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JB is not going anywhere. And probably neither is KAT.

That said, aside from hoping Mitch actually plays and plays well (still leaving us with a short bench), if you were Leon , what's the best way to get us back to playing reasonable Defense?

Is it just the matter of a coaching change? Or if Thibs stays, what then?

What pieces - position and names should we target?

I'd imagine a terrific and tall D-oriented point guard to spell JB.

And perhaps considering dumping Mitch for two pretty decent (but not on his level) BIGs to lengthen our bench.

What does the forum feel?

DNP should do the trick

Get a coach who understands the modern game as well as how you need to utilize certain players differently from others

Thibs is trying to hammer a square peg into a round hole and insisting the square hole right next to it doesn't exist.

Same way we hid Brunson with Randle.

The corpse of Bill Russell.

Same way the Nuggets did with Jamal & Jokic, you have to live with the outcome of teams taking 2s. The problem is everyone knows we drop to protect the paint or send help on drives/posts, and the corner is going to be open.


If you have a stretch 5 you're basically breaking Tom's defense in general.

Spree2Houston wrote:Same way we hid Brunson with Randle.

He had a 130 DRTG against Boston last season in the 3 games he started vs them. The only game we won was with Ihart at C, even in that game we won he had a 127 DRTG.


Look at the second play in this clip, you'll see Mitch drop....and KP splash.


"He's gonna be in drop coverage" - Celtics announcer

Playing that team in a drop, is suicide, and has been for 2 years. We are 1-7 vs them.

Spree2Houston wrote:Same way we hid Brunson with Randle.

Unfortunately, it was a lot of of

KAT to PF and then back to C based on matchups. He’s shown he can play at PF well.

Thibs saying Mitch was our “projected starting center”. Looks like we’re going with KAT at the 4 with Mitch. Am just hoping Mitch is in shape and can stay healthy. He is our only hope to fix this bad defense.

Spree2Houston wrote:Same way we hid Brunson with Randle.

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He’s our starting center according to thibs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That they were planning on starting Mitch this whole time explains a lot about the lack of panic and adjustments on defense...how it will work is another question.

How to fix it:

-> Mitch returns to start at the 5
-> We incorporate a zone defense for 25% of the game (after time outs to throw teams off)
-> We switch half the time with KAT/Brunson when they're involved in the P&R (no more drop!)
-> We hard trap the ball handler the other half of the time when KAT/Brunson are in the P&R (no more drop!)

These 4 changes could get our defense near the top 10 if we do it all with high intensity.

But, alas, Thibs is married to Drop coverage. It will be his and our undoing as it only somewhat works on bad teams.

Kat to PF and Mitch to center gives us more size for sure, but I'm not sure it helps us defend the 3, which is our biggest weakness on defense this year. Fewer minutes, more rested players, a deeper bench all probably help.

Josh or Mikal moving to 6th man probably helps, or even OGA because he's kind of fragile now. See if he'd be willing to play 6th man.

I don't know if that fixes things but it might help.

Weren't there reports that the Knicks attempted to trade Mitch in KAT deal but the Wolves wanted DDV? If that were the case then Mitch starting at the 5 wasn't always the plan.

Start JB, Bridges, OG, KAT and Mitch with Hart, Deuce, Precious and Payne.

And if Bridges keeps acting like a little bitch send him to the bench and start Deuce or even Hart.

You can't hide them against elite teams because elite teams have 4+ capable scorers. Most teams do not and you can hide them with a guy that stays in the corner and doesn't move.

Boston, Cleveland and OKC always have 4 or 5 capable scorers on the floor. Denver is also up there.

NoDopeOnSundays wrote:

Spree2Houston wrote:Same way we hid Brunson with Randle.

He had a 130 DRTG against Boston last season in the 3 games he started vs them. The only game we won was with Ihart at C, even in that game we won he had a 127 DRTG.


Look at the second play in this clip, you'll see Mitch drop....and KP splash.

Watch on YouTube

"He's gonna be in drop coverage" - Celtics announcer

Playing that team in a drop, is suicide, and has been for 2 years. We are 1-7 vs them.

We were never beating Boston with or without Mitch. You can replace Thibs with an all-world modern coach and we still wouldn’t beat Boston. Theres no version of a Knick team that would beat Boston with KAT at C. It will never happen.

Now with Cleveland ? We can definitely beat them with a healthy Mitch

Capn'O wrote:

Spree2Houston wrote:Same way we hid Brunson with Randle.

Unfortunately, it was a lot of of

Spoiler:

I wonder if IH led Leon on to thinking he would be back (and changed his mind???)

8516knicks wrote:

Capn'O wrote:

Spree2Houston wrote:Same way we hid Brunson with Randle.

Unfortunately, it was a lot of of

Spoiler:

I wonder if IH led Leon on to thinking he would be back (and changed his mind???)

I mean, the almost 2x annual salary certainly provided some clarity on what he should do. It wasn't clear what offers would be out there but he got a godfather offer and that was that.