Knicks - Pelicans PG: RJ CAME TO PLAY

[thebuzzardman]

People getting hung up on certain defensive stats.

It's going to be about point differential this year. Knicks are looking to score but be tough enough defensively to win games and put the clamps on situationally.

Knicks can be middle of the pack in points allowed, be top 4 in scoring, and wind up top 5 in points differential.

we gave up 59 points in the first half to a team that didnt have its two best players. If thats not worrisome, then nothing is.

Playing at pace means scoring gets rung up.

[mpharris36]

People getting hung up on certain defensive stats.

It's going to be about point differential this year. Knicks are looking to score but be tough enough defensively to win games and put the clamps on situationally.

Knicks can be middle of the pack in points allowed, be top 4 in scoring, and wind up top 5 in points differential.

we gave up 59 points in the first half to a team that didnt have its two best players. If thats not worrisome, then nothing is.

Playing at pace means scoring gets rung up.

defensive rating takes pace out of its calculation though.

[cgf]

People getting hung up on certain defensive stats.

It's going to be about point differential this year. Knicks are looking to score but be tough enough defensively to win games and put the clamps on situationally.

Knicks can be middle of the pack in points allowed, be top 4 in scoring, and wind up top 5 in points differential.

we gave up 59 points in the first half to a team that didnt have its two best players. If thats not worrisome, then nothing is.

Individual games are never worrisome. Ongoing trends are.

[DickGrayson]

it'll be interesting to see if we can keep it up because we're 21st in defense so far and we really haven't played a hard schedule yet. we're 4th in paint defense which is basically mitch but on the perimeter it's another story.

yeah I mean outside of RJ we really don't have a trust worthy wing defender. IQ or Burks are just a bit redundant in my eyes. Could use a little more defense with that second unit especially. You know thibs aint removing burks so IQ might be in jeopardy for either Grimes or McBride just to provide a little more defense.

I was in favor of keeping Bullock over Burks, but I can undertand why the FO wanted to make sure that Thibs would have a bunch of options with his closing unit, so he could ride the hothead when someone's cold and have some iteration of:

D.Rose | Kemba
Fournier | Burks | Quickley
Barrett
Randle
Robinson | Noel | Gibson

clicking on any given night. The balance might be better with Reggie over Alec, but there will be nights when Fournier & IQ are both cold but Burks is cooking...and if that happens just once in the playoffs, the decision will be well worth it.

Kemba is the starter and nothing will change that, we're winning and we're going to get better. Don't fix something if it ain't broke.

[cgf]

yeah I mean outside of RJ we really don't have a trust worthy wing defender. IQ or Burks are just a bit redundant in my eyes. Could use a little more defense with that second unit especially. You know thibs aint removing burks so IQ might be in jeopardy for either Grimes or McBride just to provide a little more defense.

I was in favor of keeping Bullock over Burks, but I can undertand why the FO wanted to make sure that Thibs would have a bunch of options with his closing unit, so he could ride the hothead when someone's cold and have some iteration of:

D.Rose | Kemba
Fournier | Burks | Quickley
Barrett
Randle
Robinson | Noel | Gibson

clicking on any given night. The balance might be better with Reggie over Alec, but there will be nights when Fournier & IQ are both cold but Burks is cooking...and if that happens just once in the playoffs, the decision will be well worth it.

Kemba is the starter and nothing will change that, we're winning and we're going to get better. Don't fix something if it ain't broke.

I wasn't talking about the starting lineup. I was talking about how Thibs has a lot of options with his closing lineup, so he can ride the hot-hand & play the matchups, around Julius & RJ.

Kemba's closing for now and with how hot he's been, that's not a bad decision, but he doesn't provide the penetration Derrick does, he's a worse defender, and he's made some...curious...decisions in clutch moments through his NBA career. So I won't be surprised if Rose ends up closing more games by season's end / the postseason.

Similar thing at the other backcourt spot, Thibs can roll with whichever of Fournier, Burks, or IQ, is feeling it most or matches up best on a night-to-night basis, because there will be nights where one of them is cooking while the other two are cold & all 3 have different games; despite all being score-first sharpshooters.

[god shammgod]

Read on Twitter

[Deeeez Knicks]

Read on Twitter

Half court defense looks league avg while transition defense has been poor. Maybe with all the 3's we are taking leads to more long rebounds and fast breaks. Numbers will probably take some time to stabilize.

We did sacrifice defense for more offense in our offseason, but it was a necessary change. If we can be an avg defense with a good offense that is a good tradeoff. Kinda crazy how our offense/defense completly flipped around so far.

[aq_ua]

Read on Twitter

Half court defense looks league avg while transition defense has been poor. Maybe with all the 3's we are taking leads to more long rebounds and fast breaks. Numbers will probably take some time to stabilize.

We did sacrifice defense for more offense in our offseason, but it was a necessary change. If we can be an avg defense with a good offense that is a good tradeoff. Kinda crazy how our offense/defense completly flipped around so far.

I’m not sure if it’s a problem with our transition defense as much as all those stupid turnovers we make via cross court passes that never have a chance, or trying to bounce passes between two defenders that inevitably get picked off. We give away 10 points a night because of lazy passing, which most certainly has to be impacting those defensive ratings.

[Deeeez Knicks]

Read on Twitter

Half court defense looks league avg while transition defense has been poor. Maybe with all the 3's we are taking leads to more long rebounds and fast breaks. Numbers will probably take some time to stabilize.

We did sacrifice defense for more offense in our offseason, but it was a necessary change. If we can be an avg defense with a good offense that is a good tradeoff. Kinda crazy how our offense/defense completly flipped around so far.

I’m not sure if it’s a problem with our transition defense as much as all those stupid turnovers we make via cross court passes that never have a chance, or trying to bounce passes between two defenders that inevitably get picked off. We give away 10 points a night because of lazy passing, which most certainly has to be impacting those defensive ratings.

Surprisingly we don't turn the ball over a ton and top 10 in lowest turnovers. But I know what you are saying and it feels like we have a lot of dumb turnovers which lead to easy buckets.

[thebuzzardman]

we gave up 59 points in the first half to a team that didnt have its two best players. If thats not worrisome, then nothing is.

Playing at pace means scoring gets rung up.

defensive rating takes pace out of its calculation though.

Fair enough. Without being that into all of this, I still think the commitment to taking a lot of 3's (long rebounds) and getting out in transition leads to more scoring, so defensive rating will take something of a hit.

I'm not that worried about it. I think it's a combination of things. Small sample size mostly, pace somewhat, Kemba and Fournier for Elf and Bullocks, but I don't think they matter as much as some think they might.

Elf and Bullocks were good defenders, but it's a little exaggerated

[thebuzzardman]

People getting hung up on certain defensive stats.

It's going to be about point differential this year. Knicks are looking to score but be tough enough defensively to win games and put the clamps on situationally.

Knicks can be middle of the pack in points allowed, be top 4 in scoring, and wind up top 5 in points differential.

we gave up 59 points in the first half to a team that didnt have its two best players. If thats not worrisome, then nothing is.

Individual games are never worrisome. Ongoing trends are.

I'm not that worried about a "trend" that encompasses 6 or 7 games at the beginning of the year either.

[mpharris36]

Playing at pace means scoring gets rung up.

defensive rating takes pace out of its calculation though.

Fair enough. Without being that into all of this, I still think the commitment to taking a lot of 3's (long rebounds) and getting out in transition leads to more scoring, so defensive rating will take something of a hit.

I'm not that worried about it. I think it's a combination of things. Small sample size mostly, pace somewhat, Kemba and Fournier for Elf and Bullocks, but I don't think they matter as much as some think they might.

Elf and Bullocks were good defenders, but it's a little exaggerated

Oh I'm not campaigning for either of those guys back. We clearly upgraded and when you have an option to trade for more offense over slightly worse defense you sign up for that 100 times out of 100.

But outside of Philly its not like we have played a powerhouse offensive team either. 2 games again ORL and 1 game against NOP with no Zion or Ingram. And we still have struggled a bit more then I would have hoped defensively.

Obviously if we stay in the top 3-5 in terms of offense defense wont matter much.

[Triple C]

Read on Twitter

Read on Twitter

Best jersey we've had in years

[Tron Carter]

k still on an irrelevant stat kick

Read on Twitter

RJ used to do the same with Zion back in duke. RJ is good at utilizing bigs.

he's an elite interior passer. tbh, he's probably the best passer on the team. the main difference between RJ and Randle being that RJ seems to pass the ball with a bit more touch.

[K_ick_God]

The defense is worse but Noel may be a statistically more impactful defender than Mitch. And we're taking quicker and longer shots, which will cut into the D some. Thibs may be experimenting a bit.

[K_ick_God]

Playing at pace means scoring gets rung up.

defensive rating takes pace out of its calculation though.

Fair enough. Without being that into all of this, I still think the commitment to taking a lot of 3's (long rebounds) and getting out in transition leads to more scoring, so defensive rating will take something of a hit.

I'm not that worried about it. I think it's a combination of things. Small sample size mostly, pace somewhat, Kemba and Fournier for Elf and Bullocks, but I don't think they matter as much as some think they might.

Elf and Bullocks were good defenders, but it's a little exaggerated

Elf's length I guess helped on D. And he didn't go for steals and such. In many situations, he was a disaster on D, and the bigger the situation, the bigger the disaster.

[Chanel Bomber]

Can't believe I missed that RJ game.

Based off the highlights, I love the off-the-dribble 3s and that drive and dish to Taj.

RJ will have to (and will) develop his ISO game but I've always loved how he plays in pick-and-roll.

It involves two players in the play and incites player movement, so the players are more connected on the court. RJ's a connector, I can't really explain it but - with his natural feel for the game - his presence on the court seems just conducive to team play.

Also, not worried about IQ. He's young and he's learning to adjust. His game is not going to disappear just like that.

Key to RJ breaking out.



Jokes aside, I agree with you on IQ going to be fine. He is getting open good looks and is getting into the paint and to the basket with ease. Shots just aren't falling right now. I don't think he has it to be a pg though. He is a microwave and needs to be used as that.

How dare you

[Chanel Bomber]

Chanel out partying in a costume while RJ breaks out. Very disappointing.

That was unnecessary I feel betrayed

[Chanel Bomber]

I think this was just a taste of what RJ can do

What I mean is, you see the potential, but I wouldn't be surprised if he's still inconsistent the rest of the year with it, especially with those off the dribble 3s

It might not even be next year he gets consistent at it, maybe the year after. Which is why I've been loathe to put him in trade scenarios

Plus, for all the "lol RJ still can't finish" posts, he's at 77% at the rim this year, and 67% on layups. It's a small sample size, but that's significantly better than last year, it's just his finishing from 3-10 feet that's the issue (he's at 35.7% there), but he's steadily improving from that range since his rookie year (26.7%, then 31.8% last year)

So it might still take him another year or two to get where he needs to be, but it's looking like he can get there. Also just another reminder that the only guy on the team younger than RJ is Deuce by less than 3 months.

Thanks for the mention in the postgame pod man, I just found some time to listen to it in its entirety!

There's a lot of good Knicks content out there but I like the perspectives you guys bring, you think out of the box more than your peers.

[haterade]

Very happy the knicks are winning and winning the close games too! But what worries me is that the Knicks seems to play down to their competition. They need to not let the bad teams come back, its hard to "turn it back on" after the team turns it off during the game.