PG: Knicks vs. Bucks: We eatin' Venison tonight!

[F N 11]

OG is back folks. Let’s hope this wasn’t a 1 game thing. I explained he looks healthy and more springy. Before he was laboring.

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[F N 11]

Some of those drives by KAT...he's probably never seen the floor spaced so well too.

This is why I’m against Mitch starting, ok with Precious being in there. Mitch just makes it 4v5 I’m good.

[F N 11]

Also Matt Ryan isn’t a stiff. He’s got some movement skills and is clearly a nba level player

The way bro moved off ball to get open for Kolek for his first attempt was gold. They know he a shooter he may get some minutes coming up. Well at least the players got behind him esp Towns.

[Iron Mantis]

must say watching towns hoop is a lot more aesthetically pleasing than randle

When your center is doing this....what can the defense do?

[Chanel Bomber]

After last night, KAT is now shooting 40% from 3.




For his career.

995 makes in 2488 attempts. This side is a corny, foul prone, defensive liability, injury risk who also produces an unfathomable quality of offense. You almost have to be wilfully ignorant or actively trying to screw things up for it not to work.

The discussion around "the best shooting big man alive" statement has polluted the broader discussion about KAT a bit.

It's almost as if, just because he's not Dirk, then the discussion is irrelevant and should be entirely dismissed.

But the reality is that he is one of best shooting bigs in basketball history. And having that kind of player is a luxury.

As you said, Thibs now has a Ferrari in his offense.

melo's concerns about KAT's lack of rim protection are warranted. NoDope's take on the defensive schemes around KAT is also pertinent, and there are precedents to instill some confidence that they could potentially build a contender without solid rim protection. The Knicks will need time to test out various tactics to see how far this lineup can take them.

Worst-case scenario, they can bring back Precious and then Mitch at the 5. But they owe it to themselves to try it with KAT for a meaningful period, especially now that they theoretically have elite wing defenders with length to mitigate the negative effects.

[KnixinSix]

After last night, KAT is now shooting 40% from 3.




For his career.

995 makes in 2488 attempts. This side is a corny, foul prone, defensive liability, injury risk who also produces an unfathomable quality of offense. You almost have to be wilfully ignorant or actively trying to screw things up for it not to work.

The discussion around "the best shooting big man alive" statement has polluted the broader discussion about KAT a bit.

It's almost as if, just because he's not Dirk, then the discussion is irrelevant and should be entirely dismissed.

But the reality is that he is one of best shooting bigs in basketball history. And having that kind of player is a luxury.

As you said, Thibs now has a Ferrari in his offense.

melo's concerns about KAT's lack of rim protection are warranted. NoDope's take on the defensive schemes around KAT is also pertinent, and there are precedents to instill some confidence that they could potentially build a contender without solid rim protection. The Knicks will need time to test out various tactics to see how far this lineup can take them.

Worst-case scenario, they can bring back Precious and then Mitch at the 5. But they owe it to themselves to try it with KAT for a meaningful period, especially now that they theoretically have elite wing defenders with length to mitigate the negative effects.

Or mix the two systems together playing more of one or the other when warranted

[F N 11]

Bucks suck. I’m not taking anything from this win.

brunson played facilitator. team got kat involved early. those are the adjustments i wanted to see happen, so i'm happy with it

Team also played with energy on defense. Portis didn’t kill us. 35 assist, step in right direction. I specifically was looking for energy on defense. Brunson started the game playing full court.

[MrDollarBills]

must say watching towns hoop is a lot more aesthetically pleasing than randle

When your center is doing this....what can the defense do?

Prayer may help comfort them, but there's little else

Feed KAT

[SelbyCobra]

After last night, KAT is now shooting 40% from 3.




For his career.

995 makes in 2488 attempts. This side is a corny, foul prone, defensive liability, injury risk who also produces an unfathomable quality of offense. You almost have to be wilfully ignorant or actively trying to screw things up for it not to work.

The discussion around "the best shooting big man alive" statement has polluted the broader discussion about KAT a bit.

It's almost as if, just because he's not Dirk, then the discussion is irrelevant and should be entirely dismissed.

But the reality is that he is one of best shooting bigs in basketball history. And having that kind of player is a luxury.

As you said, Thibs now has a Ferrari in his offense.

melo's concerns about KAT's lack of rim protection are warranted. NoDope's take on the defensive schemes around KAT is also pertinent, and there are precedents to instill some confidence that they could potentially build a contender without solid rim protection. The Knicks will need time to test out various tactics to see how far this lineup can take them.

Worst-case scenario, they can bring back Precious and then Mitch at the 5. But they owe it to themselves to try it with KAT for a meaningful period, especially now that they theoretically have elite wing defenders with length to mitigate the negative effects.

It really should be the perfect storm for a defensive minded coach.

"Look, KAT at the 5 is an offensive cheat code - with the right supporting cast it will be nearly impossible to fully stop an offense with his skills and production. He's also a terrible defender at the 5. If we give you elite defensive pieces around him, do you think you can devise a system that minimizes his negative impact defensively so we can fully capitalize on dismantling opponents offensively with him at the 5?"

Defensive genius coaches should be able to get there in my opinion. I'm not talking about making him a plus defender at this point, I'm talking about scheming to cover his flaws.

I feel like solutions like "just move him to the 4" or "hope his offense this night exceeds what his defense concedes" are lazy or last measure. First order should be CREATIVE, cook up some isht, be the first to solve this specific conundrum - it's all on the table now that KAT is no longer tethered by anyone, including himself, to the idea that he needs to be a do-everything franchise savior, cornerstone, name on the marquis guy.

I feel like Thibs can absolutely do this - it should be an exciting challenge for the right guy. I just really hope he doesn't approach this from the standpoint of needing to make KAT "a better defender so he can fit into the pre-existing defensive philosophy and schemes in place before he arrived".

[thebuzzardman]

After last night, KAT is now shooting 40% from 3.




For his career.

995 makes in 2488 attempts. This side is a corny, foul prone, defensive liability, injury risk who also produces an unfathomable quality of offense. You almost have to be wilfully ignorant or actively trying to screw things up for it not to work.

The discussion around "the best shooting big man alive" statement has polluted the broader discussion about KAT a bit.

It's almost as if, just because he's not Dirk, then the discussion is irrelevant and should be entirely dismissed.

But the reality is that he is one of best shooting bigs in basketball history. And having that kind of player is a luxury.

As you said, Thibs now has a Ferrari in his offense.

melo's concerns about KAT's lack of rim protection are warranted. NoDope's take on the defensive schemes around KAT is also pertinent, and there are precedents to instill some confidence that they could potentially build a contender without solid rim protection. The Knicks will need time to test out various tactics to see how far this lineup can take them.

Worst-case scenario, they can bring back Precious and then Mitch at the 5. But they owe it to themselves to try it with KAT for a meaningful period, especially now that they theoretically have elite wing defenders with length to mitigate the negative effects.

It really should be the perfect storm for a defensive minded coach.

"Look, KAT at the 5 is an offensive cheat code - with the right supporting cast it will be nearly impossible to fully stop an offense with his skills and production. He's also a terrible defender at the 5. If we give you elite defensive pieces around him, do you think you can devise a system that minimizes his negative impact defensively so we can fully capitalize on dismantling opponents offensively with him at the 5?"

Defensive genius coaches should be able to get there in my opinion. I'm not talking about making him a plus defender at this point, I'm talking about scheming to cover his flaws.

I feel like solutions like "just move him to the 4" or "hope his offense this night exceeds what his defense concedes" are lazy or last measure. First order should be CREATIVE, cook up some isht, be the first to solve this specific conundrum - it's all on the table now that KAT is no longer tethered by anyone, including himself, to the idea that he needs to be a do-everything franchise savior, cornerstone, name on the marquis guy.

I feel like Thibs can absolutely do this - it should be an exciting challenge for the right guy. I just really hope he doesn't approach this from the standpoint of needing to make KAT "a better defender so he can fit into the pre-existing defensive philosophy and schemes in place before he arrived".

Thibs: "KAT, you have to get better at drop coverage"

[SelbyCobra]

The discussion around "the best shooting big man alive" statement has polluted the broader discussion about KAT a bit.

It's almost as if, just because he's not Dirk, then the discussion is irrelevant and should be entirely dismissed.

But the reality is that he is one of best shooting bigs in basketball history. And having that kind of player is a luxury.

As you said, Thibs now has a Ferrari in his offense.

melo's concerns about KAT's lack of rim protection are warranted. NoDope's take on the defensive schemes around KAT is also pertinent, and there are precedents to instill some confidence that they could potentially build a contender without solid rim protection. The Knicks will need time to test out various tactics to see how far this lineup can take them.

Worst-case scenario, they can bring back Precious and then Mitch at the 5. But they owe it to themselves to try it with KAT for a meaningful period, especially now that they theoretically have elite wing defenders with length to mitigate the negative effects.

It really should be the perfect storm for a defensive minded coach.

"Look, KAT at the 5 is an offensive cheat code - with the right supporting cast it will be nearly impossible to fully stop an offense with his skills and production. He's also a terrible defender at the 5. If we give you elite defensive pieces around him, do you think you can devise a system that minimizes his negative impact defensively so we can fully capitalize on dismantling opponents offensively with him at the 5?"

Defensive genius coaches should be able to get there in my opinion. I'm not talking about making him a plus defender at this point, I'm talking about scheming to cover his flaws.

I feel like solutions like "just move him to the 4" or "hope his offense this night exceeds what his defense concedes" are lazy or last measure. First order should be CREATIVE, cook up some isht, be the first to solve this specific conundrum - it's all on the table now that KAT is no longer tethered by anyone, including himself, to the idea that he needs to be a do-everything franchise savior, cornerstone, name on the marquis guy.

I feel like Thibs can absolutely do this - it should be an exciting challenge for the right guy. I just really hope he doesn't approach this from the standpoint of needing to make KAT "a better defender so he can fit into the pre-existing defensive philosophy and schemes in place before he arrived".

Thibs: "KAT, you have to get better at drop coverage"

Yeah, this is exactly my fear and frustration with this [potential] situation. There is absolutely a world where KAT on the Knicks looks no different than Julius in terms of impact, and I think it happens if/when you don't seek to maximize the blatantly exploitable aspects of Towns' game, and instead try to make him do it "your way".

We shall see. Because it is so apparent what KAT is, I have hope...

[NoDopeOnSundays]

After last night, KAT is now shooting 40% from 3.




For his career.

995 makes in 2488 attempts. This side is a corny, foul prone, defensive liability, injury risk who also produces an unfathomable quality of offense. You almost have to be wilfully ignorant or actively trying to screw things up for it not to work.

The discussion around "the best shooting big man alive" statement has polluted the broader discussion about KAT a bit.

It's almost as if, just because he's not Dirk, then the discussion is irrelevant and should be entirely dismissed.

But the reality is that he is one of best shooting bigs in basketball history. And having that kind of player is a luxury.

As you said, Thibs now has a Ferrari in his offense.

melo's concerns about KAT's lack of rim protection are warranted. NoDope's take on the defensive schemes around KAT is also pertinent, and there are precedents to instill some confidence that they could potentially build a contender without solid rim protection. The Knicks will need time to test out various tactics to see how far this lineup can take them.

Worst-case scenario, they can bring back Precious and then Mitch at the 5. But they owe it to themselves to try it with KAT for a meaningful period, especially now that they theoretically have elite wing defenders with length to mitigate the negative effects.

Original KAT club members

[aggo]

yeah I think we should start mitch when he comes back.


this lets us slide hart back into the bench and gives us an actual wing off the bench, and giving us more balance.

it doesn't mean we abandon 5 out. it just means we're not playing 5 out the entire game.

mitch 20mpg at 5
kat 20mpg at 5.

last year when we were starting sims at C he was still only playing 15mpg. I think that's how we could similarly arrive to the correct way to play mitch.

it can work. having hart off the bench is valuable.


brunson
mikal
og
kat
mitch

payne
mcbride
hart
precious


sims-kolek

Just out of curiosity have you seen something that you may have not expected that has changed your opinion on the rotation? You seemed to be heavily on the "offense is your best defense" train since last post-season. Maybe I misunderstood some of your comments. I know you are just suggesting to pair Mitch and KAT together to start games but I assumed you would want to try to make it work with the current starting unit or possibly swap Hart for McBride.

Yes, one thing I didn’t anticipate was that we’d play KAT in primary deep drop. Especially right after the Boston game he has played deep drop nearly 90% of the time if not higher.

This in a vacuum is ok I guess, but it’s been exploited and is the primary reason why we lost to Houston and Atlanta. Their guards got deep into the paint, attacking airspace, and drawing KAT to step up and defend the drive before the guard took an open floater or jumper 1 step inside the elbow area. These things are of course “ok”. But one drawback is that it makes is so predictable

But the problem has been in drop when you ask the big to commit to stepping up to prevent the drive, it leaves the opposing big open for a Oreb or dump off. Which is why we’ve been killed in Houston and Atlanta and why the “85% rim fg “ is real


Then take this info with:

1: we know kat at 4 works
2: we know the best way to get the most out of Mitch is to play him only 20mpg and with starters who can set him up
3: we’re not abandoning 5 out. It just means we’re not playing 5 out for the entire game
4: we will lose a lot of games where our starters score 98% of the points. Putting Josh hart on the bench gives us more room when McBride can’t score off the bench

[Capn'O]

After last night, KAT is now shooting 40% from 3.




For his career.

995 makes in 2488 attempts. This side is a corny, foul prone, defensive liability, injury risk who also produces an unfathomable quality of offense. You almost have to be wilfully ignorant or actively trying to screw things up for it not to work.

The discussion around "the best shooting big man alive" statement has polluted the broader discussion about KAT a bit.

It's almost as if, just because he's not Dirk, then the discussion is irrelevant and should be entirely dismissed.

But the reality is that he is one of best shooting bigs in basketball history. And having that kind of player is a luxury.

As you said, Thibs now has a Ferrari in his offense.

melo's concerns about KAT's lack of rim protection are warranted. NoDope's take on the defensive schemes around KAT is also pertinent, and there are precedents to instill some confidence that they could potentially build a contender without solid rim protection. The Knicks will need time to test out various tactics to see how far this lineup can take them.

Worst-case scenario, they can bring back Precious and then Mitch at the 5. But they owe it to themselves to try it with KAT for a meaningful period, especially now that they theoretically have elite wing defenders with length to mitigate the negative effects.

KAT will get more serious consideration when he has some more deep playoff runs under his belt. Fair or not, that's just the way it is. So... make it so lads.

[Chanel Bomber]

After last night, KAT is now shooting 40% from 3.




For his career.

995 makes in 2488 attempts. This side is a corny, foul prone, defensive liability, injury risk who also produces an unfathomable quality of offense. You almost have to be wilfully ignorant or actively trying to screw things up for it not to work.

The discussion around "the best shooting big man alive" statement has polluted the broader discussion about KAT a bit.

It's almost as if, just because he's not Dirk, then the discussion is irrelevant and should be entirely dismissed.

But the reality is that he is one of best shooting bigs in basketball history. And having that kind of player is a luxury.

As you said, Thibs now has a Ferrari in his offense.

melo's concerns about KAT's lack of rim protection are warranted. NoDope's take on the defensive schemes around KAT is also pertinent, and there are precedents to instill some confidence that they could potentially build a contender without solid rim protection. The Knicks will need time to test out various tactics to see how far this lineup can take them.

Worst-case scenario, they can bring back Precious and then Mitch at the 5. But they owe it to themselves to try it with KAT for a meaningful period, especially now that they theoretically have elite wing defenders with length to mitigate the negative effects.

KAT will get more serious consideration when he has some more deep playoff runs under his belt. Fair or not, that's just the way it is. So... make it so lads.

Yeah he can't have the belt without at least one serious, consistent deep run. Dirk had a few. I don't think he will ever reach Dirk tbh, despite the percentages and the volume from the era we're in now. An open Dirk just created a different feeling, and that's before even considering the midrange area.

[Chanel Bomber]

I liked the quick release on some of Mikal's shots. If he can provide 40%+ spot-up 3-point shooting with this brief of a release, it will augment our offense even more.

[Capn'O]

The discussion around "the best shooting big man alive" statement has polluted the broader discussion about KAT a bit.

It's almost as if, just because he's not Dirk, then the discussion is irrelevant and should be entirely dismissed.

But the reality is that he is one of best shooting bigs in basketball history. And having that kind of player is a luxury.

As you said, Thibs now has a Ferrari in his offense.

melo's concerns about KAT's lack of rim protection are warranted. NoDope's take on the defensive schemes around KAT is also pertinent, and there are precedents to instill some confidence that they could potentially build a contender without solid rim protection. The Knicks will need time to test out various tactics to see how far this lineup can take them.

Worst-case scenario, they can bring back Precious and then Mitch at the 5. But they owe it to themselves to try it with KAT for a meaningful period, especially now that they theoretically have elite wing defenders with length to mitigate the negative effects.

KAT will get more serious consideration when he has some more deep playoff runs under his belt. Fair or not, that's just the way it is. So... make it so lads.

Yeah he can't have the belt without at least one serious, consistent deep run. Dirk had a few. I don't think he will ever reach Dirk tbh, despite the percentages and the volume from the era we're in now. An open Dirk just created a different feeling, and that's before even considering the midrange area.

For sure. Dirk had such a fun offensive game to watch.

[bballoctober]

Would Jerami Grant solve shot blocking at the 4? I don't think there is any way to match $, even including Hart, who will have to be traded in any major trade. Sorry Roommates podcast!

I think Grant kinda sucks to be honest. I put him in the Tobias Harris/Zach LaVine category. He gets decent stats but does he actually help you win games? I can’t say so.

Grants defense has fallen off. I would take Hart over him.

I would wait to see how Precious plays at the four before making any decision.

[ctorres]

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I don't think Perk is being disrespectful.

Brunson got 9 assists and 0 turnovers last night. That's a really solid game. Definitely should be trending toward double digit assists with this squad though.

Other than KAT being automatic from three, McBride shoots in the 40's, and both OG and Mikal shoot in the mid-high 30's.

I feel like these guys have had more than plenty of conversations about how they should play, but instincts seem to take over sometimes and Brunson falls into old habits.

No reason we shouldn't be destroying teams on the offensive end, regardless of pace.

[thebuzzardman]

Kolek going to run point after Knicks trade Brunson for Giannis