[NYTimes] Freshman’s Desperate Shot Saves Michigan at the Buzzer (Sunday, March 18, 2018 7:35:51 AM)
Jordan Poole hit a long 3-pointer as time ran out to keep Michigan’s season alive and win it a berth in the Sweet 16.
[NYTimes] After Historic Victory, U.M.B.C. Students Look Forward to the Next … Lab (Saturday, March 17, 2018 11:24:49 PM)
It wasn’t exactly mass hysteria Saturday on the campus that wins chess championships the way Duke collects basketball ones. The model U.N. team is tough, too.
[NYTimes] On Pro Basketball: Lose Now, Win Later? In Sixers, Knicks Have a Role Model (Sunday, March 18, 2018 10:24:35 AM)
The long-term absence of Kristaps Porzingis and a visit by Philadelphia on Thursday offer lessons for the Knicks, and a reminder that losing doesn’t have to last forever.
(Saturday, March 17, 2018 6:08:57 PM)
Enes Kanter ranted and raved all week against tanking, that developing guys should be saved for the G-League. Knicks coach Jeff Hornacek questioned his players Friday on whether they accepted defeats too easily. The Knicks finally did something about it as they notched their first victory in March, snapped a nine-game losing streak, an eight-game…
(Saturday, March 17, 2018 8:58:49 AM)
Hornets coach Steve Clifford gave a candid scouting report of Willy Hernangomez who seems to appreciate the brutal honesty coming from his new taskmaster. In fact, while praising the Hornets’ climate, Hernangomez appeared to take a subtle dig at the Knicks as he prepared to face them Saturday at the Garden. In explaining his lack…
[NYDN] Knicks rout Hornets, 124-101, at home to end nine-game skid (Saturday, March 17, 2018 10:33:30 PM)
The tank stops here. At least for one game.
[NYDN] Willy Hernangomez uses praise for Hornets to take shots at Knicks (Saturday, March 17, 2018 10:32:20 PM)
Unlike in New York, Willy Hernangomez is fine with not playing so much because he feels like he’s developing with the Hornets.
(Saturday, March 17, 2018 10:38:12 PM)
NEW YORK (AP) Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 25 points, and the New York Knicks snapped a nine-game losing streak with a 124-101 win over the Charlotte Hornets on Saturday night.
(Saturday, March 17, 2018 4:50:42 PM)
The Knicks host the Hornets at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday night.
(Sunday, March 18, 2018 2:55:07 AM)
There were some rare sights and sounds inside Madison Square Garden Saturday night. Knicks players were jumping off the bench and waving their towels, the crowd was cheering instead of grumbling, and at the end of the game, the scoreboard had more points for the home team than the visiting team.
(Sunday, March 18, 2018 2:39:31 AM)
Willy Hernangomez was back at Madison Square Garden with his new team, but not much has changed. He’s played sparingly for the Hornets.
(Saturday, March 17, 2018 9:07:39 PM)
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — It’s not always so easy to adjust, living in the aftermath of sports history.
(Saturday, March 17, 2018 7:29:16 PM)
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Nearly 1,000 miles apart, in vastly different situations, brothers Enes and Kerem Kanter were more or less saying the same thing.
(Saturday, March 17, 2018 5:51:00 PM)
The offseason will be important for the Knicks, and for Craig Robinson to implement his vision and plan to transform their players.
36 replies on “Knicks Morning News (2018.03.18)”
Tank aside, that 3rd quarter was fun to watch.
On a different note, someday, KOQ will realize that he needs to work on his 3 point shot if he wants a starting job somewhere.
So nice that Frank had a very productive game on the offensive side. I think it’s important he finish out the season on a high note in terms of offense. Why? Because otherwise it’s difficult for me to believe that Mills wouldn’t be very impatient and restless and start to envision a starting lineup of Kemba/THJ/MKG/KP/KOQ. Bye bye Frank and our 2018 pick.
There’s another reason I hope Frank finishes strong. I wouldn’t want to draft Trae Young because:
(1) There’s higher bust potential for 1 guards in general and I don’t believe we should have a low floor/high ceiling mindset at this time because of KP’s presence.
(2) He apparently is a poor defender. Generally poor defenders in college are poor defenders in the NBA so he would have to be excellent on the offensive end to be a net plus.
(3) I’m not convinced he’d be that much better than Trey. His catch-all stats as a 19yo were better than Burke but Trey’s were better as a 20yo.
(4) Frank’s minutes at the 1 would be diminished or he would be traded. At 19yo – youngest player in league – he rates highest in PnR defense just ahead of CP3! That’s kinda remarkable. You’ve struck oil if Frank’s defending the 1, KP’s the rim protector, and Mikal’s matching up against the opponent’s best wing. Hey that Pacers team did pretty well against the Heat in that ECF a few years ago. I’d be OK if Frank ends up being George Hill.
(5) Kyrie/Kemba/Rubio might be available in 2019 as a hedge against Frank not improving. I would never try to predict what a flat earther might do but Kyrie did put a lousy NYK team on his list of trade destinations. Kemba used to be a Bronx baller, and Rubio excels when he is the primary playmaker which he would be on the Knicks in that scenario.
Working on a 3 is good advice for all bigs these days (not you Jo), but I really think he should be playing 25m+ on a good team anyway. Since he got in serious shape over the last couple of years, the guy has just been a really good player. How many guys in the entire league are elite shot blockers and rebounders, effficient on offense and are also serious assist guys.
Isn’t it amazing that just 8 years ago Bogut made 3rd team All NBA with per 36 of:
17.7/11.3/2.1 0.6/2.8 TS 54pct
And KOQ is playing 17 minutes for the worstish team in the league with
14.5/12/4.1 1.0/2.5 TS 63pct
I get how much has changed and how flat the center distribution is (do we really know or care what happens to wins if you swap minutes between a KOQ and a Valanciunas or Myles Turner). But man would a team like the Wizards be better off if they replaced today’s version of Gortat with him. I’m curious how much more Nurkic or even modern big Brook Lopez get this offseason. I’m guessing it’s more than KOQ and I’d rather have him on the vast majority of teams.
Regarding an attempt to determine high floor players, take a gander at THIS QUERY listing in descending order by BPM all freshman since 2010 who played more than 500 minutes (BPM only available starting 2010). Some takeaways:
> Look at Jordan Bell! Zhaire may be this year’s Bell. On two mock drafts Smith didn’t even appear in the 1st or 2nd round. He’s a no-brainer if he’s available at #38. BPA trumps fit.
> BPM’s probably better than other catch-all metrics in evaluating defense but it still has limitations. Ayton, Bagley, and Young would worry me for that reason. I’d also be worried about slowish Carter guarding 4’s though I still would take him over those other 3.
> Looks like a lot of players in this draft could turn out to be avg+ players in the NBA.
On another note, this might the first draft in a trend where bigs shoot 3’s (e.g., JJJ and Carter). Kids are obviously noticing the NBA trend and working on that part of their game. KAT’s dad was enlightened early on and had him practice shooting 3’s.
What.
Was.
THAT?!
I didn’t watch the game because I thought that was a sure loss. I’m not freakin out over the tank- I don’t think the win hurts it too much- but I’m just surprised. Pleasantly surprised. It’s good to know that the guys still have their pride intact and they are still listening to the coach. What the latter means is if we hire coaches strong with development, those guys will listen and grow.
But holy hell Jack even got in the game! Also, it’s about damn time Hornacek played THJ at his natural position. I believe he can play close to that level as a full time SG, and if he does- that justifies his deal, right? I don’t know how the team actually looked, as I’m going off the box score. So I’m sure someone’s able to fill me in on how the game really looked and if it was more so Knicks pride or Hornets sucktitude.
This is what bothers me.
Let’s assume Willy was legitimately the 3rd best option on the team on merit. Let’s assume he came to camp out of shape as reported.
1. There were chances to get him on the floor in garbage time that Hornacek bypassed.
2. We were rapidly moving into the phase of the season where we would have been tanking even if KP didn’t go down. So after being on the bench all season it was a matter of a week or two until he would have gotten as many or more minutes than Kornet.
3. It was already obvious that O’Quinn was going to opt out and Noah was an issue.
I’m not going to know whether to laugh or cry if we buy out Noah, let O’Quinn walk, Kanter gets hurt, and our starting C next year is Kornett (who is G league caliber player), all while Willy becomes a very solid backup player at 24-25 years of age.
Seriously, who is not going to bang his head against wall if next year we are talking about drafting or trading for a backup big man?
@2 I agree with everything you said.
If we trade Frank, I’m done. You’ll never see me here again.
2-3 years from now, that lineup plus whoever we add could be awesome.
Frank Vogel may be available soon.
I remember writing here that Phil did the same for a Noah tweet before NYK signed him and we all know how that turned out. I’d prefer Carter or Mikal to Trae but Young could work out. Frank could guard the 1 and play off the ball on offense. Trae apparently does shoot well off the dribble which is really important. I guess I’d take him over Marvin and Porter. My hope is Marvin, Porter and Young would all be gone when we pick. A nightmare scenario would be Doncic, JJJ, Carter, Mikal, Young would all be taken when we draft.
I think Hornacek’s worst flaw is people management.
@8
Do we really want Vogel tho? He had success with a strong team in Indiana, which yes, arguably got stronger when he started coaching them, but Orlando is such a mess that I’m inclined to pass. None of their young players seems to improve even a little bit, he has the weirdest rotations and keeps relying on bad veterans over development… I think he might just be Hornacek 2.0.
I get that it’s Orlando and the dysfunction runs deep, but I’m unimpressed (and we’re probably just as dysfunctional as the Magic anyway).
@11
I have no opinion on Vogel one way or the other. I’m just souring on Hornacek after being cautiously enthusiastic when we hired him. To me it appears Hornacek doesn’t even know who the best players on the team are or how to put together a coherent unit out of them, let alone maximize their results.
Maybe it’s management mandating things. I do not know.
I’ve already lost hope on Mills and Perry. I’m practically at the stage where I’m just hoping they don’t screw things ups too badly until we replace them. I’m counting a LOT on our scouts to make good selections because I’m pretty sure we are going to screw up a lot of the other stuff.
No Vogel please. He looks like he botched the development of the youngsters in Orlando. But who are we kidding? We’re doomed until Dolan’s the owner.
I’m inclined to agree, Strat. But the problem is, and ties to Colonel Saunders or not- it’s gonna hurt, they’ve diminished the role of the best guy in the scouting department we have. Clarence Gaines needs to be put to better use. He finds guys who end up being valued contributors on really good to great teams. The fact that he was high on KP at 4 when no one else saw just how good he can be gives me great hope for Ntilikina. Neither player is where we want or need them to be, but I trust Gaines’ insight a he’ll of a lot more than anyone else charged with talent evaluation in the FO.
I accept that every once in a while you’re going to win a game, but we have to get back to losing. The Jets just gave away 3 2nd round picks because they were too stupid to lose games they should have.
I do trust the Knicks in terms of scouting specially since both KP and Ntilikina are not players that fit the mold of what an obviously stupid team looks for in the draft. They’re not the uber athletic/pointzz and dunks guys that have been drafted by sorry franchises for years.
That shows me that they are willing to step out of common sense and make selections based on better criteria. If it works out or not, well, that’s a different beast.
Now watch as Mills picks up Collin Sexton to make up for “losing” DSJ in last year’s draft.
This thread is getting to the point where I hope we pick #12 in the draft
Miles Bridges is bricking everything in sight against the Cuse
What a gloriously hideous win by my beloved Orange.
There isn’t a talented player on their team, but they just knocked off a team with two potential lottery picks. Miles Bridges and Jaren Jackson both absolutely stunk out the joint.
Ugh, now I have to root for Cuse against Duke
In terrible news, Kristaps Porzingis is already back in the gym. They need to Joel Embiid his ass so he can trust the damn process for a season, sign a huge contract, and come back thoroughly destroying teams with Frank Ntilikina, RJ Barrett, and Michael Porter Jr.
That will never happen in a gazillion years. He’s totally the type of guy to rush himself back. And that then gets into a weird situation where I guess I would think that his health is more important than the team being SUPER bad next year, so if he actually heals early, I guess I’m cool with that.
Good!
I don’t want him to move up.
KP is unfortunately a ruff rydah
I don’t know why KP is even an issue. All they have to say is ACL rehab on a 7′ 3″ wing like player is an undiscovered country with no reliable data and we are taking the conservative path with his rehab no mater what he says. Period. End of story! We intend on extending him blah, blah, blah.
Doesn’t the guy see it is in his best long term financial interest to play maybe 10 games at the end of the year for confidence purposes and allow the Knicks to suck eggs to get another hi lotto pick to play with him for 12 years? I mean where is his brother in all this?
The Knicks can pay him the most and he can’t make more $$$ anywhere else…. WTF…. this isn’t rocket science!
Robert Williams is single handedly preventing UNC from scoring in the paint
As kevin notes, sadly KP does seem to be a “ruff rydah,” one of those guys who seems to think it makes him look weak not to rush back as soon as he can. I agree, it’s moronic, but KP and his brother have never seemed to be the brightest guys in the world.
Yeah, we will 100% rush Porzingis back, his health will be compromised and of course he’ll get a max right away after.
The scripts on the Knicks’ case always write themselves, it seems like an inevitability. He’ll either come back and suck which is already pretty disastrous in itself or come back decently just in time to bring us to our rightful 8-12 lottery range.
He and Janis for sure see him recovering fast as a way to ensure the max deal, which they have already said it’s their priority pretty much. Soft players that take their time recovering from career altering injuries are weak and don’t have the “winning mindset” necessary.
The Raptors today shot 56.8% and were 15-30 from downtown…..and lost by 7 to OKC.
I wonder if that’s some sort of record.
They kinda got pretty screwed by the refs too, so there’s that.
Revising myself from the other day, Knicks should definitely hire UMBC’s coach.
Mostly positionless modern offense, all threes and at the rim, fast with an emphasis on transition. Man to man defense with an emphasis on help and disrupting passing lanes. If they had good players they’d dominate the NCAA. It’s exactly the kind of play the works well in the NBA.
And he’s doing it with kids that mostly suck. If their open looks were falling tonight they’d have destroyed KSU.
The problem with being conservative with KP’s rehab, as we should be for a million reasons that I don’t even have to bother mentioning, is KP holds all the cards the second he’s medically cleared.
It’s obviously up to the Knicks’ when he plays, but the Kawhi situation is probably going to terrify them into kowtowing to KP. I definitely lean heavily towards telling him to stuff it and daring him to play for the QO, but it’s an admittedly tricky situation that seems primed for some Knicksiness when it comes around.
Also as Silky mentioned, Robert Williams turned UNC into a bunch of chuckers today. That dude is going to make some teams who pass on him upset–hopefully we’re not one of them.
Last thing: not sure if this has been posted (it’s a few days old) but this tweet is probably the highlight of our season: https://twitter.com/NBA_Math/status/973219715463176192
Nba math is fun. Porn for statheads. Anyone who posts a list of the five greatest shooting guards by BPM that includes Manu and not Kobe is my kind of thing.
The two best PG pick and roll defenders are a 19 year old kid who is 6’5″ with arms like a kraken and a 33 year old who is probably 5’11”