Categories
Game Thread

2024-25 Game Thread: Knicks vs. Heat – Father of Heat

The Knicks take on the hilariously shitty Miami Heat tonight, in a fun game where hopefully the Knicks get to beat up on the Heat (they can “son” them hopefully, hence the title, Father of Heat), and hopefully none of the dirty Heat players try to injure any of the current Knicks.

Isn’t it funny how Pat Riley made all of these plans for the Heat to add Dame and then just…didn’t? The answer is, “Yes, Brian, that is very funny.”

Let’s go, Knicks!

The Dylan tune is “Father of Night,” which Dylan initially wrote for a planned musical, and when it fell apart, he repurposed the song for his 1970 album, New Morning.

238 replies on “2024-25 Game Thread: Knicks vs. Heat – Father of Heat”

Speaking of brawls, that was a nice set of ESPN clips of Knicks-Heat battles. Even if I hate ESPN games.

LFGK!

LET’S GO KNICKS! 🏀🧡💙🧡🏀

… and HATE THE HEAT! 👎🏻👎🏻👎🏻

Really hard to get excited about this game, but I guess since we don’t have Brunson it makes it a little more interesting

Knicks trying to sweep the season series against the Heat for the first time since the 1992-93 season.

Knicks look like they would rather be anywhere else but playing basketball tonight.

Well there’s our hole, dug quick and early.

We have two shots at the basket to their five.

My personal highest level of coaching was middle school, and even then I was mostly googling stuff. But I am confidently declaring that every time Hart passes up a good 3PA he should be benched. I just don’t see how else to handle the situation at this point.

It would be interesting to know what percentage of the Knicks’ first 5 possessions are TOs through the season

I’ve never been a “huge” Mitch fan, but I’m so happy he’s back.

OMG Anunoby we suck. Maybe we don’t got this.

Between the OG airball and the Shamet move that has no name because nobody’s done something that terrible before, we are just looking UGLY.

Offense is horrible, but we’re really shutting them down on the defensive end

At least the ball movement is so much better without Brunson.

We miss his ability to make shots and run the offense, not his tendency towards over dribbling. What we need is the best of both worlds, not to go back to what we were doing before he got hurt. We’ve shown we can do that.

We actually need Payne to shoot.

I am going to so regret typing that…

We miss his ability to make shots and run the offense,

The Knicks drafted somebody who can run an offense, but status quo will prevail.

Now Thibs is tinkering *too* much. Leave KAT the fuck in there.

I wouldn’t feel bad if PJ Tucker came in just to put an elbow into Bam’s face

“The Knicks drafted somebody who can run an offense, but status quo will prevail.”

I want to see Kolek play some PG so bad.

I really don’t give a shit if he goes 0-7 with 3 TOs and looks like a chair on defense. We need a real PG out there. Give him a chance. If he fails it’s not he end of the world. Towns has been amazing, but we are going to need 50 from him to win this way.

Actually, I thought Achiuwa had some good defensive moments so far tonight.

I’m with you Strat, we need to develop a homegrown bench and he’s signed for 4 years, he should play real minutes especially with Brunson out…

Yeah Cyber, Precious sucks but he had his moments defending Bam.

Hart scores a basket the only way he can now, on a goaltend…

The only way Hart can hit a shot lately is with a goal tend. 🙂

edit: (beat me to it Raven)

And the old sitting assist.

This game is ugly as sin, but a hoot.

Mitch and OG together are everything I hoped for

Edit: but yeah, not with Precious too

Thank goodness for Mitch. I was just about to type something really mean.

Don’t need to do sit-ups tonight. About every other play has my core tightening.

The resurrection of KAT’s 3 point shot unfortunately coincides with Hart’s 3 point shot being totally broken

OG is a savant on defense, but on offense…OG is a savant on defense

“Mitchell on his case like Sherlock Holmes”

that’s a great clyde line

+1

OG’s forays to the rim are like a Twilight Zone episode, you know something weird will happen…

Anyone who wants to pad his stocks should just drop into the lane whenever OG drives.

Defense overall was not bad except a few fast breaks and a few Bam screens. The Knicks should communicate better on those. Mitch Robinson played well. Deuce played well but not as point guard. I wish Thibs would start Payne in the second half. He organizes the team better.

Remarkably, we are on track for the key 28 assists…hard to see how

“OG’s forays to the rim are like a Twilight Zone episode, you know something weird will happen…”

…and rarely is there a happy ending.

“OG’s forays to the rim are like a Twilight Zone episode, you know something weird will happen…”

He should rarely be allowed to go to the rim off the dribble because both his handle and finish in non dunking sitiations are his weaknesses.

Allow him to cut, leak out and spot up but unless he comes back with a better handle and finish next year it’s on him if his role is reduced a bit. He can’t really complain. He got paid.

It seems to me that the Knicks have their shots blocked more than any other team in the NBA. I don’t know if numbers support this observation. Either way, this is not good. It happens too frequently.

I don’t read everything every day. I miss a lot of stuff. Where is Hubert?

Despite popular opinion Bridges is still pretty good.

I was thinking that this game, too. If you forget the trade, he’s a good player, jack-of-all-trades useful piece.

Apparently the Heat’s first half net rating is pretty solid and then in second halves they become the 2011-2012 Bobcats. So hopefully that’s what we’re seeing.

So many fucking stupid turnovers to let the Heat right back into the game.

If you tie up a player for a jump ball do they count that as anything statistically?

If you win the jump ball 50% of the time it’s like a half steal.

How is it possible mid way through the 3rd quarter Bridges and OG have zero total rebounds?

I wish they had told us how serious this vomit situation was, I could have got some work done

Did Hart and KLove play together somewhere?

He’s probably asking Kevin if he can get Uncle Mike on the podcast…

Hopefully Tracy didn’t go to Wine & Dine before the game tonight.

Please keep “feeding”* Mikal though

* ahem

If my bricks made Tracy Morgan projectile vomit I’d make sure to hit a few shots after too

So nice to see Mitch doing all kinds of things.

Doris is pointing out how totally different Mitch is this game vs. the last one.

For all the shit Hart’s taking from Doris and the rest of you, he has a triple double already.

Nice play Josh Hart!

I don’t mean the 3, which was great, but he set up that play for Shamet’s 3 all the way

Miami is highly suspect, but that 3rd quarter outburst makes this game look like one of the better two way games of the season. Miami only has 66 points!

Knicks have to run this up to 40 to get Kolek out there with a minute left. 🙂

Seeing Mitch flying at you like that has to be disconcerting even for an NBA player

ESPN guy just said Knicks have the third best defense since Mitch came back.

I gotta say, nobody is trying to take it to the hole when he’s there.

Hart has 12/13/11 with 4 steals, easily the best player on *any* team thus far tonight, and all you guys do is bitch about him.

Joking aside, hope Tracy Morgan is OK… My first thought was that’s how you throw up when you drink when you’re on certain meds

Who the hell’s bitching about Hart? At least since halftime, when he suddenly and inexplicably rediscovered how to play basketball…

Mikal with 5 straight excellent games since Brunson went down

Gotta figure out a way to get him more involved in the offense when Jalen comes back

You, TNFH, Strat, ess-dog, and d-mar have all been pretty disparaging of Hart throughout the night. He started out with 8 rebounds in the first quarter, so he was playing pretty decently then, too.

Will PJ Tucker *really* become a Knick on the floor before this evening is over?

Up 27. 13 more and maybe we’ll get some deep bench play at the 5 minute mark. 😉

I don’t want Mitch on the court anymore this game unless it’s with Towns. Please no injuries!!!!!!!

You, TNFH, Strat, ess-dog, and d-mar have all been pretty disparaging of Hart throughout the night.

Lol you’re going to steal my comment and try to turn it against me? Get a life, dude.

Doris sounding like the worst parts of Knickerblogger the last 10 minutes. Announce the fucking game, don’t be yanking on the Knicks chances against Boston, bitch.

Ty-Ler Ko-lek (clap clap clap-clap-clap)
Ty-Ler Ko-lek (clap clap clap-clap-clap)

Mitch had nice post up position…Og never even considered throwing it to him..

I think they’ll win this challenge….but why? Why?

Do you know who coaches the Knicks?

I think Towns hot that rebound and scored because Baker had to guard Mitch.

(A couple of plays ago)

OK, good to see the run with KAT and Mitch, get them all out now please

I think Towns hot that rebound and scored because Baker had to guard Mitch.

Totally agree

A combination of good Knicks defense and the Heat not showing up in the second half made the game kind of boring to watch at the end. The best thing I take from this game is Mitch Robinson’s intimidating presence defensively. Boy, did we missed this!

Crashing the Heat and seeing them in such misery is such a joy!!!

Watched most of the second half. That was satisfying.

Mitch looked great.

Having had the norovirus run through every member of my family this week I feel for Tracy. Hope he is alright.

It was funny, the first 5-10 minutes, the Heat were waltzing into the paint. Then Mitch came in, and the world turned upside down…

Mitch looked like his old self tonight… by that I mean pre-bulked up Mitch. Very encouraging!

Having had the norovirus run through every member of my family this week I feel for Tracy. Hope he is alright.

Superspreader

Grimes’s next contract will be interesting. He has probably earned himself tens of millions with this recent stretch.

Interesting stat, Knicks only had 6 FTA tonight although they did make all of them.

Let’s have a 300 post discussion tomorrow on the crimes of letting Quentin Grimes and Obi Toppin go.

The reason I was so pro-Grimes is I saw him completely dominate the frosh vs sophs All-Star games – took two games over, scored all the points, drove inside, shot from outside, made half the defensive stops, etc. His role with us was pretty circumscribed, but that game showed me that he was a supreme athlete with a good shot. (I posted about it live at the time.) He needs a better handle, still, but has star potential.

I hated the trade, hate it more now, but whatever, water under the bridge. Leon didn’t want to give him the contact, and it seems to be his way with younger players. But I wonder what move we could have made instead of Bridges if we had his cheap contract this year.

Don’t miss Toppin, though. Nice player, but too limited to get serious minutes on a real contender.

Now Toppin makes a contested three to win it for Indy. OMG, it’s gonna be nauseating to read the thread tomorrow.

Super memorable game at the garden. Slow start, but strong second half. Got to see Hart tie Walt’s triple-double record. But most most memorable of all was seeing Tracy Morgan projectile vomit all over the court! 🤣 Unforgettable…

Grimes having 46 and 13 playing with 4 guys I’ve never heard of is incredible. Good for him he’s making a lot of money.

I forgot this game was happening but it seems like it was a fun one. Mitch is maybe rounding into form? From the looks of the boxscore it seems that he played 23 effective minutes.

Can’t the Sixers match any contract Grimes gets on the open market?

Obi on the other hand is a fine enough all offense no defense bench piece but he makes too much money. He’d be great on the Knicks if he was making 4 million but he’s not.

I wish Grimes and Obi nothing but the best, except when they play us of course. Both seem like nice guys. And Thibs definitely could have utilized them better than he did. IQ as well.

But yeah, water under the bridge.

Obi plays no defense, you are seeing that issue with Brunson and Towns right now. You can’t fill your roster with bad defenders.

JK, for me this was totally The Mitch Game. He was defensively dominant, in that nobody wanted ANYTHING to do with him and just ran through the paint or reversed themselves back out to the line any time he showed. He snagged rebounds, got blocks, picked some pockets, and had serious energy. He even tried a few post moves, at least one of which worked.

As the guy on ESPN said, we have the third-best defense in the league since Mitch has been back. And Mitch has been fairly mediocre until today. So maybe that’s not all Mitch, if you know what I mean…

But with THIS Mitch, the sky is quite literally the limit, if Brunson comes back whole and both can stay healthy.

Randle missed the game tying shot vs Indy. Indy scored 132 points..

The Knicks biggest defensive improvement has been McBride replacing Brunson and that’s a big issue. I like Mitch, but not sure he will be able to cover for Brunson/Towns on the court together.

“Mitch is maybe rounding into form? From the looks of the boxscore it seems that he played 23 effective minutes.”

He looked great. First game that his timing and wind seemed like it did before he got hurt, and slimming down may have some benefits going forward. I kept expecting Bam to take him out with some dirty shit but it never happened.

First game that his timing and wind seemed like it did before he got hurt, and slimming down may have some benefits going forward. I kept expecting Bam to take him out with some dirty shit but it never happened

+1.
Still not at last year’s level, but getting close. Mitch in is more important for the defense than Brunson out.

The thing with Mitch is that when you roll him out there with KAT and OG, that’s one of the most formidable front lines in the NBA. It may not cure all of our ills, but it’s what I envisioned ever since the KAT trade.

Not sure it will make us competitive with the Celts, but at least it’s another wrinkle we can throw at them situationally. But it should really help against anyone we are likely to face in Round 1.

Players the Knicks have picked in the late first and second round in recent memory

Grimes
Quickley
McBride
MItch

Not bad

Sadly, the typical inane response from ess-dog. LOL

And there is no one on Miami named “Baker.” So him having to guard Mitch is not the reason KAT got any specific rebound.

The thing with Mitch is that when you roll him out there with KAT and OG, that’s one of the most formidable front lines in the NBA. It may not cure all of our ills, but it’s what I envisioned ever since the KAT trade.

Not sure it will make us competitive with the Celts, but at least it’s another wrinkle we can throw at them situationally. But it should really help against anyone we are likely to face in Round 1.

They match up better with the Cavs and should try and move to the 4 spot if they want a realistic chance to make the ECF

You seriously have never heard of Justin Edwards, Oshae Brissett, Jared Butler, *or* Ricky Council IV? Wow.

“They match up better with the Cavs and should try and move to the 4 spot if they want a realistic chance to make the ECF”

Thibs is gonna Thibs. No chance that this happens unless someone put a severance chip in his brain.

Not sure it will make us competitive with the Celts, but at least it’s another wrinkle we can throw at them situationally. But it should really help against anyone we are likely to face in Round 1.

With Mitch playing well and the team playing well, we can push the Celtics to their limit, and that would be good enough for a successful Knicks season. I won’t be surprised if we take them down. Tough to tell. There’s a lot of variables at play.

Thibs has already shown us (just last season) that he’s not going to do anything to lose any games to get what some of you deem to be a more favorable opponent in the first round. To his credit, it worked out last year even though most of you didn’t want to go against Philly.

“I like Mitch, but not sure he will be able to cover for Brunson/Towns on the court together.”

The hope is that Towns is not as bad if he doesn’t have to play drop because there’s a premier shot-blocker behind him. He’s less bad (but still bad) when he can just get wide and try to guard someone.

It’s not perfect, but it apparently worked pretty well in Minny with KAT and Old Man Conley out there.

And there is no one on Miami named “Baker.” So him having to guard Mitch is not the reason KAT got any specific rebound.

If you thought about it, you would have realized this was a spell check error for Bam that I noticed too late to fix. Rama understood right away. Are you trolling me?

Anton Walker was drafted number 54 last summer by the Celtics and signed to a two way contract. They waived him and the Knicks claimed him on March 2. I didn’t know you could waive and claim two way players but apparently you can.

Nope, I had no idea that “Baker” was supposed to somehow be “Bam.” It’s not even close, and doesn’t have the same number of letters.

But I do easily see gorillas in the midst of tossing a ball amongst several people. So there’s that. 🙂

Hartenstein
Randle
OG
DDV
Brunson

Vs

Mitch
KAT
OG
Bridges
Brunson

I really don’t see why the second team isn’t better than the first. Really doesn’t seem close. You lose a little on offense with Mitch for iHart, but you gain SO MUCH everywhere else. The only question will be whether we can be a top ten defense with both KAT and Jalen on the court. It’s going to be on Thibs to balance the KAT/Mitch/Brunson minutes to get the best on both sides of the ball.

Should we lose games to fall to the fourth seat?

1. Cavs are as formidable as the Celts this season in almost every respect. They are nowhere close to what they had been the last two seasons. It’s more about us playing our best, not who we face in Round 2.

2. Defeatist attitude is unproductive. If you want to be the best, you have to beat the best. Not much benefit and not much difference if we face the Cavs or Celtics in Round 2 or ECF. We would have to face them both at some point.

3. The Knicks are five games ahead of the fourth team with 15 games to go. Principles aside, tanking would be both embarrassing and pointless. Moreover, nobody can be sure they will end up exactly fourth and not fifth, sixth, or seventh.

4. Perhaps some people are looking under every stone to find a point to complain. Understood. This is definitely not a Knicks problem though.

Leave a Reply

This site uses User Verification plugin to reduce spam. See how your comment data is processed.