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38 replies on “Knicks Morning News (2025.03.23)”
Was out last night. Sounds like another exasperating game, at least near the end. How did Kolek look?
FWIW, Thibs didn’t sound too impressed:
Great story, TheRant, thanks for sharing. 🙂
So if Kolek doesn’t play well he doesn’t deserve mins, and if he plays well it’s a “byproduct” of something else and he also doesn’t deserve mins. Oh well…
Kolek looked very good at organizing the game. About the lead, i still think Thibs should play the starters less mins because i think the turn the autopilot on and rest while on the court, and then we get embarrassed by the other team and that looks bad for the starters. If he played the bench, the outcome would be the same but the starters would’ve come in to save the game and would look like the good players they are. But it’s pointless to discuss this, even after Mikal’s comments Thibs didn’t change a thing.
And there was also our bad tendency to not ride the hot hand, as Mikal was on fire in the 2nd quarter (FG 8-10) to then only take one FG in the 3rd quarter.
Happy Doc Rivers beating up Mayor Johnson (while Pat Riley and injured Greg Anthony held him down) day! Ah, to be young and care that much. Beautiful thing, it was.
*because i think they turn the autopilot on and rest while on the court
To be young is to care that much indeed, Donnie. Good times. 😉
Yeah cyber. In the second quarter we were humming with Kolek collecting 7 assists of which 5 were to Mikal as Mikal scored 20. Why not let that develop further? Instead Kolek sits the first 10minutes of the third while Mikal bricks his one and only attempt.
Another game where it is hard not to pin the poor play on Thib’s minute distribution…
Thanks for the reminder of this great anniversary, Donnie. Among my proudest accomplishments was incepting into Chris Herring that he should, when writing Blood in the Garden, mention the terrible shirt Greg Anthony was wearing during the brawl:
https://assets-cms.thescore.com/uploads/image/file/39268/w640xh480_unsunganthony.jpg?ts=1395578564
I thought Kolek played exceptionally well. The ball simply doesn’t stick to his hands-his passes are quick and decisive. It seems that he is the best passer on the team and as someone said his game organization was very good. Particularly for a rookie this is impressive. Last night would have been a great time to get him more minutes. Oh well.
The best opportunity to get all these bench guys significant minutes would have been the Charlotte game. Second night of a back to back, players generally exhausted from travel, shitty opponent.
Hey Thibs, the games don’t matter right now! 3 seed or 4 seed doesn’t really matter. Play the freaking kids!
Kolek should have been playing all season. If he had, we could probably be confident using him the playoffs in a close game with some pressure. As it is now, he’s probably the best passer on the team and can run the offense, but even I’d be afraid to throw him to the Wolves in the playoffs now. He should be the backup PG next year. If they want to keep Payne, that’s fine. You could even play them together and drop Shamet (who they seem to love) down in the pecking order.
I’m not an automatic Play The Kids guy, especially on a team with aspirations on a deep playoff run. But Kolek is old for a rookie, and he possesses a skill that this team desperately needs whenever Brunson isn’t on the court. I know Payne has for the most part played well, especially given the contract he’s on. But it’s exasperating that Shamet has ben given such a long leash when Kolek’s been available all this time.
Josh Giddey is turning out to be a pretty good player. He’s slowly improving his shooting and efficiency. He almost had a historic quadruple double last night (8 steals).
Coby White is also inching forward.
Suddenly the Bulls don’t look like a long term basket case. There may be some light at the end of the tunnel a few years out.
Yeah, I also do not typically have minute/usage issues per se. However, with Kolek, the lack of minutes has resulted in him being unprepared for the playoffs, where he probably could help. His game IQ/court vision is pretty clear, and this is an area where the Knicks could certainly use some help. The passing also results in better shot attempts and to me a more aesthetically pleasing game.
Yeah Alan I’m not either, but with 12 games left in the season and being pretty much locked into the 3rd or 4th seed (and there are those who think we’d be off with 4 anyway to avoid Boston) this is an opportunity to test out some of the end of bench guys.
Tuesday night we play a Mavs team that is decimated by injuries and actively tanking at this point. Throw Kolek and Dadiet out there and keep Shamet and Payne on the bench.
But this is all wish casting, Thibs is gonna Thibs
https://tommybeer.substack.com/p/a-win
https://twitter.com/samdcohn/status/1903083472081547509?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1903083472081547509%7Ctwgr%5E5c77ca5735a56983a38a2a614e0bd7f591c01e95%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fforums.realgm.com%2Fboards%2Fviewtopic.php%3Ft%3D2389579start%3D440
Interesting that he decided to play last night for a team playing for ping long balls.
**ping pong
I kinda respect the man for choosing to go down on its own rules.
At the same time it’s becoming very obvious that this team is emotionally detached and just doesn’t seem to have any fun whatsoever in playing together, and it really looks a Mikal thing. Even his Nova pal Hart looks not invested in Mikal’s endeavors on the court.
Old man, take a look at my life, I’m a lot like you
I need someone to love me the whole day through
Ah, one look in my eyes and you can tell that’s true
probably shouldn’t celebrate to early, but – looks like i survived a weekend down by the Midway in San Diego…
they should give out medals for dad duty 😊
Was in Charleston for a wedding this weekend so didn’t catch what looks and sounds like a deeply unsatisfying win.
I remain skeptical Kolek would be a better option than Payne over the long term, but he should unambiguously be playing with Deuce and Brunson out. If he forces the issue when we’re healthier, more power to him. I did watch his highlights and he definitely seems to have a knack for hitting shooters in their pocket. We’re approaching “just shake things up for the sake of it” territory in any event.
It remains baffling to me that a team that gives Landry Shamet and Precious Achiuwa rotation minutes is literally sitting on an open roster spot.
Missed the second half last night, and it reads like a boon. A boyfriend came in to visit us for the evening and I was able to reach a very important conclusion. Basement is my favorite club in NY. Good Room is a not so distant second. That’s all I got.
To scaffold on Farfa’s point, the team is playing as if they can turn effort and execution off and on without consequence. Last night was another example. Could bite them in the arses in the playoffs.
Even if your skepticism is very warranted, you still want to play him enough so he’s available in case of injuries. If it turns out he can’t handle the job, at least he made some progress towards next year. If he runs the offense better than Payne, then you could trying play him with Payne who is clearly better than Shamet as a scorer. As it is, I can’t see trusting Kolek in the playoffs with such little seasoning.
Thibs did exactly that. Payne played thirty minutes and Kolek played eighteen. That’s actually more minutes for Kolek and fewer for Shamet than Thib’s normal starter to backup minutes ratio.
You could also interpret this as Thibs trying out different player combinations. This way he got a chance to see what Kolek does without Mikal there and making great cuts.
I know, I saw the box score. I wasn’t suggesting Thibs did anything wrong and was in fact defending his use/lack thereof of Kolek prior to last night (I do have other unrelated Thibs grievances).
OT: silver lining of my flight being delayed is I got to both finish Adolescence and read Alan’s excellent review of an excellent, utterly gutting show.
Men’s tournament has been kind of a snoozer so far
As you say that Maryland and Colorado St with an instant classic finish
yeah they listened to me
I thought Kolek looked confident in being the floor general. I also liked his drive that got him an and 1. Nice finish with the scoop high off the glass.
@Alan. I was doing a rewatch of Arrested Development on Netflix and it has your quote in the description. Good stuff.
I know we’re probably not supposed to share too much when “news’ items freak us out a bit, because well, we’d just be freaking out all the time…
the seriously tragic story about what just happened to yank legend Brett Gardner spooked me a bit…
i worry just to worry, but never really considered the chance of something tragic on a family vacation occurring, that it so heartbreaking…okay, I actually consider all kinds of terrible shit happening, all the time, but that’s more of an autonomous processing thing going on in the background…bad stuff seems a bit random at times….
almost never not a heartbreaking moment for someone’s passing…my dad did find peace, life had turned pretty sour on him though…
no matter the age, we’re all somebody’s child…the mention of the word child and son in the story shook me up, plus it being a public figure I enjoyed watching perform for a very long time…
brett gardner was like an “every man” type of athlete…like if you were incredibly strong, and determined…
his family and so many others having to work through waves and waves of grief…
thankful now for being able to invest more focus/time in to my relationships, time well spent for sure…
hope all is well for you all 🙂
on a more positive note, the thunder are sitting a couple of folks, they’re still battling the clippers…kawhi is looking pretty good…
I wonder why brian shaw hasn’t gotten a head coaching opportunity…
former point guard, longtime assistant…
Shaw was head coach of the Nuggets for a few seasons before Mike Malone fell into their lap.*
(*Malone was fired in Sacramento for not running a Golden State style offense through DeMarcus Cousins, haha)
Yeah, Shaw took over a 57-win team and won 36 games his first season there. You tend to only get one chance at making a good impression in the NBA.
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