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Knicks Morning News (2025.03.24)
03/24/2025 11:00:03
03/24/2025 11:00:00
03/24/2025 06:25:00
03/24/2025 05:32:00
03/24/2025 05:38:50
03/24/2025 04:30:22
03/24/2025 03:00:00
03/24/2025 02:49:36
03/23/2025 23:48:00
03/24/2025 00:08:00
38 replies on “Knicks Morning News (2025.03.24)”
On the one hand, the guys need all the rest they can get at this point in the season. On the other, multiple days in a row with no games to talk about is no fun.
It’s really just yesterday and today, as we have a (winnable?) game tomorrow night. Maybe it just seems longer because the last win over the Wizards was kind of unsatisfying.
Or maybe you see it as today and tomorrow, as we could discuss the Wizards game yesterday. But still, only two actual days.
My girlfriend was a trooper and watched the first two episodes of Severance with me before declaring it to be too “creepy” for her. She really tried.
And she *loves* sci-fi and I hate it, so one would think that there would be a better chance that she’d enjoy it more than I would (I plan on continuing to watch it). But I guess “creepy” trumps “sci-fi,” at least in this case.
This season feels extra boring. There’s no seeding at stake and the team has been what it is for pretty much the whole season. On top of it all Brunson is out and the kids barely get playing time.
Yeah, I’m tired of winning 50 games every year… I wonder if we could steal that Sandro M. Kid from San Antonio. He could be the new IHart.
https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/44320045/the-wonder-boy-jalen-brunson-tim-macmahon
Excerpt from Tim MacMahon’s new book about Luka Doncic(*), talking about how the Mavs let Brunson get away from them.
(*) Knowing the usual timeline of book publishing, I wonder if MacMahon was able to go in and make some emergency last-minute changes to the book to acknowledge the Lakers trade. Because it feels like an entirely different book if it’s written with that knowledge or without it.
Interesting excerpt. Didn’t realise that Thib’s relationship with the elder Brunson went back to Rick’s high school days. And somewhat ironic that one of the rationales cited for not extending JB was that new GM Nico wouldn’t be able to include him in a trade for a player to build around Luka. And as usual, Cuban comes across as a complete dick.
Nate Duncan interviewed McMahon about a week ago. McMahon said the only change he made was to tack on another chapter about the trade.
Yeah, completely arc-less and stagnant. I stopped watching the games (well, the replays).
Really? I have found the narrative arcs for this season to be fascinating, if largely irritating.
How will these guys fit together? (Still TBD)
Will Brunson continue to kick ass? (Yes, hopefully also when he’s back)
Will the Brunson/KAT thing work? (Yes, but room for improvement)
Who the hell is Mikal Bridges? (TBD)
Is Deuce actually good? (Yes)
How good can Deuce become? (TBD, but better than I thought)
What happens when Mitch comes back? (TBD, but looking good…)
Will Kolek actually get a chance to show his moxie? (TBD, but maybe?)
How bad is the bench? (Really pretty bad)
Can our defense actually get pulled out of the mud? (Sorta maybe?)
Just a few of them…
For an arc you need change from beginning to end and at least somewhat gradual development towards this change. We had some questions, and got some answers, but no development and certainly no plan.
Maybe the only exception is the defense, with Mitch being the sole development. Brunson being out could be another piece of development re our defense.
I’ll be excited for the playoffs but this part of the season isn’t likely to yield any new answers to the extent any remain.
But I feel like these questions have been answered and the answer is that the team won’t come together. It is what we’ve seen, capable of great scoring outbursts and incapable of playing defense. If anything, the offense has looked more suspect as the season has gone on.
Hopefully the playoffs shows us some renewed vigor but personally I don’t think they have anything more to show.
We were looking a lot better when KAT and Hart were playing out of their minds. Their stat lines for the season still look pretty good, but a lot of that was compiled earlier in the season. They’ve both been playing pedestrian ball for a little while now, and it just feels like this particular team’s peak has passed. Even before Brunson’s injury it seemed like we were starting to head in the wrong direction.
A narrative arc does not require change. Refusal or inability to change is a compelling thing in and of itself. Hard to get happy endings without change unless you discover that you were perfect to begin with. I think we can all agree the Knicks are perfect exactly as they are.
My hope is that they aren’t putting full effort now, to save it for the playoffs. We’ll have to wait and see if that’s the case.
I don’t think playoff basketball is about just one team though, we’ll most likely be matched up with either Milwaukee or Detroit…
any preference?
yep, give me Detroit too 🙃
plus, I just think Indiana and Milwaukee wanna play each other again…good series…
hopefully we make it through the first round healthy and in a good groove…
the coasting comment sounds accurate, more reason to play the bench…
I agree.
My educated guess knowing Thibs is that the Knicks tend to come into camp fitter than most teams with Thibs going all out to win every game. The rest of the league is biding time until after the all-star break and then starts to gear up close to 100% for the playoffs. So what looks like a decline is actually everyone else gearing up to where we were earlier. This year there was a bit of an offset because we had several new players to start the year (vs last year when we made a key upgrade to OG late).
The one positive is that we are just beggining to incorporate Mitch. When Brunson is back we could see a jump back to our best overall basketball. but it would be from better defense.
Detroit scares me because they’ve been able to beat us and they are young and hungry, but Giannis scares me more.
I would say that this season is more unsettling than boring. Before this year, there was always the anticipation/anxiety about the nature of the all-in moves we’d be making. Going into the 2023-24 season, we had those 5 tradeable picks in the hopper. Then the OG trade happened and we went on an awesome run before Julius got submarined. But even then, there was legitimate hope for a conference finals appearance and then some off-season magic to build on that.
Now, all that trade capital is gone (mostly for Mikal) and what you see is what you got. Most of us are having very mixed feelings about this team, and some of us are seeing a team with a hard ceiling at least a notch below true title contender. Nothing that has happened on the court has done anything to quell that feeling of foreboding about topping out in the conference semi’s, and there is no clear way to improve the team beyond some stroke of luck out of the blue.
So the regular season has become sort of a slog, almost like an extended preseason that doesn’t really count for anything. It’s all about the playoffs, and nothing I have seen has made me optimistic about our chances to do anything special. The glimmers of hope are all speculative, there’s nothing really concrete to hang my hat on.
giannis could win a couple of games in a series if healthy, dame could steal a game…who knows what hapoens in the others…
although, jalen could win a couple, OG, mikal, maybe even josh could steal a game…
I’m losing faith in KAT appearing to be the best offensive player for more than a quarter or so each game…
his thumb does look better…
Thibs is an interesting character in this way, especially when considering his refusal to have a family in order to dedicate his life to basketball. But the team doesn’t refuse to change or fight for it or against it or anything at all. It’s strolling through the season without much pressure from internal or external forces. Boring.
https://nypost.com/2025/03/24/sports/st-johns-rj-luis-scrubs-instagram-after-march-madness-trolling/ gambling smh
“Thibs is an interesting character in this way, especially when considering his refusal to have a family in order to dedicate his life to basketball.”
I don’t see it this way. My guess is that he didn’t get married or have had a family because it’s not his thing. Some folks just don’t like marriage, or intimacy, or raising kids, etc., for whatever reason.
Just in time to go for 35 and 15 against us.
We’ll see if that means he plays against us, too, or if they won’t do a back-to-back as he’s easing back in.
Except he was engaged to be married and called it off because: “There’s no room in my life for a woman if I’m going to be a basketball coach.” : https://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/29/sports/basketball/bulls-and-basketball-an-obsession-for-thibodeau.html
Which means we’ll see more Kolek (yay!) and more Precious (boo!).
I often imagine Thibs’s island combover as the set of the live miniature production of Castaway.
What is an island combover, and how is it different than his regular combover that he already has every day?
it’s the way I imagine Thibs’s head if he were in a Terry Gilliam movie, Doogie. A cocktail umbrella planted squarely on top. Playing out another theatrical performance within a theatrical performance within the purview of an audience playing an audience.
Wasn’t there a huge, bald-headed giant that walked out of the sea? I can see the scene, but can’t remember the movie…
underrated movie, Raven. Time Bandits.
Maybe the media can stop gushing over the Lakers for a few days.
Except he was engaged to be married and called it off because: “There’s no room in my life for a woman if I’m going to be a basketball coach.”
Right, there are so very few successful basketball coaches that have a woman (or man) in their life. Really, if you are going to buy this stupid, inane statement from Thibs, especially in light of the stupid, inane things he says when pressed about anything basketball-related, I have a bridge to sell you.
I think we should all pitch in to find Thibs a life partner. Because he really needs that pillow talk: “Play the kids, Tom, play the kids…”
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