PG: We survived 4-1

[Deeeez Knicks]

Lonzo was a good get for the Bulls and think he would have been a good fit here.

But we made out really well with what we came out. If Kemba keeps this play up he can help take the Knicks offensively at different level then Ball for cheaper.

Kemba is the X-Factor on this team. I love that we can keep both him and Rose fresh.

[K_ick_God]

RJ should be converting most of you by now. He's a grinder who shows up. The other guy is a fumbler who disappears.

Cut it out. There have been plenty of games I forget RJ is even on the floor.. no one on this team is perfect

I know you're trying to say something else, but in a way what you're describing is more a strength than weakness. He doesn't shoot you out of games like that. Still plays D.

[Knicksfan1992]

Main takeaways from last night:

- I actually thought Randle had one of his best non heavy scoring games in a Knicks uni (up until the end of regulation). Bulls loaded up on him and he made the right read almost every time and on a night where he didn't have it he forced them to foul him a lot. I'd like to see him get scoring more, but on nights where he doesn't have it that is exactly the kind of impact you want him to have.

-Kemba getting more and more comfortable in his own skin here. The way he's playing now he's going to be really hot and cold because he basically relies on off the dribble jumpers to score, but the Knicks are giving him enough spacing to be able to get those off and feel good that they're going to be good looks.

-RJ EFFIN BARRETT. The 1st team All-Defense agenda continues. He just wears on these guys for 48 minutes. Like an annoying human ball of muscle sized gnat on defense. Love how he's embraced being a wing stopper. This kid's mentality is just so different. Great culture kid to be here. Him and Thibs were a match made in heaven.

-Obi continues to give really good minutes and is forcing Thibs hand to play him more at the 5 IMO. Last night it was tolerable to not go small because I thought Taj had a really good game defensively but felt like we could have used more Obi especially late in the game when the offense was sputtering a bit

-Thought Thibs actually coached a pretty mediocre game last night. I thought the defensive game plan was very good but his late game offense calls really left a lot to be desired and I thought he left Burks in for too long. Too many Randle post ups that were too far away from the basket. Then he went to Kemba but had Mitch set the screen which allowed the Bulls to blitz and take away the Kemba pull up jumpers...If we're going to go to Kemba late game the screening action needs to include Randle so teams can't commit so heavily on Kemba IMO. The one time he got Fournier involved we got a great look on a pull up that rolled in and out.

-Quickley and Burks are struggling. Having 2 guys as streaky as they tend to run in the 2nd unit is hurting our flow. Quick's struggles are really inexplicable. He's missing open shots. I'm guessing that will reverse itself eventually, but it's gotta happen soon or else his rotation spot is gone

[SelbyCobra]

Read on Twitter

[FrozenEnvelope]

I don't care how we win as long as we win and winning on the road is super hard in the NBA. We are 4-1 and that hasn't happened since 2013 and it's only the second time the last 20 years! And we won in Chicago!

We're still a new team that has to jell. I hate the late game collapses but they are finding ways to win anyway. RJ continues to grow and will be one of the best two way players in the league by the end of the season. To lock down a scorer like DeRozan in the clutch is not an easy task! Not worried about Randle. He'll figure it out and will make those 2 FTs next time he's in that situation. I do like how he's passing and finding open guys. He just needs to settle down and not panic when one of those smaller guys tries to guard him. I thought he tried to make it a little too personal when Lonzo was guarding him. Like he was out to prove Lonzo couldn't check him. Just settle down, play your game, make the right play and hit your FTs!

I also liked how we adjusted offensively and didn't just launch threes. We dominated the Bulls for the first 45 minutes. They made their run, we closed it out and came out with a win. We're 4-1! Don't take it for granted! This doesn't happen for us often!

[Tron Carter]

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[robillionaire]

Watch on YouTube

it's a gather step and 2 steps not a travel

[robillionaire]

Gotta love some of the posts on the Bulls board..

We're better than the Knicks. Shots didn't fall, calls went the other way, we missed many defensive rotations and gave up offensive rebounds, and still only lost by one.

On to the next game.

'calls went the other way' says the guy whos team was getting gifted calls the last 3 mins to even make that comeback possible while the Knicks were getting hacked and no-call OKAYYYYYYYYY

Im definitely not touching the Bulls board lol but yes there’s no way you can watch that game and think the Bulls are definitively better especially since it took a collapse at the end to even make it a game. It was very much a Knicks dominating performance for most of the game.

I will give them credit that they were missing a starter for the entire 2nd half after williams got injured

I think both teams are on about the same level, thankfully we got the win

[BugginOut]

For everyone who gets on Randle for ISO’s he is still one of the best at it in the league right now.

Top PPP in Isolation with a FREQ of 10 or more:

Anthony Edwards: 1.23
Kevin Durant: 1.23
Stephen Curry: 1.18
Joel Embiid: 1.16
Spencer Dinwiddie: 1.16
SGA: 1.14
Julius Randle: 1.12
Khris Middleton: 1.11
James Harden: 1.09
Ja Morant: 1.08

We can run more plays, but ISO Randle is a viable play
​
https://www.nba.com/stats/players/isolation/?SeasonType=Regular%20Season&PerMode=Totals&sort=PPP&dir=1&CF=POSS%5C_PCT%5C*GE%5C*10

[jvsimonetti0514]

Gotta love some of the posts on the Bulls board..

We're better than the Knicks. Shots didn't fall, calls went the other way, we missed many defensive rotations and gave up offensive rebounds, and still only lost by one.

On to the next game.

'calls went the other way' says the guy whos team was getting gifted calls the last 3 mins to even make that comeback possible while the Knicks were getting hacked and no-call OKAYYYYYYYYY

Im definitely not touching the Bulls board lol but yes there’s no way you can watch that game and think the Bulls are definitively better especially since it took a collapse at the end to even make it a game. It was very much a Knicks dominating performance for most of the game.

Missing too many defensive rotations and giving up too many offensive rebounds is due to roster construction, not from anything that happened specifically in this game. Of course there's going to be a ton of missed rotations when your wings are Lavine and DeRozen. This was the stuff everyone was worried about when they looked at their roster and you can't act surprised when that happens in game. Maybe they would have rebounded better if Pwill didn't get hurt but it's not like Vucevic is an elite in that department either. Also Lavine went off in the first half and we still had the lead. So it's not like they just missed shots.

[3toheadmelo]

schmood

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[KnickFan33]

For everyone who gets on Randle for ISO’s he is still one of the best at it in the league right now.

Top PPP in Isolation with a FREQ of 10 or more:

Anthony Edwards: 1.23
Kevin Durant: 1.23
Stephen Curry: 1.18
Joel Embiid: 1.16
Spencer Dinwiddie: 1.16
SGA: 1.14
Julius Randle: 1.12
Khris Middleton: 1.11
James Harden: 1.09
Ja Morant: 1.08

We can run more plays, but ISO Randle is a viable play
​
https://www.nba.com/stats/players/isolation/?SeasonType=Regular%20Season&PerMode=Totals&sort=PPP&dir=1&CF=POSS%5C_PCT%5C*GE%5C*10

Over the course of the game, I can somewhat deal with it. But for 3 or 4 straight possessions to close out a close game? Not so much. It's predictable and easy to defend. There's a reason solid leads get blown at the end of games.

[jvsimonetti0514]

Watch on YouTube

it's a gather step and 2 steps not a travel

looked like a gather and 3 steps to me

[3toheadmelo]

While Randle didn’t shoot well, he did pull down 16 rebounds and was just one assist shy of a triple-double, as Thibodeau pointed out how much he did to get his teammates involved in the big win.

“I love the fact that everyone is sacrificing and putting the team first. That’s how you win big in this league,” Thibodeau said.

“[Randle] made plays. We got wide-open threes, he read the defense really well. So that’s what gave us that initial cushion. They were coming hard from the baseline and he was reading and guys were getting to their space, and that’s what winning is all about. The game tells you the play to make.

“Julius can beat you with his scoring, he can beat you with his rebounding, he can beat you with his passing, he can beat you with his ability to get to the free-throw line – there’s so many different ways he can hurt you. He rebounded great, he was a great playmaker, and I just loved it. I loved the way he played. It wasn’t about scoring.”

Randle echoed what Thibodeau had to say, as well, noting that he doesn’t need to score 30 points every night with the talented group he has around him.

“That’s what it’s about. I don’t like to force anything. I know my guys will be in their spots or whatever it is, and I just make plays,” Randle said. “Really, that’s what it’s all about.

“I’m just going to drive, create and make the right plays, and when it’s time for me to be aggressive, I’ll be aggressive.”

[Iron Mantis]

For everyone who gets on Randle for ISO’s he is still one of the best at it in the league right now.

Top PPP in Isolation with a FREQ of 10 or more:

Anthony Edwards: 1.23
Kevin Durant: 1.23
Stephen Curry: 1.18
Joel Embiid: 1.16
Spencer Dinwiddie: 1.16
SGA: 1.14
Julius Randle: 1.12
Khris Middleton: 1.11
James Harden: 1.09
Ja Morant: 1.08

We can run more plays, but ISO Randle is a viable play
​
https://www.nba.com/stats/players/isolation/?SeasonType=Regular%20Season&PerMode=Totals&sort=PPP&dir=1&CF=POSS%5C_PCT%5C*GE%5C*10

Right. But during that moment it clearly wasn't working in: a hostile environment, a high pressure situation, with two top 10 players in steals defending him.

Have to be adaptable.

[3toheadmelo]

Read on Twitter

[oldshoolballer]

A lot of people laughed at me when I said the Knicks could be in the ECF. Only the Jazz are playing better basketball than this team in the NBA.

[Chanel Bomber]

While Randle didn’t shoot well, he did pull down 16 rebounds and was just one assist shy of a triple-double, as Thibodeau pointed out how much he did to get his teammates involved in the big win.

“I love the fact that everyone is sacrificing and putting the team first. That’s how you win big in this league,” Thibodeau said.

“[Randle] made plays. We got wide-open threes, he read the defense really well. So that’s what gave us that initial cushion. They were coming hard from the baseline and he was reading and guys were getting to their space, and that’s what winning is all about. The game tells you the play to make.

“Julius can beat you with his scoring, he can beat you with his rebounding, he can beat you with his passing, he can beat you with his ability to get to the free-throw line – there’s so many different ways he can hurt you. He rebounded great, he was a great playmaker, and I just loved it. I loved the way he played. It wasn’t about scoring.”

Randle echoed what Thibodeau had to say, as well, noting that he doesn’t need to score 30 points every night with the talented group he has around him.

“That’s what it’s about. I don’t like to force anything. I know my guys will be in their spots or whatever it is, and I just make plays,” Randle said. “Really, that’s what it’s all about.

“I’m just going to drive, create and make the right plays, and when it’s time for me to be aggressive, I’ll be aggressive.”

Randle had a very good albeit discrete game until the last 3 minutes of the game.

He forces it a bit in crunch time. He should let Rose or Kemba initiate and play PNR more often down the stretch. Mix it up a little bit, some PNR, some ISO, some set plays, but not all ISO.

[NYKnickerbocker]

Bulls big 3 all pretty much hit their season averages and we still controlled the game. Randle being off shooting wise. Fournier hit some shots to keep the momentum in our favor but was pretty much off most the night.

Just funny reading the bulls boards and seeing the Knicks played there best basketball tonight. They did a good job keeping us off our 3 point barrage plan. But we adjusted and attacked the paint

[DOT]

Someone needs to start the "has Randle regressed?" thread

Cause if I do it, it'll be with the purpose of getting Randle back on track. It's gotta be done genuinely, by someone seriously asking

I'm not worried yet about his shooting numbers, but I am getting concerned, especially with his sort of meltdown in the final minutes last night.