PG: KNICKS vs Wemby - The Mikal Christmas Show!!!

[Chanel Bomber]

Perhaps an overly optimistic take, but it's possible Thibs is still looking to see which kind of matchups he can or cannot trust KAT with.

Putting OG on Wemby is the better defensive matchup as NoDope rightly point out, and it also allows KAT to roam and control the glass. But it's still early in the season, and it could well be that Thibs wanted to assess how KAT would fare guarding Wemby. Or to give him reps against this type of matchup.

Spurs have Sochan, which makes it a bit easier to cross matchups. Against Boston or OKC, you can't hide KAT on anyone, so it'll be important for him to stay out of foul trouble and do a credible job guarding KP or Chet (if iHart's not on the floor).

[matchman]

Josh Hart handing out Mikal Bridges apology forms…I wouldn’t be surprised if the man reads RealGM

Hi Josh this is matchman, don't quote me on the twitter for a Knicks fan from Hong Kong.

[/test]

[thebuzzardman]

Hart being Mini-Draymond is such an important part of this team.

Watching the replay of the last 6 minutes, when Brunson was out, Hart was bringing the ball up many times.

Harts ability to have use at the 2/3/4, while having some of the passing ability of a 1 really helps the Knicks mix lineups.

Still think the Knicks could use one more useful 3&D wing, one with some height.

[BKlutch]

Watched the last 6 mins again right now. Spurs didn’t even really work the ball to Wemby and he didn’t even try to go get it either. OG and precious defended one shot a piece. OG had a Catch and shoot 3 to defend and precious had to defend a pull up jumper. Dont get me wrong both of those shots were well defended but It certainly didn’t look like how OG had to guard Embiid down the stretch of those playoffs games. Wemby did make it rain but he was at his best when he was on the move and attacking Kat. He kinda stopped doing that. Which makes me wonder if Wemby needs avocados to protect against anemia more so than anything the our defenders did to slow him down.

Wow, I didn't know avocados had that much iron! Maybe Wemby needs to become iron man. In the history of the tallest centers, Kareem was 7'2", Wilt and Shaq were both 7'1". Other super tall centers found their bodies didn't hold up when they put on muscle weight, but clearly lack of strength is Wemby's biggest issue (not that he still isn't great, of course). But can his frame hold up if he weighs 20 lbs more? It remains to be seen. It's hard to post up when your center of gravity is so high unless you're really strong.

Wemby is really good yet we need to see how this develops. Maybe the the league is in deep trouble, or maybe he's just too tall. The list of over 7'1" centers is very long and few were near great. We'll see if Wemby is truly the alien and can achieve that.

[thebuzzardman]

Watched the last 6 mins again right now. Spurs didn’t even really work the ball to Wemby and he didn’t even try to go get it either. OG and precious defended one shot a piece. OG had a Catch and shoot 3 to defend and precious had to defend a pull up jumper. Dont get me wrong both of those shots were well defended but It certainly didn’t look like how OG had to guard Embiid down the stretch of those playoffs games. Wemby did make it rain but he was at his best when he was on the move and attacking Kat. He kinda stopped doing that. Which makes me wonder if Wemby needs avocados to protect against anemia more so than anything the our defenders did to slow him down.

Wow, I didn't know avocados had that much iron! Maybe Wemby needs to become iron man. In the history of the tallest centers, Kareem was 7'2", Wilt and Shaq were both 7'1". Other super tall centers found their bodies didn't hold up when they put on muscle weight, but clearly lack of strength is Wemby's biggest issue (not that he still isn't great, of course). But can his frame hold up if he weighs 20 lbs more? It remains to be seen. It's hard to post up when your center of gravity is so high unless you're really strong.

Wemby is really good yet we need to see how this develops. Maybe the the league is in deep trouble, or maybe he's just too tall. The list of over 7'1" centers is very long and few were near great. We'll see if Wemby is truly the alien and can achieve that.

Beets > Avocados

[3toheadmelo]

Never doubt Thibs

The numbers suggest the defense has improved lately, and while that could be partly due to playing weaker opponents lately, there is one noticeable area in which things do look better: The 3-point defense is heading in the right direction.

Through the first 15 games, the Knicks conceded the second-highest 3-point attempt frequency in the NBA. Opponents were shooting 36.6 percent from 3, which was tied for the fifth-highest conversion rate in the league. So, New York was allowing teams to shoot a lot of 3s and make them at a good clip. Over the last 14 games, New York has completely flipped the script. The Knicks’ defense is allowing the second-lowest 3-point attempt frequency, and opponents are only converting on 34.8 percent of those shots, the second lowest mark in the NBA during that span.

That’s very encouraging for Knicks fans.

The Knicks have also generated more turnovers lately. New York ranks 28th in steals per game (6.8) through the first half of the season. Over the last 14 games, the Knicks are averaging 8.4 steals per game, which ranks 14th. Steals lead to easier offense. OG Anunoby has been terrific in this regard.

[Jalen Bluntson]

Al this talk about defending this 7'5" Phenon who has the nba and refs in his back pocket....seems like a losing battle either way to me. If we just shoot what we normally do from 3 we blow that team out of the water...so I think Thibs should focus on that.

Wemby isn't averaging 41PPG, so he can be kept reasonably in check.

Either way, It's more about discussing strategy and the approach to defense based on the team's personnel.

We have our eyes on a championship this year, and in the playoffs you can't just out-talent teams. We need to see championship-level coaching. Strategizing, seizing advantages, forcing teams to adjust, and quickly making adjustments is the name of the game.

True but the reality is...we are in the arm chair position and we are stuck with Thibs. I hope/trust he'll adapt accordingly in the playoffs.

This. Assuming he game planned putting OG on wemby late is just as reasonable as assuming his stubborn ass has no choice because KAT s 5 foul. We all know what Thibs is at this point. He's directly in between what his lawyers say he is what what the prosecutors say he is. Good coach with flaws. We are winning. We are one of the very top teams in the league. I'm here for it.

[stuporman]

Still wondering if the deluded think Thibs doesn't have plans that they do from their couch...yea, didn't think to use OG for defense...wow, you people are crazy.

Criticize timing of the switch, sure, there's an argument to be made but didn't have plans?...absolute nonsense.

Couchers have concepts of plans...

[sol537]

OG on Wemby and KAT on Barnes of Soch would have been better but live and learn.

[Iron Mantis]

OG on Wemby and KAT on Barnes of Soch would have been better but live and learn.

Indeed.

The next time we play the Spurs, Thibs will probably defend Wemby differently.

Fortunately we were able to come from behind in the last few minutes and get the win. I'll take it.

[jvsimonetti0514]

Watched the last 6 mins again right now. Spurs didn’t even really work the ball to Wemby and he didn’t even try to go get it either. OG and precious defended one shot a piece. OG had a Catch and shoot 3 to defend and precious had to defend a pull up jumper. Dont get me wrong both of those shots were well defended but It certainly didn’t look like how OG had to guard Embiid down the stretch of those playoffs games. Wemby did make it rain but he was at his best when he was on the move and attacking Kat. He kinda stopped doing that. Which makes me wonder if Wemby needs avocados to protect against anemia more so than anything the our defenders did to slow him down.

Wow, I didn't know avocados had that much iron! Maybe Wemby needs to become iron man. In the history of the tallest centers, Kareem was 7'2", Wilt and Shaq were both 7'1". Other super tall centers found their bodies didn't hold up when they put on muscle weight, but clearly lack of strength is Wemby's biggest issue (not that he still isn't great, of course). But can his frame hold up if he weighs 20 lbs more? It remains to be seen. It's hard to post up when your center of gravity is so high unless you're really strong.

Wemby is really good yet we need to see how this develops. Maybe the the league is in deep trouble, or maybe he's just too tall. The list of over 7'1" centers is very long and few were near great. We'll see if Wemby is truly the alien and can achieve that.

We used to make that joke about KP needing to eat his veggies cuz he always ran out of energy all the time.

You bring up a really good point about Wemby. His fluidity and elasticity at his size is what makes him so unique. How do you build strength without losing some of that. As awesome as Giannis is he doesn’t have the same creativity that Wemby has with the ball. I’m just thinking back to how in awe I was about KP hitting people with dream shakes or a step back and those moves were rudimentary with how Wemby can move. I’m not really sure what strength model you can even pattern him after cuz you don’t want him to lose that.

I rewatched the end of the game cuz this post game thread kept talking about how OG locked up Wemby and I didn’t remember like that. Thought precious guarded him just as much, which was also wrong.

Wemby was just a non factor on both sides on the ball. He had the paint on complete lockdown for most of the game and we pretty much only made runs with him off the floor. Then in the stretch run happened and Mikal took it right at him a couple of times and Hart got 4 offensive rebounds. He was out there for 40 minutes. That’s a lot of minutes for someone that giant. Spurs need to be careful and also find a decent running mate. Very interested in seeing if they can snatch Fox from the kings.

[BKlutch]

Watched the last 6 mins again right now. Spurs didn’t even really work the ball to Wemby and he didn’t even try to go get it either. OG and precious defended one shot a piece. OG had a Catch and shoot 3 to defend and precious had to defend a pull up jumper. Dont get me wrong both of those shots were well defended but It certainly didn’t look like how OG had to guard Embiid down the stretch of those playoffs games. Wemby did make it rain but he was at his best when he was on the move and attacking Kat. He kinda stopped doing that. Which makes me wonder if Wemby needs avocados to protect against anemia more so than anything the our defenders did to slow him down.

Wow, I didn't know avocados had that much iron! Maybe Wemby needs to become iron man. In the history of the tallest centers, Kareem was 7'2", Wilt and Shaq were both 7'1". Other super tall centers found their bodies didn't hold up when they put on muscle weight, but clearly lack of strength is Wemby's biggest issue (not that he still isn't great, of course). But can his frame hold up if he weighs 20 lbs more? It remains to be seen. It's hard to post up when your center of gravity is so high unless you're really strong.

Wemby is really good yet we need to see how this develops. Maybe the the league is in deep trouble, or maybe he's just too tall. The list of over 7'1" centers is very long and few were near great. We'll see if Wemby is truly the alien and can achieve that.

Beets > Avocados

Knicks beets avocados San Antonio Wembys

[BKlutch]

Wemby isn't averaging 41PPG, so he can be kept reasonably in check.

Either way, It's more about discussing strategy and the approach to defense based on the team's personnel.

We have our eyes on a championship this year, and in the playoffs you can't just out-talent teams. We need to see championship-level coaching. Strategizing, seizing advantages, forcing teams to adjust, and quickly making adjustments is the name of the game.

True but the reality is...we are in the arm chair position and we are stuck with Thibs. I hope/trust he'll adapt accordingly in the playoffs.

This. Assuming he game planned putting OG on wemby late is just as reasonable as assuming his stubborn ass has no choice because KAT s 5 foul. We all know what Thibs is at this point. He's directly in between what his lawyers say he is what what the prosecutors say he is. Good coach with flaws. We are winning. We are one of the very top teams in the league. I'm here for it.

There was a time, long long ago in a place far far north when we thought Nick Nurse was the best coach. Even he has flaws, it seems.

[BKlutch]

OG on Wemby and KAT on Barnes of Soch would have been better but live and learn.

I agree. Also, if we played OG on Wemby in the first half, they might have adjusted in the 2nd half by playing Wemby much more down close to the basket, where the height difference would have made defending him hard with the height disadvantage. It's hard to know what really was the thinking on defending him, but we're going to find out if both teams make the finals.

Until then, we should be happy that none of the 5's on our main opponents are going to grow any more and reach 7'5". LOL

[rajajackal]

Never doubt Thibs

The numbers suggest the defense has improved lately, and while that could be partly due to playing weaker opponents lately, there is one noticeable area in which things do look better: The 3-point defense is heading in the right direction.

Through the first 15 games, the Knicks conceded the second-highest 3-point attempt frequency in the NBA. Opponents were shooting 36.6 percent from 3, which was tied for the fifth-highest conversion rate in the league. So, New York was allowing teams to shoot a lot of 3s and make them at a good clip. Over the last 14 games, New York has completely flipped the script. The Knicks’ defense is allowing the second-lowest 3-point attempt frequency, and opponents are only converting on 34.8 percent of those shots, the second lowest mark in the NBA during that span.

That’s very encouraging for Knicks fans.

The Knicks have also generated more turnovers lately. New York ranks 28th in steals per game (6.8) through the first half of the season. Over the last 14 games, the Knicks are averaging 8.4 steals per game, which ranks 14th. Steals lead to easier offense. OG Anunoby has been terrific in this regard.

least of my worries going into this season was the coach. his reputation is for doing a lot with a little and then hitting a wall. we've never seen him with a team this loaded. his own coaching ceiling might be raised as he gels with his new personnel

[rajajackal]

OG on Wemby and KAT on Barnes of Soch would have been better but live and learn.

I agree. Also, if we played OG on Wemby in the first half, they might have adjusted in the 2nd half by playing Wemby much more down close to the basket, where the height difference would have made defending him hard with the height disadvantage. It's hard to know what really was the thinking on defending him, but we're going to find out if both teams make the finals.

Until then, we should be happy that none of the 5's on our main opponents are going to grow any more and reach 7'5". LOL

can't wait til we can play mitch and og against the spurs. that combo might make ours the only roster with a wemby antidote available

[NoDopeOnSundays]

OG on Wemby and KAT on Barnes of Soch would have been better but live and learn.

I agree. Also, if we played OG on Wemby in the first half, they might have adjusted in the 2nd half by playing Wemby much more down close to the basket, where the height difference would have made defending him hard with the height disadvantage. It's hard to know what really was the thinking on defending him, but we're going to find out if both teams make the finals.

Until then, we should be happy that none of the 5's on our main opponents are going to grow any more and reach 7'5". LOL

can't wait til we can play mitch and og against the spurs. that combo might make ours the only roster with a wemby antidote available

The combo won't matter if they aren't used properly, he had 40 against Mitch and IHart last season, neither could guard him. If OG is on Sochan his help defense just doesn't matter against Victor.

[3toheadmelo]

Never doubt Thibs

The numbers suggest the defense has improved lately, and while that could be partly due to playing weaker opponents lately, there is one noticeable area in which things do look better: The 3-point defense is heading in the right direction.

Through the first 15 games, the Knicks conceded the second-highest 3-point attempt frequency in the NBA. Opponents were shooting 36.6 percent from 3, which was tied for the fifth-highest conversion rate in the league. So, New York was allowing teams to shoot a lot of 3s and make them at a good clip. Over the last 14 games, New York has completely flipped the script. The Knicks’ defense is allowing the second-lowest 3-point attempt frequency, and opponents are only converting on 34.8 percent of those shots, the second lowest mark in the NBA during that span.

That’s very encouraging for Knicks fans.

The Knicks have also generated more turnovers lately. New York ranks 28th in steals per game (6.8) through the first half of the season. Over the last 14 games, the Knicks are averaging 8.4 steals per game, which ranks 14th. Steals lead to easier offense. OG Anunoby has been terrific in this regard.

least of my worries going into this season was the coach. his reputation is for doing a lot with a little and then hitting a wall. we've never seen him with a team this loaded. his own coaching ceiling might be raised as he gels with his new personnel

This whole pg is just people upset at Thibs after a win and they won’t even acknowledge how he’s transformed our defense lately.

[rajajackal]

Never doubt Thibs

least of my worries going into this season was the coach. his reputation is for doing a lot with a little and then hitting a wall. we've never seen him with a team this loaded. his own coaching ceiling might be raised as he gels with his new personnel

This whole pg is just people upset at Thibs after a win and they won’t even acknowledge how he’s transformed our defense lately.

i wasn't in the gt cause i was in uncle mode for my family so i didn't see any of the commentary. just watched the game with my brother and had a blast watching mikal go off but even if i conceded that thibs put og on thibs later than he should have, is doing so at some point not the sort of winning in-game adjustment people say thibs never makes? we tweaked something and won i'll take it

[Iron Mantis]

The last 2 post game threads only went 11 and 13 pages...

I'm glad guys are able to discuss the details of the basketball game, contributing to a lively and interesting postgame thread that can go 27 pages......all without all the nonsense of of before. Very enjoyable.