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2025-10-11 Daily Post

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70 replies on “2025-10-11 Daily Post”

Let’s call it 28 years, which is approximately when Ewing visited my elementary school.

I’m not sure how long, but I think I became a fan with the good teams of Frazier and Reed when I was a teenager. . So say 1973 until now or about fifty years.

Go Mariners!

Wrong blog again?

Now I have to figure out who the fugging Blue Jays are. Any tips?

Not sure when I became a Knicks fan, to be honest. I know I reeled off about a straight decade of games watched in bars across Manhattan without missing any back in the 80s. That’d make 40 years or so.

And yeah, Jowles. You were right.

Don’t remember if I actually said anything after last game, so…

* Huk looked great last game. Not sure I’d feel comfortable with him as an everyday player because it’s difficult to judge defense beyond him accumulating blocks. That said, he crushed the scrubs and looks to be definitely worth the roster spot and possibly more.

* Dadiet just needs to hit shots. He looks really smooth on his release, gets it off quickly, and and always seems to find gaps in the defense for a good look, but then he’ll miss anyways.

* Kolek looked good. Nice sidestep 3, hitting the shot over a 2nd defender. Still not enough makes, his floater doesn’t go down much, but you can see the path forward.

* Diawara made good things happen like he frequently does. He just gets basketball. He does all the non-boxscore things, just wish he’d do a few more boxscore things as well.

* Brogdon looks slow but controlled and in command of an actual offense. Clarkson tries to attack the basket, Brogdon tries to pick it apart. He’s an actual PG.

* I’m going to murder Clarkson this season.

* Yabu looks like a bum so far. Really unimpressive throughout the preseason.

48 years. Spencer Haywood, the ghost of Earl the Pearl, and whole lot of nothing were my introduction to the Knicks. Hearing my dad gloat about the glory days for the next 30+ years was rough.

“* Yabu looks like a bum so far. Really unimpressive throughout the preseason.”

Yeah, but Yabu’s bum looks like the real deal.

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Ess-dog had me laughing – “hey, this looks like a good team to follow, they were so strong in the 90s, I’m really looking forward to what comes next….” Dude, how did you survive? We all had Ewing and Starks and painful playoff losses – or luckier, actually championships with Clyde and the Captain. You had – well, it went to hell quickly in the 2000s…Wow.

Now I have to figure out who the fugging Blue Jays are. Any tips?

I knew three Blue Jays going into the series (Vlad, Springer, IKF). You’ll know ’em all soon enough. Especially Ernie Clement, who I think might have batted 1.000 in the ALDS.

41 years. Dad started me young (6 years old). First game was at MSG in ’84 when King was lighting it up. I didn’t know what was going on and was more interested in the GoBot he bought me in Penn Station, but I remember the electricity of the arena and my dad shouting “King!” every time he scored (which was a lot).

Exactly the same, Hubert. And I only know Falafel because his name always makes me laugh.

I did notice that the Jays are short. Only one position player at 6’1″, three at 6′, everyone else below that. Munchkins.

35 years, since I moved to NY and realized Boston, which was everyone’s favorite in Israel in the 80s, is not my team (relax, Israelis love Trump too, it’s a stupid country). I was covering the NBA and got a press ticket to MSG almost whenever I wanted, good times. Then, since going back to crazyland 14 years later, this blog sustained it.

I was just looking up some old King stats and that MF averaged 42.6 pts (on 60% shooting) over a 5 game series against the Pistons before almost single-handedly beating the ’84 Celtics (a 62-win team with a good case for being the greatest basketball team of all time). Dude was like Haley’s comet.

The greatest tragedy in Knicks history is that Pitino released him before the ’87 season. While King was never the same, he still had 4 really good seasons with the Bullets from 87-91. If he’d had those here with Ewing, Oakley, and Jackson, I think there would be some great memories around here.

Actually it seems the biggest tragedy is just his injury in the first place.

I always assumed we got Patrick Ewing because King got hurt in ’85. But I just looked it up and the Knicks were 19-36 when he blew out his knee, which means they were headed for the lottery regardless. And since the first lottery allotted an equal chance to everyone (and may have been rigged anyway), his injury had zero impact on us winning the 1st pick.

So we could have had King at his peak with Ewing if not for that fateful injury. Man is that a sliding door.

King was, briefly, one of the most unstoppable scorers in NBA history.

I tried to emulate his lightning-quick, baseline, turnaround jumper and failed miserably.

On the other hand, I got Cartwright’s laconic, flat-footed, over-the-head set shot down perfectly.

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Not only the year, but the day. Christmas 1970, my sister’s present to me was The Incredible Knicks by Phil Pepe. Read it at least 7 times before New Year’s Day and made it my mission to see every game on Channel 9 for the rest of the season. I was ten, my father had installed a basketball pole and hoop on our driveway a couple of months before, I practiced alone, had heard the Knicks had won but had no idea who the players were until my Christmas present.

1

26 years. Followed Sprewell, Camby Larry Johnson, and Alan Houston from eighth seed to NBA finals. A daily reader here on the side, some great basketball minds and other things I enjoy it, wanted to say hello to everybody. I feel like I know you. over the years of reading. Started posting on posting and toasting about 10 years ago when Phil Jackson was letting us down as a GM facetiously started EFC and had some fun with that for a season or two.

2

Hey mr. jackson, welcome to posting on the site! I hope we hear (or read) your voice more often going forward. Even if you are a punk kid (sort of shocking how all the people I thought were in their 30s and 40s seem to be in their 50s and 60s…).

“I always assumed we got Patrick Ewing because King got hurt in ’85. But I just looked it up and the Knicks were 19-36 when he blew out his knee”

Mr Bill. Out for that season. Liked the Oak trade, but another lesson to never trade to a rival as Cartwright was the perfect partner to a star like Bernard or…Jordan

36 years, started when we got cable in our neighborhood and was able to watch MSG network. Granted it only lasted a year since we moved down to Miami summer of 1990 but the playoff series victory over Boston that year made me a fan for life.

Haha tell me about it, Rama. I went from Spud and Nique to a total shitshow. But hey, what doesn’t kill us etc etc.

1

When I went to Syracuse in the fall of 1991, we had MSG and that was Pat Riley’s first year. The Xavier McDaniel year. That was the first Knick team I followed obsessively.

37 years, since 1988.
I was 12 and found a Ewing poster in a newsagent in Melbourne, Australia. It was next to a Jordan poster, whom I’d heard of – so I thought ‘I’m gonna support this Ewing guy!’
It didn’t hurt that I was OBSESSED with NYC and burgeoning hip hop culture at the time and I’ve been rolling with the Knicks ever since.

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Thanks Raven, I’m actually 72 .I played center for South Philadelphia boys clubs throughout the 60s, traveled around a bunch then when I came to New York I made a friend from the Bronx who went to Knicks game so we started going to the games , some terrible teams, but some great fun anyway. go Knicks

Well then, I think it is an appropriate sign of respect to call you mr jackson. Welcome.

More interesting than the McConnell injury is that he is being replaced by the Knicks’ sloppy thirds and fourths.

Interesting that while we had a strong contingent of pro-Delon fans here last year (I probably have to count myself in there) he couldn’t cut it on a team lacking point guards.

Well we’ll get to see a bit more of Cam taking his boxing-stance threes, which will be fun unless he makes a bushel-full against us…

Well we’ll get to see a bit more of Cam taking his boxing-stance threes, which will be fun unless he makes a bushel-full against us…

Not too much to worry about there. Not just Leon but every GM in the league has Wright and Payne pegged as ultra borderline fringe NBA players. If they light you up, it is on the players.

I like Delon as a situational player at the end of the bench, but he’s an aging combo guard who doesn’t shoot well and has struggled getting to the basket in recent years.

Part of the appeal to us last year was Mikal struggling at the PoA, which is Delon’s specialty. If you have a player to take on that role who can also shoot, then you’re probably better off going with that player.

Delon also got hurt in a recent preseason game which may have something to do with the pacers needing Payne.

I have some glass half-full observations from last game re: Jordan Clarkson as a backup combo guard.

In his 18 minutes,
-He shot 0-6 from 3, 4-5 from 2, 2-2 from the line. That’s 10 points on 11 shots, but through GHF goggles, that also 10 points on 5 shots inside the arc.
-He had 3 rebounds, 3 assists, and 0 turnovers.
-He was a +7

Here’s some Clarkson moments from the highlights reel of the MIN game.

1:26 JC comes around a Mitch screen and dribbles to the foul line (touches the paint) and sprays to OG for an open 3.

1:47 JC uses anothe Mitch screen to get into the paint, and rather than challenge Gobert circle under the rim, keeps his dribble and use footwork to get into and hit a little jumper over Gobert. Very Brunson-esque.

5:16 JC drives left across the lane, draws the double, fakes a shot and bounces a pass to Yabu for an easy layup.

5:24 JC is doubled at the 3pt line, gives the ball up to Dadiet who drives, draws Deuce’s defender at the rim and passes out of the double to Deuce for an open three. Hockey assist?

5:49 JC works to use a good Hukporti screen. Dadiet’s man hedges too hard and Clarkson finds him for a great look at an elbow 3 that Dadiet clanks.

6:10 JC runs a beautiful high PnR with Huk, JC dribble-drives right off the screen while Huk rolls, JC waltzes to the rim for an easy layup.

6:19 JC runs to the corner in transition, gets the ball and rather than pull up for a 3 he reverses the ball back out to Deuce who feeds Brogdon for a wide open above-the-break 3.

6:55 Clarkson dribbles all the way and scores easily in transition

7:32 Clarkson gets doubled in the corner, passes out of it to Brogdon who feeds Huk for a slashing dunk down the lane.

Obviously you could have made a lowlight reel as well, but my only point is that Clarkson is still very capable of being a very dynamic backup combo guard. This is a very critical test of Brown’s coaching influence. If Clarkson doesn’t improve the ratio of good plays to bad and Brown doesn’t proactively address it, that’s on Brown. But I am pretty confident that he will, an that Clarkson will be a huge plus for this team this year.

He’s also not going to go 0-6 from 3 most nights, yet that he was a net plus on the court even on a bad shooting night is encouraging.

If Clarkson doesn’t improve the ratio of good plays to bad and Brown doesn’t proactively address it, that’s on Brown.

It’s Jordan Clarkson. The ratio’s been the same his whole life. This is like blaming Mike Brown if the traffic doesn’t get better.

Yeah, still mulling it over, but this might be one of those very rare situations where if Clarkson improves the ratio of good to bad Brown gets the credit, and if he doesn’t Clarkson gets the blame (for being who he is, rather than changing).

On the last 2 “good” teams he played on, Clarkson was 1st and 4th for 6MoY. Those teams were plus 8 points per 100 possessions in the 27 mpg when he was on the court. I’d take that ratio of good to bad plays for my 15-20mpg backup on a minimum deal any day of the week and twice on Sundays. (and today is Sunday, so twice!)

I should also point out that he had a very low TOV% for a high-usage player until the last 3 years when he played in a different role for a novice coach on shitty teams. Clearly something changed. It just needs to change back. That’s Brown’s job.

The thing I want to see out of Clarkson is fewer turnovers. We know he can create his own shot and has decent efficiency doing that, but if he can get that TOV% lower, he’ll be a useful player.

He had zero turnovers against MIN, so that’s encouraging.

Lowering turnovers seems feasible but that’s not a good stand in for “bad plays”. Most of Clarkson’s bad plays only show up in the box score as a FGA.

Clarkson’s turnovers didn’t go up in a vacuum, either. They increased at the same rate as his assists. So it likely wasn’t the novice coach that made him turn the ball over more, but the switch from off-the-ball SG to primary ball handler. And it seems like we brought him here to be the primary ball handler on the second unit.

(That novice coach is very well regarded, btw. Like Jordi Fernandez in Brooklyn, he fucked up his team’s tanking efforts two years in a row by drawing water from a stone. They had to literally take all his good players away from his this year to finish last).

I’ve only followed the Knicks for 17 years. After my team left town over money, I still hate Starbucks.

His assisted basket percentage (on his own shots) also went up these last couple of seasons, so he was doing a little less shot creating and more passing.

He’s probably at his best when he’s just creating his own shot and not looking to pass all that much, so let’s hope that we see more of that.

The first season I remember consciously rooting for the Knicks and wanting to watch games was Marbury’s first season, which was 2003-2004 and would make my Knicks fandom roughly 22 years-old.

However, my true origin story was my grandfather taking me to a game in 1998-1999 and getting me a Marcus Camby jersey that was at the time too big for me, and now rests in pristine condition on this penguin, which the same grandfather also got me. So I can be maximally inclusive and say 27 years.

I’ve only followed the Knicks for 17 years. After my team left town over money, I still hate Starbucks.

Brador, you might have a case for being the most dedicated of us all.

Most of us didn’t choose this, it chose us. But God gave you a hall pass, and you sat down at our table.

Just curious but why us in 2008? My best guess is you’re a UW alum who decided to follow Nate Robinson.

The Clarkson question is kind of simple, IMO. Is he washed or not?

There’s a clear role for the version we last saw in 2022-2023. He got into the paint a ton–15.6 drives per game, good for 12th in the whole NBA–and shot very well at the rim (though true at-rim shots were only 10% of his overall shot diet) and in the short midrange.

He materially improved Utah’s offense despite his own middling efficiency, seemingly by boosting their FTAr, at-rim + 3PA frequency, and assist rate. He scored 1.05 PPP in isolation and 37% of his spot up 3s. We could obviously benefit from a guy like that when you look at what we had to cobble together on the bench last season.

The 800 pound gorilla in the room is that two full seasons have passed since then and he’s now 33. He still demonstrated some useful individual skills, but if last year’s version is the “true” Clarkson we’re likely better off foregoing him entirely.

So, Brown’s most pressing job regarding Clarkson is figuring out whether his last two seasons were “early-to-mid 30s decline” (common) or “dogging it on shitty Utah teams” (also common), and adapting accordingly.

3

Falafel? The backgammon player? Missed some threads, been sick.

My Dad is a big fan but my formative moments I think were the Bomb Squad, the Pitino Knicks, and listening to Clyde on the radio and then Imus in the morning.

I firmly believe Clarkson will be my least favorite player in a long time.

Will Hardy is probably a pretty good coach, but we’ll never really know until Utah gets serious about winning. If you want to look at his “fucking up the tank” then consider that Clarkson was playing a major role in fucking that tank up. In 2022-23, the Jazz were at around .500 up to just after the all-star break. Lo and behold, Clarkson was starting and playing 33 mpg while averaging 21-4-4.4 on 29% usage and a .562 TS%. including 35% from 3. He only played 3 games after the all-star break. In the first one, they beat the Thunder (Clarkson started and had 24 and 6 on 19 shots). Then in the next game (a win that got them back to .500) Clarkson sprained his thumb and only played one more game before shutting it down for the rest of the season. It is interesting that according to B-R, Clarkson played 25% of his minutes at PG that season, consistent with his splits in the prior two years. Seems like he did pretty well at it. In fact, the prior two 6MoY-level years, he played 24% and 41% of his minutes at PG.

Then, if you think those number mean anything, seems like his role changed. In 2023-24, the Jazz also hung around .500 with Clarkson playing over 30 mpg. However, he played no minutes at PG, and instead played 27% of his minutes at SF. Interestingly, it was his 2pt% that saw the greatest drop. He again sat out the majority of the tanking part of the season. In 2024-25 he was hampered all season by a plantar fascia injury that required surgery after half a season. Again, he played 3% at PG, 78% at SG, and 18% at SF.

So now, he is on a contending team under intense media scrutiny for a veteran coach on a minimum deal where he will be lucky to play 20mpg and there are viable alternatives if he is not helping the team win. Is his role to be the “primary ball handler” on a second unit? Or shot-creation insurance in case Brunson has to miss time? Whatever…the context will be entirely different than it was in Utah. The question is whether he can adapt to the context and revert to essentially the player he was as a 6MoY candidate, but in fewer minutes, with a better team, a shorter leash? As well as any athletic decline he may have encountered at age 33?

The great news for us is, it’s an extremely low risk-high reward proposition. To find a player, even with those question marks, on a minimum deal is something we should all be excited about, if cautiously.

I actually *chose* to start following this team in 2010 because I was in high school and getting into basketball and I liked the vibes of the Amar’e team. God help me, I’m not even from New York!

(This blog is probably why I stayed a Knicks fan – I’ve been lurking here pretty much daily ever since I first clicked on the link that used to be ESPN.)

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Those vibes were immaculate. In December 2010 I was thinking about adopting a bulldog just so I could name him Amar’e.

1

Since it’s football day… Has Joe Schoen saved his job?

It’s funny, I went into this season liking Daboll more than Schoen. Now I think Daboll needs to go but… maybe Schoen can stay?

This is the best Giants draft class since Ernie Accorsi hauled in Webster, Tuck, and Jacobs without a first round pick in 2005. Even that lineman they got in the 5th round looks like he can eventually start at tackle.

But ironically the excellence of Dart and Skattebo (who is like Rob Gronkowski at RB) is making it more imperative to fire Daboll. If we don’t get an adult in here soon these guys are going to have CTE by week 15.

I also think Schoen was excellent last year, making the hard (but right) call on Barkley, stealing Brian Burns, resisting the urge to reach for a QB and taking Nabers.

thanks for guessing. Nate is right at the beginning of the internet, so yes i did “follow his career.” I got to Seattle a couple of years after their championship. But basketball is the only team s[port i played and watched. Howard Schultz realization that Seattle wasn’t going to give him a new arena and he wasn’t rich enough to afford his own lead to a lot of hard feeling.

The Clarkson question is kind of simple, IMO. Is he washed or not?

Per Sportskeeda:

Thumb and Finger Injury (Feb-Mar 2023)
On February 25, 2023, Clarkson had a strained right thumb that almost reached the back of his hand during a game against the San Antonio Spurs as per the NBA. His hand suffered major muscular damage as a result, making it nearly impossible for him to hold or grip anything. After missing two games, he returned against the Oklahoma City Thunder on March 5.

Following that, he suffered a finger sprain in his left hand, and even though he missed four games, the NBA’s official injury report deemed his status questionable and consequently he missed the rest of the season.

Thigh Injury (Nov-Dec 2023)
On November 27, 2023, he had a contusion to his right thigh against the New Orleans Pelicans as per CBS Sports. On December 11, against the Oklahoma City Thunder, he felt pain in his hamstrings. After this, the Utah Jazz revealed that Clarkson had been diagnosed with a thigh strain of the right bicep femoris. According to Basketball Reference, he missed a total of nine games by the time he made a complete recovery and returned on December 23, 2023, in a game against the Toronto Raptors.

Groin and Back Injury (March 2024)
In a game against the Boston Celtics on March 12, 2024, Clarkson strained his right groin, causing him to miss six games. According to Basketball Reference, on March 25, he made his comeback against the Dallas Mavericks, a game they lost. He was unable to attend the following game against the San Antonio Spurs on Match 27 due to a back injury and so missed the remainder of the season.

Then in 2024-25 he was never healthy:

Clarkson dealt with his lingering foot injury throughout virtually the entire season, being in and out of the lineup to only suit up for 37 contests on the year. In those appearances, he averaged 16.2 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 3.7 assists on 40.8% shooting from the field.

This is not to say that Clarkson is “as good as new” after recovering from a string of non-career-threatening injuries. I saying that a) it’s certainly possible that he’s close enough to that for the difference not to matter, and b) that it is on a 1-year minimum salary commitment that could probably be dumped for a minimum amount of sweetener before the deadline.

To me, this is even a lower-risk proposition than it was to acquire the definitely damaged (and hardly liked here at KB) Derrick Rose in 2021, which actually cost something. Unlike Derrick, who was forced into a much larger role than he could physically handle, Clarkson only needs to be a solid 15-20mpg backup for a guy who is going to play almost all crunch-time minutes.

I actually think the risk Jordan Clarkson poses is if he is good.

Think about Russell Westbrook on the Nuggets last year. “No risk.” Played well. Exceeded all expectations.

He did so well that they relied on him in the biggest spots of the season against OKC. And that’s when he killed them by being Russell Westbrook.

It’s the basketball equivalent of the scorpion and the frog. It’s just his nature.

(Incidentally I think I would rather have signed Westbrook than Clarkson.)

They asked me the same “I’ve been a fan since _________” on my Pacers blog and I said “since the day I watched Rick Carlisle score 21 points on 12 shots from loge 58D at MSG in his Knicks debut”, which, incidentally, was also the day I became a Knicks fan.

my formative moments I think were the Bomb Squad, the Pitino Knicks, and listening to Clyde on the radio

Not sure if I mentioned it here or not, but the Bomb Squad t-shirt that was a free giveaway at a Knicks game I went to in 1989 was destroyed in the Pali fire. Whenever a fellow ex-NYer would come over, and we’d get on the inevitable subject of disappointing knicks moments, I’d dust it off and wear it for a laugh. Despite my dislike for the Dolan Knicks, that shirt was one of the truly few “irreplaceable” possessions I lost. I still reach for it just to find it not there.

1

Donnie, I still have a t-shirt from the 1994 Finals. It says “It’s All About Soul” on the front, I guess they were doing a cross promotion with Billy Joel (horrible song btw)

Can’t believe the shirt has held up this long, although I haven’t worn it for quite a few years.

I wish I had watched the Knicks during Pitino’s 2 seasons, we didn’t have cable yet but I remember watching some games on WWOR and CBS.

My dad wasn’t a basketball fan at all so for most of my childhood in NY it was all about the Yankees and even watching plenty of Mets games too.

“He did so well that they relied on him in the biggest spots of the season against OKC. And that’s when he killed them by being Russell Westbrook.”

Did you happen to look at Denver’s stats page in the playoffs last year?

Let’s look at their rotation players who posted positive BPMs in the playoffs: Jokic (10.7, shocker!), Gordon (2.2) Murray (2.1) and Braun (1.0). They all happened to be starters.

Their 5th starter, Michael Porter Jr., posted a -2.2 BPM.

Their 6th man, Russell Westbrook, had a -2.0 BPM.

Everyone else that played was fucking terrible. Their 7th man, Peyton Watson, played 14mpg and while he had a reasonable -0.1 BPM, put up a TS% of .477. on a 16.1% usage. No one else averaged 10+ mpg.

So, if your team has no depth at all plus a total zero in the starting lineup, and no one else on the bench who can be trusted to play at all in a critical playoff series, then yeah, 36yo Russ isn’t going to bail you out. Nor should he have ever been in that position.

Similarly, if one of our starters falls off a cliff like MPJ did, and the bench’s only viable player is Clarkson, we are going to lose in the first or second round, and guess what? It will hardly be because of Clarkson.

I mean, wtf are you even talking about? You think that Leon should have someone else on a minimum salary that could play the 6th most minutes who could possibly make up for being only 4 deep above him?

Whatever, I will go as far as to agree that if Jordan Clarkson is our 5th best rotation player averaging over 20mpg in the playoffs while posting a -2.0 BPM, we are definitely in big trouble.

1

Wow, Jets with an all-time worst passing game for the team — minus 10 yards.

Glad I have other things to do on Sundays…

Just did a ~90 min dive on this new “constraint-led-approach” and it’s very intriguing. Atkinson hired one of the Euro guys that used it first and the results have been great. Also, Indiana and Memphis are the two other teams that have incorporated some of its aspects. Wemby has been training all summer with CLA specific drills only.

I really like the concept but I’m not sure it’s scalable and translates to the NBA. Let me know what you guys think…

Here is a decent read. https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6665943/2025/09/29/sports-training-cla-coaching-wembanyana-ohtani/

Thanks for sharing that, Director. Wouldn’t have read it otherwise. It’s an interesting teaching technique.

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