DollarBill70 wrote:Every player on the Knicks Roster has some talent(s). Identifying how those skills fit
together,and what style of play best suits this team will be coach Tom's job. That's what
training camp and daily practices are for. I see 5 guys now who can shoot if you're playing
catch up and spread the floor for our player who drive. I see 5 guys now who can play shut
down defense with a 4th qtr lead. Well coached teams play as a team and are all pulling in the
same direction. No, there are no superstars on this team, And those players are frequently
showboats, chuckers, not team players, or good teammates at all. Look at the Rockets with
Harden and Westbrook...they are looking to unload them. IT'S ALL ABOUT TEAM CHEMISTRY.
A great coach can develop the talent, and win plenty of games with the 2021 Knicks. Maybe not
make the playoffs or contend, but improve quite a bit.
Who can say at this stage. Keep the faith.

This year's team is a little better in that we have more flexible offensive pieces - more players that can shoot and move without the ball. I'm particularly excited to see what Iggy, IQ, Toppin, and Rivers can do for our spacing.

The hard part about our roster is that we have a lot of polar 1-way players; Almost every player on the roster has some serious skill gap/deficiency. BUT... that's kind of what you expect with a YOUNG TEAM - that's why you need to invest heavily in player development (and the Knicks have with Kevin Payne and Johnny Bryant). There's a lot of upside in each of our players, so we can HOPE that they'll show new wrinkles in their games that they haven't shown before.

While hope is not a strategy, I HOPE RJ can be a more efficient scorer (think: 42% FG, 35% 3pt, 65%+ FT - just a little bit better across the board). I HOPE Elfrid can shoot a little more like his Pelicans 2018-2019 season. I hope Randle dribbles into triple teams maybe 1 fewer time per game. And I hope Mitch can add an occasional mid-range jumper.

And Frank - well actually I think Frank sort of quietly arrived last season - perhaps more so than general perception would indicate. His overall FG% was just under 40% thanks to a lot of 3's (at a 32% clip) - so sure he can improve there. But his FT% was 86%+ and was taking more than ever. That bodes well for his 3pt shooting also improving. His rebounding/assist numbers were pretty nice per 36 mins. He projects as a nice rotation player/borderline starter as is, again, with ample upside.

https://www.bebasket.fr/championnat-jeep-elite/itw-kadeem-allen--le-reve-americain-----bourg-est-un-tremplin-vers-mon-objectif-ultime--retourner-en-nba--.html

"Frank Ntilikina's problem is that he thinks too much, he brakes himself on his own"
You shared the field with Frank Ntilikina, you even competed with him for the lead of the Knicks. What was your relationship?

We were close! He's a good guy, pretty quiet. He's a real competitor. His problem is that he thinks too much. Everyone knows he is good but he thinks too much. All he has to do is play his game, without ulterior motives. The Knicks keep telling him that all the time, they try to give him a lot of freedom.

Really ?

Yes, people tell him that they know what he can do and that he has to let go, play his game. But in the end, he's the one who is going to put the brakes on everything. alone. He's always going to be like, "Should I do this?" Shouldn't I?

In the summer of 2019, he put out a great performance to eliminate USA from the World Cup. The outlook on him hasn't changed after the fact in New York?

Yes, it was crazy what he did against Team USA (he laughs). People did look at it differently. But maybe he is just more comfortable when he plays in a French system, with French teammates… He hesitates a lot more when he is in New York, already maybe also because everyone wants the ball in the NBA. It's a totally different basketball, I already told you. But yes, it's a weird situation.

EwingsGlass wrote:

BigDaddyG wrote:Interview with our buddy Kadeem Allen. He's balling out in France now. Here's a snippet about his time with Frank.

https://www.bebasket.fr/championnat-jeep-elite/itw-kadeem-allen--le-reve-americain-----bourg-est-un-tremplin-vers-mon-objectif-ultime--retourner-en-nba--.html

"Frank Ntilikina's problem is that he thinks too much, he brakes himself on his own"
You shared the field with Frank Ntilikina, you even competed with him for the lead of the Knicks. What was your relationship?

We were close! He's a good guy, pretty quiet. He's a real competitor. His problem is that he thinks too much. Everyone knows he is good but he thinks too much. All he has to do is play his game, without ulterior motives. The Knicks keep telling him that all the time, they try to give him a lot of freedom.

Really ?

Yes, people tell him that they know what he can do and that he has to let go, play his game. But in the end, he's the one who is going to put the brakes on everything. alone. He's always going to be like, "Should I do this?" Shouldn't I?

In the summer of 2019, he put out a great performance to eliminate USA from the World Cup. The outlook on him hasn't changed after the fact in New York?

Yes, it was crazy what he did against Team USA (he laughs). People did look at it differently. But maybe he is just more comfortable when he plays in a French system, with French teammates… He hesitates a lot more when he is in New York, already maybe also because everyone wants the ball in the NBA. It's a totally different basketball, I already told you. But yes, it's a weird situation.

Sounds like he needs a needs a life coach to break down those walls

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Knicksfan wrote:

BigDaddyG wrote:

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Great answer

Sounded sincere too. I appreciate it.

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smackeddog wrote:I do hope this isn't the start of a phasing out of Mitch, where he starts the year benched, doesn't respond by working harder, becomes disgruntled, playing time drops to near zero and he ends up leaving. I do think it seems like he doesn't put extra effort in in the offseason, but he is young and quite sensitive- hope we don't mishandle him.

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How DO you handle someone that just isn’t motivated and won’t put in the extra work? I hope he isn’t someone that will shut down with a guy like Thibs. He’ll be preventing himself from making millions and millions of dollars by next season if that’s the case because I know Thibs definitely cares about his players getting paid.

It’s all up to Mitch. I hope he goes down the right path. If not, Evan Mobley seems like a sexy name to go after.

smackeddog wrote:I do hope this isn't the start of a phasing out of Mitch, where he starts the year benched, doesn't respond by working harder, becomes disgruntled, playing time drops to near zero and he ends up leaving. I do think it seems like he doesn't put extra effort in in the offseason, but he is young and quite sensitive- hope we don't mishandle him.

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https://twitter.com/JeffreyBellone/status/1334291468253532166

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Van Gundy hoping the Knicks are dumb enough to shop Mitch and trade him to his brother in New Orleans