Double the All-Stars, Double the Fun

Plus, Part II of our Mega-Mailbag.

Good morning! What better way to end the week than with a 22-question mailbag. Thanks to all who submitted questions. As for the Knicks, they tip off tomorrow at 7:30 pm against Sacramento. No halftime for the Kings game, but I’ll be back on Monday. As for yesterday’s news…

News & Notes

Who Dem BOYS!

When Leon Rose began his first full season as President of the New York Knicks, the franchise was viewed league-wide as bereft of talent. Ahead of the 2020-21 season, they had just one player make ESPN’s top 100 list of NBA players: Mitchell Robinson, who clocked in at 92.

Fast forward a little more than four years, and for the first time in a half century, the Knicks are the only franchise in the league with two players starting the All-Star game.

Almost as impressively, the three other Knick starters received ample praise from their peers. Josh Hart finished tied for 10th in player voting for the East backcourt, while Mikal Bridges and OG Anunoby finished 11th and 13th in player voting for the East frontcourt, respectively.

The last two Knicks to start the All-Star game together, Walt Frazier and Earl Monroe, were both eventually named to the NBA’s top 50 and top 75 lists. Could Brunson and Towns be on their way to the NBA’s top 100? At this point, nothing should be ruled out.

For Brunson, the honor is a year overdue, while KAT’s achievement has arguably been a decade in the making. We’re nearing 10 years since he was taken first overall in the 2015 draft, with the hope that he would instantly turn around the fortunes of one of the league’s most moribund franchises. That didn’t quite come to fruition, but his talent has never been in doubt. Finally, he’s been rewarded with one of the sport’s great honors - a testament to his work ethic and toughness as much as anything else.

Congrats to both men on a well-earned achievement.

Mega-Mailbag, Part II

We start Part II of the 10K Mega-Mailbag (now up to 10,025!) with a question from America’s foremost television critic, Alan Sepinwall:

In past seasons, Thibs seemed pretty good at riding the hot hand. If a bench player, or a specific lineup combo, was kicking ass, he would stick with it, especially in the fourth quarter. This year, it feels like he defaults to the starting five whenever possible, even in games like this Brooklyn one where it’s clear the bench is doing better. Has our relative lack of depth, and the perceived gulf in talent between the starters and the reserves (even Deuce) made him afraid to lean on the bench, even when the bench is playing well?

As usual, Alan is onto something.

My answer has to start with a comparison. In past years, at various points in time, the Knicks have had (in no particular order of merit) Isaiah Hartenstein, Immanuel Quickley, Josh Hart, Bojan Bogdanovic, 6MOY candidate Derrick Rose, young(er) Alec Burks, and course, the GOAT Taj Gibson coming off the bench.

This year, New York’s 6th, 7th, 8th and 9th men are earning a combined salary that is equivalent to half of what Hartenstein makes this season and less than half of what Quickley makes. Deuce is on an objectively good deal, but even McBride wouldn’t be likely to receive anything close to what I-Hart or IQ got if he hit the open market this summer, as Stefan Bondy’s recent article suggests.

Going player by player, I don’t think Shamet’s or Achiuwa’s level of play this season has ever risen to the level where they warrant an extended run. Payne has had some energetic heaters, but if the choice is him vs Brunson, you’re obviously going to take JB, and playing those two together leaves you pretty small.

That being said…

Brunson and Payne have shared the court for 202 non-garbage time possessions, and they’re killing teams in that time, thanks mostly to an absurd 141.6 offensive rating that is good for the 100th percentile league-wide. They also give up 125.4 points per 100, which is in the first percentile, but again, these lineups are throwing haymakers. The offensive success of those lineups suggest that Brunson desperately misses playing with a quick-trigger 3-point shooter on a more consistent basis, and the fact is that Payne might be the best one they have. If there’s a shift to make, it’s more minutes for Cam, but I doubt we’ll get it because of the size issue which famously held IQ’s minutes down far more than we may have liked.

As for Deuce, I’ll have more thoughts on him and his lack of playing time in a bit.

Next up, a seven-pack of questions from Ganesh Kumar:

1. What does OG need to do to consistently hit the non-corner threes, like he does with corner shots? Do we need to give Anne Hathaway free courtside season pass tickets?

2. Is the nine-man rotation here to stay? When Mitch returns, how will this rotation change?

3. Why doesn’t KAT shoot threes over smaller defenders? Instead, he drives aggressively and rarely gets a whistle. This was pre thumb injury too.

4. What explains the popularity of LaMelo Ball and Damian Lillard in All-Star voting? It really boggles my mind.

5. What should the Knicks do during the All-Star break—players, coaches, and the front office?

6. I've never had Mike and Ike's. Are they good? Are they considered a performance-enhancing drug?

7. How do the Knicks drive up the volume of their three-point shooting sustainably? Mikal fast break threes at the Nets game were a good start.

Keeping these answers short so I can get to all of them…