Alvarado seems to have forgotten how to shoot 3’s – it’s a big problem. if you take out that one 8 for 13 game, he is 7 for 38 from 3 as a Knick… 18.4% is not going to get it done. And the misses are not close. Even with the 8/13 game he’s only shooting 29.4%.

I think we need to post KAT up more — it feels like whenever he gets the ball in the post, good things happen whether it’s a post move or a reverse pivot to a face-up. Trouble is he is really not very good at getting and maintaining position. in the no-Brunson lineups and with Alvarado a non-shooter at this point, those lineups are really struggling to score recently.

Alvarado seems to have forgotten how to shoot 3’s – it’s a big problem. if you take out that one 8 for 13 game, he is 7 for 38 from 3 as a Knick… 18.4% is not going to get it done.

I mentioned the slump last night. I think he’s forcing things a little. He’s a high energy player. We need that, espcially on defense. But imo he has to take a small step back on offense. We don’t need him to score a lot. We need him to defend and penetrate and make plays, which he can do. If they leave him open, then take the shot. He’ll be fine.

Yeah Frank I commented at the game about the lineup to start the 4th quarter. I guess he wanted to continue the momentum from that awesome 3rd quarter, but still odd.

Who knows if it would have changed anything if he went with his normal substitution pattern?

Another comment- Cason Wallace is an unbelievable defender, maybe the best on ball defense I’ve seen this season.

Alvarado’s jumper is pretty ugly – like a shotput. I wonder if they’re trying to make changes and that’s why he’s been off.

Meanwhile – Mikal’s hitch is back. He’ll even multi-hitch within the same jump shot. These guys are such amazing athletes – just strange that they develop these things. Like Mitch – how is he still shooting a ball that never gets above the rim? It seems impossible but his FTs are even uglier than Shaq’s. I am sure they’re smarter than me but I would have him shooting a ball that has to get through a hula hoop suspended 15 feet in the air or something to make sure he shoots up and out and not just forward. Who knows.

Some of the lineup choices were odd, for sure. Other than JB, the bench killed the starters last night. Who could’ve predicted at the beginning of the year Huk, Diawara, and Shamet being integral against OKC… unrelated Google has tagged Mo Diawara’s Basketball Reference page as “you visit often.”

I wouldn’t say Huk is integral yet. Hes a backup backup. Would be nice if he got there

Knicks are really close to being a Top 5 defense in the NBA although next 2 games will make it tough to get there considering the opponents. After the easy 8 game stretch following the Clippers game though its very realistic for the Knicks to have a Top 5 defense going into Aoril which would’ve been unthinkable a month ago.

After the easy 8 game stretch following the Clippers game though its very realistic for the Knicks to have a Top 5 defense going into Aoril which would’ve been unthinkable a month ago.

It would be unthinkable for a lot of years. 😉

These guys are such amazing athletes – just strange that they develop these things.

I think part of the problem is muscle memory and part mental (lack of confidence). If you develop a bad habit in your form you can correct it by concentrating but in my experience it has a tendency to creep back.

I’m not sure if it’s possible to correct something like that permanently.

I have a form defect in my pool stroke. I know what it is, can correct it by focusing my mind on just that (to the detriment of other things) and even correct it for awhile by repeating the correct form 1000s of times. But eventually it always comes back.

Alvarado seems to have forgotten how to shoot 3’s – it’s a big problem. if you take out that one 8 for 13 game, he is 7 for 38 from 3 as a Knick… 18.4% is not going to get it done.

C’mon fellas, ya’ll are familiar with varience, right? No mystery here. He is a 34.8% 3 point shooter over 1117 attempts over 5 seasons. Having a 51 shot sub sample of shooting 29.4% is completely expected. You can’t just yank out a good shooting night from that sample for “effect”.

For example Jalen Brunson is a 38.4% 3 point shooter over a 2434 shot sample. From 2/6 to 2/22 this season he shot 14 for 47 a 29.8% just 0.4% better than Alvarado.

Look at sample size and varience before speculating about trying too hard and reworking his shot in between games (lol). Wm. of Ockham usually rules.

We basically chose Huk over Sims. So now I’m thinking if he is better. Honestly, I think Sims defends better and is at least as good at rebounds. But Huk is significantly younger. What are your opinions?

I prefer Huk over Simms. Huk needs more minutes and he’ll get better even if he’s never more than 3rd string.

Isn’t the consensus that usually to win a title you need a top 5 defense and top 5 offense? If so, I like our odds!

Playing around with Chat GPT I found that there is a 67% chance Diawara is at least a 40% shooter from 3, but you need 2300 attemps to have a 95% confidence interval. There is a big difference between one and two standard deviations.

I’m currently paddling around Huk Island on my inflatable dragon, staring sadly at the foliage from a distance and remembering the good old days of camping out on the beach.

Definitely not out on him, but I’m sad that there’s been no obvious improvement (and even some backsliding) from his brief foray into getting regular minutes before his injury last year. He’s got the speed and length and motor to be a good backup, but it feels like the game has sped up for him this year and he’s rushing around a bit headless chicken-wise. Also, what had looked like a nice floater has abandoned him.

I still have faith (and think he’s better than Sims, and with more upside), but he needs to slow down and just play.

Huk has occasionally shown glimmers of an offensive game. Then he looks like he only just discovered basketball. Hard to figure what he might become.

Playing around with Chat GPT I found that there is a 67% chance Diawara is at least a 40% shooter from 3, but you need 2300 attemps to have a 95% confidence interval. There is a big difference between one and two standard deviations.

I’d settle for 38% and finsihing better at the rim. 😉

The Hornets will be a super hard out in round 1. I hope they end up in 8th place, I’d give them a pretty good shot of beating the Pistons.

Was at the game last night, just now reading all the KB commentary.
-the crowd at MSG was fantastic. The frustration with the refs was palpable throughout the game.
-it truly felt like we got jobbed by the refs. That OG basket being overturned on review was outrageous, it should have been a no-call at worst. But stepping back, the FT and fouls calls were pretty even. So maybe it was more about frustration with them being hot (especially Chet) and us being cold?
-Not Brunson’s finest hour, you have to wonder whether he just didn’t have enough gas in the tank after a pretty grueling effort vs. Toronto.
-KAT kept us in the game with many big rebounds. Can’t realy complain about his effort. Still, it’s frustrating to have the so-called greatest shooting big man ever out there getting out-shot from 3 by Chet, Jaylin and Kendrich, 0-0 to 9-16. That’s got to be fixed.
-The game mostly came down to SGA making a 3 and JB and OG missing two good looks. I can live with that, but it fucking sucked just the same.
-Diawara is already a fan fave.
-I get that OKC has a great defense, but this loss was not about their D as much as it was about the margins, especially with shooting variance. Chet was unconscious while JB, OG, Mikal, and Hart were all missing good looks.
-and hey, our defense was pretty fucking good too.

I gotta say, of all the things I’m most thankful for regarding the Knicks this year (and there are many), the defense suddenly (and somewhat inexplicably) showing up is my #1. I’m a defense-first guy anyway, I’ll root hardest for a team that gets in the trenches on D, even if they otherwise suck. But if you can keep the other team from scoring you can win your fair share of games regardless.

That these Knicks have finally figured it out (fingers crossed) is just a fantastic turn of events (and one I was not expecting, to be honest…).

Chet got up 11 threes

KAT put up zero

No excuses for that

Thunder are averaging ~121 points per game. We held them to 103.

-KAT kept us in the game with many big rebounds. Can’t realy complain about his effort. Still, it’s frustrating to have the so-called greatest shooting big man ever out there getting out-shot from 3 by Chet, Jaylin and Kendrich, 0-0 to 9-16.

The thing is it’s NOT Towns’ fault. Teams are obviously going to try to take the 3 away from him but you have run something to get him open. Take your pick. It’s either Brunson’s fault or the fault of Brown and the system.

Love this about life when Mo is on floor

https://x.com/kat_wrld/status/2029357328718545263?s=46&t=0wqff4cNt-sCGcDs-uMExw

Was Bridges playing good D? He got a big leash to miss so many shots and keep Mo on bench

Huk would be fine if he didn’t turn the ball over on 1 in 3 possessions. However, that’s a very, very big problem

Huk is not fine. Huk has major Adonal Foyle ceiling vibes.

Although he was somehow a plus 7 last night

It’s either Brunson’s fault or the fault of Brown and the system.

Brunson had 15 assist and only took 17 shots. 3 below his avg. So last night was not his fault.

We had 88 FGA last night. 2 below average. OG and Mikal took ~3 to 5 more shots than ideal. It’s within range of +/-. – so no big deal.

With respect to MBs space, penetrate and spray offense, – its designed to maximize the total 3FGA taken as a team. It’s flaw is that defense in part influences who will shoot the open threes.

Thibs offense was more player specific but it sacrificed total 3FGA volume.

Unless we invent a new offense, you can’t shoot 40 threes a game and pick the exact amount of threes you want each player to take. There will be game to game variances but also some pernament structural unintended sacrifices KAT is being asked to make.

KAT cannot participate in pace offense so there are about 8-10 posessions every game where he doesn’t even run up the court and those posessions often end up as wide open transition threes that Mo, Mikal, Shamet, Jose & JB shoot.

Hope this helps.

I think we need to post KAT up more — it feels like whenever he gets the ball in the post, good things happen whether it’s a post move or a reverse pivot to a face-up. Trouble is he is really not very good at getting and maintaining position. in the no-Brunson lineups and with Alvarado a non-shooter at this point, those lineups are really struggling to score recently.

Agreed about KAT. Watching him play, especially yesterday, it’s really disheartening to see all the non-calls on him. As I said before I think he’s at times his own worst enemy, but I think the coach/team should help him out here. Put a camera guy behind the basket filming him & show all the non-called fouls on him when he’s down low. Heck hire an “influencer” to do the dirty work if you don’t want to get fined by the league for criticizing the refs.

If Pat Riley or Phil Jackson were the Knicks coach, they’d be messaging the refs to give more calls.

Shams is reporting Tatum is returning

@ShamsCharania
“There’s an expectation that Jayson Tatum will make his 2025-26 season debut for the Boston Celtics on Friday night at TD Garden versus Dallas, sources tell ESPN. Tatum has been described as ready to go and will inform the Celtics of a final decision over the next day”.

I went to an indoor go-kart track with my work team last night and the arcade area had an NBA Jam ripoff from 2024. During the repeating Insert Credits sequence, it boasts that you can play as your favorite NBA star with the media-day photos of each guy.

LeBron James! (LeBron with his LeDad smile)

Steph Curry! (Steph with his west-coast stoner smile)

Jimmy Butler! (Emo haircut and lip ring)

So good I spit beer through my nose.

How is that Tatum return game NOT against the Knicks? 🙂

The Knicks are now fourth place in the odds to win the East. That’s so silly. They have to still be the favorites. None of these other teams have proven that they can win in the playoffs. The Knicks have.

The thing is it’s NOT Towns’ fault. Teams are obviously going to try to take the 3 away from him but you have run something to get him open. Take your pick. It’s either Brunson’s fault or the fault of Brown and the system.

I just can’t fathom being so unequivocal about this. Towns’ 3PAr is a tick higher with Brunson on the floor (.314 vs .304). His 3PT% is also better with Brunson (.377 vs .354).

There are no shortage of possessions in which he has a reasonably open look, certainly good enough for a career 40% shooter, and passes it up in favor of a drive (usually a doomed one). We’ve all seen this and commented on it ad nauseam, and Towns’ relative hesitancy to shoot despite being an excellent shooter is generally well-chronicled.

I don’t want to rag on KAT because I’ve loved his effort of late, and was very happy with how played last night specifically outside of the typical frustration here and there.

But the Dastardly Jalen Brunson theory is not credible.

your sense of humor is so subtle and a little sly at times, hard to tell whether you’re serious or not:

The Knicks are now fourth place in the odds to win the East. That’s so silly. They have to still be the favorites. None of these other teams have proven that they can win in the playoffs. The Knicks have.

no reason why the pistons, celtics and cavs shouldn’t be placed above us, if for no other reason than to get more folks to place bets…

odds making is so fascinating, it’s a combo of data and psychology…not completely, adjacent to though, reality

Isn’t Towns dealing with a finger injury or something this season? Something that might require surgery when the season is over? I know Hart is/was too but I feel like i read that about KAT too and have been wondering if that accounts for his hesitancy to let it bomb from deep this season.

I just can’t fathom being so unequivocal about this. Towns’ 3PAr is a tick higher with Brunson on the floor (.314 vs .304). His 3PT% is also better with Brunson (.377 vs .354).

It has little to do with his percentage (though I’ll take whatever I can get). It’s about quality shot attempts. He’s arguably the best shooting big man in league and almost every game we are complaining about his shot attempts and especially from 3. How can that be the C’s fault? It’s not like we want him handling the ball or running around all day trying to get open. So you have to run plays specifically to get him open or kick it out when he is. Naturally, they are trying to take that away, but zero attempts is preposterous. That can’t be his fault.

Director NYC

When you have one of the best 3p shooting C’s ever and he’s not getting a plenty of quality looks from 3 you can explain it away with details all you want, but it means your offense is idiotic. He should be getting 7-8 quality looks from 3 per 36 most nights. Some nights the defense will be more effective than othesr at taking them away, but the offense should in part have plays specifically desighed to get him open on top of whatever he gets trailing or on kickouts.

The Knicks are now fourth place in the odds to win the East. That’s so silly.

Deploy fresh capital.

He should be getting 7-8 quality looks from 3 per 36 most nights. Some nights the defense will be more effective than othesr at taking them away, but the offense should in part have plays specifically desighed to get him open on top of whatever he gets trailing or on kickouts.

40+ high quality threes is the goal.

Why is him shotting 7-8 pick and pops at the top of the key a better shot than Deuce, OG, Mo or Mikal from the corners? – Or transition threes from JB, Mikal, Mo, and OG?

Because he’s the self proclaimed best shooting big man ever?

You don’t have to agree with it or like it…but that’s the explanation of why and what is happening.

KATs overall FGAs are down by this season by three but his 3FGA rate is only down by 0.4 over last year. (4.7 to 4.3).

That’s one less three every other game. Give me a break. The problem with Towns is that he’s missing a lot more of them this year.

If there ever was a quote that contrasted Brown and Thibs:
“I’ve said this before, that’s what the regular season is for. You take this and take that and try to get a little better here and there, and then, hopefully, by the end of the season, you’re at a point where you’re fairly comfortable and can start trending upward.”

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7088964/2026/03/05/knicks-defense-title-loss-thunder/

Sorry for the double post… but the article linked above reminds me of a Nate Duncan point at the beginning of the season that he thought the Knicks should trade Hart for a player more like Donte DiVincenzo. And maybe the Knicks have found that in Shamet — and accordingly should keep playing him with the other 4 starters.

Spacing in the starting lineup only works if Hart screens for Brunson, but that takes away shots from KAT. It’s not driving me as insane as when Thibs played the starters 2000 minutes per season, but it still hurts my brain.

Cade gets away with the KAT hook so very often.

Ausar rolled his ankle on a non-contact play. Seems minor but he probably won’t return tonight.

Ooph, embarrassing loss for the Rockets.

I think the Knicks can still get the #1 seed in the East, by the way!

We’d pretty much need to win every single game left and hope the Pistons play .500 ball the rest of the way

I don’t see that happening but doesn’t mean we won’t get ourselves geared for playoffs

I think the Knicks can still get the #1 seed in the East, by the way!

Mathematically, yeah. But in the real world, there’s almost no chance.

Even if they went 10-11 to finish the season, which is not likely, the Knicks would need to go 16-3, maybe even more unlikely.

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