PG: 3:30am in hk now, what an ugly win

[KnixinSix]

Watch on YouTube

This is a very good video break down by a Celtic fan.

Chemistry takes time.

[taikibansei]

This guy only hit 4 3's in his 36 point game. He's not really the best 3 point shooter, but his is historically a great defender and a very good player on offense. He needs more time to gel -- I recall that Josh Hart was ready for the scrap heap in SL. Now we love him. Let's give Mikal some time, maybe even play him less than 38 minutes/game, and see how he does. This is a contract year, so we're not stuck with him long term if we don't want him. But we very well may!

Agreed....

Sometimes players take time to fit in folks.....we don’t want to wait though.

Mikals track record is too long and too good.

The threat of the three is why defenders close out hard against shooters; notice in that game he was getting layups? Now ask yourself when's the last time you saw him get a layup in the halfcourt. You don't need to make a ton of threes for the defense to respect you, but once you show that you can't make them teams stop closing out against you with speed and they play you for the drive. He's not forceful getting to the basket like Josh, so what we see is a bunch of middies, and those are starting to miss now.

If he can't shoot threes reliably his track record is irrelevant, he was 2-18 from three in preseason and that has carried over to the season.

100% this last sentence. I know Mikal has been good in the past--don't need to be reminded. I also have eyes, and my eyes say that he's been a liability just about every game this season (even sometimes when, like tonight, we've won). He can't hit threes, can't finish at the rim, is hesitant elsewhere, and his defensive intensity is way off. I'm hoping it's either an adjustment thing or a confidence thing--both of which could be cured by moving him to the bench (where hopefully he'll feast on 2nd string players and make those necessary adjustments or/and get that confidence back).

I know it's "just" November, but now I'm hoping we didn't screw ourselves bringing him in. (Feel free to prove me wrong, Mikal.)

[The KnicksFix]

Agreed....

Sometimes players take time to fit in folks.....we don’t want to wait though.

Mikals track record is too long and too good.

The threat of the three is why defenders close out hard against shooters; notice in that game he was getting layups? Now ask yourself when's the last time you saw him get a layup in the halfcourt. You don't need to make a ton of threes for the defense to respect you, but once you show that you can't make them teams stop closing out against you with speed and they play you for the drive. He's not forceful getting to the basket like Josh, so what we see is a bunch of middies, and those are starting to miss now.

If he can't shoot threes reliably his track record is irrelevant, he was 2-18 from three in preseason and that has carried over to the season.

100% this last sentence. I know Mikal has been good in the past--don't need to be reminded. I also have eyes, and my eyes say that he's been a liability just about every game this season (even sometimes when, like tonight, we've won). He can't hit threes, can't finish at the rim, is hesitant elsewhere, and his defensive intensity is way off. I'm hoping it's either an adjustment thing or a confidence thing--both of which could be cured by moving him to the bench (where hopefully he'll feast on 2nd string players and make those necessary adjustments or/and get that confidence back).

I know it's "just" November, but now I'm hoping we didn't screw ourselves bringing him in. (Feel free to prove me wrong, Mikal.)

Precisely why I’ve been clamoring for him to go to the bench with his boy Josh. This way his pride doesn’t take a hit when he comes off the bench.
Furthermore if you play Mitch/ Precious in the starting lineup with Deuce, you can move Mikal + Josh to the bench

[MrDollarBills]

Again you don't need time and adjustment to defend. That should be the baseline.

The shot ok it is what it is right now.

But defend, play with some urgency that is all I ask.

This.

His effort on defense is horrible. There's zero reason why he can't lock in

[ctorres]

When Bridges was facetiming or in a group chat with Brunson and Hart, did Bridges tell them about him changing his shooting form? Did Brunson and Hart tell him it was a good idea?

I mean, if we are having these conversations, how could the players (especially these three guys who are supposed to be best friends) not be having these conversations?

[8516knicks]

We really traded 5 firsts for a malnourished Kevin Knox

25, 27, 29, 31 unprotected.
Milwaukee top 5 protected.
28 pick swap with Nets.

Feel that pain?

But we should be ok as we at least have 26 and the 28 swap.
Hopefully Dadiet and Huk become our backups at wing and center, and Mitch and Precious stay healthy.
Maybe a trade.

It's still 5 Kevin Knoxes. But getting to feel like its 5 Mikals.

[Enzo954]

I've been saying it for a while now. Mikal is a problem and isn't meshing with the starters for some reason. Thibs should try him as a 6th man role.

[Chanel Bomber]

Another unforgettable Knicks win on the road in the crucial playoff atmosphere of the Emirates NBA Cup against a scrappy underrated Hornets team orchestrated by mastermind 2x coach of the year Thibs. So thankful to be a Knicks fan

Someof us have our eyes on the Prize!

@chanel

...

And I understand this is bait. I'm sorry.

You really want me to feel miserable don't you.

[Chanel Bomber]

Someof us have our eyes on the Prize!

@chanel

...

And I understand this is bait. I'm sorry.

As Knicks fans we are not "too good"

No but as an NBA fan I am

[KnixinSix]

Agreed....

Sometimes players take time to fit in folks.....we don’t want to wait though.

Mikals track record is too long and too good.

The threat of the three is why defenders close out hard against shooters; notice in that game he was getting layups? Now ask yourself when's the last time you saw him get a layup in the halfcourt. You don't need to make a ton of threes for the defense to respect you, but once you show that you can't make them teams stop closing out against you with speed and they play you for the drive. He's not forceful getting to the basket like Josh, so what we see is a bunch of middies, and those are starting to miss now.

If he can't shoot threes reliably his track record is irrelevant, he was 2-18 from three in preseason and that has carried over to the season.

100% this last sentence. I know Mikal has been good in the past--don't need to be reminded. I also have eyes, and my eyes say that he's been a liability just about every game this season (even sometimes when, like tonight, we've won). He can't hit threes, can't finish at the rim, is hesitant elsewhere, and his defensive intensity is way off. I'm hoping it's either an adjustment thing or a confidence thing--both of which could be cured by moving him to the bench (where hopefully he'll feast on 2nd string players and make those necessary adjustments or/and get that confidence back).

I know it's "just" November, but now I'm hoping we didn't screw ourselves bringing him in. (Feel free to prove me wrong, Mikal.)

Impatient but I agree start giving more minutes to McBride until he settles in.

[Deeeez Knicks]

I am 100% getting championship shirts and going to the parade

[Fat Kat]

I've been saying it for a while now. Mikal is a problem and isn't meshing with the starters for some reason. Thibs should try him as a 6th man role.

Still too early. Give Duece more of his minutes, and see how he responds.

[cgmw]

I've been saying it for a while now. Mikal is a problem and isn't meshing with the starters for some reason. Thibs should try him as a 6th man role.

In fairness, he has the biggest adjustment going from the A1 option all the way down to C2 behind OG.

I have a weird theory that the thing that will open up the court for Mikal is actually moving Hart to the bench. Let Mikal focus on cutting, slashing and pushing pace from the two.

He’s getting plenty of open looks but very few clean drives to the rim and almost no iso looks at all. That’s a strange place to find a rhythm, especially when he just played 4 years in the alpha spot.

[Chanel Bomber]

I am 100% getting championship shirts and going to the parade

Wars have started for less

[ctorres]

I think a lot of us are wondering why Huk and Dadiet have been ghosted after performing well.

That's two guys who give us mobility and size in the paint that looks superior to Sims and a shooter who was knocking down their threes and defending pretty well.

They are the bench. Thibs won't play them. Can't say we have no bench if we don't use it.

I know Kolek is sick ATM, but he was also a bench piece that basically got disappeared as well. Dude can shoot too.

Those three guys can easily shave five minutes off the starters playing time.

Thibs is fubar.

Bunch of thoughts I got...

I think we are waiting for Mitch and Precious to get back healthy before December 15th.

I think trades are gonna go down around the league immediately then after.

We also need to see if Precious improved his 3pt shot at all (don't know if the hamstring injury affects his ability to work on his jumper). It will make the difference whether Thibs can have Precious fully interchangeable with Josh, OG, and Mikal, or if Precious can only play 4 or 5 alongside four other shooters. If Precious comes back only shooting 26-27%% from three, it will make it difficult to play him alongside Mitch off the bench.

Clearly, Thibs trusts Payne and McBride. McBride the most because he is getting 26 mpg and is competing for 6th man of the year.

Thibs likely does not enjoy playing Sims any more than 8-14 minutes, but he has to act like he does in the media to maintain his trade value.

Also, now that Thibs realizes what he has with KAT at the 5, he maybe wishes he could run a 5-out lineup 100% of the time like Boston does. It is going to be immensely difficult to find a Brook Lopez quality type of back-up center off the bench, but I'm betting that is exactly what the Knicks want. Otherwise, wouldn't he play Sims more? Then again, KAT is still right below 34 mpg which is exactly where he was the previous last six seasons. So there just aren't that many more minutes to give and it seems Thibs is not enamored with the idea of playing KAT any minutes at all at the 4 spot.

I also suspect that there are politics at play with the minutes and it's the players who actually want to play as many minutes as they do. The only way to ensure everyone in the starting lineup gets enough offensive touches over the course of a game is by playing them a ton of minutes each. As much as they want to win a championship, they want accolades too. They're still playing for their individual legacies as much as they are for the team.

Not that they're doing it necessarily, but OG and Josh need to stat pad in order to be up for all-star nominations and any sort of end-of-season awards. They may have bonus clauses in their contract that we don't know about too.

Mikal is hurting his chances of any end-of-season awards with his numbers and play. The 4 other starters and McBride all have a shot though.

[Spree2Houston]

Happy to see him back on the bench

Read on Twitter

[Clyde_Style]

Happy to see him back on the bench

Read on Twitter

Fit Mitch Reporting For Duty!

[Calinks]

Come playoff time no one will give a damn if this was an ugly win or not. A win is a win. The job was done.

[Clyde_Style]

I think a lot of us are wondering why Huk and Dadiet have been ghosted after performing well.

That's two guys who give us mobility and size in the paint that looks superior to Sims and a shooter who was knocking down their threes and defending pretty well.

They are the bench. Thibs won't play them. Can't say we have no bench if we don't use it.

I know Kolek is sick ATM, but he was also a bench piece that basically got disappeared as well. Dude can shoot too.

Those three guys can easily shave five minutes off the starters playing time.

Thibs is fubar.

Bunch of thoughts I got...

I think we are waiting for Mitch and Precious to get back healthy before December 15th.

I think trades are gonna go down around the league immediately then after.

We also need to see if Precious improved his 3pt shot at all (don't know if the hamstring injury affects his ability to work on his jumper). It will make the difference whether Thibs can have Precious fully interchangeable with Josh, OG, and Mikal, or if Precious can only play 4 or 5 alongside four other shooters. If Precious comes back only shooting 26-27%% from three, it will make it difficult to play him alongside Mitch off the bench.

Clearly, Thibs trusts Payne and McBride. McBride the most because he is getting 26 mpg and is competing for 6th man of the year.

Thibs likely does not enjoy playing Sims any more than 8-14 minutes, but he has to act like he does in the media to maintain his trade value.

Also, now that Thibs realizes what he has with KAT at the 5, he maybe wishes he could run a 5-out lineup 100% of the time like Boston does. It is going to be immensely difficult to find a Brook Lopez quality type of back-up center off the bench, but I'm betting that is exactly what the Knicks want. Otherwise, wouldn't he play Sims more? Then again, KAT is still right below 34 mpg which is exactly where he was the previous last six seasons. So there just aren't that many more minutes to give and it seems Thibs is not enamored with the idea of playing KAT any minutes at all at the 4 spot.

I also suspect that there are politics at play with the minutes and it's the players who actually want to play as many minutes as they do. The only way to ensure everyone in the starting lineup gets enough offensive touches over the course of a game is by playing them a ton of minutes each. As much as they want to win a championship, they want accolades too. They're still playing for their individual legacies as much as they are for the team.

Not that they're doing it necessarily, but OG and Josh need to stat pad in order to be up for all-star nominations and any sort of end-of-season awards. They may have bonus clauses in their contract that we don't know about too.

Mikal is hurting his chances of any end-of-season awards with his numbers and play. The 4 other starters and McBride all have a shot though.

This is certainly a valid read on the situation. The FO may be in a holding pattern on roster construction until the next trading window opens up.

That would explain trying to prop up Sims as a trade asset, because Huk instantly showed more than him from the opening bell.

It does not entirely explain playing exhausted starters 40 minutes in a blowout loss of course, because that is still Thibs profile regardless of upcoming roster movements.

We will be a radically different squad with both Mitch and Precious back. Mitch does dominate the paint. I'd start him with KAT and sit Bridges. If Thibs is thinking the same thing, he may be waiting for Mitch to return to justify bringing Mikal off the bench so it does not look like a demotion. After spending 5 FRPs on him, there are certainly politics involved.

[Magic-man4609]

Tuesday…Can’t wait to grace MSG