Postgame thread: Knicks @ Hornets

[The KnicksFix]

Kolek deuce shamet precious sims not looking like a bad bench. First three can score and the bottom two can rebound. We can stagger starter minutes with them

[Spree2Houston]

Shamet is going to make people forget about Donte. He’s low key better than him. He will shine here.

[robillionaire]

I like Randle and Towns so I don’t even know what to say to some of these people

Towns is going to be a 20 10 all star all nba player and people are going to look silly for doubting him based on nothing. He is a 4x all star 2x all nba and will be both again this season. So change gears now in the preseason or look silly soon

I don't think anybody is doubting Towns ability as a player. I also expect him to be a 20/10 guy the same way I expect Julius to be a 20/10/5 guy.

What most are worried about is whether Towns' 20/10 makes this team better than Julius'. Time will tell but I liked how we played with Julius and a traditional defensive minded, glass crashing center. Now we have a completely different team so we're waiting to see how it turns out. Nothing wrong with speculation and guessing though.

Well the bigger issue is that we lost the two centers. But Mitch may return in a few months or we may trade for a similar “glass crashing center” (like Richards) and if that happens maybe it won’t even be that different. Lots of different looks we can throw at a defense. I think Towns shooting ability should help space the floor more for Brunson’s drives.

For all the success we had with Randle we were also pretty good without him, beating Philly, would have beat Indiana if OG didn’t go down. And I am a Randle believer and I do think he will play better in the playoffs next time so I’m sad he didn’t get that opportunity, at least not here.

As good as Donte was, who knows if he can keep that historically good shooting pace and Mikal should give us more consistent defense. We sold high.

[ctorres]

Saying KAT should be at the 4 isn't rooting him to fail. That's helping the team be successful versus when he's at the 5.

Then make OG the 5 when they are playing together, problem solved!

After some of the great plays we saw with KAT yesterday, I can't believe all the doom and gloom I am seeing on here.

Randle had to work so freaking hard for his buckets. KAT makes it look so easy.

Issue is that if we play OG at the 5, he's gonna get way more banged up and the guy is pretty injury prone. I also don't like how he moved yesterday at all. I firmly believe we need Mitch or any other rim protecting C next to KAT for it to work like the Timberwolves did with Gobert.

I agree that KAT is a more natural scorer than Randle though. For sure. Not much complaints on that end. Would like to see him use the mid range more though like he did earlier in his career. I don't want KAT to mainly be just a 3 point specialist and driving to the rim. He has a whole bag in the mid post that he doesn't use that much anymore.

If this was the 90's, you'd see more mid range from KAT. We have never had a big who could shoot like him though. Compare him and Randle's shot charts from last season.





Why should KAT pull up from midrange when he has been blessed with Curry/Lillard level shooting range for a big man?

Edit: images didn't upload right, I gotta re-do them

[El Poochio]

KAT at 5 is definitely the way imo, but people are fooling themselves thinking he is some rim protector. The guy wasnt even playing 5 at Kentucky with WCS next to him

The idea is to score more than you concede. The biggest challenge of this team besides depth, which can be find during the season, is Brunson - KAT not getting destroyed in pnrs so that their brilliance on offense isnt mitigated. They dont have to be lockdown but getting a stop here and there should be enough given their offensive talent and fit. I think having Mikal - OG will definitely help on D since they cover so much

I can see at some point people coming for Thibs head cuz he keeps KAT at 4 and refuses to adjust lol

[Jalen Bluntson]

I would have loved nothing more than adding a Kessler/Richards/etc and rolling with the team plus Mikal. I was so excited about it all summer. Hoping that everyone was healthy but, knowing we had some injury risks to deal with. It was that January run we all wanted to see for a full season. Part of me thinks this trade was a move too many right now. We had that gritty identity and that team just didn't quit. The vibes were truly immaculate.

Shart leaving put a huge dent in that identity. Mitch being useless again further compounded things. The Randle extension made things more complicated. Things took a different turn and the FO moved on. Like it or not(I don't), here we are.

So far, the FO has improved the team every year except one. I'm just hoping they get us a title. I don't care how. I don't see this team as a drop of from last year at all though. It's all about seeing what their identity transforms into. It probably won't feel like the last two seasons but, that doesn't mean it will be worse. Three years ago we didn't even have an identity. This year people have us as contenders from day one. It is what it is. I'm here rooting for the team and not my opinion of what they should have done. I'm here to root for how this group can fit together successfully. Like it or not. I think given the reality of things, we should be better than last season. That's all that matters.

[robillionaire]

Saying KAT should be at the 4 isn't rooting him to fail. That's helping the team be successful versus when he's at the 5.

Then make OG the 5 when they are playing together, problem solved!

After some of the great plays we saw with KAT yesterday, I can't believe all the doom and gloom I am seeing on here.

Randle had to work so freaking hard for his buckets. KAT makes it look so easy.

I firmly believe we need Mitch or any other rim protecting C next to KAT for it to work like the Timberwolves did with Gobert.

Even if you’re proven correct on this the team can just wait for Mitch to come back and load manage him for the playoffs or bring in Richards. Did you see his 3 blocks yesterday? Great audition for the kid. Towns could still get staggered minutes at the 5

[RHODEY]

Shamet is going to make people forget about Donte. He’s low key better than him. He will shine here.

One can only hope...but I dont expect him to be the shooter Donte was last season.

But Shamet has shown the ability to do that in spurts.His overall game, defense , cutting, etc is nice, and certainly more than one could expect at that salary. Dude is only 27 too....

[mpharris36]

At least nodope and Chanel don't take it personal when I debate with them about this. Props to them. Can always have healthy debates with them.

I think the KAT at the 4 to KAT at the 5 is legit stuff to have discussions about.

I know your trolling but the Dominican Bargnani stuff is going to get a reaction

To be fair I only posted it when I saw iron trolling about Randle again to get back at him

I think it's fair game though, cause people called Randle as Wandle all the time when he played bad. We need something for KAT when he sucks too. Bodega bargnani?

Oh I'm not saying you can't do it...I'm saying your going to get responses when you do it and then it can be tough to separate...wanting to break down KAT's strengths and weaknesses and wanting to just get people riled up. At that point its enter at your own risk.

[El Poochio]

At least nodope and Chanel don't take it personal when I debate with them about this. Props to them. Can always have healthy debates with them.

I think the KAT at the 4 to KAT at the 5 is legit stuff to have discussions about.

I know your trolling but the Dominican Bargnani stuff is going to get a reaction

To be fair I only posted it when I saw iron trolling about Randle again to get back at him

I think it's fair game though, cause people called Randle as Wandle all the time when he played bad. We need something for KAT when he sucks too. Bodega bargnani?

Fat Kat, or just Fat, pause

[robillionaire]

The thing about the KAT at 4 or 5 discussion is that he actually is capable of doing both, it can be disputed which is more impactful but you at least have that flexibility so it’s a good problem to have in an injury pinch or for different looks. Randle is a solid 4 and really shouldn’t be asked to play as a 5. The idea that we were going to play him at the 5 was a disaster waiting to happen

[Jalen Bluntson]

Kolek deuce shamet precious sims not looking like a bad bench. First three can score and the bottom two can rebound. We can stagger starter minutes with them

Sims sucks. If he doesn't show more than he did last night he needs to be added in a trade. He is nothing more than a warm body. Hopefully Mitch comes back sooner than later and stays healthy. This is the key to our season outside of the starters finding their fit.

[Jalen Bluntson]

Calm down...it's a friggen pre-season game, not Game 4 of the playoffs...

Why don't you calm down? Point to one thing in this post that I need to calm down about. You're the one getting all worked up.

I'm actually calm....really. First time they played against a team and not a scrimmage. Yes there are things to iron out. They will iron these things out before game one regular season...and if they don't, you should requote this and I'll freak out as much as you...

I am calm too. It's just off the cuff comments about a pre season game and what's different from last year. It's too early to react in either direction. Stay tuned.

[mpharris36]

The thing about the KAT at 4 or 5 discussion is that he actually is capable of doing both, it can be disputed which is more impactful but you at least have that flexibility so it’s a good problem to have in an injury pinch or for different looks. Randle is a solid 4 and really shouldn’t be asked to play as a 5. The idea that we were going to play him at the 5 was a disaster waiting to happen

Yes KAT's offense goes up vs 5's because he is even a tougher guard...his defense certainly becomes more magnified at the 5 because he doesn't have a big man helping him protect the paint.

His offense is still good at the 4...his defense certainly can get hid more at the 4...I think early on in the season we will try to see how we can perform with KAT at the 5...we really don't have much of a choice right now. But knowing in our back pocket if Mitch gets healthy we can always shift KAT back to the 4 down the road.

That is why there are NET ratings ect...we will evaluate how the starters work with him at the 5 because right now that is our best course of action with who we can put out on the floor.

[Fury]

here are the facts. the organization that drafted him ultimately decided he wasn't good at the 5 and gave up a ton of assets to get the best defensive center in the league and move him out of that position. were they hating on him and hoping for him to fail by doing that ? was that their motive ? of course not. but if someone repeats this idea here they're a hater ? is that right ? dear lord.

Wait, are the Timberwolves like a model organization or some ****? They gave up a bunch of assets for a guy who barely plays in the 4th of their most important games.

[Capn'O]

The thing about the KAT at 4 or 5 discussion is that he actually is capable of doing both, it can be disputed which is more impactful but you at least have that flexibility so it’s a good problem to have in an injury pinch or for different looks. Randle is a solid 4 and really shouldn’t be asked to play as a 5. The idea that we were going to play him at the 5 was a disaster waiting to happen

I agree that Randle at the 5 was a non-starter. The other option was getting another lesser value 5. Probably couldn't get away with moving Donte for the likes of Nick Richards.

[NoDopeOnSundays]

here are the facts. the organization that drafted him ultimately decided he wasn't good at the 5 and gave up a ton of assets to get the best defensive center in the league and move him out of that position. were they hating on him and hoping for him to fail by doing that ? was that their motive ? of course not. but if someone repeats this idea here they're a hater ? is that right ? dear lord.

Our star player was let go by the Mavs for basically nothing, the entire starting 5 right now are all guys other teams ultimately gave up on.

#Chiponshoulder

[god shammgod]

the guy who built the current timberwolves is the guy who built the denver nuggets team with jokic. the timberwolves and the knicks have had similar periods of being inept over the last 2 decades. they just went further last year in a harder conference. we're in no place to criticize them.

[Capn'O]

I will also say that the Wolves never had a team around Towns that you'd expect to do much. Maybe the Butler year they should have been a little better.

[stuporman]

Knicks have the FO that built a team which was 1 game from the ECF with half their starters out and the other half hobbling...we shouldn't criticize them either, I suppose.