This observation is probably nothing new but:
The season since the mid-January losing streak has felt much worse than it has been objectively, when you look back at the final scores. The most egregious loss is to Indiana at home in OT, but even then Siakam and Nembhard played great. The rest are fairly reasonable.

Still not inconceivable to catch Boston!

The Pelicans-Jazz box score is pretty funny. Some guy named Bez Mbeng scores 26, while Jeremiah Fears goes 1-7 from three and still scores 40. Final score: 156-137.

It’s all good, Adam…

Katz has an article today naming OG the best perimeter defender in the NBA. Some well deserved recognition for my favorite overpay.

Not inconceivable but extremely unlikely. They would have to lose to us,. NOP, and ORL, while we run the table. I don’t think Cleveland can catch us either since we have the tiebreaker. Pretty safe to assume that we finish 3rd.

Now as to who finished 6th, that’s a definite wild card right now. It’s Toronto’s to lose, but I think it will likely come down to whether they beat the Heat again, this time on the road, and Philly loses to Houston. My instincts tell me that Toronto screws it up and we wind up playing Philly.

One unlikely but plausible scenario: Atlanta does not have the 5 seed locked up. They play Cleveland twice and Miami, and Toronto has the tiebreaker with them, while Atlanta owns the tiebreaker over Philly. So it’s theoreticaly possible that Toronto finished 5th, Atlanta gets bumped to 6th, and Philly is in the play-in.

One of the major on-line sports sites had an All-Defense team analysis a few days ago and OG didn’t make it at all, not first or second team, not even Honorable Mention. Made me apoplectic, and fingers crossed it was just an idiot with no clue and not representative.

Unlikely, we would have to win out and they would have to lose all of their remaining games (as Z already stated), in which case we would both be 54-28 with us having the tie-breaker. Their magic number to finish with a better record than us is literally 1.

And G-d help this blog if we somehow lose to Toronto on Friday night. (I doubt that will happen, but it obviously could if we go into that game lethargically or just assuming the win.)

If Knicks beat Boston they should probably sit a bunch of players vs Toronto the next night.

The Pelicans-Jazz box score is pretty funny. Some guy named Bez Mbeng scores 26, while Jeremiah Fears goes 1-7 from three and still scores 40. Final score: 156-137.

It’s all good, Adam…

I was gonna say this was an epic tank battle, but of course the Pels gave away their pick to the Hawks (still mind boggling as well as infuriating – Atlanta could end up with a top 3 pick in a stacked draft)

“So it’s theoreticaly possible that Toronto finished 5th, Atlanta gets bumped to 6th, and Philly is in the play-in.”

I think most of us would agree that our order of preference across those three teams as a first round opponent would be Toronto, Philly, and lastly Atlanta. Yes, I know that we just beat the Hawks, but barely—and they are easily the best team of the three by most metrics regardless of where they seed.

It’s unlikely Embiid, George and the rest of the 76ers can stay healthy enough to win win several series, but I think that can be healthy for a single series. I’d want no part of a healthy Maxey, Embiid, George and Edgecomb for a single series. That’s a bad matchup for us at guard. Atlanta is tough, but I’d rather have them and not rely on Embiid or George breaking down.

I’d love to know what the data says on perimeter defense. I love OG and think he should be on the defensive team but I bet the Thompson’s, Dyson, and a few other guys probably rate just as well or better.

Yeah, I’d rather play Atlanta than Philly.

That game was super close the other night but we beat them on the road.

If Embiid, George and Maxey are all healthy and playing their best, Philly to me is the dark horse in the east to go really far.

I also do not trust Embiid to not try and injure one of our players.

I think Atlanta would be a tough out but still think we handle them and I don’t see them playing dirty.

Toronto would be ideal though.

Good points all of them on Atlanta versus Philly. Let’s just hope that we get Toronto (after we beat them on Friday night, of course), so that it won’t be a “thing.”

Adam Silver fucked up the lottery part, but the play-in is a huge success, as teams are really battling for playoff vs. play-in position in the East, and play-in seeding in the West.

First round matchup overall impact is margial. Neither of these teams is last year’s Detroit. I would be more concerned with Philly, – if it wasn’t for Jalen Brunson owning them. Nurse has no answer for Brunson.

Conference semi-finals of #2 Boston vs #3 NY will repeat in 2026.

Last year we were very very fortunate to win both games in Boston.

This season we’re better positioned roster wise but we still lack home court advantage in game 7 and they really want revenge.

Also Joe Mazzullo + Sam Cassell vs Mike Brown + Rick Brunson is not fair teams. This will impact the series and could tip it over to Boston.

“First round matchup overall impact is margial. Neither of these teams is last year’s Detroit. I would be more concerned with Philly, – if it wasn’t for Jalen Brunson owning them. Nurse has no answer for Brunson.”

Well, we don’t really have an answer for Maxey, who is every bit as good as Brunson (at least in the eyes of any objective observer.) In the 2024 playoffs he averaged 30-5-7 against us in 45 mpg.

We don’t really have an answer for a healthy Embiid either. In the 2024 playoffs he averaged 33-11-6 against us in 40 mpg on one leg.

We have Deuce to slow down Maxey and Embiid is a shell of his 2023 & 2024 self when he was in MVP consideration.

That said, I would still be worried if Philadelphia wasn’t Brunson favorite place to play. He has been donimating there since he was 18yrs old. Felt like every game against Philly since he got to NY he’s been handing out 40 burgers and Ws.

Have no one to handle Embiid? You better watch your mouth, Z-man. Mitch might have a word with you.

One of the major on-line sports sites had an All-Defense team analysis a few days ago and OG didn’t make it at all, not first or second team, not even Honorable Mention. Made me apoplectic, and fingers crossed it was just an idiot with no clue and not representative.

It definitely feels like OG doesn’t get the defensive attention from the media that other players get. They all praise him but don’t have the sort of excitement in their voice others get and I don’t think he gets mentioned on the talk shows.

He’s 9th in stls/g and near the top for non-Cs in shots contested. Knicks even have a good defense this year and he’s the best defender.

Embiid is indeed not the player he was when he won the MVP but he is still putting up a 4.9 BPM. When he gets it going, no one can stop him, not even Mitch. And he has much more around him than the last time we played them in the playoffs.

Philly doesn’t really have the defensive wing stopper type to hound Brunson with, like Dyson or Ausar for example, so he should definitely be great against them. But as I said, Maxey is a problem for us, I doubt that Deuce is going to slow him down much, so my guess is that he and Brunson sort of cancel each other out and it will be the rest of the roster that makes the difference. I think we have the edge, but would expect it to be at least a 6-game grueling series.

I fully believe this is the healthiest Mitch has been in a long time and that a healthy Mitch can contain Embiid.

I’d be interested to see if Brown runs out a Sochan/OG lineup for a couple minutes to switch the Maxey/Embiid PnR.

very slowly weighing the merits of leaving the bed today…it’s just so comfy and safe…

okay, so, a week or so left, I’m just gonna assume we play philly, beat them in six, lose 2 or 3 starters to injury though…

see, now I don’t need to fret about it for the next couple of weeks…whew, reached acceptance stage and feel so much better now…

I think the issue with OG is that he does everything well on defense but he doesn’t get “standout” counting stats like steals and blocks that draw attention to him as an elite defender. He gets them when we need them. The rest of the time he’s too busy covering for everyone else. 😉

We talkin tv?

howdy mister clarence – we are now sir…hope you are well…

recently finished: wonder man, had that netflix not really a superhero story vibe to it…it was okay…

tried to watch the new star wars animated maul show, was curious to see just how mature disney was willing to go with animated stories…lost interest quick, it was late though…

got 2 more episodes in bass reeves’ one season left…off beat episodic western stuff, interesting at least…may try hell on wheels next…

finished the short the madison season…decent couples viewing…

kurt russell’s a busy guy these days, watched the first season and some of the second of monarch, legacy of monsters…I like it, grew up on king kong and godzilla…plus, after watching shogun, hard not to be a big anna sawai fan…

did a bunch of justified, another very doable couples viewing series…was so impressed with michael rapaport, liked him in copland (stallone’s best acting, hands down), still my expectations were pretty low, but enjoyed his performance a lot…

current re-watch is game of thrones, lost count of all the times I’ve read/watched/listened to the song of ice and fire stuff…

I don’t know, being so familiar with the story and much of the dialogue kind of lets me focus more on the emotional goal of the scene, becomes even more immersive…

there you have it – anyone got any good (or bad) tv stuff to report on 😊

“We talkin tv?”

I didn’t see anyone say that today (or yesterday), and I didn’t see Clarence on here at all today (or yesterday). Am I missing posts somehow?

It’s geo time, Doogie. You just gotta go with the flow…

Ummmmmmm……. OK. Anything for geo. 🙂

We talkin’ TV? Yeah, I got shows.

Shrinking (Apple TV) – this is one of the better comedies of the last few years. Bill Lawrence (Ted Lasso, Rooster, Scrubs).

The OC – yes, I am watching it after reading about it so many times on this blog. It’s ridiculous and melodramatic but definitely addictive. Just finished season 2 and I finally fully understand the “Dear Sister” SNL digital short sketch.

The Narrow Road to Road to The Deep North – This is on Amazon Prime. It’s a limited series – 6 episodes. This show gutted me. It’s not an easy watch as it’s about Australian POW’s in the Japanese camps in WW2 (think Bridge on the River Kwai). It’s bleak and there’s one episode in particular that is really hard to watch. But it is really good and will stay with you for a long time.

Swifty, if you’re into The O.C., I hear there’s a pretty good book about it from a couple of years ago…

Howdy Geo… I am absolutely fucking swell, thanks! Back atcha. Ps – I have a tattoo of Kurt Russel from Big Trouble on my ass…

Loving Bateman in DTF St Louis

Alan, you’re posting about it is what finally got me and my wife to watch it.

She started out not liking it but has gotten more and more into it. I think once the writers kind of figured out how much should be comedy and how much drama and how self-referential/tongue and cheek they should be with the writing, they really find their groove…towards the end of season one. Season two was really fun the watch. I’m worried about season 3 though, as it feels like it’s starting to veer into being too ridiculous. But I’m in so far!

Geo, you may not be enough of an old head ( alter cocker) to remember the old ABA, but Soul Power ( on prime video) still worth a watch. Has a Clyde cameo as part of the Greek chorus. As a big Dr. J fan ( he grew up in the town next to mine), it was a nice nostalgic trip to the red white and blue ball days. Used to be able to get court side seats for the Rick Barry led NY Nets for $10 and talk with Looie Carnesseca.

Hey Geo, here are some TV recs. Some old some new.

-The Americans. I loved this show. Great acting. One of my all time favs. Was on FX, not sure where it is now.
-In the same vain, The Diplomat, and also has Kerri Russell. On Netflix.
-Slow Horses (Apple). Also based on books.
-Shrinking (Apple). Funny and good story.
-Reservation Dogs (was FX, not sure where it is now). Great series on Indigenous teenagers in rural Oklahoma. Comedy-drama.
-Godless (Netflix) 1 season, meant to be that way, with Jeff Daniels. It is incredible, especially if you like Westerns.

Just to name a few!

Haven’t watched TV shows in a while but no chance wifey will watch something really oldthat she can’t discuss with her friends at work…is the there any new shows with new episodes out now that someone likes?

Shrinking is probably the safest bet.

Also, The Pitt on HBO is as close to a cultural phenomenon that a TV show can get in these days of streaming. It’s a medical drama show (with Noah Wyley from ER) and yes, it is set in an ER. But this one does it right and it feels very realistic, outside of just the fact that so much happens on the show. The premise is each season is one day in the ER and every episode is one hour in a shift. So it’s real time.

It is very impressive and strikes a good balance between old tv where you could just drop in randomly and watch and episode and newer long form storytelling shows.

A lot of people watch it.

you all are the best…thank ya thank ya thank ya…

definitely do a bunch of platform searching…

howdy doogie, back on whenever 4/4 was mister clarence had reached out…my brain was just too fried at the moment to put together anything coherent…took some days…

hello clarence…life is long, drink and eat well, and get plenty of rest…well not always long, but shit, if you’ve made it along this far – you should be good for at least another 50 years…

and, it only gets better baby, well except maybe for the whole physical discombobulation thing that occurs both gradually and sometimes really fast…yeah, pretty much a slow creep to death…oh well, at least there’s some interesting shit on tv to watch along the way…

Think it’s funny and ATL and CLE will likely be the 4th and 5th seed match up and they have a home and home scheduled this week. What are the odds?

What the best way to play it if you’re CLE? – try to win the first game and then sit starters on 2nd?

and talk with Looie Carnesseca.

that is soooooooo cool Bo…he seemed like a very down to earth person…

was it more like a college crowd vibe back then?

not a fan of some arenas and the blaring music and artificial environments…athletes are the stars, let them be the stars…

hopefully at some point we get a consistent broadcast where it’s primarily court sound with some background crowd and more normal side view and player camera shots…

that’s one of my wishes for the day, you got any Bo?

hi director, I’d suggest Industry on hbo/max…

it’s 4th season just wrapped, plenty of drama…

plus, jon snow produces a smile that’ll melt every molecule in your body…pretty wild ride though…

something more tame maybe, better sister on prime…

Geo, it was a mixed crowd mostly hoop heads from Nassau county. Got to chat with Looie a second time about 5 years later when he coaching St John’s and I was playing intramurals before their practices. A prince of a man.

thanks swifty…

just to be wierd, decided a while back that in case there is ever any imminent virus or zombie apocalypse – I’m finding you brother…there is just no way you don’t persevere…

my sister is stubbornly positive, it really helps along the way…

awwwwww, thanks for the smile Bo…

sorry to let my aging angst out on you clarence…

the kids are making me feel old…

they push my physical limits…few days in a row of high physical activity, gotta switch to maintenance mode for some time…humbling…

hmmmmm, don’t know clarence, maybe it’s not an aging issue, more of a health and fitness thing…

could more consistently exercise and properly stretch, give up some of the candy/beer/soda/chips/brownies/fried foods…I think that’s it…oh yeah, overly processed foods…

maybe I’ll just sulk a while longer, and get over it…

I would like to avoid the 76ers in the first round. I think they have enough talent to take over in the first round. If we do end up playing them, I am hoping our chemistry helps us overcome them. I don’t think PG and Embiid have played too many games this year.

A healthy Mitch will go a long way to beating them. Hoping Mitch can up his minutes a little to around 25-27.

Thanks Geo and Walker…just texted wifey with to pick either Better Sister or Pitt. I’ll let you know how it goes…

Sucks that Boston & NY finished the season exaclty at same spot as last year and we have to get through them again.

Did the first round gruesome series vs Detroit help prepare NY vs Boston or hurt them?

“Sucks that Boston & NY finished the season exaclty at same spot as last year and we have to get through them again.”

I don’t think that we’re quite certain about that, are we? Maybe we fall to the 4 spot. Maybe they lose in the first round. Both unlikely, but who knows?

Thanks Geo. Though I might be optimistic, I’m almost positive in a zombie apocalypse, I’d go out pretty early.

Although my parents do have a place near the border with Canada in Montana. My buddies and I back in the day use to always say it was the meet up spot for when shit hit the fan and we needed to cross over. We might be getting near that point now!

new tanking rules…maybe…

18 team lottery…

top 10 most pitiful/sneaky/clever teams each have 8% chance to advance in lottery…

8 play in leftovers have a 2.5% chance to advance in lottery…

all 18 spots drawn as part of lottery?

not sure what it means, or just how far a team can move up…

I guess if no one advances far enough, the worse of the worse still get the number one pick…

not to talk too much shit at all, because whoever we face in the first round is winning at least 2 games, somewhere, sometime – i think Leon built this team to compete against the celtics (top of the division for a whole while)…

gotta get there first though…hope whoever plays the celtics in the first round tests them well…beats them, badly…

DTF, Shrinking, Godless…

gracias…

If we’re mostly talking about current shows, I’d add the Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins – it’s not nearly as good as 30 Rock or Kimmy Schmidt but it’s solid.

John Konchar is turning into Josh Hart lite before our very eyes.

geo mancrush Cade back tonight.

i don’t know doogie, pending the playoffs – stephon castle might be taking his spot…

wouldn’t mind having either as a starting point guard…

Jericho Sims with 5/6/3 after 10 minutes.

I noticed the same thing. Bucks fans are worried they will lose him in the off season.

https://behindthebuckpass.com/jericho-sims-playing-his-way-off-bucks

8/8/7 at halftime after leading the team with 12/8/6 just last night.

Knicks management obviously concluded Hukporti was more promising than him. I hope they are right, but I have my doubts.

Are we really talking about missing Jericho? He hasn’t done anything significant in past 2 years.

I’d rather have Huk than Jericho. In fact, I would go so far as to say that given the same opportunity, he’d be better than Sims rignt now.

cyber would be interested to know that the guy GMAC interviewed on the Knicks-Celts pregame pod feels that Queta has arguably been a top-10 C in the NBA this year. He might have a point, which is astonishing considering that they picked him up off the scrap heap and he really didn’t start playing starter’s minutes until well into the season.

As I said, I hope Hukporti is better. But still, Sims having a triple double (11 points, 11 rebounds and ten assists) is pretty impressive.

It’s pretty crazy that with only 3 games remaining, the only sure thing in the top-10 in the EC is that the Pistons will be the 1 seed. Seeds 2-4 will be the Celts, Knicks, and Cavs in some order. The Celts magic number for the 2 seed is 1, and the Knicks magic number for the 3 seed is 2.

After that, there are too many possibilities to dwell on. For example, it seems like ATL can finish anywhere from 5 to 9!

By this time tomorrow night we should have a bit more clarity.

“As I said, I hope Hukporti is better. But still, Sims having a triple double (11 points, 11 rebounds and ten assists) is pretty impressive.”

He’s averaging 9/9/5 on .593 shooting (10/11/6 per 36) in his last five games.

cyber would be interested to know that the guy GMAC interviewed on the Knicks-Celts pregame pod feels that Queta has arguably been a top-10 C in the NBA this year. He might have a point, which is astonishing considering that they picked him up off the scrap heap and he really didn’t start playing starter’s minutes until well into the season.

If Leon was a KB reader, we would have Queta instead of Huk and my life would be (even) more perfect. 😉
But we will prevail… sorry, Neemy! 😀

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