NFT - New York Knicks 2022-23 Season

[DaveBrown74]

It disturbs me for some reason that he kept chucking them up even though he was ice cold. At a certain point you know you're having a crappy night and continuing to shoot isn't a good move. At that point focus on rebounding and playing excellent defense and let your teammates go to work.

Precisely my point. The way he was playing last night was what I would expect from a rookie who thinks he's invincible, not a fourth year guy.

Let's hope he gets over it quickly and doesn't do that again. He single-handedly cost them the game last night, period. If he is a little bit less unselfish they surely win.

Having an off night is one thing. Being totally unwilling to adjust your game on the back of that is another. The former is perfectly acceptable and inevitable. The latter is not.

[DaveBrown74]

Defensive this morning? Just providing perspective.

Part of your perspective was that others are drawing final judgements based on one game, to use your wording. That was clearly not accurate. I was simply pointing out the inaccuracy, nothing more.

[Jolly Blue Giant]

Interesting stats: Hartenstein played more minutes than any other player. Mitch only played 13 minutes and had 2 rebounds and 4 pts. Rose and Quick didn't have great games

[DaveBrown74]

Interesting stats: Hartenstein played more minutes than any other player. Mitch only played 13 minutes and had 2 rebounds and 4 pts. Rose and Quick didn't have great games

Quickley was off and went 0 for 6, but he did way less damage than Barrett.

For the record, I think Barrett will bounce back from this very quickly. The question again is not whether he is capable of having big games but whether he can be consistently good for a whole season. I like Barrett and think he is capable of being more consistent, but time will tell.

The minutes disparity between Mitch and Hart was interesting. Is Mitch dealing with some injury? That was a huge disparity.

Toppin was very quiet last night. Only a matter of time before he takes off and starts being productive. The way he closed out last year was very impressive.

Rose should still be a serviceable player with limited minutes. The issue with him in the past has been overuse. As long as Brunson stays healthy they shouldn't have that problem this year. My hope is that McBride can also help with this. He didn't get in the game last night.

We were playing an excellent team on the road last night. We were 6.5 point dogs and the game went to overtime. All things considered it wasn't a terrible outcome. The big high point for me was the way they battled back after looking dead in the water. Big difference between that and listlessly losing by 12 to 17 in regulation.

[madbadger]

Interesting stats: Hartenstein played more minutes than any other player. Mitch only played 13 minutes and had 2 rebounds and 4 pts. Rose and Quick didn't have great games

If Robinson can't control his penchant for accumulating fouls early expect Hartenstein to end up with more minutes. I like a lot Robinson's game but his proclivity for picking up lots of fouls isn't that attractive to me.

[nb587]

The Grizzlies are a very good team and Jai Morant is one of the top guards in the league, there aren't many that are better.  He's like Kyrie without the baggage.  Still, on opening day in front of a loud crowd on the road, they came back and forced overtime and had their chances.

The biggest difference by far is Brunson is a legitimate PG which they havent had in a very long time plus he's fairly young.  He'll make everyone around him better and I see why the Knicks were reluctant or just unwilling to dump Randle and/or Fournette.  They are much better with Brunson on the court

[Jclayton92]

Knicks are a guy away imo

[DaveBrown74]

Knicks are a guy away imo

The Knicks have good depth and they have some good young players, but they lack a true go to star. Randle is not a number one. Neither is Brunson. They had the opportunity to get Mitchell, but I think that would have been a mistake given the cost. Mitchell is better than anybody they have, but he wouldn't make them championship material and the Knicks would have had to unload the truck to get him. They did the right thing there. They have a lot of draft capital and flexibility. While there are no great free agents coming out after this season who aren't ancient, there will be opportunities for trades and to move up in the draft. They have a ton of capital. They're clearly not there yet, but they're moving in the right direction and should at least be watchable in the meantime unlike last year.

[Jolly Blue Giant]

The Knicks have good depth and they have some good young players, but they lack a true go to star. Randle is not a number one. Neither is Brunson. They had the opportunity to get Mitchell, but I think that would have been a mistake given the cost. Mitchell is better than anybody they have, but he wouldn't make them championship material and the Knicks would have had to unload the truck to get him. They did the right thing there. They have a lot of draft capital and flexibility. While there are no great free agents coming out after this season who aren't ancient, there will be opportunities for trades and to move up in the draft. They have a ton of capital. They're clearly not there yet, but they're moving in the right direction and should at least be watchable in the meantime unlike last year.

Mitchell dominated the game last night at Toronto, but Cleveland still lost. He was basically a one-man show. I tend to think the best teams are ones that play as a team and get all five players on the floor involved and build on chemistry. We tried it once (depleting the team to get a one-man show type superstar) in Mello and it didn't work. Glad we didn't do it all over again. We've got some really good pieces (and as you pointed out, a ton of capital), but adding a "clutch" team player would be nice. I think Brunson is one of those types - not showy with unreal moves, just steady and clutch. Clutch is the word of the day! LOL

[DaveBrown74]

Mitchell dominated the game last night at Toronto, but Cleveland still lost. He was basically a one-man show. I tend to think the best teams are ones that play as a team and get all five players on the floor involved and build on chemistry. We tried it once (depleting the team to get a one-man show type superstar) in Mello and it didn't work. Glad we didn't do it all over again. We've got some really good pieces (and as you pointed out, a ton of capital), but adding a "clutch" team player would be nice. I think Brunson is one of those types - not showy with unreal moves, just steady and clutch. Clutch is the word of the day! LOL

100% agree JBG. Well said.

[Philosophers]

Knicks can be a good team with efficient shooting and good ball distribution and lastly team defense.

They lost their good team D from 2 years ago.  Their perimeter shooters are not efficient and now when ball is not dropping, they keep shooting.

Worse, if players dont score they dont seem to rebound and do other things well.

[Jolly Blue Giant]

Knicks can be a good team with efficient shooting and good ball distribution and lastly team defense.

They lost their good team D from 2 years ago.  Their perimeter shooters are not efficient and now when ball is not dropping, they keep shooting.

Worse, if players dont score they dont seem to rebound and do other things well.

I hear ya, but the league has become a 3-pt shooting league and coaches who know their players can make the three will coach them up to keep taking them even when they aren't falling as they tend to come in bunches. And it seems that teams who win all the time live and die by the three ball. It is like the most important offensive statistic driving the modern NBA...and worldwide for that matter

[Jolly Blue Giant]

Nice bounce back game against a team they should beat. Fun game that got everyone involved. Hart didn't get a double/double, but he led the team in rebounds (11) and had 2 steals. He brings an entirely different element to the Knicks' center position. Shooting 50% from the 3-pt line. Quick had a helluva game and looked like he'd be a starter on most teams.

[Blue Fire]

Since this team lacks megastar talent last nights game was an example of how they can maximize what they have. Which is high level depth. Its really going to put the onus on Thibs to gain advantages by the rotations he puts out there based on situation, score and matchups. Unfortunately to date that has not been one of his strengths.

But for one night against a lesser opponent they looked great. And truthfully to take Memphis to OT in their building was not a bad job either!

[Jolly Blue Giant]

Since this team lacks megastar talent last nights game was an example of how they can maximize what they have. Which is high level depth. Its really going to put the onus on Thibs to gain advantages by the rotations he puts out there based on situation, score and matchups. Unfortunately to date that has not been one of his strengths.

But for one night against a lesser opponent they looked great. And truthfully to take Memphis to OT in their building was not a bad job either!

I have my reservations about needing a "megastar". To me, it's all about chemistry, ball movement, spreading the floor, and a team working as one. Hell, Detroits' megastar Jaden Ivey couldn't carry a discombobulated team on his back. Even Lebron can't carry a team on his back - if he could, he'd have a dozen championship rings instead of four and only once did he play on a team that wasn't already laden with stars who were already championship ready. Stephen Curry is a unicorn, but we ain't getting a unicorn and neither is any other team searching for a unicorn

It's all about gelling as a team, great defense, spreading the court and feeding the hot hand

We could use another stellar player at the small forward spot in my opinion, and with all the capital we have, I suspect we'll get one. The nice thing is, this team is filled with kids in their early 20's and haven't even begun to develop into what they'll become in a couple years. Geesh, Barrett just turned 22 and he already in his fourth years of starting NBA experience

As for now, I'm just happy they are putting a quality product on the floor for us fans. No more over-the-hill superstars hogging minutes and breaking down mid-season while simultaneously destroying our cap, draft capital, and future. We have only one player in his 30's (Derrick Rose) and if used sparingly to prolong his season input, is not only a quality PG, but a fantastic mentor to our PGs of the future. And we have one of the best benches in the entire NBA and we are sitting on a ton of capital

Speaking of PGs...have we not complained for years that we need a PG? We've complained even longer than we've complained about the Giants not building an offensive line. Then look at last night. Our combination of rotating PGs (Brunson, Rose, IQ) scored 50 pts, had 19 assists, shot a combined 69% from the field, and had 12 rebounds. And because they were rotated in and out, they had fresh legs and high energy. That is better than having one great PG trying to do it all by scoring 40 pts a game while his team loses