Deuce McBride glow-up thread

[FrozenEnvelope]

Couldn't happen at a better more opportune time. His defense is ELITE and always has been but now he's in killer mode. He's running the team, attacking the paint, sniping from 3... he's always had the mid range which is rare in today's NBA.

He's just got his confidence thru the roof, which he's never really lacked but it must of been so frustrating not getting a chance to showcase his talent and get consistent minutes to really help this team.

He can flat out WRECK a game with his defense alone. Now he's showing he can be an important 2-way player.... that is HUGE for us at the PERFECT time. He adds a special talent to a fully healthy team but given our state of injuries he's proving even more vital.

He's proving he can be trusted. This is like getting a 1st round ready draft pick or trading for an impact player right before the playoffs.... aka Marcus Smart

Do you give Thibs and the coaching staff any credit for Deuce's development?

I've always given Thibs credit for player development but in the same token some of yall act like they wouldn't develop w.o Thibs or with a different coach... or maybe they would of developed a lot sooner had they gotten consistent minutes

There's no way to know but I've always maintained Thibs was a good coach not a great coach for many painfully obvious reasons. Brunson 100% saved his job and so did Randle during that December stretch 2 years ago when we looked like we were nose diving and shifting to the lottery

I also have always credited Thibs for changing the culture at a DIRE time of need but the game has passed him by for a long time now and he's not a coach to get u over the hump. Nobody was hiring him but us

How has the game passed him by when we have developed young players, are 12th in the NBA in 3pt attempts and top 15 on both offense and defense rating? And when did a Thibs team lose a series they should have won or lose because of his coaching?

[seren]

Props to Thibs for giving Deuce his well deserved time instead of pushing Burks/Bojan. Those two are truly done.

[DrCoach]

Time for people to admit that Thibs develops players

If you ignore all the players he didn't develop, he definitely does!

You mean the ones that havent developed anywhere else cause they arent good?

[Luv those Knicks]

Am I the only one who thinks the Knicks did him dirty, signing him on the cheap before his minutes went up? They limited Mitch's minutes before extending him too. With the cap, this kind of shenanigan might be necessary but it's unfortunate.

If I'm wrong, let me know, but that's what it looks like to me. If I see it, I'm sure the players see it.

this is common business practice and i could argue why it is smart business by the knicks.

noone forced deuce to accept, he coulda bet on himself. but getting a 4 year contract is something you take for safety, when your standing in the league is not clear. which it isnt or wasnt. depending what other teams think of deuce

You're right. And I've softened my stance on this after reading several replies. The knicks did take some risk, though as you said, there was some strategy and intelligence to their offer as well.

I don't remember the last time the Knicks signed a player mid-season. That kind of made it stand out to me.

[stuporman]

As I mentioned about Deuce providing a solid floor in his current run of games he just had what could be considered a 'down' game for him but still delivered 13pts on 5-12fg/1-7 3p/2-2ft, 5rb, 3ast, 1stl, 0tos and a +28 in 43mins while playing his usual impact defense.

This is why he's in Thibs circle of trust...

[stuporman]

Something we will be watching closely come the playoffs is the ball pressure on quick guards. Grimes had that responsibility last season and OG for all his defensive ability has a slight weakness in the super quick small guards. I'm not saying he's bad with them, just that it's not his best attribute on the defensive end and probably not all of them either, just some.

This is where Deuce has to be able to step up, he will be tasked with the job to disrupt a quick guard going off on the Knicks. One of the incalculable benefits of him in this role is his ability to pressure his opposing guard on the other end, he moves without the ball, attacks the paint and lights them up from deep. There is no offensive drop off with him in there, that's huge.

[stuporman]

I'll try to continue putting my Deuce exclusive thoughts here as long as the thread stays afloat.

He is definitely on a great run of games and appears to have really turned a corner with his assertiveness. Undoubtedly, getting run next to Brunson and having less pressure on him because of the attention the other gets has allowed him to blossom.

Although, we need to put it into context because some of these games are against tanking teams and this time of the season has young players put up some impressive numbers in less than impressive conditions.

We should also acknowledge that in the last 10 games he's has a couple of 0 point efforts but it still is encouraging that he's bouncing back from them. His calm demeanor is incredible for his age.

The final 10 games of playoff push and the playoffs themselves will really give him a chance to shine. Looking forward to watching it unfold.

[KnicksGod]

Time for people to admit that Thibs develops players

If you ignore all the players he didn't develop, he definitely does!

You mean the ones that havent developed anywhere else cause they arent good?

Obi looks decent but not as good as I thought.

Yeah I'm not a big fan of continuing to argue a point that the guy has changed or that was never in existence. I don't know which is right but bringing in Burks was not good.

However it's clear that Thibs is getting a lot of results and has somehow fallen in love with Deuce hopefully. And no team will make perfect trades / signings.

With DD, Deuce, Hart, Hartenstein and of course Brunson, that's a pretty great track record that outweighs Burks lol. Bojan seems horrible too. Both of them are so selfish and weak and just suck.

[GONYK]

I don't understand how people think Bogey and Burks are completely washed when they were both consistent 13-20 ppg scorers literally days before we got them.

Clearly there is an aspect of them figuring out how to fit into what we do, but they didn't forget how to play.

This is similar to how it took Precious almost a month to find a groove.

It may or may not work out with them, but they weren't viable NBA players on Feb 2 (when Bogey scored 26 on 13 shots) and then turned into horse glue on Feb 6

[KnixtapeH20]

I don't understand how people think Bogey and Burks are completely washed when they were both consistent 13-20 ppg scorers literally days before we got them.

Clearly there is an aspect of them figuring out how to fit into what we do, but they didn't forget how to play.

This is similar to how it took Precious almost a month to find a groove.

It may or may not work out with them, but they weren't viable NBA players on Feb 2 (when Bogey scored 26 on 13 shots) and then turned into horse glue on Feb 6

Bogs more than Burks but I agree and I still think they will "turn it on come playoffs" maybe it's dumb to think but certain players can do that... it's a different atmosphere

[Chanel Bomber]

I don't understand how people think Bogey and Burks are completely washed when they were both consistent 13-20 ppg scorers literally days before we got them.

Clearly there is an aspect of them figuring out how to fit into what we do, but they didn't forget how to play.

This is similar to how it took Precious almost a month to find a groove.

It may or may not work out with them, but they weren't viable NBA players on Feb 2 (when Bogey scored 26 on 13 shots) and then turned into horse glue on Feb 6

Their shot should improve.

My worry is their defense.

Bog's defense is a liability. That's the main reason his overall impact on winning has been negative for years. Burks's defense has slipped in the last couple of years.

They put up numbers on a team that beat an NBA record for consecutive losses. Their production in Detroit wasn't entirely meaningless but it clearly didn't impact winning much, and one of the reasons is that their offensive output didn't offset their poor defense.

They could make an impact if they can make shots off the bench in the playoffs, assuming they don't make the defense collapse on itself. Particularly Bog.

[GONYK]

I don't understand how people think Bogey and Burks are completely washed when they were both consistent 13-20 ppg scorers literally days before we got them.

Clearly there is an aspect of them figuring out how to fit into what we do, but they didn't forget how to play.

This is similar to how it took Precious almost a month to find a groove.

It may or may not work out with them, but they weren't viable NBA players on Feb 2 (when Bogey scored 26 on 13 shots) and then turned into horse glue on Feb 6

Their shot should improve.

My worry is their defense.

Bog's defense is a liability. That's the main reason his overall impact on winning has been negative for years. Burks's defense has slipped in the last couple of years.

They put up numbers on a team that beat an NBA record for consecutive losses. Their production in Detroit wasn't entirely meaningless but it clearly didn't impact winning much, and one of the reasons is that their offensive output didn't offset their poor defense.

They could make an impact if they can make shots off the bench in the playoffs, assuming they don't make the defense collapse on itself. Particularly Bog.

Yea, I completely agree about their defense being a concern. They are flawed on that end, which is why they were fairly cheap relative to their offensive production.

But whether or not you can reliably put them on the floor in a playoff game is a different discussion than saying they are completely cooked as players.

They were producing a week before we got them. This isn't a Kemba situation.

[Capn'O]

Those two might get hot and win us a quarter here and there. Deuce is gonna win us games though.

[HarthorneWingo]

Bojan is playing mostly against the the the the the the the other team’s second unit, so I’m not as concerned about his lack of defense. And it’s not like he doesn’t try. I’ve also seen some BS call on him by the refs.

[knicks94]

Why can’t we call him Deuce McBuckets, but for years people referred to that scrub Doug McDermott as McBuckets?

[HarthorneWingo]

Why can’t we call him Deuce McBuckets, but for years people referred to that scrub Doug McDermott as McBuckets?

Deuce McDirty?

McBuckets is already taken.

[knicks94]

Why can’t we call him Deuce McBuckets, but for years people referred to that scrub Doug McDermott as McBuckets?

Deuce McDirty?

McBuckets is already taken.

McDermott should have that nickname revoked since he never earned it in the first place.

[stuporman]

Bojan is playing mostly against the the the the the the the other team’s second unit, so I’m not as concerned about his lack of defense. And it’s not like he doesn’t try. I’ve also seen some BS call on him by the refs.

Someone do a welfare check on Wingo he might be having a stroke...

Oh...and Deuce McHim

[Iron Mantis]

Time for people to admit that Thibs develops players

If you ignore all the players he didn't develop, he definitely does!

You mean the ones that havent developed anywhere else cause they arent good?

How could they develop anywhere else after leaving Thibs? We were told a player is a finished product after 3 years.

So if Thibs bungles a player's development in their first 3 years....he's ruined them forever. Career over.

[KnicksGod]

Why can’t we call him Deuce McBuckets, but for years people referred to that scrub Doug McDermott as McBuckets?

Deuce McDirty?

McBuckets is already taken.

McDermott should have that nickname revoked since he never earned it in the first place.

McGod