Knicks players and coaches frustrated with KAT

[Adelheid]

hey peeps, just a reminder - requiring towns and brunson to be good defenders also means y'all willing to see them get into foul trouble

wonder why brunhim got that 5 fouls in record time in a playoff game? because he tried to play defense. thats why

[MrDollarBills]

I layed out what type of program I would put Kat on...I missed the conditioning I think so thats a great point.

So:
1. Lose weight and build your endurance Kat- take boxing that will accomplish both.
2. 3 month boot camp with Hakeem. (Kat needs to expand his game; imagin Kat on the block with some Hakeem moves)
3. Hypnosis so he can stop all of those silly fouls.
4. Bring in a defensive TEAM and start from the beginning on learning Defense -the full spectrum.
5. Send your girlfriend and whoever she wants to go on a summer tour vacation.

Thats where I'm at Dollar but honestly I just dont think Kat is interested. Kat to me seems like the guy who knows what to say at
the moment. Does he really want a chip? Is he willing to humble himself and transform his game?
I dont think so...

I think losing weight would help his lateral movement and quickness on rotations.

I don't think Hakeem would help KAT offensively. He's just so flat footed, Hakeem can't teach footwork, you either have it or you don't.

Have you seen his girlfriend? Good luck with that she is a certified baddie and I love that for him.

But we’ve seen this knucklehead play good defense in spurts. We’ve seen him both protect the rim and stay with guys on the perimeter. He’s capable, but will only do it every once in a while. That’s why his teammates get so pissed at him.

As they should be.

We all have seen it. When he applies himself and locks in he can do it.

This is why I'm calling for him to lose weight over the next 3 months. Being lighter and in better conditioning will go a long way towards consistent defense.

[MrDollarBills]

hey peeps, just a reminder - requiring towns and brunson to be good defenders also means y'all willing to see them get into foul trouble

wonder why brunhim got that 5 fouls in record time in a playoff game? because he tried to play defense. thats why

Game 5 Brunson was moving his feet and keeping his hands up. That's not always the case with him.

[seren]

hey peeps, just a reminder - requiring towns and brunson to be good defenders also means y'all willing to see them get into foul trouble

wonder why brunhim got that 5 fouls in record time in a playoff game? because he tried to play defense. thats why

I think it is more than that. I believe the issue is they were trying to build a defense to hide these guys’ defensive issues but even that wasn’t working because of KAT’s stupid decisions.

[Ghetto Gospel]

Karl needs to lose 15 pounds. Let's start there.

brunson too while we're at it

This was what I said Brunson needed:

Brunson:
1.Link up with Kyrie and improve your ball handling. Period.
2. Build up your endurance.
3. Take your strength and conditioning to the next level. I recommend boxing.
4. Play with your core for the summer.

yeah, brunson lowkey has been on that luka trajectory. somehow brunson has dodged all this media attention that luka and zion get about how much weight they have gained since they entered the league, probably because he's an underdog 2nd rounder and shouldn't be here but it's clear that he needs to take it more seriously.

[Ghetto Gospel]

hey peeps, just a reminder - requiring towns and brunson to be good defenders also means y'all willing to see them get into foul trouble

wonder why brunhim got that 5 fouls in record time in a playoff game? because he tried to play defense. thats why

well, you can't have 2 players that don't defend and be legitimate title contenders.

there's a reason why everyone rags on luka to lose weight, it's so he can have the stamina and ability to defend because that's the missing piece for him and any team he's on. he's just too often too vulnerable on defense, and that's true for brunson and kat

[WaltFrazier]

Going back decades, in Bob Lanier's second year training camp, Pistons coach Earl Lloyd brought in retired Bill Russell to tutor him on defense. Lanier was a bit like Kat in that he was a heavy 6'11 guy with a sweet shooting touch but not a great defender. I'm not sure KAT needs Hakeem for offensive tutoring but for defense yes, Hakeem or someone else. Patrick Ewing has been a coach, he works for the team now, why not him? A defensive boot camp, as well as serious conditioning would go a long way

[Jeff Van Gully]

hey peeps, just a reminder - requiring towns and brunson to be good defenders also means y'all willing to see them get into foul trouble

wonder why brunhim got that 5 fouls in record time in a playoff game? because he tried to play defense. thats why

I think it is more than that. I believe the issue is they were trying to build a defense to hide these guys’ defensive issues but even that wasn’t working because of KAT’s stupid decisions.

both weaknesses can be true. and both were attacked. both individually and collectively.

can't hide two. not sure you can hide one these days. at least not against the craftier offenses like indiana's. we were always going to be hard pressed to consistently stop the best offense in the league under these conditions.

there are areas on both defense and offense (crazy as that may sound for such offensively gifted guys) where the two of them specifically actually have to improve for this to work.

the defense stuff seems pretty obvious and discussed ad nauseam.

on offense, these guys don't have a pick and roll/pop/etc. foundation because they both are suboptimal p/r players. brunson isn't quite the passer he could be. his game rightly focuses on his primary scorer abilities. meanwhile, towns is one of the worst screeners in the league. if they tighten that up, it could unlock a lot in the offense. but it might not be feasible. i hope it is.

if both parties are sticking around id say that this summer they need to lock in a room together and figure out how to free and find each other. i recognize we did a lot this year without that opportunity and had to figure things out on the fly. i imagine there will be some black ops where the core guys work on their togetherness and communication. that kind of thing translates to the defensive end.

as far as what they need to do for their bodies and conditioning, i'll leave that to the training staff that just won an award. they'd been healthy and navigated the injuries they did have commendably.

[prophet_of_rage]

Also, also, if you plan on keeping everybody, KAT gotta come off the bench. Him and Brun don’t work together for long periods of time.

I would agree that they have poor synergy. It's mostly like they're taking turns. But I think it's pretty crazy that Towns gets all the blame for this and not the guy that is running the offense.

KAT on, Brunson on: +4.42 Net, 1464 Minutes

KAT on, Brunson off: +9.11 Net, 1053 Minutes

Brunson on, KAT off: -0.84 Net, 837 Minutes

Brunson is in charge of the team. He will be the very last ever criticised.

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[thebuzzardman]

Ah yes, here comes the Brunson Haters Club

[prophet_of_rage]

Also, also, if you plan on keeping everybody, KAT gotta come off the bench. Him and Brun don’t work together for long periods of time.

I would agree that they have poor synergy. It's mostly like they're taking turns. But I think it's pretty crazy that Towns gets all the blame for this and not the guy that is running the offense.

KAT on, Brunson on: +4.42 Net, 1464 Minutes

KAT on, Brunson off: +9.11 Net, 1053 Minutes

Brunson on, KAT off: -0.84 Net, 837 Minutes

For the playoffs:

KAT on, Brunson on: -4.6 Net (this is a huge problem)

Kat on, Brunson off: +10.8 Net

KAT off, Brunson on: +5.7 Net

Summary: They don't work together (and also Towns was better than Brunson all year and in the playoffs)

KAT is better than Brunson talent wise. Brunson is more popular.

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[prophet_of_rage]

Oh boy it’s getting toxic around here, this is the **** Julius was talking about

Julius ain't never lied. New York fans are the worst and the best at the same time.

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[god shammgod]

Brunson gets a pass more than Kat because he has a history of being reliable and rising to the occasion and Kat’s reputation is that he’s not always reliable.

[Capn'O]

Both KAT and Brunson have a strength advantage that you don't really want to lose. They're farmboy strong. Iirc both Shaq and Jokic had years where they slimmed and ultimately decided it was better to carry more weight to push people around easier. There's a balance with it and you don't necessarily want those guys looking ripped.

Neither is in Luka territory but both could probably shed some weight.

[Fury]

Read on Twitter

If Thibs gave this more of a chance and the lineup still sucked, I would be more down to trade KAT. But he never gave this a real opportunity. I think there's something there.

[Context]

Going back decades, in Bob Lanier's second year training camp, Pistons coach Earl Lloyd brought in retired Bill Russell to tutor him on defense. Lanier was a bit like Kat in that he was a heavy 6'11 guy with a sweet shooting touch but not a great defender. I'm not sure KAT needs Hakeem for offensive tutoring but for defense yes, Hakeem or someone else. Patrick Ewing has been a coach, he works for the team now, why not him? A defensive boot camp, as well as serious conditioning would go a long way

Hakeem had an endless amount of moves under the basket. Kat gets called for too many fouls. He needs to become less predictable and much more
elusive and deceptive in getting to the rim. Hakeem is the man for that with all due respect to Pat.

[thebuzzardman]

Take Brunson off the Knicks: 35 win team
Take KAT off the Knicks: Still a 45 win team.

But yeah, KAT is so much better than Brunson.

Maybe he is. I know which player the team NEEDS more. Faults aside with both.

Shame on Brunson or KAT for not being totally complete players.

At least one makes 30 million per and not 60 million per.

[ctorres]

Read on Twitter

[BKlutch]

Both KAT and Brunson have a strength advantage that you don't really want to lose. They're farmboy strong. Iirc both Shaq and Jokic had years where they slimmed and ultimately decided it was better to carry more weight to push people around easier. There's a balance with it and you don't necessarily want those guys looking ripped.

Neither is in Luka territory but both could probably shed some weight.

I love when Perkins calls him "wide body Brunson." He's very strong, enabling him to make shots through so much contact. He's also able to stop and start like a dancing bug. If he were really too heavy, he couldn't do that.

Playing more D would not only increase his fouls but tire him out more. The best solution? Reduce his minutes so he can conserve his energy and keep the fouls down.

[BKlutch]

Read on Twitter

If Thibs gave this more of a chance and the lineup still sucked, I would be more down to trade KAT. But he never gave this a real opportunity. I think there's something there.

If you look at the net ratings - there's a 21.4 point difference between the two lineups.

Hart with JB, Bridges, OG and KAT: -6.2
McBride with JB, Bridges, OG and KAT: +15.2

This is really something that needs to be explored, and maybe Hart should come off the bench or shouldn't be untouchable in trades.