NFT: Knicks @ Blazers 10 pm

And as for Johnson and hardaway i will give better defender but hardaway averages 3 assists and 4 boards, Johnson 5 boards and 3 assists, really that much better?

Not to mention 17 points to 10 points per game...

I just don't see how Johnson is a better than hardaway...

In comment 13852325 nygiants16 said:

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And as for Johnson and hardaway i will give better defender but hardaway averages 3 assists and 4 boards, Johnson 5 boards and 3 assists, really that much better? Not to mention 17 points to 10 points per game... I just don't see how Johnson is a better than hardaway...

Its not a hill I wanna die on, I'd take Hardaway given age, just thought out of all the contracts to pick at, James Johnson is one of the more fair deals on the Heat roster. Ideally, neither player are one of your top 3 options and I just think JJ is better as a role player than THJR. THJR is ideally a 6th man but he's making more than double what the best 6th man in the league signed for, and James Johnson is your prototypical hybrid 3/4 in the modern NBA; $15M is a lot for a solid starter but it seems than every team is paying a non-star player around that much (the Knicks are paying 4 lol).

for the Heat, they Heat play better when they go with Bam/Olynyk at the 4 and 5 and Spo doesn't trust Whiteside in crunch time. Seems like $25M is a lot to pay for even a really good rotational NBA big.

In comment 13852325 nygiants16 said:

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And as for Johnson and hardaway i will give better defender but hardaway averages 3 assists and 4 boards, Johnson 5 boards and 3 assists, really that much better? Not to mention 17 points to 10 points per game... I just don't see how Johnson is a better than hardaway...

Light years better as a defender and overall a much higher BBall IQ and tougher player. However Hardaway is younger and a much more talented offensive player.

But to be honest they are both seriously overpaid.

In comment 13852141 TyreeHelmet said:

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In comment 13852104 dep026 said: Quote: you can give credit to Spo or Riley or the culture or whatever. They are the 7th seed in the putrid East. I dont see what is so great about that. Sure, they play hard and do some nice things. But they are no closer to being contenders than the like of the Knicks, Lakers, Bulls, etc. They are in purgatory. Picking anywhere between 15th and 18th is sure sign of non competing. We saw this for YEARS with the Atlanta Hawks as they never factored in being contenders. Even the year they were the 1 seed, they were swept in the playoffs. Since 2001 Miami has 3 titles and the Knicks have 1 playoff series win. Have only had 2 losing seasons in the last 15 years. They have a top 5 coach and top 3 management. They can get meetings with any FA they want and if the top guys want to go there, they will make the cap work. How is picking between 15-18 a sign of non competing? Would you rather them take the Knicks path and be embarrassingly bad while picking 8-10?

Miami won 3 titles with a top 20 player of all time and one of the 3 bestever. They arent ANYWHERE close to that.

Look at the Mavs. Carlisle is the 2nd best coach in the NBA IMO, and they suck. They have a plan though. Picking 15th to 18th every year is not giving you a better chance at winning. The only way the Heat are capale of being title contenders is if Anthoyn Davis and Greek freak decide to pair up and go down there.

They hit the jackpot with Wade. And then Bosh and Lebron choosing to go there.

is that he doesn't seem to embrace/accept rebuilding whatsoever.

I'll give him some slack because of Bosh's injury throwing things off for Miami. I mean if Bosh was healthy the past 2 seasons, maybe they do land Hayward and a core of Dragic, Haywood, Bosh and Whiteside with really good role players looks like a top 3 seed in the East.

But instead he spent that money on good players that aren't elevating them anywhere. Good players on big contracts, I'm not sure how many of them they'll be able to dump or how many assets they'll get back. Theyre not getting lottery picks for anyone on their roster. It certainly has spiraled south the last 2 years, that's obviously not something I want the Knicks to emulate (but they have).

In comment 13852427 dep026 said:

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In comment 13852141 TyreeHelmet said: Quote: In comment 13852104 dep026 said: Quote: you can give credit to Spo or Riley or the culture or whatever. They are the 7th seed in the putrid East. I dont see what is so great about that. Sure, they play hard and do some nice things. But they are no closer to being contenders than the like of the Knicks, Lakers, Bulls, etc. They are in purgatory. Picking anywhere between 15th and 18th is sure sign of non competing. We saw this for YEARS with the Atlanta Hawks as they never factored in being contenders. Even the year they were the 1 seed, they were swept in the playoffs. Since 2001 Miami has 3 titles and the Knicks have 1 playoff series win. Have only had 2 losing seasons in the last 15 years. They have a top 5 coach and top 3 management. They can get meetings with any FA they want and if the top guys want to go there, they will make the cap work. How is picking between 15-18 a sign of non competing? Would you rather them take the Knicks path and be embarrassingly bad while picking 8-10? Miami won 3 titles with a top 20 player of all time and one of the 3 bestever. They arent ANYWHERE close to that. Look at the Mavs. Carlisle is the 2nd best coach in the NBA IMO, and they suck. They have a plan though. Picking 15th to 18th every year is not giving you a better chance at winning. The only way the Heat are capale of being title contenders is if Anthoyn Davis and Greek freak decide to pair up and go down there. They hit the jackpot with Wade. And then Bosh and Lebron choosing to go there.

I wouldn't give the Mavs credit so quickly, I don't think they've been trying to be this bad, it just sort of happened and now Cuban is giving into just bottoming out. Just 2 years ago, Cuban was trying to assemble a "core" of old Dirk, Wes matthews coming off an achilles tear and Deandre Jordan, which is similar to what Miami has been doing.

Mavs have a few good young pieces, but all of them look more like role players than stars so far, I don't think many teams envy their situation, either.

The media may not want to say it but it looks like right now knocks have a plan and a 22 year old to build around with lottery picks and cap space coming

In comment 13852453 nygiants16 said:

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The media may not want to say it but it looks like right now knocks have a plan and a 22 year old to build around with lottery picks and cap space coming

Listened to a Nate Duncan podcast recently where he ranked "young cores", not including players older than 25 and cap space/draft pick status.

Him and whoever his guest was had a fairly similar ranking where it was sixers/cetlics for 1 and 2, followed by Min, Denver, Milwaukee, Indy, Utah and then LAL.

Both argued that Denver might have the best young talent overall, having a star in Jokic, a star-potential player in Murray, and a 3 and D+ player in Harris, but that fit was an issue defensively. Jokic doesn't grade out as a rim protector, Murray isn't a good defender yet and Harris is undersized when guarding the bigger, elite wings of the NBA.

The Knicks at least don't have that problem with KP. While Frank and THJR don't measure up to the secondary options of those teams, lots of players work with KP. If NY lands its stud 2-way wing defender in this draft, things can fall into place rather quickly the next 2 years. But alot hinges on getting our Mitchell, PG, Klay Thompson, at 8 or 9 in this draft (or even just get 75% of that caliber player).

Mudiay Frank hardaway lance kanter

Hope it's nothing serious, but it'd be hilarious if he and Hornacek had some issue.

Anything said why Lee isn't playing?

Lillard with 24 at the half. We're primed for another third quarter annihilation.

Knicks getting closer

What these teams are doing is insane.

but Frank's knee seems to be acting up a bit.

the �recover� part of �hedge and recover�.

It�s embarassing, 3 straight Portland poessesions led to 6 points just now all on kanter miscues. First he doesn�t recover. Second play he loses Nurkic, another Knick picks him up but kanter just stares at him not understanding that if someone picks up his man someone else is Open - Aminu proceeds to an open backdoor layup. Then he hedges a dribble handoff (?) allowing Nurkic to roll freely in the paint for an open floater.

Good for the tank I guess?

A little low considering Hardaway, Burke and Mudiay have been guarding him, with Kanter out there on the pick and rolls.

In comment 13852816 bceagle05 said:

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A little low considering Hardaway, Burke and Mudiay have been guarding him, with Kanter out there on the pick and rolls.

He is making shots from 28 feet..

Lost 13 out of 14.

In comment 13852831 bceagle05 said:

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Lost 13 out of 14.

I want to stop being too hopeful, the Knicks are still ahead by 4 wins or more than most of the tanking teams. I�m not sure how many even win 4 more games in one month, I think the Knicks still win a few more as well.

In comment 13852780 Canton said:

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Anything said why Lee isn't playing?

Lee had a death in the family

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I want to stop being too hopeful, the Knicks are still ahead by 4 wins or more than most of the tanking teams. I�m not sure how many even win 4 more games in one month, I think the Knicks still win a few more as well.

Yeah, I'm not expecting much - maybe they jump ONE team. Incredible that they may win 27 games and still draft ninth. What a shitty league right now.

3.5 games out of that spot...

4 back from 3..

Everything is bunching up, maybe bulls win a couple of games now that they are forced to play Lopez and holiday..

In comment 13852922 nygiants16 said:

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3.5 games out of that spot... 4 back from 3.. Everything is bunching up, maybe bulls win a couple of games now that they are forced to play Lopez and holiday..

I highly doubt they lose out but the only game I can see them being favored in is home against Dallas next week. Losing to Dalas and Chicago will be very important.

The last 2 games of the season against Cleveland scare me. The Cavs might not need those games and could be in rest mode.

The NBA needs to do something. You can�t have a 3rd of the league tanking.

bonus for each game. Take enough money from here and there (I know this would be the hard part, especially finding enough to make it worth while.) to give a bonus to the team that wins. The bonus would be split between the players who played in the game, the coaching staff, and the front office. This way it would create an incentive to win every game and for players to play as often as possible. A player would be less likely to take a game off if it made them ineligible for the victory bonus.

A good portion of the MLB teams aren't even trying to win in 2018. It's already a week into March and a whole lot of free agents, who are better than a lot of the guys currently slotted for starting jobs, aren't even signed yet. Unlike NBA, the MLB issue has a bit of a payroll thing tied to it as well.

In comment 13853005 TyreeHelmet said:

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In comment 13852922 nygiants16 said: Quote: 3.5 games out of that spot... 4 back from 3.. Everything is bunching up, maybe bulls win a couple of games now that they are forced to play Lopez and holiday.. I highly doubt they lose out but the only game I can see them being favored in is home against Dallas next week. Losing to Dalas and Chicago will be very important. The last 2 games of the season against Cleveland scare me. The Cavs might not need those games and could be in rest mode. The NBA needs to do something. You can�t have a 3rd of the league tanking.

"The NBA needs to do something" has been the sentiment for years but frankly lottery form won't ever do anything.

The issue is that in the NBA, talent wins out and there isn't much variance, like baseball, where one stud pitcher not performing to par can screw up an entire series or a 7th/8th bat getting hot can give an underdog a legit shot.

The NFL has only 16 games to determine the 12 teams going to the playoffs, the Giants have certainly been an example of how fringe teams can make a run (even the eagles with a backup QB).

If the NBA truly wants reform, the best way (IMO) is to reduce the number of regular seasons games and reduce playoff series to 5 games instead of 7. That way fringe playoff teams have incentive to get in and "get hot". Will that ever even be discussed? Hell the fuck no.

I think this is just the nature of how this sport will be. If there was an issue with views and revenue they would have to toss something on the table, but the opposite is happening.

Another way to do it is to get rid of revenue sharing and have individual teams sign TV deals, but no one will want to be a small market owner if that's the case. Who the fuck would want to own Sacramento or Phoenix if that happened? Its as unlikely as reducing games.

In comment 13853046 JustaDiscussion said:

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bonus for each game. Take enough money from here and there (I know this would be the hard part, especially finding enough to make it worth while.) to give a bonus to the team that wins. The bonus would be split between the players who played in the game, the coaching staff, and the front office. This way it would create an incentive to win every game and for players to play as often as possible. A player would be less likely to take a game off if it made them ineligible for the victory bonus.

I couldn't imagine that would fly with the players union. If the monetary value was significant enough, than good player wouldn't want to sign with bad teams, bad teams that are trying to get better. It would also skew against small market teams, which I think is where many competitive issues of the NBA lie

penalizing lottery dwellers that are there year after year (e.g. a team can't pick top 5 two years in a row).

Or maybe not revealing lottery odds until the end of the season? For example, every year a random generator sets lottery odds, so every year the odds are weighted differently. So one year the worst team might have a 30% shot at the #1 pick but the next the #7 team might have a 30% at #1. But the odds aren't revealed until the end of the season. It's not a great idea but I think it might be in the direction.

The real meat of the issue is getting the .500 teams to stay competitive and not intentionally fall out of the playoff race. So if the #15 team has a 30% chance at #1 then it incentivizes fringe teams to fall out further. Maybe randomly selecting the odds from 1-10 only would be better

In comment 13853064 giantsfan44ab said:

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In comment 13853046 JustaDiscussion said: Quote: bonus for each game. Take enough money from here and there (I know this would be the hard part, especially finding enough to make it worth while.) to give a bonus to the team that wins. The bonus would be split between the players who played in the game, the coaching staff, and the front office. This way it would create an incentive to win every game and for players to play as often as possible. A player would be less likely to take a game off if it made them ineligible for the victory bonus. I couldn't imagine that would fly with the players union. If the monetary value was significant enough, than good player wouldn't want to sign with bad teams, bad teams that are trying to get better. It would also skew against small market teams, which I think is where many competitive issues of the NBA lie

Good points. I could argue, though, that in the current NBA players tend to avoid bad teams anyway. It's actually why teams need to tank, because they are unable to sign any good free agents without first finding their own players in the draft. Also, if the bonus is in addition to the current player's salaries, one could argue that the players union would be for it because it would increase the profit percentage going to the players.

I still think it's the small market teams that will be up in arms about that. As smart as tanking is for them, they do try (and fail) to bring in big players.

Phoenix tried really hard to land Aldridge but struck out. i honest to god don't think the Kings have been intentionally tanking the last few years, they threw like $100M at Randolph, Hill and Carter this past offseason, and were actually commended for it. No one expected them to make a playoff push but I think the sentiment was that they'd be more competitive and maybe win 30-35 games, and then this happened.

A simple fix would be to penalize repeater teams that are at the absolute bottom. It would just treat the symptoms and not the actual problem, but at least you get teams to tank for maybe the 6-10 spots rather than 1-5 if teams can't pick twice in the top 5 two years in a row and are sent to the end of the lottery. If top talent isn't helping your team get better, then at least give the top guys to better teams.

That way teams with cap space could out bid other teams for top of the line players regardless of their current talent level or market. Eventually this should create a league where almost every team has one top of the line talent, instead of now where two or three top tier players congregate onto a handful of teams each. It could theoretically even out the talent gaps between teams, cause more parity, and thus more teams would be fighting for playoff spots at the end of the year.

solutions. The most radical would be to simply get rid of the draft. Give teams a pool of money to use on players and let the players sign where they want. The other thing they can do is the draft "wheel". Zach Lowe wrote about this a few years ago in the article linked below.
Link - ( New Window )

In comment 13853140 JustaDiscussion said:

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That way teams with cap space could out bid other teams for top of the line players regardless of their current talent level or market. Eventually this should create a league where almost every team has one top of the line talent, instead of now where two or three top tier players congregate onto a handful of teams each. It could theoretically even out the talent gaps between teams, cause more parity, and thus more teams would be fighting for playoff spots at the end of the year.

Thats been floated around for a while but the Players union is staunchly against it. While it doesn't affect them, it would piss off most NBA players so they by default have to be against it. If Lebron, KD, Kawhi are making $80M a year that means pretty much all the players making between $10M and $15M annually will probably be making less than $5M annually.

First pick in the draft goes to the best team that missed the playoffs and then down to the worst team that missed the playoffs and then to the playoff teams from worst to best.

In comment 13853140 JustaDiscussion said:

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That way teams with cap space could out bid other teams for top of the line players regardless of their current talent level or market.

I've been saying they should go this way for a while. Implement an NFL style hard cap and get rid of all the exceptions and caps on individual earnings (excluding maybe the rookie scale). And allow teams to keep money on their books when trading players like they do in the NHL.

In comment 13853144 Enzo said:

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solutions. The most radical would be to simply get rid of the draft. Give teams a pool of money to use on players and let the players sign where they want. The other thing they can do is the draft "wheel". Zach Lowe wrote about this a few years ago in the article linked below. Link - ( New Window )

If a 75% vote is needed those options probably would never happen, though I can see eliminating the draft being more realistic. Issue is the NBA has too many teams because of how dominant the top players are, its hopeless being a team without any.

In comment 13853153 Keith said:

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First pick in the draft goes to the best team that missed the playoffs and then down to the worst team that missed the playoffs and then to the playoff teams from worst to best.

Haha were you listening to the Barstool mickstape podcast? That was their idea like 2-3 weeks ago, I wonder if that guy listened to it and just ripped it off entirely.

figure out a way for the last few weeks of the season have a playoffs for lottery teams to earn the higher picks.

Knicks get the 1st pick. Who are you taking? People rave about Doncic but Ayton looks like a dominant franchise center. I know it would be going against the current NBA trend of small ball but a KP/ Ayton frontline could be special.

In comment 13853169 giantsfan44ab said:

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In comment 13853153 Keith said: Quote: First pick in the draft goes to the best team that missed the playoffs and then down to the worst team that missed the playoffs and then to the playoff teams from worst to best. Haha were you listening to the Barstool mickstape podcast? That was their idea like 2-3 weeks ago, I wonder if that guy listened to it and just ripped it off entirely.

No, but I think that guy clearly ripped off the idea. It's a solid idea, no?

It gets interesting because talent really does fall of deep. They actually did the hypothetical draft too and it makes things interesting. I didn�t listen to the whole part so I�m not sure what the measures are to prevent the top teams from tanking. Maybe basing draft over on the previous years playoff success and giving the new teams the top picks?

In comment 13853174 steve in ky said:

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figure out a way for the last few weeks of the season have a playoffs for lottery teams to earn the higher picks.

you'd have to attach something else to it. Players couldn't care less about where their team is picking in an upcoming draft.

In comment 13853187 TyreeHelmet said:

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Knicks get the 1st pick. Who are you taking? People rave about Doncic but Ayton looks like a dominant franchise center. I know it would be going against the current NBA trend of small ball but a KP/ Ayton frontline could be special.

I think I go sleeper and get Jaren Jackson. It would be a focus on defense, JJJ fits modern nba big defense better than Ayton and would space the floor on the other end. Couldn�t complain with Ayton though.

In comment 13853191 Keith said:

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In comment 13853169 giantsfan44ab said: Quote: In comment 13853153 Keith said: Quote: First pick in the draft goes to the best team that missed the playoffs and then down to the worst team that missed the playoffs and then to the playoff teams from worst to best. Haha were you listening to the Barstool mickstape podcast? That was their idea like 2-3 weeks ago, I wonder if that guy listened to it and just ripped it off entirely. No, but I think that guy clearly ripped off the idea. It's a solid idea, no?

you'd still have some tanking. It would just be a different group of teams doing it.

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Tommy Beer In the nine games he's played with the Knicks, Emmanuel Mudiay is shooting 33.0% from the floor, 12.5% from three-point range, and 63.3% from the FT line. However, the kicker is that his defense has been far worse than his offense.

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Stefan Bondy ‏@SBondyNYDN Follow Follow @SBondyNYDN This is remarkable. Emmanuel Mudiay has played just 193 minutes with the Knicks and they've been outscored by 87 points when he's on the court.

In comment 13853169 giantsfan44ab said:

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In comment 13853153 Keith said: Quote: First pick in the draft goes to the best team that missed the playoffs and then down to the worst team that missed the playoffs and then to the playoff teams from worst to best. Haha were you listening to the Barstool mickstape podcast? That was their idea like 2-3 weeks ago, I wonder if that guy listened to it and just ripped it off entirely.

This is a terrible idea. It just changes the tanking point. Instead of the worst teams fighting for the top pick, you'd have the fringe playoff teams trying to drop out.

I would increase the payout for playoff teams. I know they make money on playoff home games, but have another pool of money for players/teams that is tiered by seeds. Then just have equal lottery odds for non playoff teams.

In comment 13853203 Enzo said:

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In comment 13853191 Keith said: Quote: In comment 13853169 giantsfan44ab said: Quote: In comment 13853153 Keith said: Quote: First pick in the draft goes to the best team that missed the playoffs and then down to the worst team that missed the playoffs and then to the playoff teams from worst to best. Haha were you listening to the Barstool mickstape podcast? That was their idea like 2-3 weeks ago, I wonder if that guy listened to it and just ripped it off entirely. No, but I think that guy clearly ripped off the idea. It's a solid idea, no? you'd still have some tanking. It would just be a different group of teams doing it.

Don't know if I agree with this. First off, teams can't fully tank as they'd need to end up just outside the playoff picture. Secondly, owners probably make a lot of money when they make the playoffs, I'm not sure they'd be ok with teams purposely missing the playoffs for a top pick. Is there something else you are referring to?

In comment 13853212 TyreeHelmet said:

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In comment 13853169 giantsfan44ab said: Quote: In comment 13853153 Keith said: Quote: First pick in the draft goes to the best team that missed the playoffs and then down to the worst team that missed the playoffs and then to the playoff teams from worst to best. Haha were you listening to the Barstool mickstape podcast? That was their idea like 2-3 weeks ago, I wonder if that guy listened to it and just ripped it off entirely. This is a terrible idea. It just changes the tanking point. Instead of the worst teams fighting for the top pick, you'd have the fringe playoff teams trying to drop out. I would increase the payout for playoff teams. I know they make money on playoff home games, but have another pool of money for players/teams that is tiered by seeds. Then just have equal lottery odds for non playoff teams.

There was something else to it, I missed the entirety of it but the top teams get to pick who they play, so there is still an incentive to win. It wasn't a lottery reform idea it was a playoff reform idea.