A great piece today, Jonathan. And it was good to see such a fine effort from Randle, a few bonehead offensive plays down the stretch notwithstanding. He played a great game. To use Clyde's approach perhaps the best way to describe Julius is "astounding and confounding." I'd much rather be proud of him than complain bout him. Last night we could be proud.
It's never perfect from our man Julius. What a maddening player. I need to get some other NY Sports experts on board to compile a list of the most maddening players in NY sports history. He has to be near the top.
Your piece today highlighted something that the broadcast displayed last night: Julius plays every game, plays a billion minutes, and is often the focal point of opposing defenses. It’s such an underrated attribute in an all star caliber player. I’m not saying he’s perfect, but I do think his availability is a hugely underrated dimension of his game. Look at guys like KD, PG, AD, Kawhi, Zion, Embiid... not to say he’s in their class skill-wise, but man, having Julius 100% of the time vs AD 65% of the time? It’s closer than you think.
He still hasn't figured out that he doesn't have the handle to dribble his way through a crowd. The guy would be great if he learned to live within his limits and if they had another consistent scorer/shooter who he could pass to in those situations.
Those turnovers are super frustrating but I’ll chalk it up to lack of options (historically-- I think JB has helped cut down on those this year somewhat) and playing 40 tough minutes a game.
Last night was a crushing defeat. At least it was for the let’s open the window and get out on the ledge crowd. With the Knicks already on a 4 game losing streak, with Cleveland up next, before road games in Boston and Brooklyn, clearly they were entertaining their wildest fantasies of a free fall in the standings, where at long last the coaching staff was blown out, and the team went into full tank mode in pursuit of Victor Wembanyama.
Alas, it was not to be. As for other observations...
I think it’s time to start legitimately asking if the reason Brunson hasn’t seemed himself lately is because of his health. The way he throws his body around with reckless abandon, always ending up down on the floor, is going to take its toll. For example, the hip injury he had, while never stated as such, sure looked like a classic hip pointer as is common in football. Well, the only remedy for that is rest, and instead he’s just grinding through it, and you know he probably has 10 other little aggravating injuries. More than anyone, he needs that week off for the All Star break.
Everybody talks about trying to give Obi more minutes by going small and playing Randle at center, and I guess you could do that under certain matchups, in the flow of the game go small against the other teams 2nd unit and get Obi 5 more minutes that way, but also why not give him some run at the 3, and play big at times? Doing both interchangeably would make Obi a 22 minute a night player instead of a 10 minute a night guy.
Trade deadline coming up, and something is definitely going to happen. What about Obi to Indy for Duarte? They also have the capacity to take on money, maybe a buyout for Rose? I don’t think they would have the stomach for Fournier and the extra year on his deal, but maybe the Spurs would, especially if they are able to move McDermott for a pick. From the Spurs vantage point they get a pick for McDermott, they get a pick for taking on Fournier, and they rehabilitate his value by letting him play and shoot the ball, and then next year when he’s on an expiring deal some desperate playoff team in need of another shooter gives them a late first rounder. It’s not a recipe for winning, but nobody wants to play for Popovich anymore, so this is going to be the way it is for the Spurs until either Popovich finally figures it out, or somebody goes downstairs and tells him. Several years after Kawhi Leonard, it certainly seems like nobody in the front office has the courage to tell him, and Popovich isn’t ever going to figure it on his own.
- Brunson's health, it's been3 games, so I don't want to jump to that overreaction just yet.
- I'd be fine trying Obi at the 3 against certain teams. Not sure last night was one of them, as the Knicks had to be cautious of getting him involved in pick and rolls with their all star guards
- I like, don't love, Duarte, especially at his age and with his shooting issues this year. I love DMD
I was ready for another crushing defeat, definitely the best win of the season. It's scary to look at Cleveland's starting 5, so much talent, to beat this team means a lot and while I continue to think we need a different coach to make it to the next level, this time I think Thibs coached well.
Finally I. Hart puts his hands up! I can't understand why a 7ft guy always has his hands by his side? Force smaller guys to shoot over you or go around you. It's much easier to get help from the side than from the top! Why does it take so long to figure that out?
Jan 25, 2023·edited Jan 25, 2023Liked by Jonathan Macri
Another nail-on-the-head piece!
Julius. Randle. I don't even know what else to say at this point, but good for him. He deserves this, the flowers, the praise, and the recognition. It takes a special type of athlete to succeed in this city at a high level. It takes an even more special type of person to succeed here. And to be able to bounce back the way he has from the precipice of the abyss, not once, but twice, proves it.
After so many unlucky losses this year, it was gratifying for the Knicks to get lucky and win one for a change. Not only did they benefits from two blown foul calls in the last two minutes — one on RJ and one on iHart — either of which could have altered to outcome of the game, but the basketball gods put their finger on the scales of fate and tilted it in favor of the Knicks by smiting Mitchell with cramps in both legs (not to mention tweaking his groin as well) on the last play just as he was loading up to posterize iHart, which he unquestionably would have done if he had been able to jump more than a foot off the floor. Thank goodness one of those breaks didn’t go the other way or we’d be mourning another crushing loss.
Saying some Knicks fans "adore" Julius Randle feels like a stretch. Good call-out on Hart's effort in the face of some terrible play and flimsy defensive rebounding. I'm no fan of Hart (in his current state/role) but I do like that he seems to get pissed when he misses dunks or throws balls away. He's not mailing it and easily could based on how things turned out. I know...now I'm stretching, but I do like that Thibs seemed to be demonstrating some growth in putting Hart in better positions (like the give and go with Deuce you clipped). Much needed win. Don't care one bit how we got it..just needed it and taking it.
Yeah, I get it, but I can’t watch him dribble off his leg again and again. Drives me crazy watching a guy make the same mistake over and over again over a period of years and not understand that he needs to try another way. Luckily we held on this time.
Great win, this was one of the first games it actually felt like this team used all of the depth we talked about in preseason. Of course I'd have liked a few more minutes of Obi but I can't sit here and claim Hart & my guy Randle weren't playing at a really high level. Grimes & IQ stepped up where I viewed Brunson as struggling a bit even with his big buckets in the 4th with Mitchell on him. #4More
I pretty much lost my mind when Thibs subbed out IQ for RJ with 1:31 left in the game. It worked out, but just barely.
To his credit, RJ did get the block on a drive by Mitchell (it should be noted that Mitchell blew by him at the top of the key) but then airmailed the three and gave up the three point play to Garland. In the final 15 seconds, Thibs put IQ back in, interestingly he was on Garland.
Maddening players. Here's a few for starters: Carmelo Anthony, Ray WIlliams, Michael Ray Richardson, Bob McAdoo, Spencer Haywood, Stephon Marbury....all major talents who had flaws in their games.
Great shooting night for Randle however he been up and down all month with super high volume and mostly on ball play being a constant. He shot mostly catch and shoot 3s last night which is good. A lot of them were heavily contested though and he’s a 33% shooter who see these shots the same way when he’s 1-10. This team is very up and down. I wonder how the team fair in games Randle shoots well verses shoots poorly?
I've looked at those numbers and there's not as much correlation between his good/bad shooting nights and wins/losses as you'd think. Also, at this point, with this volume, we have to appreciate the overall sample size for him this year. We have a certain perception of him, but the fact is that all high volume shooters have off nights. Yes, it's much better when he takes C&S 3's over step back ones, but he's hit enough pull ups to warrant taking those as well - 33.3 percent, which is higher than 7 of the top 14 pull up shooters in the NBA by volume.
Jan 25, 2023·edited Jan 25, 2023Liked by Jonathan Macri
That’s interesting thanks. I don’t totally trust the year #s as a baseline yet. He was very consistent last month and has since been very inconsistent shooting. I think if he’s as inconsistent as he’s been this month it could be a problem. If he’s as consistent as he was last month he’s a mega star. He’s a very good offensive player. I think we’ve learn a couple things this year. He can and will still develop his game (the CnS 3s, rip through are examples of new things). The other thing we learned isn’t positive imo. He’s not going to play the Chris Bosh role or even something closer to Sabonis’ role in Sacramento. Like Katz said you adjust your ecosystem for Julius.
For sure...he's no Bosh or Sabonis. Too volatile to play that big a part in what you do at both ends.
But can he be (and I realize this will sound somewhat insane) a forward version of Kyrie, minus the off court stuff? Incredible talent when used in the right role, far from perfect, has issues, you don't want him as your leader, but if you insulate him and feature him in the right way, he can really help you win? IDK.
Sure but The Knicks have an alternative bucket getter that has shown the willingness and ability to selflessly adapt to the most poor fitting situations. Just need the nuts to stop awfulizing any change to the status quo
A great piece today, Jonathan. And it was good to see such a fine effort from Randle, a few bonehead offensive plays down the stretch notwithstanding. He played a great game. To use Clyde's approach perhaps the best way to describe Julius is "astounding and confounding." I'd much rather be proud of him than complain bout him. Last night we could be proud.
Thanks so much Mitchell!
It's never perfect from our man Julius. What a maddening player. I need to get some other NY Sports experts on board to compile a list of the most maddening players in NY sports history. He has to be near the top.
Your piece today highlighted something that the broadcast displayed last night: Julius plays every game, plays a billion minutes, and is often the focal point of opposing defenses. It’s such an underrated attribute in an all star caliber player. I’m not saying he’s perfect, but I do think his availability is a hugely underrated dimension of his game. Look at guys like KD, PG, AD, Kawhi, Zion, Embiid... not to say he’s in their class skill-wise, but man, having Julius 100% of the time vs AD 65% of the time? It’s closer than you think.
4th in the league in total points and 2nd in total rebounds. Not stuff that should be taken lightly.
He still hasn't figured out that he doesn't have the handle to dribble his way through a crowd. The guy would be great if he learned to live within his limits and if they had another consistent scorer/shooter who he could pass to in those situations.
Those turnovers are super frustrating but I’ll chalk it up to lack of options (historically-- I think JB has helped cut down on those this year somewhat) and playing 40 tough minutes a game.
Great win, Jon nailed it as usual but let me add-
God bless Immanuel Quickly!
Where would this team be without him? I don't want to know...
Last night was a crushing defeat. At least it was for the let’s open the window and get out on the ledge crowd. With the Knicks already on a 4 game losing streak, with Cleveland up next, before road games in Boston and Brooklyn, clearly they were entertaining their wildest fantasies of a free fall in the standings, where at long last the coaching staff was blown out, and the team went into full tank mode in pursuit of Victor Wembanyama.
Alas, it was not to be. As for other observations...
I think it’s time to start legitimately asking if the reason Brunson hasn’t seemed himself lately is because of his health. The way he throws his body around with reckless abandon, always ending up down on the floor, is going to take its toll. For example, the hip injury he had, while never stated as such, sure looked like a classic hip pointer as is common in football. Well, the only remedy for that is rest, and instead he’s just grinding through it, and you know he probably has 10 other little aggravating injuries. More than anyone, he needs that week off for the All Star break.
Everybody talks about trying to give Obi more minutes by going small and playing Randle at center, and I guess you could do that under certain matchups, in the flow of the game go small against the other teams 2nd unit and get Obi 5 more minutes that way, but also why not give him some run at the 3, and play big at times? Doing both interchangeably would make Obi a 22 minute a night player instead of a 10 minute a night guy.
Trade deadline coming up, and something is definitely going to happen. What about Obi to Indy for Duarte? They also have the capacity to take on money, maybe a buyout for Rose? I don’t think they would have the stomach for Fournier and the extra year on his deal, but maybe the Spurs would, especially if they are able to move McDermott for a pick. From the Spurs vantage point they get a pick for McDermott, they get a pick for taking on Fournier, and they rehabilitate his value by letting him play and shoot the ball, and then next year when he’s on an expiring deal some desperate playoff team in need of another shooter gives them a late first rounder. It’s not a recipe for winning, but nobody wants to play for Popovich anymore, so this is going to be the way it is for the Spurs until either Popovich finally figures it out, or somebody goes downstairs and tells him. Several years after Kawhi Leonard, it certainly seems like nobody in the front office has the courage to tell him, and Popovich isn’t ever going to figure it on his own.
Great stuff as always. Re...
- Brunson's health, it's been3 games, so I don't want to jump to that overreaction just yet.
- I'd be fine trying Obi at the 3 against certain teams. Not sure last night was one of them, as the Knicks had to be cautious of getting him involved in pick and rolls with their all star guards
- I like, don't love, Duarte, especially at his age and with his shooting issues this year. I love DMD
I was ready for another crushing defeat, definitely the best win of the season. It's scary to look at Cleveland's starting 5, so much talent, to beat this team means a lot and while I continue to think we need a different coach to make it to the next level, this time I think Thibs coached well.
Finally I. Hart puts his hands up! I can't understand why a 7ft guy always has his hands by his side? Force smaller guys to shoot over you or go around you. It's much easier to get help from the side than from the top! Why does it take so long to figure that out?
Beats the hell out of me, but better late than never!
Another nail-on-the-head piece!
Julius. Randle. I don't even know what else to say at this point, but good for him. He deserves this, the flowers, the praise, and the recognition. It takes a special type of athlete to succeed in this city at a high level. It takes an even more special type of person to succeed here. And to be able to bounce back the way he has from the precipice of the abyss, not once, but twice, proves it.
Thank you Jonas! Was a fun one to write.
And I've given up trying to explain the Julius of it all. Might as well sit back and try to enjoy the ride, right?
After so many unlucky losses this year, it was gratifying for the Knicks to get lucky and win one for a change. Not only did they benefits from two blown foul calls in the last two minutes — one on RJ and one on iHart — either of which could have altered to outcome of the game, but the basketball gods put their finger on the scales of fate and tilted it in favor of the Knicks by smiting Mitchell with cramps in both legs (not to mention tweaking his groin as well) on the last play just as he was loading up to posterize iHart, which he unquestionably would have done if he had been able to jump more than a foot off the floor. Thank goodness one of those breaks didn’t go the other way or we’d be mourning another crushing loss.
Saying some Knicks fans "adore" Julius Randle feels like a stretch. Good call-out on Hart's effort in the face of some terrible play and flimsy defensive rebounding. I'm no fan of Hart (in his current state/role) but I do like that he seems to get pissed when he misses dunks or throws balls away. He's not mailing it and easily could based on how things turned out. I know...now I'm stretching, but I do like that Thibs seemed to be demonstrating some growth in putting Hart in better positions (like the give and go with Deuce you clipped). Much needed win. Don't care one bit how we got it..just needed it and taking it.
You're probably right about adore..."are willing to try and love again"? That sounds like a line from a trashy rom com...
I can hear Cher in my head now "Do you belieeeeeve in love after love?" Thanks a lot for that.
Fantastic song
Where's that Unlike button when you need it?
Yeah, I get it, but I can’t watch him dribble off his leg again and again. Drives me crazy watching a guy make the same mistake over and over again over a period of years and not understand that he needs to try another way. Luckily we held on this time.
Today was a “feel good” newsletter...........thank you Jonathan!
Thank you for reading!
Great win, this was one of the first games it actually felt like this team used all of the depth we talked about in preseason. Of course I'd have liked a few more minutes of Obi but I can't sit here and claim Hart & my guy Randle weren't playing at a really high level. Grimes & IQ stepped up where I viewed Brunson as struggling a bit even with his big buckets in the 4th with Mitchell on him. #4More
#4More indeed!
I pretty much lost my mind when Thibs subbed out IQ for RJ with 1:31 left in the game. It worked out, but just barely.
To his credit, RJ did get the block on a drive by Mitchell (it should be noted that Mitchell blew by him at the top of the key) but then airmailed the three and gave up the three point play to Garland. In the final 15 seconds, Thibs put IQ back in, interestingly he was on Garland.
Anytime IQ goes out I get nervous!
Maddening players. Here's a few for starters: Carmelo Anthony, Ray WIlliams, Michael Ray Richardson, Bob McAdoo, Spencer Haywood, Stephon Marbury....all major talents who had flaws in their games.
Would have loved to have been around for McAdoo's time in NY
Great shooting night for Randle however he been up and down all month with super high volume and mostly on ball play being a constant. He shot mostly catch and shoot 3s last night which is good. A lot of them were heavily contested though and he’s a 33% shooter who see these shots the same way when he’s 1-10. This team is very up and down. I wonder how the team fair in games Randle shoots well verses shoots poorly?
I've looked at those numbers and there's not as much correlation between his good/bad shooting nights and wins/losses as you'd think. Also, at this point, with this volume, we have to appreciate the overall sample size for him this year. We have a certain perception of him, but the fact is that all high volume shooters have off nights. Yes, it's much better when he takes C&S 3's over step back ones, but he's hit enough pull ups to warrant taking those as well - 33.3 percent, which is higher than 7 of the top 14 pull up shooters in the NBA by volume.
That’s interesting thanks. I don’t totally trust the year #s as a baseline yet. He was very consistent last month and has since been very inconsistent shooting. I think if he’s as inconsistent as he’s been this month it could be a problem. If he’s as consistent as he was last month he’s a mega star. He’s a very good offensive player. I think we’ve learn a couple things this year. He can and will still develop his game (the CnS 3s, rip through are examples of new things). The other thing we learned isn’t positive imo. He’s not going to play the Chris Bosh role or even something closer to Sabonis’ role in Sacramento. Like Katz said you adjust your ecosystem for Julius.
For sure...he's no Bosh or Sabonis. Too volatile to play that big a part in what you do at both ends.
But can he be (and I realize this will sound somewhat insane) a forward version of Kyrie, minus the off court stuff? Incredible talent when used in the right role, far from perfect, has issues, you don't want him as your leader, but if you insulate him and feature him in the right way, he can really help you win? IDK.
Sure but The Knicks have an alternative bucket getter that has shown the willingness and ability to selflessly adapt to the most poor fitting situations. Just need the nuts to stop awfulizing any change to the status quo