Uptown wrote:

nycericanguy wrote:

DLeethal wrote:

nycericanguy wrote:

VDesai wrote:

nycericanguy wrote:Mikal in a vacuum is a better player than Donte on both ends, but fit wise I can see how Donte could fit this team better.

Donte is such a dawg - its not really about his skill level, but its about his mentality. He is one of the most fearless/confident players in the league and he backs down from literally nothing and no one. A lot of hustle/grit/toughness that goes with that shooting. That said he also had a pretty good bball IQ and disrupted passing lanes, moved the ball, made good cuts, found good space to shoot etc.

Mikal isn't soft though, just different skillsets

Mikal is definitely soft lol

I think he's quiet, like Allan houston was, but I don't view him as soft. he's not afraid in big moments, not afraid to guard the best opposing player. He's a guy you can trust to make right plays down the stretch.

Randle was a guy that LOOKED tough, but did you trust him guarding the best player? did you trust his mental late in games not to panic and keep his head on straight?

Agreed

Mental toughness and physical toughness are different things. Mikal is mentally tougher. I would trust him to take the last minute shot over Randle 99/100. But you watch the way Jules is pushing bodies, including Lebron, in the playoffs, and I can't deny that's a dimension this team is missing. Randle tires guys out in way that Mikal is capable of doing physically. It's an aspect I hope gets addressed in the off-season. PJ Tucker would've been perfect 4 years ago.

martin wrote:Regarding DDV and Mikal.

You would never put DDV on another teams best players to guard, he is just not that type of defender. Mikal plays about 1000 more minute a year than Donte, give or take. IDK but the mental toughness it takes to play every game every year is sky high IMHO.

Mikal is a much better all around shooter than Donte, and especially at the rim where we all know Donte has the yips for whatever reason.

https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/d/divindo01.html#all_shooting
https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/b/bridgmi01.html#all_shooting

Mikal is a goofy ass dude with all the handshakes and whatnot and I'm not a fan.

But toughness? I guess Mikal doesn't get in the face of opponents. He does other stuff. I wouldn't call him soft either. Definitely not outwardly angry enough.

Different players, different roles.

I'll add one more: DDV takes a lot less FT's than Mikal. This has been Mikal's worst year in terms of drawing fouls. And it's in DDV's normal range, even on a smoothed out per 36mpg range.

Uptown wrote:

BigDaddyG wrote:

Uptown wrote:

nycericanguy wrote:

DLeethal wrote:

nycericanguy wrote:

VDesai wrote:

nycericanguy wrote:Mikal in a vacuum is a better player than Donte on both ends, but fit wise I can see how Donte could fit this team better.

Donte is such a dawg - its not really about his skill level, but its about his mentality. He is one of the most fearless/confident players in the league and he backs down from literally nothing and no one. A lot of hustle/grit/toughness that goes with that shooting. That said he also had a pretty good bball IQ and disrupted passing lanes, moved the ball, made good cuts, found good space to shoot etc.

Mikal isn't soft though, just different skillsets

Mikal is definitely soft lol

I think he's quiet, like Allan houston was, but I don't view him as soft. he's not afraid in big moments, not afraid to guard the best opposing player. He's a guy you can trust to make right plays down the stretch.

Randle was a guy that LOOKED tough, but did you trust him guarding the best player? did you trust his mental late in games not to panic and keep his head on straight?

Agreed

Mental toughness and physical toughness are different things. Mikal is mentally tougher. I would trust him to take the last minute shot over Randle 99/100. But you watch the way Jules is pushing bodies, including Lebron, in the playoffs, and I can't deny that's a dimension this team is missing. Randle tires guys out in way that Mikal is capable of doing physically. It's an aspect I hope gets addressed in the off-season. PJ Tucker would've been perfect 4 years ago.

Randle is a legit PF, so he is more physically imposing than Mikal, but like I said earlier, I think there is a soft label that's been attached to Mikal by some and regardless of what he does, he will never be able to shake it. Maybe its because of his slight frame? Maybe he needs to growl, frown and flex for the camera? There was nothing soft about the way Mikal played defense last night.

Agreed that we need a 6'8/6'9 2-way player that can hit an open 3 and move Hart to a 6th man role.

And it would be icing on the cake if that guy could have a very good handle and be a downhill guy. Brunson needs the help.

For whatever reason I am not overly in love with KAT. He is a fantastic talent and generational offensive talent and one of a few legit spacing C's in the league. Can you win a chip with him? Maybe. Just not the type of player for me but I can appreciate his talents.

I don't know if a team can hide 2 really deficient defenders. You NEED to play Mitch or someone like iHart next to KAT for good stretches against the top teams (and even Detroit) to make him more effective, and the team to be more effective.

It'll be interesting to see what the Knicks do in the offseason.

martin wrote:

Uptown wrote:

BigDaddyG wrote:

Uptown wrote:

nycericanguy wrote:

DLeethal wrote:

nycericanguy wrote:

VDesai wrote:

nycericanguy wrote:Mikal in a vacuum is a better player than Donte on both ends, but fit wise I can see how Donte could fit this team better.

Donte is such a dawg - its not really about his skill level, but its about his mentality. He is one of the most fearless/confident players in the league and he backs down from literally nothing and no one. A lot of hustle/grit/toughness that goes with that shooting. That said he also had a pretty good bball IQ and disrupted passing lanes, moved the ball, made good cuts, found good space to shoot etc.

Mikal isn't soft though, just different skillsets

Mikal is definitely soft lol

I think he's quiet, like Allan houston was, but I don't view him as soft. he's not afraid in big moments, not afraid to guard the best opposing player. He's a guy you can trust to make right plays down the stretch.

Randle was a guy that LOOKED tough, but did you trust him guarding the best player? did you trust his mental late in games not to panic and keep his head on straight?

Agreed

Mental toughness and physical toughness are different things. Mikal is mentally tougher. I would trust him to take the last minute shot over Randle 99/100. But you watch the way Jules is pushing bodies, including Lebron, in the playoffs, and I can't deny that's a dimension this team is missing. Randle tires guys out in way that Mikal is capable of doing physically. It's an aspect I hope gets addressed in the off-season. PJ Tucker would've been perfect 4 years ago.

Randle is a legit PF, so he is more physically imposing than Mikal, but like I said earlier, I think there is a soft label that's been attached to Mikal by some and regardless of what he does, he will never be able to shake it. Maybe its because of his slight frame? Maybe he needs to growl, frown and flex for the camera? There was nothing soft about the way Mikal played defense last night.

Agreed that we need a 6'8/6'9 2-way player that can hit an open 3 and move Hart to a 6th man role.

And it would be icing on the cake if that guy could have a very good handle and be a downhill guy. Brunson needs the help.

For whatever reason I am not overly in love with KAT. He is a fantastic talent and generational offensive talent and one of a few legit spacing C's in the league. Can you win a chip with him? Maybe. Just not the type of player for me but I can appreciate his talents.

I don't know if a team can hide 2 really deficient defenders. You NEED to play Mitch or someone like iHart next to KAT for good stretches against the top teams (and even Detroit) to make him more effective, and the team to be more effective.

It'll be interesting to see what the Knicks do in the offseason.

Maybe Dadiet in two more years? I absolutely see the vision in drafting over someone like Dunn, but it takes a long-term view. Still would've liked to see Okeke get a chance

Biggest quibble is he missed a wide open OG on a late in bounds and also misplayed that jump ball and the ball bounced to a wide open 3 pt shooter.

martin wrote:

Uptown wrote:

BigDaddyG wrote:

Uptown wrote:

nycericanguy wrote:

DLeethal wrote:

nycericanguy wrote:

VDesai wrote:

nycericanguy wrote:Mikal in a vacuum is a better player than Donte on both ends, but fit wise I can see how Donte could fit this team better.

Donte is such a dawg - its not really about his skill level, but its about his mentality. He is one of the most fearless/confident players in the league and he backs down from literally nothing and no one. A lot of hustle/grit/toughness that goes with that shooting. That said he also had a pretty good bball IQ and disrupted passing lanes, moved the ball, made good cuts, found good space to shoot etc.

Mikal isn't soft though, just different skillsets

Mikal is definitely soft lol

I think he's quiet, like Allan houston was, but I don't view him as soft. he's not afraid in big moments, not afraid to guard the best opposing player. He's a guy you can trust to make right plays down the stretch.

Randle was a guy that LOOKED tough, but did you trust him guarding the best player? did you trust his mental late in games not to panic and keep his head on straight?

Agreed

Mental toughness and physical toughness are different things. Mikal is mentally tougher. I would trust him to take the last minute shot over Randle 99/100. But you watch the way Jules is pushing bodies, including Lebron, in the playoffs, and I can't deny that's a dimension this team is missing. Randle tires guys out in way that Mikal is capable of doing physically. It's an aspect I hope gets addressed in the off-season. PJ Tucker would've been perfect 4 years ago.

Randle is a legit PF, so he is more physically imposing than Mikal, but like I said earlier, I think there is a soft label that's been attached to Mikal by some and regardless of what he does, he will never be able to shake it. Maybe its because of his slight frame? Maybe he needs to growl, frown and flex for the camera? There was nothing soft about the way Mikal played defense last night.

Agreed that we need a 6'8/6'9 2-way player that can hit an open 3 and move Hart to a 6th man role.

And it would be icing on the cake if that guy could have a very good handle and be a downhill guy. Brunson needs the help.

For whatever reason I am not overly in love with KAT. He is a fantastic talent and generational offensive talent and one of a few legit spacing C's in the league. Can you win a chip with him? Maybe. Just not the type of player for me but I can appreciate his talents.

I don't know if a team can hide 2 really deficient defenders. You NEED to play Mitch or someone like iHart next to KAT for good stretches against the top teams (and even Detroit) to make him more effective, and the team to be more effective.

It'll be interesting to see what the Knicks do in the offseason.

I agree about KAT and am not confident we can find the perfect 3 players to surround KAT and Brunson. Lately with the lack of ball movement I'm also not loving Brunson's play style. While he's great I just can't see him having significant success playing this style matched up against SGA or Jrue Holiday. He will get his points and keep us in range but wouldn't any team be more effective with increased ball movement? It seems like it's Brunson's default to play that way and we have to keep reminding him to move the ball more. Then he usually responds and plays better and then reverts back to this usual ways.

VDesai wrote:

nycericanguy wrote:

Chandler wrote:We need donte back

His shooting and fire would be a great add

Honestly even a guy like THJR would be good for us, what this team is kinda missing is a quick triggered, infinite range shooter.

We have good shooters, OG, Mikal, Deuce, but those guys need time and need to be set.

Guys like Donte and THJR can just pop from anywhere anytime.

It took 40+ games, but Shamet was shooting on a hair trigger the last 3 weeks of the season or so and was making at a great rate. He is not tough and a gamer who fears nothing like DDV, but he's not any worse than Beasley physically. I would like to see him get more of a shot in this series, especially with Deuce struggling a bit. Deuce did make a massive 3 and he did a decent job bringing the ball up to support late in the 3rd. We need to bring him in the game early and free him up to fire. Deuce is the kind of player where if he hits his first 1 or 2 shots he is gonna give you a great game.

yes to all of the above but I'm talking about Dante's inferno (TM). We need some fire and attitude at points. and Dante can play poor but will still come out and hit a clutch shot

I don't want him instead of Mikal but he would be great 6th man

VDesai wrote:Depends on what you define to be soft, but the way Mikal likes to play is to avoid as much contact as possible. When he gets more physical defensively he lives up to his defensive reputation. He doesn't like to get into the paint or at the basket very much, as evidenced by his amazingly low FT rate. I thought last night he made Cade feel him way more defensively, and I appreciated that he got a rare and one late. IT was a good bounce back. Filled the stat sheet

Biggest quibble is he missed a wide open OG on a late in bounds and also misplayed that jump ball and the ball bounced to a wide open 3 pt shooter.

Also came alarmingly close to forcing Brunson into a backcourt.

BigDaddyG wrote:

Uptown wrote:For those yearning to bring Dante back, Beasley is a free agent this summer. He will provide the same gravity Dante gave us last year....Not sure we will be able to afford him though...

Eh, he's good as long as he stays on his meds.

this. plus we know Dante thrived here. Not everyone can

martin wrote:

Alpha1971 wrote:

Knicksfan wrote:

martin wrote:Old school, to get the blood flowing

When perfection happened

2 thumbs up and a few inches too. I fell asleep during the game and missed it. Old man energy !Had I only had seen this picture pre game.

Damn man how could you fall asleep during this game! It was fire

I have Parkinson's and sometimes I am just tired. Yet, for next game, can you connect me with your coke dealer ? A few lines of Colombian powder might be what I need