NFT: KNICKS VS. GRIZZLIES. 9PM

In comment 15254133 larryflower37 said:

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They have 6 to play. 2 against sixers and bucks. 2 against the Celtics. If they go 3-3 that is 38 wins. Knicks have 7 to play and have 37 wins currently.

That was HUGE that the Heat lost tonight. Even if we go 2-5 the rest of the way (which I think is like the WORST-case scenario), the Heat would need to finish 4-2 to finish ahead of us. With back-to-back games against the Celtics and then the Bucks and Sixers I see them finishing 3-3 as well.

I think we have like an 80% chance of finishing as the 4 or 5 seed... 85% if the Suns beat the Hawks tomorrow... but I honestly think that falls to like 50/50 if we don't beat the Celtics in that final game of the reg season. That's gonna be a key game no matter how you slice it.

40 wins (i.e. finish 3-4) definitely secures us the 4 or 5 seed... w/ 39 wins it's a little dicey and again it will then depend then on the outcome of our game against Boston in that scenario. But honestly, if you think abou that-- it's kinda nice to know we could lose 5 of our next 6 and STILL have a shot at the 5 seed by beating the Celtics in that finale at MSG.

Raptors just beat the Lakers and they may very well beat the Clippers tonight. If they can beat the 2 LA teams essentially back-to-back then we should be able to too. (Although the Lakers do look like they could be "back" now somewhat with that win over the Nuggets)

In comment 15254059 Anakim said:

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In comment 15254045 Del Shofner said: Quote: In comment 15253757 Anakim said: Quote: Mitch is already out, so that means we may very well be looking at Taj and small-ball What happened to Pelle? Sprained ankle

Ugh holy shit. Playing Jokic is not the game you want to play with only one aging center. And I love Taj and think he’s great but how many minutes is he gonna be able to play and who the hell is stopping Jokic when Taj sits? I usually don’t say put up the white flag but if it’s a 20 point Nuggets lead at the half I would be in favor of resting our guys and getting ready to hopefully beat the Suns or Clippers.

Then again I bet the Knicks find a way to shoot 60% from 3 or some shit and make it come down to the last possession just because we’ll they always do haha

If Noel and Pelle can't go.
Randle and Taj would need to guard Jokić.

Denver and the Clippers have pretty much locked up the top 4 in the west with a 6 game lead on Dallas.
I could see LA rest people against us because of how physical we play.

In comment 15254170 larryflower37 said:

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Denver and the Clippers have pretty much locked up the top 4 in the west with a 6 game lead on Dallas. I could see LA rest people against us because of how physical we play.

Ah man I really hope so. How the hell do we stop Jokic with only 1 center and 2 PFs? My buddy and I were just getting super pessimistic about this next 4-game stretch with possibly only 3 C/PFs (that unfortunately also reduces our overall physicality that those teams would try to avoid right?)

What do you guys expect as far as the lineups tomorrow? Taj can only play so many minutes at his age and we need to conserve him for however long the other dudes are out. When Taj comes out I guess we'll play Randle and Obi at the 5 and 4 respectively (or vice versa). But Randle can't play the whole damn game either. At some point I have to imagine 2 of those 3 will be sitting (Taj, Randle, Obi) and then what's the lineup? I think Knox is the only other POSSIBLE PF but no way do I want him on the floor at all. Move RJ to the 4 maybe? He probably plays the best inside of any of our remaining guys... imagine a lineup for a few minutes of: Randle-Barrett-Bullock-Burks-Quickley lol they could just shoot 3s on every possession. Plenty of small ball tomorrow for sure.

We should prob just forfeit tomorrow lol I'm serious what's the point in stretching our guys thin in the middle of a treacherous road trip in a game we are definitely going to lose anyway? I think at the very least there's a strong possibility if we're down by 20 at the half Thibs will rest our starters in the 2nd half.

keeping Randle at the 4 and playing Obi at the 5. We need Randle to play his natural position because he's going to need a huge game tomorrow to win. Meanwhile: Obi has a 7'2" wingspan and can jump out of the gym so I'm going to trust him with the rim protection and hopefully he can slow down Jokic a bit with his pure athleticism alone.

Jokic is going to score like 80 points and we're going to have to shoot 90% from 3 lol

and they go 3-4, Hawks have to go 5-1, Heat 5-1 and Boston 7-0

if knicks 2-5, Hawks 4-2, Heat 4-2, Boston 6-1

I just want 1 more win on this road trip, now if they win tonight i am going to be greedy

is less than ideal.

In comment 15254241 nygiants16 said:

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and they go 3-4, Hawks have to go 5-1, Heat 5-1 and Boston 7-0 if knicks 2-5, Hawks 4-2, Heat 4-2, Boston 6-1 I just want 1 more win on this road trip, now if they win tonight i am going to be greedy

I know this sounds crazy but I think we go 2-2 in the next 4.
Sets us up to close out 3 straight at home for the playoffs.
I think this team is too hungry and has a ton to prove.
It makes it dangerous vs. Anyone out there.

The way this team is playing...4-0 is entirely possible. Probable? No, but this team is rolling right now. I fear no one. Sucks but I'll be DVRing this game & will watch tomorrow morning. I hate these late starts, but se la vie.

I think we're due for a W out there.

and that's okay. Denver is an outstanding team.

In comment 15254526 bceagle05 said:

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I think we're due for a W out there.

Gotta be a decade plus since we won there. Maybe more.

In comment 15254523 SFGFNCGiantsFan said:

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The way this team is playing...4-0 is entirely possible. Probable? No, but this team is rolling right now. I fear no one. Sucks but I'll be DVRing this game & will watch tomorrow morning. I hate these late starts, but se la vie.

Lol fuck that. I'll be ecstatic with 2-2, 1-3 is what I'm expecting.

In comment 15254532 SFGFNCGiantsFan said:

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In comment 15254526 bceagle05 said: Quote: I think we're due for a W out there. Gotta be a decade plus since we won there. Maybe more.

Looks like the 3 seed in the west will get the Lakers
4 seed gets Dallas.
Wonder if Clippers and Nuggets jockey for position to get Dallas or LA.

Jon, it's a weird year. Yeah, Denver's good but this is also the same Nuggets team that completely wetted themselves in a game vs. the Cs a couple of weeks back before Murray got injured. Any given night.

no monte morris or will barton, obviously no Murray..

Bench will be huge in this game

Yup on Denver's bench. I watched that Cs Nuggets game-believe it was a Sunday afternoon?-& their bench completely let Boston back into the game. They were awful.

In comment 15254560 SFGFNCGiantsFan said:

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Jon, it's a weird year. Yeah, Denver's good but this is also the same Nuggets team that completely wetted themselves in a game vs. the Cs a couple of weeks back before Murray got injured. Any given night.

They were up 20 in that game and the bench came in and gave away thr game

..

In comment 15254639 nygiants16 said:

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..

AUSTIN RIVERS REVENGE GAME

You think Thibs is planning to throw in the towel tonight because we're short at C? Think again. He's busy devising a game plan to deal with it. Often as fans we overrate our team. That's not the case right now with this Knicks group. Listening to NBA radio all the time lately the true NBA analysts, I'm not talking about the hot take buffoons on ESPN or even TNT(the disgraceful job those little Lebron ass kissers Shaq and Wade went to defend his play in comments last night was a joke)I'm talking the analyst who live breath and take in the sweat in NBA arenas every night are gushing about this team. Antonio Daniels the Pels color guy was over the top yesterday. Said he was sold prior to the game in NO a few weeks back, but after he watched the job they did on Zion in the 4th quarter he was astounded. Hadn't seen something like that in a long time. I guarentee outside of maybe a healthy Miami team the top 3 in the east want to play us the least of anyone in the 2nd rd. Let teams worry about us for once. How nice is that? I mean even Frank Isola is straining to say something bad about the Knicks these days...

taking his victory lap on Thibs to say anything critical, for now. But don't worry, it's coming.

its going to sound like a packed house becaus eit is all diehards

But godamn the Athletic is so worth it. Mike Vorkunov has such a great piece in there today about Rose and what he has meant for the team. Holy crap the metrics are off the charts especially the way it affects Toppin and IQ. Their efficiency skyrockets playing next to him. The Lnicks have the 6th best offense in the NBA since March 27. Rose has transformed his game. His shooting off the dribble has gotten so much better and he's relying less and less on the drives which cuts down on the wear and tear. He's at 45% on non-corner 3's which is in the 100th percentile in the league. My god he's been more valuable than any trade acquisition outside of Harden in the whole league.

The bench for the Knicks is so dangerous that Memphis had to go with mostly starters so the lead didnt extend more...you are going to see teams doing this more, Knicks during this winnning have created 10 to 12 point leads to start the 4th and not let teams back in..

The 2nd half. The Knick would have cruised by 20-25.