Knicks players and coaches frustrated with KAT

[sol537]

KAT and filler to PHX for KD, Dunn, future 1st makes some sense...

The EAST is wide only next season with the Tatum injury.

trades and transactions thread, please. -JVG

[jakoub]

Towns is who I thought he was during the all-star break.

[Guano]

Damn, a day after we lost and kat is getting cooked.

Rough as hell out here.

[Capn'O]

Read on Twitter

?s=46&t=H2ki0687ILNfmIp5nctWVg

Se queda!

If I were a betting man, I'd bet we're moving forward with this duo next year. These two need to get into the video room and brainstorm ways to play off one another better. I think they can do it and that there are some pragmatic challenges they can resolve on offense.

The defensive issues are above my pay grade though. Familiarity should help but this was always the concern about acquiring Towns.

[Guano]

I dont have it in me to go back to playing fantasy gm and roster construction and hating on our players when we should be watching a game 7 tonight.

I cant believe that bullcht game 1 shot dropped for hali. Sucks that we're living on this timeline.

As for the topic, ofc players are frustrated with kat. who the hell likes a coworker that makes your job harder.

[KnicksGadfly]

Damn, a day after we lost and kat is getting cooked.

Rough as hell out here.

I think at this point...it might have to be a choice between Towns and Thibs. I feel like Thibs and Towns will both want to try and work it out, but I feel if the Knicks want to really try and work shat out with KAT and Brunson, more creativity and out of the box thinking will be required. We have one of the best shooters at C and for some reason, he takes the fewest amount of 3s he's taken ever since 2019...when he should be spamming that shat over and over again with no remorse. And if we're committed to Thibs...I think he really tried this year with Towns at C, but to me, he's more of a traditionalist, who would prefer to have a bruiser at C.

It feels weird...like last year, we got further against Indiana with a more injured roster, but the biggest thing in my book...if we played that series against Indiana with the effort and brain-dead strategy we gave this series, we would have gotten our asses blown out in 4 games. That's the most disappointing thing for me.

[Fury]

Read on Twitter

?s=46&t=H2ki0687ILNfmIp5nctWVg

Se queda!

If I were a betting man, I'd bet we're moving forward with this duo next year. These two need to get into the video room and brainstorm ways to play off one another better. I think they can do it and that there are some pragmatic challenges they can resolve on offense.

The defensive issues are above my pay grade though. Familiarity should help but this was always the concern about acquiring Towns.

You just reminded me that Towns got traded to the Knicks pretty late in the offseason. They never really got that summer together. Should make a difference.

[Capn'O]

Read on Twitter

?s=46&t=H2ki0687ILNfmIp5nctWVg

Se queda!

If I were a betting man, I'd bet we're moving forward with this duo next year. These two need to get into the video room and brainstorm ways to play off one another better. I think they can do it and that there are some pragmatic challenges they can resolve on offense.

The defensive issues are above my pay grade though. Familiarity should help but this was always the concern about acquiring Towns.

You just reminded me that Towns got traded to the Knicks pretty late in the offseason. They never really got that summer together. Should make a difference.

One of the main things I've noticed is that Towns often sets up behind Brunson. Straight away at the 3 point line. This clears the lane for Brunson to operate but Towns is likely out of his field of vision and Brunson's not the sort of elite passer to have that instinct down for where to find him. That seems like the easiest thing to resolve with video + reps.

Both for Towns and Brunson, when Indy was sending help to pick their pockets they didn't know where to look for help and nobody was rotating.

[Guano]

Damn, a day after we lost and kat is getting cooked.

Rough as hell out here.

I think at this point...it might have to be a choice between Towns and Thibs. I feel like Thibs and Towns will both want to try and work it out, but I feel if the Knicks want to really try and work shat out with KAT and Brunson, more creativity and out of the box thinking will be required. We have one of the best shooters at C and for some reason, he takes the fewest amount of 3s he's taken ever since 2019...when he should be spamming that shat over and over again with no remorse. And if we're committed to Thibs...I think he really tried this year with Towns at C, but to me, he's more of a traditionalist, who would prefer to have a bruiser at C.

It feels weird...like last year, we got further against Indiana with a more injured roster, but the biggest thing in my book...if we played that series against Indiana with the effort and brain-dead strategy we gave this series, we would have gotten our asses blown out in 4 games. That's the most disappointing thing for me.

Youre prolly right on breaking em up. But idk, we were a bullchit lucky shot from being in a game 7 tonight.


I think the reason last years team did better was cause the defense was better. Even if they weren't as talented they could get stops. This team just struggled so bad at getting stops.

[Capn'O]

Damn, a day after we lost and kat is getting cooked.

Rough as hell out here.

I think at this point...it might have to be a choice between Towns and Thibs. I feel like Thibs and Towns will both want to try and work it out, but I feel if the Knicks want to really try and work shat out with KAT and Brunson, more creativity and out of the box thinking will be required. We have one of the best shooters at C and for some reason, he takes the fewest amount of 3s he's taken ever since 2019...when he should be spamming that shat over and over again with no remorse. And if we're committed to Thibs...I think he really tried this year with Towns at C, but to me, he's more of a traditionalist, who would prefer to have a bruiser at C.

It feels weird...like last year, we got further against Indiana with a more injured roster, but the biggest thing in my book...if we played that series against Indiana with the effort and brain-dead strategy we gave this series, we would have gotten our asses blown out in 4 games. That's the most disappointing thing for me.

Youre prolly right on breaking em up. But idk, we were a bullchit lucky shot from being in a game 7 tonight.


I think the reason last years team did better was cause the defense was better. Even if they weren't as talented they could get stops. This team just struggled so bad at getting stops.

To my point above, Indiana was better this year too and their improvement was largely based on reps and folding new actions and strategies into a team that was already familiar with one another. Last year they got Siakam at the deadline and even though he put up good stats I didn't really notice him in our series. This year he won ECF MVP and kept killing us in key moments. They knew how to deploy him better.

[8516knicks]

If I were a betting man, I'd bet we're moving forward with this duo next year. These two need to get into the video room and brainstorm ways to play off one another better. I think they can do it and that there are some pragmatic challenges they can resolve on offense.

The defensive issues are above my pay grade though. Familiarity should help but this was always the concern about acquiring Towns.

You just reminded me that Towns got traded to the Knicks pretty late in the offseason. They never really got that summer together. Should make a difference.

One of the main things I've noticed is that Towns often sets up behind Brunson. Straight away at the 3 point line. This clears the lane for Brunson to operate but Towns is likely out of his field of vision and Brunson's not the sort of elite passer to have that instinct down for where to find him. That seems like the easiest thing to resolve with video + reps.

Both for Towns and Brunson, when Indy was sending help to pick their pockets they didn't know where to look for help and nobody was rotating.

Some of the clips of the Pacer's win in game 6 illustrated they're not only fast but they almost know without looking where to find an open man on a transition break. For the regular season, our currenty pound and plod style might work, but for the Playoffs we almost need to have a 2nd guy who can get his shot anytime.

They tried it with Mikal this past series but that mid-range fadeaway works better when it's not crunch time. And Hart is a transition guy, not a half-court driver. And OG seems best setting up for a corner 3. This offense needs a way to drive ball movement not iso all the time.

[Capn'O]

You just reminded me that Towns got traded to the Knicks pretty late in the offseason. They never really got that summer together. Should make a difference.

One of the main things I've noticed is that Towns often sets up behind Brunson. Straight away at the 3 point line. This clears the lane for Brunson to operate but Towns is likely out of his field of vision and Brunson's not the sort of elite passer to have that instinct down for where to find him. That seems like the easiest thing to resolve with video + reps.

Both for Towns and Brunson, when Indy was sending help to pick their pockets they didn't know where to look for help and nobody was rotating.

Some of the clips of the Pacer's win in game 6 illustrated they're not only fast but they almost know without looking where to find an open man on a transition break. For the regular season, our currenty pound and plod style might work, but for the Playoffs we almost need to have a 2nd guy who can get his shot anytime.

They tried it with Mikal this past series but that mid-range fadeaway works better when it's not crunch time. And Hart is a transition guy, not a half-court driver. And OG seems best setting up for a corner 3. This offense needs a way to drive ball movement not iso all the time.

Yes. They know each other much better this year.

[rajajackal]

Damn, a day after we lost and kat is getting cooked.

Rough as hell out here.

I think at this point...it might have to be a choice between Towns and Thibs. I feel like Thibs and Towns will both want to try and work it out, but I feel if the Knicks want to really try and work shat out with KAT and Brunson, more creativity and out of the box thinking will be required. We have one of the best shooters at C and for some reason, he takes the fewest amount of 3s he's taken ever since 2019...when he should be spamming that shat over and over again with no remorse. And if we're committed to Thibs...I think he really tried this year with Towns at C, but to me, he's more of a traditionalist, who would prefer to have a bruiser at C.

It feels weird...like last year, we got further against Indiana with a more injured roster, but the biggest thing in my book...if we played that series against Indiana with the effort and brain-dead strategy we gave this series, we would have gotten our asses blown out in 4 games. That's the most disappointing thing for me.

Youre prolly right on breaking em up. But idk, we were a bullchit lucky shot from being in a game 7 tonight.


I think the reason last years team did better was cause the defense was better. Even if they weren't as talented they could get stops. This team just struggled so bad at getting stops.

i think the most frustrating part about this season's team was how often we'd get a steal or a stop and then cough it right back up before getting into an action

[BKlutch]

The writing is on the wall.

not that i disagree w/ moving on from a spatially compromised player like kat but can we not give melo a dedicated canvas to paint all his hate about a player he's overtly been biased against before he played a single minute for the team?

like we get it melo - you don't like kat and randle getting traded will cost you decades in therapy but you need to let it go dude

The post that started this thread was misleading by making it seem like the team was crashing during the playoffs and nobody could talk to Towns. Except that's NOT what the article in The Athletic said.

The article was talking about all throughout the season. It was about each player needing to learn about each other. PJ Tucker was signed late in the season to help with this issue, and PJ said it got better. This is how it was described in The Athletic:

Publicly, Knicks players made veiled comments all season about poor communication causing their inconsistencies. Behind the scenes, they and coaches expressed frustration with Towns’ defensive habits — less concerned with his talent level and more with his process on that end. Too often, Towns executed incorrect coverages without communicating why he did it. After it became a theme, players worried Towns didn’t grasp the importance of the matter.

The ability to constructively critique became a point of emphasis.

“They all talk to me,” Tucker said after Game 1 of the Boston series when asked what he witnessed with a set of fresh eyes. “But they didn’t talk to each other in real-time, in those situations.”

Some people in the organization wanted to use the 15th roster spot to sign a player who could contribute on the floor, while others wanted a veteran who would be OK with not playing and helping behind the scenes, per league sources. The latter group won out and Tucker signed with the team near the end of the regular season to be a veteran voice.

“The situations to get stops, to have help, you know what I’m saying?” Tucker continued. “That, to me, we have talent, but that’s 80 percent of everything else — being able to communicate, be able to get stops, to be on the same page on offense and be able to read each other. We needed to do those things instead of putting our hands up and looking at each other.

“It’s changed. Do I think it needs to get better? One hundred percent. But it’s come a long way since I’ve got here, for sure.”

[Fat Kat]

Read on Twitter

Read on Twitter

[Fury]

Read on Twitter

[Red Vines]

If he wants to stay he needs to commit to an offseason program that focuses on his footwork on offense and defense & developing a go-to move in the post. Anything less is not serious.

[gavran]

Read on Twitter

?s=46&t=H2ki0687ILNfmIp5nctWVg

Se queda!

If I were a betting man, I'd bet we're moving forward with this duo next year. These two need to get into the video room and brainstorm ways to play off one another better. I think they can do it and that there are some pragmatic challenges they can resolve on offense.

The defensive issues are above my pay grade though. Familiarity should help but this was always the concern about acquiring Towns.

You just reminded me that Towns got traded to the Knicks pretty late in the offseason. They never really got that summer together. Should make a difference.

But they got the autumn, the winter and the spring together.

[Capn'O]

Read on Twitter

Yeah. That's just distasteful and disrespectful. Both to KAT and the groups it denigrates by proxy.

But beyond the more derogatory insults, I'd also like to generally push back against the idea that Towns is soft. He really isn't. He's brolic AF, battling for rebounds, battling the biggest players in the league on defense, and attacking the basket. He took out two Pacers in that last game and played through injury all season. He ain't soft. He just sucks at shotblocking and help defense, which is a problem but not a toughness or strength problem.

[mpharris36]

Read on Twitter

Yeah. That's just distasteful and disrespectful. Both to KAT and the groups it denigrates by proxy.

But I'd also like to push back against the idea that Towns is soft. He really isn't. He's brolic AF, battling for rebounds, battling the biggest players in the league on defense, and attacking the basket. He took out two Pacers in that last game and played through injury all season. He ain't soft. He just sucks at shotblocking and help defense, which is a problem but not a toughness problem.

KAT is the farthest thing from soft.

He is a dummy, with fouling and messing up defensive coverages...or barreling into defenders and picking up dumb offensive fouls.

But soft is wild...his drives and rebounding are like anti soft. He plays a more physical style than like 95% of the league for a dude that can shoot the way he does I don't get why he gets the "soft' mantra.