By Stefan Bondy
Published April 29, 2025, 11:09 p.m. ET

The team did not go all Phoenix. There are good defensive players, good rebounders, good shooters, a clutch player and closer. All in their prime.
Something is missing and i hope they find it next season because the window won't last forever.

VDesai wrote:The thing about this year is you can literally throw the context of the guy on the other side of him and it makes the most compelling argument for a change. JB Bickerstaff is a good coach. He turned around a moribund franchise and made them a playoff team that can get under a good team's skin. He is also the same guy who was at a plateau with another franchise and was replaced by someone who took almost the exact same roster +17 wins.

This is not an easy situation to replicate, but with the Knicks hitting a wall here and not being able to raise the ceiling, that particular example lurks large in the background.

I still believe in him as a coach and I think this a roster issue, specifically with the SL, but its been up to him to make a change and he hasn't done it.

Bickerstaff and Thibs are of the same ilk. We need to do what the Cavs did. Can’t allow another year of this teams prime to go by with no elite offensive strategy.

VDesai wrote:The thing about this year is you can literally throw the context of the guy on the other side of him and it makes the most compelling argument for a change. JB Bickerstaff is a good coach. He turned around a moribund franchise and made them a playoff team that can get under a good team's skin. He is also the same guy who was at a plateau with another franchise and was replaced by someone who took almost the exact same roster +17 wins.

This is not an easy situation to replicate, but with the Knicks hitting a wall here and not being able to raise the ceiling, that particular example lurks large in the background.

I still believe in him as a coach and I think this a roster issue, specifically with the SL, but its been up to him to make a change and he hasn't done it.

This post is why it’s hard to take Thibs negative talk seriously.
We hit a wall? We are up in the series. Thibs haters want a sweep and wins by 20, or else.

I do think Thibs will get his shot back. Think his form is a bit off. Also having trouble guarding dudes off the dribble. If he would have shot better than 9 for 30 we would have won. Especially earning $85M this year.

Still don’t get what some look at?
Are there many offenses in the NBA that look different.
NBA is an ISO dominant league.
Even offenses that move the ball, like GS, do so for one repeating purpose. Get Curry a shot.
You know what makes offenses look great?
Guys hitting shots and guys not being selfish. Thibs can’t do that for them.

HofstraBBall wrote:

VDesai wrote:The thing about this year is you can literally throw the context of the guy on the other side of him and it makes the most compelling argument for a change. JB Bickerstaff is a good coach. He turned around a moribund franchise and made them a playoff team that can get under a good team's skin. He is also the same guy who was at a plateau with another franchise and was replaced by someone who took almost the exact same roster +17 wins.

This is not an easy situation to replicate, but with the Knicks hitting a wall here and not being able to raise the ceiling, that particular example lurks large in the background.

I still believe in him as a coach and I think this a roster issue, specifically with the SL, but its been up to him to make a change and he hasn't done it.

This post is why it’s hard to take Thibs negative talk seriously.
We hit a wall? We are up in the series. Thibs haters want a sweep and wins by 20, or else.

I do think Thibs will get his shot back. Think his form is a bit off. Also having trouble guarding dudes off the dribble. If he would have shot better than 9 for 30 we would have won. Especially earning $85M this year.

Still don’t get what some look at?
Are there many offenses in the NBA that look different.
NBA is an ISO dominant league.
Even offenses that move the ball, like GS, do so for one repeating purpose. Get Curry a shot.
You know what makes offenses look great?
Guys hitting shots and guys not being selfish. Thibs can’t do that for them.

Don't really understand your point here. We're at a certain win total and aiming for 3rd straight 2nd round exit. The definition of a wall is something you can't get past. There's still time to move us up another rung, but this is playing out exactly the way we expected. Championship contending teams should not struggle to win against an inexperienced playoff team on their home court. I would like to see signs we can do more than this, we're getting reminders that we can't.

VDesai wrote:

HofstraBBall wrote:

VDesai wrote:The thing about this year is you can literally throw the context of the guy on the other side of him and it makes the most compelling argument for a change. JB Bickerstaff is a good coach. He turned around a moribund franchise and made them a playoff team that can get under a good team's skin. He is also the same guy who was at a plateau with another franchise and was replaced by someone who took almost the exact same roster +17 wins.

This is not an easy situation to replicate, but with the Knicks hitting a wall here and not being able to raise the ceiling, that particular example lurks large in the background.

I still believe in him as a coach and I think this a roster issue, specifically with the SL, but its been up to him to make a change and he hasn't done it.

This post is why it’s hard to take Thibs negative talk seriously.
We hit a wall? We are up in the series. Thibs haters want a sweep and wins by 20, or else.

I do think Thibs will get his shot back. Think his form is a bit off. Also having trouble guarding dudes off the dribble. If he would have shot better than 9 for 30 we would have won. Especially earning $85M this year.

Still don’t get what some look at?
Are there many offenses in the NBA that look different.
NBA is an ISO dominant league.
Even offenses that move the ball, like GS, do so for one repeating purpose. Get Curry a shot.
You know what makes offenses look great?
Guys hitting shots and guys not being selfish. Thibs can’t do that for them.

Don't really understand your point here. We're at a certain win total and aiming for 3rd straight 2nd round exit. The definition of a wall is something you can't get past. There's still time to move us up another rung, but this is playing out exactly the way we expected. Championship contending teams should not struggle to win against an inexperienced playoff team on their home court. I would like to see signs we can do more than this, we're getting reminders that we can't.

There is flaw in that thinking?

martin wrote:It's a weird extrapolation to me that 2 50 season wins means something has ceiling'ed out when both of those teams were completely different rosters and styles of play, give or take.

This is year 1 of this roster.

Those 2 things seem to fit in different spaces to me or whatnot.

A full season is a pretty long time. We don't have a bunch of 29 yr old guys not 23 year old guys. Where is the evidence that the ceiling has been getting raised here. If anything we've somehow been playing worse as the season has gone on. Injuries are a part of that, but something isn't moving in the right direction.

I'm not convinced the Coach is holding us back. I think it's a roster that doesn't quite work too. But my only point is there's evidence of good coaches getting replaced and the same rosters performing better right in front of us this year. Its going to come down to some hard decisions one way or the other.

martin wrote:

VDesai wrote:

HofstraBBall wrote:

VDesai wrote:The thing about this year is you can literally throw the context of the guy on the other side of him and it makes the most compelling argument for a change. JB Bickerstaff is a good coach. He turned around a moribund franchise and made them a playoff team that can get under a good team's skin. He is also the same guy who was at a plateau with another franchise and was replaced by someone who took almost the exact same roster +17 wins.

This is not an easy situation to replicate, but with the Knicks hitting a wall here and not being able to raise the ceiling, that particular example lurks large in the background.

I still believe in him as a coach and I think this a roster issue, specifically with the SL, but its been up to him to make a change and he hasn't done it.

This post is why it’s hard to take Thibs negative talk seriously.
We hit a wall? We are up in the series. Thibs haters want a sweep and wins by 20, or else.

I do think Thibs will get his shot back. Think his form is a bit off. Also having trouble guarding dudes off the dribble. If he would have shot better than 9 for 30 we would have won. Especially earning $85M this year.

Still don’t get what some look at?
Are there many offenses in the NBA that look different.
NBA is an ISO dominant league.
Even offenses that move the ball, like GS, do so for one repeating purpose. Get Curry a shot.
You know what makes offenses look great?
Guys hitting shots and guys not being selfish. Thibs can’t do that for them.

Don't really understand your point here. We're at a certain win total and aiming for 3rd straight 2nd round exit. The definition of a wall is something you can't get past. There's still time to move us up another rung, but this is playing out exactly the way we expected. Championship contending teams should not struggle to win against an inexperienced playoff team on their home court. I would like to see signs we can do more than this, we're getting reminders that we can't.

There is flaw in that thinking?

We are not a championship team.
We keep changing the roster and we label it as improvement/potential.
Maybe the formula was better last year with iHart/Randle. But.......iHart left for circumstances beyond control.
I love Randle but he was due a big extension and Leon appears to like deals he can move.
Fire Thibs? Whole changes AGAIN? Might not really improve the team.
Its frustrating as a fan but is it reasonable? Not when we emotionally disappointed.
We lose the series, take a breather, then evaluate.