PG: Cavs vs. Knicks: Only 8FGA for KAT?

[CometGM]

If things don’t go well, Towns is going to be the guy getting booed

It won’t be Brunson, obviously
It won’t be Brunson’s friends Mikal or Hart, or OG, as they are hustle defense guys Knicks fans like

Towns is the finesse soft reputation player that the pitchforks will come for. Well him and the coach. When that happens all bets are off

So while it’s actually relieving to me after 5 years of unpopularly defending Randle to now have a fresh start with Towns to root for without much of a hassle from other Knicks fans(I am openly biased towards both players) I just have that sinking feeling it won’t last

Can’t tell you how much it pains me to post that but I do it in the spirit of honest discussion

I get where you are coming from, and yes the pitchforks will come for Towns, but they will really only poke Thibs in the end.
I saw what Finch did with Towns in Minny and it works. Thibs needs to establish a hierachy and stop being so loyal to Hart, etc (bring him of the bench if needed). If the Knicks fail, Towns isn't going anywhere, Thibs is, and with good reason.

In regards to Randle, there is nothing he could've ever done to wipe the disgusting taste of his 2023 playoff performance, for me at least. For all of Towns playoff downers, nothing was ever as bad as that Randle playoff run. He was literally hiding and choking so bad I couldn't bear to watch.

[Clyde Frazier]

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[KnixinSix]

Rob, the biggest difference with KAT and Randle, to me, is that KAT isn't a guy who will purposefully mentally bail on a team. Randle often mopes, yells at teammates and coaches, and blames others. That sort of stuff doesn't jive with championship aspirations. It just doesn't. The icing on the cake is KAT's superior shooting efficiency, ability to guard meatier centers, and our player contract control as opposed to Randle being a flight risk. For all those reasons, we raised our ceiling and I understand the trade.

at the end of the day rob’s message was stating non of that really matters if toys is equally liable to be a no show in a big moment. meaning they’re basically the same level of player

I think they’re a similar level of player but Towns gives you more upside if you can make it work with him at the 5 and be able to play 5 out which Randle does not have the size to do as he’s exclusively a PF. But if we ultimately give up on that and resign to playing him at the 4 with Mitch I’m not sure if we’ve really made much of an upgrade there especially with sending Donte. On the other hand the Timberwolves did have success with him and Gobert and we could still go 5 out in certain situations. If he doesn’t succeed at the 5 and can’t be played there anymore it really puts a damper on the trade and reduces the upside of it

I think the Theory is at minimum
He can be used at 5 vs certain matchups and for a certain amount of time.

But either way his 3 ball at that size is a weapon which makes him open when he is guarded by smaller players.

He is also under contract for 4 years and a bit younger than Randle while Randle is a FA end of season

[Garbagelo]

The team doesn't trust KAT yet

His misses are often demoralizing, like a Randle turnover