THE CURRENT PRODUCT. modern Knicks

[Jose7]

Disgusted by the last 7 quarters of basketball.

terrible play, not adapting, getting severely out coached, terrible shooting, very unathletic on the wing.

Not happy at all with the product.

[Jalen Bluntson]

33-17
#3 seed (2GB)
#4 PPG
#8 OPP PPG
#5 NET RTG

#2 OFF RTG
#15 DEF RTG

[egelband]

do the buyouts/signings usually happen right after the trade deadline?

[Jalen Bluntson]

do the buyouts/signings usually happen right after the trade deadline?

Maybe in a different thread.

[Fat Kat]

Read on Twitter

[Nazrmohamed]

do the buyouts/signings usually happen right after the trade deadline?

I'm no cap guru but with all this apron stuff I was under the impression that we can't even participate in the buyout market

[Fat Kat]

do the buyouts/signings usually happen right after the trade deadline?

I'm no cap guru but with all this apron stuff I was under the impression that we can't even participate in the buyout market

Can’t sign a vet minimum until March 1st

[RHODEY]

I think this is a solid assessment of the current product

Watch on YouTube

[Jalen Bluntson]

36-18 best record at this point in 28 years.
Only CLE/OKC/BOS have a better record than us.

#3 seed (2.5 GB BOS)
#4 PPG
#12 OPP PPG
#5 NET RTG

#2 ORTG
#17 DRTG

Time for the ASB. We should have Mitch and OG back after the break. That should improve our defense a bit in theory. We shall see. We slipped quite a bit the last 5 games.

The HC needs to get his shyt together if he wants to make a run this season.

[Jalen Bluntson]

We are on pace for 54.7 wins. The Pacers are on pace for 46.4 wins. 5.5 game lead. Barring any disastrous issues, we are at least the three seed for the playoffs. 2.5 games behind Boston(58.1 wins) is not a huge gap so, we still have a shot at moving up.

I guess if someone wanted to a deep dive into the SoS math they could shine a little more accurate light on the pace. I'm going with the basic math. It would be interesting to see that math worked out. I'm just not doing it.

Knicks(.519) have the second toughest remaining schedule in the East behind #5 seed MIL(.524).
IND(.497) and BOS(.465) are our immediate bookends in the playoffs race. Have fun with those numbers of you want. I suppose you would also need SoS to date but, again, I'm not doing it.

Who do we want as the 6 seed? Currently DET if the playoffs started today.

Obviously bored so, yeah. The home stretch is upon us! 28 games to go!!

[drekwins]

If you want to watch a MASTERCLASS of how to defend in today's NBA, watch the following video of OKC (I recommend fast forwarding to 1:12):

Watch on YouTube

Some Observations
1) OKC is an extremely well coached and full of high IQ players. The entire teams is extremely long, and their effort is phenomenal. They truly love playing defense.

2) From a schematic standpoint, OKC strongly hedges & blitzes the PnR when the ball handler is a dangerous dribble/scoring threat (Kyrie, LeBron, Harden, etc.). The big will cut off/ride the ball handler all the way to the half court line. The on-the-ball defender follows to trap the ball. At the same time, the off-the-ball defenders all adjust their positioning by playing somewhat of a zone. Each defender drifts from their primary defensive assignment to the passing lanes. One defender takes away the easy outlet pass to the strong-side wing/free throw line extended. One defender creeps up to cover the rolling big that set the pick, baiting to intercept the pass. The final weak side defender covers the lane, in a center-field type fashion. Given the aggressive on-the-ball trap and the off-the-ball positioning of the defenders, it's extremely important for the offensive PG to maintain their dribble. If they pick it up, they are in a terrible position, with few options:

a. Option 1 - A pass that does not progress the offense (i.e. - a sideways pass to an offensive player that comes out all the way to half court to provide help getting out of the trap)
b. Option 2 - An extremely difficult skip pass, over-the-top of the defense to the far corner/alley-oop attempt.
c. Option 3 - Test the passing lanes on the wings or to the big where the defenders are waiting to intercept the pass.

3) If the ballhandler is not dangerous dribble/scoring threat, they play drop coverage and somewhat of a zone. Each off-the-ball defender stays home on the wings, ready to attack the passing lanes. Their defensive big weakly shows, conscious not to overcommit, daring the PG to shoot but ready to recover to their primary defensive assignment. Depending on personnel and which side the offensive ball handler attacks, the weak side defender creeps down toward the paint, ready to provide help once the ball gets into the paint.

4) When playing against stars that like to ISO/Post-up in the half-court, OKC aggressively sends the double team anywhere on the floor as soon as they touch the ball. They will not let them catch the ball with space to operate, or in their spots. They suffocate. This effectively funnels the ball to the 3rd, 4th and 5th options, forcing them to have to make plays and shots that they are not able to consistently execute at a high-level.

5) These schematics are why OKC forces 18.3 turnovers per game (they only turn the ball over 12 times, a +6.3 differential per game). They are #1 in Opponent 3PT% - 33.1%, Opponent FG% - 43.1%, Defensive Rating - 104.2, Steals Per Game - 11.1, and Points Off Turnovers Per Game - 22.8. 19.3% of their total points per game come off turnovers.

6) Their defense reminds me of the Miami Heat teams with LeBron, Wade, Bosh and Spo.

7) Beyond the turnovers, one important aspect of this defense is that it drains the shot clock. If a team dribbles the hell out of the ball and does not start their offense early in the shot clock, they have no chance. Once OKC doubles the PnR (hedge & blitz), the offense is often put in a position where they must reset. If not conscious of time, teams are often left with only 6-8 seconds to create something out of nothing. At that point, the defense becomes even more aggressive, and the offense is unlikely to yield a high-percentage shot.

[Jose7]

It was a GREAT season fellas this year.. Year 1 of the product.

Its unfortunate Leon wont pull the plug on the Thibs situation until 2026-2027 likely.

We will be a a very good team because of the talent and the product overall vs the entire league will be good.

Thibs will ultimately keep us below true contender status. Even Brunson cannot overcome the Thibs effect even though he TOP TIER.

Was a good season fellas.

[Jalen Bluntson]

40-22
#3 seed (4.5 GB #2 BOS) (3.5 GA #4 MIL)
#5 PPG
#13 OPP PPG
#6 NET RTG

#5 ORTG
#17 DRTG

We just lost Brunson for a few games at least. Things could look much different by the the next time I update these numbers. Not in a good way. Let's see how this plays out moving forward. We could slide to the 6 seed at worst(5.5 GA DET).

[Jalen Bluntson]

40-22
#3 seed (4.5 GB #2 BOS) (3.5 GA #4 MIL)
#5 PPG
#13 OPP PPG
#6 NET RTG

#5 ORTG
#17 DRTG

We just lost Brunson for a few games at least. Things could look much different by the the next time I update these numbers. Not in a good way. Let's see how this plays out moving forward. We could slide to the 6 seed at worst(5.5 GA DET).

This was February 4th
33-17
#3 seed (2GB)
#4 PPG
#8 OPP PPG
#5 NET RTG

#2 OFF RTG
#15 DEF RTG

[RHODEY]

Watch on YouTube

[thebuzzardman]

Watch on YouTube

Save them from those top 6 playoff seeds, that's for damn sure.

[FrozenEnvelope]

We are a good team but not a great team. Still need to keep building and growing. **** takes time! I'm still excited for the playoffs and the future. Nothing says we aren't in good hands!

[Adelheid]

this is a good and perfect time to test the knicks' various pg prospects and backlog and it can even unearth a more passing game

[Jalen Bluntson]

40-22
#3 seed (4.5 GB #2 BOS) (3.5 GA #4 MIL)
#5 PPG
#13 OPP PPG
#6 NET RTG

#5 ORTG
#17 DRTG

We just lost Brunson for a few games at least. Things could look much different by the the next time I update these numbers. Not in a good way. Let's see how this plays out moving forward. We could slide to the 6 seed at worst(5.5 GA DET).

This was February 4th
33-17
#3 seed (2GB)
#4 PPG
#8 OPP PPG
#5 NET RTG

#2 OFF RTG
#15 DEF RTG

42-24
#3 seed (6GB BOS) (4.5GA MIL) (5GA IND)
#6 PPG
#13 OPP PPG
#6 NET RTG

#5 ORTG
#14 DRTG

2-2 without Brunson. The playoffs are about 5 weeks away. Brunson is at least 3-4 weeks away. Same shyt different shoes. Limping into the playoffs 4 out of 4 years in a row with Thibs. Who knew?

[Jalen Bluntson]

44-26
#3 seed (2.5GA IND)
#9 PPG
#13 OPP PPG
#6 NET RTG

#5 ORTG
#14 DRTG

4-4 without Brunson. #3 seed could be up for grabs. #2 seed slipped out of reach.

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