Knicks players & coaches frustrated with KAT's defense

[cgf]

KAT is just that kind of player what when it clicks, he would be a HOF player… but then when it’s not, he’s just killing your team. He’s the Rasheed Wallace of this generation imo.

Very good comparison.

Rasheed is an excellent one.

Thank you

Sheed was an excellent defender though

Not when he was also an excellent offensive player, when he was producing big numbers he gave no f***s defensively.

[cgf]

They should use KAT to get Giannis. KAT is great but Knicks cannot afford to have 2 liabilities on defense with him and Brunson. Indy exposed them and kept singling them out to attack. Even if Knicks beat Indy there was no way they was beating OKC, those guys play offense AND defense. Knicks already have Brunson as a liability on defense which they can live with, but having 2 guys and both star players, something has to give.

KAT was traded a year ago for Julius Randle. He's not now gonna be the centrepiece of a Giannis trade

Never say never. If Giannis wants it and the league forces it, then KAT for Giannis it is. Just like Luka to Lakers for AD.

Towns for AD?

[DimesandKnicks]

KAT is just that kind of player what when it clicks, he would be a HOF player… but then when it’s not, he’s just killing your team. He’s the Rasheed Wallace of this generation imo.

Very good comparison.

Rasheed is an excellent one.

Thank you

Sheed was an excellent defender though

I’d trade Kat for him any day

[3toheadmelo]

They should use KAT to get Giannis. KAT is great but Knicks cannot afford to have 2 liabilities on defense with him and Brunson. Indy exposed them and kept singling them out to attack. Even if Knicks beat Indy there was no way they was beating OKC, those guys play offense AND defense. Knicks already have Brunson as a liability on defense which they can live with, but having 2 guys and both star players, something has to give.

KAT was traded a year ago for Julius Randle. He's not now gonna be the centrepiece of a Giannis trade

Marc stein said in November that rival teams think we traded for KAT to use him in an offer for Giannis.

[holdenwait]

seems toxic to throw the guy under the bus night after elimination when he saved their asses multiple times too in that run..

[Joao Saraiva]

Well there is an off season to work on that. If he can't just make a defensive scheme that plays to his strenghts. If he's not a good help defender try to zone or something, Idk

Knicks got a lot better with him instead of Randle, they should be thankfull for him being there and work from here, they were top 4 after all.

[DusterBuster]

KAT is just that kind of player what when it clicks, he would be a HOF player… but then when it’s not, he’s just killing your team. He’s the Rasheed Wallace of this generation imo.

Very good comparison.

Rasheed is an excellent one.

Thank you

Sheed was an excellent defender though

When he tried...

His defense was much better in Detroit because of the roster he had there. In Portland, he was still a good defender, but he would take games off defensively (and offensively).

[Woodsanity]

KAT was traded a year ago for Julius Randle. He's not now gonna be the centrepiece of a Giannis trade

Never say never. If Giannis wants it and the league forces it, then KAT for Giannis it is. Just like Luka to Lakers for AD.

Towns for AD?

Nico could be dumb enough to make this trade.

[cgf]

Never say never. If Giannis wants it and the league forces it, then KAT for Giannis it is. Just like Luka to Lakers for AD.

Towns for AD?

Nico could be dumb enough to make this trade.

I'm probably not as mad at Karl as some of y'all, cause I go back & forth on that one. Not only because I kinda want this defeat to be the final wakeup call Karl needed to become the defender we've seen flashes of...especially if he & Mitch gel over the offseason, and either Huk takes a step to beat out Achiuwa for regular season minutes, or we snag someone like iHart/Bitadze to cover for Mitch getting hurt.

But also because I think his defensive concerns are manageable if we're better prepared for them. Minnesota had a monster defense with Karl...or Naz, who's just as bad as Karl...and Conley, who at this age is worse than Jalen defensively; so we know it's doable. Mitch may not be Rudy, but he's a beast in his own right and OG/Mikal/Hart/Deuce is just as good a wing rotation or better than McD/Ant/NAW.

It may just be the Stat / McDyess / KP trauma and seeing how much our fanbase bitches about Mitch...who's no less durable than AD...not being on the court. But man, I waffle on whether I'd actually want us to do that a lot...especially because AD can't take over offensively like Karl can and his mere presence on the court, even without taking a 3, doesn't just warp an entire defense the way Karl does any time he steps on the court.

[JohnnyKILLroy]

He’s got HOF all time great talent on both ends of the floor and he’s underwhelming on both ends. Coming out of Kentucky the sky was the limit for him. There’s no dog in him. Every time he steps on the court he’s arguably the most talented player playing and then he just wilts. He should be the best player in every series and he should be racking up MVPs

[dakomish23]

Kat played his ass off, everyone made mistakes, why is he copping so many shots?

Without KAT it's over in 5 games

Four games. They're dead in the water without him b/c he was the one starter who won the series matchup IMO

[HMFFL]

KAT is just that kind of player what when it clicks, he would be a HOF player… but then when it’s not, he’s just killing your team. He’s the Rasheed Wallace of this generation imo.

Very good comparison.

Rasheed is an excellent one.

Thank you

Sheed was an excellent defender though

Yes, for Detroit he was.
I would never refer to his defense as excellent tho. He was a system player, a sluggish effort on Portland, and on the Pistons he knew to take things serious with Ben Wallace & Larry Brown.

[Capn'O]

Jeez. Coming after a guy who just had his best regular season ever. At year 1 with the Knicks.

I really don’t think he’s the problem but that’s just me.

He's not the problem but his help defense is part of the problem. On offense, he provides a lot of solutions.

[Capn'O]

Towns for AD?

I honestly like this one better than Giannis who would take more to get - more than we have, really - and then not provide the spacing around Brunson.

[cgf]

Towns for AD?

I honestly like this one better than Giannis who would take more to get - more than we have, really - and then not provide the spacing around Brunson.

I have my reservations about that one, but if Kolek can take over the no-Brunson minutes by the playoffs, maybe our offense can withstand that downgrade to put just an unreal defense around our little PGs.

Agreed about liking it more than paying more for Giannis…though I think I’d rather just run it back and sign an 8th man like Laravia / Tate / Brown with the MLE, before dangling Dadiet to upgrade Hukporti.

[Capn'O]

Towns for AD?

I honestly like this one better than Giannis who would take more to get - more than we have, really - and then not provide the spacing around Brunson.

I have my reservations about that one, but if Kolek can take over the no-Brunson minutes by the playoffs, maybe our offense can withstand that downgrade to put just an unreal defense around our little PGs.

Agreed about liking it more than paying more for Giannis…though I think I’d rather just run it back and sign an 8th man like Laravia / Tate / Brown with the MLE, before dangling Dadiet to upgrade Hukporti.

Right. And Davis is still a really, really good offensive player and might fit better with Mikal.

[thamadkant]

Towns is no way near Rasheed Wallace defensively.

Towns is closer to Sam Perkins due to their long range preference.

Rasheed was elite post defender and covered shooters at the arc very well. Up there with KG in that regards. Rasheed, Horry, Derrick McKey etc were big men who were reliable to defend inside and outside well. Towns look like he's about to trip over his clown shoes when he's guarding smaller players... watch him move side to side, his foot work is horrible.

[The Servant]

I can't believe people are talking about AD like he will be available for the yoffs or more than half the season.

[dakomish23]

Towns for AD?

I honestly like this one better than Giannis who would take more to get - more than we have, really - and then not provide the spacing around Brunson.

I have my reservations about that one, but if Kolek can take over the no-Brunson minutes by the playoffs, maybe our offense can withstand that downgrade to put just an unreal defense around our little PGs.

Agreed about liking it more than paying more for Giannis…though I think I’d rather just run it back and sign an 8th man like Laravia / Tate / Brown with the MLE, before dangling Dadiet to upgrade Hukporti.

Throw the MLE at Tyus Jones

[cgf]

I honestly like this one better than Giannis who would take more to get - more than we have, really - and then not provide the spacing around Brunson.

I have my reservations about that one, but if Kolek can take over the no-Brunson minutes by the playoffs, maybe our offense can withstand that downgrade to put just an unreal defense around our little PGs.

Agreed about liking it more than paying more for Giannis…though I think I’d rather just run it back and sign an 8th man like Laravia / Tate / Brown with the MLE, before dangling Dadiet to upgrade Hukporti.

Right. And Davis is still a really, really good offensive player and might fit better with Mikal.

Davis is a good offensive player, but he needs to be fed more than Karl does and he doesn't space out a defense the way Karl does just by stepping on the court. Here are their metrics btw; LEBRON and BPM seem to be the only ones that don't give Towns a meaningful offensive advantage:

Davis:
3.8 EPM* (2.1 O + 1.7 D), 3.38 DARKO (1.39 O + 1.99 D), 3.94 LEBRON (2.38 O + 1.56 D), 5.4 BPM (3.9 O + 1.5 D), 3.2 VORP, -0.2 On-Off
Towns:
3.4 EPM* (3.3 O + 0.1 D), 2.53 DARKO (2.09 O + 0.44 D), 2.72 LEBRON (2.12 O + 0.60 D), 3.6 BPM (3.5 O + 0.1 D), 3.5 VORP, +5.6 On-Off

Which vibes with my impression that Karl is on a different level offensively because he is more dangerous to create for himself, and the spacing he provides with his 3ball. Whereas AD is more the player Mitch looks like on IG...one of the greatest ever supporting pieces, but much more of a finisher than a creator; whose gravity is greatest on the offensive glass or when rolling to the basket.

With the way Mikal loves to work in the midrange, I'm not sure AD would be a better fit on the offensive end...although the defense around Brunson would just be nasty any time AD & Mitch were fit, so I might not care about our offense when Jalen rests being limited to transition buckets, jacked up 3s, putbacks, and Mikal middies.


*actual EPM rather than expected EPM