187 replies on “2022-2023 Game Thread: Knicks vs. Nuggets”
Deuce-Deuce!
Although Brunson’s going for 60+ this game already…
The Randle jump bullet pass and the Barrett pull up 3 on the fast break…give me heartburn
Nobody can blow a fastbreak like we do, we’re the best team ever in botched transitions…
Randle back to whirling dervish mode
Sorry, folks, I’m currently in Hawaii, so a day game was juuuuust a bit too early for me for a game thread. 😉
Let’s go, Knicks!
Enjoy Hawaii. Never been. Definitely on the bucket list.
Went there with my wife and son a few years ago, one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been to in my life, especially Kauai and Maui.
Classic Kobe assist from RJ. Just give him an assist for that.
OBI!!!
Enjoy Brian!
A slight nitpick, but how does RJ not go up and dunk that?
Obi was thinking about “how” to dunk… bad turnover
I-Hart is playing great.
Obi taking us on a roller coaster ride today… That blown fast break was hysterical. I’m thinking Thibs might physically spank him during the timeout.
That Nuggets bench mob looks like they would get beaten by a high school team. Jeff Green, how can you seriously put him out there as a contender.
Love Mike Breen giving the Reggie Evans shout out. Why do I feel like Breen read the Wages of Wins?
A lot of careless turnovers…quickley is bad today
Shows you how far we’ve come when we’re complaining about shit and we’re up 11 against the number one team in the West lol
Owen!
Uncle Jeff killed the Knicks many times, as a Celtic, as a Nets…
Don’t wake up the sleeping dog… 🙂
Obi with another absurd turnover…
Jokic may have enjoyed his Friday night in NYC
d-mar, I was just thinking that. But so far we’re clearly our own worst enemy out there. We could be up by 20 if we weren’t so polite about giving up our possessions.
Jokic’s arms look like they’ve been chewed on by a bobcat.
This is exactly why we complain about stupid transition turnover.
We had them in a corner, we let them escape being careless with the ball and now they’re close…
Jokic can’t guard Isaiah. Maybe no one can.
jokic didn’t travel on the footwork layup they keep replaying?
iHart with a positively Mitchell Robinson drive from the top of the key!
Jokic’s passing is unbelievable. He is doing for Gordon what Nash did for Marion.
Clyde so right about keeping the ball high
Cmon Julius. What is that foul?
Are we still up by 11?
Jokic changed the game a tiny bit when he came in.
I’m starting to feel uncomfortable…
Knicks have been trying to double Jokic from behind but since he has eight sets of eyes it doesn’t work.
Hopefully Denver won’t rest guys tomorrow at Brooklyn.
Well what do you expect when our best player, Miles, is nailed to the bench…
I mean, sometimes Jokic just has these quarters where he eviscerates any defense. Despite the awful shooting and their offense going insane being down only 5 points is fine for me.
Can’t believe they have an England-Ireland rugby match on. May have to split screen
Jokic for Hollywood. It was a foul but come on.
We better make up some serious ground when Jokic goes out
I wasn’t aware it was a matinee, so looks like i’m starting when we’re in disarray 🙁
Hanging in there, like the uncharacteristically decisive play from RJ, but gonna need to hit some damn 3s.
It’s getting better
Mitch is everywhere right now
I’m at msg with my kids for the matinee. Jokic is so much better than everyone else on the court it’s shocking. My first time seeing him live in person. My 8 year old and 11 year old see it as well. When Julius or RJ forces it. My 8 year old son turned to me and said, “why can’t he be more like Jokic”. Word!
As an aside my daughter has a Brunson jersey. Son has a Julius jersey. Both their personalities reflect the player. I have a starks jersey on (screen name). I was streaky like him as a player. Even cooler he’s in house today. He pointed at me pre game. Section. 112 here.
I would start a Mitchell Robinson chant were I there right now… Needs to know we appreciate what he brings.
Thanks for the report llcoolbp!
Yeah, Jokic is something else.
This team never folds, can’t remember the last time we got blown out by anyone
Big three for IQ. I swear, the more he sets his feet the worse he shoots.
Quiiiick
Momentum shifting!!!!!
Hart to tie the game
Jeff Green will play for the Knicks at some point, right? He must be trying to play for all teams! 😀
why is randle whine miming on every play
Timed my drive back from FL to make the second half. Looked bad for a while but nice recovery! Mitch was a huge factor in that comeback, nice to see him being his old self again!
Seems like they duped Jokic into some turnovers by anticipating where he likes to dump the ball off. Not sure that will last all that long…
The New York Nuclear Cockroaches never give up!
It’s gonna be another beware-your-coronaries game…
“ why is randle whine miming on every play”
I noticed that, seems like he gets pissed if he doesn’t get the ball on every possession
HART 2 HART
Man, love the ball movement Hart just generated. Shades of Joker.
Hart to Hart 🙂
Edit: And it was a no look from iHart!? 😮
That was a beautiful passing sequence…Hart2Hart for the finish…
Ihart…looks like white chocolate
Josh Hart making huge timely plays…what else is new?
The Hart Foundation dominating the game!
Quick percolating
Shouldn’t the Nuggets be fined for playing an underaged kid?
I love Josh Hart
Hart is a freaking godsend
Josh hart for mvp
I feel like we get 1 call per 3 fouls
thanks owen
Jeff Green is going to make me go wash out my mouth with soap
Shouldn’t the Nuggets be fined for playing an underaged kid?
LOL
ihart just makes winning plays.
More of that please RJ
Nuggets can’t stop RJ
take the damn shot boys
That wasnt a travel? Jokic is ready for the Bolshoi
Brunson has been pretty awful since the 1st quarter.
Not Brunson’s finest shift…
I crap on him endlessly and for good cause, but props to RJ for playing a solid game so far. He’s even been running hard on D.
The fact we can play even with the best team in the west is a good sign. Still a player away, but there is a lot to build on, a lot of pieces in place.
Sorry about Brunson’s foot. Bone bruises become breaks if you don’t rest for more than a week….
Michael Porter Jr just has a beautiful shooting motion, every time he shoots I feel like it’s going in.
And yes, RJ has been good today. A few mistakes on D, but otherwise pretty solid.
Josh Hart is just awesome. I mean I wish he was a better shooter, but he’s been absolutely everywhere today.
Rj has been very good inside the arc after the AS game. He’s been very very very bad outside it though
As usual when the Knicks blow these close games late they can’t get a fucking defensive rebound.
I mean the Nuggets are playing their A game and we’re down 2 points.
No complaints.
I know we’ve been deluded into believing in JHart’s prowess from 3, but the Nuggets will probably live and die with that shot…
Live by the 3 and die by the 3.
RJ has been looking a lot better around the rim. If he can be efficient near the rim and at the FT line, we at least have something to work with on offense.
Yes RJ has been bad outside the arc, but that’s the only reason he’s not having a spectacular game instead of just good.
This is some shotmaking
good help by rj
Most predictable turnover ever
Let’s finish this. The little kids deserve a matinee win. 🙂
So nice to have someone on our team draw a cheap foul late for once
Wow what a fucking game
Kind of a bs foul, but I’ll take it
One more stop!
CLOSE THIS OUT!!!!
Defense! Defense! Defense!
Ain’t no quit in this team.
great no foul mitch
Mitch came up big there
Yes!
Mitch!!! The D!!! The O!!!
GAME OF THE YEAR?!
RAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!
I’m ion the Chase Bridge at msg well into the process of losing my voice, my god do I love this team ❤️❤️❤️
Just give Mitch the ball damn it 😂😂😂😂😂
No 3’s here please!
Bbb-ruuun-sooon !!! 🙂
Mitch got his cardio today
I got pretty fired up after that alley oop!!
it’s been a year
Turn out the lights
Hooray! The New York Knicks have a winning season!
Great win!
P.S. I mean the New York Nuclear Cockroaches…
What a win! I love this team!
We just beat another major contender folks!!!!!!
TNFH, llcoolbp, and BJ have to go to every game from here on out…
I believe that we will win!!!
Missed most of the game but managed to catch the last 8 or 9 minutes. Great win! Good to see Mitch’s cardio paying off at the end
I’m ion the Chase Bridge at msg well into the process of losing my voice, my god do I love this team ❤️❤️❤️
Wow, that’s great. I always lose my voice when i go support my soccer team at the stadium. 😉
This was indeed a total team effort. So massive to see!
Knicks have yet to lose with a healthy Brunson & Hart
I lost my voice and I’m just watching from my house!
Super fun game. Good game for RJ to take advanatage of Jokic not being a rim protector.
Knicks beat the best offense in the league while shooting 28% from 3. Incredible.
Winning against the Nuggets shooting 28% from three is doubly impressive. (…as Marechal just said…)
Helped that we had 9 steals.
Bang bang Bing bong the only thing that would make it better is if I had Clyde and Bremen piped in
Finishing with the Mitch oop was chef’s kiss perfection for the vibes.
Love how we just shrugged off thst Randle turnover.
Amazing team effort. Everyone chipped in.
A note on Denver: they have huge issues on D, esecially Jamal Murray.
And Jokic is great and all on O, but he’s like a zillion light years away from Giannis on D. Probably only a couple of billion away from Embiid, but still….if defense means anything, he should not be voted MVP over either of those two guys no matter what his offensive stats are.
What a fantastic win, full team effort, the Hart foundation kept us afloat, Mitch with some great plays, Barrett played very well overall, what a hell of a fun game.
I’m just gonna say it, if RJ can play like this in the playoffs we’re going to make some noise, this team is legitimately deep and gritty as hell.
Name me one team in the entire NBA that would be hoping to draw the Knicks in the playoffs.
I think Jokic is actually a solid defender—his rebounding and positioning are really good—but because he’s not a rim protector at all you have to have some really defensively elite wings and guards to compensate, which Denver doesn’t have outside of Bruce Brown. They need something like the Bulls Caruso/Lonzo Ball backcourt a couple years ago that partly made up for a very bad rim protector in Vuc.
Jokic forces you to build your defense differently, but the Nuggets opted for all offense with the Murray and Porter signings. It’s why everyone thinks Denver is a regular season team and it’s going to hold them back in the playoffs.
This team really has an identity and games like this, with everyone bringing their brick for the cause, are really heartwarming.
RJ’s in a streak of nice solid games, playing in the flow and limiting his usual headbutts to the wall…
That was one of the better wins of the season. Old school Knicks win, we were just more physical, grabbed lots of offensive boards and drew lots of fouls on strong drives.
Just gotta hope Brunson stays healthy, because if we’re at full strength we’re a good team.
RJ is at 55% inside the arc post-ASB.
He’s at 27% outside the arc.
I’ll take him being unstoppable inside the arc anyday
Jokic’s arms look like they’ve been chewed on by a bobcat.
that was so funny, because of his fair skin, it’s super noticeable all the time…
It really felt like a vintage Knicks game, everytime Denver went into the paint there was someone there, trying to go for a steal, putting hands on the ball.
Denver can work defensively against bigger forwards because Gordon is a very good defender, but when they face teams who can target both Jokic and Murray, they struggle. The Knicks smartly kept attacking Murray and he’s just a turnstile defensively.
“…but because he’s not a rim protector at all”
I don’t think any C that can’t protect the rim at all could be called a “solid” defender, especially since he’s not all that strong at covering shooters on the perimeter either. And while I know that defensive rebounding is important, it doesn’t cover up for pre-rebound defensive weaknesses. Guys like Enes Freedom and Vuc are excellent rebounders and horrific defenders.
Michael Porter Jr. was invisible on both ends. If it turns out that he is a bad sidekick to Jokic, that might not be the easiest contract to move.
Defense was good to start, then gradually deteriorated, and, by the middle of the third quarter I thought Knicks were ready to give up. It’s no shame to lose to Denver. But no! The energy picked up, they started defending the pick and roll better, slowed down the Denver guards, and allowed only 19 points in the fourth. This is a sign of a really good team!
I-Hart as once again very good, and J-Hart played a much better all around game in the second half. Team defense on Joker was very good. RJ finally stopped shooting from outside and started getting to the basket. Brunson and Randle made clutch plays down the stretch. Great team win! 5th place, we are coming!
You don’t see six turnovers by the Joker very often! Lol! And another critical stat: Knicks went 25 of 28 from the free throw line.
Denver/Sacramento would be a crazy matchup
Huge factor in this win: going 25-28 from the line.
(lol Rough beat me to it!)
You gotta figure the Nuggets are gonna be feeling ornery in Brooklyn tomorrow, right?
Our 2-headed C monster gave us:
14 points
18 rebounds (10 ORebs)
4 assists (Mitch had 3!)
3 steals
2 blocks
2 TOs
4 fouls
Not bad!
I know Randle’s stat line isn’t his best and he had that ugly turnover at the end, but he hit two massive pure iso baskets when the game was on the line.
Looking ahead, we have the tiebreaker with Miami locked up, so barring an epic collapse (in which case we aren’t going anywhere in the playoffs anyway) it doesn’t seem like they can realistically finish above us. As to BKN, I think they will fight hard for the 6-spot with MIA but will ultimately drop to 7.
These last 10 games will tell us a lot!
So long, Duke Blue Devils.
Knicks win against the best team in the west and duke loses in embarrassing fashion in the tournament. What a basketball day for me
I’ll say it again, if we were in the West we’d be the #1 seed. The West is garbage.
“Knicks win against the best team in the west and duke loses in embarrassing fashion in the tournament. What a basketball day for me”
and Rangers beat the Penguins tonight and it is a total euphoric sports day…
I know it might be blasphemous to do so on this site but we have to give Thibs alot of credit for the way he’s been handling the rotation especially the lineups down the stretch of games.
Ricky Council looks pretty nice against Kansas. He underperformed during the year, but he looks like a hell of an athlete who can get to the hoop.
Today’s win re-opened the 50 win window just a bit…
We’ve got MIN, @MIA, @ORL (back to back), HOU, MIA, @CLE, WAS, @IND, @NOP, and IND.
My guess is we don’t quite make it because it seems hard to beat the same team twice in a few days multiple times, but who knows? This team has done nothing but (mostly pleasantly) surprise me all year. The fact that you can’t rule it out after game 72 is insane given where morale was before the season.
Who had the highest win prediction?
I picked 45 so not all that surprised by where we are…just surprised that it didn’t involve Fournier or Rose.
I expected somewhat of a bounce back from Randle but the degree is a pleasant surprise, as is how easily he won back the fans. Expected that Brunson would help stabilize him.
Expected more from RJ, his inconsistency is maddening.
Expected some kind of deadline move. Hart is about as good as I could have asked for, probably worth 3 wins by himself.
Other than that, everything is pretty much as expected, give or take.
Re: Thibs, he’s done a nice job. Things looked ugly for a while, and he responded very well. Hard to not be impressed with the results of his decision-making.
Just finished watching-I tape. My sports girl crazy fan wife called it-I didn’t-Knicks PTSD. Clearly, the team is very good on many levels. I really don’t know what else to say, except early on I opined (nice way of putting it) that the relatively poor three-point shooting would doom our boys today. Guess not. As an aside, if there was a sport that combined basketball and football, Josh Hart would be the major dude. What a game.
It would be pretty awesome to get to 50 wins but I think 8-2 is a bridge too far. Definitely possible though! And exciting to even be discussing it!
I think 47 is a number I’d be really happy about considering everything, but with this schedule I can definitely see them going over this, maybe get to 49-50. Either way it’s a big successful season considering our expectations and the outlook for the future.
The difference between other years is that the Knicks have a ‘Game’. You can criticize it, but it is a game. They come at you and play D, they rebound, get extra shots, and you have to beat it. If they can execute it, who knows?
What I really really like about this team is that they never quit. There have been so many games in the last few months where things weren’t going their way and you would think “oh well, life in the NBA” and expect our opponent to roll over us
Today is a perfect example – when the Nuggets went up 13 in the 3rd quarter it was like “well, they have the 2 time MVP, they’re first in the West, not a disaster” and then we come roaring back.
I mean, the Bucks got blown out at home by the Pacers a few nights ago. We just don’t let that happen.
The most rewarding thing about this season is that it isn’t coming at the expense of future flexibility. It feels very different than the all in season of 2012–13. Leon has made some mistakes but deserves tons of credit for the positive state of affairs. Still too early for final judgment as the big move or moves are not made yet, but I’m feeling pretty optimistic that they won’t screw it up.
To me, it feels a bit like my football Giants-very happy. Smart rebuilding. As an aside, I am so tired of the Star f’ing rebuild. Even if it works temporally to an extent (see and compare, Nets), sometimes it leaves the fan base and the betting line unfulfilled. Go Knicks. Are we good, or are we really good?
Today is a perfect example – when the Nuggets went up 13 in the 3rd quarter it was like “well, they have the 2 time MVP, they’re first in the West, not a disaster” and then we come roaring back.
I think it all started with Thibs, i was going to write “Good tech” but then i didn’t to not jinx it. And it was indeed a good time to commit a technical foul, to wake up the team and also the crowd.
I’m not surprised for the wins (I predicted 45, just as Z-Man), to me too is “how” we got here.
We were falling (10-13), wasting big leads and losing close games, then Thibs made some drastic decisions, that worked well at first and then become perfect when we acquired J-Hart*.
The team gelled, roles and hierarchies cleared up and accepted, and now when Brunson play we’re even doing decently in the clutch.
Thibs has done a great job keeping the team together, building a grit and grind identity (they never quit) and making the right decisions with his lineups in clutch situations. A remarkable work without any doubt.
And we have roads (“avenues” for optimist, “alleys” for pessimists 😉 ) to improve, with draft picks and reasonable contracts.
It’s a nice feeling…
* I’m still not totally sold on a strict 9-men rotation in the regular season, I’d rather have Fournier and Deuce as “true situationals” instead of one forever exiled and the other playing only if someone’s hurt.
Playoffs rotation are another matter, 9 can even be too much there…
I think it all started with Thibs, i was going to write “Good tech” but then i didn’t to not jinx it. And it was indeed a good time to commit a technical foul, to wake up the team and also the crowd.
I was just writing the same thing while drafting the recap… 🙂
And good job not to jinx it Cyber, you’re learning… 😉
“Leon has made some mistakes but deserves tons of credit for the positive state of affairs. Still too early for final judgment as the big move or moves are not made yet”
I’m not 100% sure there are going to be any big moves. I think that depends partly on what the internal thinking is on Grimes and RJ. If they are still very optimistic on them they may just ride the upside of this team, draft, try to move up in the draft, and tweak things unless something really special comes along. We felt like we were one or two players away. I think Hart was one of those players. But we don’t know what they are thinking.
The most rewarding thing about this season is that it isn’t coming at the expense of future flexibility. It feels very different than the all in season of 2012–13. Leon has made some mistakes but deserves tons of credit for the positive state of affairs. Still too early for final judgment as the big move or moves are not made yet, but I’m feeling pretty optimistic that they won’t screw it up.
Rose is definitely going to get votes for executive of the year whether folks here like it or not- arguably the best free agent signing and the most impactful deadline deal this season.
IMO, what’s really cool is, as is, we are currently in the mix. No one wants to play us. We can beat elite teams and not even hit the 3.
Saw a compilation of Mitch’s offensive rebounds today on twitter and his 7 led to 12 points. That’s how you score a lot of points while shooting 9-32 on 3 pointers
Yep, extra shots (often bunnies, sometimes easy put back open 3’s), all pf which are often poorly or undefended. Add coast to coast shots by Hart. It’s huge.
Mitch made some great plays.
I am obviously a Mitch super fan but IHart has picked up his game so much in the last couple of months I seem them trending towards parity. They both have been awesome.
But Josh has been so catalytic. It’s crazy what a big impact he has had and seems to have every game.
Another nice thing is I don’t think anyone on the team is having a “career year.” Or put differently, every player has room for improvement, except Hart but hopefully we will have him for a full season next year. So even if we don’t make any further moves in the offseason other than signing IQ and Hart to new contracts, there is definitely more upside there. Obviously players can regress too, but seems like there’s more room on the upside.
If we DO run it back with only minor changes e.g. Obi being traded and replaced by a more defensively oriented backup PF, it will feel a lot better than running back the 2020-21 squad, and the main reason is Brunson. He’s that combination of star, glue guy, and leader that is pretty rare. What a relief it is to know that he is locked up on a fantastic deal for the next two seasons!
Agree Z–Man. There’s a plan-and it is reasonable.
It is truly unbelievable that both Brunson and JHart were available at such low cost. Same with iHart to a lesser extent. All three are game-changers in their respective roles.
Yeah, we have done super well. Better than any of us tankers would have anticipated.
Alcaraz-Sinner very solid match but Carlos seems to have it in hand.
Also, these Wiggins rumors are nuts. Seems terrible of people to spread it around. Which I am doing too I guess.
Yes, and basketball, at its most beautiful and powerful form, is a team of a couple of stars and role players (see, Knicks 1969-70, 1972-73). [See, also, the Highwaymen, Cash , et al.]
Bulls up 25 on the Heat at halftime.
“Yeah, we have done super well. Better than any of us tankers would have anticipated.”
To be fair, only a couple of folks here were truly anti-tanking. The real friction was in discussing whether the hybrid method would work if transactions were skillfully executed and other decisions e.g coaching choices were prudent, and then over whether Leon’s transactions were actually skillful and choices were actually prudent. Seems to be more openness to those conversations now, although E would probably say that we are just on the Club Level of purgatory rather than general admission…
Nor should anyone be taking victory laps on the current situation, since we still aren’t really a true contender. We can still fuck things up by trading a haul for the wrong star (ix-nay on AT-Kay or ack-Zay).
But barring the drafting of a generational player, which is difficult even when you tank given the lottery odds leveling, the tank route can be a slog, and that wouldn’t fly with this owner in this city anyway. Leon will definitely have a job next year, which means at least something.
What can definitively be said is that given the chosen approach, the team has made dramatic progress since the day Leon arrived. We may have pulled even with or even surpassed some second-echelon teams that have widely been considered to have been better run, with better rosters, e.g. Miami, and we are still loaded with assets. Still a long way to go, though.
We got Brunson, Hart, and Hart much cheaper than I ever expected. And that’s factorial.
“Bulls up 25 on the Heat at halftime.”
you jinxin mfer…
No victory laps, but what we’ve done has obviously worked well. Rose, Thibs and the rest of the coaches and management team put us in a position where we are a relatively young 45+ win team with internal upside and enough assets in reserve to improve beyond that via trade or draft. That’s all you can really ask for.
We did it with a combination of draft picks, free agency, and trades.
Sure, we’ve made some mistakes, especially in the lottery portion of the draft, but we’ve found some bargains in the draft also.
Sure, some of trades may have given up a hair of present value for the future, but it was with something else in mind.
Sure, we signed some suspect free agents, but none were terminal and some probably helped with the development and mentoring of the young players that are doing so well now.
I think it should be understood that no plan comes without some mistakes unless it’s accompanied by extreme luck. Even the very best managements make some mistakes.
As long as we don’t have any catastrophic injuries or make a huge blunder from here, we should be able to look forward to very good basketball for quite a few years.
The Bulls made a REALLY good move picking up Patrick Beverley (one of my favorite defense first pests). He looked a bit washed in LA, but they were a mess at the time. He’s showing he still has game and he’s exactly what they needed to replace Lonzo. He’s helping defensively and can make some plays. They might finish up the season well and be a tough out in the play-in.
Looks like the Bulls are gonna hang on…Heat loss will be huge for us!
Never in doubt Z-man
It is really crazy how bad the warriors are on the road.
RJ has been annoying the hell out of me all year, but if he can at least keep up this efficiency going to the basket and drawing fouls, we have something to work with. He just has to tone down the volume of 3s and stick with just the very best ones and his overall efficiency will be tolerable. And of course, he’s got to play consistent defense too. Whether he can keep himself under control is another matter, but there’s a glimmer of hope that heading into the playoffs he’s not going to be single handedly shooting us out games and doing all sorts dumb stuff. We can worry about what he can for next year later.
“Never in doubt Z-man”
not nice to pick on the elderly like that…
I figured Brunson would be good, but never in my wildest imagination did I think he’d be 4 BPM good. I thought Josh Hart would be a nice pickup but I didn’t expect him to play like a more low usage, high efficiency version of Scottie Pippen. I didn’t see the return of 4 BPM Julius Randle coming, and I thought if anybody was likely to have a breakout it was RJ, which is the one positive development that didn’t happen.
Jaylen Brown outplaying Tatum as the Celtics fall apart down the stretch is a tremendous NBA subplot for me.
Golden State has lost 11 consecutive road games? Ouch!
187 replies on “2022-2023 Game Thread: Knicks vs. Nuggets”
Deuce-Deuce!
Although Brunson’s going for 60+ this game already…
The Randle jump bullet pass and the Barrett pull up 3 on the fast break…give me heartburn
Nobody can blow a fastbreak like we do, we’re the best team ever in botched transitions…
Randle back to whirling dervish mode
Sorry, folks, I’m currently in Hawaii, so a day game was juuuuust a bit too early for me for a game thread. 😉
Let’s go, Knicks!
Enjoy Hawaii. Never been. Definitely on the bucket list.
Went there with my wife and son a few years ago, one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been to in my life, especially Kauai and Maui.
Classic Kobe assist from RJ. Just give him an assist for that.
OBI!!!
Enjoy Brian!
A slight nitpick, but how does RJ not go up and dunk that?
Obi was thinking about “how” to dunk… bad turnover
I-Hart is playing great.
Obi taking us on a roller coaster ride today… That blown fast break was hysterical. I’m thinking Thibs might physically spank him during the timeout.
That Nuggets bench mob looks like they would get beaten by a high school team. Jeff Green, how can you seriously put him out there as a contender.
Love Mike Breen giving the Reggie Evans shout out. Why do I feel like Breen read the Wages of Wins?
A lot of careless turnovers…quickley is bad today
Shows you how far we’ve come when we’re complaining about shit and we’re up 11 against the number one team in the West lol
Owen!
Uncle Jeff killed the Knicks many times, as a Celtic, as a Nets…
Don’t wake up the sleeping dog… 🙂
Obi with another absurd turnover…
Jokic may have enjoyed his Friday night in NYC
d-mar, I was just thinking that. But so far we’re clearly our own worst enemy out there. We could be up by 20 if we weren’t so polite about giving up our possessions.
Jokic’s arms look like they’ve been chewed on by a bobcat.
This is exactly why we complain about stupid transition turnover.
We had them in a corner, we let them escape being careless with the ball and now they’re close…
Jokic can’t guard Isaiah. Maybe no one can.
jokic didn’t travel on the footwork layup they keep replaying?
iHart with a positively Mitchell Robinson drive from the top of the key!
Jokic’s passing is unbelievable. He is doing for Gordon what Nash did for Marion.
Clyde so right about keeping the ball high
Cmon Julius. What is that foul?
Are we still up by 11?
Jokic changed the game a tiny bit when he came in.
I’m starting to feel uncomfortable…
Knicks have been trying to double Jokic from behind but since he has eight sets of eyes it doesn’t work.
Hopefully Denver won’t rest guys tomorrow at Brooklyn.
Well what do you expect when our best player, Miles, is nailed to the bench…
I mean, sometimes Jokic just has these quarters where he eviscerates any defense. Despite the awful shooting and their offense going insane being down only 5 points is fine for me.
Can’t believe they have an England-Ireland rugby match on. May have to split screen
Jokic for Hollywood. It was a foul but come on.
We better make up some serious ground when Jokic goes out
I wasn’t aware it was a matinee, so looks like i’m starting when we’re in disarray 🙁
Hanging in there, like the uncharacteristically decisive play from RJ, but gonna need to hit some damn 3s.
It’s getting better
Mitch is everywhere right now
I’m at msg with my kids for the matinee. Jokic is so much better than everyone else on the court it’s shocking. My first time seeing him live in person. My 8 year old and 11 year old see it as well. When Julius or RJ forces it. My 8 year old son turned to me and said, “why can’t he be more like Jokic”. Word!
As an aside my daughter has a Brunson jersey. Son has a Julius jersey. Both their personalities reflect the player. I have a starks jersey on (screen name). I was streaky like him as a player. Even cooler he’s in house today. He pointed at me pre game. Section. 112 here.
I would start a Mitchell Robinson chant were I there right now… Needs to know we appreciate what he brings.
Thanks for the report llcoolbp!
Yeah, Jokic is something else.
This team never folds, can’t remember the last time we got blown out by anyone
Big three for IQ. I swear, the more he sets his feet the worse he shoots.
Quiiiick
Momentum shifting!!!!!
Hart to tie the game
Jeff Green will play for the Knicks at some point, right? He must be trying to play for all teams! 😀
why is randle whine miming on every play
Timed my drive back from FL to make the second half. Looked bad for a while but nice recovery! Mitch was a huge factor in that comeback, nice to see him being his old self again!
Seems like they duped Jokic into some turnovers by anticipating where he likes to dump the ball off. Not sure that will last all that long…
The New York Nuclear Cockroaches never give up!
It’s gonna be another beware-your-coronaries game…
“ why is randle whine miming on every play”
I noticed that, seems like he gets pissed if he doesn’t get the ball on every possession
HART 2 HART
Man, love the ball movement Hart just generated. Shades of Joker.
Hart to Hart 🙂
Edit: And it was a no look from iHart!? 😮
That was a beautiful passing sequence…Hart2Hart for the finish…
Ihart…looks like white chocolate
Josh Hart making huge timely plays…what else is new?
The Hart Foundation dominating the game!
Quick percolating
Shouldn’t the Nuggets be fined for playing an underaged kid?
I love Josh Hart
Hart is a freaking godsend
Josh hart for mvp
I feel like we get 1 call per 3 fouls
thanks owen
Jeff Green is going to make me go wash out my mouth with soap
LOL
ihart just makes winning plays.
More of that please RJ
Nuggets can’t stop RJ
take the damn shot boys
That wasnt a travel? Jokic is ready for the Bolshoi
Brunson has been pretty awful since the 1st quarter.
Not Brunson’s finest shift…
I crap on him endlessly and for good cause, but props to RJ for playing a solid game so far. He’s even been running hard on D.
The fact we can play even with the best team in the west is a good sign. Still a player away, but there is a lot to build on, a lot of pieces in place.
Sorry about Brunson’s foot. Bone bruises become breaks if you don’t rest for more than a week….
Michael Porter Jr just has a beautiful shooting motion, every time he shoots I feel like it’s going in.
And yes, RJ has been good today. A few mistakes on D, but otherwise pretty solid.
Josh Hart is just awesome. I mean I wish he was a better shooter, but he’s been absolutely everywhere today.
Rj has been very good inside the arc after the AS game. He’s been very very very bad outside it though
As usual when the Knicks blow these close games late they can’t get a fucking defensive rebound.
I mean the Nuggets are playing their A game and we’re down 2 points.
No complaints.
I know we’ve been deluded into believing in JHart’s prowess from 3, but the Nuggets will probably live and die with that shot…
Live by the 3 and die by the 3.
RJ has been looking a lot better around the rim. If he can be efficient near the rim and at the FT line, we at least have something to work with on offense.
Yes RJ has been bad outside the arc, but that’s the only reason he’s not having a spectacular game instead of just good.
This is some shotmaking
good help by rj
Most predictable turnover ever
Let’s finish this. The little kids deserve a matinee win. 🙂
So nice to have someone on our team draw a cheap foul late for once
Wow what a fucking game
Kind of a bs foul, but I’ll take it
One more stop!
CLOSE THIS OUT!!!!
Defense! Defense! Defense!
Ain’t no quit in this team.
great no foul mitch
Mitch came up big there
Yes!
Mitch!!! The D!!! The O!!!
GAME OF THE YEAR?!
RAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!
I’m ion the Chase Bridge at msg well into the process of losing my voice, my god do I love this team ❤️❤️❤️
Just give Mitch the ball damn it 😂😂😂😂😂
No 3’s here please!
Bbb-ruuun-sooon !!! 🙂
Mitch got his cardio today
I got pretty fired up after that alley oop!!
it’s been a year
Turn out the lights
Hooray! The New York Knicks have a winning season!
Great win!
P.S. I mean the New York Nuclear Cockroaches…
What a win! I love this team!
We just beat another major contender folks!!!!!!
TNFH, llcoolbp, and BJ have to go to every game from here on out…
I believe that we will win!!!
Missed most of the game but managed to catch the last 8 or 9 minutes. Great win! Good to see Mitch’s cardio paying off at the end
Wow, that’s great. I always lose my voice when i go support my soccer team at the stadium. 😉
This was indeed a total team effort. So massive to see!
Knicks have yet to lose with a healthy Brunson & Hart
I lost my voice and I’m just watching from my house!
Super fun game. Good game for RJ to take advanatage of Jokic not being a rim protector.
Knicks beat the best offense in the league while shooting 28% from 3. Incredible.
Winning against the Nuggets shooting 28% from three is doubly impressive. (…as Marechal just said…)
Helped that we had 9 steals.
Bang bang Bing bong the only thing that would make it better is if I had Clyde and Bremen piped in
Finishing with the Mitch oop was chef’s kiss perfection for the vibes.
Love how we just shrugged off thst Randle turnover.
Amazing team effort. Everyone chipped in.
A note on Denver: they have huge issues on D, esecially Jamal Murray.
And Jokic is great and all on O, but he’s like a zillion light years away from Giannis on D. Probably only a couple of billion away from Embiid, but still….if defense means anything, he should not be voted MVP over either of those two guys no matter what his offensive stats are.
What a fantastic win, full team effort, the Hart foundation kept us afloat, Mitch with some great plays, Barrett played very well overall, what a hell of a fun game.
I’m just gonna say it, if RJ can play like this in the playoffs we’re going to make some noise, this team is legitimately deep and gritty as hell.
Name me one team in the entire NBA that would be hoping to draw the Knicks in the playoffs.
I think Jokic is actually a solid defender—his rebounding and positioning are really good—but because he’s not a rim protector at all you have to have some really defensively elite wings and guards to compensate, which Denver doesn’t have outside of Bruce Brown. They need something like the Bulls Caruso/Lonzo Ball backcourt a couple years ago that partly made up for a very bad rim protector in Vuc.
Jokic forces you to build your defense differently, but the Nuggets opted for all offense with the Murray and Porter signings. It’s why everyone thinks Denver is a regular season team and it’s going to hold them back in the playoffs.
This team really has an identity and games like this, with everyone bringing their brick for the cause, are really heartwarming.
RJ’s in a streak of nice solid games, playing in the flow and limiting his usual headbutts to the wall…
That was one of the better wins of the season. Old school Knicks win, we were just more physical, grabbed lots of offensive boards and drew lots of fouls on strong drives.
Just gotta hope Brunson stays healthy, because if we’re at full strength we’re a good team.
RJ is at 55% inside the arc post-ASB.
He’s at 27% outside the arc.
I’ll take him being unstoppable inside the arc anyday
that was so funny, because of his fair skin, it’s super noticeable all the time…
It really felt like a vintage Knicks game, everytime Denver went into the paint there was someone there, trying to go for a steal, putting hands on the ball.
Denver can work defensively against bigger forwards because Gordon is a very good defender, but when they face teams who can target both Jokic and Murray, they struggle. The Knicks smartly kept attacking Murray and he’s just a turnstile defensively.
“…but because he’s not a rim protector at all”
I don’t think any C that can’t protect the rim at all could be called a “solid” defender, especially since he’s not all that strong at covering shooters on the perimeter either. And while I know that defensive rebounding is important, it doesn’t cover up for pre-rebound defensive weaknesses. Guys like Enes Freedom and Vuc are excellent rebounders and horrific defenders.
Michael Porter Jr. was invisible on both ends. If it turns out that he is a bad sidekick to Jokic, that might not be the easiest contract to move.
Defense was good to start, then gradually deteriorated, and, by the middle of the third quarter I thought Knicks were ready to give up. It’s no shame to lose to Denver. But no! The energy picked up, they started defending the pick and roll better, slowed down the Denver guards, and allowed only 19 points in the fourth. This is a sign of a really good team!
I-Hart as once again very good, and J-Hart played a much better all around game in the second half. Team defense on Joker was very good. RJ finally stopped shooting from outside and started getting to the basket. Brunson and Randle made clutch plays down the stretch. Great team win! 5th place, we are coming!
You don’t see six turnovers by the Joker very often! Lol! And another critical stat: Knicks went 25 of 28 from the free throw line.
Denver/Sacramento would be a crazy matchup
Huge factor in this win: going 25-28 from the line.
(lol Rough beat me to it!)
You gotta figure the Nuggets are gonna be feeling ornery in Brooklyn tomorrow, right?
Our 2-headed C monster gave us:
14 points
18 rebounds (10 ORebs)
4 assists (Mitch had 3!)
3 steals
2 blocks
2 TOs
4 fouls
Not bad!
I know Randle’s stat line isn’t his best and he had that ugly turnover at the end, but he hit two massive pure iso baskets when the game was on the line.
Looking ahead, we have the tiebreaker with Miami locked up, so barring an epic collapse (in which case we aren’t going anywhere in the playoffs anyway) it doesn’t seem like they can realistically finish above us. As to BKN, I think they will fight hard for the 6-spot with MIA but will ultimately drop to 7.
These last 10 games will tell us a lot!
So long, Duke Blue Devils.
Knicks win against the best team in the west and duke loses in embarrassing fashion in the tournament. What a basketball day for me
I’ll say it again, if we were in the West we’d be the #1 seed. The West is garbage.
“Knicks win against the best team in the west and duke loses in embarrassing fashion in the tournament. What a basketball day for me”
and Rangers beat the Penguins tonight and it is a total euphoric sports day…
I know it might be blasphemous to do so on this site but we have to give Thibs alot of credit for the way he’s been handling the rotation especially the lineups down the stretch of games.
Ricky Council looks pretty nice against Kansas. He underperformed during the year, but he looks like a hell of an athlete who can get to the hoop.
Today’s win re-opened the 50 win window just a bit…
We’ve got MIN, @MIA, @ORL (back to back), HOU, MIA, @CLE, WAS, @IND, @NOP, and IND.
My guess is we don’t quite make it because it seems hard to beat the same team twice in a few days multiple times, but who knows? This team has done nothing but (mostly pleasantly) surprise me all year. The fact that you can’t rule it out after game 72 is insane given where morale was before the season.
Who had the highest win prediction?
I picked 45 so not all that surprised by where we are…just surprised that it didn’t involve Fournier or Rose.
I expected somewhat of a bounce back from Randle but the degree is a pleasant surprise, as is how easily he won back the fans. Expected that Brunson would help stabilize him.
Expected more from RJ, his inconsistency is maddening.
Expected some kind of deadline move. Hart is about as good as I could have asked for, probably worth 3 wins by himself.
Other than that, everything is pretty much as expected, give or take.
Re: Thibs, he’s done a nice job. Things looked ugly for a while, and he responded very well. Hard to not be impressed with the results of his decision-making.
Just finished watching-I tape. My sports girl crazy fan wife called it-I didn’t-Knicks PTSD. Clearly, the team is very good on many levels. I really don’t know what else to say, except early on I opined (nice way of putting it) that the relatively poor three-point shooting would doom our boys today. Guess not. As an aside, if there was a sport that combined basketball and football, Josh Hart would be the major dude. What a game.
It would be pretty awesome to get to 50 wins but I think 8-2 is a bridge too far. Definitely possible though! And exciting to even be discussing it!
I think 47 is a number I’d be really happy about considering everything, but with this schedule I can definitely see them going over this, maybe get to 49-50. Either way it’s a big successful season considering our expectations and the outlook for the future.
The difference between other years is that the Knicks have a ‘Game’. You can criticize it, but it is a game. They come at you and play D, they rebound, get extra shots, and you have to beat it. If they can execute it, who knows?
What I really really like about this team is that they never quit. There have been so many games in the last few months where things weren’t going their way and you would think “oh well, life in the NBA” and expect our opponent to roll over us
Today is a perfect example – when the Nuggets went up 13 in the 3rd quarter it was like “well, they have the 2 time MVP, they’re first in the West, not a disaster” and then we come roaring back.
I mean, the Bucks got blown out at home by the Pacers a few nights ago. We just don’t let that happen.
The most rewarding thing about this season is that it isn’t coming at the expense of future flexibility. It feels very different than the all in season of 2012–13. Leon has made some mistakes but deserves tons of credit for the positive state of affairs. Still too early for final judgment as the big move or moves are not made yet, but I’m feeling pretty optimistic that they won’t screw it up.
To me, it feels a bit like my football Giants-very happy. Smart rebuilding. As an aside, I am so tired of the Star f’ing rebuild. Even if it works temporally to an extent (see and compare, Nets), sometimes it leaves the fan base and the betting line unfulfilled. Go Knicks. Are we good, or are we really good?
I think it all started with Thibs, i was going to write “Good tech” but then i didn’t to not jinx it. And it was indeed a good time to commit a technical foul, to wake up the team and also the crowd.
I’m not surprised for the wins (I predicted 45, just as Z-Man), to me too is “how” we got here.
We were falling (10-13), wasting big leads and losing close games, then Thibs made some drastic decisions, that worked well at first and then become perfect when we acquired J-Hart*.
The team gelled, roles and hierarchies cleared up and accepted, and now when Brunson play we’re even doing decently in the clutch.
Thibs has done a great job keeping the team together, building a grit and grind identity (they never quit) and making the right decisions with his lineups in clutch situations. A remarkable work without any doubt.
And we have roads (“avenues” for optimist, “alleys” for pessimists 😉 ) to improve, with draft picks and reasonable contracts.
It’s a nice feeling…
* I’m still not totally sold on a strict 9-men rotation in the regular season, I’d rather have Fournier and Deuce as “true situationals” instead of one forever exiled and the other playing only if someone’s hurt.
Playoffs rotation are another matter, 9 can even be too much there…
I was just writing the same thing while drafting the recap… 🙂
And good job not to jinx it Cyber, you’re learning… 😉
“Leon has made some mistakes but deserves tons of credit for the positive state of affairs. Still too early for final judgment as the big move or moves are not made yet”
I’m not 100% sure there are going to be any big moves. I think that depends partly on what the internal thinking is on Grimes and RJ. If they are still very optimistic on them they may just ride the upside of this team, draft, try to move up in the draft, and tweak things unless something really special comes along. We felt like we were one or two players away. I think Hart was one of those players. But we don’t know what they are thinking.
Rose is definitely going to get votes for executive of the year whether folks here like it or not- arguably the best free agent signing and the most impactful deadline deal this season.
IMO, what’s really cool is, as is, we are currently in the mix. No one wants to play us. We can beat elite teams and not even hit the 3.
Saw a compilation of Mitch’s offensive rebounds today on twitter and his 7 led to 12 points. That’s how you score a lot of points while shooting 9-32 on 3 pointers
Yep, extra shots (often bunnies, sometimes easy put back open 3’s), all pf which are often poorly or undefended. Add coast to coast shots by Hart. It’s huge.
Mitch made some great plays.
I am obviously a Mitch super fan but IHart has picked up his game so much in the last couple of months I seem them trending towards parity. They both have been awesome.
But Josh has been so catalytic. It’s crazy what a big impact he has had and seems to have every game.
Another nice thing is I don’t think anyone on the team is having a “career year.” Or put differently, every player has room for improvement, except Hart but hopefully we will have him for a full season next year. So even if we don’t make any further moves in the offseason other than signing IQ and Hart to new contracts, there is definitely more upside there. Obviously players can regress too, but seems like there’s more room on the upside.
If we DO run it back with only minor changes e.g. Obi being traded and replaced by a more defensively oriented backup PF, it will feel a lot better than running back the 2020-21 squad, and the main reason is Brunson. He’s that combination of star, glue guy, and leader that is pretty rare. What a relief it is to know that he is locked up on a fantastic deal for the next two seasons!
Agree Z–Man. There’s a plan-and it is reasonable.
It is truly unbelievable that both Brunson and JHart were available at such low cost. Same with iHart to a lesser extent. All three are game-changers in their respective roles.
Yeah, we have done super well. Better than any of us tankers would have anticipated.
Alcaraz-Sinner very solid match but Carlos seems to have it in hand.
Also, these Wiggins rumors are nuts. Seems terrible of people to spread it around. Which I am doing too I guess.
Yes, and basketball, at its most beautiful and powerful form, is a team of a couple of stars and role players (see, Knicks 1969-70, 1972-73). [See, also, the Highwaymen, Cash , et al.]
Bulls up 25 on the Heat at halftime.
“Yeah, we have done super well. Better than any of us tankers would have anticipated.”
To be fair, only a couple of folks here were truly anti-tanking. The real friction was in discussing whether the hybrid method would work if transactions were skillfully executed and other decisions e.g coaching choices were prudent, and then over whether Leon’s transactions were actually skillful and choices were actually prudent. Seems to be more openness to those conversations now, although E would probably say that we are just on the Club Level of purgatory rather than general admission…
Nor should anyone be taking victory laps on the current situation, since we still aren’t really a true contender. We can still fuck things up by trading a haul for the wrong star (ix-nay on AT-Kay or ack-Zay).
But barring the drafting of a generational player, which is difficult even when you tank given the lottery odds leveling, the tank route can be a slog, and that wouldn’t fly with this owner in this city anyway. Leon will definitely have a job next year, which means at least something.
What can definitively be said is that given the chosen approach, the team has made dramatic progress since the day Leon arrived. We may have pulled even with or even surpassed some second-echelon teams that have widely been considered to have been better run, with better rosters, e.g. Miami, and we are still loaded with assets. Still a long way to go, though.
We got Brunson, Hart, and Hart much cheaper than I ever expected. And that’s factorial.
“Bulls up 25 on the Heat at halftime.”
you jinxin mfer…
No victory laps, but what we’ve done has obviously worked well. Rose, Thibs and the rest of the coaches and management team put us in a position where we are a relatively young 45+ win team with internal upside and enough assets in reserve to improve beyond that via trade or draft. That’s all you can really ask for.
We did it with a combination of draft picks, free agency, and trades.
Sure, we’ve made some mistakes, especially in the lottery portion of the draft, but we’ve found some bargains in the draft also.
Sure, some of trades may have given up a hair of present value for the future, but it was with something else in mind.
Sure, we signed some suspect free agents, but none were terminal and some probably helped with the development and mentoring of the young players that are doing so well now.
I think it should be understood that no plan comes without some mistakes unless it’s accompanied by extreme luck. Even the very best managements make some mistakes.
As long as we don’t have any catastrophic injuries or make a huge blunder from here, we should be able to look forward to very good basketball for quite a few years.
The Bulls made a REALLY good move picking up Patrick Beverley (one of my favorite defense first pests). He looked a bit washed in LA, but they were a mess at the time. He’s showing he still has game and he’s exactly what they needed to replace Lonzo. He’s helping defensively and can make some plays. They might finish up the season well and be a tough out in the play-in.
Looks like the Bulls are gonna hang on…Heat loss will be huge for us!
Never in doubt Z-man
It is really crazy how bad the warriors are on the road.
RJ has been annoying the hell out of me all year, but if he can at least keep up this efficiency going to the basket and drawing fouls, we have something to work with. He just has to tone down the volume of 3s and stick with just the very best ones and his overall efficiency will be tolerable. And of course, he’s got to play consistent defense too. Whether he can keep himself under control is another matter, but there’s a glimmer of hope that heading into the playoffs he’s not going to be single handedly shooting us out games and doing all sorts dumb stuff. We can worry about what he can for next year later.
“Never in doubt Z-man”
not nice to pick on the elderly like that…
I figured Brunson would be good, but never in my wildest imagination did I think he’d be 4 BPM good. I thought Josh Hart would be a nice pickup but I didn’t expect him to play like a more low usage, high efficiency version of Scottie Pippen. I didn’t see the return of 4 BPM Julius Randle coming, and I thought if anybody was likely to have a breakout it was RJ, which is the one positive development that didn’t happen.
Jaylen Brown outplaying Tatum as the Celtics fall apart down the stretch is a tremendous NBA subplot for me.
Golden State has lost 11 consecutive road games? Ouch!