Roster analysis:
Bigs:
Mitchell Robinson - as one of the longest, most athletic and high motor BIGs in the league, I expect (hope) major ascension up the learning curve. Reasonable stat projection: 12/10/2 in 30 min per night.
Nerlens Noel - solid back-up with many similar traits as Mitch. Reasonable stat projection: 6/4/1 in 18 min per night.
Omari Spellman - Big bodied (not in a good way) that needs to take fitness seriously to capitalize on good shooting, surprising athleticism to have a career. Otherwise, it'll quickly be over. Reasonable stat projection: Not a rotation player.
Julius Randle - will be interesting to see how Thibs mitigates the "bad" Randle which rears its ugly head whenever he over dribbles or thinks his shooting range is & gt; 15 feet. The good Julius is relegated to his rebounding, finishing and overall effort/muscle on the boards. Reasonable stat projection: 14/8 in 22 min per night.
Obi Toppin - Certainly a good "above the rim" finisher, should be a solid shooter, may be an adequate handler and secondary facilitator. The challenge for Thibs is his defense. Reasonable stat projection: 16/5 in 26 min per night.
Wings:
RJ Barrett - Very strong lefty wing with scoring savvy, particularly on the interior. Intangibles, most notably toughness, prideful work ethic are positives. Shooting, first step etc. are concerns but I don't want to be pessimistic this early. Reasonable stat projection: 20/6 in 32 min per night.
Kevin Knox - Has been a mess so far. His best path to a viable NBA career is a wing with adequate defense (haven't seen it yet), good shooting (not unreasonable) and straight line finishing skills. Still, its hard to be optimistic at this point. Reasonable stat projection: Not a rotation player.
Reggie Bullock - Good shooter, responsible defender. Probably a trade candidate in Feb. Reasonable stat projection: 7 in 18 min per night.
Frank Ntilikina - He's a wing not a lead guard. Not enough confidence or many of the other necessary traits to lead a team/offense. Could he be a Thabo Sefolosha (versatile defender, adequate catch and shoot guy)? Sure. Reasonable stat projection: 6/4/3 in 15 min per night.
Alec Burks - Interesting player that has never "taken off". He's long passed the prospect stage of his career, but he's an efficient, athletic, good sized "2". Reasonable stat projection: 7 in 15 min per night.
Austin Rivers - I have never been a fan. At his best, he's a versatile guard who can score 8 points in a quarter on a rare occasion. More typically, he's an inefficient guy with not a good enough shot to play wing and not enough facilitation skills to play point. Reasonable stat projection: 7 in 18 min per night.
Lead guard:
Elfrid Payton - Has a lot of traits (size, passing skills, ability to push tempo) that could make him an adequate lead guard. But alas, he is one of many subpar NYK shooters. Reasonable stat projection: 9/9 in 30 min per night.
Dennis Smith Jr. - At his best, he's a dunk contest candidate. He will even tease you with a drive and powerful dunk finish. Beyond this, he has no redeemable traits of a viable NBA player. He's lazy, has bad body language, doesn't shoot it well, chooses not to distribute or defend. Reasonable stat projection: He will be in the Chinese league soon.
Immanual Quickley - The diametric opposite of DSJ. Honest day's work player who will shoot, defend well. May not ever be a lead guard. But could very well be a contributing player to a winning team and have a career arc like Avery Bradley. Reasonable stat projection: 8 in 18 min per night.
Lebron : Yah Mule,Yah
LeBron turns 36 later this month. Sooner or later, he is not going to be the LeBron we know. He has logged a ton of miles over the year & barely had an offseason.
I believe they have to get rid of two guys. I would guess Evans and Powell. Hopefully they don't waive Iggy.
Smart approach from Knicks.
Smart approach from Knicks.
Times they are a-changin'
“He’s a freak athlete, man,’’ Knox said. “He comes in the gym eight in the morning and his first shot is a between-the-legs dunk. It was just crazy his athleticism is where it’s at now. It’s only going to continue to get better."
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Knicks had no interest in Westbrook unless they were incentivized to take him.
Smart approach from Knicks.
Times they are a-changin'
Woj said the same.
He also said which is really true, beat writers are going to be mad at rose becauss Rose will never talk to them, he works in the shadows..Hahn said even as a an agent nobkdy could talk to him...only Woj you shoild trust..
I do think they try it..I wouldnt be shocked if next friday the starters are rivers rj obi randle mitch..
I dknt think it works and it is a different stsrting lineip for opening night
Hahaha you're such a clown. You've been nothing but wrong before and after that.
May or may not work but I expect them to try it.
Hahn/KnicksFanTV - ( New Window )
Defensively i dont think it will work against most teams because teams can just spread the Knicks out and kill them from 3....Teams loke the Pacers and Sixers i think they will match up better with..
I think they try it during preseason but i trust thibs that if it doesnt work he wont do it..
Defensively i dont think it will work against most teams because teams can just spread the Knicks out and kill them from 3....Teams loke the Pacers and Sixers i think they will match up better with..
I think they try it during preseason but i trust thibs that if it doesnt work he wont do it..
You could try it? He would have trouble staying with some wings who can really handle, I think. A better choice to get both on the floor is to maybe play one as a kind of small ball five.
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i think he can handle it offensively, he can shoot the 3, he can handle a little bit, good passer and will make the Knicks dominant on thr boards..
Defensively i dont think it will work against most teams because teams can just spread the Knicks out and kill them from 3....Teams loke the Pacers and Sixers i think they will match up better with..
I think they try it during preseason but i trust thibs that if it doesnt work he wont do it..
You could try it? He would have trouble staying with some wings who can really handle, I think. A better choice to get both on the floor is to maybe play one as a kind of small ball five.
Randle and Obi are a horrible fit no matter what, Obi as a small ball 5 is great offensively but defensively if you dont have 4 defenders next to Obi you are going to give up a ton of points..
I think at some points of games for small stretches you will see Obi at the 5 but not for big minutes..
If he was a better defender or rim protector him at the 5 could be awesome offensively especially with shooters and a point who can run the pick and roll
Cap space can be used to take on a disgruntled star who is under contract. In this market there weren't good value options - where you could reasonably expect a guy to outplay his contract, thus making him an intriguing trade asset. In that environment, no issue holding off.
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In comment 15065617 nygiants16 said:
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i think he can handle it offensively, he can shoot the 3, he can handle a little bit, good passer and will make the Knicks dominant on thr boards..
Defensively i dont think it will work against most teams because teams can just spread the Knicks out and kill them from 3....Teams loke the Pacers and Sixers i think they will match up better with..
I think they try it during preseason but i trust thibs that if it doesnt work he wont do it..
You could try it? He would have trouble staying with some wings who can really handle, I think. A better choice to get both on the floor is to maybe play one as a kind of small ball five.
Randle and Obi are a horrible fit no matter what, Obi as a small ball 5 is great offensively but defensively if you dont have 4 defenders next to Obi you are going to give up a ton of points..
I think at some points of games for small stretches you will see Obi at the 5 but not for big minutes..
If he was a better defender or rim protector him at the 5 could be awesome offensively especially with shooters and a point who can run the pick and roll
I think there's upside Obi as a small ball 5. He's a decent shot blocker and from my view a lot of his defensive deficiencies are more team defense and PnR defense. I think that's coachable, assuming he'll work on it. Dayton wasn't really trying to lock it down on D so it will be interesting to see if there's some room for growth from Obi. You are absolutely right he can't be left there for a lot of minutes, but depending on the matchup he might be less exposed there than at the wing, where his lateral agility might be an issue.
@TheSteinLine
The NBA has officially suspended random marijuana testing for the 2020-21 season...
@TheSteinLine
The NBA has officially suspended random marijuana testing for the 2020-21 season...
JR Smith rejoices!
and if he pouts and asks out...?
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If you are the Knicks do you make an offer? pick loaded see if they bite? you have him for 2 mlre years to add a 2nd max to him
and if he pouts and asks out...?
Then you trade him for a bunch of picks hahaha, i dont know
a lot of home games by march and april i guess, maybe with limited fans? dear lord that is a rough stretch
it is possible, i mean what is a road gsme this year? empty gyms a lot different..
According to the Knicks press release this is not accurate
That is wrong
Knicks have issued an updated version of their schedule. Original version, which was posted below, had some errors. I am deleting the tweet with the incorrect schedule. twitter.com/ianbegley/stat…Haha
@TheSteinLine
The NBA has officially suspended random marijuana testing for the 2020-21 season...
The NBA's facility for marijuana testing.I picture that as you walk into a small doctor's office,located in a random shopping center with an Applebee's,and find Michael Beasley and Chris "Bird Man" Anderson in lab coats.
it's beyond bizarre at this point. Does he expect these agents to get the Knicks to just tear up the 4 year contract he signed?
Still shocked that we didn't sign Willie Cauley-Stein