PG: KNICKS Maul The Grizzly Bears!!!

[rajajackal]

thibs is a mr. miyagi coach. he makes you wax on and wax off for half the year so that you're ready when it matters...

[HerSports85]

I bet some here are more happy that JB and KAT didn't play the in the 4th quarter than the actual win.

I'm confused. Why can't someone be happy for both???

[j4remi]

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[Context]

Man...I was so exhausted yesterday I couldnt fully participate in the post "game" in this thread.

[LFGK]

1/29 DEN
2/1 LAL
2/3 HOU
2/4@TOR
2/8 BOS
2/11 @IND
2/12 ATL

That's the run up to the ASB. ALL playoff/play-in teams except TOR. B2Bs. Huge test. I want to continue streaking!!!

got Houston/Boston/Indi circled, Houston because everyone has this team as some world beater(like Memphis) and we want payback earlier in the season. Boston because well Boston and Indiana for payback earlier in the season. This will be a good test leading up to the ASB 5-1 4-2 is not out of the question

Yeah DEN and LAL don't play at a crazy pace so we match up pretty well vs them.

HOUS/BOS/IND will be really interesting matchups because of the pace they play at. ATL even on a b2b will be interesting too.

Should be a real good test to gauge where this team is at once we hit the all star break.

Memphis plays at a crazy pace and that didn't work well for them. As long as the knicks play D(defend the 3)and hit their open 3's they are going to be nightmare matchup for anyone.

[mpharris36]

got Houston/Boston/Indi circled, Houston because everyone has this team as some world beater(like Memphis) and we want payback earlier in the season. Boston because well Boston and Indiana for payback earlier in the season. This will be a good test leading up to the ASB 5-1 4-2 is not out of the question

Yeah DEN and LAL don't play at a crazy pace so we match up pretty well vs them.

HOUS/BOS/IND will be really interesting matchups because of the pace they play at. ATL even on a b2b will be interesting too.

Should be a real good test to gauge where this team is at once we hit the all star break.

Memphis plays at a crazy pace and that didn't work well for them. As long as the knicks play D(defend the 3)and hit their open 3's they are going to be nightmare matchup for anyone.

They do play at a crazy pace but they turn the ball over a lot and Ja Morant had no interest shooting the ball from range which played right into our hands.

Our 3 pt defense is still our Achilles heal. DEN and LAL are two of the lowest volume 3 pt shooting teams which is typically why we matchup well.

It's the teams that really like to spread us out that we struggle with and play at a crazy pace...because then rotations get sloppy and we get tired.

But we are playing 9 guys in the 1st qtr now...so that is a big improvement from Thibs which will help us later in games and in the future. That is all we were asking to open up the rotation a bit and it seems to have paid off.

[KnicksGadfly]

I bet some here are more happy that JB and KAT didn't play the in the 4th quarter than the actual win.

I bet you’re sad that JB and KAT didn’t play in the 4th quarter because you don’t believe minutes have anything to do with injuries

[LFGK]

Yeah DEN and LAL don't play at a crazy pace so we match up pretty well vs them.

HOUS/BOS/IND will be really interesting matchups because of the pace they play at. ATL even on a b2b will be interesting too.

Should be a real good test to gauge where this team is at once we hit the all star break.

Memphis plays at a crazy pace and that didn't work well for them. As long as the knicks play D(defend the 3)and hit their open 3's they are going to be nightmare matchup for anyone.

They do play at a crazy pace but they turn the ball over a lot and Ja Morant had no interest shooting the ball from range which played right into our hands.

Our 3 pt defense is still our Achilles heal. DEN and LAL are two of the lowest volume 3 pt shooting teams which is typically why we matchup well.

It's the teams that really like to spread us out that we struggle with and play at a crazy pace...because then rotations get sloppy and we get tired.

But we are playing 9 guys in the 1st qtr now...so that is a big improvement from Thibs which will help us later in games and in the future. That is all we were asking to open up the rotation a bit and it seems to have paid off.

all that spead out and sloppy rotation nonsense will be put to bed with the addition of Mitch. Things also tighten up come playoff time not all loosey goose.

[mpharris36]

I know its been a talking point...but the minutes matter.

Thibs has done a much better job recently playing 9 guys in the 1st qtr. Not having guys like Mikal play entire qtrs. He still needs some work staggering some of our better playmakers at once. But simply the additional rest seems to be having a big impact on the teams EFF and defense intensity.

Bridges went up against Fox and Morant arguably two of the quickest most dynamic PG's in the NBA and played them really well. Contributing on both ends. He is able to keep this up because him minutes are being managed at a respectable level right now.

OG looks much better. He has 11 steals in the last 3 games...it took him 13 games to before to get 11 steals. His shooting looks much better too.

The 3 days off really helps but the deeper rotations certainly have helped as well.

That is all people have been asking for. Trust the best. Even if they aren't great that game...it will have roll over effects to the second half where are guys aren't in the 40 minute territory.

[mpharris36]

Memphis plays at a crazy pace and that didn't work well for them. As long as the knicks play D(defend the 3)and hit their open 3's they are going to be nightmare matchup for anyone.

They do play at a crazy pace but they turn the ball over a lot and Ja Morant had no interest shooting the ball from range which played right into our hands.

Our 3 pt defense is still our Achilles heal. DEN and LAL are two of the lowest volume 3 pt shooting teams which is typically why we matchup well.

It's the teams that really like to spread us out that we struggle with and play at a crazy pace...because then rotations get sloppy and we get tired.

But we are playing 9 guys in the 1st qtr now...so that is a big improvement from Thibs which will help us later in games and in the future. That is all we were asking to open up the rotation a bit and it seems to have paid off.

all that spead out and sloppy rotation nonsense will be put to bed with the addition of Mitch. Things also tighten up come playoff time not all loosey goose.

Mitch isn't going to help much with teams like BOS or Indy...Precious is a better matchup to go smaller with.

I still don't know if they end up trading Mitch. Precious is playing really well right now and we really could use another bigger wing. Don't really think Shamet at his size is going to cut it vs teams with size.

[TheGreenArrow]

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[MrDollarBills]

Hate to beat a dead horse but Mikals minutes last 4 games:

27
34
35
34

He was playing close to if not more than 40 minutes previous to January 20th. It doesn't take a genius to realize the correlation between Mikals production and MPG.

Reasonable minutes distribution.

No one is asking Thibs to be as strict as Atkinson is with his starters but 33-34 minutes on average makes a world of difference.

[Gravy]

I believe 99 percent of Thibs supporters thought the minutes for the starters were too much, but the bench was so bad at the time that it was necessary to win most games. Can anybody say they enjoyed watching Sims in the rotation when Precious was out?

Now that the bench is healthy they are playing better and Thibs trusts them more. Or was Thibs forced to play the bench? Chicken or egg first? I always said he plays the bench if they are good and posted the stats that were ignored to cry about him hating every bench player.

The real test will be next time there is a close game and the bench is struggling, does he rely on the starters for heavy minutes again or is this the "new Thibs" that plays everyone under 35 mpg going forward.

[Nostrand Ave]

Great performance all around by everyone…team win!

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Even Ben knows Kolek is the truth

3 assists in 4 minutes is nuts!

[Gravy]

This random guy I found on in the internet says it more eloquently than me..

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[Zenzibar]

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[Tron Carter]

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i have no dog in this fight. just throwing gasoline on the fire.

ya’ll need to shut up and enjoy the good times a little sometimes though. i know tensions are high given the expectations but these are the ebbs and flows of a regular season when you’re a legit good team. just my 2 cents lol

[Kampuchea]

Thibs said GTFO to the minutes police, finally putting the topic to rest for the remainder of the season. Maybe a few posts desperate for Kolek or HukTuah but that’s about it.

[jvsimonetti0514]

Just like deeming the team a 1st round exit or 2nd round exit a week ago, it’s the same extreme as saying after last night they can win the chip. As amazing as the knicks have played the last two games just like when they were struggling a week ago, it’s unfair to judge any team based on how they are playing in December or January. The basketball season is a marathon not a sprint, as I’ve said from the get go, be healthy, playing your best ball in april/may. You can’t judge each individual win or loss in the regular season to determine what may or may not happen come playoff time

I have maintained this team is championship caliber with the 3 biggest things standing in the way being:

1. Thibs over taxing the starters
2. Not having the elite rim protecting 5
3. And related to #2, Not defending the 3 ball well enough due to too much over protecting the paint.

Right now #1 looks to be something Thibs is starting to (FINALLY) address. Will he revert back? Hopefully not but a very positive sign last few games.

The 2nd point has been mitigated a bit bc Achiuwa took a while to acclimate after his early injury kept him out until a month or so ago. It takes about a month or so to get in rythym and he looks to be just about all the way back. No doubt that an elite 5 rim protector though getting 20-25 minutes a game wouldn't also help even more too.

#3 is still a bit up and down but with fresher legs the team seems to have better energy and faster reaction to guard the 3 for sure.

This teams record last 36 games is better than almost the entire NBA.

Thunder 29-7
Cavs 27-9
Knicks 26-10
Celtics 24-12

It’s funny juxtaposition to read how bad and dumb Thibs is when we’ve had .720 winning percentage on 59 win pace that would give us the 3rd best record in the league over that stretch with mostly an 8 man rotations over the last 36 games.

[spree8]

Thibs said “ok, you win” to the minutes police, finally putting the topic to rest for the remainder of the season. Maybe a few posts desperate for Kolek or HukTuah but that’s about it.

Fixed