Think what the two games against elite teams did show us is that our starting five resort to the one on five mentality. Our starting 5 had 8 assists combined last night. They all played like they were trying out for a ten day contract. Completely different from first 3 1/2 games. We learned that a true contender has guys that are efficient and can all contribute with consistent outside shooting. We also were once again reminded of what a true franchise player looks like.
Another takeaway was which of our players can compete athletically with a top tier team. Thought IQ was up for the task. He showed a wide gap compared to a player like EF. Thought Obi's shot looked real good. Showing that he may be a better complimentary piece in the first unit. Especially with Randle only getting 8 ahots in first 46 minutes of the game.. Was impressed with Rose's quickness. May have underestimated his athleticism. Seemed to be able to get free more than JB at times. Thought Cam's showed a high level of athleticism but once again a low level of Bball IQ.

Like I said at the beginning, not gonna make any major judgements. Clear we need many more games to get an idea of what we truly have. Gonna chalk up this to our guys needing to play together more and build consistency in sharing the ball and playing as a team. Not to mention the Bucks have the pieces to compete for a chip "right now". Thought Knicks hung in despite struggles and bad play in the first half from several players. Hopefully they show they are closer not farther from being able to compete against elite teams on Sunday. Think they will.

But the team has definitely taken a step closer I'd say. They played tough last night, staying in the game if not making it super close. The talent - with Brunson especially and the younguns a year older - is better if still flawed. And despite the bent of the Thibs haters, the Knicks play hard and generally smarter for him.

A lot can happen but I see a team heading for the playoffs, perhaps not just the play in. I'd call that good progress.

They could use more PG depth and they should look to move Fournier.

* We can hang with good teams on the road.
* If other teams play ugly/disjointed ball, apparently we can match that. :) And unfortunately, it's what we've done!
* Desmond Bane is surprisingly legit - might be a better overall player than RJ.
* Giannis is dominant like Shaq. He takes a step and he has enough power to slice through anything to the basket. It's sick. Plus he has some perimeter game too. And Morant is slippery. We may complain about not having an answer to them, but it's not like those guys are like 30ppg type players playing the Knicks all the time. They do this to practically every other team in the league too regardless of defenders. Let's not make this about us.
* Our bench on paper and in reality looks better than other teams'. In spite of this, we're still prone to stretches of ugly offense. We need to figure this out. I'd like to see Quickley and Obi bring the star swagger they did in their short stretch as superstar starters last season. Obi plays like he's just trying to do the little things. He should be able to take charge and be a featured scorer when he comes off the bench.
* RJ looks like he really worked on his game, BUT so far the results have not been good, especially regarding his 3pt shooting. I think he'll eventually go through a stretch where he's regularly going 3/5 or 4/7 from 3 to get his 3pt% up. I'm worried that we haven't seen much propensity for playmaking.
* iHart is a really impressive player. He brings more to the table than Mitch/Noel. He's got more all-around game than Mitch. Tho the things that Mitch does well, he's about as good as anyone.
* My impression before the season was that Reddish wasn't a rotation player. I'm still not sold on Reddish. His game vs Memphis was spectacular, that much is indisputable. But it's like he's playing worse each successive game. He was solid enough vs Detroit and the Magic, but vs CHA and Milwaukee he didn't provide much value.

The game has also exposed the limitation of Randle/RJ, once the opposing team packs the paint on defense, these guys just cannot finish at the rim, and Randle's fumbling of the ball becomes chronic. It is good that this Knicks team has a lot of depth, we have been able to stay in the game for most of the time thanks to people stepping up when Randle and RJ could not get it going early on.

I also had a feeling that the Knicks did not have their legs under them, they looked a bit gassed, wonder if it was due to the travel. To beat a quality team like the Bucks, we needed to be more energetic and more alert because a quality team always punishes you for careless mistakes, leaves no margin for error.

Philc1 wrote:Played well @Memphus. Average versus bucks

Once again the team resorted to individual offense in the 4th quarter when the pressure was on.
Randle had 7 assists as did JB. Others....?
Also, biggest factor in today's NBA is 3pt shooting.
Other than EF and RJ, the team was 7 for 27.
As I have mentioned in last three years, we will be as good as our 3pt percentage.

This game showed once again that we do not have a franchise player and what a difference it is for teams that do.

Philc1 wrote:

HofstraBBall wrote:

Philc1 wrote:Played well @Memphus. Average versus bucks

Once again the team resorted to individual offense in the 4th quarter when the pressure was on.
Randle had 7 assists as did JB. Others....?
Also, biggest factor in today's NBA is 3pt shooting.
Other than EF and RJ, the team was 7 for 27.
As I have mentioned in last three years, we will be as good as our 3pt percentage.

This game showed once again that we do not have a franchise player and what a difference it is for teams that do.

The bucks are the only eastern conference team that I think would absolutely wreck us in a 7 game series. The Cavs needed the refs working for Vegas to bail them out against us, Celtics we split with last year, nets are a mess, hawks we could probably take to a 6 or 7 game series

Just get to the playoffs. We have more talent than 2021

fishmike wrote:shows us we have a lot of work to do... We are a very young team and I expect us to improve in literally every area as the season goes on.

Agree.
Thing I am looking at is fit.
Brunson style seems like he needs a PF that stays out of the paint and can shoot a three at high click. Don't think Randle is that.
Brunson additionally needs a C that stays out the paint, finishes on PnR and can also pop off PnR
when defender goes under screen. Hart seems closer to that than MR.
Brunson also needs a SF that shoots higher than 25% from 3pt and a SG that can do more than EF does.
Think things can get better but feel Knicks front office will be keeping an eye on this as well.