HofstraBBall wrote:

martin wrote:Mikal only played 36 minutes? Was he hurt or something or Thibs just getting soft?

He is getting A LOT more comfortable!
Knicks also making a point to get him the ball in his spots.
Still believe his and OG’s consistency will be key for n how far we go.

KAT has been KAT from outside. We will see how that does in big games.
Love the ball flow and pace he brings to team. We just have to make those threes.

Great win. Dominant show of who is a better team right now.

Wolves depth and outside shooting is not good.

Yes - I have some worry about Kat in big games but I going into last night I also thought this would be a type of litmus test (playoff atmosphere) for how Towns would play in playoffs.

Thing with Kat - if the shot is off he can still get to FT line, best rebounder in league and with Joci best passing big in league - not to mention solid screen setter. Another thing I'm super impressed with Kat on -- very good outlet passer (quick and on-point).

nycericanguy wrote:Keep saying it but our NET rating is insane and indicative of an elite team. The defense will get better, especially once we get Mitch back, and the offense is ELITE and Brunson hasn't found his stride 100% yet, and Mikal is just starting to find his.

Quick glance at just scoring figures in ESPN standings. We are 6th in PPG offensively but now up to 7th in PPG defensively - I think point differential we are now #5. All these exclude pace.

LivingLegend wrote:

DLeethal wrote:

Knicksfan wrote:THIS is the starting lineup.

This is the lineup I’ve wanted for a long time, but wasn’t sure how well it would play out but suspected it would be right. It’s just one game, yes, but you can tell the impact that a rightly balanced lineup has. And also, we all know that when given significant minutes, Precious delivers. And the defense and rebounding, you can see the impact! OG is amazing and can definitely give you minutes at the 4 when needed, but he is better suited at the 3.

I really hope we keep this lineup moving forward. Not only does this lengthens the lineup with a talented Swiss-army player like Josh coming from the bench, but you really take advantage of all of our players at their strengths. Get me a backup power forward through the wire at some point in the season and we are cool.

Knicks looked great but Precious was a -4 in a game we were up by 30+ for most of it and we didn't take over the game until the bench mob came in the second Q.

YES to DLeethal comments. I'm one of biggest Precious supporters but we were down 1 at end of 1st (+30 points for Wolves) and Precious was primary defender on Julius when he got a quick/easy 13 points.

I agree with Knicksfan that I think I like Precious next to Kat better and pushing OG/Mikal down to 3/2 BUT AGAIN don't see Thibs changing anything.

I really like when Cam comes in and starts turns the pace up and ball starts flying around - Cam/Mikal/OG/Precious/Kat I think was out there for a few minutes with Deuce sprinkled in as well --- better pace with Cam vs Jalen slowly getting into sets.

Teams are pressing and trapping Jalen in the back court and high up the front court. He is one of the most closely guarded players in the league. As a function we have to move slowly without a secondary ballhandler who can push it. Thats usually Josh, but he was out last night. Mikal has been awful handling the ball this year and has had issues with turnovers so we cant use him in that role right now. What I liked when Deuce was out was we played Payne and Brunson together some and freed up Brunson quite a bit. Wont work against big backcourts, but its a good look.

HofstraBBall wrote:

martin wrote:Mikal only played 36 minutes? Was he hurt or something or Thibs just getting soft?

He is getting A LOT more comfortable!
Knicks also making a point to get him the ball in his spots.
Still believe his and OG’s consistency will be key for n how far we go.

KAT has been KAT from outside. We will see how that does in big games.
Love the ball flow and pace he brings to team. We just have to make those threes.

Great win. Dominant show of who is a better team right now.

Wolves depth and outside shooting is not good.

Thibs or Mikal?

Tweet was deleted or there was problem with the URL:

https://www.twitter.com/BenRitholtzNBA/status/1870149235565293601

Tweet was deleted or there was problem with the URL:

https://www.twitter.com/JCMacriNBA/status/1870120530818236760

Tweet was deleted or there was problem with the URL:

https://www.twitter.com/KnicksMuse/status/1870123712223044086

I'll say this about KAT sticking it to the Timberwolves tonight...

Tim Connelly has *rarely* been wrong in his career building NBA contenders.

If TC thought Wolves were on the verge of a title w/ KAT, he wouldn't have made the trade. It's that simple. Running it back was the easy move.

TC clearly felt very strongly that the Wolves weren't winning a title by running it back this season. He's right, IMO.

Instead, TC sold high on KAT -- a 29-year-old, oft-injured big who makes 36% of the cap and pushes the Wolves into 2nd apron roster-building restrictions -- to create flexibility over a multi-year window.

So... Either Tim Connelly was *wildly* wrong for the first time in his career. OR everyone just needs to chill and be patient.

In the meantime, I can be your punching bag 😂

/rant

Tweet was deleted or there was problem with the URL:

https://www.twitter.com/PhilMackey/status/1869954770791719417

Tweet was deleted or there was problem with the URL:

https://www.twitter.com/NBA_NewYork/status/1870095809855045823

Tweet was deleted or there was problem with the URL:

https://www.twitter.com/KnicksMuse/status/1869962172916478266

How OG shut down Randle in the second half is why Im glad he's at the 4. A little surprised Randle snubbed his former teammates. A least DDV showed some class. Didnt help his shooting. But this game might give him the closure to stop looking in the rearview mirror. Wouldnt be surprised if he starts playing better going forward, we'll see.

In the scheme of things, I wouldnt get too pumped about this blowout. Its the teams who stand between us and Eastern conference crown which has more of my attention. Cant read too much into this win, as solid as it was. Onward.