The Knicks start their period of playing without star Julius Randle for at least a month with a game in Charlotte, against the awful Charlotte Hornets, who are missing LaMelo Ball, so, well, come on.
The Knicks will certainly miss Randle, but they sure shouldn’t need him tonight. Now, OG ALSO being out is definitely more of a problem. They should still beat the Hornets, but damn, they are missing too many freaking guys tonight! This irks me!
Let’s go, Knicks!
115 replies on “Game Thread 2023-24 Knicks @ Hornets (Randle-Less Knicks opener, which is sadly a thing)”
Jacob Toppin 30 points in the first half for the westies.
Time for DiVo to shutdown those Dejounte rumors
Rehashing from previous thread, these are our starters tonight:
Jalen Brunson
Donte DiVincenzo
Josh Hart
Precious Achiuwa
Isaiah Hartenstein
Figure a three-man bench of Deuce, Grimes, and Sims. Maaaaaybe Evil Donte if the Hornets play small a lot? Randle, OG, and Mitch are all injured. Fournier’s away on personal stuff (which every beat person insists is a legit thing, and not trade-related), and I have no idea if any of the two-way guys are traveling with the team as opposed to being in Westchester. So Evil Donte and Archie may be the only other guys even available. I know it’s the Hornets, but yeesh.
PJ Washington is a very underrated Knick killer
ludicrous no-call on Brunson there. Feeling a loss coming on
We should still be able to beat these guys but I don’t think it will be enjoyable viewing
From the high point of the season to the very next game having to watch this starting lineup…
Frank came in to clamp Brunson
This is gonna be a long ugly slog…
Someone should introduce nkitlina to the weight room…
Sims and Precious together is fugly.
I nominate Leaky Black for today’s Sumner awards
Hornets dancers look sharp…
“Bring me Jake Toppin!”
things I never thought I’d see in an ESPN play-by-play
“Frank Ntilikina offensive rebound”
Miller really has a very aesthetic game, reminiscent of a young Paul George out there.
It’s perhaps fortunate that Charlotte is the worst defense in the league
Knicks have to lead the league in getting their dunks blocked.
I just turned the game on (I was thinking a 7:30 start). It’s real small ball at the moment, 4 guards and Sims (Hart, Grimes, McBride and Divo)
It appears the 8-37 Hornets, who are missing their starting point guard and just traded away their best combo guard, got a 5 minute look at Frank Ntilikina at point guard and said “that’s quite enough of that”
Worried about iHart. I hope he doesn’t just have to play hurt all season…
Sims looks so much better lately.
This Hornets team really sucks, if we lose it would be a shanda…
Yeah, Sims have been giving enough good minutes to rest Hartenstein quite a bit, that is nice.
I didn’t see much of the game yet, but the box score says our bench has a higher plus minus than most of the starters. Given our injuries, that is remarkable.
Grimes’ 3pters lately aren’t coming close to going in.
We’re 2-15 on threes, but the Hornets are so absurdly bad that the game is still tied.
Is it too late to reschedule this one?
Grimes is hardly a confident shooter these days…
My eyes hurt from watching this game.
Whoops, I was wrong. Sumner award is going to Nick Smith
Hartenstein is on a 15-20 min restriction
If the Knicks lose this game they might go winless this week if OG remains out.
Grimes certainly not pumping up his trade value…
If we’re gonna survive this stretch without Randle, Grimes has got to be better than this…
This is like watching Scrappy-Doo era Scooby-Doo cartoons
Speaking of cartoons I gotta watch the new season of Masters of the Universe on Netflix!
I’ve seen enough Grimes for the year.
What’s the lowest scoring NBA game this year?
Grimes is one for seven, but he is still +3.
What shocks me is that the Hornets bench scored zero points in the half. This is is despite five guys playing of the bench a total of 32 minutes.
That dude Smith Jr came off the bench and hit 2 threes
You are correct. I misread. Still not good for the Hornets, but not as shocking.
PR3CIOUS
I’m getting 2019 flashbacks from both squads. They really need to win this fucking game.
Yeah I mean literally having Brunson alone is looking like enough. Would’ve been nice if we didn’t have to give him the Secretariat treatment against this outright G-League team.
Frank Frank!
Frank shouldn’t be anywhere near an NBA roster.
Did Frank fucking Ntilikina really just do that? I’d say it’s time to go back to Europe but there’s no way he could hang in those leagues. Time to learn Chinese buddy.
Frank is only 25, he hasn’t reached his prime yet.
A blowout so Brunson can sit the 4th quarter would be perfect.
Thank goodness for Jalen Brunson.
The 3s started falling, Brunson started doing his thing, and the Hornets are unraveling hard…
Big rag-oooooo
I’ll say this, I’m feeling kinda bullish with Precious, he’s a pretty capable backup 4/5 and I feel he still has upside to be better.
We are currently up 20 with Donte DiVincenzo as our second option, just like in the Villanova days
I know Lamelo is out but my God is Charlotte awful.
*Logan Roy voice* they are not serious people
Brunson almost knocked Frank into the stands on that last basket.
On this Hornets team, the guy Phil Jackson took in the lottery has managed to be the least impressive player
The bench guys are just styling and profiling on these fools now.
DEEEEEEUCE
Man, Deuce is good.
Thou who has doubteth the Deuce must perish…
Breen knew Deuce’s over was 7.5 tonight
I still can’t believe all the stupid usage debates some people here tried to foster up after trading RJ and IQ.
when an nba team knows they suck and needs a coach…clifford must be the first guy in the rolodex…
I beg you Thibs…don’t let Brunson see any more minutes in this game. Now more than ever, we can’t afford to lose him
That last deuce sequence was awesome
You guys just can’t see Frank’s greatness
The Hornets are embarrassing top to bottom…
Nice hustlebunny play by Hart.
Brunson is coming back in after this timeout isn’t he..
Implying there’s any sort of top on this team seems generous
Most obvious Thibs thing ever.
“
Most obvious Thibs thing ever.”
Yeah, but this time it’s on the bench, not on Thibs…
Please rest some players, Thibs. How is he this reckless with minutes? No one should be playing 40+ minutes against the Hornets.
We can’t trade anyone off this team they’re too good
Fournier I assume would’ve gotten rotation mins tonight if he had been active.
Just another 21 pt win.
With a 20pt lead he sits players around 1:30 to 2:00 left, sometimes 1:00. He needs a 30pt lead to really pull them early
Wow, looks like I missed the “good” quarter of basketball.
Brunson played 34 minutes, it’s fine. Divo is the only one who broke 40 and Hart got close with 39, but without OG and Randle there’s not much that can be done there, not even Fournier was available.
Heat culture has some issues right now.
Cavs never fucking lose anymore.
Isn’t it kind of weird how anemic Jackson Jr is when it comes to rebounding? Sabonis is out rebounding him 23-3 in the 3rd quarter.
Neither do we, Al!
This would be a great time to pull the trigger on a Malcolm Brogdon trade, Leon.
It’s true. If you have Brunson and a Basketball, you don’t need any other players. #Arewenotmen?
Im not worried about the Cavs. They’ve played a ton of home games and they have the dreaded west coast trip to end the season. They CAN’T keep up the insane 3pt shooting, can they?
I love that! But these are kind of wins you give major credit to Thibs for. The man has created the ethos that makes your statement true.
This is the truth.
“Im not worried about the Cavs. They’ve played a ton of home games and they have the dreaded west coast trip to end the season. They CAN’T keep up the insane 3pt shooting, can they?”
The Cavs won 51 games last year and have since improved their roster. They have had a bunch of injuries and are just starting to get healthy again. They are also as all-in as a team could be, and are probably bitter and hungry after last year’s playoff debacle. I don’t think anyone should be surprised that they are winning a lot.
Yet I have no issues whatsoever playing them again in the 1st rd.
Heat Culture in the fucking mud
Ben Simmons with an excellent game in his return…although it looks like the Jazz were AWOL…
Seems I set my money on fire taking that 14-1 flyer on the Heat to win the East the other day. But I bet twice as much on the Clippers at 10-1 and I have a good feeling I’ll be cashing that one in.
Looking at NBA stats for the last 15 games is so fun right now:
https://www.nba.com/stats/teams/advanced?sort=NET_RATING&dir=-1&LastNGames=15
woo-hoo we won…didn’t catch the game, will watch the replay when it’s ready…
we have a tough week of basketball coming up:
– tues, jazz
– thurs, pacers
– sat, lakers
time to go all super-nova (that is pretty cool, 3 college teammates are starting for an NBA team)…precious, deuce and jericho seem to be kicking in at the perfect time…
hopefully OG’s elbow thing is more of just resting him before a back to back, but – we’ll know more if he’s not in there tomorrow…
wow, isaiah’s on a minutes restriction…you really can’t have too deep a team some seasons…like this season…
hopefully we can keep jalen/OG/julius making 36 million and below per season when/if we extend/re-sign them…
it’s important to have some quality backups (DDV, isaiah), never know when the backups might need to become starters…
hmm, espn running out of adjectives.
who is the smoothest of them all?
watching the replay now, it’s with the charlotte broadcast team…
they’re okay…they just clowned frank, saying he plays “ymca” defense…ha…
yeah, frank is good at: ___________…nothing basketball-wise…
Geo…you get to the part where their announcer calls Brunson “prime grade A beef”?
Luka following up 73 with 45 to barely beat Orlando.
naw, i got a bit distracted folding clothes 🙂
i have the sound off now, i’ll turn it back on when the second half starts…
had a good night, went to one of those japanese style grills to celebrate the oldest kid’s birthday…she’s been old enough to order booze, still it’s a little weird…at least her brothers are still fairly young yet…
during my obsession of getting my home in order, i’ve been a bit of a dick dad…there’s 3 of them, and the 2 oldest are somewhat sensitive, and well, at times i too can get a little thibs like when it comes to getting things down, and maintaining order…
so, it was a good chance for the kids, their mom and i to enjoy our bonus -type family together…
days like this are simply the years and years of the wear and tear of parenting paying off…
my friend called me a disneyland dad (come stay on the weekends and holidays)…i just need to be a little wiser in how i utilize the time we have together…
people mostly just remember how you made them feel…20 years from now – don’t want the story to be my dad was a dick…
edit: the chicken and steak the dude was cooking on the grill looked sooooo good…had the chicken, and tried some of the steak and shrimp…yum…
Philly’s down 17 to Portland in the 3rd and the Bucks just lost to Denver.
Brogdon with 21-7-5 on 13 shots, just begging for Leon to come get him.
And lastly, it’s been exactly 7 weeks since Shams said Mitch would be evaluated in 8-10 weeks.
heard the call after a jalen 3 pointer…that charlotte crew sounds country…
man if we were healthy we would pass Philly easily right now with the mess theyre in
In fairness, Philly is only really in this mess bc Embiid isn’t healthy.
Indiana lost Halliburton for weeks. Cleveland’s lost half their team. Butler’s missed 1/3 of the season for Miami. We haven’t really been too unlucky, this stuff happens to everyone.
We’ll power through it. We might not go 14-2 but we’ll be ok.
What Hubert said. Plus, this rash of injuries has not affected our won/loss record in any way, shape, or form, at least not yet. I mean, we’re still 13-2 in our last 15, and still on pace to win 52 games. Even with an expected drop-off, we have some leeway here (assuming that the drop-off does not become precipitous).
The Cavs learned what they needed from their loss to us last year. They filled the gaps really well in the off season and haven’t been healthy this season. I want absolutely nothing to do with the Cavs in the 1st round again. I’d rather play the 76ers under the assumption that Embiid will be out or less than 100% for a couple of the games.
I’ve been wondering how the Heat were playing so well despite all the injuries all season long. I assumed it must be the genius of Spo because they aren’t that good. Now they are healthier and I can’t believe they are this bad.
Don’t pick on Frank. He’s had more injuries than a 50 year old WWE wrestler and hasn’t seen an NBA court consistently in so long he needed a map to find it. Some guys just don’t have the body that can hold up to professional sports and develop their skills. Right now it looks like he has nothing left. At least Charlotte is smart enough to not play him at PG.
You would think the Mavs should be dangerous against almost anyone with Luka, Kyrie and a handful of decent role players, but Kyrie hardly plays and when he’s out their offense is Luka with the ball and 4 other guys hoping they’ll touch it. Their defense is non existent, especially with Luka. I’m not sure what to expect from them. They could get healthy, play smarter and win a lot of games or they could find themselves battling for a play in spot and tanking the last few games.
Should read:
“Some guys just don’t have skills”
There, FTFY.
Ironically or maybe obviously, the Knicks moved the ball better without Randle, but that was against the worst defense in the NBA. We’ll see what happens against real NBA teams. But if they want to score with this Randleless team, we are going to need a lot more ball and player movement and some transition baskets to get our role players some easy shots.
He was a good defender and quick and accurate ball mover (my two favorite attributes). It was his shot that needed a lot of development. At a minimum he needed a consistent 3 pointer to have a role. But you have to be on the court consistently and have off seasons to work on your game to have any hope of developing those skills. He had neither. He was constantly hurt and missed several off seasons. Now he looks really slow and empty. He looks done.
Look at how much progress KP made once he had a few healthy off seasons to work on his game. He’s still getting better at 27. He’s arguably taking bigger leaps now than he was in his early 20s because he’s been healthy going into the off season and could work on his game instead of rehabbing. There’s no telling how much quicker he would have gotten there and how much higher the peak would have been without all he went through.
It is what it is. Some guys get hurt a lot.
Still dying on the Frank Ntilikina hill in 2024.
You have to admire the commitment to the bit.