Briefing: May 30
The NBA Finals are set to begin
Good Morning,
The NBA Finals are here!
Jeremy Lin spoke to Marc Berman as the Raptors prepare for Game 1:
On Linsanity: “I feel like that was such a special moment in my life. The big reason is [the fans] made it special. Just walking down the street, wherever I went, being in that arena playing at that time, all the fans make it special.”
On playing in New York: “There’s high expectations. The New York media, a lot of members were great as well, just being able to meet them and talk to them. It was a great experience. I don’t really have any negativity when I think back at those times. Even though there is the whole stigma of that market, I loved my time there.”
Interesting: The 73-year NBA tradition that nobody knows (or cares) about - Every single NBA Finals featured a player was a New York Knick at some point in his career. [View the list of players]
Anthony Davis saga: According to Adrian Wojnarowski, "New Orleans could have anxious trade suitors with the Los Angeles Lakers and Clippers, Boston Celtics and New York Knicks should Griffin engage trade talks, but so far that hasn't happened, sources said. Griffin has been determined to make a case to Davis over time.”
Durant whispers: Speaking at the InterSport Brand Engagement & Content Summit, Kevin Durant’s business partner Rich Kleiman was asked if you need to be in New York to be a global brand, which he responded, “Name 1 athlete in NY who is a global brand now.”
Pre-Draft Workouts: The Knicks plan to visit in-person with Duke’s Cam Reddish ahead of the draft, per Ian Begley. Begley reports the Knicks will also workout Jarrett Culver.
Pangos All-American Camp: 115 of the top high school players will show of their talent between May 31 - June 2 in Los Angeles. The Knicks will be one of several teams in attendance, according to Dinos Trigonis.
UConn coach Danny Hurley provides scouting report on RJ Barrett
Hurley gave his thoughts on Barrett during last night’s MSG 150 episode:
Perfect for New York: “Just growing up in the metropolitan area and understanding the media, the market, the scrutiny, the expectations. I think the kid has the perfect make up to play in New York. And he’s obviously got tons of game. And he has the skill and ability to get his own shot and create off the dribble and guard multiple positions and play multiple positions.”
“I just think the biggest thing from knowing his Dad a little bit back from when he played at St. John’s is that you need a certain type of make-up to play in certain markets. And he’s got it. He’s got that it-factor. So he’ll shine I believe.”
Lessons from the Finals
by Jonathan Macri
Happy NBA Finals day, everyone!
I love occasionally removing my Knicks pom poms for a hot minute and fully appreciating this sport without worrying about the repercussions for the team we all root for. That's exactly what I'm going to do starting tonight. The basketball should be really, really good, and this matchup might answer a question I've been wondering over the last few years' worth of the NBA's offensive revolution: can defense still win a championship?
Obviously you still need a great defense to win, a truth that has never dissipated. For all their firepower, the Warriors success has been driven as much by their spectacular team and individual defenders as much as anything Curry or Durant has done on the other end. The problem is that no one else can ratchet it up to their level...until now.
As more than a few people have noted over the past few days, Toronto has two former Defensive Players of the Year in Kawhi and Gasol, two other former All-Defense guys in Danny Green and Serge Ibaka, Kyle Lowry (and his trusty sidekick, Kyle Lowry's ass), and Paskal Siakam, who might be the most versatile of them all. I would argue this is as good a group of defenders as the NBA has seen since either the early 00's Pistons or the late 90's Bulls. They're special.
All of the Cleveland teams that Curry & Co. steamrolled never had anything close to these chops. If the Raptors can hang around for an entire series, I wonder: does it ever-so-slightly shift how organizations will approach team-building from now on? It's something I'll have in the back of my mind, and as we transition from the Finals to the draft and free agency, something I'll be wondering about where the Knicks are concerned.
Simply put, the teams that made these Finals are a reminder that it isn't always about having the most talent, but the most talent that fits together in a way that makes sense, and a roster full of players with skill sets that ideally compliment one another.
The Raptors are a team full of smart defenders who can operate on a string. It doesn't matter how skilled you are; if you don't possess extremely high basketball intelligence on that end of the floor, you won't see time for Toronto. Golden State boasts the same type of players, but on both ends. They don't just move on offense, but they move with purpose and precision. Having three of the greatest shooters ever also helps, but as we've been reminded of in the games KD has missed, their collective wisdom is what makes the whole greater than the sum of its parts. It's the activation code that detonates those long range bombs.
So as we're all sitting here wondering whether Durant or Anthony Davis or whomever is on their way, and subsequently debating trade down or trade out scenarios in the draft, it's a good time to remember that none of the moves the Knicks make should be looked at in a vacuum. You may see a suggestion about trading RJ Barrett for the 8th and 10th pick and say "Fooey!" but if those picks are used to draft, say, DeAndre Hunter and Brandon Clarke, two guys who will be high level defenders from Day 1, it's fair to ask what the rest of the plan looks like.
(If they didn't pick up an additional asset in this deal, I, too, would be yelling fooey)
And yes, it goes without saying that New York needs to get some star talent in the building as well. Replace Kawhi with Andre Iguodala and Toronto is a second round casualty at best.
But if/when they get that piece (or pieces), in some ways, that's when the hard part really begins.
Remember when…
May 30, 1999: Knicks open the Eastern Conference Finals with a 93-90 win at Indiana. Knicks become just the third team in NBA history to win three Game Ones on the road in one playoff season. Allan Houston leads the way with 19 points.
May 30, 1989: Rick Pitino resigns after two seasons as Knicks coach, in which he posted a record of 90-74.
May 30, 1975: Knicks sign George McGinnis, whose draft rights were owned by Philadelphia. The contract was later disapproved by commissioner Lawrence O’Brien on June 5. [Vivek Dadhania with more]
Thanks for reading, talk to you tomorrow!