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2022-23 Game Thread: Knicks @ Timberwolves, Thibs’ Revenge Game

The Knicks head to Minnesota to take on Thibs’ last team, the Minnesota Timberwolves, who are struggling with their offense with pairing Towns and Gobert in the middle and weak outside shooting.

Grimes and Mitch are both out again, so hopefully Cam Reddish plays well again in the starting lineup. Jericho Sims with the surprise start against Minnesota’s Twin Towers! Hopefully he does well.

Let’s go, Knicks!

215 replies on “2022-23 Game Thread: Knicks @ Timberwolves, Thibs’ Revenge Game”

For those watching, that poke from Reddish was the kind of good thing he did last game that will not show up in the box.

Sims’s block on the Wolves’ first possession *will* show up, though. hahaha.

Sims with the opening block!

Barrett with the uncontrolled drive under the basket for the turnover!

Thibs has done lost his mind, starting Sims? I like Sims, but he’ll have trouble lasting 15 minutes against Towns ..

Randle with the turnover spinning into traffic!

Sims is from the area. I guess it’s a nod to family and friends coming to the game?

Randle’s going to jack his 3pt average over 25% he keeps this up.

The rotations are terrible…

Randle regression… I’m absolutely saying I told ya

“Randle’s going to jack his 3pt average over 25% he keeps this up.”

…maybe not.

“The sneaker colors in this game are going to give me a seizure.” — Did you see Clyde’s LaMelo sneakers last game or couple games ago? One green; one yellow. 😉

This has to be Randle’s record for 3PM in a game in which fans are allowed in the building

I think Randle thinks this building is empty, given how quiet it is.

12 points in 8 minutes.

I’m with you, Owen – hard to fathom how bad Towns is on D. You can’t say he’s a bust by any means, but a #1 pick who deserved to go #1, and this is all he is? Disappointing.

Of course, it’s not like having the worst record and seeing Zion and Ja go before you pick, but… disappointing.

So far it’s looking like the rotations more than the system. Honestly it’s fixable. The real question mark is why is it happening to guys who’ve been in the system for multiple years

Can’t fault the D on that 3 by Noel…Brunson got burned, he needed help.

What’s with Randle? Raven was prescient about his percentage…

Towns is almost as good on O as he is bad on D, though…so canny to draw that foul on Hart.

Watching Obi make a three, IQ make a runner, and iHart rip a rebound down makes my heart warm…

And IQ with a three is the cherry on top!

If I’ve learned anything from the last few games, keeping above 50% from 3 is child’s play

Thibs after the Boston game, “You see this arc? The shots behind it are worth one more point than the ones we are taking.” Our guys nod in unison.

EDIT: E4 quiet quitting.

Over/Under on 3’s taken by the Knicks tonight? I’m setting it at 65 3-pt shot attempts.

Fournier is telling us he doesn’t want to come off the bench…he doesn’t want to play at all.

Fournier is never, ever going to learn about the transition take foul and honestly I respect his refusal

I think it is hilarious how the Wolves, like the Knicks, are setting themselves up to play defense well in, like, 2003. The Wolves are almost as bad as the Knicks at three-point defense (or maybe they are slightly worse. I forget. They’re the bottom two teams at it).

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Obi is 100% from the line this season (4/4 haha), 50.7% from the field. 42.9% from three.

There you go, Quick! Vintage IQ indeed.

Speaking of disappointments, you’d hardly even know Edwards was playing. Invisible out there.

Pre-season we were talking about the problem we have at the 4, without a good stretch 4. It’s possible we were wrong about that being a problem…

This is insane, but we all know big first half leads don’t mean much in today’s NBA.

Fournier just needs to go through the mental progression to remember that take fouls are a thing… it’s exactly like his close outs… just happens in really slow motion. He’ll never regain that type of mental acuity again , much like the physical…

All we shoot is floaters and 3s. Tell me Thibs doesn’t pay attention to analytics…both premium shots.

Obi has to be one of the fastest end-to-end players in the league, even with the ball. Dude is a weapon; we’ve got to figure out how to get him 25mpg.

I thought Edwards was primed for a superstar leap this season but watching him off-ball is just staggering, incredibly lazy, barely moves, barely cares… this is crazy.

Loving the rotations. Brunson running with the Bench Mob. Sims back in again.

E4 with the unselfish feed to the hometown Sims. I’m still on Fournier Island (ducks)

I understand they’re missing a very important player, but JFC this is a, well, familiar level of listlessness from Minny

KBA, Evan’s had a few nice steals so far, but I think you and the ducks are the only ones on that Island right now…

“Thibs should put Aradiacano in and let him hit 5 or 6 threes.”

Svi is shooting 100% from downtown. Let’s go.

Just going to write that Julius is going to shoot the Wolves back into the game…

I miss Obi and Quick already.

Ended up going to lunch late and I see that the game is already over and Randle has mostly been on fire. Might just stay away from the broadcast for the rest of the season maybe.

Wolves 5 wins this season are against OKC (2) Spurs Lakers and Rockets.

I’ve never been a believer, with or without Gobert.

The only way this would be more embarrassing for the Wolves is if Gobert was playing tonight, but either way, it’s embarrassing. And I love it. Fuck every other team in the NBA. I like when they fail.

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Watching the Sixers with Embiid is amazing how much it changes everything.

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I think we’re scoring too much too soon

I have the same feeling, but all we have is this moment, now, and I intend to enjoy it.

He lost 20 pounds over the off-season. Apparently that included the muscle mass needed to get the ball from the three-point line to the basket.

16/10 minute Randle/Obi split. Let’s get Thibs that mystery COY Strat thinks was stolen from him.

Ok Julius, that was a great half, now keep the ball moving and don’t go hero ball.

Minnesota just looks dead, lazy, unorganized, everyone looks like they don’t want to be there.

Nice three by RJ, but he drives me insane with how weak some of his takes to the rim are. Even in transition!

I didn’t say it during the Atlanta game but I’ll say it now, this would be by far the worst loss of the season.

Total Hawks PTSD.

Favorite ‘stat’ so far — Evan Fournier trailing only Obi by a point with a plus-19.

“Favorite ‘stat’ so far — Evan Fournier trailing only Obi by a point with a plus-19.”

Numbers don’t lie 😉

EDIT: Awful sequence there from RJ and then Julius.

I thought the Wolves would scuffle for a while this season and then be very dangerous. . .staring to doubt myself. The vibes are terrible.

I thought the Wolves would scuffle for a while this season and then be very dangerous. . .staring to doubt myself. The vibes are terrible.

The vibes are insanely bad. I don’t think Finch finishes the season.

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This has been great and all, and I’m actually pleased with the Knicks’ performance. This isn’t really like the Hornets game. That said, holy shit, are the Wolves playing like a bunch of guys who barely know each, but what they do know about each other is that they hate each other.

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Brunson has to start hitting 3s at a better clip. I can’t remember where I read it, but it was a breakdown of the kinds of 3s Brunson tended to hit and miss in Dallas. The premise of the article was that he might struggle a bit from 3 in NY playing on the ball.

Minny doesn’t have the defensive chops to come all the way back. I hope I don’t regret saying that.

Gobert and Towns is a match made in hell and they gave away a huge part of their future for it. They have some terrific pieces, but it’s going to be hard to fill out the team.

I hope they open this game up because I’d like to see some Deuce in the 4th quarter.

The Wolves have a theoretically good starting 5, but beyond that they feel kind of D league.

Quickley rotting on the bench while Cam runs around bricklaying needs to stop fairly soon

I wonder if Minny has figured out yet that they gave up 6 1st rounders and a couple of players worth something for a player they may not be able to move.

It’s getting to the point where when Obi shoots I expect it to go in.

Kind of the opposite of how I used to feel

IQ may be our best perimeter defender. Maybe best defender period – Reddish is excellent man-to-man, but gambles too much and gets lost, Mitch hasn’t been as good this year.

Selfishly I’m hoping for a wolves run … I need another point from Brunson for a 5-legger…

Excellent 3rd quarter, looked a bit worrisome at times but great finish to the quarter.

Quick has 3 rebounds, an assist and 2 steals in 10 minutes. Cam has 0 rebounds, 0 assists, and 0 steals in 25 minutes.

“Selfishly I’m hoping for a wolves run … I need another point from Brunson for a 5-legger…”

dude…

It really baffles me watching some teams – Towns should drive like every play. He’s almost unstoppable, at least without Mitch. But they all run around doing whatever…I watched my first Nets game last night and couldn’t understand why Durant didn’t take every shot, or at least create. Other dudes trying to do what he does, missing a lot, and one of the best scorers in the history of the game is right there….

You can praise IQ all you want but his shooting this season has become beyond problematic.

Seen this exact game a million times, might as well bet the rent money on the Wolves’ live money line

Brunson hitting that timely three reminds me of when Elfrid used to do that all the time.

This lineup on court now feels like our best possible mix. Could argue maybe Reddish for IQ but I like this group

It’s a good thing the T-Wolves suck because the Knicks have been probing around looking for a way to lose.

It really baffles me watching some teams – Towns should drive like every play. He’s almost unstoppable, at least without Mitch. But they all run around doing whatever…I watched my first Nets game last night and couldn’t understand why Durant didn’t take every shot, or at least create. Other dudes trying to do what he does, missing a lot, and one of the best scorers in the history of the game is right there….

It’s baffling. That’s why I think Finch gets fired. He’s not Connolly’s guy, after all. This way Connolly gets to hire his own guy.

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I swear, every time i start watching a game in progress the Knicks immediately start flopping

In the future the Knicks need to weight basketball IQ much higher in their player evaluations.

I don’t want to watch Barrett drive to the basket anymore. Like ever.

And this is the first stretch I’ve seen Brunson play like dog doo. He’s just dribbling and dribbling. I’ve seen him miss shots, but he’s playing stupid now.

You know how we get pissed when bad 3 point shooters torch us? That’s how Wolves fans feel tonight about Randle

solid little defensive sequence from reddish there, handled the switch well and nearly poked the ball away

1:17 left and up by 18. Glad all the starters except Obi are still in.

RJ had a very efficient game going but made about 3 or 4 dumb mistakes later in the game. He needs a good smack in the head. I think it’s time Thibs just rips him a new asshole every time he takes a dumb shot or forces something stupid. That might be the only way he’ll learn.

Yeah, he said the right things. He’s focusing on the right things. Hopefully it shows up in his game

RJ had a very efficient game going but made about 3-4 dumb mistakes later in the game. He needs a good smack in the head. I think it’s time Thibs just rips him a new asshole every time he takes a dumb shot or forces something stupid. That might be the only way he’ll learn.

RJ really loves driving into 3 defenders. It’s a compulsion for him. He’s nowhere near good enough to finish over 3 guys, he either gets fouled or embarrassed

Forget the three point %, Randle just boosted his TS% to .572! His three point% sits at 33.3 and really, that should be sustainable- his stroke isn’t terrible. He still turns the ball over too much and the defense comes and goes but if he ends the season with a .572 TS% that’d go a very long way towards getting the Knicks into the playoffs.

We obviously benefitted tremendously by Gobert being out, but Minny had more than enough to defend their home court. That was a really nice win.

Yeah, where Randle sits now is sustainable. He’s got a nice shot. The two issues keeping him from being great are poor switches and just plain getting lost in D, and the dumb TOs. I don’t see the TOs getting better, but maybe he can get to adequate on D.

I was thinking that Deuce could have no better model for what he could be than Brunson. Undersized, but strong and tough, not particularly fast, yet penetrates at will, solid outside shooter but not spectacular – if Deuce could learn to penetrate like that, he could be good, and ultimately a kid complete player than Brunson, because he can actually play D.

The Big If…

Just to clarify, we are now 2-4 in this tough 7-game stretch against projected playoff teams. So the Nets game is magnified in that they are in turmoil and we are riding a bit of a high. But a loss isn’t a big deal, we’ve already avoided a worst case scenario.

Agreed, I think we’ve already reached “No way they’re getting rid of Thibs this season” levels.

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Slept through the whole game, as I’m on a weird schedule lately. Glad to see Obi played that much — Macri or somebody said on Twitter that it was his highest minutes total in a game Randle also played in. Which is ridiculous for his third season, but there you are.

I wonder what Thibs is gonna do whenever Mitch is back.

Trying Obi a little at the three is the next hurdle for Thibs. They have to find more minutes for him.

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