John thank you for your incredible work, passion and thoughtfulness in presenting these daily updates!! I’m old enuf to have been around to witness the glory days of the 60s-70s. Clyde was the only sports figure in my life that I can truly say I idolized. You mentioned how those Knicks must have captivated the city, and I can confirm that 100%. It was a truly magical run! And just bc those teams did win championships, I do favor Clyde as the #1 choice on your list. I respect your opinion and it’s certainly a tough call, but Clyde def gets my vote. Again thank you
John, awesome work! That said, I am old enough to have been a Knick fanatic in the late 60's and early 70's, loved our Ewing run, and I long for another great Knicks team to watch but Clyde is number 1 in my book. No numbers needed. When watching the Knicks with Clyde, I fully expected that whenever the Knicks needed something, anything, Clyde would deliver. When I watched the Ewing Knicks, I always watched with dread, knowing that Ewing would likely fall just short of being great ... It was not the play of the players around him, it was the play of Ewing himself. The same feeling I get when Julius gets the ball in key moments and you know he's going to dribble straight into a pile of defenders and bobble the possession away. Ewing was no Clyde... just my 2 cents ... Thanks for a great season. Entertaining, thoughtful, inciteful, educational and personal. I'm glad to be a subscriber.
You really nailed it again Macri. The fact that Ewing had so much hope pinned to him and got so little in help with supporting actors, but still delivered year after year makes him worthy of #1. In fairness, I never got to see Clyde play which is what makes these cross generational comparisons so hard. I remember distinctly the morning after the Knicks got the fortuitous frozen ping pong pall, my friend in junior high match class turning around and explaining to me how this would change the NBA landscape in favor of NY. He was clearly right and not surprisingly went on to be a successful doctor. Preceding that I was more into the Islanders and the Yankees than the Knicks but began a lifelong tortured love affair with the Knicks from that point to today. Patrick took far too many lumps from the media and fans, I suspect mostly because of his gruff personality...but he was a joy to watch, highly skilled, graceful (I can still see those drop steps and turnaround jumpers rip the twine) with the metal of a NY warrior. Everything we could've asked for and more.
you should release an e-book (or print!) of the whole #nyk75 series -- just a thought. i'd also enjoy a podcast or youtube series hearing you describe your thought process and go into more/add'l thought on why you listed players where you did, the process, etc.
I completely see the logic of the Knicks trading their first round pick this year… but I hate it. Give Walt Perrin a chance to find a gem at 11. The last time he drafted this high, he came away with Donovan Mitchell and Obi Toppin. The last several years in the draft, real talent has gone in the 11-14 range: Devin Booker, Bam Adebayo, SGA, Haliburton, Donovan, Miles Bridges, Tyler Herro, Cam Johnson, Sabonis etc. My pet theory is that there are often high ceiling tools guys taken in the 6-10 range (Frank, Killian, Okongwu, Knox) and guys who are thought to have a lower ceiling but often really know how to play go 11-14. I really hope we keep our selection unless it’s a great trade.
Being old enough to watch both players in their prime, I’d agree that the choice is very close. However, I’d give Frazier the edge for two reasons. 1. To me, it’s all about titles. Two to zero. And next is clutch performances. In 1969, in game seven of the Finals, no Willis Reed (their best player when healthy), Frazier goes off for 36 points and 19 assists. And the Knicks win their first title. In 1994 game seven of the finals, Ewing goes for 17 points and 10 rebounds, and the Knicks lose. Now I don’t pick Frazier over Ewing because of one game. I pick Frazier over Ewing because those championship games represent the fact that Frazier was generally a more clutch player than Ewing. It’s close, but for my money, if I want one player in a tough game, it’s Frazier.
Regardless I loved your work on this series and love your work overall on the newsletter. My only complaint is I wish you published seven days a week rather than five days a week. And I’d pay extra for the pleasure.
And whatever happens in the off-season, I hope for two things. Randle is traded and the Knicks acquire Brunson.
John thank you for your incredible work, passion and thoughtfulness in presenting these daily updates!! I’m old enuf to have been around to witness the glory days of the 60s-70s. Clyde was the only sports figure in my life that I can truly say I idolized. You mentioned how those Knicks must have captivated the city, and I can confirm that 100%. It was a truly magical run! And just bc those teams did win championships, I do favor Clyde as the #1 choice on your list. I respect your opinion and it’s certainly a tough call, but Clyde def gets my vote. Again thank you
John, awesome work! That said, I am old enough to have been a Knick fanatic in the late 60's and early 70's, loved our Ewing run, and I long for another great Knicks team to watch but Clyde is number 1 in my book. No numbers needed. When watching the Knicks with Clyde, I fully expected that whenever the Knicks needed something, anything, Clyde would deliver. When I watched the Ewing Knicks, I always watched with dread, knowing that Ewing would likely fall just short of being great ... It was not the play of the players around him, it was the play of Ewing himself. The same feeling I get when Julius gets the ball in key moments and you know he's going to dribble straight into a pile of defenders and bobble the possession away. Ewing was no Clyde... just my 2 cents ... Thanks for a great season. Entertaining, thoughtful, inciteful, educational and personal. I'm glad to be a subscriber.
You really nailed it again Macri. The fact that Ewing had so much hope pinned to him and got so little in help with supporting actors, but still delivered year after year makes him worthy of #1. In fairness, I never got to see Clyde play which is what makes these cross generational comparisons so hard. I remember distinctly the morning after the Knicks got the fortuitous frozen ping pong pall, my friend in junior high match class turning around and explaining to me how this would change the NBA landscape in favor of NY. He was clearly right and not surprisingly went on to be a successful doctor. Preceding that I was more into the Islanders and the Yankees than the Knicks but began a lifelong tortured love affair with the Knicks from that point to today. Patrick took far too many lumps from the media and fans, I suspect mostly because of his gruff personality...but he was a joy to watch, highly skilled, graceful (I can still see those drop steps and turnaround jumpers rip the twine) with the metal of a NY warrior. Everything we could've asked for and more.
you should release an e-book (or print!) of the whole #nyk75 series -- just a thought. i'd also enjoy a podcast or youtube series hearing you describe your thought process and go into more/add'l thought on why you listed players where you did, the process, etc.
I completely see the logic of the Knicks trading their first round pick this year… but I hate it. Give Walt Perrin a chance to find a gem at 11. The last time he drafted this high, he came away with Donovan Mitchell and Obi Toppin. The last several years in the draft, real talent has gone in the 11-14 range: Devin Booker, Bam Adebayo, SGA, Haliburton, Donovan, Miles Bridges, Tyler Herro, Cam Johnson, Sabonis etc. My pet theory is that there are often high ceiling tools guys taken in the 6-10 range (Frank, Killian, Okongwu, Knox) and guys who are thought to have a lower ceiling but often really know how to play go 11-14. I really hope we keep our selection unless it’s a great trade.
2 - Randle for Myles Turner yeah?
Being old enough to watch both players in their prime, I’d agree that the choice is very close. However, I’d give Frazier the edge for two reasons. 1. To me, it’s all about titles. Two to zero. And next is clutch performances. In 1969, in game seven of the Finals, no Willis Reed (their best player when healthy), Frazier goes off for 36 points and 19 assists. And the Knicks win their first title. In 1994 game seven of the finals, Ewing goes for 17 points and 10 rebounds, and the Knicks lose. Now I don’t pick Frazier over Ewing because of one game. I pick Frazier over Ewing because those championship games represent the fact that Frazier was generally a more clutch player than Ewing. It’s close, but for my money, if I want one player in a tough game, it’s Frazier.
Regardless I loved your work on this series and love your work overall on the newsletter. My only complaint is I wish you published seven days a week rather than five days a week. And I’d pay extra for the pleasure.
And whatever happens in the off-season, I hope for two things. Randle is traded and the Knicks acquire Brunson.
Randle, burks, Fournier, for Russ and lakers 27/29 picks unprotected. Waive Russ, play the kids.