2023-2024 Regular Season Game 55: New York Knicks (33-21) at Orlando Magic (29-25) - 7pm

[RookieStar]

I don’t care about him- I care that ORL couldn’t stop it

I dunno who to blame though. Wcj or PB? Those guys are mediocre rebounders

From my point of view WCJ got outrebounded many times. I prefer JI next to Banchero.

Yeah.. last season a lot of us thought we lost a lot of games due to key offensive rebounds by our opponents.

[RookieStar]

BTW... did anyone here commented or knows what happened to MoeSwags face? Its too weird looking 3o be a shaving accident.

[byeganyo]

Cole is a better rebounder than Paolo, who seems to have no natural instinct to get the ball at all. Maybe is conserving energy thing, i dont know.

[pepe1991]

I don’t care about him- I care that ORL couldn’t stop it

I dunno who to blame though. Wcj or PB? Those guys are mediocre rebounders

From my point of view WCJ got outrebounded many times. I prefer JI next to Banchero.

isaac's PT passed magical 19:59 min - 5 times this year.
20 times out of 37 games, he played below 15 min.

Wendell still has highest contested rebounds percentage on a team.
Back in a days when Isaac actually played basketball like a nba player, in 2018-19, his rebounding numbers were pretty damn bad.

We don't have rebounding problem. We have low rebounding numbers as team because we play slow.

i swear, people just want to get rid of Wendell because ...reasons? It's kind a hilarious, previous years people were thrilled about him, claimed he is better than Vuc, made claims he is top 10 center etc. Now , guy has highest FG% of his life, highest 3% of his life, highest eFG% of his life, highest TS% of his life but averages less points because his usage dropped for 4% and he plays less min. And now he is allegedly our "problem"?

Where Isaac shows up against OKC "drops" 3 points, 1 rebound and people are like " what a great value, he only costs $17M "

[Skybox]

I don’t care about him- I care that ORL couldn’t stop it

I dunno who to blame though. Wcj or PB? Those guys are mediocre rebounders

From my point of view WCJ got outrebounded many times. I prefer JI next to Banchero.

I don't think of JI as a serious rebounder - like most guys who chase blocks and switch - but he's that rare guy, IMO, that could accept that role (set picks, rebound, block everything, cut and catch lobs if they ignore you) and be completely invested in it, with no regard for offense...like a less insane Rodman...honestly, that's a HOF front line - all still young. I'm not going to say Bird, McHale, Parrish

[tiderulz]

I dunno who to blame though. Wcj or PB? Those guys are mediocre rebounders

From my point of view WCJ got outrebounded many times. I prefer JI next to Banchero.

isaac's PT passed magical 19:59 min - 5 times this year.
20 times out of 37 games, he played below 15 min.

Wendell still has highest contested rebounds percentage on a team.
Back in a days when Isaac actually played basketball like a nba player, in 2018-19, his rebounding numbers were pretty damn bad.

We don't have rebounding problem. We have low rebounding numbers as team because we play slow.

i swear, people just want to get rid of Wendell because ...reasons? It's kind a hilarious, previous years people were thrilled about him, claimed he is better than Vuc, made claims he is top 10 center etc. Now , guy has highest FG% of his life, highest 3% of his life, highest eFG% of his life, highest TS% of his life but averages less points because his usage dropped for 4% and he plays less min. And now he is allegedly our "problem"?

Where Isaac shows up against OKC "drops" 3 points, 1 rebound and people are like " what a great value, he only costs $17M "

i dont think WCJ is the problem. I do think though that you can win in todays game with lesser talent at the center position. If WCJ is needed to upgrade our PG spot, i dont hesitate, also because as you have mentioned (and a problem with a lot of the team) he cant stay healthy. but i dont move him just to move him off the team

[pepe1991]

From my point of view WCJ got outrebounded many times. I prefer JI next to Banchero.

isaac's PT passed magical 19:59 min - 5 times this year.
20 times out of 37 games, he played below 15 min.

Wendell still has highest contested rebounds percentage on a team.
Back in a days when Isaac actually played basketball like a nba player, in 2018-19, his rebounding numbers were pretty damn bad.

We don't have rebounding problem. We have low rebounding numbers as team because we play slow.

i swear, people just want to get rid of Wendell because ...reasons? It's kind a hilarious, previous years people were thrilled about him, claimed he is better than Vuc, made claims he is top 10 center etc. Now , guy has highest FG% of his life, highest 3% of his life, highest eFG% of his life, highest TS% of his life but averages less points because his usage dropped for 4% and he plays less min. And now he is allegedly our "problem"?

Where Isaac shows up against OKC "drops" 3 points, 1 rebound and people are like " what a great value, he only costs $17M "

i dont think WCJ is the problem. I do think though that you can win in todays game with lesser talent at the center position. If WCJ is needed to upgrade our PG spot, i dont hesitate, also because as you have mentioned (and a problem with a lot of the team) he cant stay healthy. but i dont move him just to move him off the team

On top of what who execlly he blocks on current roster?
Goga is UFA and 25 years old
Mortiz is soon to be 27.
Isaac turns 27 at the start of next year


Cater is like 3 months older than Goga, who people view as "potential"

Not to mention all those guys, for various reasons, can't even be actual nba starters.

[SOUL]

WCJ gets scapegoated a lot but stats don't tell the whole story this particular game. I've defended him a lot this year but you can't be getting bodied by Precious Achiuwa lol. Some possessions he's just really low effort and I've seen him D up and grab tough rebounds. That and when he struggles, he puts his head down and it seems like the mistakes continue.. lot of silly offensive fouls or bobbled balls.

However, he's important because Goga is not spacing the floor and WCJ still has a great contract. He plays tough defense on specific players but can get exploited easily too. So I think most games he is fine, other games he should play only specific matchups because he can turn into a less mobile Paolo/Franz (aka subpar rebounders with touch and go outside shooting), who is just a spot up shooter with forward size and his skill set overlaps too much with them.

Ideally you want guys who cover different roles out there, which is why having those different looks or starters that are switchable disruptors, i.e. Suggs and Isaac, is important, where at their best they are causing havoc while others can do what they do like score and distribute the ball.

Ironically, as much as he can be a wildcard, WCJ is more of a "steadier" sort of role compared to a "disruptor", meaning he can be someone you go to to steady the wild plays down and maybe run some plays to get him to pick and pop near the FT line, get an easy alley oop, try to get him a corner three, etc.

I think if Isaac played center he gets more rebounds, but ideally you want him as a forward because it allows him to roam and switch easier. Keep in mind, he had to contend with Vuc/AG for rebounds and he's a better rebounder in traffic than WCJ/I feel like he gets them at more crucial time.. in the last 2-3 weeks alone there is a late game tap in or put back by Isaac in quite a few games.

Goga gets more rebounds, protects the paint better, but jumps a lot and can get exploited on switches even more than WCJ. Can't work with Fultz so unless we switch out Fultz...

Mo is not really a dependable rebounder but obviously can score the easiest for us from center role.

[SOUL]

TLDR... it's not pretty with WCJ a lot of times and I think in some games he just needs to be benched, but he's also not as terrible as people make out either. I do think an unleashed minutes Isaac is the most "ideal" big for us in terms of a starter, but "unleashed minutes" is a pipe dream... so for now it's just those impact short stint minutes that we get which has been working well.

Although I do wish to see Goga more, just like AB, the reality of it isn't the 9 game winning streak play, it's just as up and down with different sets of problems, but certain matchups he is needed to play that enforcer big role.

[Bergmaniac]

Feels nice to have a very hot shooting night for a change. Of course New York being so shorthanded helped, but we also just made shots at a much higher rate than usual. When Paolo shoots like this from 3 he is extremely hard to stop. Franz did a solid job on Brunson when he was put as his primary defender. Isaac once again spearheaded a key run of defensive dominance in the second quarter, this happens with amazing regularity. Ingles had a bounceback game, looked better on both ends, hopefully he'll look more like the early season Ingles than the one from the last month or so once he get a week off during the ASB.

A bit of a shame Jett couldn't get a minutes outside of garbage time even with several perimeter players out for us and the Knicks playing Brunson, Hart and a bunch of deep bench/G league guys. I want to see him playing meaningful minutes, but I guess it won't happen this year.

[richi_v25]

I dunno who to blame though. Wcj or PB? Those guys are mediocre rebounders

From my point of view WCJ got outrebounded many times. I prefer JI next to Banchero.

isaac's PT passed magical 19:59 min - 5 times this year.
20 times out of 37 games, he played below 15 min.

Wendell still has highest contested rebounds percentage on a team.
Back in a days when Isaac actually played basketball like a nba player, in 2018-19, his rebounding numbers were pretty damn bad.

We don't have rebounding problem. We have low rebounding numbers as team because we play slow.

i swear, people just want to get rid of Wendell because ...reasons? It's kind a hilarious, previous years people were thrilled about him, claimed he is better than Vuc, made claims he is top 10 center etc. Now , guy has highest FG% of his life, highest 3% of his life, highest eFG% of his life, highest TS% of his life but averages less points because his usage dropped for 4% and he plays less min. And now he is allegedly our "problem"?

Where Isaac shows up against OKC "drops" 3 points, 1 rebound and people are like " what a great value, he only costs $17M "

I like WCjr, I thought last year and definitely the year before he was our best player. Now i think he's the 3rd best option sometimes 4th if Suggs is doing good and that's a good thing. Could he be better, well the whole team could be better but his contact is nice.

[richi_v25]

I dunno who to blame though. Wcj or PB? Those guys are mediocre rebounders

From my point of view WCJ got outrebounded many times. I prefer JI next to Banchero.

isaac's PT passed magical 19:59 min - 5 times this year.
20 times out of 37 games, he played below 15 min.

Wendell still has highest contested rebounds percentage on a team.
Back in a days when Isaac actually played basketball like a nba player, in 2018-19, his rebounding numbers were pretty damn bad.

We don't have rebounding problem. We have low rebounding numbers as team because we play slow.

i swear, people just want to get rid of Wendell because ...reasons? It's kind a hilarious, previous years people were thrilled about him, claimed he is better than Vuc, made claims he is top 10 center etc. Now , guy has highest FG% of his life, highest 3% of his life, highest eFG% of his life, highest TS% of his life but averages less points because his usage dropped for 4% and he plays less min. And now he is allegedly our "problem"?

Where Isaac shows up against OKC "drops" 3 points, 1 rebound and people are like " what a great value, he only costs $17M "

I like WCjr, I thought last year and definitely the year before he was our best player. Now i think he's the 3rd best option sometimes 4th if Suggs is doing good and that's a good thing. Could he be better, well the whole team could be better but his contact is nice.

[Knightro]

Read on Twitter

future magic?

Rick Brunson & Mosely were both assistants on the Nuggets I believe in the past and are close friends

Wonder if Mosely could get Rick on our coaching staff, and Jalen to come along?

Ask Temple University how that worked out for them

[JoshuaPotter]

I have kinda soured on WCJ a little. Still like him; currently do not regard him as highly as I used too say at the start of the season.

The injury, the coming back to form, he still doesn't feel like he is in last season shape for example. Ah well. I could say the same thing about our PG rotation. Now I am starting to wonder if thats a feature not a bug of our team construction.

[eyriq]

WCJ with a soft mentality is pretty much Kelly Olynyk

[Optimus_Steel]

Read on Twitter

future magic?

Wow so this is like psychological warfare lol. Hypnotize the competition.

[zaymon]

WCJ with a soft mentality is pretty much Kelly Olynyk

Yes in the end its something like that. One provocation by someone like Beverly and he is disturbed. Younger players around him need to give him support and confidence or he is down on himself. You have three players in rotation like that Cole Anthony, Fultz, Carter, sometimes even Suggs and its more kindergarden than serious basketball club. So many immature personalities. For some reason thats Weltman type, at least very often.

[CocoaFan]

WCJ gets scapegoated a lot but stats don't tell the whole story this particular game. I've defended him a lot this year but you can't be getting bodied by Precious Achiuwa lol. Some possessions he's just really low effort and I've seen him D up and grab tough rebounds. That and when he struggles, he puts his head down and it seems like the mistakes continue.. lot of silly offensive fouls or bobbled balls.

However, he's important because Goga is not spacing the floor and WCJ still has a great contract. He plays tough defense on specific players but can get exploited easily too. So I think most games he is fine, other games he should play only specific matchups because he can turn into a less mobile Paolo/Franz (aka subpar rebounders with touch and go outside shooting), who is just a spot up shooter with forward size and his skill set overlaps too much with them.

Ideally you want guys who cover different roles out there, which is why having those different looks or starters that are switchable disruptors, i.e. Suggs and Isaac, is important, where at their best they are causing havoc while others can do what they do like score and distribute the ball.

Ironically, as much as he can be a wildcard, WCJ is more of a "steadier" sort of role compared to a "disruptor", meaning he can be someone you go to to steady the wild plays down and maybe run some plays to get him to pick and pop near the FT line, get an easy alley oop, try to get him a corner three, etc.

I think if Isaac played center he gets more rebounds, but ideally you want him as a forward because it allows him to roam and switch easier. Keep in mind, he had to contend with Vuc/AG for rebounds and he's a better rebounder in traffic than WCJ/I feel like he gets them at more crucial time.. in the last 2-3 weeks alone there is a late game tap in or put back by Isaac in quite a few games.

Goga gets more rebounds, protects the paint better, but jumps a lot and can get exploited on switches even more than WCJ. Can't work with Fultz so unless we switch out Fultz...

Mo is not really a dependable rebounder but obviously can score the easiest for us from center role.

I like Wendell but for whatever reason his energy level varies greatly game to game and he seems to hang his head quickly when things aren't going his way. This seems pretty constant over his career. He's still young and I hope he develops a more consistent approach. No upgrade needed if he could do that.

[tooler]

If it’s something as simple as body language or mental state, I’m surprised the coach hasn’t identified it and corrected it. Or Paolo can talk to him about what he learned from Coach K. Very odd.

[Knightro]

Wendell is a solid/good player, who unfortunately appears to suffer from low confidence.

He hangs his head far too often when things go poorly and that almost always creates a snowball effect where bad plays start piling up.