martin wrote:

VDesai wrote:Martin btw I think DiVo is the type of player your talking about. He could go cold, but he was never gonna stop coming at you and I think his swagger rubbed off on others.

Agreed. He and iHart had it in them insofar as we fans can tell.

Important elements for a team.

But also perhaps not good enough to get to the championship level if it only comes from your secondary performer guys.

It needs to also come from one of your top performers. Because there will be lots and lots of games Divo and iHart types don’t have it from a performance standpoint and you need someone with cachet, cachet with the refs or media or in locker room at key moments.

franco12 wrote:

Swishfm3 wrote:

Philc1 wrote:

VDesai wrote:33 pt lead has been cut to 9 because we are playing like losers

The wizards came back with their second unit it was 4 point game with 9 minutes left. What does their coach do? Put in their all their starters who couldn’t guard a fire hydrant

I couldn’t believe it when he pulled Smarts and Holmes out. The Wizards coach definitely did the Knicks a favor

Remember when LeBron, Melo, Bosh and Wade were all coming out in the draft and the Knicks played superhard to win 37 games?

Nalod wrote:Remember when we hated on randle for getting upset at coaches and players?
Leadership has many faces.
The winner, the guy we call captain has one in HS and in College. Does not have to be visually on TV getting on guys ****.

Randle is not a good leader. He has qualities this team needs. Examples being his toughness, physicality and his ability to create shots for others. His leadership is not one of them. We are not about to start painting an unrealistic picture on him now that he is gone. How many times did he lose us games because of his temper? How many games did he lose us because he was playing poorly and then started to pout. How many plays did something not go his way so he stopped giving effort. How many tirades vs his own team members or coaching staff.

Dragon wrote:So Basically, we have solid starters, Brunson, Hart, Mikael, OG and KAT..... now we have two solid subs in Duce and Mitch we just want at least one more solid sub..... The Huk? Tyler?

There's not a world where the Huk and Mitch are both in a rotation. Tyler will likely be the backup PG and take over Cam's role next year. Huk was showing he was ready to be the backup C, but the injury set him back. Mitch is making the most of any non-starter and is the most tradable piece on salary that can bring you more depth.

We lack a decent reserve wing with more size - so Hart, Bridges, Mikal are overworked. I don't think Dadiet will be ready next year. Marjon Beachamp and Anton Watson are here - they are lotto tickets. I think Beauchamp has the length/athleticism to be a disruptive defender, but he's got erratic offensive chops.

I wish we would have called up Okeke.

Then you can make Huk a backup 5 conceivably. I don't see us bringing Precious back. Then the question is who is your backup 4.

SergioNYK wrote:Kudos to both PG's! I thought both played a great game. Loved how Payne started the game and he hit that huge 3 to kill the Wizard's momentum when they went on that crazy run to cut the lead down to 4. And Kolek did an exceptional job as a floor general in the second quarter. He plays like an old school true PG. And that And1 layup was really nice! I think he has a chance to be a really good player for us but does need to get stronger and better on defense.

Looks like Deuce is gonna be out for a few games so we're going to get a chance to see how both Payne and Kolek a lot more.

Maybe I'm an old fart but I really hated Beauchamp throwing it off the backboard to himself for a dunk under a minute left when the game was legit over. That's not how you earn minutes! Respect the opponent kid! Maybe I'm drastic but I'd cut him today after that.

NBA really needs to tinker with their CBA cause a vets like Smart and Middleton should not be rotting on a bench for a team like the Wizard's. We could use both of them here right now!

I was annoyed with Beauchamp for that little stunt too, BUT it highlights what we have been lacking, which is an athletic wing that can get out on the break and finish with a dunk. Other than OG, we don’t have that. I would actually like to see him get more time off the bench (10 - 15 minutes) with Kolek. We should go more uptempo to try to maximize points from the bench. I wouldn’t mind seeing a lineup of:

Mitch (once he gets his legs and conditioning back).
OG
Beauchamp
Hart or Mikal
Kolek

Maybe we could catch teams off guard by pushing the pace and getting out on the break. Just an idea.

VDesai wrote:

martin wrote:

VDesai wrote:Im not sure I see a Mitch @ C, KAT at the 4 long term, but you could be right. I thought we wanted KAT to be a 5, but maybe they have switched gears at this point.

Then you can make Huk a backup 5 conceivably. I don't see us bringing Precious back. Then the question is who is your backup 4.

I'm not sure who the "we" is in that sentence.

I think the Knicks would have hoped that KAT with Brunson and defenders would be good enough, but the interior defense is non-existent with KAT as the only guy over 6'7" and KAT is just awful at defense and there is only so much wing defenders can do to make up for that.

You are not winning anything with a bottom third defense, and the Knicks learned that this year.

"We" meaning the Knicks FO - envisioning the 5 out offense to counter Boston and having 2 elite defensive wings to neutralize their stars. Seemed like the formula. Perhaps its time to pivot. If KAT is the Center going forward, and Huk is ready to play 10-15 mins on the bench, than it leaves Mitch as the only trade chip we have to create better depth across the board. If you move Mitch to 5 and Kat to 4, that leaves Josh Hart making 19-20mm on the bench...so now he starts to potentially be a chip, but it also gives us a beefed up bench with the likes of Hart/Deuce available.

I think the Knicks were hoping for iHart with KAT and Mitch off bench but that went out early.