Ian Begley
ESPN Staff Writer
The Knicks have won back-to-back games when trailing by double digits entering the fourth quarter for the first time in the shot-clock era (since 1954-55), per Elias.
KP drops 28 points with 5 boards and 3 blocks and suddenly that's "meh" for him (stat line wise, and yet a franchise player level clutch showing from KP. The Knicks have been so bad while he was here he hasn't really had a chance to fhis "clutch" muscles too often. KP KP KP!. I don't actually expect him to win MVP this season but incredible how far he's come since last year where the perception was he didn't take a major step forward like many of us expected.
- Frank 3 points, 3 rebounds, 8 assists (wasn't Frank's best game and yet still contributed)
-KOQ 12 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks (keep KOQ!!)
-THjr 19 and 5
-Lance Thomas 10 and 5, looked like the solid player we remember when he first burst on the scene for us
-Kaminsky was invisible
-Dotson, Beasley, Willy, Sessions DNPCD, could Beasley be the one to go?
-Monk 8/17 21, 2 and 3
Around the league-
GF...16-21 (that alone is absurd) 40 points, 9 boards, 3 assists, 4 blocks
Middleton 20 points, 11 assists, 7 boards, 3 steals (3 point shooting is down so far but guy is having a big time season)
Lebron 30, 8, 9 and 3 (ho hum, hope he's okay playing Pippen to KP's Jordan next year)
Boogie 32, 13 and 6
Holiday is so throughly average. I thank my lucky stars we weren't the ones to give him 127 million
DSJ (huge game) 22 points 8 rebounds, 8 assists (9-22), +15
Markkanen 12, 2 rebounds
Jokic 41, 12 and 5 (beast)
Simmons 16, 13, and 6, 3 steals, 3 blocks... star
Fox 5-10 10 points, 8 assists
mcdermott is looking more amd more like a keeper, love how he cuts and moves without the ball...
It looks like frank'S minutes are being increased game by game and now 2 games in a row crunch time minutes. this is exactly why you start a guy like jack, he will never complain about minutes...
Dan, No love for McBuckets!!
We need to start playing better in the first half. These last two games ive wanted to shut off at halftime. The lack of D gets really frustrating, especially when we know they can play some D.
Dan, No love for McBuckets!!
We need to start playing better in the first half. These last two games ive wanted to shut off at halftime. The lack of D gets really frustrating, especially when we know they can play some D.
it is frustrating but how nice is it that they actually complete the comeback?
I really enjoy the "team" aspect of this group.
I love that we have an old guy and a young guy at PG both contributing.
Kanter strikes me as a guy who is a major pain in the ass to match up with, he never stops or slows down.
Lance Thomas, nothing pretty but he has a role on a winning basketball team.
What can you say about KP?
All of this and Hardaway can definitely play better than he has. This is so refreshing.
i agree, just saying nice to get excited and they actually win, how many times in the past knicks get down, make a fake comeback and lose by 7...
i agree about tonight, expecting a loss
He is playing offense like he did in france, he is not looking for his, looking to keep moving the ball
On a side note, it's funny to read about OKC's problems. Ball stopping, no flow to the offense, 1 on 1.
Of course. This team is solid. You don't win 6 out of 7 by accident. I think we will be competing for the 6-8 seed in the playoffs which is much better than taking(because KP is taking his game to the next level, Frank is proving he has NBA talents and we have legit talent on the roster).
On a side note, it's funny to read about OKC's problems. Ball stopping, no flow to the offense, 1 on 1.
Cant really say tim is playing selfish when he is averaging 4 assists in this current stretch..averaging 3 assists for the season..
and last night took 14 shots and 50 percent from 3
I remember seeing his withdrawn face the last couple of years when the team was mounting a comeback and the ball would consistently go down low into the void only to be blocked, missed or turned into an offensive foul. He ended up losing confidence the couple of times the ball would come to him in crunch time. KP needed to be the man from day 1. He played the good soldier under Melo but now he has been released.
One thing I noticed last night again and should not be overlooked is how much he trusts Kanter behind him. So many times this season I've seen KP force a player to the middle basically funneling them toward Kanter. In the past he would have been goaded into a weak touch foul.
Great to see the rookie getting meaningful crunch time experience without sacrificing a win. Frank's gonna make mistakes on offense and he made them last night but hopefully he's learning and will ramp up his learning curve. It's pretty obvious that his defense is on another level and even superstar NBA players are having to adjust to it. Can't get by him with normal NBA moves.
Not looking forward to Noah at all returning on this team. It's gonna mess up the chemistry. His defense isn't what it once was, and he's a black hole on offense.
Not looking forward to Noah at all returning on this team. It's gonna mess up the chemistry. His defense isn't what it once was, and he's a black hole on offense.
He's a willing and very good passer. Not a scorer, but plays with energy. I could see him backing up and doing a lot of the grunt work Kanter is doing.
Not looking forward to Noah at all returning on this team. It's gonna mess up the chemistry. His defense isn't what it once was, and he's a black hole on offense.
Hardaway showed this in pre-season, hasn't shown it as much in-season. Frank has to improve his handle in order to get to the rim more. One of the major "red flags" while in France was how a guy who was so long. I'm not being hyper-critical, I believe he shot something like 53 TOTAL free throws during the regular season in france. pretty bonkers given the competition level.
I was thinking same thing about Lance. On a bad team, he's pretty useless. But on a team that only needs him to do little things he can have a role. Last night he was active on the boards which was important. Even when he was "good" two years ago, his rebounding sucked. You just can't have that from a guy that size. If he can improve in that area you trust him out there a little more.
He's a willing and very good passer. Not a scorer, but plays with energy. I could see him backing up and doing a lot of the grunt work Kanter is doing.
So is O'Quinn, who is much better offensively than Noah. I don't know, I know we can't cut Noah or trade that contract. Just pissed we are stuck with him.
The Suns don't currently have a roster spot available, but that could change once they part ways with Greg Monroe via trade or buyout.
Phoenix is rebuilding and presumably view Okafor as a potential reclamation project.
The Philadelphia 76ers declined their team option on Okafor's contract for 18-19 and are attempting to facilitate a trade to give him playing time elsewhere. While Okafor isn't under contract next season, the Suns have sufficient cap space to re-sign him to a long-term deal should he play well.
ADRIAN WOJNAROWSKI/ESPN
Is KOQ a starter or a big minute player on a good team? He very well may be. There's less cap room available next summer. Maybe that helps us. There's an argument for keeping him and McDermott if you can get them on reasonable (i.e. tradeadble) deals.
Quote:
The teamwork and unselfishness is fun to watch. The only guy who doesn't always play unselfish is THJR. Loved seeing KP tell him to settle down last night. KP is a true leader. The guys all have defined roles, they know what they are and what they do and they all seem to look to get the ball to KP which is the opposite of last year. Early on, KP hit a few 3's and the garden was rockin. Next possession Jack takes it to the rim and could have taken a tear drop or stop and pop, but instead threw an ally oop to KP. Jack gets it, unlike our PG's of years past.
On a side note, it's funny to read about OKC's problems. Ball stopping, no flow to the offense, 1 on 1.
Cant really say tim is playing selfish when he is averaging 4 assists in this current stretch..averaging 3 assists for the season..
and last night took 14 shots and 50 percent from 3
I can. His shot selection isn't great. We don't need THJR to chuck shots and he chucks shots. Now when I say he's selfish, it's not like Melo selfish because he doesn't chuck a ton, but he still does it.
Yep, I hate that aspect of THJR. He is way too demonstrative when someone else makes a mistake. Clyde has called him out on it.
Quote:
mentioned this the other day but if you look at similar players to KOQ and what they got last season I'd be talking extension vs. dealing him if he's realistic.
Is KOQ a starter or a big minute player on a good team? He very well may be. There's less cap room available next summer. Maybe that helps us. There's an argument for keeping him and McDermott if you can get them on reasonable (i.e. tradeadble) deals.
I am of the belief that yes, KOQ is can be a heavy minute guy on a good team (I admit I'm fully biased as I've wanted the Knicks to take a look at him dating back to his time in Orlando). But he's a big time locker room guy, close with KP, from Queens, he hustles, he has energy, he's physical. I think he's the kind of piece you try and keep if the price is reasonable. He's not Charles Oakley but he has some similar attributes. I think he'd represent a significant lose if we let him go. I don't see anyone else on the roster who would be able to replace him.
You are insanely low on that 25 million, like not even in the right ballpark. Kanter alone is making 18.6 if he opts in. The problem with looking at it "that way" is 8-10 million in todays NBA isn't getting you some huge star. O'Quinn fills a tangible hole this team really can use. Yeah, ideally Kanter is great, Willy improves and Kanter opts out and the Knicks have his replacement at a much, much lower cost but I don't think letting KOQ walk somehow helps the Knicks add better talent.
Handle is part of the equation. He has similar issues in France. It's going to be part of the development that will dictate "big time defender, okay offensive player" or "big time defender, average or better offensive player".
Quote:
In comment 13681629 Keith said:
Quote:
The teamwork and unselfishness is fun to watch. The only guy who doesn't always play unselfish is THJR. Loved seeing KP tell him to settle down last night. KP is a true leader. The guys all have defined roles, they know what they are and what they do and they all seem to look to get the ball to KP which is the opposite of last year. Early on, KP hit a few 3's and the garden was rockin. Next possession Jack takes it to the rim and could have taken a tear drop or stop and pop, but instead threw an ally oop to KP. Jack gets it, unlike our PG's of years past.
On a side note, it's funny to read about OKC's problems. Ball stopping, no flow to the offense, 1 on 1.
Cant really say tim is playing selfish when he is averaging 4 assists in this current stretch..averaging 3 assists for the season..
and last night took 14 shots and 50 percent from 3
I can. His shot selection isn't great. We don't need THJR to chuck shots and he chucks shots. Now when I say he's selfish, it's not like Melo selfish because he doesn't chuck a ton, but he still does it.
i agree he needs to stop taking those pull up 3s if he is not on but he is doing other things on the court...
20 4 and 4 during this stretch while shooting 45 percent is pretty damn good..
Quote:
4 free throws so far. Forget making shots in the lane, I think he's only even BEEN in the lane like 5 times this season, lol. Of course he's still a baby and there's lots of time for him to grow.
Handle is part of the equation. He has similar issues in France. It's going to be part of the development that will dictate "big time defender, okay offensive player" or "big time defender, average or better offensive player".
there are times when he can turn the corner and grt into the lane and instead he stops and passes..
i notived one play he got almost all the way tp the hoop and then dropped it off to mcdermott instead...
And i wasnt saying just KOQ, but people want to resign everyone and im just saying if you did that then you are locking into that roster. Every million counts so depending on what we do with certain players the money to KOQ could hurt you. Again im fine with bringing him back, i was more pointing out the knicks are going to have be creative and possibly let a guy walk (kanter) if the numbers get too high. Too often NBA teams just max out everyone and im hoping the knicks are smarter then that (Scary thought)
durong this stretch 20 4 and 4 on 45 percent shooting is mediocre?
17 3 and 3 for the season
Link - ( New Window )