PG Knicks - Great Second Half Led by Defense

[Coach Carter]

Knicks board should be focusing on the 5 first round picks they gave up

[soxperry]

What is Rollins max upside?

He just turned 23 fwiw.

Jrue Holiday type of impact player.

nah, Jrue was truly special at his peak. he could guard so many different types of players and he had a very polished offensive game considering how good he was on defense. there's a lot of real estate between an average two way nba player and Jrue. Ryan could get up there but he's not touching Jrue.

[jimmybones]

Yeah, I’m starting them together. KPJ and Rollins are our two guys with the most unknown upside and give us the highest ceiling. And they both fit the mold of the modern nba and the identity we’re going for - athletic two way guys that can play with pace.

KPJ/Cole
Rollins/Trent
Green/Prince
Giannis/Kuz
Turner/Bobby/Sims

[tsamo]

Also, Giannis coming out the gates engaged defensively is scary. The past few years he has played mediocre defense with spurts of greatness. Now, he is playing good defense, followed by great, and then Elite level defense.

Giannis just could not sustain his offensive output with his defense, so something had to give, but I'll die on this hill, giving his all in a lot of possessions to defend some of the best opposing players only for a teammate to give up a layup to a scrub with no resistance had taken the air out of his sails multiple times.
Not to say Giannis will not still have some bad possessions on defense or lapses but he's going to try more when he knows the team can have his back on defensive possessions.

[bucksfansince88]

Yeah sorry KPJ. Rollins needs to start.

Rollins is really really good, but KPJ is even better.

Yeah i would support starting Rollins but not at KPJs expense.

Let Rollins cook second units and close out with Giannis and 4 guards when we’re able to or put him in over Gary or AJ when one of them isn’t having a good night.

[tsamo]

... Giannis, for the 1st time, was completely unaffected by OG...

Giannis has had some good games against OG in the past, but I swear at moments tonight he made him seem like a child.

[bucksfansince88]

Also, Giannis coming out the gates engaged defensively is scary. The past few years he has played mediocre defense with spurts of greatness. Now, he is playing good defense, followed by great, and then Elite level defense.

Giannis just could not sustain his offensive output with his defense, so something had to give, but I'll die on this hill, giving his all in a lot of possessions to defend some of the best opposing players only for a teammate to give up a layup to a scrub with no resistance had taken the air out of his sails multiple times.
Not to say Giannis will not still have some bad possessions on defense or lapses but he's going to try more when he knows the team can have his back on defensive possessions.

I want him playing free safety and contesting at the rim more

[soxperry]

Dame was a swing that everyone wanted at the time, me included.. but man does it now seem stupid in hindsight. not because of his age, but because of how bad he was on defense. we are getting back the that defensive identity now and it feels right. it's easy to forget, but during our best years we would close with just insanely high levels of defense with Giannis and Brook just swatting everything.

Turner hasn't really settled in yet in a lot of ways but i believe in him.

[msiris]

Kuz should be easier to trade now, he has shown something

Because he is not sitting there shooting threes.Plus he is not starting. Lol

[MartyConlonOnTheRun]

Knicks board should be focusing on the 5 first round picks they gave up

Yeah, at least five times tonight I saw Bridges and that is what the Knicks went all in on?

[MartyConlonOnTheRun]

Even prince looked good in his role.

[paulpressey25]

The Rollins/George Hill comps have been on this board for the past six months. That’s where I see him. And we never saw prime George Hill during his time here. He was on the downside then.

The big part about tonight is IMO Kuzma. You have to find a role for that guy and he’s got to embrace it. If that occurs, you’ve suddenly added a ton of meaningful depth to the frontcourt.

[Ron Swanson]

Yeah sorry KPJ. Rollins needs to start.

Rollins is really really good, but KPJ is even better.

Dude has to prove it first. Rollins right now is a legit two-way dude. Whether it’s alongside KPJ or at his expense. He needs to be out there with the starters.

[yb90]

Also, Giannis coming out the gates engaged defensively is scary. The past few years he has played mediocre defense with spurts of greatness. Now, he is playing good defense, followed by great, and then Elite level defense.

Giannis just could not sustain his offensive output with his defense, so something had to give, but I'll die on this hill, giving his all in a lot of possessions to defend some of the best opposing players only for a teammate to give up a layup to a scrub with no resistance had taken the air out of his sails multiple times.
Not to say Giannis will not still have some bad possessions on defense or lapses but he's going to try more when he knows the team can have his back on defensive possessions.

I agree, I think it was 3 or 4 years ago when Middleton was out for a long time that I saw the change.

[skbucks1985]

Holding a team with as much offensive firepower as the Knicks to 40 points in a half is damn impressive

I'm ambivalent about Rollins starting. I think being in the closing lineup (which is more important) is an easier decision. But its as much about maximizing Green or Trent as it is about boosting Rollins and I'm not sure if moving one of them to the bench in favor of Rollins makes them a net better team.

I'm not worried at all about Turner. Players fall off the cliff all the time, but there's not many instances of a guy whose overall game is just as good if not better than ever but his shooting falls off a cliff. I'm sure he's had a dozen poor 4 game stretches like this during his career. It'll come back around and I suspect at the end of the season he'll be shooting ~50% overall and ~36% from 3, his career averages.

[Plossum]

Good to get one over the Knicks. They've kinda owned us in recent years.

Like that everybody is contributing depending on the night. Hopefully Giannis can maintain the rage.

[msiris]

Yeah sorry KPJ. Rollins needs to start.

Rollins is really really good, but KPJ is even better.

Dude has to prove it first. Rollins right now is a legit two-way dude. Whether it’s alongside KPJ or at his expense. He needs to be out there with the starters.

Its a nice problem to have.

[Prez]

Rollins/Giannis/Turner is the foundation of a monstrously good defense, you have to play them together a ton. If KPJ is as good as he looked in those first few minutes before the injury, **** it just start him and Rollins together. But Rollins/Giannis/Turner just being on the floor a ton and doing their thing defensively is going to win us games.

[Plossum]

This team has an electric gear we haven't seen in a few years. Giannis is better than ever, Turner is a perfect fit on D, and Rollins has me feeling things.

[tsamo]

...I'm not worried at all about Turner. Players fall off the cliff all the time, but there's not many instances of a guy whose overall game is just as good if not better than ever but his shooting falls off a cliff. I'm sure he's had a dozen poor 4 game stretches like this during his career. It'll come back around and I suspect at the end of the season he'll be shooting ~50% overall and ~36% from 3, his career averages.

Just for comparison's sake, just last year, in which he had career high in 3pt%, in his first 4 games he was averaging 30% from 3. He is in a new system and it's going to take a little bit for him to find his footing, but his defense is already there and it's such an improvement from Lopez, it's not even funny.