie: Lillard/Brunson
West: Jokic, SGA, Curry, LBJ, Sabonis
Straight WS48:
East: Allen, KAT, Giannis, Mobley, Garland
West: Jokic, SGA, Sabonis, AD, Zubac
Straight PER:
East: Giannis, KAT, Allen, Tatum, Mobley (Brunson #6)
West: Jokic, SGA, AD, Wemby, LBJ
Straight EPM:
East: Giannis, Tatum, Garland, KAT, Spida
West: SGA, Jokic, Wemby, JJJ, Sabonis
OEPM:
East: Garland, Brunson, Herro, Dame, KAT
West: Jokic, SGA, Curry, Booker, Kyrie
Note: LaMelo just missed the minutes cutoff, or he would have been on several teams. Same (but less so) for Franz and Gafford.
Conclusion: Brunson is overrated (JUST KIDDIN’!)
Great quote, Owen, thanks. What a likeable dude.
His current theory is Jalen Brown is too jacked
LaMelo is an ideal player for the actual all star game itself, he might take it more seriously than he takes NBA games.
“Owen says:
January 24, 2025 at 10:55
I love KAT but if we traded him for Giannis I would be totally fine with it.
I love Giannis
https://x.com/eric_nehm/status/1882663511027073298?s=46&t=0wqff4cNt-sCGcDs-uMExw
DS says:
January 24, 2025 at 11:01
I love KAT but if we traded him for Gianni’s I would be totally fine with it.
I love Giannis
That is a COLD take, my friend. :). And yeah, seems like a really good dude. As does KAT!”
Weird. Owen (correctly) did not have a random apostrophe in Giannis’ name, but then when DS re-posted it showed up as “Gianni’s.” So many people style it as “Gianni’s,” and I’ve never understood why anyone thinks that his name has an apostrophe in it.
Jalen Brown may be too jacked, but Jaylen Brown is fine.
I wasn’t specifically referring to this deadline but more long term like you.
Maybe some thought those things would/could happen but I remember the general consensus being that we would not trade with the Raptors or Nets and that the Nova Knicks would not be broken up until at least this off season.
My overall point is just that I don’t think it’s off the table for Leon to trade any of the main guys this off season if the right move comes along. So I don’t think our assets are as depleted as some might think.
I don’t think the Celts are invincible or anything, but they probably are coasting a bit. They’ve not only coming off a championship, they’ve been to the conference finals or finals three straight years and 4 of the last 5. The regular season must seem like a boring grind to them.
Doogie, i think you have to write to the companies that make the autocorrect, because a lot of the errors you point out are probably the autocorrect misspelling words. And since we don’t have all the time in the world to re-read what we post, the error lives on. 😀
LOL
I’m with you, Owen. There’s not a lot of players i’d trade KAT for, but Giannis is certainly one of them. Great dude!
KAT is a great dude too, but Giannis’ defense puts him ahead. 😉
“Doogie, i think you have to write to the companies that make the autocorrect, because a lot of the errors you point out are probably the autocorrect misspelling words. And since we don’t have all the time in the world to re-read what we post, the error lives on. 😀”
That’s the thing though, cyber. The error didn’t “live on,” because it wasn’t there in the first place, meaning that Owen’s original post did not have the error in it. The error was only introduced when DS *copied* Owen’s original post. That doesn’t make any sense, and doesn’t seem to have anything to do with being an autocorrect error, since DS didn’t actually type it out.
So for the most part I wasn’t so much pointing out an error as I was pointing out the oddity, in this case.
It’s kind of hard to imagine Leon trading anyone on the team right now but I kind of agree that it might be our best route to improvement. I like the team as is, warts and obvious shortcomings included, so I don’t know how I feel about it emotionally, but it’s a possibility.
I agree there are probably some moves to be made in the offseason too.
I do love the Knicks fan base. There was some tweet the other day when the Lively injury news broke that was basically like, “Can I interest you in Jericho Sims?”
The most logical conclusion is that Owen committed the original error on Giannis’ name by sticking a random apostrophe in it and then noticed his error and fixed it (yay!), but unfortunately not before DS saw (and copied) Owen’s original post and used it as part of his own.
Doogie, I saw the mistake after posting it and corrected it. Someone had already replied to it though, which is what accounts for the discrepancy.
We would all appreciate it if you would refrain from commenting on the incorrect syntax, punctuation, and various misspellings that creep into postings on this site. It doesn’t add anything and definitely detracts from the overall experience here.
I don’t think you are violating any guidelines but please understand that it is annoying for others when you do so. If you could just comment on the typical basketball and off-topic topics that would be most welcome.
“Doogie, I saw the mistake after posting it and corrected it. Someone had already replied to it though, which is what accounts for the discrepancy.”
Yes, I already figured that out and posted as much. (I’m guessing that you didn’t see mine before posting yours, the classic cross-posting.
🙂 ) Thanks!
Players I would trade KAT for:
Giannis
SGA
Jokic
Mobley
Tatum
Luka
Wemby
Maybe Bam
Maybe AD (so injury prone but so good when healthy)
Maybe Ja (probably not just due to the character issues, but it would be a tough decision)
Need more data on J-Dub, Cade, Ant…would definitely look at pros and cons.
That’s about it. If it was just for a 1-2 year window, I’d obviously have to consider Steph and Durant, but the age issue pretty much rules them out.
Trading KAT back to Minny for Ant—now that would be something! (Let’s please not do it, though, or even consider it.)
Regarding Steph and Durant, I get the age thing, but we’ve been saying that about CP3 for about five years now, and he’s having a very productive year with Wemby in San Antonio right now. (I wouldn’t want Durant because of personality/chemistry issues, but Steph would be more than welcome. I doubt that he does anything other than retire as a Warrior, though. No way he’d join his hometown Hornets, right?)
I’d hang up the phone re Tatum, Mobley, or Bam, also AD and Ja. I’m even on the fence with Giannis. KAT brings a huge wealth of skills, including the three ball, that not many players have in the aggregate. And that changes the team and what it can do.
Put Giannis in place of KAT creates an entirely different team. Better? Maybe, even probably. But not definitively.
It doesn’t matter how many times you tell Doogie that his incessant grammar policing is rude and detracts from the site. He’s a fucking jackass and he seems to enjoy annoying the shit out of people.
At some point you just have to call it out for what it is. He’s a fucking jerk and an obnoxious troll. This is the last time I’m ever referring to him on this blog and I encourage everybody else to do the same. Seriously, from this point, let’s all stop reaching out to this clown and all ignore him en masse. No more replies. Don’t even reply to his non-troll posts. A complete freeze out might get him to lose interest and go harass some other community with his condescending horseshit.
This isn’t just some kind of thing where two people have a personality clash and it gets snippy. This is somebody who is intentionally making the experience of this place worse. There have been other trolls like this in the blog’s history, but he’s right up there with the very worst.
I think of KAT as very good, but is pretty clarifying to try to list who you’d be willing to trade him for. It’s a short list. Bam? No way.
No way to Cade as well, but I have to concede at this point that he’s better than I expected. He has a way to go before he’s better than Jalen, but it seems likely he’ll get there. We shall see.
JK47 lying it duwn!
KAT is pretty special and like Hubert I think we can make some moves next year to go from sr contender to ssr condtender supreme god commander contender. Giannis would be something though. Just might hurt my feelings. Anyone seen Emilia Perez?
Had me laughing, swift
I think Giannis is the only guy I would trade KAT for currently who is a remotely reasonable target. KAT is good!
Bam is a billion times better than KAT on D and no slouch on O. I Would seriously consider it…especially if I had enough scoring at other positions.
The Brunson/Cam numbers speak to what I think is a genuine blind spot of Thibs’ (who I think doesn’t get the fairest shake in general).
There are times it’s appropriate to play lineups, combinations, etc. that flatly suck defensively. Not all opposing personnel can exploit it, sometimes you’ll benefit from good ol’ missed shot luck, and sometimes depending on the game state it’s simply more important to put your best offensive foot forward.
To do a little armchair psychology, I get the impression Thibs has a kind of fundamental opposition to playing lineups that suck defensively, even in the situations it makes sense.
I don’t want to overstate the case—it goes without saying that there are no shortage of valid reasons to not play lineups with 125 defensive ratings. But with a team like ours where between Brunson, Cam, and Deuce, a disproportionate amount of the talent comes from small, defensively challenged/limited guards, seems to me he could stand to be more flexible.
“KAT is good!”
KAT is one of the worst defensive C’s I’ve ever seen. Defense is half of the game, and C is the most important position on D. Does that not matter here on KB?
I wouldn’t mind seeing more Brunson-Cam lineups but don’t really care much one way or another. I certainly don’t think we are losing games because of it.
Bam’s .519 TS% this season is pretty slouchy to me. No, thank you. KAT is better. His impact on the offense as a whole has been really underappreciated throughout his career.
hey JK, hope all is well for you…just wondering what you think of the Pete Carroll hire…
initially I was like: damn dude is 74…
however – he definitely knows what the heck he is doing…adds “stability” (3 year deal) and credibility to the organization…
the raiders are one of the more important teams in the nfl, it’s better when they’re better…
Z-Man – he’s one of the worst defensive centers I have seen too. But he is the best offensive center I can think of outside of Jokic and maybe a few well known gentlemen in the HOF
That may be true, but individual defense is nowhere close to half as important as individual offense — another thing the all-in-one’r, physics labs leave out of the analysis.
It’s probably closer to Total Individual Team Impact = (.85 * Individual Offensive Impact) + (.15 * Individual Defensive Impact). Even that might be too low for the offensive coefficient.
Players who bring James Harden’s defensive quality to the offensive end aren’t in the NBA.
KAT >>> bam
plus bam plays a bit dirty…don’t think he’ll get traded from miami…seems him and herro will be there a while…
now that I get to watch him play all the time – no question KAT is a championship level player…
he needs to play with another big on the floor – maybe at least a third or even half the time he’s out there…to help offset some of his defensive liability…
and what exactly is his issue on defense?
interesting thought E, on which end of the court can a player be more impactful…
seems like it would be harder to be a consistent and efficient scorer over an above average defender…
“I’d hang up the phone re Tatum, Mobley, or Bam, also AD and Ja.”
I actually think Brad Stevens would hang up the phone, and that the vast majority of executives would similarly prefer Tatum over KAT. Frankly, I don’t think it’s particularly close.
Evan Mobley is all about youth and potential. If he has peaked on offense, then sure, KAT is better overall. But I don’t think he has peaked on offense and he is a vastly superior defender.
I’d probably say no to Bam when it comes down to it, but I guess I think it’s much closer than many here.
Ja and AD have known issues, so on that basis I’d say no.
But Giannis? Come on. He is vastly more impactful on winning than KAT. It would be straight-up insanity to say no to a straight-up deal.
An individual offensive player who has the basketball in his hand is in full potential control of the team’s offensive output for that possession.
There’s no remote equivalent on the defensive end.
Moreover, sublimely perfect individual defensive is often still no match for world-class offense. There’s an offensive high-end that the defensive high-end can’t get to.
“Bam’s .519 TS% this season is pretty slouchy to me.”
His career TS% is 591. Miami is Team Turmoil this year. I’d consider it a chance to buy low on one of the most underrated players in the NBA.
been so long since I’ve seen him play, but jayden daniels kind of reminds me of joe montana…
a seasoned joe montana at that…
so comfortable in such a chaotic situation…
one of the biggest factors in nfl playoff success is turnovers…somehow, he’s been able to avoid giving the ball away…
Well, on the one hand he’s going to be the oldest coach in NFL history. So there’s that. It’s hard to imagine him doing the gig for more than a few years, although people close to him swear that he’s a very fit and energetic 74 year old. When I look at the list of other candidates who were in contention, I see a lot of one-and-done types on there, guys who would have probably gotten hired, stunk out the joint, then gotten fired. Maybe Pete Carroll brings them some stability and lifts them out of laughing stock status before he retires.
The Raiders seem to be miles away from any type of respectability, and the two pointless games they won at the end of the year were incredibly damaging. They went from a surefire top 2 pick to the 6th pick, which is right where the mega-elite talent starts to tail off.
Other than Brock Bowers (who looks like a HOF player) they are completely destitute at the skill positions. They will not get a top QB in the draft, and the QB situation in Las Vegas is hands down the worst in the NFL. There is one elite WR prospect in this draft (McMillan) and they should snag him if he’s on the board if for no other reason than to give the fans something to watch. The best player on the defense (Maxx Crosby) seems to want out, but maybe Carroll brings enough gravitas to keep Maxx in the fold. Years of horrible drafting has left the roster with an almost infinite number of holes to fill. The offensive line is a trainwreck, there are currently no viable linebackers who are under contract for next year, and the secondary is a collection of mediocre journeymen. Their needs are everything except tight end.
Mark Davis still cuts his hair with a Flowbee. That says a lot to me. Not good things.
Career Block Percentage:
Bam Adebayo — 2.8.
Karl-Anthony Towns — 3.1.
“Z-Man – he’s one of the worst defensive centers I have seen too. But he is the best offensive center I can think of outside of Jokic and maybe a few well known gentlemen in the HOF”
I would vehemently disagree with this characterization, and would posit that Giannis is actually the better offensive player. He routinely puts up .600+ TS% on usage in the mid-30’s. Even if you disagree with that, it’s pretty close, and Giannis also happens to be a perennial DPOY candidate.
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