It would make so much sense to rest KAT again tonight. We’re not winning the game anyway, and Cleveland beating us without our 2 best players wouldn’t mean very much in the long run.

And yet…….he’s listed as probable.

I watched the second overtime of Wolves Nuggets. Incredible. The whole game was probably great. Gobert had already fouled out and Randle was in foul trouble and had to guard Jokić. The Wolves still pulled it out on the road a mile high and running on fumes. That’s got to be good for the team to know they can do that.

If KAT doesn’t play, and he probably shouldn’t, and Mitch can’t play back-to-backs, that means we finally get the PJ Tucker game!!!

that means we finally get the PJ Tucker game!!!

Tonight we all discover that PJ Tucker is the secret cheat code to beat Cleveland.

Curious what other think of this. Delon has been pretty good, no? Kolek is obviously getting benched once Brunson, McBride and Cam come back, but does it make sense to give the back up PG spot to Delon over Cam?

My thinking is Delon seems to be more of a traditional PG than Cam, who mainly just looks for his shot (which is useful at times). But he’s also a pretty good defender and bigger. So he gives us some size. Plus, Shamet seems to be warming up, so him and McBride can give you the scoring you need off the bench. You basically play Wright, McBride, Shamet and Mitch with one of Mikal, OG or KAT when Brunson sits.

Cam would be more situational when we need scoring. Precious would be situational too.

How on Earth is PJ Tucker a center? He’s 6-foot-5. It would be Precious who gets the start, and he is already undersized enough at 6-foot-8.

We probably shouldn’t waste a lot of time writing about this today. Listed as probable, KAT is very, very likely to get the start, whether he should or not.

How on Earth is PJ Tucker a center? He’s 6-foot-5.

Haven’t you heard of smallball, Doogie? It’s Thibs favorite style of play.

Yeah. Don’t think even Thibs is going to try *that*, though. We shall see!

Jokic is averaging a triple double for the season. He’s so good nobody’s even talking about it.

Because his teammate already did it four times. It’s pretty ho hum now.

I watched Kolek hit 15 3 pointers in a row during warmups like it was nothing…guy can shoot. If only he had a bit more lateral mobility, we’d have something.

How on Earth is PJ Tucker a center? He’s 6-foot-5. It would be Precious who gets the start, and he is already undersized enough at 6-foot-8.

We probably shouldn’t waste a lot of time writing about this today. Listed as probable, KAT is very, very likely to get the start, whether he should or not.

Because he’s played C before and even Tommy boy doesn’t play his starters 48 minutes every game

In his 24,937 total NBA regular season minutes played (a big sample size), he’s played 44 percent of his time at PF, 41 percent of his time at SF, 9 percent of his time at SG, and 6 percent of his time at C. The most that he played C consistently was when he played it 13 percent of the time that he was with the Rockets, but that stint ended four seasons ago. He’s pretty much an undersized PF. So not a lot at C.

In his 24,937 total NBA regular season minutes played (a big sample size), he’s played 44 percent of his time at PF, 41 percent of his time at SF, 9 percent of his time at SG, and 6 percent of his time at C. So not a lot.

And yet that’s still nearly 1500 more minutes at C in the NBA than OG, Delon, Shamet, Watson, Beauchamp, Kolek, Mikal, Hart, and Dadiet combined.

So if KAT & Mitch are out, do you want PJ Tucker or one of those guys playing C?

It’s like I said before, KAT likely will *not* be out, so we’ve already discussed this for too long. 🙂 But you inexplicably did not mention Precious in your list of “other players.”

Serious question: Didn’t Mitch only play 21 minutes last night? Who manned the Center position the rest of the time? I’m assuming it was Precious. Precious Achiuwa has played 71 percent of his NBA regular season minutes at C, and 29 percent of them at PF (for the Raptors, it was 93 percent at C).

EDIT: Yes, it was Precious, who played the other 27 minutes at the Center position.

Precious is going to start if Mitch and KAT don’t play.

No one wants to engage with my Delon question? Sad face emoji.

Swift, I will look back at this time rather fondly as our Days of Wright and Kolek.

Seriously though, I’m kind of amazed that our fourth and fifth level backup point guards are both kind of good. Plus all five are very different from each other, which would give a coach (other than Thibs) lots of interesting options.

Whereas our centers, once an all-star and a sea of interesting mediocrity, are now just Precious and two gimps.

And yeah, I could see Precious playing 36-40 minutes and the rest being filled in with smallball. If KAT didn’t play, which he probably is. Sad to refer to Mitch as a gimp, even if it might be largely true.

Swifty, I’d be all for moving Delon up the depth chart over Cam.

Precious has played SO badly of late.

Delon should be able to play shooting guard fine, he’s 6’5″. I’d love to see him get some minutes alongside our other point guards.

But you inexplicably did not mention Precious in your list of “other players.”

Because I assumed you understood that most players don’t play 48 minutes a night and we’d need a second center, which is PJ Tucker or one of the other players I listed.

Doogie, only 2 players averaged a triple double for a season so far, Oscar and Westbrook. It’s a big deal.

How was Grimes last night?

Yes, only two players have done it, but it’s been done five times. Westbrook made it boring even while he was still doing it himself.

Grimey had 26/4/5 with 3 steals, but didn’t really impact the game as much as those numbers might suggest.

Yep, Precious would probably not play all 48 minutes, although I wouldn’t fall to the floor in shock if he did. But he could play close to 40.

Alan, Precious played quite well in our wins against Dallas (11 points on 5/7 shooting) and Portland (10 points on 5/6 shooting). He was abominable last night, for sure.

RIP Iceman.

I don’t see anything about Gervin passing. Someone should tell him.

There’s more than one iceman, doogie.

I know, but this is a basketball blog, so Gervin was (and should have been) the first one who came to mind. Plus, he is 7 years older than Kilmer was, and the name “Iceman” is only one of a fictional character in terms of Kilmer while also more importantly being the nickname of an actual person in Gervin.

I know, but this is a basketball blog,

LOL, Val Kilmer is one of the biggest actors of the 80’s and 90’s and he just died and Ice Man is one of his most well known roles. You couldn’t seriously think that just because this is a basketball blog that he wasn’t referring to Val Kilmer. We talk about stuff in the zeitgest all the time.

darules, I only saw some of the game, but Grimes was trying a bit too hard to start off, given the history there and his clearly wanting to show out. But he’s done a really good job of growing his game off the bounce while clearly maintaining his sharpshooting skill.

Next year a team of Maxey, McCain, and Grimes at the 1, 2, and 3 would be pretty awesome fire-power-wise, if very under-sized.

I think that Cam has been one of the best backup pg’s in the association. He is sporting a 25% assist percentage and 20% usage is not at all out of line. I like Delon a lot, but I think this a question for next season.

I wrote the Iceman comment fully expecting the response I got from Doogie.

If you’re sitting at a poker game and you don’t know who the patsy is in the first 10 minutes…

But I truly *did* think that he was writing about Gervin because a) this is a basketball forum and b) because Gervin is not young at all and it would be very believable to think that he might have passed. It wasn’t either of those singularly, but both of them in combination, that made me think that. Also, I heard about Kilmer just after midnight, so his passing wasn’t top of mind anymore. I also truly did not remember that the name of his character in Top Gun was “Iceman,” as even though I saw that movie it didn’t really resonate with me (and that is even discounting the fact that my best friend growing up and into my 20s was a Navy pilot who was killed on a training mission 34 years ago).

Anyway, I wasn’t trolling at all. I clearly think differently than most of you guys do, and that’s perfectly OK. It doesn’t make me a patsy, or anything else.

How about a triple double season with a .662 TS%? Westbrook did it? He didn’t even reach .560, the best he could do was .554 which was league average, the other seasons he was below league average. Jokic is not stealing rebounds from teammates, he’s not shooting a lot more than he should to get there, it’s all in the flow of the game.

I didn’t say that Jokic doing it is anything less than what Westbrook did, and I can certainly see statistically how it is even better. (That said, Jokic is a center while Westbrook is a point guard, so of course his shooting percentages are higher.) I’m just saying that it became passe a number of seasons ago. I’m just stating it as it is, not necessarily how I think it should be.

Val Kilmer’s Doc Holiday will never be topped no matter how many O.K. Corral movies they make. The Academy is brain dead for not recognizing that performance.

Val Kilmer also played an Elvis type pop star in one of the most underrated comedies of all time, Top Secret, another Zucker brothers gem.

Val Kilmer was great, and he was still too young to die, but unfortunately we never know when that day comes. May he rest in peace.

FROM SHAMS:

First ballot: Carmelo Anthony has been notified that he’s been elected into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2025, sources tell ESPN. Anthony made 10 All-Star appearances and six All-NBA teams in 19 seasons to go along with three Olympic gold medals for Team USA.

Like many of us, I have extremely mixed feelings about Melo and his time here. Undoubtedly a Hall of Famer, though, and a good guy by accounts. Congratulations.

“I’m just saying that it became passe a number of seasons ago.”

Jeez, Doogie why all the arguments today? Especially when you are so completely wrong–eg your statement above. Do you not follow Knicks’ news? When Josh Hart broke Clyde’s 50 year old triple double single season record of 9 last week, was that passe? Or when KAT and Hart had triple doubles in the same game, was that passe? I would rate high efficiency as the least passe thing in the NBA. And I would put triple doubles as second, perhaps third.

RIP Iceman. Fuck Cancer.

Fuck cancer indeed.

Carmelo is overrated but got no problem with it. Undoubtedly a hall of famer when you consider his college and olympic accomplishments.

I enjoyed watching that picture “Val” that Kilmer took part in a few years back…

some of the scenes with his kids were sooooo touching…it’s like they knew they were dealing with a big flaky and weird kid themselves, but loved him nonetheless…

Ruru must be rejoicing right now.

Averaging a triple double for the season being passé… hot take aged like fine milk.

Speaking of fine milk, the first thing I thought of was ‘scoring 70 is so passe’ because, like, 10 people have done it (and Wilt six times!).

But anyone can get super-hot for a game, while this is getting super hot for an entire season, and super hot at three different things, at once. It’s sort of one of the least passe things out there.

Grimes was trying a bit too hard to start off, given the history there and his clearly wanting to show out. But he’s done a really good job of growing his game off the bounce while clearly maintaining his sharpshooting skill.

Thanks, Raven. I actually thought that when I saw him in Dallas, he did things he never did before. Looked more mature.

Next year a team of Maxey, McCain, and Grimes at the 1, 2, and 3 would be pretty awesome fire-power-wise, if very under-sized.

Maybe they start Maxey and Grimes, and bring McCain, a combo guard I think, off the bench. Like the old Pistons with Isaiah, Dumars, and Vinnie Johnson.

At a minimum, Delon has earned the right to soak up some minutes from the wings for the rest of the regular season. There is no reason whatsoever for OG or Mikal to play 40+ in any game until the playoffs. This can also serve as a playoff audition of sorts for Delon, who could definitely have some utility in the first round and maybe even the second if he’s hitting shots.

Speaking of OG and Mikal, I won’t re-post the numbers because they’ve been covered extensively but they’re playing at an all-star, and maybe in OG’s case all-NBA due to his defense, level in the sans Brunson stretch.

Thing is, finding the best version of this team will require them to keep at least a lot of that up when Brunson is back. That’s the one shot we have at falsifying the idea that this season is pretty much predetermined–the blueprint is that Mitch + late-season-revitalized-OG + a sprinkling of Delon make our defense top-10 quality, and the offense can compete for #1 with OG and Mikal being substantially better secondary shot creators than they were before Brunson went down.

I also truly did not remember that the name of his character in Top Gun was “Iceman,” as even though I saw that movie it didn’t really resonate with me

Sounds like someone made a perfectly valid reference you didn’t understand but have since learned was in fact perfectly valid. What a normal person would do in such a scenario is shut up about the whole thing.

Val Kilmer in “Real Genius” was something special. It runs counter to a lot of the 80’s teen movies that were locked in to clique warfare. In “Real Genius”, all of the main characters are precociously bright, but struggle with self-doubt, social awkwardness and honest emotions. Val plays every angle perfectly and is really funny and natural.

When Brunson comes back it’s on Thibs to figure out a way to keep OG and Mikal involved and engaged in the offense. I’m not one of those who think Brunson is some kind of a ball hog; I think he’s a willing passer, but against the better defenses sometimes there’s no other option than to go hero ball, especially at the end of games.

But here’s to hoping that the Brunson injury was a true blessing in disguise and that when he comes back our offense will really hum.

Fuck you very much.

Bridges and OG’s 40pt games both came with Brunson playing so it’s not like there aren’t examples of them scoring aggressively with Brunson also in the lineup.

It feels like earlier in the season we saw Brunson passing more but then he kind of reverted to more ISO ball the few weeks before his injury. I think he’s a willing passer too but his first instinct is to score when the defense gets tough. That is very different than being a ball hog, though.

Real Genius was such a fun movie. Easily my favorite nerd movie from that era. The popcorn scene was just perfect.

If Brunson could settle into like 25 and 8 a game I think that would be ideal

Clarence, that popcorn scene with Tears For Fears – “Everybody Wants To Rule The World” playing and the kid’s throwing the popcorn around sends me into a nostalgic, happy 80’s haze. My oldest friend from law school and I used to throw the Real Genius VHS in and the bad vibes would instantly disappear.

RIP Nick Rivers.

Brunson is currently averaging 26.3 pts and 7.4 asts per game.

Right there with you, jazzfunk. My oldest friend from high school and I discovered that we were truly friends and not just hoping it worked out when we revealed our mutual “that movie is fucking awesome” feelings for it. We reaffirmed with Galaxy Quest in latter days.

I can still quote large chunks of the Real Genius screenplay from memory:

“Kent puts his name on his license plate.”
“My mother does the same with my underwear.”
“Your mother puts license plates in your underwear? How do you sit?”

“So, if there’s anything I can do for you — or, more to the point, to you — you just let me know.”
“Can you hammer a six-inch spike through a board with your penis?”
“Not right now.”
“A girl’s gotta have her standards.”

Who the fuck is Nick Rivers? Only kidding.

FROM SHAMS:

Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid will undergo arthroscopic surgery on his left knee next week, a team official tells ESPN. Embiid was ruled out for season in late February as he and the 76ers met with doctors to determine the best treatment to alleviate his knee issues.

Oh man, I had the biggest crush on Omar Sharif growing up.

Seriously, Clarence, who didn’t.

But, um, is that topical?

Very glad they’re not talking about breaking Joel’s hip anymore. That shit gave me the serious shivers.

Who the fuck is Nick Rivers? Only kidding.

I was kind of hoping you’d say “the director of operations at Pitt men’s basketball team died?!”

and the offense can compete for #1 with OG and Mikal being substantially better secondary shot creators than they were before Brunson went down.

OG and Mikal didn’t wake up one day and suddenly become better secondary shot creators. That’s obviously true of Mikal who has a history of being able to step up his usage, create for himself and remain efficient (at least for stretches).

When Brunson is playing he has the ball in his hands a lot of the time and is primarily focused on his own shot creation and running P&R with Towns or looking for Towns as the 2nd option.

That leaves a LOT of nights when neither OG or Mikal get the ball very often. Even when they do they often defer to Brunson and Towns because they are better options (we’d sure rather have Towns shooting an open 3).

And of course that’s when we get 5 threads about how we dramatically overpaid for role players like Mikal and OG just because their usage is more like the 3rd and 4th option players they become when Brunson and Towns are on the court.

But that has very little to with what a player is capable of if required to do more.

With Brunson out, there is shift in the pecking order that also impacts Towns. Both Mikal and OG are FORCED to be more aggressive and score more because they become primary options. So they TRY to create more. In addition, since Towns is a C that often gets the ball from Brunson, he’s a bit less of #2 than he was when he was running P&Rs or getting assists from Brunson.

In OG’s case he may be learning for the first time that he can use his strength to overpower players and draw fouls. That’s a plus in his development even though his handle and finish are no different. But he always had that ability and will after Brunson returns. (It may not work as well in the playoffs when thing get more physical and the defenses are better)

In Mikal’s case he’s just playing like he was with the Nets because in both cases he had score more.

When Brunson returns the Knicks aren’t suddenly going to have more shots per game. A bunch of the shots being taken by OG and Mikal now are going to go back to Brunson because he’s still the best option.

If anything positive comes of it, perhaps Brunson will have more confidence in Mikal and OG and be a more willing passer to them also. So we may get a better balance and a more efficient overall offense, but OG and Mikal didn’t just magically get better these last few weeks. Their role in the offense changed and enabled them to demonstrate what they are capable of.

Just realizing how much movies mean to me. Val and Omar in Top secret. Swoon. Getting old is a strange thing. I don’t like seeing the people and the artists I love die. I do like being gray though. Wasn’t certain I’d make it this far.

Brunson is currently averaging 26.3 pts and 7.4 asts per game.

I know, I’m just saying it might help if he can nudge his current balance between hunting for his shot and looking to pass first slightly more towards the latter, especially given the hot streak Wingstop have been on.

I do like being gray though.

This board is fully behind gray rights

This latest stretch without JB makes me more confident that the best is yet to come. It has taken more than one year for plenty of teams to learn how to play together. This team is no different. We have a decent 2 to 3 year run in front of us.

The Knicks ran more stuff for OG at the beginning the year, then he started missing every layup he attempted and kept turning the ball over. Mikal often stayed quiet even when KAT & Brunson didn’t have it going. It wasn’t just Brunson taking on more usage. Both had mediocre efficiency for much of the season despite playing smaller roles.

Heck, they wouldn’t force Trae Young to play defense at times just so Brunson could kneel down and present the ball to Dyson Daniels as if bestowing a gift to the king of steals.

From the beginning of February till Brunson went down, the vaunted Knick offense had a 113.9 ORtg. That 14 game span would tie them for 19th in the league. Since Brunson went down, they’re up slightly to 115.4. There were major problems with the offense even when Brunson was still playing.

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