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54 replies on “Knicks Morning News (2025.03.09)”
This team is in desperate need of live bodies who can actually play in games. The fact the team would instead devote its 15th roster spot to a guy who can’t play, but who provides respected veteran leadership and locker room vibes — basically, Scary Theo Pinson — is not a great sign for the state of our chemistry, especially compared to nearly every other year of the Rose/Thibs era. What is going on with this group of guys?
What are the supposed lockerroom issues?
We don’t know. Begley has alluded to a need for leadership, which is usually code for guys not getting along.
Might be the general lack of urgency the team plays with and lack of defensive intensity
Sounds like OG versus the Nova Boys is actually a thing.
Which means Leon’s all-in move(s) is both defensively and chemistry deficient.
Maybe it’s him getting older, but Thibs has been surprisingly mellow about the defensive deficiencies his 2024-25 squad has displayed. Everything else equal, that also speaks chemistry issues.
I have no idea but my theory is this all stems from the mikal/divo swap. They blew 5 picks on mikal to complete the nova Voltron’s but then had to trade divo to get KAT which was the right move on paper but killed the vibes.
I don’t know. Maybe divo was tighter with Josh and Jalen than Mikal but it would have been fine if all four of them were here but maybe there’s some resentment there?
OG doesn’t seem to be the problem, though. It feels like it’s Mikal/Josh who aren’t vibing.
Yeah, Mikal seems to be the unhappy one, not OG. But good job, good effort, E.
But also, isn’t part of the point of Brunson not just that he’s an offensive genius, but that he’s an incredible leader? It’s weird.
I also do wonder about Jalen’s dad. It must be weird for other players.
And Randle, for all his faults, seemed to be a guy that the team rallied around.
If it is vibes that’s actually a good thing bc that is something that can potentially be fixed. Winning also helps.
Randle was also a lightning rod for attention. His genuine oddness — “thumbs down” or whatever — made everyone else seem calm by comparison, except for maybe Divo who was likewise volatile.
This current bunch just seems too calm, staring into space as if to say “Don’t blame me” while opponents blow by them.
Sure, that’s just my feeling, but it’s there (and it’s a lazy Sunday).
I agree with this. It was his team, his physical style and his “we love each other” identity. It’s missing this year and the team looks listless and too often aimless.
Brunson is a great player but I don’t think he gets into people’s faces to straighten them up. Leading by example has its limits.
A player being “unhappy” does not connote a team chemistry problem in the least.
Unless he’s “unhappy” about other players, in which case, please explain who, under the theory, Mikal is unhappy with and why. (And there’s no indication whatsoever that Mikal is unhappy with Josh Hart. OTOH, there was chatter earlier in the year about a split or rift between OG and the Nova Boys.)
EDIT: General lethargy or listlessness on the floor also does not connote a team chemistry problem. Perhaps the term “chemistry” needs to be reassessed if it’s not actually meant. I assumed it was actually meant.
Pretty much disagree with everything E just said. So all is right in the world.
Listlessness and lack of energy and effort are exactly the things that contribute to vibes. Mikal is the problem. His body language is poor. His effort at times is poor.
happy Sunday 😊
sitting in a chair getting ready for my first (hopefully not last) pedicure…
life is good…
yep, PJ Tucker is an interesting edition, and it does somewhat reveal a team chemistry issue…
Alan and Geo, I don’t buy it that Tucker was brought on just for locker room vibes. Of course, that doesn’t hurt, but I expect the Knicks to see if he has anything left in the tank and move on if he doesn’t.
It’s funny, when they made the KAT trade, I noted that it was about as bad of a “vibes” trade as you could possibly get. I also noted that vibes don’t really matter when you’re winning. And, well, you know, they’re winning, so I don’t really care if the team has bad vibes (and it does, in fact, sound like they have bad vibes).
The 2012-13 Knicks admittedly had pretty good vibes, but the 1996-97 team had some issues (Starks obviously wasn’t thrilled about suddenly coming off of the bench, Larry Johnson didn’t love going from a sort of co-top option with Glen Rice to being the #4 option on the Knicks, and also playing small forward instead of power forward), but it didn’t really matter. Do we count the 1994-95 team as a great Knicks team? If so, that team obviously had HORRENDOUS vibes. Even the 1993-94 team had some issues.
So, yeah, all things considered, would I prefer good vibes to bad ones? Yes, but it really doesn’t matter that much in the end.
One thing I noticed that I think should be a sort of guidepost for future Knick seasons. How about just winning your division? The Knicks have won their division just once in the last thirty fucking years!
Agree Tucker will play.
I personally think this “vibes” stuff is way overblown, but this team could use an “enforcer” type aka a guy who can throw a sucker punch and get kicked out of the game without us losing much talent…
Enter PJ!
Otherwise, I’m not surprised we lost the 2nd game of a b2b with 2 rotation guys out after an overtime game. Also, I like Mikal and think he does some key defensive stuff. If he only needs to be a staunch defender/ball mover for this team rn, so be it.
I want to see these guys once KAT, Brunson, and Mitch are fully healed… I think we’ll like that version of the team a lot.
“Chemistry” and “vibes” are different things; the overlap between them is minimal if not nonexistent.
1. Everyone is sick of the losing and the lack of competitiveness with the elite — vibes.
2. Mikal is pouty and it’s making everyone else lethargic— vibes.
3. Mikal is pouty and half the team is sick of it and him and having to bust harder because of it — chemistry.
I’m pretty firmly against using roster spots and salary space for glorified coaches. You can always just hire…coaches, who neither use roster spots nor count against the salary cap.
I suppose it’s possible that we have chemistry, locker room, etc. issues that can truly only be addressed via a new voice in the room that comes from a player. If so, that represents a failure(s) of some sort in its own right.
Gossipblogger. What a fun Sunday.
While Mikal is something of a mystery to me, I don’t see him as pouty at all. I see him as weird, and part of that weird is that he runs hot and cold in terms of the energy he brings to his offense. I suppose that could lead to chemistry problems, like “Mikal stop fucking disappearing!” But it’s unclear if anyone outside of some of us fans know or care.
About the only chemistry problem I’ve seen is annoyance at certain people for not shooting when they can. At the same time, do we really want Josh Hart to jack up 10 threes a game? Will the results actually spread the floor? Maybe it’s a good idea when Mitch is on the floor for the Kobe assists…?
The whole team (outside of Brunson, and Hart when he’s not not shooting) does feel ‘soft,’ although I can’t actually define that. Perhaps that’s the subtle thing PJ is supposed to change.
What TFNH said.
If there’s anything to be upset about aside from feeling the pressure of high expectations and then losing to the best teams, it’s that we have 5 guys in the starting lineup that all want to eat, but many nights it’s Brunson dribbling around for most of a possession and either shooting himself or going to Towns.
When we came into the season we knew Brunson and Towns would be #1 and #2 and that OG (who wants to be a bigger part of the offense) and Bridges would be co #3. Josh Hart figured to take the smallest role. But Josh has the ball in his a hands a LOT because he also makes plays.
There are only so many possessions. I could see a couple of these guys (OG and Bridges) getting pissed off from time to time when they aren’t seeing the ball much. That probably goes double for Bridges because I’m sure he’d like a nice extension.
He averaged 3.9 pts/36 in 480 minutes. The season before he averaged 5.0 per 36 on 1900 minutes.
His RAPM has been good, but stats that incorporates the box score is understandably much lower. Plus, multi-year RAPM is going to miss a dropoff in production.
He hasn’t played in a year and, while efficient, rarely shoots the ball. Maybe that’s enough to space the floor, but team can play pretty far off him.
I won’t completely write him off as a player because his RAPM is decent, but I’m very skeptical.
Signing Tucker is bad news for Precious. Personally, I think we need some scoring punch right now. TJ Warren seems like the obvious choice, unless Tucker has spent the last year and a half practicing 3 pointers.
I don’t think there is expressed tension and animosity. It’s just that they are not as bonded with each other as they were in previous seasons. My reading is that the inner circle of the Nova trio plus Thibs and Rich Brunson are glued to the hip and run the show. Mikal is madder at himself than others; he is one of them and I don’t believe that the exorbitant price the Knicks paid to trade for him was without the input/pressure by those ‘inner’ guys. KAT is kind of easy going and gregarious, and tried to get into that inner circle with some success but not much. OG is looked at with a more alienated professionalism. He is clearly not one of “them.” Without being an enemy, he is not their type of personality, and, more importantly, commanded a huge sum to sign his extension. I also heard that OG had raised his asking price last summer after the Mikal trade. That was not a team friendly gesture while all the inner circle guys have a “team first, winning first” approach. Brunson took a discount to help the team. I expect Mikal to do the same.
While bad games and losses cause finger-pointing, winning cures everything. If they fix their defense and make a deep playoff run, all will be good.
Wouldn’t we have been better off signing, say, Malachi Flynn (9/5/5 in 19 minutes off the Hornets bench last night) rather than PJ Tucker? Seems a better use of resources right now.
9/5/1 for Malachi last night, not 9/5/5. Sorry. But still…….
If you’re Flynn, are you signing a 10-day contract to sit on the bench or are you signing a 10-day where you get to showcase your stuff?
Charlotte has become the unofficial proving grounds for Knicks rejects:
– Baugh
– Flynn
– DaQuan
– DSJr
– Mykhailiuk
Not saying they soared, but they sure take a lot of them
It’s obvious this roster ain’t it but I smell a remake opportunity. One of the hits of the last offseason was when Leon packaged his odd fit all-NBA forward with a tertiary Nova bro to land a bigger fish.
Coming soon, maybe in June: KAT and Mikal going out, Giannis coming back. Brock Aller to produce the details. We can subtitle it “Who Says No?”
Don’t forget Taj.
Yeah, you’re right. The thing that I seem to forget all the time is that they’d never see the floor if we *did* sign them, because it seems pretty damn obvious to me that they should. TJ Warren probably wouldn’t see the floor, either.
Yeah, no way Warren would actually play for them. A better question about Warren is why hasn’t any NBA team, even a shitty one, given him a shot? You know I don’t appeal to authority, so it could be that they’re all missing something on Warren, but it’s still weird.
Michael>>>>LeBron https://www.tiktok.com/@houseofhighlights/video/7479655724906286379?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc
Celtics vs Thunder is going to be one hell of a series. I hope they are both healthy.
So if OKC doesn’t at least get to the Finals, is this season a failure?
If I had to pick, I’d say OKC and Cleveland (not Boston).
Yes. Teams that win 64+ games are historically more likely than not to win the championship, not just make the finals. Same goes for teams that lead the league in SRS. They will finish as a top 3 SRS team in NBA history and will have done so while missing one of their 4 best players for most of the season.
Failing to make the finals would absolutely be a colossal failure. Why is this even a question?
But Pags, if OKC (projected for 68 wins) meets Cleveland (projected for 69 wins) in the Finals…….well, they can’t both win. So sometimes history needs to re-write itself.
OKC has failed pretty badly if they don’t make the finals, but if they lose to the Cavs (also have a really high SRS, might win 70 games) or the Celtics (historically great last year, might be loafing a bit in the regular season) it’s not a big deal.
Yep, totally agreed. If OKC doesn’t make the Finals, historic failure of a season. If they lose in the Finals to the Cavs or the Celtics, it’s certainly not ideal, but it is not a huge deal.
I only brought it up because OKC is gonna have multiple bites at the apple. It’s not like they went all in this year with an aging superstar, they’ll have the same core plus a zillion draft picks for years to come.
Yes, they’re heavy favorites to win the West, but with the rise of Golden State and the Lakers, plus Denver always a threat with Jokic, anything can happen.
They’d just be heavy favorites again next year.
Oh sure, they’d have to feel good about themselves next season, but we all know the NBA, you’ll often be surprised at which crack at the title will be your last.
And what if they lose the Finals to the… Knicks? 🧡💙
Vibes chemistry whatever… All I see is that they still struggle to get everyone involved or keep players involved. Mikal had a hot hand, and then they through a pass which went out of bounds maybe deflected, and then it was like he was shut out. Players get shut out, they either demand the ball or they look disinterested. We have a lot of disinterested looking players but is that a consequence of them getting shut out? (We don’t have demand the ball players, apart from maybe Cam Payne lol)
Oh well, I’m not the coach. It’s not an easy one to rectify. Do the Knicks have a psychologist on the payroll? How about a hypnotist?
Mikal is certainly not pouty. Have you even watched his pregame warmup routine. He and Cam Payne have the best vibes in the league.
these last 19 games feel like they are gonna drag on and on…
ready for the playoffs, while the team may not be quite ready, I am 😊
went with a light tan on the toes, they look so purty now…
Knickerblogger: children of a lesser basketball god…
Giannis has like 8 dunks before halftime and the Cavs are up 15.
Gerritt Cole has to get Tommy John surgery. Yankee season already seems cursed.
How are the Knicks, even in this bizarre season, by far the most functional, least snakebit sports team I root for at the moment?
He probably should have had surgery after the WS, he was barely holding on last year. I guess that’s easy for me to say, but I would have been shocked if he made it through this season.
Bummer injury for the Mets today too, as Francisco Alvarez will need surgery on his hamate bone and will miss 6-8 weeks. You don’t always fully recover from that injury either. Catcher is the one position where the Mets don’t really have depth.
Yasmani Grandal is still out there as a free agent, and he’s ostill a good defensive catcher despite his advancing age. Probably worth kicking the tires on that guy, might be able to still give you 1-2 WAR.
Baseball is random sometimes, wouldn’t shock me if the Yanks won the division. The Yankees will need an extra dominant season from the bullpen now as they will be going to them in the 4th inning a lot this season..
Giannis asking out is coming this off season..
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