PG: Knicks vs. Bucks: ROAD KILL CAUGHT IN MSG

[Fat Kat]

Read on Twitter

Read on Twitter

[Jalen Bluntson]

It is alarming that JB goes from poor games to 40+ because that cries out that it’s fatigue.

Or maybe he's recovering from an injury?

Maybe. Would seem rather a sudden recovery.

His big issue was 3 point shooting for a couple of weeks. Legs looked off during a calf strain. He has been off the injury report for a week. He's a stud. He was clearly playing injured and, probably tied as well. Thibs is a mad man. Agree to agree.

[thebuzzardman]

Get one of: Hunter (ATL), Tre Murphy (NOP), or Deni (POR) or someone like that. Would provide a Hart/OG like mid-season boost. Big time.

They would all cost Mitch plus more

[Clyde_Style]

It's a shame so many here disrespect and take Brunson for granted. Wish I could drop all of you in the middle of those wild fires!

They want him benched for Kolek who is better!

[WaltFrazier]

Is it Natalie Sago who's like 5-0 against us? Gotta break her streak tonight

[WaltFrazier]

Time to put OG on Cade cool him off

[Luv those Knicks]

Thibs isn't playing rookies in their first year right away. Might not even play them at all in the regular rotation. The fact that we haven't had a healthy bench all year should have made room for a rookie or two to get some burn but, Thibs.

Payne/Deuce/Shamet/Precious was the projected bench until Mitch gets back. They have all missed time. Significant time. We have had all four healthy for a total of 5 games this year. We won all 5 of those games I believe.

Yesterday we ran an 8 man rotation. Payne/Deuce/Precious played 32 minutes in the first half and scored 20 pts. That's what we need from the bench. The starters were all fresh for the second half as a result. We cruised to victory. This is the bench production we need to keep from breaking down or losing steam in the 4th qtr.

If/when Mitch gets back we will be deeper. Thibs will have too many options to run players into the ground but, whether or not he uses them will be the question. The team, needs to stay healthy and even then, we do not have the continuity or chemistry that CLE/BOS/OKC has. It will be a tough run to win a chip but, it's not entirely out of the question. We just need to keep developing the chemistry up amd down the roster and to avoid serious injuries.

I'd like to see them get a scorer off the bench. Payne, Deuce, Precious, Shamet aren't bad. Shamet can score some, but our starting 5 are clearly superior. I think they could mix it up more, maybe when Mitch comes back, by moving OG or Bridges or maybe Hart, but probably Bridges to the bench. He might not like it, but I think that would improve our roster variation and ability to move the lineup around.

No.

You've made a compelling argument, and your one-word answer carries a lot of weight, and I even love our starting 5, but I still think an adjustment when they add Mitch to the mix, could make them better. Usually, it's a scorer who becomes 6th man, not a defender, but I'm open to being wrong about this, it's just what I think would give us the most flexibility.

[Guano]

Thibs sees these rookies in practice. He knows if they're ready or not.

He played Obi and IQ in their rookie season. He brought along Grimes and McBride slowly and they became reliable rotation players for us. Perhaps he's not a rookie hater and he knows what he's doing.

These expectations that Kolek, Dadiet and Hukporti are ready to contribute are based on wishful thinking. But second rounders rarely become NBA players for a reason. Players like McBride are the exception, not the rule, and it took him time to be able to contribute and not be a liability.

Thibs and/or the FO do need to find one more bench player to better distribute the minutes of the starters.

But to throw a young player into the fire prematurely can not only hurt the team but also destroy their confidence. Perhaps it's in their best interest.

this is the same man who dumped grimes at the first sign of struggle. he is a monster who tried to ruin grimes career and let rj be a no defense chucker. only thing thibs develops are ulcers and higher rates of medical insurance. a monster


i'm just talkin sht they're both at fault... the bench sucks but it doesn't justify killing our starters. both are true. can't believe I have to be the reasonable one here. it's unbecoming of me.

[spree8]

Thibs sees these rookies in practice. He knows if they're ready or not.

He played Obi and IQ in their rookie season. He brought along Grimes and McBride slowly and they became reliable rotation players for us. Perhaps he's not a rookie hater and he knows what he's doing.

These expectations that Kolek, Dadiet and Hukporti are ready to contribute are based on wishful thinking. But second rounders rarely become NBA players for a reason. Players like McBride are the exception, not the rule, and it took him time to be able to contribute and not be a liability.

Thibs and/or the FO do need to find one more bench player to better distribute the minutes of the starters.

But to throw a young player into the fire prematurely can not only hurt the team but also destroy their confidence. Perhaps it's in their best interest.

It's a good and fair point. But at the same time, and I could be wrong, I would find it hard to believe that there's no other team in the NBA with similar experience coming off the bench. And even that or those teams don't have guys leading the league in minutes. The minute stuff can be overblown but to have like 4 guys in the top 5 of minutes played is absurd.

I agree that we need to give someone minutes to spare the starters. My point was the rookies might not be ready, in which case Thibs might be protecting them by not throwing them to the fire and developing them behind closed doors.

I don’t think Thibs is so benevolent. I find it hard to believe he’s protecting anyone. He crushed Obi (who hates him) and Grimes too… dude even said he was terrified to miss shots because Thibs would pull him.

I mean look at him on the sidelines when the rookies make minor mistakes or even have something go wrong that’s not even 100% on them… Thibs gets extra fired up with his facial expressions, cursing under his breath and shaking his head.

Nobody is expecting the kids to be saviors by any stretch, just get some time in order to spell the starters and get some development/experience at the same time. We may not see them in practice, but apparently players barely practice much anyway, and when we see them in games they look solid enough to us all.

Bottom line, Thibs is old and has an antiquated approach. He even treats the vets this way. Guy just randomly yanks or ices them (Cam) or gives DNP’s for no logical reason (Shamet) like the past two games. He’s just a mad man with no method behind his madness.