Big Blue Huddle

Well...the season opened for the Knicks about as well as how it opened for the Giants. Knicks took a beating. However, when the Celtics started out heaving up treys, and they were falling like rain drops in a barrel, I knew it was going to be a long game. I've seen plenty of games in my lifetime where a good, or even a far better, team got their asses kicked because the other team's threes were falling like "manna from heaven". Heck, Boston could've taken hook shots from half court, and it would've been "nuthin but net". Sucks!

However, we have an unsung hero that deserves a full page dedicated to how lucky we are. And he's the least paid player on the Knicks' roster. That would be Miles McBride - the "Deuce". Hidden amongst a whole lot of big names with big salaries. Last night, all he did was come off the bench and drop 22 pts on the Green Machine up north...while playing an incredible defense to go along with his offense. He's actually better (IMHO) than IQ, and could win the 6th man of the year by the end of the season, if not a starter.

Last year, his stats were as follows:

FG: 57% (up 12% from the previous year)
3pt: 41% (up 12% from the previous year)
Freethrows: 86% (up 20% from the previous year)

With Divi no longer here, I think Deuce should be the 6th man and or might be in consideration for the starting 2 Guard spot, not to mention, Deuce has ALL NBA defensive ability. He's a workout warrior - a gym rat - who never stops training, day in and day out. His passion is to be the greatest NBA player in the league...and he just turned 24 a few weeks ago

And he's on a three year, $13,000,000 contract with an average annual salary of $4,333,333. That's chump change in the NBA, and he's locked in for the next three years. Talk about a bargain. Credit should go to Thibs for believing the kid is special and give him a chance...and he was right.

https://www.instagram.com/knicksfantv/reel/C5Q9krUBrXJ/?hl=en

Just a heads-up, Knicks play the Pacers tonight at the Garden

I only watched some of the Knicks game, but it was obviously a rough start. I'm not going to get worried about it though. I think it will take a month or two for them to be playing at their peak level. That doesn't mean I'm saying they'll be bad for a month or two. I just mean to really get everyone on the same page and things really clicking, it's going to take a little bit of time. Injecting two major new players into the starting lineup is a big deal. That's not just all going to click right on day one.

Let's see how they look tonight. Again though, I may miss a fair bit of this game as it's hard for me to favor October NBA games over the World Series.

I'm a longtime Knick fan. But I'm just getting so down  on the NBA. This league is a 3 point shooting contest. It's so bad that a team makes three or four passes ... the big man drives to the hoop .. and he passes up a layup to throw the ball into the corner for a 3.

The major focus of the Knicks- Celtics was Boston breaking a record for making the most 3s. I long for the days without the 3 point shot. It's ruined the game.


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Quote from: todge on October 25, 2024, 04:47:00 PMI'm a longtime Knick fan. But I'm just getting so down  on the NBA. This league is a 3 point shooting contest. It's so bad that a team makes three or four passes ... the big man drives to the hoop .. and he passes up a layup to throw the ball into the corner for a 3.

The major focus of the Knicks- Celtics was Boston breaking a record for making the most 3s. I long for the days without the 3 point shot. It's ruined the game.


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I have a lot of sympathy for this point of view Todge. I don't like all the threes either. I wouldn't mind it if they somehow moved the line back a foot or two.

I don't mind the existence of the three point shot. I thought it was fine 20-30 years ago. I just don't love the way it has completely taken over in the last decade or so.

I'm still an active Knicks fan though. The run they went on last year was very exciting. You'll never find me watching a random non-Knicks NBA game though, the way I might do in the NFL.

Quote from: todge on October 25, 2024, 04:47:00 PMI'm a longtime Knick fan. But I'm just getting so down  on the NBA. This league is a 3 point shooting contest. It's so bad that a team makes three or four passes ... the big man drives to the hoop .. and he passes up a layup to throw the ball into the corner for a 3.

The major focus of the Knicks- Celtics was Boston breaking a record for making the most 3s. I long for the days without the 3 point shot. It's ruined the game.


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Really?  I think a 3 is a gorgeous shot especially when a very pass oriented team makes 3-4 passes and someone hits a shot.

What I hate is the clear out to one sode so someone can go one on one with no defense played.  Carmel Anthony anyone?

Rock solid blowout win last night. Great way to bounce back from the rough game one, and a nice way to greet your home fans for the season against the team that knocked you out last year. Bridges shot looked more than fine to me, Kat had a big game, and Brunson was Brunson. Just an all around very good night.

Quote from: DaveBrown74 on October 26, 2024, 09:44:00 AMRock solid blowout win last night. Great way to bounce back from the rough game one, and a nice way to greet your home fans for the season against the team that knocked you out last year. Bridges shot looked more than fine to me, Kat had a big game, and Brunson was Brunson. Just an all around very good night.

That's the kind of resilience you want to see.  Great balanced effort.

Quote from: todge on October 25, 2024, 04:47:00 PMI'm a longtime Knick fan. But I'm just getting so down  on the NBA. This league is a 3 point shooting contest. It's so bad that a team makes three or four passes ... the big man drives to the hoop .. and he passes up a layup to throw the ball into the corner for a 3.

The major focus of the Knicks- Celtics was Boston breaking a record for making the most 3s. I long for the days without the 3 point shot. It's ruined the game.


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I sorta agree, and disagree. I certainly see your point in which too many teams rely on the three...and as the old saying goes, "live by the three, die by the three"

Where I disagree, is that it offers an opportunity for a team that has fallen behind, to still be in the game if they can just hit a few threes. That would explain why a big guy under the basket for an easy bucket, kicks it out to the open guy for an open three - they need the points to still have a chance to get in the game. A good coach needs both, and when his team is comfortably ahead, he wants those easy 2 pt buckets to keep it going and let the other team scramble to get back in it

I did hate the first game where Boston couldn't miss a three even when they were covered like the dew on morning grass. Why do anything else when they can rain threes like manna from heaven? They were shooting like 90% from behind the arc. Hand in face, no problem. There was no catching up for the Knicks at some point. Then at the end of the game (with an enormous lead) Boston couldn't hit a three to save their ass, and were throwing them up anyway like popcorn because they wanted to set a new NBA record...boring and no longer baskeball IMO - TV off!

If that game was close, they wouldn't have played those last minutes just heaving the ball and laughing like school girls. They knew they were too far ahead for the Knicks to do anything about it...game was already over, for all intents and purposes. That's also the reason Boston will have problems this year at times, because other teams scheme around that strategy and the "trey won't fall". And then it's, "die by the three"

No posts in this thread for over two months, wow.

Is anyone else getting increasingly excited about this team's play? I know it has taken some time to gel, and yes, there were some games against less-than-stellar teams that they had no business losing, but man, I feel like it has really come together nicely of late. Bodes very well for January and beyond.

We do need help on the bench. Getting Precious back has helped, but we need another rim protector in a big way. Mitch will eventually come back but he flat out can't be trusted. In fact, I'd seriously consider sitting from from the end of March onwards and just saving him for the playoffs. They need someone else though. Doesn't have to be a stud obviously, but just another body who can help a bit in that area. I don't want to find ourselves in a situation where we are asking Precious to play 20-plus minutes in the playoffs. Sims isn't the answer either.

I am thrilled at the extent to which Bridges has found his game. Towns has been an absolute beast. Brunson is Brunson (hung 55 last night). OG is awesome and does so many little things that don't show up in the stat sheet. I was at a game about three or four weeks ago and was lucky enough to be in very good seats, and I watched OG closely during much of the game. He does so many little things on D that are so valuable. And offensively he's hardly some slouch.

Deuce is an improving player that gives you a lot of minutes off the bench. Hart is all heart and grit - love him.

I don't miss Randle at all. I know Barrett has found his game in Toronto, and good for him, but I really don't miss what he was doing on the Knicks. Quickley was a nice player but not some crucial guy. Donte would be nice to have but I'd much rather have Bridges and it's not remotely close. And as said earlier, KAT is just a complete monster.

I'm pumped. Can this team beat the Celts or Cavs in a series? I'm not so quick to say no. I would have absolutely said no about the Celts last year, even if the team was healthy, which we weren't. This year I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss it. Our starting five is champinoship caliber. We do need some depth help, but that can be addressed.

I'm extremely pumped about what this team is now and about where it's going.

Dave,

Ironically the Knicks approach is the exact culture and attitude going into each game that we all want for the Giants.

I've been a Knicks fan for the exact number of years I've been a Giants fan, fifty four and they are definitely due for a ring.

It would be nice to see the Giants brass reference this franchise as the way back.


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Yes, very excited about this group.  It's frankly ECF atleast or bust.  I don't want to say it too early but this might be the best overall group the team has had. 

Quote from: Messiah717 on December 29, 2024, 10:23:46 AMYes, very excited about this group.  It's frankly ECF atleast or bust.  I don't want to say it too early but this might be the best overall group the team has had. 

Just making the ECF won't be enough for me, personally. At the very least I want a very spirited, close loss in the ECF. They frankly would have made it last year if literally just about the whole team wasn't hurt in that Pacers series. This year I absolutely expect them to not only make but also compete and possibly win the ECF. I appreciate that right now we look like no better than the third best team in the east, but it may not be that straightforward 2-3 months from now. Our starting five is as good as any. Yes, teams like the Celts have way more depth and can deal with injuries better than we can, and for that reason I'd say they're still better, but unlike last year I would not put any ceiling on what this team may be capable of if they're healthy late.

I watched the whole Knicks game last night. I thought they looked terrific for most of the game, but I said to my friend on a text after the third quarter that I knew OKC would come out storming in the fourth quarter.

I think the Knicks have a championship caliber starting five. I honestly do. I would have never said that at any time since the 90s, and even in the 90s I always knew that as good as those teams were, the Bulls were always better. In terms of the starting five, I'm not sure anyone is better than us this year. So that's the good news.

The issue is our bench is incredibly limited, and so by the fourth quarter our guys were gassed. Admittedly, we were playing without Deuce last night, which really hurts because Cameron Payne is awful, and we were also missing Mitch (per usual).

Re Mitch, at this point I am at a point where I effectively ALWAYS expect him to be out. Anytime he's in, it's gravy. The guy can't stay healthy, period. That has been demonstrated over a meaningful sample to where it's just a fact. If I were the Knicks, I would wait until he's healthy, play him for a bit, and then shelf him with at least 3-4 weeks to spare before the playoffs to try to get him 100% for the playoffs. And if we end up with a high side I'm not even sure I'd use him in the first round. The Knicks lack secondary and tertiary rim protectors and really need Mitch healthy in the playoffs to have a shot against someone like the Celtics. No matter what I think they need to add 1-2 guys before the deadline. I would add one rim protector and maybe another guard. Right now their bench just isn't enough, and I'm sorry but this team has a tendency to get banged up.

Overall I'm extremely positive though. That loss last night was to the best team in the NBA, and it was on the road. And the Knicks were the better team until the fourth quarter. Obviously, the fourth quarter is when games are won or lost, but I actually think if we had had Deuce in that game we might have been ok.

Our starting five is nasty. This team is so well constructed. I still can't believe we got Josh Hart for Cam Reddish... what an absolute steal. Leon Rose has been brilliant.

I am really enjoying this season, and I feel like it's only going to get better from here. They look way more gelled to me now than six weeks ago.

Leon Rose did not appear initially to most like he wod be an effective head of Knicks Operations because he did not follow the usual path to this position.  What he did prior to the Knicks was create a kick a$$ organization of representing players.  He was a dominant force.  The qualities of building a great org are what we need our Giants GM to possess.  Maybe we need to look elsewhere than all the assistant GMs looking to be a GM should the Giants fire JS.

Bravo to the blueprint Rose created for the Knicks.  He had a plan.  Good management has real value to an org.