martin wrote:

Panos wrote:

martin wrote:

Panos wrote:

martin wrote:

Panos wrote:As for Mikal, I still would like to see him STEP UP when others are not playing well, instead of riding everyone's coattails and shooting well only when Knicks are destroying the other team. I would love to see his scoring per quarter over these playoffs, but my searches are failing to find that info.

I think that's a hard ask. He will have his moments but he got his role too, and in a team environment, he got to do that first and foremost.

I think the NBA and players are really defined by the roles they are in, especially at the highest levels. Coach and Brunson can certainly dictate this but coach, Brunson, KAT are the funnels from which Mikal, OG and others get their chances. My guess is that is just how it is.

I don't know, man. Why is it that other teams have bench players come in and torch us regularly, and Mikal never seems to do any torching?

Cause that was NEVER his game. Ever.

It's like expecting an introvert to be the life of the frat house. Just not to be.

Martin on April 9th, Baylor Scheierman (yes, who?) scored 7 of 8 off the bench for the Celtics against the Knicks giving the Celtics a big boost, even though his team lost, he kept them in the game even though Tatum, White and Hauser **** the bed.
Baylor ****ing Scheierman. I never even heard the name before that game.
Are you saying that our $150M for 4 years starting SHOOTING GUARD Mikal Bridges can't occassionally be the guy picking up the slack, because he's not "that guy"? Sorry, that doesn't sit well with me. If he can't do that, I think that money was better spent elsewhere.

We can go back and forth on this all day. Xmas, Boston series last year.

If you love big women and date a skinny Insta model and expect her to be the curvy woman you really want, that's on you.

And if I want my starting NBA Shooting Guard to be a NBA level Shooting Guard, that's on Leon Rose.

Panos wrote:

martin wrote:

Panos wrote:

martin wrote:

Panos wrote:

martin wrote:

Panos wrote:As for Mikal, I still would like to see him STEP UP when others are not playing well, instead of riding everyone's coattails and shooting well only when Knicks are destroying the other team. I would love to see his scoring per quarter over these playoffs, but my searches are failing to find that info.

I think that's a hard ask. He will have his moments but he got his role too, and in a team environment, he got to do that first and foremost.

I think the NBA and players are really defined by the roles they are in, especially at the highest levels. Coach and Brunson can certainly dictate this but coach, Brunson, KAT are the funnels from which Mikal, OG and others get their chances. My guess is that is just how it is.

I don't know, man. Why is it that other teams have bench players come in and torch us regularly, and Mikal never seems to do any torching?

Cause that was NEVER his game. Ever.

It's like expecting an introvert to be the life of the frat house. Just not to be.

Martin on April 9th, Baylor Scheierman (yes, who?) scored 7 of 8 off the bench for the Celtics against the Knicks giving the Celtics a big boost, even though his team lost, he kept them in the game even though Tatum, White and Hauser **** the bed.
Baylor ****ing Scheierman. I never even heard the name before that game.
Are you saying that our $150M for 4 years starting SHOOTING GUARD Mikal Bridges can't occassionally be the guy picking up the slack, because he's not "that guy"? Sorry, that doesn't sit well with me. If he can't do that, I think that money was better spent elsewhere.

We can go back and forth on this all day. Xmas, Boston series last year.

If you love big women and date a skinny Insta model and expect her to be the curvy woman you really want, that's on you.

And if I want my starting NBA Shooting Guard to be a NBA level Shooting Guard, that's on Leon Rose.

You can want Deuce to be the backup PG all day long if you want too. Ain't gonna happen. OG will never have a really good handle and shouldn't be dribble driving in traffic a ton cause of it.

You are putting your expectations somewhere where it ain't his role or skillset. Mikal is not a pure scorer, he is an outlet guy.

Panos wrote:

martin wrote:

Panos wrote:

martin wrote:

Panos wrote:

martin wrote:

Panos wrote:

martin wrote:

Panos wrote:As for Mikal, I still would like to see him STEP UP when others are not playing well, instead of riding everyone's coattails and shooting well only when Knicks are destroying the other team. I would love to see his scoring per quarter over these playoffs, but my searches are failing to find that info.

I think that's a hard ask. He will have his moments but he got his role too, and in a team environment, he got to do that first and foremost.

I think the NBA and players are really defined by the roles they are in, especially at the highest levels. Coach and Brunson can certainly dictate this but coach, Brunson, KAT are the funnels from which Mikal, OG and others get their chances. My guess is that is just how it is.

I don't know, man. Why is it that other teams have bench players come in and torch us regularly, and Mikal never seems to do any torching?

Cause that was NEVER his game. Ever.

It's like expecting an introvert to be the life of the frat house. Just not to be.

Martin on April 9th, Baylor Scheierman (yes, who?) scored 7 of 8 off the bench for the Celtics against the Knicks giving the Celtics a big boost, even though his team lost, he kept them in the game even though Tatum, White and Hauser **** the bed.
Baylor ****ing Scheierman. I never even heard the name before that game.
Are you saying that our $150M for 4 years starting SHOOTING GUARD Mikal Bridges can't occassionally be the guy picking up the slack, because he's not "that guy"? Sorry, that doesn't sit well with me. If he can't do that, I think that money was better spent elsewhere.

We can go back and forth on this all day. Xmas, Boston series last year.

If you love big women and date a skinny Insta model and expect her to be the curvy woman you really want, that's on you.

And if I want my starting NBA Shooting Guard to be a NBA level Shooting Guard, that's on Leon Rose.

You can want Deuce to be the backup PG all day long if you want too. Ain't gonna happen. OG will never have a really good handle and shouldn't be dribble driving in traffic a ton cause of it.

You are putting your expectations somewhere where it ain't his role or skillset. Mikal is not a pure scorer, he is an outlet guy.

Martin, you're misunderstanding me. I'm not saying I'm expecting him to change. I'm saying I want a player that can be occassionally be that guy, and I hope Leon can eventually get one. I know its not Mikal.

However, as we saw with KAT, maybe the unexpected happens. Who knows! Happy to eat crow again if it does!

Scheierman had 17 games 10+ points this year. Mikal had 68.

Scheierman had 6 games 15+ points this year. Mikal had 38.

Scheierman had 2 games 20+ points this year. Mikal had 16.

Baylor ****ing Scheierman is doing squat compared to Mikal.

Mikal is 4th in line behind Brunson, KAT, OG.

You can barbecue it, boil it, broil it, bake it, saute it. There's crow-kabobs, crow creole, crow gumbo. Pan fried, deep fried, stir-fried. There's pineapple crow, lemon crow, coconut crow, pepper crow, crow soup, crow stew, crow salad, crow and potatoes, crow burger, crow sandwich.

Panos wrote:

martin wrote:

Panos wrote:

martin wrote:

Panos wrote:

martin wrote:

Panos wrote:

martin wrote:

Panos wrote:

martin wrote:

Panos wrote:As for Mikal, I still would like to see him STEP UP when others are not playing well, instead of riding everyone's coattails and shooting well only when Knicks are destroying the other team. I would love to see his scoring per quarter over these playoffs, but my searches are failing to find that info.

I think that's a hard ask. He will have his moments but he got his role too, and in a team environment, he got to do that first and foremost.

I think the NBA and players are really defined by the roles they are in, especially at the highest levels. Coach and Brunson can certainly dictate this but coach, Brunson, KAT are the funnels from which Mikal, OG and others get their chances. My guess is that is just how it is.

I don't know, man. Why is it that other teams have bench players come in and torch us regularly, and Mikal never seems to do any torching?

Cause that was NEVER his game. Ever.

It's like expecting an introvert to be the life of the frat house. Just not to be.

Martin on April 9th, Baylor Scheierman (yes, who?) scored 7 of 8 off the bench for the Celtics against the Knicks giving the Celtics a big boost, even though his team lost, he kept them in the game even though Tatum, White and Hauser **** the bed.
Baylor ****ing Scheierman. I never even heard the name before that game.
Are you saying that our $150M for 4 years starting SHOOTING GUARD Mikal Bridges can't occassionally be the guy picking up the slack, because he's not "that guy"? Sorry, that doesn't sit well with me. If he can't do that, I think that money was better spent elsewhere.

We can go back and forth on this all day. Xmas, Boston series last year.

If you love big women and date a skinny Insta model and expect her to be the curvy woman you really want, that's on you.

And if I want my starting NBA Shooting Guard to be a NBA level Shooting Guard, that's on Leon Rose.

You can want Deuce to be the backup PG all day long if you want too. Ain't gonna happen. OG will never have a really good handle and shouldn't be dribble driving in traffic a ton cause of it.

You are putting your expectations somewhere where it ain't his role or skillset. Mikal is not a pure scorer, he is an outlet guy.

Martin, you're misunderstanding me. I'm not saying I'm expecting him to change. I'm saying I want a player that can be occassionally be that guy, and I hope Leon can eventually get one. I know its not Mikal.

However, as we saw with KAT, maybe the unexpected happens. Who knows! Happy to eat crow again if it does!

Scheierman had 17 games 10+ points this year. Mikal had 68.

Scheierman had 6 games 15+ points this year. Mikal had 38.

Scheierman had 2 games 20+ points this year. Mikal had 16.

Baylor ****ing Scheierman is doing squat compared to Mikal.

Mikal is 4th in line behind Brunson, KAT, OG.

You can barbecue it, boil it, broil it, bake it, saute it. There's crow-kabobs, crow creole, crow gumbo. Pan fried, deep fried, stir-fried. There's pineapple crow, lemon crow, coconut crow, pepper crow, crow soup, crow stew, crow salad, crow and potatoes, crow burger, crow sandwich.

Martin, you're proving my point. Baylor ****ing Scheierman is nobody. And yet he had an impactful game where his teammates were struggling.
Anyway, I know we're not going to see eye-to-eye on this. Its been two years already and we still have the same opinions of Bridges. We can agree to disagree.

I read that as you closing your eyes to the fact that Mikal has in fact had his impacts and you will ignore them.

martin wrote:

Panos wrote:

martin wrote:

Panos wrote:

martin wrote:

Panos wrote:As for Mikal, I still would like to see him STEP UP when others are not playing well, instead of riding everyone's coattails and shooting well only when Knicks are destroying the other team. I would love to see his scoring per quarter over these playoffs, but my searches are failing to find that info.

I think that's a hard ask. He will have his moments but he got his role too, and in a team environment, he got to do that first and foremost.

I think the NBA and players are really defined by the roles they are in, especially at the highest levels. Coach and Brunson can certainly dictate this but coach, Brunson, KAT are the funnels from which Mikal, OG and others get their chances. My guess is that is just how it is.

I don't know, man. Why is it that other teams have bench players come in and torch us regularly, and Mikal never seems to do any torching?

Cause that was NEVER his game. Ever.

It's like expecting an introvert to be the life of the frat house. Just not to be.

Martin on April 9th, Baylor Scheierman (yes, who?) scored 7 of 8 off the bench for the Celtics against the Knicks giving the Celtics a big boost, even though his team lost, he kept them in the game even though Tatum, White and Hauser **** the bed.
Baylor ****ing Scheierman. I never even heard the name before that game.
Are you saying that our $150M for 4 years starting SHOOTING GUARD Mikal Bridges can't occassionally be the guy picking up the slack, because he's not "that guy"? Sorry, that doesn't sit well with me. If he can't do that, I think that money was better spent elsewhere.

We can go back and forth on this all day. Xmas, Boston series last year.

If you love big women and date a skinny Insta model and expect her to be the curvy woman you really want, that's on you.

Did someone say "Big Women"?

Panos wrote:Because this team (and particularly KAT) is playing completely differently then they were in the regular season.

I don't know. Game one vs. Philly looked mostly like the style they had been playing all season, just with more effort and better shooting.

I think you are overlooking a lot of the improvements that KAT made over the season, specifically as a result of Brown's coaching. I can remember two specific press conferences, one in which Brown obliquely criticized players complaining about not getting foul calls and another about playing defense with your chest and not arms. After both of those press conferences, KAT improved in those areas- I think in the next game. Did I foresee two triple doubles in 3 games? Of course not, but KAT has shown steady improvement on defense all season long. And I think the Giannis situation at the trade deadline definitely had an effect on him. Once the Knicks publicly stated they were all good, KAT was relieved I'm sure.

Knicks basically started the season with the best offense and then finished with the best defense. The losing streak and blowout losses to the Pistons were frustrating but they still finished with 50＋ wins.

EwingsGlass wrote:The KAT-centric version of this team will get the best value out of both Mikal and OG. And it will get Brunson better looks easier. Hart is a little less necessary as a distributor, but his effort and IQ are good for any team - and his shooting has shown real improvements where I don’t consider it a liability.

Meaning, we are looking at the best version of this team. They are essentially running a big boy pants version of the Wildcat offense with KAT sitting behind the 3 point line instead of at the high post. The spacing is absurd. The curls and screens are active and the reads are sharp - they exposed two young sets of defenders unable to adjust to the motion offense.

This offense should get sharper over time. And when it can’t force errors, you have the best clutch player in the game.

The Knocks on Mikal and Bridges (and Hart) and my own criticism of Clarkson should be paused - these guys are all incredibly well positioned to benefit from this offensive set. Some of us have argued that getting Bridges and OG the ball moving downhill to the hoop or open in the corner is their sweet spot. This does that. Not as a last option but as an active read.

Basically, pause the criticism of anything you saw in the dribble heavy ISO sets and watch Mikal and OG move off ball in this offense. It’s like it’s ****ing Christmas.

Couldn't agree more. The keys seem to be:
Reducing ISO ball sets.
Reusing off ball screens to get open 3's or clear lanes.
Recycling possessions with offensive rebounds.