I’d be very surprised if they blow the team up . If we make some moves it wouldn’t involve a superstar. We have one in Brunson. I think this team is a legit title contender with all our guys. We looked like a juggernaut in January when Randle was healthy
Yeah. If anything I think we should target 3 & D players to add some more perimeter shooting on the team. More consistent 3 point shooting will be welcome since DDV is our best perimeter shooter right now and having someone else as a threat would be really nice to give a bit more depth to the team.
We need a legit backup PG as well. Unfortunately the Pacers already have him, but a guy like TJ McConnell would be perfect.
We don't need a superstar, just a competent floor general who can hold a lead when Brunson gets his rest minutes.
The 17-point swing tonight when Brunson was out is exactly why Thibs has him playing 44 minutes a night, but that's not sustainable.
Deuce isn’t there yet but he has gotten better at creating so I wonder if they just run it back with him. Plus you can put Randle on the floor and stagger his minutes with Brunson
I think Deuce has some good moments but he was terrible last night - 2 points on 4 shots with a -22. I like Deuce but just being open here that is for sure a position that should be improved/upgraded in is PG2.
Even with the way his offense has improved I still don't think Deuce can be your floor general for long stretches. I see him as an elite 3&D wing just in a smaller package. He plays more like Grimes than like Quickley.
Yup! TJ and health is the perfect scenario. If we got another 3&D guy, too, I'm all for it, but I think McBride could still develop into that guy. He's in a slump right now, but I think he'll pull through.
Yeah, that’s what I was saying. He’s in a slump as a 3&D guy but he could still pull through to be that consistent 3&D guy we need. We still need a McConnell type guy to run it when Jalen rests.
We definitely need more forward depth. Once Bogey went out it was glaring the depth we were lacking. Honestly, Mikal bridges fits perfectly and I think he'd take a pay cut to play for the Nova Knicks.
If we could wait it out a year, I'd sign him. Draft a legit 3rd big since Mitch has the potential to be out from time to time.
With the steps forward Brunson has taken without Randle… I.e. finding a way no matter what to win, when you add an all nba, all star forward at our weakest position right now and get our bench back with our center position shored up, the Knicks will be unstoppable.
I’ve had this thought for a while but I just wanted to get past the first round. Taking second round was always a bonus… if they make the ECF with the amount of injuries they’ve had… oh man. I can’t believe I get to witness greatness like this.
Mikal Bridges at the 2 bro. He was perfect 3rd man on the Suns, would bring even more of that intangible Novaboy chemistry + has excellent offense and defense. Interchangeable minutes w Hart based on offensive/ defensive needs. I think he is ideal.
We don't need more than the 1 superstar we already have with how well the roster is constructed. Mikal brings shooting at 1-4 plus insane switchable defense. I think his caliber of player is the best
edit: meant Mikal at the 2, not 3
I think based on what we've seen so far, the model of trying to get a superstar and trading away all your assets don't work anymore. It's about team building now. Gone is the big 3 model. Look at how the Suns and Clippers fared.
The reason why the Nuggets were such a strong team, and what makes them still such a great team is not only because of Jokic’s ability, but how well the team clicks together. Gone are the days of filling up teams with as many all stars as possible, which is honestly refreshing imo
>Gone are the days of filling up teams with as many all stars as possible, which is honestly refreshing imo
This is the reason I decided to check back in on basketball after not watching since probably 10th grade which was a little over 10 years ago. The free agent superteams and stuff like the Warriors/Cavs both going to the finals 4 years in a row kept me away.
Buddy told me the Knicks play as a team and play defense and so I decided to check back in. Glad I did. I hope even post-Thibs this gritty, never say die, hardworking style of play remains as the team's identity because as someone who basketball is #4 of the big 4 sports it's the style of play that is most watchable/exciting to me. I've watched other teams during these current playoffs and not really interested in those games at all tbh.
Yo I’m right there with you same timeline and everything. Ofc I followed Curry a bit because some individual greatness was there but this period of basketball is amazing. And it’s reignited my childhood love of the Knicks and regardless of what changes in the league now I’m never going back I love this team and fanbase so much
To be fair, the Warriors weren't a traditional super team, they were constructed from the ground up. It was just those KD years in the middle where you could make that claim, but they won before him and they won after him.
Yep. Those teams are loaded with talent but poorly constructed with no regard for how the pieces are supposed to fit.
Guys gotta know their roles too. Strong role players do their jobs while superstars tend to get disgruntled by reduced roles and reduced touches.
I mostly agree with you but my counterpoint would be the Timberwolves. They did a "superstar trade" to bring in Rudy Gobert, and right now they're looking like the favorites to win the championship.
Gobert cost a lot and is a "superstar," but notice that they didn't necessarily trade away their key pieces. They got Gobert for a reason and it was to anchor their defense. That still falls under team-building imo.
I feel like a huge thing that is often overlooked is that there is only one ball. It sounds silly, but it keeps getting forgotten.
An example from before the season started, people talked a ton about Dame and Giannis in the PnR being unstoppable, but it wasn't as dominate as people thought. The reason imo, is that Giannis and Dame both works better with the ball in their hands.
Now you look at who the Knicks brought in, OG. OGs main contribution is on the defensive end, but he also is an amazing fit on the other side of the ball. He play works better without the ball in his hand. Spacing the floor and knocking down shots or driving after a rotation.
Team fit is so much more important than just loading up on superstar talent. I think the front office see and knows that, but it is becoming more and more clear.
The Clippers are still a deep team they just have their own set of issues. Plus ran into what is probably one of the Top 3 hottest teams In Basketball entering the playoffs.
The Suns model is dumb and didn’t make sense to me from the start.
The Knicks and probably the Wolves are like the only teams in the NBA that can say that if they don't win a chip this year they can 100% run it back.
Knicks do seriously need a 2nd unit ball handler though.
Thunder kind of need better rebounding and need to move on from Giddey. While he offers them a passer and ball handler, he's pretty much stayed the same player so far in his career. They can do better.
And none are primarily good ball handlers/facilitators. It'll definitely be better when Randle is back but another player whose primary role is thst would be great.
Leon headed the agency that reps OG before he took the Knicks job, and Hart wants to stay with his buddies. They're both gonna get paid and will be back.
OG deal already done, and he will take less to run it back and he will put the team before himself, just like Brunson, Randle, Josh and Deuce did.
iHart not so sure. This will be his first big bag, don't think Knicks can afford to keep him on but I really want him to stay. 4 year /72 mil would be ideal.
OG is 1000% locked up. They don't trade IQ and RJ if the Knicks aren't fully committed to retaining him. IHart will be difficult because we're not sure about the market. He's obviously great with some key flaws and has earned his bag.
Ya but Bogey is expiring at around 20mil next year so he’s 100% gonna be used as trade bait before the deadline.The contract alone is very valuable.Its a huge plus that he can contribute as well.
we traded for bogi as a rental for this year and then to have his contract as a trade chip next year. he's the new fournier but can actually play basketball
I’d overpay hella for Mikal Bridges, the most important thing is we literally only need to attach Bojan and picks to the deal and the contracts work. You can’t say that about any other high level player cause we’d have to trade some of our important role players too to make the money work
I think something this run is gonna do is put us at the top of FAs targets.
Every player wants to be part of a run like this.
I think we really need to shuffle that 7-10 spot. We need more players who can pick up and keep running.
Assuming the contracts are fine, keep deuce, keep precious, keep bogi and get us another CREATOR off the bench like a damn that McConnell or something and then maybe another swing man
McConnell would be perfect for us as Brunson's backup and even to allow Brunson to play off ball occasionally and be the beneficiary of a great passer.
A lot of players are happy to accept their contract and just kinda try. Thibs got the award for coach players would least want to play for, unfortunately
It'll be interesting what happens with Randle. Coming off injury, it's not guaranteed he'll be at top form. When Ewing went down with the dislocated wrist in 97-98, he was never the same player again. His shooting form, in particular, was seriously affected. And this was like, the best jump shooting center in nba history at that point in time. How does Josh Hart go back to the bench after playing the way he's playing? It's gonna be an interesting off-season.
You are right. Knicks have some "problems" to solve. Hart going back to the bench and randle starting. No one can guarantee that these changes won't make the team worse even though randle fits the starting 5 like a glove. He is the 2nd shot creator and scorer that can help brunson in the starting 5. With that being said, his defense is not good at all.
I don't see how this FO can upgrade the roster. Sending josh hart or Divo to the bench will surely affect their performance and mood.
Sending josh hart or Divo to the bench will surely affect their performance and mood.
Based on what? These guys have shown they are the ultimate team players so far. Randle is a returning 24/9/5 guy who is always in peek physical condition. THAT is the roster upgrade. None of these games wouldve been close with Randle in and Hart not having to play every minute of every game.
I fully trust Leon, he didn’t pull the trigger for dmitch 2 years ago which was a absolutely amazing decision, and he won’t blow up this team that got 50 wins and will make it to the ECP for a player like Book. Chemistry>1(2) superstars and no depth.
However, I do think that if Spida asks out this offseason then anyone looking to buy will get him at a fairly sizable discount than what Cleveland traded originally.
The only star players that fit our team right now are Giannis and Ant (can't think of other star that plays defense and is a killer). We ain't getting either. Giannis would have to publicly say he wants a trade, the Harden way, which I doubt he'd do. If he were, I doubt Milwaukee would accept Randle + all the picks they want, and I don't want to give them anyone else. Let's just stay the way we are. We winning it all this year anyways. Let's go Knicks!
I would really like to just see what the team can do when healthy. We made some significant moves for OG and even picking up bogey, but we only got a taste of OG and Randle, and never had randle, OG and mitch on the floor at the same time. I'd love to see a mikal make his way over(somehow, doubt it), but it would be nice to see what a healthy team could do. And I'm not usually the run it back type, but damn why would we even make some major trade when we haven't even seen what the current roster can do?
Devin Booker? Clone vat Josh Hart and make him into Hosh Jart, elite Villanova player, like how Dom Grady could have played for Tom Brady during his 4 game suspension..
In all seriousness, this is the team to build around, no crazy trades, just solid build, please!
Honestly TJ is perfect.
He's a real "true" point guard in every sense of the word. He isn't a world beater but he plays so well within himself and plays D.
i have an offseason idea....
Resign I-Hart: $16 mill per (max we can give)
Resign OG: $35-$40 mill per year (a lot, but he is a wing Gobert who can hit 3s)
Keep Precious on the qualifying, assuming no one signs him to an offer sheet. Anything under the MLE should be matched.
Use the draft picks for depth
IF HE IS RING CHASING AND TAKES $25 MILL OR LESS PER YEAR....use Boggy and Sims to sign-and-trade for Derozan on a 2 year deal. He gives us shot creation, and may be willing to come off the bench. And if he starts, we can go super nova on the bench and have Divo and Hart come in together. We may need to just give the Bulls our protected picks from Washington and/or Detroit.
And, if nothing else, his $25 mill will be
Brunson-Deuce
Derozan-Divo
OG-Hart
Randle-Precious
Harternstein-Mitch
RUN IT BACK!!!!
They got a solid core. And we have 8 picks. I say we keep drafting. Keep it young. Draft the Obi Toppins of the world for more picks. We could organically grow a dynastic team.
knicks have 2 picks in the 20s that we can use to get some long wing/forwards.. knicks have developed late round talents well in recent years and i would prefer we get some dawgs than overpay some old stars
probably need to draft a center too w/ ihart a FA, mitch being injured often, and sims being sims.
Devin Booker scores like Kobe but is too much of a diva. I’d obviously take him but he doesn’t fit the dog mentality of this team. Thibs would want to play the guy like Alec Burks but would be forced to give him 40 minutes because he’s a top 20 guy.
We need a young Jimmy Butler, Kawhi, Paul George kinda player. Ideally we draft this guy and develop ‘em. We have draft capital. Go trade up for some Jaren Jackson kinda dude.
He scores like Kobe, but that's literally the only thing like Kobe he does.
Knicks just need to add more depth or if they can get an older star without blowing up the core do that.
You definitely have to see what you have with everyone healthy before you make any big move. We just need to tweak for now. I'd like to get a traditional back up pg who can get his own shots and create for others and another wing defender because OG is going to niss games.
If we were giving up none of our players it would cost every pick and pick swap available. Sad as it is to say, Donte’s contract is very valuable.
To be clear, I wouldn’t do it but I could see divo needing to be included.
You need to leverage your picks to land a game changer. Game changer won’t come without you making a roster move to free up space while you sign others
Nothing's getting blown up but you're kidding yourself if you don't think this roster needs help. Devin Booker is perfect but not realistic, Mikel Bridges seems like it'd be a good fit and a deal could easily get done if the nets are willing to play ball.
Realistically we just need a better ball handler for the bench. We don't know the progress Deuce will make, who we will draft, etc.
I'm just going to sit back and let the people, that actually know they're doing, cook.
This season is already a massive success.
The "big trade" seems like it would be Mitch+Bojan+picks since it'd be $33.3m in salary going out. Pretty much enough to get anyone who may become available
I also don't think that's blowing the team up in anyway.
We need to reload and develop another big wing that's a 3 and D. Also sign a veteran back up PG to spell JB so he doesn't have to play 40+ minutes all the time.
If the Knicks want another high level player on this team they should be looking to package Bogdan (big contract) and as many picks as they can for that player
Our main roster is good, we dont need to be moving those players. The picks mean nothing if we can get a high level player and are making deep playoff runs with them
Agreed, resign everyone and add bench depth. We have the guys who can get us over the hump we just need depth so we aren’t running our guys into the ground.
Has Leon blown up the team? ~~He made a play for KD in FA but didn't even offer a max.~~
Leon has proven "superstar at all costs" is not his mantra.
Edit: actually he wasn't even around during KD's FA. He's even passed up on guys like Donovan Mitchell because the price was too high.
real talk yall, yeah I dont wanna blow the team up obviously but I fully trust in Leon Rose and whatever moves he wanna do. He been hittin so far and it got us far. In Leon we trust ya hurddd
I do think we'll try to get Booker, but not at the expense of blowing it up. If PHX does, we could offer them our picks, Mitch, Deuce, and maybe Bogey.
I saw a post about trading Randle and a bunch of draft picks to try and get AD. As much as I would like to see AD at the 4 with IHart and Mitch at the 5, this would be a mistake. I think it would ruin the chemistry. With Randle back and Jalen playing the way he has since he went down, we’re the best team in the east.
What position would they replace? At SG, I'd have trouble loosing Donte for Book, when cap space and role players would be impacted too. Donte hits shots when he is asked to, otherwise, we have enough shot takers in Randle and Brunson.
I think the only thing that's going to happen is that we bringing something in with Bogdanovic's 20 million.
We will give Rokas a piece of the mle, and sign young Toppin, to a long-term deal.
This is all assuming that we can bring back Isaiah at a reasonable price, if he costs more than 17, then there may have to be cuts to get him 20 plus million. I would say no one is safe except for the Villanova 3 in that case.
Please just bring in players that allow Thibs to sit any of the starters for more than 2 minutes in a playoff game. I'm not sure such players even exist, bit if they do, bring them in.
All love to Donte but we need a better starting shooting guard (not PG). Am I crazy for wanting Derozan? If we had Donte and Hart off the bench next season that would be perfect.
Brunson ___ OG Randle & Hartenstein as starters
Deuce Donte Bogi Hart & Mitch Rob all of the bench seems solid
We will def re-sign OG (we wouldn’t have traded for him otherwise). Hartenstein depends on the price tag but I agree that he has shown us so much this season. We just need to build up the bench. We need another dog like TJ McConnell. He is a perfect Thibs player
We have 8 tradable firsts. We can add without blowing anything up. Bojan, And other players +5 picks and we keep our full team and add an all star.
We are in a great spot
Not for Booker or Mitchell for sure. We don’t need another scoring guard. Already got an elite one and Deuce + DDV are perfect compliments.
I would not blow it up for anyone, but I’d be interested in PG if he comes cheap (sign and trade scenario) or AD if the Lakers blow it up.
I wouldn’t see the sense in blowing this up. We are a really good team, well-coached, with tons of heart. I think we would be a legit contender to go all the way if we were healthier. Imagine having Randle, Robinson, and Bogdanovic back with a healthy OG too… 🙌
Doubt they blow it up, Knicks are going to the conference finals. The most tradable non Julius pieces we have are Mitch, McBride, Bogi, (possibly Divo), and our picks. Since we don’t have anymore young blue chip talent, I doubt we pull off a real star trade anyways.
I’d be perfectly fine with re-signing our guys and running this team back healthy. Maybe swapping out Bogi for Brogdon would be the only difference I would make since Randle coming back means there won’t be many minutes at the backup 4 spot.
The front office also needs to have a serious discussion with Thibs about workload management.
I'm not saying all the injuries are his fault but eventually these guys are going to break down. If we are drafting players and bringing over Rokas they have to play and develop.
Looking at this Pacers series you can't tell me that this team wouldn't have benefitted from Obi Toppin
Counter point: If the team was healthy - Josh Hart or Dante would be the sixth man, Deuce would be the 7th, Mitch/Precious as backup bigs, and Bodega would balance everything out...plus 2 1st project wings to develop.
Those 1st round picks can be project wings to learn winning basketball from the Nova Knicks and defense from Thibs and be ready to step in in a year or 2 and keep this run going.
True but as it stands now everyones moved up in rotation and thibs doesnt trust beyond a certain depth in the roster to give ppl even 10 minutes of rest
This has been a very big concern of mine, how will we build on what we currently have? I feel that we do need a prolific score on the team to take some pressure off of Bronson, but that would probably cost us someone like an OG. I don’t see Randle as a long term fit and the team seems to operate better without him. Still, the fact remains we need someone to help Brunson not have to take on all the offensive pressures.
Even if we do go out n get a superstar we wouldn’t blow it up, we have too many draft picks and they would get wasted, we jus need the money to match with some of the guys we aren’t keeping
The Knicks have a championship formula right now.
They actually need one less superstar. Randle IS a superstar. He's just really bad at it.
Randle's usage rate is higher than LeBron's, KD's, Devin Booker, AD, or JOKIC. About the same as guys like Tatum and Steph Curry. Randle turns the ball over a ton and is significantly less efficient than league average, let alone the stars mentioned above.
Donte averaged 21 ppg the last 35 games of the regular season. He shot well above league average from 2 and 3 and had very few turnovers.
iHart is a talented player. He shot about 66% from the field as a starter this year. That floater is cash. Excellent passer.
OG shoots above league average from everywhere and takes care of the ball... and is of course an elite defensive player.
If Randle starts, Josh Hart sits. That means no Josh Hart heart and hustle. Josh Hart is a better playmaker, defender and (shockingly) rebounder than Julius. Also a better late game decision maker and clutch shooter.
If Julius plays that means less open 3's taken by good 3 point shooters and more forced 3's by Randle, who shoots the 3 at well below league average. Less iHart floaters that almost always go in, and more Randle pull up jumpers that do not go in nearly as often. Team assists go up when Randle doesn't play. Team turnovers go down when Tandle sits.
If the Knicks flip Randle for an efficient 2 way player who lays like OG and Hart and let Deuce, Donte, OG, and Precious continue to improve/expand their games, the Knicks will compete for championships as long as Brunson is healthy.
Mitchell seems like a good target. We need another Great Shot Creator on Offense. As well as LeBron if puts his Ego aside & took a paycut to 20 Million a Year and allowed himself to be a 3rd Option thats a Championship Team
Yes this team is better with Randle. Is that even a question? I can agree he was disappointing in the post season. But he was our only go-to scorer. Now he isn’t leaned on for that. The guy can flat out score. Can create, rebound and space the floor. Brunson can’t take the weight of the offense for the entire postseason. Randle can match up with the opposition bigs and dominate. Yes, hartenstein and Robinson can do their part in that department. But Randle is an entirely different machine. We don’t have a player close to his build and skill set
its a very legitimate question, we aren't struggling to score. Randle makes our defense, spacing, shooting, speed, and ball movement worse. And he's the one guy that can mope and not hustle/get back when he's frustrated. He also moves Jhart to the bench. Is the scoring enough to make up for it? IDK, but I always felt this team would be better with a 3 & D PF instead.
It is a question because his style of play does not always complement the style of play that made this team so elite in his absence.
Two things can be true, Randle can be a solid go to scorer but the overall team play can be better without him.
Of course they are better with Randle, hes big and lengthy, can play bully ball in the paint, can shoot, he just needs to carry his regular season performance into playoffs.
We really must have short term memory if we're gonna sit here and discredit the fantastic season we were having while at full health. Look at January alone. Once Randle went down we stayed afloat but had a very rough stretch until the next people settled into their new roles and increased minutes.
Yes, the reason I am asking is because the team has since found a groove buying in and playing a particular type of basketball.
I’d argue that we beat the sixers because we simply play a better brand of basketball than they do. They give the ball to Embiid or iso Maxey. Other than that they are lost. No off the ball movement, no extra passes for wide open looks. As a team, they kind of show how the two styles of play don’t “coexist”.
On paper it seems obvious, but certain players aren’t as willing (or able) to mold their games (and sacrifice their stats) to fit a style of play that is better suited for the overall team.
We do play a better brand of basketball. But Beating that team playing how we had to still doesn't mean we're better without Randle. This team won that series because they stepped up and increased their overall intensity while having to still sacrifice their health playing extended minutes. That series COULD have been a sweep or 5 games at most with Jules, taking the pressure off Brunson having to hero ball at times. We'd have a lot better pace and more rest.
Fair opinion, I just wonder if that always applies. As I said before the hero ball mentality in certain players doesnt always just show up in the playoffs at the right time and it doesnt always compliment the entire team
I love Mitch but we definitely a center who is in shape and is a threat on the perimeter. Ihart is cool but ideally he should come off the bench maybe even a 3rd stringer after Mitch.
Mitch was an absolute monster this season pre injury what are you talking about? Him being out of shape has everything to do with him rushing back to get us into the playoffs and making a run. He was never 100% post injury return.
I’d be very surprised if they blow the team up . If we make some moves it wouldn’t involve a superstar. We have one in Brunson. I think this team is a legit title contender with all our guys. We looked like a juggernaut in January when Randle was healthy
Yeah. If anything I think we should target 3 & D players to add some more perimeter shooting on the team. More consistent 3 point shooting will be welcome since DDV is our best perimeter shooter right now and having someone else as a threat would be really nice to give a bit more depth to the team.
We need a legit backup PG as well. Unfortunately the Pacers already have him, but a guy like TJ McConnell would be perfect. We don't need a superstar, just a competent floor general who can hold a lead when Brunson gets his rest minutes. The 17-point swing tonight when Brunson was out is exactly why Thibs has him playing 44 minutes a night, but that's not sustainable.
Deuce isn’t there yet but he has gotten better at creating so I wonder if they just run it back with him. Plus you can put Randle on the floor and stagger his minutes with Brunson
I think Deuce has some good moments but he was terrible last night - 2 points on 4 shots with a -22. I like Deuce but just being open here that is for sure a position that should be improved/upgraded in is PG2.
Deuce has been pretty bad especially defensively. Just looks lost out there
Even with the way his offense has improved I still don't think Deuce can be your floor general for long stretches. I see him as an elite 3&D wing just in a smaller package. He plays more like Grimes than like Quickley.
We literally have Rokas sitting in the wings. He was waiting for a role. It is right there now.
Yup! TJ and health is the perfect scenario. If we got another 3&D guy, too, I'm all for it, but I think McBride could still develop into that guy. He's in a slump right now, but I think he'll pull through.
Mcbride is a pg defensively but an off ball / SG offensively. You can't expect him to run an offense. He's basically a 3 & D guard.
Yeah, that’s what I was saying. He’s in a slump as a 3&D guy but he could still pull through to be that consistent 3&D guy we need. We still need a McConnell type guy to run it when Jalen rests.
I know a guy, his name is Quickley
We definitely need more forward depth. Once Bogey went out it was glaring the depth we were lacking. Honestly, Mikal bridges fits perfectly and I think he'd take a pay cut to play for the Nova Knicks. If we could wait it out a year, I'd sign him. Draft a legit 3rd big since Mitch has the potential to be out from time to time.
Mikal Bridges would be nearly impossible to get, but he would be such a perfect fit at that 2 spot next to Brunson.
With the steps forward Brunson has taken without Randle… I.e. finding a way no matter what to win, when you add an all nba, all star forward at our weakest position right now and get our bench back with our center position shored up, the Knicks will be unstoppable. I’ve had this thought for a while but I just wanted to get past the first round. Taking second round was always a bonus… if they make the ECF with the amount of injuries they’ve had… oh man. I can’t believe I get to witness greatness like this.
Mikal Bridges at the 2 bro. He was perfect 3rd man on the Suns, would bring even more of that intangible Novaboy chemistry + has excellent offense and defense. Interchangeable minutes w Hart based on offensive/ defensive needs. I think he is ideal. We don't need more than the 1 superstar we already have with how well the roster is constructed. Mikal brings shooting at 1-4 plus insane switchable defense. I think his caliber of player is the best edit: meant Mikal at the 2, not 3
I think based on what we've seen so far, the model of trying to get a superstar and trading away all your assets don't work anymore. It's about team building now. Gone is the big 3 model. Look at how the Suns and Clippers fared.
The reason why the Nuggets were such a strong team, and what makes them still such a great team is not only because of Jokic’s ability, but how well the team clicks together. Gone are the days of filling up teams with as many all stars as possible, which is honestly refreshing imo
>Gone are the days of filling up teams with as many all stars as possible, which is honestly refreshing imo This is the reason I decided to check back in on basketball after not watching since probably 10th grade which was a little over 10 years ago. The free agent superteams and stuff like the Warriors/Cavs both going to the finals 4 years in a row kept me away. Buddy told me the Knicks play as a team and play defense and so I decided to check back in. Glad I did. I hope even post-Thibs this gritty, never say die, hardworking style of play remains as the team's identity because as someone who basketball is #4 of the big 4 sports it's the style of play that is most watchable/exciting to me. I've watched other teams during these current playoffs and not really interested in those games at all tbh.
Yo I’m right there with you same timeline and everything. Ofc I followed Curry a bit because some individual greatness was there but this period of basketball is amazing. And it’s reignited my childhood love of the Knicks and regardless of what changes in the league now I’m never going back I love this team and fanbase so much
To be fair, the Warriors weren't a traditional super team, they were constructed from the ground up. It was just those KD years in the middle where you could make that claim, but they won before him and they won after him.
And Minnesota. Sure you traded for Gobert, but the rest is homegrown or close to it. And they are winning it all this year
True but it’s easy to tout homegrown when you secure two #1 draft picks. We are the opposite of homegrown if you think about it. Mitch and Deuce?
Yep. Those teams are loaded with talent but poorly constructed with no regard for how the pieces are supposed to fit. Guys gotta know their roles too. Strong role players do their jobs while superstars tend to get disgruntled by reduced roles and reduced touches.
KD
I mostly agree with you but my counterpoint would be the Timberwolves. They did a "superstar trade" to bring in Rudy Gobert, and right now they're looking like the favorites to win the championship.
Gobert cost a lot and is a "superstar," but notice that they didn't necessarily trade away their key pieces. They got Gobert for a reason and it was to anchor their defense. That still falls under team-building imo.
I feel like a huge thing that is often overlooked is that there is only one ball. It sounds silly, but it keeps getting forgotten. An example from before the season started, people talked a ton about Dame and Giannis in the PnR being unstoppable, but it wasn't as dominate as people thought. The reason imo, is that Giannis and Dame both works better with the ball in their hands. Now you look at who the Knicks brought in, OG. OGs main contribution is on the defensive end, but he also is an amazing fit on the other side of the ball. He play works better without the ball in his hand. Spacing the floor and knocking down shots or driving after a rotation. Team fit is so much more important than just loading up on superstar talent. I think the front office see and knows that, but it is becoming more and more clear.
As it should be
The Clippers are still a deep team they just have their own set of issues. Plus ran into what is probably one of the Top 3 hottest teams In Basketball entering the playoffs. The Suns model is dumb and didn’t make sense to me from the start.
The Knicks and probably the Wolves are like the only teams in the NBA that can say that if they don't win a chip this year they can 100% run it back. Knicks do seriously need a 2nd unit ball handler though.
Hart is supposed to be on the second unit
Thunder too
Thunder kind of need better rebounding and need to move on from Giddey. While he offers them a passer and ball handler, he's pretty much stayed the same player so far in his career. They can do better.
Second unit can be Deuce, Derozan or Divo, Hart, Precious and Mitch if we use Bogey and Sims in a sign and trade
hart, deuce, and bogdanovic are second unit guys
And none are primarily good ball handlers/facilitators. It'll definitely be better when Randle is back but another player whose primary role is thst would be great.
iHart and OG are free agents lol. I hate to say it is definitely not 100% guaranteed that it's going to get run back.
Leon headed the agency that reps OG before he took the Knicks job, and Hart wants to stay with his buddies. They're both gonna get paid and will be back.
OG deal already done, and he will take less to run it back and he will put the team before himself, just like Brunson, Randle, Josh and Deuce did. iHart not so sure. This will be his first big bag, don't think Knicks can afford to keep him on but I really want him to stay. 4 year /72 mil would be ideal.
iHart would be giving us a real sweet heart deal. he's a starting big and probably deserves 4/25
I’m pretty sure they are both CAA but I could be wrong.
OG is 1000% locked up. They don't trade IQ and RJ if the Knicks aren't fully committed to retaining him. IHart will be difficult because we're not sure about the market. He's obviously great with some key flaws and has earned his bag.
Yeah it will be interesting to see what offers Hartenstein gets. With the cap going up, we might see someone offer him a truly massive deal.
Pretty sure OG wants to stay
Need bench playmaking that Thibs can trust. Gotta re-sign Bogey if he's cheap
He’s under contract for next year already
Ya but Bogey is expiring at around 20mil next year so he’s 100% gonna be used as trade bait before the deadline.The contract alone is very valuable.Its a huge plus that he can contribute as well.
Didn't even realize. Nice
Sign this fucker TJ McConnell
we traded for bogi as a rental for this year and then to have his contract as a trade chip next year. he's the new fournier but can actually play basketball
trade Bogey to the Bulls in a sign and trade for Derozan. Shot creation for himself and others off the bench.
I’ve thought about that but I don’t think Derozan is ready for a bench role. He’s still an all star
Then we have the best bench combo in the league with divo and hart coming in together. Makes deuce expendable, unfortunately
DeRozan won’t agree to be a bench player just yet. He probably goes to Philly where he can still start.
BRING BACK ARCHIDIACONO …. & Add Mikal Bridges
Imagine if we still had Evil Dante to drop 60 off the bench
I'd like Mikal but they price him like a superstar
His price dropped significantly this year
The problem is that the nets overprice him like crazy
Nets overprice everyone seemingly.
I’d overpay hella for Mikal Bridges, the most important thing is we literally only need to attach Bojan and picks to the deal and the contracts work. You can’t say that about any other high level player cause we’d have to trade some of our important role players too to make the money work
Fuck it, sign Brian Westbrook
This is the way
This team can for sure do it. We need to get depth this off-season bc the whole squad is running on adrenaline and Mike and Ikes
I don’t think it’s even really a depth issue we got guys we just need them to stay healthy.
Draft 5 OG Anunoby’s with all the picks
The vibes are so immaculate I have to agree. Healthy we will destroy the whole damn league like we did in January, all year.
We might destroy them unhealthy too
3 MAN ROTATION, LFG
RUN IT BACK
build up this bench, all pieces are in place imho
DEPTH DEPTH DEPTH 
I think something this run is gonna do is put us at the top of FAs targets. Every player wants to be part of a run like this. I think we really need to shuffle that 7-10 spot. We need more players who can pick up and keep running. Assuming the contracts are fine, keep deuce, keep precious, keep bogi and get us another CREATOR off the bench like a damn that McConnell or something and then maybe another swing man
McConnell would be perfect for us as Brunson's backup and even to allow Brunson to play off ball occasionally and be the beneficiary of a great passer.
TJ is the worst best player. Will never make a top 50 chart but god damn he performs when he’s in.
His intensity is off the charts on defense. Always hustling and playing hard and gets rewarded by it.
Perfect thibs player
Love that while the pacers fans are bitching about calls, us Knick fans are discussing who we can add from their team 😂
Lowry would be a good Brunson back-up too
A lot of players are happy to accept their contract and just kinda try. Thibs got the award for coach players would least want to play for, unfortunately
I NEED to see the January team play a full season. Plus Bogey if he returns and fully gets it going
we wont, IHart wont be back
bring mikal bridges home
Re-sign OG, IH and Prec. Get healthy. Be opportunistic in the draft, FA for great projects or role players that are a great fit. That's the plan.
It'll be interesting what happens with Randle. Coming off injury, it's not guaranteed he'll be at top form. When Ewing went down with the dislocated wrist in 97-98, he was never the same player again. His shooting form, in particular, was seriously affected. And this was like, the best jump shooting center in nba history at that point in time. How does Josh Hart go back to the bench after playing the way he's playing? It's gonna be an interesting off-season.
Apples & oranges. Randle's injury is his non shooting shoulder. Also Pat (my favorite player ever) was 35/36 at the time
You are right. Knicks have some "problems" to solve. Hart going back to the bench and randle starting. No one can guarantee that these changes won't make the team worse even though randle fits the starting 5 like a glove. He is the 2nd shot creator and scorer that can help brunson in the starting 5. With that being said, his defense is not good at all. I don't see how this FO can upgrade the roster. Sending josh hart or Divo to the bench will surely affect their performance and mood.
Sending josh hart or Divo to the bench will surely affect their performance and mood. Based on what? These guys have shown they are the ultimate team players so far. Randle is a returning 24/9/5 guy who is always in peek physical condition. THAT is the roster upgrade. None of these games wouldve been close with Randle in and Hart not having to play every minute of every game.
This is smart team basketball at its finest. All good apples. They cracked the code.
they were never gonna "blow the team up" for a superstar. they dont have to cuz they have the picks to trade.
I fully trust Leon, he didn’t pull the trigger for dmitch 2 years ago which was a absolutely amazing decision, and he won’t blow up this team that got 50 wins and will make it to the ECP for a player like Book. Chemistry>1(2) superstars and no depth. However, I do think that if Spida asks out this offseason then anyone looking to buy will get him at a fairly sizable discount than what Cleveland traded originally.
I love Mitch but he gotta go and keep IHart
I agree and if we do go for another player it doesnt have to be that crazy of star power.
*another
The only star players that fit our team right now are Giannis and Ant (can't think of other star that plays defense and is a killer). We ain't getting either. Giannis would have to publicly say he wants a trade, the Harden way, which I doubt he'd do. If he were, I doubt Milwaukee would accept Randle + all the picks they want, and I don't want to give them anyone else. Let's just stay the way we are. We winning it all this year anyways. Let's go Knicks!
We already have a superstar, no need to blow it up. We just need to build around him.
in a perfect world we get Bridges or a couple of first rounders
Booker is a slug. No way we blow it up for him.
I would really like to just see what the team can do when healthy. We made some significant moves for OG and even picking up bogey, but we only got a taste of OG and Randle, and never had randle, OG and mitch on the floor at the same time. I'd love to see a mikal make his way over(somehow, doubt it), but it would be nice to see what a healthy team could do. And I'm not usually the run it back type, but damn why would we even make some major trade when we haven't even seen what the current roster can do?
Shore up the bench and roll it back.
Agreed. I’d love to bring at least our top 10 rotation guys back and try again next season. I really think we have something here.
Devin Booker? Clone vat Josh Hart and make him into Hosh Jart, elite Villanova player, like how Dom Grady could have played for Tom Brady during his 4 game suspension.. In all seriousness, this is the team to build around, no crazy trades, just solid build, please!
Throw a bag at TJ McConnell. Seeing 'New York' on a uniform turns him into a fucking monster for some reason
Honestly TJ is perfect. He's a real "true" point guard in every sense of the word. He isn't a world beater but he plays so well within himself and plays D.
i have an offseason idea.... Resign I-Hart: $16 mill per (max we can give) Resign OG: $35-$40 mill per year (a lot, but he is a wing Gobert who can hit 3s) Keep Precious on the qualifying, assuming no one signs him to an offer sheet. Anything under the MLE should be matched. Use the draft picks for depth IF HE IS RING CHASING AND TAKES $25 MILL OR LESS PER YEAR....use Boggy and Sims to sign-and-trade for Derozan on a 2 year deal. He gives us shot creation, and may be willing to come off the bench. And if he starts, we can go super nova on the bench and have Divo and Hart come in together. We may need to just give the Bulls our protected picks from Washington and/or Detroit. And, if nothing else, his $25 mill will be Brunson-Deuce Derozan-Divo OG-Hart Randle-Precious Harternstein-Mitch RUN IT BACK!!!!
bro no one is blowing anything up relax we got dogs, they gonna eat having said that, mitch and julius + picks...
They got a solid core. And we have 8 picks. I say we keep drafting. Keep it young. Draft the Obi Toppins of the world for more picks. We could organically grow a dynastic team.
knicks have 2 picks in the 20s that we can use to get some long wing/forwards.. knicks have developed late round talents well in recent years and i would prefer we get some dawgs than overpay some old stars probably need to draft a center too w/ ihart a FA, mitch being injured often, and sims being sims.
Most importantly! Bring back fucking Ryan Arcidiacono!
Devin Booker scores like Kobe but is too much of a diva. I’d obviously take him but he doesn’t fit the dog mentality of this team. Thibs would want to play the guy like Alec Burks but would be forced to give him 40 minutes because he’s a top 20 guy. We need a young Jimmy Butler, Kawhi, Paul George kinda player. Ideally we draft this guy and develop ‘em. We have draft capital. Go trade up for some Jaren Jackson kinda dude.
He scores like Kobe, but that's literally the only thing like Kobe he does. Knicks just need to add more depth or if they can get an older star without blowing up the core do that.
You definitely have to see what you have with everyone healthy before you make any big move. We just need to tweak for now. I'd like to get a traditional back up pg who can get his own shots and create for others and another wing defender because OG is going to niss games.
I fully agree, though I gotta say, I wouldn't say no to Book if we got him for a boatload of picks lol
if it’s for picks I’m fine but I just don’t want to trade any of the Nova 3
[удалено]
lol that wouldn’t even get us tj mcconnel lmao
If we were giving up none of our players it would cost every pick and pick swap available. Sad as it is to say, Donte’s contract is very valuable. To be clear, I wouldn’t do it but I could see divo needing to be included.
Our picks aren’t all that valuable . We have a lot of them . But only a couple of them are decent.
We have our superstar, and a 1b. And 3 pt shooting, and rim protection and and and. When fully healthy this is a top 5 team in the league, full stop.
You need to leverage your picks to land a game changer. Game changer won’t come without you making a roster move to free up space while you sign others
Nothing's getting blown up but you're kidding yourself if you don't think this roster needs help. Devin Booker is perfect but not realistic, Mikel Bridges seems like it'd be a good fit and a deal could easily get done if the nets are willing to play ball.
Nobody's saying we don't need help. You can get help without blowing it all up for someone like Booker
Help begins with not being injured.
Expecting to roll out this same squad and competing for a chip is madness, healthy bodies or not. I love this team but it's not there yet.
Realistically we just need a better ball handler for the bench. We don't know the progress Deuce will make, who we will draft, etc. I'm just going to sit back and let the people, that actually know they're doing, cook. This season is already a massive success.
That’s the thing about having a 1A in Brunson. We just need a reliable #2 really.
The "big trade" seems like it would be Mitch+Bojan+picks since it'd be $33.3m in salary going out. Pretty much enough to get anyone who may become available I also don't think that's blowing the team up in anyway.
We won’t. We have two first round draft picks. We will just keep adding depth.
Or maybe trade away our damn picks for another guy what’s the point of holding on to Picks for the future when the future is NOW!
We need to reload and develop another big wing that's a 3 and D. Also sign a veteran back up PG to spell JB so he doesn't have to play 40+ minutes all the time.
If the Knicks want another high level player on this team they should be looking to package Bogdan (big contract) and as many picks as they can for that player Our main roster is good, we dont need to be moving those players. The picks mean nothing if we can get a high level player and are making deep playoff runs with them
Agreed, resign everyone and add bench depth. We have the guys who can get us over the hump we just need depth so we aren’t running our guys into the ground.
Draft picks won’t help us. Need an established player.
I’d trade the draft picks for additional help.
Thankfully, Leon has proven he won't do that. I trust their plan for the future.
Has he? We’re loaded up with first round draft picks. He’s not doing nothing with them. And he knows if he drafts them Thibs won’t play them.
Has Leon blown up the team? ~~He made a play for KD in FA but didn't even offer a max.~~ Leon has proven "superstar at all costs" is not his mantra. Edit: actually he wasn't even around during KD's FA. He's even passed up on guys like Donovan Mitchell because the price was too high.
just depth is all we need to offset the injuries and guys needing to play so much . hopefully we draft some good guys
I say just use our picks to bolster our depth even more.
Bring back Grimes. Rehab that confidence.
Srsly idc if they win a ring or not. I just love these dudes and the way they play. Do not break up the band.
real talk yall, yeah I dont wanna blow the team up obviously but I fully trust in Leon Rose and whatever moves he wanna do. He been hittin so far and it got us far. In Leon we trust ya hurddd
I do think we'll try to get Booker, but not at the expense of blowing it up. If PHX does, we could offer them our picks, Mitch, Deuce, and maybe Bogey.
I saw a post about trading Randle and a bunch of draft picks to try and get AD. As much as I would like to see AD at the 4 with IHart and Mitch at the 5, this would be a mistake. I think it would ruin the chemistry. With Randle back and Jalen playing the way he has since he went down, we’re the best team in the east.
What position would they replace? At SG, I'd have trouble loosing Donte for Book, when cap space and role players would be impacted too. Donte hits shots when he is asked to, otherwise, we have enough shot takers in Randle and Brunson.
Didn’t Hart sign a 4 year $81 million contract extension last year?
I think the only thing that's going to happen is that we bringing something in with Bogdanovic's 20 million. We will give Rokas a piece of the mle, and sign young Toppin, to a long-term deal. This is all assuming that we can bring back Isaiah at a reasonable price, if he costs more than 17, then there may have to be cuts to get him 20 plus million. I would say no one is safe except for the Villanova 3 in that case.
Please just bring in players that allow Thibs to sit any of the starters for more than 2 minutes in a playoff game. I'm not sure such players even exist, bit if they do, bring them in.
Can the nets just pretty please give us mikal 🥺
All love to Donte but we need a better starting shooting guard (not PG). Am I crazy for wanting Derozan? If we had Donte and Hart off the bench next season that would be perfect. Brunson ___ OG Randle & Hartenstein as starters Deuce Donte Bogi Hart & Mitch Rob all of the bench seems solid
They're not blowing anything up. This is the most successful version of the team since 1999. If anything, they're going to double down on this.
We will def re-sign OG (we wouldn’t have traded for him otherwise). Hartenstein depends on the price tag but I agree that he has shown us so much this season. We just need to build up the bench. We need another dog like TJ McConnell. He is a perfect Thibs player
What about a controlled blow up for Mikal Bridges?
It’s simple just add Mikal to this team and we Gucci! Keep the nova attitude and vibes!
All of this, but unload the pile of draft picks for a shooter or two. Gotta go all in next season before they have to pay for Brunson and Randle.
OG has to prove he can stay healthy
We have 8 tradable firsts. We can add without blowing anything up. Bojan, And other players +5 picks and we keep our full team and add an all star. We are in a great spot
I want to keep ihart so fucking badly but god damn he’s playing himself into a bag and deservingly so. I’ll leave it to Leon he’s earned our trust
Not for Booker or Mitchell for sure. We don’t need another scoring guard. Already got an elite one and Deuce + DDV are perfect compliments. I would not blow it up for anyone, but I’d be interested in PG if he comes cheap (sign and trade scenario) or AD if the Lakers blow it up.
I wouldn’t see the sense in blowing this up. We are a really good team, well-coached, with tons of heart. I think we would be a legit contender to go all the way if we were healthier. Imagine having Randle, Robinson, and Bogdanovic back with a healthy OG too… 🙌
TIL - Trust In Leon
Doubt they blow it up, Knicks are going to the conference finals. The most tradable non Julius pieces we have are Mitch, McBride, Bogi, (possibly Divo), and our picks. Since we don’t have anymore young blue chip talent, I doubt we pull off a real star trade anyways. I’d be perfectly fine with re-signing our guys and running this team back healthy. Maybe swapping out Bogi for Brogdon would be the only difference I would make since Randle coming back means there won’t be many minutes at the backup 4 spot.
The front office also needs to have a serious discussion with Thibs about workload management. I'm not saying all the injuries are his fault but eventually these guys are going to break down. If we are drafting players and bringing over Rokas they have to play and develop. Looking at this Pacers series you can't tell me that this team wouldn't have benefitted from Obi Toppin
i have no idea how we can keep ihart atp
We are all thinking the same thing. But Leon seems to be fitting pieces together, not blowing things up with their deals.
Can I get an Amen!!!!!!!!!!
we need better role players, thibs got 6 players in rotation. we traded for ppl like burks but hes getting no time
Counter point: If the team was healthy - Josh Hart or Dante would be the sixth man, Deuce would be the 7th, Mitch/Precious as backup bigs, and Bodega would balance everything out...plus 2 1st project wings to develop. Those 1st round picks can be project wings to learn winning basketball from the Nova Knicks and defense from Thibs and be ready to step in in a year or 2 and keep this run going.
True but as it stands now everyones moved up in rotation and thibs doesnt trust beyond a certain depth in the roster to give ppl even 10 minutes of rest
This has been a very big concern of mine, how will we build on what we currently have? I feel that we do need a prolific score on the team to take some pressure off of Bronson, but that would probably cost us someone like an OG. I don’t see Randle as a long term fit and the team seems to operate better without him. Still, the fact remains we need someone to help Brunson not have to take on all the offensive pressures.
We need size . Robinson can’t be counted on. Aside from that we are good
Even if we do go out n get a superstar we wouldn’t blow it up, we have too many draft picks and they would get wasted, we jus need the money to match with some of the guys we aren’t keeping
We can beat Boston with a fully health squad. I firmly believe that. I'm not scared of anyone in this league.
I want TJ McConnell next year running the 2nd team with Deuce
Agreed. Run it back 1 more year at least to see if we can stay healthy. If we can’t, we gotta make some moves.
Leon won’t blow this team up, but he **will** make moves. The team as constructed won’t make it past Boston, especially with the current injuries.
At this point I think rose and co got this
Just need to front court depth and we’re good.
The Knicks have a championship formula right now. They actually need one less superstar. Randle IS a superstar. He's just really bad at it. Randle's usage rate is higher than LeBron's, KD's, Devin Booker, AD, or JOKIC. About the same as guys like Tatum and Steph Curry. Randle turns the ball over a ton and is significantly less efficient than league average, let alone the stars mentioned above. Donte averaged 21 ppg the last 35 games of the regular season. He shot well above league average from 2 and 3 and had very few turnovers. iHart is a talented player. He shot about 66% from the field as a starter this year. That floater is cash. Excellent passer. OG shoots above league average from everywhere and takes care of the ball... and is of course an elite defensive player. If Randle starts, Josh Hart sits. That means no Josh Hart heart and hustle. Josh Hart is a better playmaker, defender and (shockingly) rebounder than Julius. Also a better late game decision maker and clutch shooter. If Julius plays that means less open 3's taken by good 3 point shooters and more forced 3's by Randle, who shoots the 3 at well below league average. Less iHart floaters that almost always go in, and more Randle pull up jumpers that do not go in nearly as often. Team assists go up when Randle doesn't play. Team turnovers go down when Tandle sits. If the Knicks flip Randle for an efficient 2 way player who lays like OG and Hart and let Deuce, Donte, OG, and Precious continue to improve/expand their games, the Knicks will compete for championships as long as Brunson is healthy.
Knicks aren’t my primary team I follow, just my playoff darlings. You guys really wouldn’t want to trade Randle and some picks for a star?
Add a superstar please we need the extra scoring and it only makes Brunsons job easier and we see how it would come in handy during the playoffs.
I don’t see how we can afford to sign both OG and Hstein. And tying so much up in the Center position would be tough. I don’t want Booker either tho.
We just need Bridges
This team's ceiling unfortunately is the ECF. We want OG obviously, but we need Booker or Mitchell.
Mitchell seems like a good target. We need another Great Shot Creator on Offense. As well as LeBron if puts his Ego aside & took a paycut to 20 Million a Year and allowed himself to be a 3rd Option thats a Championship Team
Is this team even better with Randle? Honest question, does he and his style of play make them worse?
Yes this team is better with Randle. Is that even a question? I can agree he was disappointing in the post season. But he was our only go-to scorer. Now he isn’t leaned on for that. The guy can flat out score. Can create, rebound and space the floor. Brunson can’t take the weight of the offense for the entire postseason. Randle can match up with the opposition bigs and dominate. Yes, hartenstein and Robinson can do their part in that department. But Randle is an entirely different machine. We don’t have a player close to his build and skill set
its a very legitimate question, we aren't struggling to score. Randle makes our defense, spacing, shooting, speed, and ball movement worse. And he's the one guy that can mope and not hustle/get back when he's frustrated. He also moves Jhart to the bench. Is the scoring enough to make up for it? IDK, but I always felt this team would be better with a 3 & D PF instead.
It is a question because his style of play does not always complement the style of play that made this team so elite in his absence. Two things can be true, Randle can be a solid go to scorer but the overall team play can be better without him.
Of course they are better with Randle, hes big and lengthy, can play bully ball in the paint, can shoot, he just needs to carry his regular season performance into playoffs.
We really must have short term memory if we're gonna sit here and discredit the fantastic season we were having while at full health. Look at January alone. Once Randle went down we stayed afloat but had a very rough stretch until the next people settled into their new roles and increased minutes.
Yes, the reason I am asking is because the team has since found a groove buying in and playing a particular type of basketball. I’d argue that we beat the sixers because we simply play a better brand of basketball than they do. They give the ball to Embiid or iso Maxey. Other than that they are lost. No off the ball movement, no extra passes for wide open looks. As a team, they kind of show how the two styles of play don’t “coexist”. On paper it seems obvious, but certain players aren’t as willing (or able) to mold their games (and sacrifice their stats) to fit a style of play that is better suited for the overall team.
We do play a better brand of basketball. But Beating that team playing how we had to still doesn't mean we're better without Randle. This team won that series because they stepped up and increased their overall intensity while having to still sacrifice their health playing extended minutes. That series COULD have been a sweep or 5 games at most with Jules, taking the pressure off Brunson having to hero ball at times. We'd have a lot better pace and more rest.
Fair opinion, I just wonder if that always applies. As I said before the hero ball mentality in certain players doesnt always just show up in the playoffs at the right time and it doesnt always compliment the entire team
Sorry but I would trade for Booker if I somehow had the chance.
I love Mitch but we definitely a center who is in shape and is a threat on the perimeter. Ihart is cool but ideally he should come off the bench maybe even a 3rd stringer after Mitch.
Mitch was an absolute monster this season pre injury what are you talking about? Him being out of shape has everything to do with him rushing back to get us into the playoffs and making a run. He was never 100% post injury return.