As for the team in regards to close games, first in OT: 2-6 half of them ended within a basket either way. If you take out the Boston OT win, they haven't won an OT game since 10/26, eek. For non-OT mixed in, they are what their record states, about a .500 team. They do win more close games in regulation. So, in tight ones and OT, they are 8-7.

Things we know, they won't fire Thibs this late into the season, especially with a current winning and soon-to-be losing record. Cam will be traded or stay DNP'd, EF is the same. D Rose, who knows what that story is? He is a Thibs guy and was a spark off the bench just 2 seasons ago, and now a DNP guy. Who knew we would miss Taj this much? Trades probably won't make an impact, so lateral moves. Mitch's return will help some. Obi is misused on this team and might get traded selling low. Sims is a waste without PnRs, shouldn't be starting. RJ is coached poorly. Randle despite playing mostly great given his skillset still has a low IQ and doesn't know when to stop complaining and get back on D.

Positives, Grimes and IQ, look very solid. JB we got lucky to get him this cheap. Randle plays with heart. RJ has the talent, just needs to be held accountable (Bryant fix him like you mostly did Jules). Mitch plays well when not injured. Obi has talent and a nice corner 3, plus he rebounds. iHart has been misused but plays tough, even if his shot is sometimes brutal. Svi actually knows how to hit a 3, even in garbage time. Cam has the talent and would have definitely helped in some of these games, but maybe his mind isn't right. Yet, others still get playtime despite turnovers and acting like babies. Rose is a vet, maybe he is shot, if not he could be helping. Even EF gave effort the other night, being rusty was expected with his lack of usage. But RJ can go 0-5 & 1-8 from 3, guard no one, foul everyone and get a game-leading 44 minutes.

Some trade players the Knicks have been linked to aren't the answer. Beasley, pass. Vandy, maybe, but doesn't help offensively enough to matter. OG, yes, but the cost will be too much. Lavine probably stays or costs too much. Bey, sure, for the right cost and that isn't Obi plus a 1st, Obi is a 1st. Caruso, pass, we already have IQ. Grayson, sure, but what's the cost, and do they even want to move him?

Just another season of not being good or bad enough to improve or for anyone to care. Until they change that, this will continue and the NBA/refs will continue to abuse this franchise with disrespect.

NYStateOfMind wrote:Hate to bust the bubble, but without a good trade, my predicted 10 wins mean a total of 38 wins and probably outside the play-in tourney. Seems more like fact given this current roster and coaching, moreso than over-analyzing. I post mostly facts/direct observations with some opinions.

SergioNYK wrote:No need to over analyze. We will finish 41-45 wins and 7th-10th and be in the playin unless we can make a good trade this week.

Why prognosticate and defend your predictions? Sit back, enjoy the games, the contest, the highs and the lows.
Maybe your right. Maybe not.
We beat good teams, we lose to some we think are not. Some teams will improve perhaps like Orlando, others might falter due to injury. Us included.
We walked into this season with Brunson better than expected, Randle at his ceiling, and RJ in some aspects not performing to expectation. Can’t say what he is experiencing but not ready to read the tea leaves of his future and guess.
He makes 10mm this year and some are lambasting him for his payout in 4 years (still not 30mil) at age 25 FOR HIS PLAY THIS SEASON THUS FAR. LIke thinking “my 14 year old can’t clean his room or do his homework without being told, how is he ever going to get married?” Well, things can change.
Maybe he never improves and is a low efficient 20 pts scorer in 4 years? Mabye his salary will not be so crazy depending on how contracts keep going up.
Some of us love to prognosticate future with little imagination to what can be.
Its your prerogative.

Last night I knew knicks had lost but really enjoyed the 4th quarter come back. Started by the yoot and our starters did ok. RJ, hit a clutch 3 with 2.5 min left and another two pt shot. I saw ball movement by him and others at the end of the game rather than Iso hero ball. The open look to grimes? The passes to iHart inside. All plays run.
We saw Clippers Iso with their stars. its what stars do.

The garden rocked. That shot by Batum was a calculated one that I think our coaches were ok with. Never ok to like any loss but the team showed a good look in the 4th quarter.
Clippers with thier two stars healthy are very formidable.

I miss anything important?

NYStateOfMind wrote:Hate to bust the bubble, but without a good trade, my predicted 10 wins mean a total of 38 wins and probably outside the play-in tourney. Seems more like fact given this current roster and coaching, moreso than over-analyzing. I post mostly facts/direct observations with some opinions.

SergioNYK wrote:No need to over analyze. We will finish 41-45 wins and 7th-10th and be in the playin unless we can make a good trade this week.

Depends:
We have Grimes back now. Missed many games.
We hopefully have MR back. Missed a lot of games.
RJ play hopefully gets more consistent.
Second unit has Obi back. Seems to make a difference in their play.

Of course we can improve by adding talent for pieces not being used but think the current roster will surprise. If not, use the season to see which one of our developmental pieces are worth Regardless, my view is not as bleak.

HofstraBBall wrote:

GustavBahler wrote:The only thing that really concerns me about RJ is his lack of lateral movement on defense. As soon as the player RJ is defending, makes his move to the rim. He isnt even trying to move east/west to cut the player off. RJ is immediately turning towards the basket, giving the player the lane. Thats Matador D, no two ways around it.

I used to be a really lousy defender. Couldnt stop anyone on a bball court who was fast. Finally got fed up, and just focused on moving as fast east/west as I could north/south. Also did calisthenics and weight training to strengthen my hips. It really worked. I hope RJ realizes that improving his lateral quickness could be a game changer for him. Will help on offense as well. I dont buy that this is the best Barrett can do.

With all the criticism RJ got last nite, which was fair. Randle's 4th quarter performance was just as bad. RJ has a wingman in the 4th. Who plays a more important role in the offense. Not pulling his weight when it matters. Some of that is going to fall on RJ. At 22, he's not ready to consistently be that player yet.

RJ had a rep for keeping cool under pressure in the 4th. Bad starts, strong finishes was his rep. He doesnt look that way now. Part of it is RJ needing to work on his defense. Which will help his confidence. And not having a wingman who #*%@ the bed in the 4th too often. RJ had his benching...

Disagree,
If your guy taking 21 shots shoots 28%, you lose. Period.
Randles 4th quarter had no bearing. In fact, you fail to notice the 4th is when we came back?
So don't see how Randle affected the outcome so poorly in the 4th?

RJ's biggest issue is that he does not know how to contribute other than offense and he does not have elite athleticism. Sure he can work on his hips. But at the end of the day, it will not allow him to guard some of the better faster athletes in the league. He just has to be guided in being a better basketball player. Right now, he is a kid chasing ways of padding his scoring stats.

You not see RJ’s play in the last 5 min of regulation? 5 clutch points, some good passing, rebound, etc.
I only saw 4th, but did not see Randle out of his mind. Im saw ball movement and Brunson.
There are things to be critical of RJ for sure. But Im seeing the full context and some broad labeling by some.
Its way more complicated that we see. Some good, some not.
Last night I saw a good team lose its lead to the knicks and needed a clutch to tie. That was kind of cool.
I saw McBride hit some good looks!
And Grimes clutch at the right time.
What about iHart with the starting lineup last night in that 4th period?

martin wrote:Hahahaha I keep getting you guys messed up

I know. Because we've had this conversation before. It always feels like deja vu 😂🤣😂

NYKMentality wrote:

martin wrote:Hahahaha I keep getting you guys messed up

I know. Because we've had this conversation before. It always feels like deja vu 😂🤣😂

Sorry about that to both, I’ll take down my post.

It’ll definitely happen again LOL

martin wrote:

NYStateOfMind wrote:It doesn't look good. More better teams than weak ones. I see the Knicks finishing out, without an impact trade, 10-18. So, 6 games under .500, missing the play-in. After a solid start and a few nice winning streaks, this would be nothing other than a major disappointment. Hopefully, this finally exposes a stubborn Thibs and they move on or get him an assistant offensive coach.

Things we know, they won't fire Thibs this late into the season, especially with a current winning and soon-to-be losing record.

Also you, 2 days ago

NYKMentality wrote:Hey to each our own but I personally don't understand some of our Knicks fans who wanna run Coach Thibs out of town (before firing him) during only his 3rd year as Head Coach here in NYC.

And for the fans who used to claim he refuses to play younger kids etc have now became the same group of fans who can no longer make those statements; and that's because the likes of R.J. Barrett (22), Quentin Grimes (22), Deuce McBride (22), Immanuel Quickley (23), Obi Toppin (24), Jericho Sims (24), Mitchell Robinson (24) and Isaiah Hartenstein (24) are all younger players (all under 24 years of age) and heck even Jalen Brunson's only 26 years of age; and they're all getting playing time opportunities under this man.

Not only that.

But we're on the verge of making the Playoffs 2x under Coach Thibs throughout only 3 years (2/3) when in comparison to missing the Playoffs 15 out of 19 years (before Coach Thibs) dating back to 2001 throughout 2019 (4/19).

Etc.

This man is one of only 10 NBA Coaches (All-Time) to win multiple Coach of the Year awards and 1 of only 3 Knicks Coaches to (ever) win the award.

Etc.

Also...

David Fizdale = 21-83 (.202%).
Larry Brown = 23-59 (.280%).
Derek Fisher = 40-96 (.294%).
Kurt Rambis = 9-19 (.321%).
Isiah Thomas = 56-108 (.341%).
Jeff Hornacek = 60-104 (.366%).
Herb Williams = 17-27 (.386%).
Mike Miller = 17-27 (.386%).
Don Chaney = 72-112 (.391%).
Mike D'Antoni = 121-167 (.420%).
Lenny Wilkens = 40-41 (.494%).

Vs.

Tom Thibodeau = 106-101 (.512%).

I personally love Coach Thibs (who grew up as a diehard NY Knicks fan throughout his childhood days) and maybe I'm just a little, different? And maybe it's because I'm not willing to forget where I come from (as a fan) and that's because (imo) he's not only the most accomplished Head Coach that we've had since dating back to Pat Riley and Jeff Van Gundy (throughout the previous 30+ years) but he's finally an HC who not only demands respect from our players (respected around the league) but also an HC who our players play extremely hard for.

(and all of this, means something to me; it means a lot to me).

Sorry for the long winded post but I really dislike this thread title of "FIRE THIBS" and it's because I'm extremely excited for an opportunity to watch NYC Playoffs Basketball (2/3 years) and anxious to see the likes of...

A.) Mitchell Robinson come postseason play under Coach Thibs (missed the ATL series because of injury).

B.) All 4 of R.J. Barrett, Immanuel Quickley, Obi Toppin and especially Julius Randle (all) having an opportunity to redeem themselves come postseason play under Coach Thibs (ATL).

C.) Jalen Brunson having an opportunity to explode during the Playoffs under Coach Thibs (as he did for Dallas).

D.) For kids such as Quentin Grimes and Deuce McBride to have an opportunity alongside of Coach Thibs (come postseason play) in order to become two of his most trusted talents (moving forward) within his rotation.

I don't want to see Coach Thibs fired; if anything I'd love to see our Front Office continue to build a true Eastern Conference Contender around him (similar to how Chicago did before prime D-Rose injuries).

Are these two posters one and the same?