SL Game Thread # 1: CaKnickians vs. Pelicanos

[Fat Kat]

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[BeagleBoss]

Some of you are taking this game last night way too seriously.

[thebuzzardman]

Even a natural disaster can't get the ball out of Trier's hands

Trier would Iso during a sharknado

[Clyde_Style]

Some of you are taking this game last night way too seriously.

Agreed

but you're still a very bad person

[Clyde_Style]

Even a natural disaster can't get the ball out of Trier's hands

Trier would Iso during a is sharknado

[stuporman]

Even a natural disaster can't get the ball out of Trier's hands

Trier would Iso during a sharknado

Yelling and1 from the belly of a shark

[Sprewell4Three]

I don’t want to hear anything concrete about RJ at least until next season. He’s only 19 yrs old, he didn’t look good last night but we have to give him time to develop. These hot takes this early just makes me want to avoid this board sometimes.

[blackbishop]

About Patience: I think this is as good a time as any to beat you over the head with the importance of patience. RJ Barrett marks our third straight year of drafting one of the absolute youngest players available. Kevin Knox saw an assault via advanced data that completely overlooked his age and the massive role he was forced into. These are still kids with a lot to learn and develop. You draft young players with raw talent in order to build them up and that takes more than one season. It takes more than 28 mpg or whatever arbitrary figure you attach to it. Development is going to require a lot more than just one offseason too. So expect guy like Knox, Mitch and Trier to still have some of those old rookie habits that frustrated you...it's natural. Don't let that stuff blind you to development and growth. Did Knox just take a bump and still blow by for a finish? That's growth. Did Mitch just aggressively call for the ball at the three point line even if only to switch the offense over to the other side of the court? Baby steps. You see Trier making lobs and kick outs? That wasn't happening this time last year (keep that in mind when watching RJ). These feel small, sometimes insignificant even. But it starts to add up. Small wrinkles combine to form larger impacts as teams force players to leave their comfort zones. Will this work out with every young player we draft? Of course not. But keep an eye out for style trends and new habits, they're what these breakdowns have been about since I started. I'm not asking yall to "trust the process" because that's too much of a "have faith" approach. I'm telling yall to "enjoy the process." Have fun watching these kids grow and trying to project where they'll go as players; that's what a rebuild is good for. Don't let the haters take away your enjoyment; if we only cared about the w/l record we'd have lost our minds during the Eddy Curry era. But we're still here, loyal as ever and with a lot to forward to.

Thank god. Someone understands that this is a work in progress.

[Billy Goat]

RJ looking like he's stuck in mud- more jitters or is there a lack of athleticism? He doesnt bounce off the floor at all it seems.

[nyknicks09]

Last night was a sign of RJ coming off the bench once season starts. He’s 19 and will need 2-3 years to develop. Now, Mr. Knox looked good and I hope he earns that starting spot at SG. I don’t want to see him play SF cause he’s going to get killed on the defensive end. I hope Knox can develop a low post game ala Glenn “Big Dog” Robinson.

Now Mitch Robinson needs to work on his foul troubles. Know when to be aggressive in the 1st half when you’re playing with 1 foul. If he doesn’t, he’s going to ride the bench early and we are going to watch more of Gibson and Randle defending the paint and that’s something I don’t want to watch.

And Trier, I’m hoping he becomes our Lou Williams but I highly doubted so if he doesn’t start passing the ball, he’s not going to be in the NBA for much longer.

Overall, we looked lost out there like it was a pick up game at the YMCA. I saw the Bulls and Lakers game and the Bulls played well organized basketball.

[Newyorknick94]

There’s only like 5 summer league games we can’t lose another game if they want to win the summer league chip not like it means anything though

[nedleeds]

Barrett was awful; same issues that he had at Duke: tunnel vision driving to the hoop, can only go left, not a good shooter. Granted it was only one game, but he did not look impressive… At all.

Naw man something about spacing, coaching and Zion made him chuck, turn the ball over 3+ times a game, shoot 30% from 3 and 66% from the line. /sarcasm

Still have no idea what on film or in the box score made him the #3 pick. He has the greatest hype machine a late first round player has ever had. This draft was utter trash outside of Zion and our road apple front office didn't trade out or down.

[nedleeds]

y'all bugging if you think RJ is shook from poor shooting in a summer league game lol

Nobody is worried, its 1 SL game

It's true, shooting terribly at Duke never caused him to stop shooting. He ain't shook!

[nedleeds]

[list=][/list]

Always give a long leash to young players.. always. But is anyone worried about RJ's explosiveness?

You know RJ skipped the measurements at the combine and those morons running the show still drafted him 3rd.

[SmoothLefty21]

RJ looking like he's stuck in mud- more jitters or is there a lack of athleticism? He doesnt bounce off the floor at all it seems.

That's who he is. A lot of scouts/blogs/etc had trouble describing his type of athleticism but the best I can do is that he's a good athlete in space but he's not in traffic. He has no wiggle either. He's a straight line power guy, doesn't change directions well.

He's probably going to be OJ Mayo (not as good of a shooter) without the drug problem. That's not a terrible player.

[HarthorneWingo]

Even a natural disaster can't get the ball out of Trier's hands

Trier would Iso during a sharknado

And STILL score!

[jvsimonetti0514]

I'm sure he'll bounce back but RJ's game last night was basically watching all his weaknesses on his scouting report in real time.

[HarthorneWingo]

I was expecting to see RJ do some playmaking, maybe run a few PnRs with Mitch or whoever. But I don't recall seeing RJ do any playmaking. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

[j4remi]

Knox has a quicker release now. Will help him a lot.

I'm guessing Iggy might come on strong early this year and become a regular rotation guy. He was one of the few guys who has natural off-the-ball movement sense. It will allow him to fill lanes, be part of PnRs, spot up, etc. without messing up spacing

I appreciate the lecture on patience. Lord knows Knicks fans are a sadistic bunch who tear at every flaw prematurely. Folks need to consider what you're saying which if I may paraphrase:

THE KNICKS ARE DRAFTING THE YOUNGEST PLAYERS IN THE LEAGUE BASED ON TALENT TO DEVELOP THEM OVER SEVERAL YEARS.

If Knox takes a leap this year and the next, he will fully vindicate his draft selection. Let's give RJ some room to breathe. This crowd is mericiless.

I was thinking that with Knox too, seems like he sped up his release. If the three is really there with that quick release, he's going to have a ton of gravity.

Iggy's got a nose for the ball. Seems like he can become a solid glue type F where you can put him into a number of different combinations and he'll contribute whatever's lacking.

And facts about the youth fam. This is looking like a legitimate rebuild and that means several years of development for everyone with ups and downs that come with it.

[Richard4444]

I still think RJ could turn into a very good player in a few seasons.

But he would be an awful fit in a win now superteam with Durant and Irving/Leonard.

If we had signed some superstars, we would have to trade RJ for a vet.