Big Blue Huddle

Quote from: umassgrad on November 17, 2023, 11:03:09 AMThe Knicks are not championship contenders but they play hard and are fun to watch. I can't stand watching the Giants and Yankees these days but I try to never miss a Knicks game. Thank you to the Knicks organization for providing a quality product to enjoy this winter. I just wish game tickets were not so expensive.

Same here across the board, including the point about the tickets.

The Knicks did great with the Jalen Brunson acquisition. At the time, there were people who thought it was an overpay. In reality, he is a bargain, if anything. Definitely one of the best free agent pickups in the history of the franchise.

Good point about the Giants. I'm also a Rangers fan, and at the moment they're doing well (albeit they tend to disappoint in the postseason). So it's just nice to have teams in my fan arsenal (like the Knicks and Rangers) who are at least respectable and have a good chance of winning most nights.

Anyone catch any of the Knicks game last night? Man, was that wild. They were up by one at halftime, and then they came out in the third quarter and proceeded to get absolutely mauled. At one point the third quarter scoreboard was 19-0 Heat. The Knicks then stabilized things a bit and got to where they were trading baskets, but they were still down 9 to 11 points late in the game. And then they managed to win. As you can imagine, the Garden was going nuts.

While I fully get that the Knicks are not championship caliber, I do like this team a lot. Randle is a guy I wish they had found a way to trade one of these years (I understand that's not easy with the contract he has), but Barrett, Quickley, and obviously Brunson were terrific last night, and guys like Hart, Hartenstein, and (at times) Grimes and DiVencenzo are all very nice role players.

If you could somehow add a top talent into this core group you'd have a serious contender.

Quote from: DaveBrown74 on November 25, 2023, 07:45:35 AMAnyone catch any of the Knicks game last night? Man, was that wild. They were up by one at halftime, and then they came out in the third quarter and proceeded to get absolutely mauled. At one point the third quarter scoreboard was 19-0 Heat. The Knicks then stabilized things a bit and got to where they were trading baskets, but they were still down 9 to 11 points late in the game. And then they managed to win. As you can imagine, the Garden was going nuts.

While I fully get that the Knicks are not championship caliber, I do like this team a lot. Randle is a guy I wish they had found a way to trade one of these years (I understand that's not easy with the contract he has), but Barrett, Quickley, and obviously Brunson were terrific last night, and guys like Hart, Hartenstein, and (at times) Grimes and DiVencenzo are all very nice role players.

If you could somehow add a top talent into this core group you'd have a serious contender.

Yup, great comeback.  They have all those draft picks to use to acquire a superstar but they have had this ammo for 2 years now and nothing yet.  Hopefully the prudence pays off and we get a KAT or Jaren Jackson, Jr.

Quote from: Puffy on November 25, 2023, 10:10:18 AMYup, great comeback.  They have all those draft picks to use to acquire a superstar but they have had this ammo for 2 years now and nothing yet.  Hopefully the prudence pays off and we get a KAT or Jaren Jackson, Jr.

I like that they're not just jumping at the first opportunity. They're biding their time, and while they do they're developing their own young talent and putting a pretty damn good product on the floor. I like what Leon Rose is doing. Past GMs would have knee-jerk signed or traded for the wrong guy by now.

It is not worth making a trade unless you are trading for a top 5 player. KAT is a lateral move. So is Jaren Jackson Jr. Anthony Edwards would make sense, but he won't be available.

Quote from: Dgoodmantrublu on November 25, 2023, 02:01:55 PMIt is not worth making a trade unless you are trading for a top 5 player. KAT is a lateral move. So is Jaren Jackson Jr. Anthony Edwards would make sense, but he won't be available.

The guy I'd love to see them trade for is SGA. There were rumors of that last year, but I haven't seen anything new recently. OKC wasn't very good last year but they're off to an 11-4 start this year. Another mediocre season from them and I could see them wanting to start over.

SGA is a stud though. I'd give up a lot for him.

Yeah. SGA isn't going to be available for a while. They are a really good team now.

Quote from: Dgoodmantrublu on November 25, 2023, 03:02:56 PMYeah. SGA isn't going to be available for a while. They are a really good team now.

I guess. They were below .500 last year and started this year 5-4 and then have suddenly won six straight. I'm not sure if they're "really good" or just good and "really hot" right now.

Either way, you're right - there is no noise around SGA right now.

They are a young team hitting their stride. They really came on at the end of the year last season. With all their young talent, they are the next ascending team. SGA is years away from moving on.

What do we think of this Knicks team this year? Feels like they're a decent but far from great team that wins the games it's supposed to win but just about never is even competitive with, let alone beats, the really good teams in the league. I understand they did just beat the Bucks at MSG, but that was the one time. Pretty much all their other games this year against legit teams have been losses, and many blowouts.

A few comments:

(1) This team routinely gives up huge point totals like 140-145. It mainly happens on the road, but this includes before the Robinson injury, so it can't be blamed on that. How can a Thibodeau-coached team be that bad on D in so many games? The biggest issue continues to be defending the three.

(2) DiVencenzo is shooting the lights out (44.8% from 3). He's been a solid add to this point, as that was a need.

(3) What exactly is the outlook for this team? Seems we are sort of plateauing at this solid-but-not-great level of a little over .500, 5 seed type of team that is no threat to go past the second round. It's been like this for a few years now. While that's a nice upgrade from most of the previous 15-20 years, I wouldn't exactly call it exciting. Moreover, the younger guys on this team have been on the team for a while now and kind of are what they are at this point. In short, I'm not sure what's going to make this team better at this point without actual upgrades on the roster. We're too good to be getting top 5 or even top 10 picks, but not good enough to get out of this middle of the road purgatory we're in and actually contend for a title. What is the medium to longer term plan with this team exactly?

Curious to hear any thoughts on the above and any general comments from NYK fans, as this thread has been inactive for a while now and we're well into the season at this point.

I feel the Knicks are improved but pretty much the same team as last year.  They need another piece or they're the same stagnant team.  They will make the playoffs and hopefully win a round which I feel is their ceiling.

Quote from: Messiah717 on December 29, 2023, 04:08:08 PMI feel the Knicks are improved but pretty much the same team as last year.  They need another piece or they're the same stagnant team.  They will make the playoffs and hopefully win a round which I feel is their ceiling.

It seems to me that you haven't been following the team.  Brunson was good last year in his 1st season but he has stepped up his game to a higher level, maybe a much higher level.  And, whether it's Brunson's doing as an elite point guard (when can that be said about a PG here), Randle's game is way better now than it was last year.  And, they have one of the better benches in the league with Quickley and Hart.  They do need help and it's not likely the big star is coming this year but if they could add a wing who could score and maybe a decent big man, this club will be ascending. Those can be obtained.  They're not as good as they Celtics but they could play with everyone else in the conference.

Quote from: nb587 on December 29, 2023, 07:05:04 PMIt seems to me that you haven't been following the team.  Brunson was good last year in his 1st season but he has stepped up his game to a higher level, maybe a much higher level.  And, whether it's Brunson's doing as an elite point guard (when can that be said about a PG here), Randle's game is way better now than it was last year.  And, they have one of the better benches in the league with Quickley and Hart.  They do need help and it's not likely the big star is coming this year but if they could add a wing who could score and maybe a decent big man, this club will be ascending. Those can be obtained.  They're not as good as they Celtics but they could play with everyone else in the conference.

And yet they consistently get beaten up by everyone half-decent in the league except the one Christmas Day home game against the Bucks.

I don't want to be overly negative, because they're definitely solid, but I wouldn't say there is any obvious evidence they're materially better than last year. Last year they had a higher point differential and a better winning percentage than this year's team has had to this point. I'm not saying they're worse, but I wouldn't say they're better either. I feel like they're plateauing at this level (as suggested in my original post yesterday).

Quote from: DaveBrown74 on December 29, 2023, 08:11:30 PMAnd yet they consistently get beaten up by everyone half-decent in the league except the one Christmas Day home game against the Bucks.

I don't want to be overly negative, because they're definitely solid, but I wouldn't say there is any obvious evidence they're materially better than last year. Last year they had a higher point differential and a better winning percentage than this year's team has had to this point. I'm not saying they're worse, but I wouldn't say they're better either. I feel like they're plateauing at this level (as suggested in my original post yesterday).

How about this Dave?  Squeezing everything they can get out of this good but limited roster?

😂

Both Brunson and Randle are playing at all star levels; neither of them did last year.  If the point made was that they're not as good as the elite teams, I wouldn't argue much.  But, the point that they're not any better last year is off in my opinion.  The injury to Robinson hurts alot and I get your point about the team record. But, I think they have improved and are a better team going forward.  I should add that I expect them to make another move this year before the trade deadline.  Another Hart level player who can play the wing would help