DLeethal wrote:Bridges and OG are showing that Brunson's ball dominance was a big factor in their underperformance all year. I hope JB can keep them more involved when he gets back.

I was thinking this too. And I wonder if having someone else bringing up the ball would help distribute the usage better. Not Cam Payne who is also looking for his shot. But what does it look like with JB off the ball and either DW or Kolek at the PG with one of Mikal or Hart as super sub? It will also open up the floor with less trapping of JB.

OG is back to where he was early in the year - I believe it was November he had a great scoring run and then he seemed to have lost his legs. Right now when he is fully healthy, he has incredible strength. He is one of the most physically imposing wings in the league. When he is driving to the basket he is very difficult to stop especially when he uses that Eurostep. With his wingspan he can make himself very wide - very hard for a single person to cover. Sometimes he when someone helps over the top or on the weakside he doesn't see the shotblocker, but in general his finishing talent has been really good in this stretch. The biggest thing is he is drawing contact and getting to the line. And lately his free throw rate is totally money too.

Panos wrote:

VDesai wrote:Bridges handle is a little shaky - there was one sequence where he lost the ball a few times in a short span in the 4th. That said what I thought he did really well after is read when the doubles were coming. He got the ball out and generally it was Hart that was open - Hart made 2 really important passes late to get us a couple of layups that were important. If Bridges was facing single he can usually get to his spot for the midrange J which is money. He did a great job closing yesterday and approximating the Jalen role. That was "Brooklyn" Bridges that we were hoping to acquire - the guy who can do some creation when Brunson is off the floor or if guys are struggling (i.e. KAT).

OG is back to where he was early in the year - I believe it was November he had a great scoring run and then he seemed to have lost his legs. Right now when he is fully healthy, he has incredible strength. He is one of the most physically imposing wings in the league. When he is driving to the basket he is very difficult to stop especially when he uses that Eurostep. With his wingspan he can make himself very wide - very hard for a single person to cover. Sometimes he when someone helps over the top or on the weakside he doesn't see the shotblocker, but in general his finishing talent has been really good in this stretch. The biggest thing is he is drawing contact and getting to the line. And lately his free throw rate is totally money too.

Except that with his weak dribble he'll often cough up the ball by himself. Also, am I the only person notices how he has this weak ball fake, sometimes twice, and then cannot get up high enough to avoid getting blocked?

He has almost no sudenness - like he's not gonna beat you with a first step or explosive leap. He is an absolute tank with unreal wingspan and does have a bit of burst and power. He still loses the ball and gets blocked, but lately he's figuring out how to almost box out a defender to finish and he's drawing fouls. Part of finishing is learning how to drive into contact to make it hard to block your shot and get foul calls...he is doing way better at that.

OG and Bridges were once again just outstanding on both ends! Second straight game they stepped up with KAT having a bad game too. This is really good going into the playoffs!

Kudos to the bench! Precious looked like Hakeem in that first half and Shamet is starting to hit shots which changes everything for us if he can do this consistently.

What a great tribute to Clyde as well! Much deserves for what he did here as a player and what he continues to do on TV. He won't be around forever so please appreciate and love him while he's here.

martin wrote:Havent seen anything beyond first half, this seem right?

Tweet was deleted or there was problem with the URL:

https://www.twitter.com/kingbacca22x/status/1906492808250224783

Used to be "poor man's Kawhi."
Now he looks like "healthy Kawhi"

fishmike wrote:

Clean wrote:Why does Kolek only get 13 minutes in a game he was doing well. Can't blame defense tonight because he was doing well there to.

exactly... get him out of there before he gets exposed. 13 minutes is perfect right now. Dude needs confidence.

Kolek is a rookie and his time will come. Why the impatience? He's not better then Deuce or Payne right now and Thibs made the right choice going with Wright since we won both games.

franco12 wrote:

fishmike wrote:Knicks are wildly different with a real bench. Mitch/Precious/Sham/Kolek held it down and did some things.

Don't forget Wright.

And it took injuries, some, to force Thibs hand to actually play Kolek.

Where was Kolek supposed to play? Payne has played very role in his role and you cannot play them together. Kolek over Shamet wouldn't work either cause we need someone off the bench who can shoot and defend some wings. I don't get where and over who you want Kolek to play. He's a second round rookie. His time will come.