GustavBahler wrote:

VDesai wrote:

LivingLegend wrote:

VDesai wrote:I think you can safely say for about half to 60% of the playoffs the Knicks looked championship quality on D and not so much the other games. Regular season was a slog defensively for most of the year. It seemed like we were getting closer.

I think given so much of the issues were communication and that KAT didn't truly have an offseason with the team, you could have made a pretty strong argument to give Thibs another full offseason with this roster to try and get it in order. Enough positive signs were there.

Offense was another story- offense looked ugly all year, yet finished in the top 10 ALL time in offensive rating. So it was ugly, but possibly effective enough? I think the defensive issues were much worse. That said, turnovers killed us vs. Indy - which is largely b/c Thibs ugly ball control offense relies on low turnovers. We never handled the press effectively. He didn't fix that.

My point is I don't think this is a major makeover. There must have been chemsistry issues in the locker room or between the coaching staff and front office that may have been a large cause. Think in the absence of that, there was enough evidence in the results over the year and most recently to stay patient.

I don't think we ever looked championship level on D -- not even close. How could we with Jalen/Kat/Josh playing close to 40 a night.

Then how did we beat Boston? We shut down Boston for long stretches and several games.

Not having KP chip in on both ends like he did last year was a factor.

KP being done was maybe reason #11 why we beat the Celtics. They seemed to take the series for granted and were looking past the 2nd round they mentally bought the narrative that they were soooo much better than the Knicks because of the regular season. And then the Knicks punched them in the mouth game 1.

Philc1 wrote:

LivingLegend wrote:

VDesai wrote:I think you can safely say for about half to 60% of the playoffs the Knicks looked championship quality on D and not so much the other games. Regular season was a slog defensively for most of the year. It seemed like we were getting closer.

I think given so much of the issues were communication and that KAT didn't truly have an offseason with the team, you could have made a pretty strong argument to give Thibs another full offseason with this roster to try and get it in order. Enough positive signs were there.

Offense was another story- offense looked ugly all year, yet finished in the top 10 ALL time in offensive rating. So it was ugly, but possibly effective enough? I think the defensive issues were much worse. That said, turnovers killed us vs. Indy - which is largely b/c Thibs ugly ball control offense relies on low turnovers. We never handled the press effectively. He didn't fix that.

My point is I don't think this is a major makeover. There must have been chemsistry issues in the locker room or between the coaching staff and front office that may have been a large cause. Think in the absence of that, there was enough evidence in the results over the year and most recently to stay patient.

I don't think we ever looked championship level on D -- not even close. How could we with Jalen/Kat/Josh playing close to 40 a night.

When Mitch was in the floor in the playoffs with OG and Mikal we had an excellent defensive lineup just ask Tatum.

PassTheBall wrote:Question UK fam, who is responsible for the development of McBride?

Thibs?
Bryant?
G-league coach?
McBride?

All the above. There was a plan when we drafted him and it executed.

Philc1 wrote:

GustavBahler wrote:

VDesai wrote:

LivingLegend wrote:

VDesai wrote:I think you can safely say for about half to 60% of the playoffs the Knicks looked championship quality on D and not so much the other games. Regular season was a slog defensively for most of the year. It seemed like we were getting closer.

I think given so much of the issues were communication and that KAT didn't truly have an offseason with the team, you could have made a pretty strong argument to give Thibs another full offseason with this roster to try and get it in order. Enough positive signs were there.

Offense was another story- offense looked ugly all year, yet finished in the top 10 ALL time in offensive rating. So it was ugly, but possibly effective enough? I think the defensive issues were much worse. That said, turnovers killed us vs. Indy - which is largely b/c Thibs ugly ball control offense relies on low turnovers. We never handled the press effectively. He didn't fix that.

My point is I don't think this is a major makeover. There must have been chemsistry issues in the locker room or between the coaching staff and front office that may have been a large cause. Think in the absence of that, there was enough evidence in the results over the year and most recently to stay patient.

I don't think we ever looked championship level on D -- not even close. How could we with Jalen/Kat/Josh playing close to 40 a night.

Then how did we beat Boston? We shut down Boston for long stretches and several games.

Not having KP chip in on both ends like he did last year was a factor.

KP being done was maybe reason #11 why we beat the Celtics. They seemed to take the series for granted and were looking past the 2nd round they mentally bought the narrative that they were soooo much better than the Knicks because of the regular season. And then the Knicks punched them in the mouth game 1.

Disagree, played a big part in last year's playoffs with his rim protection and 3pt shooting. He was a no show in the playoffs this year because he was sick. One of the reasons they had to resort to "hack a Mitch". Boston had no counter.

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