[NYTimes] Pelicans 119, Warriors 100: Pelicans Take Down the Warriors in Game 3 (Saturday, May 05, 2018 4:30:40 AM)
Anthony Davis had 33 points, 18 rebounds and four steals for New Orleans.
[NYTimes] On Pro Basketball: For the Celtics, a Matchup Between Terry Rozier and Ben Simmons Is Paying Off (Friday, May 04, 2018 11:53:45 PM)
Rozier, who replaced the injured Kyrie Irving, has outplayed 76ers guard Ben Simmons as Boston built a 2-0 lead in a conference semifinal series.
[NYTimes] Sports of The Times: David Fizdale Is Totally Going to Save the Knicks (Friday, May 04, 2018 10:02:46 PM)
Another supposed savior is coming to Madison Square Garden, where James L. Dolan’s magic touch surely awaits.
[NYTimes] David Fizdale Is Said to Be Knicks’ Next Coach (Friday, May 04, 2018 11:15:13 AM)
Fizdale, 43, replaces Jeff Hornacek and takes over a team that has just one playoff series win in the last 18 years.
[NYDN] David Fizdale can get first Knicks win by visiting Porzingis (Friday, May 04, 2018 9:57:27 PM)
David Fizdale’s first victory as Knicks head coach will come very soon.
[NYDN] The inside story of what went wrong for David Fizdale in Memphis (Friday, May 04, 2018 9:56:39 PM)
Fizdale is a rare case of a coach emerging from a firing as the clear victor, with both his money and reputation in place.
[NYDN] How new Knick David Fizdale is the Kaepernick of coaches (Friday, May 04, 2018 11:59:45 AM)
In September 2017, David Fizdale, then-coach of the Memphis Grizzlies was asked what would happen if his team wanted to take a knee.
(Friday, May 04, 2018 8:19:15 PM)
After his playing days as an All-West Coast Conference guard, David Fizdale returned to his University of San Diego alma mater as a graduate assistant on then-coach Brad Holland’s staff. He quickly made an impression. “The first day of coaching, Dave walked in, stopped practiced and started telling guys what to do. Brad and I…
(Friday, May 04, 2018 3:31:07 PM)
Syracuse fans won’t like this. David Fizdale is expected to bring an NCAA champion along with him to New York: Keith Smart, who is likely to join the new Knicks head coach as an assistant coach, according to an NBA source. Smart hit the most famous game-winning shot in NCAA Tournament history for Indiana 31…
(Friday, May 04, 2018 11:43:04 AM)
Newly-minted New York Knicks coach David Fizdale wins big off the court with his stunning marketing executive wife Natasha Sen-Fizdale.
(Friday, May 04, 2018 9:56:20 AM)
David Fizdale’s rant precedes him. Before he’d even officially been announced as the Knicks’ new coach, some of his future players — and tons of his prospective fans — chimed in on social media, having fun with the most recognizable moment of his young coaching career. Back as a rookie head coach two seasons ago in…
(Friday, May 04, 2018 8:52:57 PM)
Knicks new head coach David Fizdale is wasting no time putting together his coaching staff in New York.
(Friday, May 04, 2018 9:49:00 AM)
New Knicks head coach David Fizdale will reportedly fly to Latvia soon to meet in person with New York’s All-Star forward Kristaps Porzingis.
(Friday, May 04, 2018 9:02:08 PM)
Courtney Lee didn’t play under David Fizdale in Memphis, but he looks forward to getting that chance with the Knicks.
(Friday, May 04, 2018 7:18:00 AM)
Eleven is the best age to be a sports fan — old enough to appreciate what is going on, young enough not to be distracted by cynicism or hormones.
66 replies on “Knicks Morning News (2018.05.05)”
I have to say, I’m proud that Fizdale is the “Kaepernick of Coaches”, although I’m still not sold he was the best choice.
I realized Fizdale’s glasses are basically the same as the pair I just bought, so therefore I’m 100% on board with the hire.
More seriously, I listened to Begley on Woj’s podcast yesterday, and there was a lot to sound optimistic about. The only odd thing was how briefly they discussed Bud. But even Woj made it sound like Fizdale was THE top coaching candidate around the league this offseason, even in a market that included Bud, which is… not what I would have expected.
I am so not into Mikal Bridges. He looks like a tweener extraordinaire to me. That analysis posted on the previous thread is spot on.
But hey, I was dead wrong on Ntilikina, so there’s that…
Not sure where all this “tweener” stuff comes from.
Kawhi Leonard 6’7″ 230 lbs. 7’0″ wingspan
Mikal Bridges 6’7″ 210 lbs. 7’0″ wingspan
Not saying Bridges will be as good as Kawhi, but what exactly are the ideal physical requirements for a small forward in the NBA?
And no one is right or wrong about Ntilikina, he’s played one year in the NBA and is 19 years old.
My concerns about Bridges are pretty well explained in the piece posted yesterday by nicos:
https://www.thestepien.com/2018/05/02/mikal-bridges-really-top-10-talent/
“In case you haven’t tinkered around with it, Sean Derenthal’s Player Distribution Tool is an incredible resource. The visualization of different players’ ranges of outcomes is incredibly intuitive and allows for quick comparisons between prospects. For a player widely regarded as a top-10 and even top-8 player in the draft, Bridges performs fairly poorly in the tool. Compared to the other players at the top of the class, he has the greatest chance of being a non-NBA-level player as well as by far the lowest chance of becoming a top-25 or top-10 player….When stacked up against other potential first round wings, Bridges again performs poorly. He has the highest chance of being a non-NBA-level player out of the group and the second-lowest chance of becoming a top-25 or top-10 player. One big reason for his low ranking is his age; he is the oldest player both in the group of prospects at the top of the draft as well as in the group of first-round-caliber wings. Bridges’ age should not be taken lightly; the group of fourth-year players who have gone in the top-10 in the last 10 drafts is not exactly inspiring….Once considering the weaknesses in his profile in relation to his strengths, it makes sense that Bridges performs poorly in the player distribution tool compared to other top prospects. Despite his age, he is on the thinner side which limits him defensively. His handle is seriously underdeveloped, which when paired with his below-average passing vision, makes him extremely limited outside of shooting the ball on offense. He shows flashes of high-level lateral movement, but his quick-twitch ability isn’t elite and he is beat off the dribble surprisingly often for a player of his reputation.”
Speaking of The Stepien website, I like the way they try to classify players beyond traditional positions by creating “archetypes.” I wonder if a study has been done as to which combination of archetypical players form the most efficient combination, or what archetype offers the most value in a given situation. Obviously this could have major draft/trade/FA implications for a team like the Knicks in the next couple of years. For example, if Mikal Bridges and, say Zhaire Smith.
https://www.thestepien.com/archetypes/#two-way%20swiss%20army-knives
The FO started that race was party of the decision, even if indirectly, by saying that it would be meaningful if all the leadership of the team was black. (They omitted the douchbag owner from ‘leadership.’) So it’s a fair question to discuss. But it’s also fair, in a league and culture predominantly African-American, to see that as important, as it probably will help them with certain free agents. I have no problem with it.
I also have no problem with Fiz as the choice, but I don’t think it’s honest to say he was the first among equals, as both Budz and Blatt have achieved more. Both of those have their issues (Budz with control, presumably, Blatt with LeBron and a lack of respect), but they have accomplished more in their careers.
Again, I’m good with it – and if Budz weren’t available, would even say happy. But at the head coaching level in the NBA, Fiz has something to prove.
Which is probably another issue worthy of discussion.
In other news, reading the analysis of Mikal does concern me. But I’m not going to think too hard about the draft until we find out what slot we have. Still hoping for some magic and moving into the top three…
Z-Man
Instead of telling us why you hate everyone that might be available to us, why don’t you tell us who you would draft?
Hiring Obama’s BIL could potentially pay off when its time to sign major free agents. With Phil we drew disdain from the NBPA and players alike and now we’re looking like one of the more player friendly F.O’s in the league
https://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/249781/David-Fizdale-To-Marc-Gasol-You-Want-Popovich-I-Want-LeBron
Draymond is a monster C, James Harden is an ideal PG, Kevin Durant often plays PF, Ben Simmons is a 6’11” PG, Steph was said to be a SG when he entered the league… there’s no such thing as a tweener in this league. Just players who are good and players who aren’t.
Here’s my feeling, assuming that we draft either 9 or 10: Ayton, Doncic, Bagley, and Jackson will surely be gone, so no reason to even think about them. Then the next group is Carter, Young, Porter and Bamba. I think that if any of them drop, you almost have to take him, and in the highly unlikely case that more than one of them drop, I’d probably rank: Bamba, Carter, Porter, Young. But most likely, we’re deciding between Mikal, Miles, Shai, Knox, Sexton, Zhaire and Lonnie. Of those guys, I personally think Miles and Mikal (tweeners) and Shai (broken shot) should all be passed over. Sexton and Walker are both flawed, but worth a real serious look as upside picks. I’d like more info on Shai, Kevin Knox and Zhaire Smith as trade-down possibilities. I don’t like Robinson at all.
So, assuming that none of the “consensus” top-8 fall to us (and I’d take any of them if they did unless more info about Porter’s serious injury concerns were the reason he drops), I’m leaning towards Sexton as my top selection, but without much conviction.
Bamba is pretty freaky. My concern with him is that he goes all Hassan Whiteside in the playoffs and is somewhat redundant with KP. But it’s hard to ignore his physical gifts.
@10
Because then he makes a statement which probably will be wrong, which takes away from his biggest win ever on the Smith Jr. / Mitchell / Ntilikina debate!
Jokes aside, I still like Carter Jr. and Mikal Bridges as the most realistic choices, there’s just not much you can expect from the 9th pick that’s much more promising than what they bring to the table. I can see those issues for Bridges being major if he was considered for a top 3 pick or something, but any player outside of the absolute best prospects has obvious flaws and that’s precisely why they are in our possible range.
@15
I’m with you.
I like Carter best among the players that could drop to us.
I see Mikal as a solid 3 and D player. Maybe he doesn’t have huge upside as a scorer, but at 9 I’d be happy even if he doesn’t develop into a star.
I see Miles having more potential as a scorer and rebounder than Mikal, but less potential on defense.
On the one hand a lineup that contains KP, Mikal, and Frank could be awesome defensively, but we really could use the rebounding and scoring of Miles.
THCJ, really?? Is it that simple?? Here’s what we’d have for dialogue on the idiotic terms you propose:
“Player A is not a good player.”
“I think player A is good.”
“No, Player A is not good”
“Please explain why you think that he’s not good”
“Because there are players who are either good players or they aren’t. He isn’t.”
“But why isn’t he?”
Because he isn’t good like Harden, or Green, or Curry or Simmons. They are all good players. Player A doesn’t play as good as any of them.”
A tweener is a guy that’s too small to play the position he’s best suited for at the highest level, even though he was dominant at a lower level. It used a s a reason for concluding that a player isn’t good. Pretty simple concept for most.
i think i’d rather trade down for multiple picks if at all possible. i like sga and knox or maybe miles bridges would take a flyer on zhaire but not at 9
In case you missed it, Berman’s claim that the Knicks intend to puruse LeBron is making the rounds:
https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2774270-lebron-james-rumors-knicks-interested-in-pursuing-star-after-david-fizdale-hire
If this is true, then Blatt never had a chance. But surely it isn’t true. Right??
Who wants an old, washed up LeBron on a max deal?
@20
James Dolan would, in a heartbeat. Maybe Mills.
I’d be beyond astounded if LeBron were interested in coming here. But, if the FO really is planning to try, then what veteran(s) will their Plan B involve?
I mean, I probably could be talked into giving LeBron a max for his 34-37 years, considering how durable he is and that he wouldn’t accept coming to the Knicks unless other talent would be joining with him.
It could be a disaster but at least it’s a potential disaster involving LeBron James, not some Melo level quasi-star.
Certainly true on offense but if a big chunk of your perceived value is the ability to guard multiple positions you should, you know, actually be able to guard multiple positions. I’ve seen Bridges listed at 210 but also at 190 which looks a lot closer to reality. If he can shoot 38%+ from three, attack closeouts, and lock up twos and be at least decent guarding ones and threes he’ll still be a good pick at 9. But if he gets roasted by 4s and bigger threes and can’t stay in front of quick guards as that article implies that definitely lowers his value.
Sounds like Derenthal’s model really dings Bridges for being old. Something I often do too when assessing who I want in the draft. In fact that was my deciding factor when putting Frank over Mitchell last year. I wonder what Derenthal’s tool predicted for Mitchell.
Is Mitchell a tweener?
The knicks have a better chance of getting #1 pick than signing LeBron.
I got a good feeling about Fiz, and that good things are going to happen for the knicks. But if you’re hoping for the knicks to tank, Fiz is not your guy. He’s as hungry as a rookie picked lower than expected.
I think now as a good time as any to say that Donovan Mitchell is Not A Point Guard
Steph Curry, too small to guard SGs and therefore a fringe NBA tweener.
Lol Z-man you will literally never stop having the wrongest opinions about basketball hahahaha
Please Stop with the asinine LeBron to the Knicks rumors. This Is Not Happening……Ever.
Fool me once shame on you. Fool me twice or three times, shame on me…
The irony is that Z-Man’s favorite player Donovan Mitchell is 6’3″ with shoes and is shorter than pretty much every single 2 guard in the league.
@29
If you are an exceptional NBA player then you define your own role and being a tweener or not a prototypical PG, or an undersized big man doesn’t matter. But if you are not exceptional then being undersized or a tweener or not prototypical can be a huge drawback. Exceptional talent can be outliers and blaze their own way. Average talent cannot.
If a person tells you who they are, believe them.
This front office has, more or less, described themselves and called what they’re going to do. And then did do, oftentimes succeeding in the process. If they’re planning on taking the best player available, which I think they’ve said already, their track record suggests that that’s what I expect them to do.
First thing’s first, they need to know where they’ll be drafting. After that, I suspect that the decision will, more or less, make itself.
If the team wins a few more games than I’d like because he’s made tangible improvements to the games of Frank, Burke, TH2 or some of our other youngsters, then I can accept that. It basically depends on what the front office gives him to work with. If Perry signs new equivalents of Beasley and Jack (useful veterans with no long-term role on the team, signed because this season’s goal was to get KP a taste of the playoffs), then they’re not in on the tank, either. If they fill out the margins of the roster with young lottery tickets, then there’s only so much Fiz can do, and whatever happens, happens.
What an odd moment between CP3 and Harden.
https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2774452-james-harden-slaps-chris-pauls-hand-away-in-heated-exchange-on-rockets-bench
I don’t like them, but I really do respect the heck out of what the Celtics are doing. Lebron must love it, though, as the Sixers match up much better against the Cavs than the Celtics do.
Like Mills’ letter to the fans about the foundation of the team being KP, Frank and Willy?
I don’t even have a problem with Mills not following what he said in that letter, but come on, there has been nothing special, communication-wise, from this front office so far. They’ve been pretty par for the course.
Which is a step up from Phil’s wack-a-doodleness, true, but nothing to wax poetic about.
Terry Rozier stepping up and being every bit as good as Kyrie has been very impressive.
little late to the party… but i liked the fizdale hiring… not crazy with it but it was a solid choice….
the good part about it is that im sure he will have the stones to tell kp what he needs to hear and not necessarily what he wants to hear…. they might feud but i think ultimately they can get along if they find some success together…. if not… it wasn’t gonna work anyway….
i’m a bit dubious about his developmental chops…. it’s basically telling bosh and gasol to shoot more 3s… which to me sounds very whimsical…. kp is in a different developmental stage than either of them since they were on the decline… kp should try to get to the line and pass more….
Turns out I was way wrong about this series.
I thought the Cavs were in trouble too.
Oof
Brian,
From last July onward, the team’s moves and statements have been signature Perry.
So, from my perspective, it’s Perry that’s doing the key work, with Mills more or less signing off (with some occasional input). Mills is really just a businessman who is probably more interested in those aspects of the Knicks entertainment product.
Thus, I don’t really worry about Mills making basketball decisions because Perry has shown himself capable hadling those. I worry even less about Dolan, who truly just wants to own (but not manage) a successful basketball team.
Not sure I have ever seen an NBA team make as many dumb mistakes as the sixers have at the end of this playoff game.
So like I said:
There are good players and not good players. No one calls a great player (e.g. Curry) a “tweener” after they show their greatness. Likewise no one calls a Marvin Williams a prototypical PF after he shows he’s mediocre. But they did before the draft.
The fact that there are still people trying to argue for archetypal body shapes in a league where Steph Curry has the single greatest offensive season of the 3PT era and “average athlete” James Harden ain’t far behind him — total silliness.
There is no such thing as a tweener.
What a fucking meltdown by the Sixers.
DRed, will Brad Stevens be voted into the Basketball HOF this summer or next summer?? 🙂
Man, how did the sixers lost this game?
Brad Stevens still overrated.
I mean what the fuck was Simmons doing down the stretch?
Heard a bunch of takes this week about how the Sixers shouldn’t sign Lebron if he wants to come to Philly and they should try to get Paul George instead and that is one insanely bad basketball opinion.
I also think Mikal is on the old side. I would prefer Carter and maybe Zhaire Smith, even though he’s not really a need. If we trade down and get a lower pick I like Jontay Porter too. I think you still have to take Trae or Bamba if they slip to 9, though.
Another ridiculously dumb statement. But whatever.
For every Steph Curry, there are dozens of Jimmer Fredettes.
Calling someone a tweener is a description of a particular way that person failed or will fail to make it in the NBA. He can’t guard the position he has the skills to play offensively, or his offensive skill set can only be successful against players who aren’t common in the NBA. For example he’s good at posting up, but only against smaller players. So Draymond isn’t a tweener because his skills work against big centers. But that doesn’t mean tweeners don’t exist.
That might have been some of the dumbest down the stretch basketball ever played. Philly has gotten totally schooled by Boston, they deserve to be be down 3-0.
Coming from a guy who comes here every week to tell us that “jumping really high” is a very valuable basketball skill, I’m a little bit surprise to hear that we should completely disregard physical aspects of their games to draft a player.
There is a reason why almost all basketball players are really tall.
I remember half this board saying that anyone could do what Chandler did because “it’s just catching lobs!” Enjoy the “common-sense” circle jerk.
There’s not much more you can say about Lebron James
You certainly didn’t hear that from me.
So… do you agree that we should take athleticism in consideration and that a tweener could be a real disadvantage?
It’s a simples question. No need for another passive-agressive answer.
What did Toronto ever do to Lebron to deserve this?
Lebron now has made as many buzzer beaters in the playoffs as Kobe and MJ combined.
Lebron, who is playing his 15th season and just led the NBA in minutes played, is averaging 35-9-9 on a team of bums in the playoffs and people think he’s not the best basketball player of all time.
Jordan still is the best basketball player of all time.
These playoffs suck the big one. This second round is completely devoid of drama, and Cleveland vs Boston can kiss my ass. All the young upstart teams took giant shits in the bed. Golden State vs Houston is the only compelling matchup left.
I have the idea of “tweener” the other way round. A tweener is someone (usually a SF) too slow to defend the position he is supposed to defend, and therefore slids to another one (to PF) where he is undersized and also a poor defender (But perhaps he’s got a mismatch on the other end). All in all, tweeners are usually poor defenders. In the case PG-SG, you usually have an undersized SG sliding to PG, but then I hear more the words “combo guard”.
I think it could be used either way. My main point was that since tweener is a description of how certain players don’t find a positional fit in the NBA, it applies to players who don’t make or is a prediction of why they won’t make it in the NBA. Thus it’s a useful term, but not one that applies to successful players. Posters above are saying tweeners don’t exist. But they do, they’re just generally not successful.