Knicks Morning News (2018.10.20)

  • [YahooSports] Report: Knicks, Lakers, Clippers will pursue Kevin Durant in free agency
    (Friday, October 19, 2018 3:00:17 PM)

    The Warriors are reportedly bracing for Kevin Durant to leave in free agency next summer. The New York Knicks, Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers will take a run at the back-to-back Finals MVP, league sources told Yahoo Sports. Durant already plays for the best team in a desirable location.

  • [NYDN] Kevin Knox shows promise with improved performance as Knicks fall to Nets on Caris LeVert’s winner
    (Friday, October 19, 2018 8:25:00 PM)

    It came down to one former Wolverine against another. And Caris LeVert beat Tim Hardaway Jr.

    LeVert polished off his exquisite 28-point night by driving past his former Michigan teammate in isolation and finishing an off-balance lay-in with one second remaining. It gave the Nets a dramatic 107-105…

  • [NYDN] Diplomatic Sam Darnold is not taking sides in the Knicks/Nets ‘rivalry’
    (Friday, October 19, 2018 6:55:00 PM)

    Sam Darnold is being very diplomatic.

    The Jets rookie QB was at Barclays Center Friday night to watch the Knicks battle the Nets in an eventual thrilling 107-105 victory for Brooklyn, but he was not taking any sides in the so-called rivalry.

    “Coming here to support the Knicks AND the Nets,” Darnold…

  • [NYDN] Courtney Lee remains on the bench with neck spasms as Knicks battle Nets in Brooklyn
    (Friday, October 19, 2018 4:30:00 PM)

    Courtney Lee still hasn’t played.

    The oldest player on the Knicks roster, who has two years and $25 million remaining on his contract, suffered further neck spasms and was inactive for Friday’s game against the Nets, according to coach David Fizdale.

    The Knicks have been trying to trade Lee since…

  • [NYPost] Knox drawing comparisons with emerging Celtics star he’s set to face
    (Saturday, October 20, 2018 1:30:11 AM)

    Even before Kevin Knox fell to the Knicks and became the ninth overall pick, his coach at Kentucky, John Calipari, predicted several teams ultimately would regret passing on the youngest player in this year’s NBA draft. Calipari easily envisioned a path to stardom for Knox because he believed he had just seen it, following the…

  • [NYPost] Enes Kanter’s big game hurt by questionable flagrant foul
    (Saturday, October 20, 2018 1:02:18 AM)

    Enes Kanter almost always has his way with the Nets’ smaller front line — he’s a menacing bull at Barclays Center. When the Knicks needed three points to tie Friday night, Kanter got them, barreling to the bucket after a pocket pass from Trey Burke off a pick-and-roll with 15.9 seconds left. Kanter scored the…

  • [NYPost] D’Angelo Russell: We’re ‘supposed to beat’ the Knicks
    (Saturday, October 20, 2018 12:24:54 AM)

    Spencer Dinwiddie, who boasted the Nets are better than the Knicks, nearly saw his mouth write a check his behind couldn’t cash. But after the Nets pulled the game out at the end, D’Angelo Russell called it a game his team is expected to win. “Get the wins you’re supposed to win,” Russell said after…

  • [NYPost] Knicks nipped by Nets thanks to LeVert’s bucket in final second
    (Friday, October 19, 2018 6:25:24 PM)

    Spencer Dinwiddie may have been right when he boasted during the preseason that the Nets are “better than Knicks.” If so, it’s not by much. After losing all four of last season’s games against the Knicks, the Nets needed every second of the first of four meetings to prove Dinwiddie’s point, with Caris LeVert’s driving…

  • [NYPost] When the rivalry will really get serious for the Knicks and Nets
    (Friday, October 19, 2018 4:20:17 PM)

    For a dead rivalry, this was compelling theater. In a thrilling second half, the Knicks rallied from an 11-point hole with a third-quarter blitzkrieg. They exchanged leads with the Nets in the final minutes, as Knicks rookie Kevin Knox snapped out of his funk, grabbing clutch offensive rebounds and sinking big buckets down the stretch….

  • [NYTimes] On Pro Basketball: What Will It Take for the Knicks and Nets to Have a Real Rivalry?
    (Saturday, October 20, 2018 2:59:32 AM)

    “They have to be good at the same time. Being bad at the same time doesn’t help,” Jeff Van Gundy, the former Knicks coach, said before the Nets won a thriller between the New York teams on Friday.

  • [NYTimes] On Pro Basketball: LeBron James Has Plenty of Patience. For Now.
    (Saturday, October 20, 2018 4:52:08 AM)

    In his first game with the Lakers, James worked hard to communicate with his teammates and build the chemistry they’ll need in the unforgiving Western Conference.

  • [NYTimes] Lakers Lose to Trail Blazers in LeBron James’s Debut
    (Friday, October 19, 2018 11:19:21 AM)

    In a 128-119 loss, James made some thrilling dunks but it was not enough against a strong finish by Portland.

  • [SNY Knicks] Knicks’ Enes Kanter ‘seriously considering’ a WWE career after basketball
    (Saturday, October 20, 2018 1:10:33 AM)

    Enes Kanter is a man of many interests, but one of his deepest passions lies in professional wrestling

  • [SNY Knicks] Knicks’ youngsters provide bright spots in Friday’s loss to Nets
    (Friday, October 19, 2018 11:20:40 PM)

    It was a disappointing last few seconds for the Knicks, and a game which saw some bad defensive mistakes, but New York’s two neophytes had good showings which is really all that matters.

  • [SNY Knicks] Shaq says Knicks will never win another championship
    (Friday, October 19, 2018 9:03:50 PM)

    Shaquille O’Neal doesn’t think the Knicks are going anywhere anytime soon — or ever.

  • [SNY Knicks] Knicks’ Enes Kanter eyes future as WWE star: ‘I’m actually talking to the people over there now’
    (Friday, October 19, 2018 2:48:14 PM)

    Enes Kanter spoke about his obsession for professional wrestling in a recent profile with Vice, in which he revealed he is already talking to WWE executives about becoming a wrestler.

    • 239 replies on “Knicks Morning News (2018.10.20)”

    Hardaway has had a decent start so far, but hasn’t quite blown up the way I expect him soon enough. He’s a guy that needs steady volume to really hit his stride.

    For me, the real question is whether his body can handle that kind of volume. Thinking back, I’m grateful the team was especially careful with last season’s stress condition, which is the sort of thing that pops up when an athlete quickly takes on larger dose of volume and intensity. In resting Hardaway, he got the dose of rest his body needed (at the time) to properly recover from that dose of V and I.

    I like Ron’s peskiness on defense but you have to wonder why he’s getting minutes instead of Dotson. Dotson isn’t as good defensively as Ron but he at least has to be guarded on the offensive end.

    Anyway – nearly a perfect game yesterday. Young guys looked good, we increased the trade value of Kanter (who I am really enjoying so far by the way), was a really exciting game, and it helps the eventual/inevitable tank.

    Loved Frank’s aggressiveness in the 3rd quarter. He needs more time as the primary ball handler if only for development.

    Good point by Clarence Gaines on Twitter- Frank has to be guarding the ball in end of game situations. He hedged it as Fizdale trying to show confidence in Timmy which I guess might be true but Frank is only a second year player- doesn’t he need a the coach’s confidence too?

    Meanwhile we all hate Timmy’s contract but one could make the argument that he’s 90% the player Derozan is at 2/3 the salary and younger to boot- a player that brought Kawhi back in trade.

    Everytime Baker shoots a 3 I want it to go in so bad that I think we might be cousins of something. I don’t think his minutes are going to go to Dotson……I think they are going to go to Mudiay. At least we can be semi-confident that if he does stupid shit he’s going to get pulled. I think Baker is in there because he’s handling the ball, and I don’t think that’s Dotson’s thing, although I’m not nearly as high on Dotson as a lot of you guys are

    I went to see the Knicks lose in Denver last year, and the think that impressed me was watching an injured Ron Baker on the bench…..he was everywhere, first guy up at a timeout to high five, yelling, talking, being a great teammate. Sadly, I think we might be better off if he goes back to just doing that.

    I think when Lee comes back Baker’s minutes will be a lot more limited. Since Fizdale has been playing Frank a lot of minutes, and there’s also Burke and Trier for ball handling, my guess is that Lee will end up taking most of the minutes Baker is playing now.

    I hope Mudiay stays out of the rotation and that happens.

    Stratomatic "Porzingis, Ntilikina, Knox & Robinson are going to lead us to the promised landsays:

    I think Fizdale uses Baker over Dotson because Baker can be a kind of secondary play maker/PG in some lineups. Dotson is more of a SG/SF that has lost his minutes to Trier. We still have Lee as part of that glut.

    The one thing I love about Knox is that he has no fear of failure. Of course the problem is he doesn’t have the skills to match his heart yet. lol However, if his skills develop a lot, his confidence is going to help him reach stardom. There’s a long way to go.

    Frank needs a little more of whatever Knox has. He’s still too cautious and risk averse. He’s afraid to make a mistake to the point where it impacts his results negatively. He has more skill than confidence. He’ll probably grow out of that in time, but he’s still more afraid in his second year than Knox is in his second game.

    Frank is only a second year player- doesn’t he need a the coach’s confidence too?

    I’m pretty sure Frank has as many seasons of pro basketball as Timmy does. In both these games he’s seemed like a steady veteran presence. I get why someone would write him off – it’s only his second season but it feels like it’s his 6th.

    Hardaway last night 25 shots 0 assists, Knox 14 shots 0 assists, Trea 8 shots 0 assists. 47 shots and 0 assists, nearly impossible. That has to stop.

    Frank is only a second year player- doesn’t he need a the coach’s confidence too?

    If there is one think Fiz has shown confidence in Frank for is defense. He’s made the kid his main defensive chess piece in both games.

    @12
    Holy crap, that’s the stat of the year so far!

    There are times when Knox gets the ball that I can IMMEDIATELY tell that he’s going to drive to the hoop, no matter what. And if I can tell that, surely the whole NBA can. He just puts his head down and goes, and he will NOT pass once he gets started.

    Until he improves that, we’re going to watch him going one on two or three to the hoop over and over again. Hopefully he outgrows that.

    @14

    It’s the reason why Frank really does need to start, he’s the only person on this team who can play team defense and offense.

    The main thing for me is that Fizdale’s distribution of minutes has been stellar. Hardaway and Kanter around 35, Ntilikina, Burke and Knox around 30, then Thomas, Trier, Baker, and Hezonja and Vonleh in spots. That’s ideal in my point of view, that’s what I wanted to see coming into this season.

    There will be plenty of opportunities for these young guys to learn and prove themselves, and the veterans that have some value are performing well, specially Kanter who seems to be in the best form of his career.

    Just having that after 2 years of inexplicable Hornacek decisions on a daily basis is a source of happiness for me, win or lose. The team clearly lacks talent but it does have a direction, and that for me is the most important thing this season.

    Yeah, I like the rotation and minutes so far. I wonder when or if we’ll see the supposed “one second” offense, though? Lots of iso so far.

    I still wonder about Hornacek. In year one, he probably had to do Phil’s bidding a lot, so may have really not had a free reign to do as he wished.

    Last year, he probably felt pressure (perhaps externally, or perhaps just in himself) to “win” to keep his job. Thus all the minutes to vets like Jack and Beasley.

    I understand why Frank wasn’t on LeVert last night, and I agree with it. If Timmy wants to lead the team in FGA then he better show up on defense. He didn’t last night and now he knows for sure his defense will be a problem if he doesn’t work on it. Tim Hardaway Jr’s defense doesn’t show up in the box score but on the film? He doesn’t fight over screens, he switches stances too often so defenders blow by him, and he doesn’t close out hard enough or with proper technique. He needs to be better. Caris LeVert looked like an All-NBA first team wing last night, and I know for certain that wouldn’t have been the case against Frank.

    It’s also nice to see that the guy behind the Frank pick believes in him so vehemently. Frank was drafted to be a disruptive presence for opposing offenses, and his game is developing nicely. He’s really the most important player of the season, and may be the only untradable player on our active roster.

    I still find it baffling that no playoff contender feels like they could use Enes Kanter. We’re all aware of his severe limitations but there are some truly garbage players getting rotation minutes for teams trying to compete. I’d love to hear Ernie Grunfeld explain why the Wizards are better off with Jason Smith.

    Many contenders would be better off with Kanter. But at that salary? And giving back expiring salaries of equal value? Feels like it’ll be a tough match.

    @19

    It’s really unreal for me too. A team like Milwaukee for example, their center rotation is Brook Lopez and John Henson, and their biggest issue is rebounding. Tell me Kanter wouldn’t be a killer player for that team. He would be a great fit with Antetokounmpo slicing defenses, picking offensive rebounds and scoring efficiently. They also easily have the contracts to match Kanter’s deal and all their picks going forward after the conditional this year. The Knicks might not want to take back Delly, Henson or Snell, but it makes so much sense roster wise it’s weird that it hasn’t been rumored.

    Milwaukee is an awkward trade partner for Kanter because Dellavadova, Henson and Snell all have multiple years remaining on their contracts while Kanter is an expiring. I would think that Kanter’s cap space would have more value to the Knicks than any asset Milwaukee would give in return for a one-year rental of Kanter.

    Yes, just like the Wizards they don’t have much the Knicks would want. It’s more that we haven’t even heard any rumours about teams being interested, which is weird considering how much Kanter would be an improvement for those teams.

    No home stream for LP?

    And NBA.com has a big headline: On ESPN: Raptors Host Celtics

    Someone’s asleep at the wheel again…

    We’re going to deeply great having no game thread for Mitch’s first career multi-minute game

    Bottom line. It’s too simple. We don’t shoot well enough and we don’t defend well enough to make up for the bad shooting. Last nights result against a shit heap Nets team solidified it. And now Boston will thoroughly squash us. I’d love to eat my words.

    There’s nothing I hate more than watching Boston win, so I probably won’t watch much of the game. The start has been annoying enough.

    I hope this garbage overrated team gets crushed by the Raptors so much.

    Yeah, I’m on LP and am only seeing the Boston stream. I might set myself on fire listening to these announcers.

    Vonleh grabbed that rebound about three feet behind his head.
    They are a very athletic group.

    They played well enough to win last night but they need to learn how to win the close ones.

    I think someone needs to talk to these guys and tell them they’re allowed to pass the ball.

    @56

    I think so, he wasn’t able to take his FTs, but I’m not sure because I’m watching the terrible Boston stream

    Damn, that’s a bad fall Trier just took. Don’t know how he’s still in the game.

    Knox looked in pain but not in agony. Hopefully they play it safe with him. Long season.

    Damn, that’s a bad fall Trier just took. Don’t know how he’s still in the game.

    PEDs.

    I can’t stand watching THJr play. Anyone know why Ntilikina hasn’t come back in?

    Trier and Dotson with the super efficient scoring off the bench, keeping us in this ish

    Dotson=clutch.

    I’d be fine with giving all of Timmy’s minutes it’s to Dotson and trier

    Burke is playing well too – 8 points, 3 assists, and a steal is nothing to sniff at in 12 minutes of play. I just wish he was a little more aggressive taking 3’s

    @87
    Which one, the girl or the effeminate guy who joined her for the last segment?
    🙂

    The Celtics announcers aren’t really bad homers. They have been gracious to the Knicks. I keep expecting the analyst to say, “Listen, McMahon…”

    Really good job by Trier and Dotson keeping us in this game. If THJr didn’t think he was Kobe we’d actually probably be winning.

    Knox spraining an ankle sucks but it should mean a look at Dotson. We’re very deep with mediocre neophytes.

    @93

    Agree that the Celtics announcers aren’t terrible. Some teams’ broadcasts are unbearable for their homerism. These guys only irrationally argued one call, the Tatum travel vs Ron.

    Say what you will about Kanter, there’s something satisfying about watching a skilled post player go to work

    Dotson getting some run and delivering. Trier as well.
    Lance is useless.

    Surprisingly competitive game

    Burke is so selfish. He had a man on the wing ready to receive the pass on transition. He wanted to hog the ball for himself.

    I agree with comments about Kanter.
    I really like his game, energy and attitude.
    And there really are few people who can guard him on the block.

    Burke and kanter have chemistry, Clyde nailed it.

    Thjr and lance have bad chemistry , they need to go!

    @114

    THJr and Lance are just bad. I wish THJr would hit some shots so we could trick some team into taking him off our hands.

    Stratomatic "Porzingis, Ntilikina, Knox & Robinson are going to lead us to the promised landsays:

    I’m going to have a hard time watching Knicks games until Hardaway gets traded. We need a new stat. Dumb plays per 36. He has to be among the lowest basketball IQ players in the NBA. Please promote Trier and bury JR on the bench.

    There is a negative tone tonight for what has been a solid Knicks game.
    They’re playing the best in the east and holding their own.

    Even though the score is close it feels like we have no chance to actually win.

    Vonleh is going to be a fan favorite. There’s a lot to like about his game from what I can see.

    Frank’s gotta nail those open 3s. Its absolutely imperative for his evolution into a competent player.

    Trier has been very impressive but come on man, 1 assist in 55 minutes is pathetic. Maybe we should tell him he’s going to get a contract but he has to pass at least sometimes. He did it in college.

    Vonleh is playing way more under control and not doing stupid shit. It seems like Fiz may have made a difference with him already.

    Kanter scoring as a result of vonleh’s interior passing is not something I was expecting

    Stevens took Smart out of the game and THJ cooked the Celtics for two straight 3s.

    I just keep praying some NBA executive other than Mills is stupid enough to believe THJ is a poor man’s James Harden.

    Mostly what I see is that Fiz is a good coach. He’s definitely getting the most out of what he has.

    @135 he didn’t pass much in college either. But I agree, be a good teammate and give up the ball once in a while. Maybe they can include a bonus clause in his contract based on number of assists

    I mean we’re going to lose this game but we’ve been more competitive than I expected

    Kyrie looks a bit like he just walked out of the outback after a few months in the bush.

    We should not be competing with this team the way we have. That’s on Fizdale. He’s really making chicken salad out of chicken scratch.

    Obviously enjoying the game. But having a tough time enjoying the moment. Just when Knicks get close or tie, moments later it’s two possession game. Too fleeting

    It’s a young team that makes a lot of boneheaded mistakes that lead to easy buckets for the opposition. But you can live with that. They’ll learn. This is pretty fun to watch.

    Why are we going with Lance Thomas down the stretch? Why does every coach we have think this guy is an actual NBA player?

    I knew Jayson Tatum was gonna toast Timmy there. He’s Paul Pierce 2.0

    THjr with the D on the game-winning shot two nights in a row.

    Trier has been on the court for all of this. Credit the FO for picking him up. He’s clearly a pro level player.

    If Fiz wants to give Lance some token minutes because he’s a good locker room guy, fine. But don’t play him in the final minutes when you’re trailing. I don’t care about that 3 he hit. Literally anyone else might be better.

    Clyde is a treasure – able to see what’s going to happen and call it, say what to do about it, then it happens and the players are a step behind him on it.

    Well, this is all you can ask of a baby team.
    Playing one of the best in the east and down to a possession to tie

    Frank’s minutes went to Trier, who has played some pretty good ball in this game. That Burke-Trier-Hardaway-Vonleh-Kanter lineup did really well, I can’t blame Fiz for sticking with it

    @196
    I agree. At some point, Frank should have come in for Burke or Trier….to stay on Kyrie.

    I was going to be pissed off at Burke but then I became amazed at how stupid Taytum was to foul the guy.

    Too bad at the end there, because Burke played a pretty nice game.

    This team is young enough where games like this ARE moral victories. I’m excited to see the next game.

    C’mon, you all knew Burke would miss the first one. Fizdale isn’t going to win any close games until Frank Ntilikina gets to play and star.

    NBA twitter was gushing over the Nets earlier and they got run by 20. No love for the scrappy Knickerbockers against boy genius and the deepest team in NBA history.

    Jesus, it’s sad to see how KAT’s game went to shit after Butler punked him down. Only 6 FGAs in the third quarter of the Wolves-Mavs game? Really?

    Hope Knox won’t miss too much time, he needs the minutes and experience in these type of games.

    Some questionable rotations by Fizdale and I hate THJr but overall a very good game we could’ve easily won with a little more luck. I predicted 22 wins before the season but we’ve played much better than that through the first 3 games of the season.

    It was pretty much the perfect outcome. I mean, in my heart, I wanted that win. But my heart is an idiot. We need losses and one last top draft pick. Fiz has me believing that with another year, another top pick, a healthy KP and the right free agent, we’ll be a power in the east.

    We’ve blocked 2 shots in the last 2 games. This team might be disturbingly frisky if we had a rim protector.

    This was the first game I rooted for the Knicks in a long time, but objectively this was the perfect outcome. Obviously it’s very early but I love everything from Fizdale so far. The kids are alright.

    These losses will be so much more delicious when Frank is showing his two way potential and when the college basketball season gets under way.

    Kinda cool to see Burke’s teammates Embrace him while he was visibly breaking down after the miss free throw. That guy plays with a lot of heart.

    Watch on DVR. I haven’t read comments but I’ll take a 25 win season if we lose 50 like this. Good hustle. Lots of heart. Imagine this team by just replacing Thomas in the starting 5 with KP.

    My bad, guys, I was out and I guess I thought maybe Mike had found a way to automate these game threads. I’ll make sure to check in the future to be sure that we have a game thread up.

    Mikal Bridges: 10 points on 6 FGA, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 0 turnovers, +21 in 15 minutes

    Just sayin’

    That Jokic line is ridiculous. Has there ever been a player quite like him in the NBA?

    Closest big men I can think of, guys who I actually saw play at least, are Arvydas Sabonis and Chris Webber.

    Rondo just goaded Chris Paul into throwing a punch by spitting in his face. Once Paul threw the first punch, Rondo was ready to scrap. He’s the worst, but in spite of myself I have to respect the gall

    Rondo is an asshole but that’s not what I saw. CP and Rondo were jawing at each other and Paul went to gouge his eyes or something and Rondo punched him. CP definitely didn’t throw the first punch Rondo did but CP did something weird right before that.

    If Fiz wants to give Lance some token minutes because he’s a good locker room guy, fine. But don’t play him in the final minutes when you’re trailing. I don’t care about that 3 he hit. Literally anyone else might be better.

    LT came into the game and made a difference. Stating otherwise is just straight-up confirmation bias, dude.

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