BlueKnickers wrote:martin wrote:BlueKnickers wrote:BigDaddyG wrote:BlueKnickers wrote:Kolek had the same bag out of college as he has now a year later and he should have been worked into the rotation in his rookie season because he was more than capable of contributing given the chance, not that he would wow anyone on Day 1.
Disagree on this point. Last year he couldn't really go right and had trouble finishing. You could in his summer training videos that he worked on getting more craft on his finishes and harder counters to his left hand drives. I was admittedly low on Kolek going into the season and was worried when Brogdan retired. I've been proven wrong.
It's water under the bridge. The good news is Kolek is a contributing member of the rotation now and I'm glad every Knicks fan gets the pleasure of having an old school PG in the mix. It's fun to watch him play with Brunson.
BlueKnickers, I really like your posts.
There are at least 2-3 giant leaps that all players moving up a level need to adjust to. The athletic and speed jump. The complexity of what teams need to do and run. NBA lifestyle.
It’s a very rare athlete that can come in and immediately contribute. Ask any D1 college coach on the jump from high school to college. And when you hear that, ask them if the jump to the pros is like double or 10 times as hard.
Anyone have a good list of end of first or beginning of second round guys who got immediate playing time for a contending team and contributed? That would be an interesting start.
Kolek defense was very very very bad last year at every turn, it’s different this year. He isn’t necessarily immediately and instantly exploitable. That was his turning point imho
Kolek's defense last year was terrible.
I agree he was not ready at the beginning of the season, but I do believe he would have been ready for the playoffs given the chance to learn on the job.
But it is fair to say he needed another year due to the defense alone.
What I do not like about Thibs coaching in this context is his head scratching lack of consistency towards rewarding players with playing time if they perform well. This was not unique to Kolek though. Thibs had issues with knowing when to roll with the hot hand too and he would sit guys who were on a roll just so he could observe the rigid set of rotation minutes pencilled in before the game.
This is related to my gripe about his lack of in-game adjustments. I often wondered why Thibs couldn't read the pulse of the game when everyone watching the game could. It was maddening to me. If you never experienced that with Thibs then there is nothing I could say to convince you.
Back to Kolek's first season, I remember him doing well earlier in the season and then not seeing the court again until many games later during the last minute of garbage time. Play well, back to bench, garbage time. I don't think he was ever going to get a chance under Thibs and I don't think his defense was the sole reason. Thibs would let Randle stay on the court during playoff games when he was a revolving door and not performing well on offense. It is possible he did not believe in Kolek and didn't think he was going to amount to much.
I'm not the only one who thinks Diawara would have been mothballed under Thibs, McCullar's show-out last game would never happen under Thibs because he'd sit him after a few minutes and not go with the vibe like Brown did. And I doubt Kolek would have gotten the runway he has had under Brown. These are not provable statements. They are opinions. As such, my opinion is we are better off already with Mike Brown.
Thanks to Thibs for setting the table. It's Brown's time.
Your recollection of the previous years is off. Like McCullar was mostly injured last year.
You put Kolek and Randle in the same sentence and wondered why one played and one was treated differently. A rookie and an all star shouldn't be compared that way, it doesnt make much sense.
