We need to give KAT a but of a break, since he was clearly playing hurt. His thumb injury has affected both his shooting and his ability to snatch contested rebounds. His knee is clearly impacting his mobility. The dilemma is that it’s unclear whether rest will help either injury heal. I’m not sure what the answer is.
There has to be some guy that OKC cant roster that is 6'8 and can shoot a little bit right? At some point the math has to work in our favor right?! Does Leon know a GM with a fat mega star?
(Leon) Rose Colored Glasses. I've been wearing them & hoping against hope that all the theories of this team coming together come playoff time will come to fruition. It may be time to take off those glasses & face the reality that we have a good but not great team, a team that if they by some means, were to get to the ECF, we should realize that ,at least for this season, will have surpassed their ceiling! Saturday night was another litmus test against the best the East had to offer & we failed the test miserably. Now, in retrospect, after watching KAT's mediocre game, perhaps KAT who was questionable with a bad knee & probably only played because it was the Celtics, should have sat (Wouldn't surprise me if he does vs the Pacers). He was lethargic in all aspects of his game & I'm willing to, at least to some extent, attribute that to his health.
Too small!!! Something I've been banging the drum about for months now. Glad Leon addressed it by getting 6-5 Delon Wright! When you're being embarrassed by ex-Knick Luke Kornet, it's pretty obvious where you're lacking! Hukporti, who had a solid game vs. the Raptors, saw all of 3 minutes of time when the game still mattered & they desperately needed size. Instead, Thibs went smaller with Deuce, a guy who may be taking Cam Payne's title of "His only consistency is inconsistency!". 35 minutes of 1-8 shooting & that lack of performance has been more his norm, than his exception. Yet he'll continue to see those minutes since the bench is paper thin & without the needed components that would remedy some of the failures.
I saw online the excuses that we didn't have our 2 best defenders in Mitch & OG. Well, they didn't have Holiday & KP and still kicked our ass! Now, we can't bring in any players until February 28th & many of them will have already signed with other teams by then. And all have to be under the $12.8 million ceiling to be signed. Westchester does have some reinforcements in Ty Warren & Moses Brown (G League Player of the Month), who could certainly bring something to the bench. Now, I'm unclear as to whether we can sign them to 10 day contracts now. Anyone?
Tomorrow, we go against another team in the Pacers that has very athletic bigs & has given us problems because of that! Two games until the AS break (take it off KAT!) to rest & regroup for the last 28 games of the regular season!
Yesterday, I posted on the KFS message board that another Knick blogger wrote a piece with the headline: 3-2
His point was that the Knicks have not been able to beat a team that takes a lot of three’s and defends the three point line well. And the Knicks do neither.
And Jonathan added to the point in this mornings KFS newsletter that Towns has essentially been taken out of the game vs the Celtics and other top teams that use the same strategy.
I’d add that the Rose administration has work to do if they want to move from a very good team, probably top six in the league, to a championship contender.
Hart needs to come off the bench and he needs to be replaced by a strong three-point shooting wing who is also a good defender. Not a superstar (although would be nice) but a guy like D’Andre Hunter or better yet Jalen Williams (I know ha ha).
Many posters reacted to my post by basically saying (and they are not wrong; good luck with finding that player) and filling the bench with a couple of 3&D types.
Towns has never been and will never be a good defensive player. So like Jonathan has said many times, that if this is the case, then the Knicks have to become an unstoppable offense and an adequate defense.
The question is can the Knicks acquire that quality starter and improve their bench with more 3&D players. Their asset closet has many empty shelves. But if they don’t do this, then Jonathan is also right that they will be Ewing’s 90’s Knicks. Damn good but not damn good enough.
I loved the 90’s Knicks but I spent the entire era wondering if the Knicks could acquire one more superstar to support Patrick. It never happened. Are we doomed to the same fate. Or can Leon and his team do more magic.
I don’t love the “four year window” talk. Firstly, there’s no reason to think that any of our individual players will be better/healthier next year or in subsequent years when they’re older. Secondly, the Bridges trade output makes it very hard to add guys to this rotation of a significance, even if we add obtain a few more picks/swaps over time. Also, we’re really running out of tradeable salary without trading one of our 5 core guys. That means that if someone worthy comes available, we’d potentially have to pivot and trade away one or more of said core guys. At that point, does a new window begin?
My whole point is, if we’re not good enough to beat Boston or other elite teams, we may just have to cope with that reality and call a spade a spade. Not losing hope though.
Fair point that none of these guys may be any better than they are right now, but I'd strongly disagree that the Bridges trade takes away their optionality to add a piece. On draft night 2026, they'll be able to trade their 2026 first (after using it to avoid stepien), their 2033 1st and swaps in 2030 and 2032. That's a real package. Also, between now and then, Aller will be able to build up the tradable salary.
Look, this front office has earned grace, trust me I get it, and they’ve got it from me. But now you’re asking fans to wait until after NEXT season to put together a package good enough to bring in a real impact player. I just don’t think there will be an appetite to be non-contenders next year if this season falls flat. I also worry about the mileage on Brunson, and KAT already is showing signs of wearing down. If there’s any drop off from those guys none of this really matters. It’s possible this is a 2 year window…
I’m also curious what you mean by Aller being able to build up contracts by then - Brunson will nearly be up for another raise, Mitch will be off the books (and if we try to replace him this summer, that may cost one of our precious few assets). I worry that our only way to try to increase our title odds will be to upgrade on our core players who we all love.
so presuming we are healthy and at full strength and Mitch comes back so Kat can play the 4...we have a chance. Celtics came out full of energy and we were flat too, so that could be part of it. Still you definitely think the Knicks are at the top of the 2nd tier type teams...which is fine, what I thought this year. I just don't believe a team that starts Josh Hart can win a championship no matter how many loose balls he corrals. He's not an elite defender and his ability to score in the half-court is quite limited. Celtics looked great. Tatum is an amazing player and he was fully on it. Celtics shot the lights out. It happens. We blew out some amazing teams last year...didn't mean we were gonna win it all.
I think the Josh Hart convo will become very interesting if and when they acquire a shooter with size. Personally, I don't think I'll ever believe starting Mitch is the answer, but I may be proven wrong.
listen, we all love Josh - he is (no pun intended) the Hart of this team. But his first half was awful and honestly his defense has been below average all year long. Can it get better - hopefully, but agree that he is ideally the 6th man - which might have to wait to next year to address.
Why do you think the Celts came out full of energy and the Knicks came out flat? And I’m not disagreeing. I see same. But why? Knicks should have been extremely motivated playing the champs and after the last time the Knicks played the Celtics, they got shellacked.
Too optimistic. We have great offensive stats which is the premise of the idea that we have a truly great offensive team. The stats are based on our team against the 90 percent, and against them in the regular season. We are no where near a great offensive team against the top ten percent. In the playoffs that list will grow to the actual top 10 teams. In short, hello conference semis.Then it’s time to take out the golf clubs. After Brunson, who do you see rocking the Threes. KAT in these games starts to look very small. OG and Bridges are okay. White, Holiday, KP, are better than okay. Same with Cleveland, OKC, The LAs, Denver. Hell, last year it was Indiana. Yes we were injured, but damn they made the shots they had to. Sorry, the pain of Charles Smith, not being able to cram the ball down for a game 6 series win against Chicago is still too real ( the 1990s were painful ). I have visions of KAT playing Charles Smith at the basket when it’s all on the line. Sorry, glass half full.
In our last TH I should of stuck with my gut and said 6/10 in my feelings of them winning a title. It's no shade to them but as long as Boston stands in the way. Any feelings of ECF or Finals feels more like a fantasy.
What I don't want is the Knicks fall in the standings just to avoid Boston. I know they wouldn't purposely run away from them. I certainly don't want some collapse to drop them into the 4th seed. Finish strong right through the finish line. That is the heart of a true champion.
I know some people have thought in the last two weeks or even since the nine game winning streak that I haven't enjoyed this season enough so far. The truth is I really have enjoyed the good moments thoroughly. Certain wins have been very encouraging for the future.
In terms of being top three in the East they are most certainly meeting my expectations as well as my win projection of 55 wins. I figured KAT coming here should instantly raise our regular season ceiling. I was unsure how strong they would be in the playoffs for year one without making any additional moves. KAT was a great add and it made too much sense to not get him. I need to see more evidence that the Knicks can get in the top ten in defense while he patrols the paint and I need to see both him and Bridges come up bigger in big games.
Maybe I don't get what I am looking for but I believe those are important tenets to have before being considered a legit title contender. Like your Celtics, Thunders, and Cavs of the league. Is that really the end of the world for at least this season. After all this season is really more about data collecting than rings.
So for me as long as they can get to that second round and just do the best they can with Boston. Even if it's a gentlemen sweep. I can live with that for one more season and than hope the front office figures out what they need to improve the roster to where we all hope they can be before their window closes. That's all.
The 10 percent is comprised of teams that now have one or two rim protectors in their starting lineup (the Cavs with Allen/Mobley; the Celtics with KP; OKC with IHart/Chet). The Knicks currently have none. The problem is the one player on the roster who could qualify is still not back and is not nearly the offensive player as any of the others. But KAT looking like that is untenable for a team with championship aspirations so if it’s not Mitch, maybe that needs to be an offseason focus.
Disappointing result. After three days off to prepare, it appeared as if the Knicks were just not ready to go from the tip in terms of effort, scheme and rotation.
1) At this point, I think you have to give the Celtics the coaching edge. Although he's young, Mazzula is impressive. The Celtics were missing two starters and we were getting torched by Luke Kornet. I liked Kornet when he played for us. But, still we were getting torched by Luke Kornet. Put simply, one team appeared to have an offensive and defensive game plan and the other team didn't seem to know what to do. This feels like the level of coaching mismatch we faced in the playoffs against Spoelstra and the Heat two years ago but the Celtics have better players.
2)Echoing other comments. I really like Josh Hart. But, against Boston he really compromises both the offense and the defense in the starting lineup. He came out with Julius Randle level defensive effort and the Celtics just aren't guarding him. Understand that Pacome has been dealing with a toe injury for awhile. But, he had some good moments in the first game. A 6'8" big wing that can theoretically shoot 3's would be really helpful against the Celtics. Hart is just very small in this matchup particularly when not competing on defense. If you have Pacome in the corner to space, you have five shooters on offense and you have three big wings to switch on defense. Then, Hart could come in with energy to change the game as the 6th man.
3) Agree that KAT was about as bad as we have seen him on defense. Coming into the game with a knee issue, it looked like he wasn't moving very well. We were missing OG and Thibs went with a non-functional lineup featuring two non-shooters in Hart and Precious. This doesn't help KAT on offense either.
4) Unfortunately, Thibs doesn't seem to have figured out that Tatum is the head of the snake for Boston. Mikal is just smaller than Tatum. In the first game, I was surprised that Mikal rather than OG was guarding Tatum. In this game I don't get why Precious is starting if he's not on Tatum? As you point out, Precious also had a bad game. So, that's not a miracle solution. But, he's generally a good defender and is at least the same size as Tatum. We got OG for this reason. I hope that when he comes back he can be the primary defender on Tatum.
5) While disappointing and concerning, I don't think we necessarily need to overreact to these two games. It's a best of seven playoff series. There are some other things that we can try. They may or may not work. But I don't think we are 30 points worse than the Celtics.
Beating The Celtics is a huge mountain to climb. I thought we showed a lot of fight but we’re going to need all our guys and string together our best performances to pull off the miracle this season. I’m ok with that. This is not a one year only win at all cost season. Let’s get that far and hope on any given night we win more than we lose in that series Ig it happens.
Not too many Thibs comments in here so I thought I would go there. It has now been 52 games in which he has not improved their greatest defensive weaknesses. There is a reason the Wolves got Gobert.
At no point as his team was getting destroyed by Luke Kornet and Nakias Queta did he think of pairing KAT and Hukporti. This has been obvious to me for weeks. This game was over in the first eight minutes really as he started two non shooters so the Celtics could load up on KAT and JB. Last year when OG was hurt he started Deuce to great positive impact.
The other thing is doesn’t do that coaches like Daignault do is play deep bench guys short shifts. There is no excuse for Dadiet being buried or Toppin or Kolek being buried when they could both provide a jolt of energy on a night where the team has none. Thibs has never in his career advanced far in the playoffs and has been routinely outcoached in the post season. Add that to the minutes issues and I am not getting why he’s so bulletproof. He’s like Dick Motta with the old Jerry Sloan Bulls. Win a lot of regular season games because you play harder than everyone else then lose in the post season when everyone is playing hard.
I know he was just extended but the lack of imagination and modern coaching philosophy is just maddening. Who are the high level assistant he relies on now that Bryant left? Seems like he’s a one man show. Brunson, Cheeks, Erman and Dice? C’mon.
I wish nothing more than that I had the ability to say "it's the coach's fault" so I could put me head on the pillow and sleep soundly at night, never once having to confront the ugly reality that the team just might not be good enough. Alas...
Totally agree. They are not good enough yet. But along with that they have a rigid, stodgy, uncreative coach who routinely gets outcoached in big spots. I guess getting boat raced by Kornet and Queta with no response was to me indicative of a larger problem. Of course he’s a very good coach. But in his career he is very very slow to adjust. Elfrid Payton anyone?? Most of the league’s best coaches adjust routinely, often on a quarter by quarter basis. The media gives him a free pass like no NY coach I have ever seen. Let’s see if he can finally stop Cade Cunningham in the first round, or Spo if it comes to that. He better hope he gets Doc Rivers.
Thibs has never had a team that should have gone further in the playoffs than it did. Were the Rose teams with either Noah or Deng as the next best player supposed to win championships? The We there Knicks or last year’s group?
How about winning one when you don’t have the most talent. Thibs was dramatically out coached in losing to the Hawks, Heat, and Pacers. He’s been dramatically out coached by Daignault and Mazzulla. He is a very good coach. He is also a 67 year old dinosaur that has never evolved. On Saturday he watched Kornet and Queta destroy his team with no response. He is unequivocally a poor in game coach.
Not sure why Thibs didn’t use his challenge to try and save us 3 points at the peak of our night. I think it was marginal contact from Deice on Derrick White. Once you get into Q3 I see momentum and protecting key players against foul trouble as the most important factors to consider.
I also think we need to find a way to get Bridges more into the offense with OG out, especially early in games.
It would be nice to win against a quality opponent in MSG on a Saturday or Friday night.
Finally, I hope we can find another big/strong 3, 4 or 5 in the buyout market and wish we would have gone after Richards, Theis or someone else at the deadline.
Given that their challenge staff has the best record in the league, I trust them. Also, replay revealed there was contact that would have prevented the call from being overturned (IMO)
Richard’s failed his physical so it’s lucky the Knicks couldn’t get him. I like Theis too off the bench but it sounds like he is going to go back to Europe to play. I still wish the Knicks couldn’t have found a way to shake Chris Boucher loss as he would have been an important bench piece.
Finally, the trade deadline was disappointing as the Knicks clearly have major flaws and the PR was that our deadline acquisition is Mitch. But he can’t shoot and he generally can’t stay healthy.
I know, I know, we don’t have many assets. But the Knicks have a ton of seconds, they have Dadiet, Kolek, Payne. . . .Hunter would have been a good pick up and we could have competed with the Cavs offer.
I believe you are referring to Williams, not Richards who got traded to the Suns (Hornets centers are confusing!). Also, we wouldn't have been able to compete with the Cavs offer due to the Hawks apparent desire for expiring salary, and because we don't have the player quality that they wanted. Levert and Niang combine to be better than any players we could have offered, and then you add on the draft comp that was attached - that bar wasn't going to be realistically passed by the Knicks.
Oops yes Williams. And you are probably right about our ability to outbid the Cavs unless we included a distant 1st and maybe not even then.
It’s discouraging but Leon and his team shot their shot with the 5 first round picks for Mikal and including the Detroit first for KAT.
This management team has done an excellent job getting the Knicks to a second round and out playoff team (which I believe is their fate again this season) but taking that next step to true championship contender is much harder. It’s all a bit discouraging.
That said, we have an extremely injury prone front court with Mitch, OG and KAT and have done nothing to bring in experienced help since I-Hart left. This will very likely to stall a playoff run like it did last year.
We need to give KAT a but of a break, since he was clearly playing hurt. His thumb injury has affected both his shooting and his ability to snatch contested rebounds. His knee is clearly impacting his mobility. The dilemma is that it’s unclear whether rest will help either injury heal. I’m not sure what the answer is.
There has to be some guy that OKC cant roster that is 6'8 and can shoot a little bit right? At some point the math has to work in our favor right?! Does Leon know a GM with a fat mega star?
Is there any way for Huk to be tutored by Ewing?
I prefer Kareem Abdul Jabbar to tutor both Huk and Robinson on shooting a sky hook or jump hook close to the basket and be in position for a rebound.
(Leon) Rose Colored Glasses. I've been wearing them & hoping against hope that all the theories of this team coming together come playoff time will come to fruition. It may be time to take off those glasses & face the reality that we have a good but not great team, a team that if they by some means, were to get to the ECF, we should realize that ,at least for this season, will have surpassed their ceiling! Saturday night was another litmus test against the best the East had to offer & we failed the test miserably. Now, in retrospect, after watching KAT's mediocre game, perhaps KAT who was questionable with a bad knee & probably only played because it was the Celtics, should have sat (Wouldn't surprise me if he does vs the Pacers). He was lethargic in all aspects of his game & I'm willing to, at least to some extent, attribute that to his health.
Too small!!! Something I've been banging the drum about for months now. Glad Leon addressed it by getting 6-5 Delon Wright! When you're being embarrassed by ex-Knick Luke Kornet, it's pretty obvious where you're lacking! Hukporti, who had a solid game vs. the Raptors, saw all of 3 minutes of time when the game still mattered & they desperately needed size. Instead, Thibs went smaller with Deuce, a guy who may be taking Cam Payne's title of "His only consistency is inconsistency!". 35 minutes of 1-8 shooting & that lack of performance has been more his norm, than his exception. Yet he'll continue to see those minutes since the bench is paper thin & without the needed components that would remedy some of the failures.
I saw online the excuses that we didn't have our 2 best defenders in Mitch & OG. Well, they didn't have Holiday & KP and still kicked our ass! Now, we can't bring in any players until February 28th & many of them will have already signed with other teams by then. And all have to be under the $12.8 million ceiling to be signed. Westchester does have some reinforcements in Ty Warren & Moses Brown (G League Player of the Month), who could certainly bring something to the bench. Now, I'm unclear as to whether we can sign them to 10 day contracts now. Anyone?
Tomorrow, we go against another team in the Pacers that has very athletic bigs & has given us problems because of that! Two games until the AS break (take it off KAT!) to rest & regroup for the last 28 games of the regular season!
Yesterday, I posted on the KFS message board that another Knick blogger wrote a piece with the headline: 3-2
His point was that the Knicks have not been able to beat a team that takes a lot of three’s and defends the three point line well. And the Knicks do neither.
And Jonathan added to the point in this mornings KFS newsletter that Towns has essentially been taken out of the game vs the Celtics and other top teams that use the same strategy.
I’d add that the Rose administration has work to do if they want to move from a very good team, probably top six in the league, to a championship contender.
Hart needs to come off the bench and he needs to be replaced by a strong three-point shooting wing who is also a good defender. Not a superstar (although would be nice) but a guy like D’Andre Hunter or better yet Jalen Williams (I know ha ha).
Many posters reacted to my post by basically saying (and they are not wrong; good luck with finding that player) and filling the bench with a couple of 3&D types.
Towns has never been and will never be a good defensive player. So like Jonathan has said many times, that if this is the case, then the Knicks have to become an unstoppable offense and an adequate defense.
The question is can the Knicks acquire that quality starter and improve their bench with more 3&D players. Their asset closet has many empty shelves. But if they don’t do this, then Jonathan is also right that they will be Ewing’s 90’s Knicks. Damn good but not damn good enough.
I loved the 90’s Knicks but I spent the entire era wondering if the Knicks could acquire one more superstar to support Patrick. It never happened. Are we doomed to the same fate. Or can Leon and his team do more magic.
I don’t love the “four year window” talk. Firstly, there’s no reason to think that any of our individual players will be better/healthier next year or in subsequent years when they’re older. Secondly, the Bridges trade output makes it very hard to add guys to this rotation of a significance, even if we add obtain a few more picks/swaps over time. Also, we’re really running out of tradeable salary without trading one of our 5 core guys. That means that if someone worthy comes available, we’d potentially have to pivot and trade away one or more of said core guys. At that point, does a new window begin?
My whole point is, if we’re not good enough to beat Boston or other elite teams, we may just have to cope with that reality and call a spade a spade. Not losing hope though.
Fair point that none of these guys may be any better than they are right now, but I'd strongly disagree that the Bridges trade takes away their optionality to add a piece. On draft night 2026, they'll be able to trade their 2026 first (after using it to avoid stepien), their 2033 1st and swaps in 2030 and 2032. That's a real package. Also, between now and then, Aller will be able to build up the tradable salary.
Won't doing that really hurt their future? Sustained winning?
Look, this front office has earned grace, trust me I get it, and they’ve got it from me. But now you’re asking fans to wait until after NEXT season to put together a package good enough to bring in a real impact player. I just don’t think there will be an appetite to be non-contenders next year if this season falls flat. I also worry about the mileage on Brunson, and KAT already is showing signs of wearing down. If there’s any drop off from those guys none of this really matters. It’s possible this is a 2 year window…
I’m also curious what you mean by Aller being able to build up contracts by then - Brunson will nearly be up for another raise, Mitch will be off the books (and if we try to replace him this summer, that may cost one of our precious few assets). I worry that our only way to try to increase our title odds will be to upgrade on our core players who we all love.
so presuming we are healthy and at full strength and Mitch comes back so Kat can play the 4...we have a chance. Celtics came out full of energy and we were flat too, so that could be part of it. Still you definitely think the Knicks are at the top of the 2nd tier type teams...which is fine, what I thought this year. I just don't believe a team that starts Josh Hart can win a championship no matter how many loose balls he corrals. He's not an elite defender and his ability to score in the half-court is quite limited. Celtics looked great. Tatum is an amazing player and he was fully on it. Celtics shot the lights out. It happens. We blew out some amazing teams last year...didn't mean we were gonna win it all.
I think the Josh Hart convo will become very interesting if and when they acquire a shooter with size. Personally, I don't think I'll ever believe starting Mitch is the answer, but I may be proven wrong.
listen, we all love Josh - he is (no pun intended) the Hart of this team. But his first half was awful and honestly his defense has been below average all year long. Can it get better - hopefully, but agree that he is ideally the 6th man - which might have to wait to next year to address.
Why do you think the Celts came out full of energy and the Knicks came out flat? And I’m not disagreeing. I see same. But why? Knicks should have been extremely motivated playing the champs and after the last time the Knicks played the Celtics, they got shellacked.
By the way, we can all be thankful we are not Mavs fans. Latest headline on AD:
“Anthony Davis To Determine If He Needs Surgery For Adductor Strain On Monday”
“Anthony Davis Expected To Miss Multiple Weeks With Adductor Strain”
Too optimistic. We have great offensive stats which is the premise of the idea that we have a truly great offensive team. The stats are based on our team against the 90 percent, and against them in the regular season. We are no where near a great offensive team against the top ten percent. In the playoffs that list will grow to the actual top 10 teams. In short, hello conference semis.Then it’s time to take out the golf clubs. After Brunson, who do you see rocking the Threes. KAT in these games starts to look very small. OG and Bridges are okay. White, Holiday, KP, are better than okay. Same with Cleveland, OKC, The LAs, Denver. Hell, last year it was Indiana. Yes we were injured, but damn they made the shots they had to. Sorry, the pain of Charles Smith, not being able to cram the ball down for a game 6 series win against Chicago is still too real ( the 1990s were painful ). I have visions of KAT playing Charles Smith at the basket when it’s all on the line. Sorry, glass half full.
In our last TH I should of stuck with my gut and said 6/10 in my feelings of them winning a title. It's no shade to them but as long as Boston stands in the way. Any feelings of ECF or Finals feels more like a fantasy.
What I don't want is the Knicks fall in the standings just to avoid Boston. I know they wouldn't purposely run away from them. I certainly don't want some collapse to drop them into the 4th seed. Finish strong right through the finish line. That is the heart of a true champion.
I know some people have thought in the last two weeks or even since the nine game winning streak that I haven't enjoyed this season enough so far. The truth is I really have enjoyed the good moments thoroughly. Certain wins have been very encouraging for the future.
In terms of being top three in the East they are most certainly meeting my expectations as well as my win projection of 55 wins. I figured KAT coming here should instantly raise our regular season ceiling. I was unsure how strong they would be in the playoffs for year one without making any additional moves. KAT was a great add and it made too much sense to not get him. I need to see more evidence that the Knicks can get in the top ten in defense while he patrols the paint and I need to see both him and Bridges come up bigger in big games.
Maybe I don't get what I am looking for but I believe those are important tenets to have before being considered a legit title contender. Like your Celtics, Thunders, and Cavs of the league. Is that really the end of the world for at least this season. After all this season is really more about data collecting than rings.
So for me as long as they can get to that second round and just do the best they can with Boston. Even if it's a gentlemen sweep. I can live with that for one more season and than hope the front office figures out what they need to improve the roster to where we all hope they can be before their window closes. That's all.
The 10 percent is comprised of teams that now have one or two rim protectors in their starting lineup (the Cavs with Allen/Mobley; the Celtics with KP; OKC with IHart/Chet). The Knicks currently have none. The problem is the one player on the roster who could qualify is still not back and is not nearly the offensive player as any of the others. But KAT looking like that is untenable for a team with championship aspirations so if it’s not Mitch, maybe that needs to be an offseason focus.
it's less about rim protection and more about acceptable pick and roll defense, but point taken.
You’re balls on accurate re the D. See the offensive side below
Disappointing result. After three days off to prepare, it appeared as if the Knicks were just not ready to go from the tip in terms of effort, scheme and rotation.
1) At this point, I think you have to give the Celtics the coaching edge. Although he's young, Mazzula is impressive. The Celtics were missing two starters and we were getting torched by Luke Kornet. I liked Kornet when he played for us. But, still we were getting torched by Luke Kornet. Put simply, one team appeared to have an offensive and defensive game plan and the other team didn't seem to know what to do. This feels like the level of coaching mismatch we faced in the playoffs against Spoelstra and the Heat two years ago but the Celtics have better players.
2)Echoing other comments. I really like Josh Hart. But, against Boston he really compromises both the offense and the defense in the starting lineup. He came out with Julius Randle level defensive effort and the Celtics just aren't guarding him. Understand that Pacome has been dealing with a toe injury for awhile. But, he had some good moments in the first game. A 6'8" big wing that can theoretically shoot 3's would be really helpful against the Celtics. Hart is just very small in this matchup particularly when not competing on defense. If you have Pacome in the corner to space, you have five shooters on offense and you have three big wings to switch on defense. Then, Hart could come in with energy to change the game as the 6th man.
3) Agree that KAT was about as bad as we have seen him on defense. Coming into the game with a knee issue, it looked like he wasn't moving very well. We were missing OG and Thibs went with a non-functional lineup featuring two non-shooters in Hart and Precious. This doesn't help KAT on offense either.
4) Unfortunately, Thibs doesn't seem to have figured out that Tatum is the head of the snake for Boston. Mikal is just smaller than Tatum. In the first game, I was surprised that Mikal rather than OG was guarding Tatum. In this game I don't get why Precious is starting if he's not on Tatum? As you point out, Precious also had a bad game. So, that's not a miracle solution. But, he's generally a good defender and is at least the same size as Tatum. We got OG for this reason. I hope that when he comes back he can be the primary defender on Tatum.
5) While disappointing and concerning, I don't think we necessarily need to overreact to these two games. It's a best of seven playoff series. There are some other things that we can try. They may or may not work. But I don't think we are 30 points worse than the Celtics.
All very good points.
Beating The Celtics is a huge mountain to climb. I thought we showed a lot of fight but we’re going to need all our guys and string together our best performances to pull off the miracle this season. I’m ok with that. This is not a one year only win at all cost season. Let’s get that far and hope on any given night we win more than we lose in that series Ig it happens.
Not too many Thibs comments in here so I thought I would go there. It has now been 52 games in which he has not improved their greatest defensive weaknesses. There is a reason the Wolves got Gobert.
At no point as his team was getting destroyed by Luke Kornet and Nakias Queta did he think of pairing KAT and Hukporti. This has been obvious to me for weeks. This game was over in the first eight minutes really as he started two non shooters so the Celtics could load up on KAT and JB. Last year when OG was hurt he started Deuce to great positive impact.
The other thing is doesn’t do that coaches like Daignault do is play deep bench guys short shifts. There is no excuse for Dadiet being buried or Toppin or Kolek being buried when they could both provide a jolt of energy on a night where the team has none. Thibs has never in his career advanced far in the playoffs and has been routinely outcoached in the post season. Add that to the minutes issues and I am not getting why he’s so bulletproof. He’s like Dick Motta with the old Jerry Sloan Bulls. Win a lot of regular season games because you play harder than everyone else then lose in the post season when everyone is playing hard.
I know he was just extended but the lack of imagination and modern coaching philosophy is just maddening. Who are the high level assistant he relies on now that Bryant left? Seems like he’s a one man show. Brunson, Cheeks, Erman and Dice? C’mon.
I wish nothing more than that I had the ability to say "it's the coach's fault" so I could put me head on the pillow and sleep soundly at night, never once having to confront the ugly reality that the team just might not be good enough. Alas...
Totally agree. They are not good enough yet. But along with that they have a rigid, stodgy, uncreative coach who routinely gets outcoached in big spots. I guess getting boat raced by Kornet and Queta with no response was to me indicative of a larger problem. Of course he’s a very good coach. But in his career he is very very slow to adjust. Elfrid Payton anyone?? Most of the league’s best coaches adjust routinely, often on a quarter by quarter basis. The media gives him a free pass like no NY coach I have ever seen. Let’s see if he can finally stop Cade Cunningham in the first round, or Spo if it comes to that. He better hope he gets Doc Rivers.
Thibs has never had a team that should have gone further in the playoffs than it did. Were the Rose teams with either Noah or Deng as the next best player supposed to win championships? The We there Knicks or last year’s group?
How about winning one when you don’t have the most talent. Thibs was dramatically out coached in losing to the Hawks, Heat, and Pacers. He’s been dramatically out coached by Daignault and Mazzulla. He is a very good coach. He is also a 67 year old dinosaur that has never evolved. On Saturday he watched Kornet and Queta destroy his team with no response. He is unequivocally a poor in game coach.
Totally agree.
Not sure why Thibs didn’t use his challenge to try and save us 3 points at the peak of our night. I think it was marginal contact from Deice on Derrick White. Once you get into Q3 I see momentum and protecting key players against foul trouble as the most important factors to consider.
I also think we need to find a way to get Bridges more into the offense with OG out, especially early in games.
It would be nice to win against a quality opponent in MSG on a Saturday or Friday night.
Finally, I hope we can find another big/strong 3, 4 or 5 in the buyout market and wish we would have gone after Richards, Theis or someone else at the deadline.
Given that their challenge staff has the best record in the league, I trust them. Also, replay revealed there was contact that would have prevented the call from being overturned (IMO)
Fair take, but I also believe they have one of the lower challenge totals (which if true means they could be more aggressive).
My point is that certain situations (momentum or protecting a key player from foul trouble) warrant taking a shot even if it’s less than a 50% shot.
Richard’s failed his physical so it’s lucky the Knicks couldn’t get him. I like Theis too off the bench but it sounds like he is going to go back to Europe to play. I still wish the Knicks couldn’t have found a way to shake Chris Boucher loss as he would have been an important bench piece.
Finally, the trade deadline was disappointing as the Knicks clearly have major flaws and the PR was that our deadline acquisition is Mitch. But he can’t shoot and he generally can’t stay healthy.
I know, I know, we don’t have many assets. But the Knicks have a ton of seconds, they have Dadiet, Kolek, Payne. . . .Hunter would have been a good pick up and we could have competed with the Cavs offer.
I believe you are referring to Williams, not Richards who got traded to the Suns (Hornets centers are confusing!). Also, we wouldn't have been able to compete with the Cavs offer due to the Hawks apparent desire for expiring salary, and because we don't have the player quality that they wanted. Levert and Niang combine to be better than any players we could have offered, and then you add on the draft comp that was attached - that bar wasn't going to be realistically passed by the Knicks.
Oops yes Williams. And you are probably right about our ability to outbid the Cavs unless we included a distant 1st and maybe not even then.
It’s discouraging but Leon and his team shot their shot with the 5 first round picks for Mikal and including the Detroit first for KAT.
This management team has done an excellent job getting the Knicks to a second round and out playoff team (which I believe is their fate again this season) but taking that next step to true championship contender is much harder. It’s all a bit discouraging.
I love what Leon Rose has done.
That said, we have an extremely injury prone front court with Mitch, OG and KAT and have done nothing to bring in experienced help since I-Hart left. This will very likely to stall a playoff run like it did last year.