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Knicks are pretenders.
Cavs starters will be resting by the 4th qt.

KazuoOda wrote:Knicks are pretenders.
Cavs starters will be resting by the 4th qt.

Knicks are scary and this will be a big test. Won't make or break us, but its our first contending opponent (even if you think they are pretenders).

This team is built very top heavy and it remains to be seen if they work together.

First real challenge of the season.

Cavs will have the size advantage in the front court. We'll see how much the Knicks are able to spread the Cavs defense out with 5 starters who are willing to look at a shot from deep.

I have no idea if Kenny's up tempo offense will be good or bad for this matchup. Thibs does only have 7.5 guys he currently trusts, 2 of which are game time decisions. However, it is early in the season and the Knicks are coming off 2 days rest.

Defense is completely locked in so far. Interesting defensive match-ups by Kenny; Dean Wade on Brunson, Garland on Bridges

Also, when Garland can get to his floater his game opens up so much

We are getting some WIDE open threes and just not hitting. Good shot quality, but need more at the rim

Looks like a lot of the same from last year this half. Pick and roll spam throw up a 3 pointer while a better team executes and exploits our weaknesses again and again

Team showed amazing heart in that 2nd half

This is why I didn't want to trade Garland. Good on Altman for standing firm.

Our defensive rebounding struggles reared its ugly head in the second quarter letting the Knicks get a 12 point lead, but we were able to steady the tide in the third to bring it even and bring it home in the fourth. Allowed 9 ORBs in the first half and only 2 in the second half.

Garland had a monster game on offense and a sneaky great game on defense. He was typically tasked w guarding the bigger wings in Mikal and OG and they backed him down a few times and he stood pretty steady. Obvi they made some shots over him, but he also was able to force a few loose balls. He did no wrong in the fourth quarter which as many of us know is not typical. Hopefully, a sign of the season after not starting super hot.

Honestly, our big four all had really good games and the bench was failing to produce outside LeVert (who mainly made his money on defense, with his extra passes, and FTs). Wade had a really bad shooting night (defense wasn't bad) so Atkinson turned to LeVert in the fourth over him.

I was really interested how Atkinson would use his players in this one as its obvi an important game for the team and fans. Heavier minutes for the starters (which is expected bc they've barely played the fourth in the first three games) and less minutes to Okoro, Jerome, and somewhat Niang (I think Niang got extra time w Wade struggling, but that is conjecture).

Really fun game and I should rewatch what he changed in the 2nd half to fix the ORBs.

afarmenian wrote:Looks like a lot of the same from last year this half. Pick and roll spam throw up a 3 pointer while a better team executes and exploits our weaknesses again and again

Nope

ijspeelman wrote:Our defensive rebounding struggles reared its ugly head in the second quarter letting the Knicks get a 12 point lead, but we were able to steady the tide in the third to bring it even and bring it home in the fourth. Allowed 9 ORBs in the first half and only 2 in the second half.

Garland had a monster game on offense and a sneaky great game on defense. He was typically tasked w guarding the bigger wings in Mikal and OG and they backed him down a few times and he stood pretty steady. Obvi they made some shots over him, but he also was able to force a few loose balls. He did no wrong in the fourth quarter which as many of us know is not typical. Hopefully, a sign of the season after not starting super hot.

Honestly, our big four all had really good games and the bench was failing to produce outside LeVert (who mainly made his money on defense, with his extra passes, and FTs). Wade had a really bad shooting night (defense wasn't bad) so Atkinson turned to LeVert in the fourth over him.

I was really interested how Atkinson would use his players in this one as its obvi an important game for the team and fans. Heavier minutes for the starters (which is expected bc they've barely played the fourth in the first three games) and less minutes to Okoro, Jerome, and somewhat Niang (I think Niang got extra time w Wade struggling, but that is conjecture).

Really fun game and I should rewatch what he changed in the 2nd half to fix the ORBs.

This is the Garland I expect ... at least until the injuries start to take their toll.

Making shots, being pesky on defense, finding ways to score on bigger players, nailing big shots, dropping that floater, not turning over the ball a lot, and of course dropping dimes.

Yeah, all that.

JonFromVA wrote:This is the Garland I expect ... at least until the injuries start to take their toll.

Making shots, being pesky on defense, finding ways to score on bigger players, nailing big shots, dropping that floater, not turning over the ball a lot, and of course dropping dimes.

Yeah, all that.

Its honestly the best he's looked since his mouth injury and maybe since 2022-23.

ijspeelman wrote:Our defensive rebounding struggles reared its ugly head in the second quarter letting the Knicks get a 12 point lead, but we were able to steady the tide in the third to bring it even and bring it home in the fourth. Allowed 9 ORBs in the first half and only 2 in the second half.

Garland had a monster game on offense and a sneaky great game on defense. He was typically tasked w guarding the bigger wings in Mikal and OG and they backed him down a few times and he stood pretty steady. Obvi they made some shots over him, but he also was able to force a few loose balls. He did no wrong in the fourth quarter which as many of us know is not typical. Hopefully, a sign of the season after not starting super hot.

Honestly, our big four all had really good games and the bench was failing to produce outside LeVert (who mainly made his money on defense, with his extra passes, and FTs). Wade had a really bad shooting night (defense wasn't bad) so Atkinson turned to LeVert in the fourth over him.

I was really interested how Atkinson would use his players in this one as its obvi an important game for the team and fans. Heavier minutes for the starters (which is expected bc they've barely played the fourth in the first three games) and less minutes to Okoro, Jerome, and somewhat Niang (I think Niang got extra time w Wade struggling, but that is conjecture).

Really fun game and I should rewatch what he changed in the 2nd half to fix the ORBs.

Okoro just isn't a Kenny type player. If he's the 10th man, that's okay.

Glad to see they won though, Cavs needed that.

JujitsuFlip wrote:

ijspeelman wrote:Our defensive rebounding struggles reared its ugly head in the second quarter letting the Knicks get a 12 point lead, but we were able to steady the tide in the third to bring it even and bring it home in the fourth. Allowed 9 ORBs in the first half and only 2 in the second half.

Garland had a monster game on offense and a sneaky great game on defense. He was typically tasked w guarding the bigger wings in Mikal and OG and they backed him down a few times and he stood pretty steady. Obvi they made some shots over him, but he also was able to force a few loose balls. He did no wrong in the fourth quarter which as many of us know is not typical. Hopefully, a sign of the season after not starting super hot.

Honestly, our big four all had really good games and the bench was failing to produce outside LeVert (who mainly made his money on defense, with his extra passes, and FTs). Wade had a really bad shooting night (defense wasn't bad) so Atkinson turned to LeVert in the fourth over him.

I was really interested how Atkinson would use his players in this one as its obvi an important game for the team and fans. Heavier minutes for the starters (which is expected bc they've barely played the fourth in the first three games) and less minutes to Okoro, Jerome, and somewhat Niang (I think Niang got extra time w Wade struggling, but that is conjecture).

Really fun game and I should rewatch what he changed in the 2nd half to fix the ORBs.

Okoro just isn't a Kenny type player. If he's the 10th man, that's okay.

Okoro looks like a guy who showed up late and is still trying to catch up, in addition to his usual flaws. He's at risk of falling out of the rotation. Niang getting in shape to justify playing real minutes at the 4, Wade shifting minutes to the 3, and LeVert playing great defense are all marginalizing him.

ijspeelman wrote:Really fun game and I should rewatch what he changed in the 2nd half to fix the ORBs.

Niang's intentional foul on Hart may have helped ...

toooskies wrote:

JujitsuFlip wrote:

ijspeelman wrote:Our defensive rebounding struggles reared its ugly head in the second quarter letting the Knicks get a 12 point lead, but we were able to steady the tide in the third to bring it even and bring it home in the fourth. Allowed 9 ORBs in the first half and only 2 in the second half.

Garland had a monster game on offense and a sneaky great game on defense. He was typically tasked w guarding the bigger wings in Mikal and OG and they backed him down a few times and he stood pretty steady. Obvi they made some shots over him, but he also was able to force a few loose balls. He did no wrong in the fourth quarter which as many of us know is not typical. Hopefully, a sign of the season after not starting super hot.

Honestly, our big four all had really good games and the bench was failing to produce outside LeVert (who mainly made his money on defense, with his extra passes, and FTs). Wade had a really bad shooting night (defense wasn't bad) so Atkinson turned to LeVert in the fourth over him.

I was really interested how Atkinson would use his players in this one as its obvi an important game for the team and fans. Heavier minutes for the starters (which is expected bc they've barely played the fourth in the first three games) and less minutes to Okoro, Jerome, and somewhat Niang (I think Niang got extra time w Wade struggling, but that is conjecture).

Really fun game and I should rewatch what he changed in the 2nd half to fix the ORBs.

Okoro just isn't a Kenny type player. If he's the 10th man, that's okay.

Okoro looks like a guy who showed up late and is still trying to catch up, in addition to his usual flaws. He's at risk of falling out of the rotation. Niang getting in shape to justify playing real minutes at the 4, Wade shifting minutes to the 3, and LeVert playing great defense are all marginalizing him.

That may be good for him. Then he can work on his deep ball and his handle to try and get back into the rotation.

If Kenny sticks to his word though, Okoro will be getting minutes well into the regular season, one way or another.