KP played 38 minutes last night.. Joe can keep that up and see how it turns out. I think we need to slow on the hindsight of going after KP after only one game.
Agreed - his splits for the first 20 games were always much better than the later season splits when he was with us - don’t know why that would really change
He obviously is in much better shape and is more mature than when he was with us. He has done alot of rehab and has probably figured out his body by now. He also knows what he's good at and what he's not good at and works within that. He came to us as an 18 year old kid thinking that he was invincible. He's a different person and player now. Of the guys his size and build in the league, who doesn't miss 10-15 games a year or have previous injury history? Embid? Davis? Turner? Holmgren and Wembanyama are built like stickmen. I hope that they don't get hurt, but I wouldn't bet against it either. The best guy we've drafted in 30 years, who we could have gotten back at a reasonable cost, who plays a position where we need some help, and we let him go. Imagine, an NBA player getting paid UBER millions who can actually hit free throws at a +75% rate and can shoot 3's at a 35-40% rate. We didn't want him? Instead, we have guy who occasionally plays great, but often disappears, is one dimensional, and can't hit the side of barn from a distance of more than 2ft! It just hurts.
It does. And to be fair, I simply don’t trust the guy or his character (I don’t care who you are, blowing off a meeting w the boss - and a famous one w rings and decades in grade at that - designed to discuss/debrief the year and discuss next year is an arrogant twat move. Rape allegations swept under a rug aren’t a good look either.) maybe he grew up and I’m being an old embittered schmuck, but I didn’t want him back even if he would improve our skill sets.
Why they didn't make a serious attempt at getting KP I'll never understand. He would cost us alot less than any of the other options and exactly what we need: rim protection and shooting. Embid? Let's see, I think that it'll be another Utah situation, the Knicks will have to pay a massive premium and they still might not get him. After that who's left? We're going to be good this year, but probably same fate as last season. 45-50 wins and 2nd round. Frustrating.
Even if they still wanted Embid, you could have put KP in the deal. They messed up with that. These other guys like Dame, Beal, and Holiday although good players were not good fits.
I really liked how RJ played last night he kept the team afloat for a stretch IIRC. My guy Randle shot like shit, 3-4 misses were on one possession tbf, but he was rebounding like crazy & moving the ball. If Randle is going to flirt with a triple double in the flow of the game that's major.
So glad you gave IHart a star. I thought he was really good. You know, Memphis should probably trade for him with Steven Adams missing the season...... GTFO Memphis fans!
Also, do you think other teams and fans think Isaiah is a dirty player because I bet they do and I don’t give a shit
I missed my day after newsletter and coffee... it’s the little things in life! Not sure if I missed it on the post game, but the start of the game was strange. I felt JB got some good looks and maybe it was just opening night nerves, but his shots seemed short. I also felt KP’s blocks or presence in the middle impacted the game.
The only thing Boston is good for is a cream donut... let’s go Knicks!!
Just want to start off by saying I look forward to another excellent season of newsletter content and writing! That said, I have a couple quick thoughts about the game.
First, I wonder if Thibs expected the Celtics to start Jrue on Randle and Brown on Brunson… I am guessing no.
Looking on the bright side, I think last night confirmed that IQ and RJ are going to have really strong seasons. IQ did IQ things as expected, and RJs overall performance, process, and defense was encouraging (especially given the fact that the Celtics have arguably been the hardest matchup for him, and he has at times struggled greatly against them).
And finally, a question popped into my head last night, again RJ centered, which I am curious to hear your response: if this is the version of RJ we are going to get this season, is there a chance he finishes top 2 in minutes played for the team? My line of thinking comes down to how much run he will get with the bench, which then gets extended when the starters come back in and he stays out there (as we saw in the 2nd quarter).
Not gonna get emotional bc it’s one game that was much closer than I thought it’d be tbh, but it definitely stings:
Losing a winnable game is one thing; losing a game that you absolutely SHOULD have and would have won if only you were able to do the most basic of fundamentals (make free throws) AT HOME is a different thing. And you said it - stealing this game could’ve made a potentially rough early slate a lot less rough.
(I will never, ever, ever understand not putting your best free throw shooter at the line to shoot a technical, especially when he’s on fire and the alternative is ice cold. It makes no sense.)
Great final thoughts Jon. I think Dollar Bill used to say the great thing about the nba schedule is the games are so close to each other so you don't hang on to the tough losses too long. I am paraphrasing but that was the gist. Last night will be nothing but a memory if they can bring that same competitive fire along with an appearance from either JB or JR or both through the weekend. Let's go Knicks. I can't wait for tomorrow night.
In regards to all the complaints I've heard about Thibs using a nine man rotation, I decided to look at what other teams doing and while a lot of them had 10 man rotations, most of the players who were the 10th man on the totem pole only played about 5 minutes so I don't know what the big deal is! I think Thibs gets a bad wrap for that!
Also why is JB untouchable in a trade? I know he’s family and all but like you said the best player on the other team is usually going to be better than him.
He's pretty close to untouchable and I would not trade him. But if Quickley keeps playing like he did last night, he's the asset you dangle in a trade. Hate to see him leave, but that's way you get better. I think by not extending him, its easier to deal him this season.
A few words on rebounds. The defensive team generally gets more rebounds than the offensive team- there's supposed to be an advantage there. So when the Knicks missed 61 shots to Boston's 40, Boston 'should' have won the rebounds by 21. For the Knicks to have won it by 1 is a dominant performance. I hope that makes sense, it's always annoyed me that rebounds aren't analyzed more closely.
Make your free throws! Hate to lose to Satan's Celtics, especially when we should have won.
Was at the game. There was a stretch there where IQ was just iso and not setting up the offense and then the celtics would get the ball and they were just iso as well. Weird flow at times. Grimes lack of size stood out from the jump watching Tatum and him matchup in person. We reallllly need a big wing. Tatum looked like Grimes’s father. The length and height difference staggering. Brunson missed his usual makes. Ju was driving into the abyss. Big Al somehow made some shots.
So funny, got there an hour and half early and KP and Pritchard were the only two players on court shooting around. Told my friend “KP will have at least 20 tonight, look how early he came out to warm up”.... it’s like playing against your X girl friend. Sure enough, he was shootin N groovin.
He was young and immature. He’s admitted that it was a mistake and that he would’ve done it differently if he had a redo. Besides, great, the guy had rings, he’s an arrogant AHOLE and was incompetent as an executive. You get so far on reputation, you still need to earn respect and treat others with respect if you want it back. I’ve told several bosses to go F themselves because they were useless AHOLES riding on reputation! You should try it! So, I assume that you were upset when they brought back D. Rose?
I’m surprised the vibes were negative from you on this game. I thought the Knicks came out off but were getting good shots and felt like opening night jitters where they were just coming up too hot. I thought the energy was good and the rotations were fun and they’re going to fix a lot of the stuff that went wrong Opening night. Brunson was just off and that’s not going to happen often. The Celtics are loaded and Porzingis is a perfect fit for them though, I still wouldn’t bet on those knees holding up. I’m happy for him that he’s having success and love him as the villain.
KP played 38 minutes last night.. Joe can keep that up and see how it turns out. I think we need to slow on the hindsight of going after KP after only one game.
Agreed - his splits for the first 20 games were always much better than the later season splits when he was with us - don’t know why that would really change
He obviously is in much better shape and is more mature than when he was with us. He has done alot of rehab and has probably figured out his body by now. He also knows what he's good at and what he's not good at and works within that. He came to us as an 18 year old kid thinking that he was invincible. He's a different person and player now. Of the guys his size and build in the league, who doesn't miss 10-15 games a year or have previous injury history? Embid? Davis? Turner? Holmgren and Wembanyama are built like stickmen. I hope that they don't get hurt, but I wouldn't bet against it either. The best guy we've drafted in 30 years, who we could have gotten back at a reasonable cost, who plays a position where we need some help, and we let him go. Imagine, an NBA player getting paid UBER millions who can actually hit free throws at a +75% rate and can shoot 3's at a 35-40% rate. We didn't want him? Instead, we have guy who occasionally plays great, but often disappears, is one dimensional, and can't hit the side of barn from a distance of more than 2ft! It just hurts.
It does. And to be fair, I simply don’t trust the guy or his character (I don’t care who you are, blowing off a meeting w the boss - and a famous one w rings and decades in grade at that - designed to discuss/debrief the year and discuss next year is an arrogant twat move. Rape allegations swept under a rug aren’t a good look either.) maybe he grew up and I’m being an old embittered schmuck, but I didn’t want him back even if he would improve our skill sets.
Why they didn't make a serious attempt at getting KP I'll never understand. He would cost us alot less than any of the other options and exactly what we need: rim protection and shooting. Embid? Let's see, I think that it'll be another Utah situation, the Knicks will have to pay a massive premium and they still might not get him. After that who's left? We're going to be good this year, but probably same fate as last season. 45-50 wins and 2nd round. Frustrating.
Even if they still wanted Embid, you could have put KP in the deal. They messed up with that. These other guys like Dame, Beal, and Holiday although good players were not good fits.
I really liked how RJ played last night he kept the team afloat for a stretch IIRC. My guy Randle shot like shit, 3-4 misses were on one possession tbf, but he was rebounding like crazy & moving the ball. If Randle is going to flirt with a triple double in the flow of the game that's major.
So glad you gave IHart a star. I thought he was really good. You know, Memphis should probably trade for him with Steven Adams missing the season...... GTFO Memphis fans!
Also, do you think other teams and fans think Isaiah is a dirty player because I bet they do and I don’t give a shit
I missed my day after newsletter and coffee... it’s the little things in life! Not sure if I missed it on the post game, but the start of the game was strange. I felt JB got some good looks and maybe it was just opening night nerves, but his shots seemed short. I also felt KP’s blocks or presence in the middle impacted the game.
The only thing Boston is good for is a cream donut... let’s go Knicks!!
Just want to start off by saying I look forward to another excellent season of newsletter content and writing! That said, I have a couple quick thoughts about the game.
First, I wonder if Thibs expected the Celtics to start Jrue on Randle and Brown on Brunson… I am guessing no.
Looking on the bright side, I think last night confirmed that IQ and RJ are going to have really strong seasons. IQ did IQ things as expected, and RJs overall performance, process, and defense was encouraging (especially given the fact that the Celtics have arguably been the hardest matchup for him, and he has at times struggled greatly against them).
And finally, a question popped into my head last night, again RJ centered, which I am curious to hear your response: if this is the version of RJ we are going to get this season, is there a chance he finishes top 2 in minutes played for the team? My line of thinking comes down to how much run he will get with the bench, which then gets extended when the starters come back in and he stays out there (as we saw in the 2nd quarter).
Will be interesting to see what the counter is for the second game. Orrr will Joe lineup normal and force us to over prepare.
Not gonna get emotional bc it’s one game that was much closer than I thought it’d be tbh, but it definitely stings:
Losing a winnable game is one thing; losing a game that you absolutely SHOULD have and would have won if only you were able to do the most basic of fundamentals (make free throws) AT HOME is a different thing. And you said it - stealing this game could’ve made a potentially rough early slate a lot less rough.
(I will never, ever, ever understand not putting your best free throw shooter at the line to shoot a technical, especially when he’s on fire and the alternative is ice cold. It makes no sense.)
Great final thoughts Jon. I think Dollar Bill used to say the great thing about the nba schedule is the games are so close to each other so you don't hang on to the tough losses too long. I am paraphrasing but that was the gist. Last night will be nothing but a memory if they can bring that same competitive fire along with an appearance from either JB or JR or both through the weekend. Let's go Knicks. I can't wait for tomorrow night.
In regards to all the complaints I've heard about Thibs using a nine man rotation, I decided to look at what other teams doing and while a lot of them had 10 man rotations, most of the players who were the 10th man on the totem pole only played about 5 minutes so I don't know what the big deal is! I think Thibs gets a bad wrap for that!
Looks at the Celtics minutes distribution from
Opening night. Their top 5 players all played over 30 minutes (between 31 and 39).
The Nuggets won it all last season basically going with seven-player rotation in playoffs. Nobody mentions that.
Haha...probably not. They are the champs and they play in Denver is part of the reason!
Also why is JB untouchable in a trade? I know he’s family and all but like you said the best player on the other team is usually going to be better than him.
He's pretty close to untouchable and I would not trade him. But if Quickley keeps playing like he did last night, he's the asset you dangle in a trade. Hate to see him leave, but that's way you get better. I think by not extending him, its easier to deal him this season.
A few words on rebounds. The defensive team generally gets more rebounds than the offensive team- there's supposed to be an advantage there. So when the Knicks missed 61 shots to Boston's 40, Boston 'should' have won the rebounds by 21. For the Knicks to have won it by 1 is a dominant performance. I hope that makes sense, it's always annoyed me that rebounds aren't analyzed more closely.
Make your free throws! Hate to lose to Satan's Celtics, especially when we should have won.
One word; Quickley
Was at the game. There was a stretch there where IQ was just iso and not setting up the offense and then the celtics would get the ball and they were just iso as well. Weird flow at times. Grimes lack of size stood out from the jump watching Tatum and him matchup in person. We reallllly need a big wing. Tatum looked like Grimes’s father. The length and height difference staggering. Brunson missed his usual makes. Ju was driving into the abyss. Big Al somehow made some shots.
So funny, got there an hour and half early and KP and Pritchard were the only two players on court shooting around. Told my friend “KP will have at least 20 tonight, look how early he came out to warm up”.... it’s like playing against your X girl friend. Sure enough, he was shootin N groovin.
IQ has his times where his limitations as the engine on offense are louder than other times.
Within the same game I mean
We have 9 good players this year. RJ sat too long in the 4th quarter. Would have like to see Thibs bring RJ in for Randle rather than for Grimes.
He was young and immature. He’s admitted that it was a mistake and that he would’ve done it differently if he had a redo. Besides, great, the guy had rings, he’s an arrogant AHOLE and was incompetent as an executive. You get so far on reputation, you still need to earn respect and treat others with respect if you want it back. I’ve told several bosses to go F themselves because they were useless AHOLES riding on reputation! You should try it! So, I assume that you were upset when they brought back D. Rose?
"If he felt the brunt of positional voting, so should everyone for the rest of time."
Hear, hear! 😂
I’m surprised the vibes were negative from you on this game. I thought the Knicks came out off but were getting good shots and felt like opening night jitters where they were just coming up too hot. I thought the energy was good and the rotations were fun and they’re going to fix a lot of the stuff that went wrong Opening night. Brunson was just off and that’s not going to happen often. The Celtics are loaded and Porzingis is a perfect fit for them though, I still wouldn’t bet on those knees holding up. I’m happy for him that he’s having success and love him as the villain.