The Knicks have won 9 in a row!

[Meat]

Curious about Barrett.. Is he becoming more consistent? What does he need to work on to take the next step?

Let the game come to him. He’s constantly trying to do too
much. He’s a very hard worker for sure, but I’d imagine hes constantly trying to be at the Zion/ja level instead of just being rj

[RHODEY]

Mavs would comfortably win a playoff series vs Knicks...Luka is a different animal in playoffs

Highly doubt it'd be comfortable at all. Right now, Dallas isn't that good of a basketball team. No D, two ball dominant guards that haven't had much time to play together. I'd actually take NY in a 7 game series against the Mavericks right now.

That being said, this all doesn't change the fact that it's been 50 years since NY have won a championship and for a franchise that pushes the narrative that the "NBA" is better when the Knicks are winning, well, that narrative is weak AF when they've done sweet F all in 50 years besides a cup of coffee with the EC championship over 20 years ago and a small playoff push after they signed the Mavs 2011 championship team a decade ago. We all get it, their fans are excited that they've won a couple of games and are currently sitting in the playoff picture. But for Christ sake, actually win something come playoff time NY.

Honestly speaking, the Knicks trading for Hart and going on a tear has gotten more media than a rental in Kyrie. No disrespect at all, but NY/BOS/LA is gonna get those headlines. Books have been written on the 90s Knicks that you discredit. It's a basketball city with the highest population in the USA. What do you expect?

Lol I expect resentment from non ny fans. Jealousy is a thing.

[R-DAWG]

Curious about Barrett.. Is he becoming more consistent? What does he need to work on to take the next step?

He has tried too hard to be a 20 point scorer and not much else. I would rather he be a 15/5/5 guy and play within his limits, pick his spots and play defense. All of this he's capable of. When he looks for his teammates, good things happen. He got the lob pass for Mitchell Robinson that they seem to have at least one per game. He can exploit that. He can kick out to open shooters on the corner too when he doesn't have tunnel vision. Barrett would have a good efficient game and then chuck it up with bad shots to ruin his stats.

RJ is only 22. He can still improve.

And let's be honest with ourselves, RJ is really the only upside piece on the roster. IQ can marginally improve as a 6th man where he gets his 3point percentage closer to 40% and becomes a little more disciplined running the offense. Mitch can improve his consistency and become a DPOY candidate. And Grimes can become more consistent as a 3 and D guy. But it's a long shot that any of them get the level of being a #3 on a contender. RJ, on the other hand, has that potential.

The biggest challenge with RJ and this roster is that RJ really needs the ball in his hands to maximize his strengths, but playing with Brunson/Randle requires him to play off ball, which is not his strength. An ideal situation for RJ is being the 3rd offensive option where one of the top 2 options is more of an off-ball shooter, ala Klay Thompson.

[Richard4444]

Curious about Barrett.. Is he becoming more consistent? What does he need to work on to take the next step?

He is shooting 47/40/76 in the last 6 games.

[Richard4444]

Quickly and Tyus Jones need to fire their agents...both could be starters elsewhere and get paid

How? Quickly is in a rookie deal and he is RFA next season.

[iLLmatic860]

Quickly and Tyus Jones need to fire their agents...both could be starters elsewhere and get paid

Iq has a big role and closes games alot

Hes happy in ny

[shi-woo]

Celtic's really dropped the ball against a motivated and well coached Knicks team. Getting wrecked 2 games since the all star break is rough.

What I like about the Knicks is that they have multiple ways to get to the rim, and draw free throws. Brunson, Randle, Barrett do it with the starters, and Quickly off the bench. They are 5th in ORtg for a reason, and a lot of that has to do with the consistency of those 4 guys scoring the rock.

I think Thibs is one of the coaches that really is adjusting to the new times well defensively. I like that the Knicks prioritized perimeter ball stoppers in their lineups this year. Starting Grimes, trading or Hart, and giving more minutes to their big bodies in Roninson and Hartenstein is the defensive shells we've seen have success over the last few years. Having a big body to get lobs and protect the paint, and a slew of defenders focusing on containing the ball. The Celtic's and Bucks do the same thing.

Between these two things the Knicks have built a team that can consistently score getting to the line, contains the ball, and has big bodies to be a Top 6 team in both FTA and REB's. That is a winning combination in the playoffs.

I like what Randle has turned into in NY. I like Brunson. I also like that the Knicks still managed to get some young rotation pieces in Hartenstein, Barrett, Quickly, Grimes, and Robinson. Exciting to have the Knicks looking like another playoff staple in the East

[cgf]

Curious about Barrett.. Is he becoming more consistent? What does he need to work on to take the next step?

It's tough to say. RJ and his trainer have talked about developing him differently than most players, instead of trying to work on all of his skills each summer they've really focused on a specific part of his game each summer. As a result, he's started each season slowly, before starting to figure out how to implement his new skill in game situations around the holidays and finishing the season on a tear.

This season he started to go on his annual post-holiday tear, shooting 42% from 3 in december, before hurting his finger...and since getting back he's been struggling with his 3ball. Although he's doing a good job running the second unit with Quickley and showing more of that playmaking that started to turn me around on him.

So it's tricky. Ultimately he's creating more than he did two years ago, on similar efficiency, so there has been steady progress...but he still needs to make a lot more progress with his finishing at the rim & his shooting off the dribble before he can actually create efficiently.

I trust him to put in the work to make that progress, but how much longer that'll take is a tough question...that's part of why I expect him to be traded for someone like Lavine this offseason. A retooling Bulls team could give RJ the time he needs to continue polishing his game, while we get the already-in-his-prime 3rd wheel to Brunson & Randle.

[Tron Carter]

Curious about Barrett.. Is he becoming more consistent? What does he need to work on to take the next step?

He has tried too hard to be a 20 point scorer and not much else. I would rather he be a 15/5/5 guy and play within his limits, pick his spots and play defense. All of this he's capable of. When he looks for his teammates, good things happen. He got the lob pass for Mitchell Robinson that they seem to have at least one per game. He can exploit that. He can kick out to open shooters on the corner too when he doesn't have tunnel vision. Barrett would have a good efficient game and then chuck it up with bad shots to ruin his stats.

RJ is only 22. He can still improve.

And let's be honest with ourselves, RJ is really the only upside piece on the roster. IQ can marginally improve as a 6th man where he gets his 3point percentage closer to 40% and becomes a little more disciplined running the offense. Mitch can improve his consistency and become a DPOY candidate. And Grimes can become more consistent as a 3 and D guy. But it's a long shot that any of them get the level of being a #3 on a contender. RJ, on the other hand, has that potential.

The biggest challenge with RJ and this roster is that RJ really needs the ball in his hands to maximize his strengths, but playing with Brunson/Randle requires him to play off ball, which is not his strength. An ideal situation for RJ is being the 3rd offensive option where one of the top 2 options is more of an off-ball shooter, ala Klay Thompson.

IQ has a higher ceiling than RJ on both ends of the floor. Any knick fan that has watched them throughout their careers would know this.

[ItsDanger]

I like how IQ took control at times when necessary. That shows his progression as a player. Credit to coaching for preparing him for it.

[DaGawd]

I like how IQ took control at times when necessary. That shows his progression as a player. Credit to coaching for preparing him for it.

i feel like brunson also has taken him under his wing, and it’s paying dividends. a bit earlier in the year brunson said he iq is better than he was at the same age at being able to switch from playing on/off the ball which probably ain’t true but that’s what a leader does. instills confidence in his teammates

[E-Balla]

I like how IQ took control at times when necessary. That shows his progression as a player. Credit to coaching for preparing him for it.

i feel like brunson also has taken him under his wing, and it’s paying dividends. a bit earlier in the year brunson said he iq is better than he was at the same age at being able to switch from playing on/off the ball which probably ain’t true but that’s what a leader does. instills confidence in his teammates

It's 100% true. Y'all just still somehow sleep on IQ. His defense alone makes him better than Brunson at his age.

[DaGawd]

I like how IQ took control at times when necessary. That shows his progression as a player. Credit to coaching for preparing him for it.

i feel like brunson also has taken him under his wing, and it’s paying dividends. a bit earlier in the year brunson said he iq is better than he was at the same age at being able to switch from playing on/off the ball which probably ain’t true but that’s what a leader does. instills confidence in his teammates

It's 100% true. Y'all just still somehow sleep on IQ. His defense alone makes him better than Brunson at his age.

oh it could very well be but my overall point was most guys don’t even really admit that. as a teammate that had to be huge for iq’s confidence since he looks up to brunson

[E-Balla]

i feel like brunson also has taken him under his wing, and it’s paying dividends. a bit earlier in the year brunson said he iq is better than he was at the same age at being able to switch from playing on/off the ball which probably ain’t true but that’s what a leader does. instills confidence in his teammates

It's 100% true. Y'all just still somehow sleep on IQ. His defense alone makes him better than Brunson at his age.

oh it could very well be but my overall point was most guys don’t even really admit that. as a teammate that had to be huge for iq’s confidence since he looks up to brunson

He's only 3 years older than him and has been in the league two more years, he's probably trying to take his spot. Man is a competitor.

[knicksNOTslick]

It's 100% true. Y'all just still somehow sleep on IQ. His defense alone makes him better than Brunson at his age.

oh it could very well be but my overall point was most guys don’t even really admit that. as a teammate that had to be huge for iq’s confidence since he looks up to brunson

He's only 3 years older than him and has been in the league two more years, he's probably trying to take his spot. Man is a competitor.

There's enough minutes for the both of them

[Dr Aki]

The Knicks got their streak broken...

By the Hornets?

[grimpy]

The Knicks got their streak broken...

By the Hornets?

Right?

But uh... lets talk about Eunha being your avatar! OMFG!!!

[Ballerhogger]

The Knicks got their streak broken...

By the Hornets?

Such a Knick thing to do

[cgf]

TBH I'm surprised it wasn't the last game. Brunson's our closer, without him our late-game offense is much more hit & miss.

[perempe20]

Knicks batter Trail Blazers to finish West Coast trip at 2-2