If the FO thought that this team had a 1-year window with this season being the best shot that they had to win a ring, chances are that they would have made a desperation trade at the deadline - but they didn’t. They are still probably looking bigger picture and longer term despite what is going on currently, and will presumably have a plan(s) that can be implemented to increase odds in future seasons. But for now, this one hurts.
And as said in another comment, you deserve all the stars Jon.
Vacations should be more fun than writing a newsletter following the worst/defeat performance of the season. With the Cavs went up 41-29, I grabbed a high proof bottle of bourbon and prepared for a game akin to having surgery with no anesthesia—- very painful. My truth is the Knicks aren’t this bad, but are a couple of pieces away from truly contending. 50-plus wins and a first round playoff win counts as a success, and that looks like our ceiling.
I think the FO will have to face the reality that Minnesota’s did - a team with KAT at the five will never be tenable defensively if you have championship aspirations. That’s exacerbated when you have another defensive target in Brunson. This team has barely imposed its will defensively all season. The signs of their ineptitude on that end have been there against teams as poor as the Wizards, the Jazz and the Hornets, who had stretches where they got any shot they want. And we’ve all made excuses for it and assumed things would improve when it matters. The top teams, though, are relentless and completely expose us. And for what it’s worth, I don’t trust Mitch to be the solution. It’s quite discouraging.
I’m highly skeptical that Mitch is gonna come back and offer anything of real value. If he returns and is still hobbling and not close to ready from a conditioning perspective, I wonder if the team just puts him back on ice so he doesn’t risk further injury before the offseason when he’s likely going to be used as a trade chip.
Easy Macri. Last time I checked championship trophies are not handed out in February. Take a breath and for Gods sake stay far away from those airborne hemorrhoids.
My rule for this season, especially with our thin bench, is to not overreact to the second night of a back to back. Unfortunately somehow our next two games against Cleveland are also on the second night of back to backs. But missing Hart and with Mitch hopefully on the way and OG’s first game back… I’m going to try to not overreact. But your words ring true, Jon. I think we need to do what Cleveland did and build up our bench over the next year or two. Remember they looked a lot thinner and more fragile when they had a shallow bench in year one of the Donnie experiment. Anyway… yeah it’s gonna feel crummy until we win one of these games. It would be nice if tonight lit a fire under them for the Boston game.
Let’s see. Two teams better than us in the standings. Both with stable cores of 3+ years. What did anyone expect at this point? Feel disappointed? Our team new core. Injured starters. O G just coming back etc. please don’t jump out the window. Let’s be smart at what we are seeing. We are supposed to be the smartest fans in the NBA.
I’ve preached patience and still do. Only thing last night changed was that for the first time, I have real doubt they can get there are currently constructed. Would love for them to vanquish that doubt in short order (like, tomorrow afternoon).
I actually take a lot of solace from Cleveland ( the team, not the game last night). I thought they would be a great team after they acquired Mitchell. They had everything. Bigs and scorers. In their third year, they seem to have added the pieces and familiarity to really be contenders. But it took them a few years and I expect that it will take us a few years too.
I don’t think anyone thought we were a title contender going into the year. A respectable second round exit and maybe more if the better teams suffered some injuries and we stayed healthy was about it. It is fair to say that we also did not expect to be absolutely blown out by those better teams, but I don’t think it should surprise anyone that the odds on a title this year are low.
I do think that it will be hard to win with Brunson and Kat at the five against great teams. I have thought all season that we need a scary defender at the rim to improve our defense ( Including our perimeter defense by giving defenders the confidence to sell out on the perimeter). I hope smith is it, but have little confidence that he is. After the draft, we will have another tradable number one. And we have two obvious needs. Bench and scary rim protector (unless we do something drastic like a Kat for Giannis trade).
We are better than last year (still not as much fun) but there is more to come.
You are a very brave man Mr. Macri. We, Knicks nation, are the most loyal fanbase in all of sports. How else can you explain that since 1973, we ain’t won sh*t and yet we keep showing up.
But tonight, I was embarrassed to be a Knick fan. And that is a rare occurrence. No title this year and it’s hard to hope that the franchise will win anything for a very long time.
What a disheartening loss. G’night fellow crazies.
As loyal and Optimistic of a Knicks fan I’ve been for over 30 years I have to accept the fact that this team as presently constructed will not win a championship. The KAT at center experiment needs to end now and they need to add more quality rim protection and an elite point of attack defender in the off season!
Overall offense is fine outside of continued decreasing 3 point rate. But I don’t feel they are putting precious in the best situation to succeed if he’s in with KAT then PA should be in the PnR granted that makes KAT a glorified spot up shooter, I’m just concerned how the coach will choose to run the offense when Mitch replaces Precious. On defense I think they have to be more aggressive at the three point line helping less and conceding a few extra lay up/dunks.
Gotta spend the offseason adding more Johnny Bryant types and less Mo Cheeks types onto the coaching staff (unless its JVG, who I’d want Thibs to try to take from the Clippers). I venture to guess this Knicks coaching staff is the oldest one in the league, and it might not be particularly close (feel free to correct me if that is wrong).
I was surprised last night when I saw Jon had already posted the newsletter for the Cavs game. I fought the urge to respond last night as I knew my anger would not allow me to put into perspective my actual feelings. So instead, I flipped on DJ and passively listened for an hour+, seeing the unanimity of the collective feelings towards last night's game! As Jon so passionately wrote, "I've waited more than 30 years already. One more won't kill me." Well, let me throw in my own declaration, "I've waited more than 50 years already. And, at 71 years of age, one more year could kill me! lol"!
As for the game itself, I wish Jalen wouldn't always take it all on himself in the beginning of important games. It keeps the other 4 from getting in the flow & quite honestly, gives me those Iso-Melo feelings that I hate with a passion! Even though it was close early, I didn't have a good feeling as Dunk, Dunk, Dunk was what came from the Cavs attacking our porous defense! JB's 3 at the end of the first got us back to down 12,but that would be the closest we would get the rest of the night!
Precious was the target of most of the fans' angst in the aftermath, but when you look at the top 3 bench players last night (Deuce ,Cam, Shamet), who played extended minutes & scored a combined total of 12 points, their only consistency is inconsistency! I've banged the drum for more size all year & hopefully Mitch will provide that to an extent, along with something called defense. But, yesterday I saw a post on Twitter that we were the favorites to sign Victor Oladipo. Now, he hasn't played in 2 years after his injury & who knows if he could regain what he once was. But, what's the line?, "Desperate times require desperate measures!" He was a proven scorer & defender & if he could regain that, even somewhat, he'd be a welcome addition to a bench that doesn't score!
Finally, I remember numerous posts earlier calling out Josh Hart's play this season. Well, watching the last 2 games in his absence, if you still don't believe he's the glue of this team, I don't know what to tell you! Here's hoping Sunday doesn't give me more agita!
And good defensive teams have a big man that erases mistakes that the other players make! We don't (Mitch is still a ???)! Hart gambles, sometimes wrongly. But no one can say it's ever for lack of effort! As for my choice of Hart Glue, make mine Gorilla!
Rhinoceros by Ianescu. Starred Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder. Left very very early. I’m shocked that steam with KAT, Brunson, and recovering OG, and Precious in its starting lineup couldn’t defend. When we’re fully healthy ( probably a myth) we will defend. However, any bench that has Larry, Cam ( except for those blue moon hot streaks) and Precious cannot be serious about title aspirations. Even The Deuce is limited. A terrific 8/9.
You extol that a great Offense and an average Defense can win a title. Throw out the stats, this is a solid but far from great offense. Something is missing. Speed? Shooting? Not sure. The Defense needs to be able to stop the layup line AND guard the 3 point line. Not this team. Even with Hart and OG healthy. Mitch and KAT together?another myth probably, but we need to see. Patience.
Well, as promised, I finally got to read the 70 something comments on the demise of the Knicks. A lot of negativity and well deserved thank you brother Melamed for telling me to stay at dinner and eat another dessert. I'm not getting excited till we're fully healthy and get blown out like this. we could use another shooting wing. Getting DeVo back might also be very helpful mentally for the team and the fans
If the FO thought that this team had a 1-year window with this season being the best shot that they had to win a ring, chances are that they would have made a desperation trade at the deadline - but they didn’t. They are still probably looking bigger picture and longer term despite what is going on currently, and will presumably have a plan(s) that can be implemented to increase odds in future seasons. But for now, this one hurts.
And as said in another comment, you deserve all the stars Jon.
Vacations should be more fun than writing a newsletter following the worst/defeat performance of the season. With the Cavs went up 41-29, I grabbed a high proof bottle of bourbon and prepared for a game akin to having surgery with no anesthesia—- very painful. My truth is the Knicks aren’t this bad, but are a couple of pieces away from truly contending. 50-plus wins and a first round playoff win counts as a success, and that looks like our ceiling.
Well at least this is still better than the alternative (see 2001-2010/2013-2020) even if this could be close to as good as it gets.
KAT has been a ton of fun. Maybe more fun than I expected but can he make us a serious team. I'm still waiting for the proof to support it.
I think the FO will have to face the reality that Minnesota’s did - a team with KAT at the five will never be tenable defensively if you have championship aspirations. That’s exacerbated when you have another defensive target in Brunson. This team has barely imposed its will defensively all season. The signs of their ineptitude on that end have been there against teams as poor as the Wizards, the Jazz and the Hornets, who had stretches where they got any shot they want. And we’ve all made excuses for it and assumed things would improve when it matters. The top teams, though, are relentless and completely expose us. And for what it’s worth, I don’t trust Mitch to be the solution. It’s quite discouraging.
I’m highly skeptical that Mitch is gonna come back and offer anything of real value. If he returns and is still hobbling and not close to ready from a conditioning perspective, I wonder if the team just puts him back on ice so he doesn’t risk further injury before the offseason when he’s likely going to be used as a trade chip.
Don’t forget the Bulls.
The Hawks last week, the Magic without their top players…
Easy Macri. Last time I checked championship trophies are not handed out in February. Take a breath and for Gods sake stay far away from those airborne hemorrhoids.
My rule for this season, especially with our thin bench, is to not overreact to the second night of a back to back. Unfortunately somehow our next two games against Cleveland are also on the second night of back to backs. But missing Hart and with Mitch hopefully on the way and OG’s first game back… I’m going to try to not overreact. But your words ring true, Jon. I think we need to do what Cleveland did and build up our bench over the next year or two. Remember they looked a lot thinner and more fragile when they had a shallow bench in year one of the Donnie experiment. Anyway… yeah it’s gonna feel crummy until we win one of these games. It would be nice if tonight lit a fire under them for the Boston game.
Let’s see. Two teams better than us in the standings. Both with stable cores of 3+ years. What did anyone expect at this point? Feel disappointed? Our team new core. Injured starters. O G just coming back etc. please don’t jump out the window. Let’s be smart at what we are seeing. We are supposed to be the smartest fans in the NBA.
I’ve preached patience and still do. Only thing last night changed was that for the first time, I have real doubt they can get there are currently constructed. Would love for them to vanquish that doubt in short order (like, tomorrow afternoon).
I actually take a lot of solace from Cleveland ( the team, not the game last night). I thought they would be a great team after they acquired Mitchell. They had everything. Bigs and scorers. In their third year, they seem to have added the pieces and familiarity to really be contenders. But it took them a few years and I expect that it will take us a few years too.
I don’t think anyone thought we were a title contender going into the year. A respectable second round exit and maybe more if the better teams suffered some injuries and we stayed healthy was about it. It is fair to say that we also did not expect to be absolutely blown out by those better teams, but I don’t think it should surprise anyone that the odds on a title this year are low.
I do think that it will be hard to win with Brunson and Kat at the five against great teams. I have thought all season that we need a scary defender at the rim to improve our defense ( Including our perimeter defense by giving defenders the confidence to sell out on the perimeter). I hope smith is it, but have little confidence that he is. After the draft, we will have another tradable number one. And we have two obvious needs. Bench and scary rim protector (unless we do something drastic like a Kat for Giannis trade).
We are better than last year (still not as much fun) but there is more to come.
A win Sunday would change everyone's perspective. I'm not counting on it, but I've been hopeful since 1973 .
I'd feel better if I heard that Jalen or Josh or someone tore up the locker room last night. Sometimes getting mad about it is a good thing.
Agreed Tim.
You are a very brave man Mr. Macri. We, Knicks nation, are the most loyal fanbase in all of sports. How else can you explain that since 1973, we ain’t won sh*t and yet we keep showing up.
But tonight, I was embarrassed to be a Knick fan. And that is a rare occurrence. No title this year and it’s hard to hope that the franchise will win anything for a very long time.
What a disheartening loss. G’night fellow crazies.
Confirms Josh Hart is the heart and soul
I’d trade everyone but Josh.
You, sir, get all of the stars on this night.
As loyal and Optimistic of a Knicks fan I’ve been for over 30 years I have to accept the fact that this team as presently constructed will not win a championship. The KAT at center experiment needs to end now and they need to add more quality rim protection and an elite point of attack defender in the off season!
Overall offense is fine outside of continued decreasing 3 point rate. But I don’t feel they are putting precious in the best situation to succeed if he’s in with KAT then PA should be in the PnR granted that makes KAT a glorified spot up shooter, I’m just concerned how the coach will choose to run the offense when Mitch replaces Precious. On defense I think they have to be more aggressive at the three point line helping less and conceding a few extra lay up/dunks.
What he needs an offensive and defensive specialist assistant coaches that Thibs can collaborate and delegate to.
Gotta spend the offseason adding more Johnny Bryant types and less Mo Cheeks types onto the coaching staff (unless its JVG, who I’d want Thibs to try to take from the Clippers). I venture to guess this Knicks coaching staff is the oldest one in the league, and it might not be particularly close (feel free to correct me if that is wrong).
I'd love to understand the current coaching staff and their histories/changes. I don't know enough like many folks here. Maybe a future post?
I was surprised last night when I saw Jon had already posted the newsletter for the Cavs game. I fought the urge to respond last night as I knew my anger would not allow me to put into perspective my actual feelings. So instead, I flipped on DJ and passively listened for an hour+, seeing the unanimity of the collective feelings towards last night's game! As Jon so passionately wrote, "I've waited more than 30 years already. One more won't kill me." Well, let me throw in my own declaration, "I've waited more than 50 years already. And, at 71 years of age, one more year could kill me! lol"!
As for the game itself, I wish Jalen wouldn't always take it all on himself in the beginning of important games. It keeps the other 4 from getting in the flow & quite honestly, gives me those Iso-Melo feelings that I hate with a passion! Even though it was close early, I didn't have a good feeling as Dunk, Dunk, Dunk was what came from the Cavs attacking our porous defense! JB's 3 at the end of the first got us back to down 12,but that would be the closest we would get the rest of the night!
Precious was the target of most of the fans' angst in the aftermath, but when you look at the top 3 bench players last night (Deuce ,Cam, Shamet), who played extended minutes & scored a combined total of 12 points, their only consistency is inconsistency! I've banged the drum for more size all year & hopefully Mitch will provide that to an extent, along with something called defense. But, yesterday I saw a post on Twitter that we were the favorites to sign Victor Oladipo. Now, he hasn't played in 2 years after his injury & who knows if he could regain what he once was. But, what's the line?, "Desperate times require desperate measures!" He was a proven scorer & defender & if he could regain that, even somewhat, he'd be a welcome addition to a bench that doesn't score!
Finally, I remember numerous posts earlier calling out Josh Hart's play this season. Well, watching the last 2 games in his absence, if you still don't believe he's the glue of this team, I don't know what to tell you! Here's hoping Sunday doesn't give me more agita!
Don’t quit on us now Bill!
Not going anywhere Jon! Just hoping that this rollercoaster steadies & we get to have a legitimate shot at an NBA title!
One more year Bill. You can make it 😂! If Hart is glue, he is more like Elmer's on D. Not that sticky. People go around him like he is 71!
And good defensive teams have a big man that erases mistakes that the other players make! We don't (Mitch is still a ???)! Hart gambles, sometimes wrongly. But no one can say it's ever for lack of effort! As for my choice of Hart Glue, make mine Gorilla!
Rhinoceros by Ianescu. Starred Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder. Left very very early. I’m shocked that steam with KAT, Brunson, and recovering OG, and Precious in its starting lineup couldn’t defend. When we’re fully healthy ( probably a myth) we will defend. However, any bench that has Larry, Cam ( except for those blue moon hot streaks) and Precious cannot be serious about title aspirations. Even The Deuce is limited. A terrific 8/9.
You extol that a great Offense and an average Defense can win a title. Throw out the stats, this is a solid but far from great offense. Something is missing. Speed? Shooting? Not sure. The Defense needs to be able to stop the layup line AND guard the 3 point line. Not this team. Even with Hart and OG healthy. Mitch and KAT together?another myth probably, but we need to see. Patience.
Well, as promised, I finally got to read the 70 something comments on the demise of the Knicks. A lot of negativity and well deserved thank you brother Melamed for telling me to stay at dinner and eat another dessert. I'm not getting excited till we're fully healthy and get blown out like this. we could use another shooting wing. Getting DeVo back might also be very helpful mentally for the team and the fans