Playoffs discussion
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AbeVigodaLive
- Posts: 10140
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Re: Playoffs discussion
We're over $300k in fines for Edwards this season, right?
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WildWolf2813
- Posts: 3199
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Re: Playoffs discussion
Bridges is getting killed becauseFNG wrote: ↑Tue Apr 22, 2025 8:36 amKAT deserves it to be ripped...hard to figure out how a guy that talented can just disappear in the second half of a critical game. Bridges on the other hand doesn't deserve to be ripped. Yeah, he missed some shots, but he still made 8 out of 18 shots and was very good on defense.
1. They gave up 5 1's for him for a Villanova reunion that never fully happened
2. They'd rather have Donte than him
3. He was clanking open shots in the 4th and has been super inconsistent this season
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WildWolf2813
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Re: Playoffs discussion
Thibs is getting his fair share of criticism, but that's also because if the Knicks happen to lose either in this round or no-show the next round, Thibs might be a casualty. Heck, even Brunson is starting to hear grumblings from the fans because he goes into heroball mode.AbeVigodaLive wrote: ↑Tue Apr 22, 2025 11:05 am I'm seeing Thibs being ripped more than Towns.
Brunson took 8 field goals (and 7 free throws) in the 4th quarter. He had 16 FGA and 9 FTA in the 2nd half.
Towns took 0 attempts in the 4th and only 3 attempts in the 2nd half. He was 5 - 8 in the 1st half.
I'm not absolving Towns of anything. His playoff chops are there for all to see. He's made a mess of his bed many times. But let's not forget Towns' career low in FGA came on a Thibs-led team. Towns only averaged 12 FGA in the playoffs that season, too.
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SameOldNudityDrew
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Re: Playoffs discussion
Y'ouch.
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/630062 ... s-touches/
Randle is far from perfect. But when you consider Donte, the pick, the contract flexibility, and the relative contributions of KAT and Randle so far this offseason, it's getting harder and harder to argue that the Knicks won that trade.
This could all look different after the next couple of games. Who knows?
On the court, the theory of Randle is that he gives us a guy who can create shots off the dribble better than Towns could, and that takes the pressure off Ant when teams zero in on him in the playoffs. Towns was a great shooter, he could drive to the basket in a straight line and finish fairly well sometimes, and his size and length were awesome last year next to Rudy. But he could never really dribble under control and change directions, so he could never really be a reliable outlet once Ant faced playoff pressure. As much as he's a better player than Randle, I can understand the argument that what KAT brings just isn't as helpful when a guy like Ant is the primary focus of your offense. I just hope Randle proves that theory correct in the rest of the playoffs.
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/630062 ... s-touches/
Randle is far from perfect. But when you consider Donte, the pick, the contract flexibility, and the relative contributions of KAT and Randle so far this offseason, it's getting harder and harder to argue that the Knicks won that trade.
This could all look different after the next couple of games. Who knows?
On the court, the theory of Randle is that he gives us a guy who can create shots off the dribble better than Towns could, and that takes the pressure off Ant when teams zero in on him in the playoffs. Towns was a great shooter, he could drive to the basket in a straight line and finish fairly well sometimes, and his size and length were awesome last year next to Rudy. But he could never really dribble under control and change directions, so he could never really be a reliable outlet once Ant faced playoff pressure. As much as he's a better player than Randle, I can understand the argument that what KAT brings just isn't as helpful when a guy like Ant is the primary focus of your offense. I just hope Randle proves that theory correct in the rest of the playoffs.
Re: Playoffs discussion
I watched all of game 2 of the Knicks Pistons game.
Beasley shot poorly but he was in there down the stretch because he was doing other stuff like playing defense energy etc. Hardaway wasn't playing better. Beasley hit all 4 of his FTs. He is a flawed guy but he always competes. JB is probably a good coach for him.
Towns was a mixed bag. The Pistons out rebounded the Knicks 48-34 Duren was often out playing him on the board and the Pistons had 3 players with double digit rebounds and the Knicks had none. Towns had 6 rebounds. Hart had 7 and Robinson who played 20 mins had 7. Obviously you want more out of Towns than what he gave in that game but to be honest the Pistons looked like the better team most of the night. They kept saying how young the Pistons are. They have a couple young players but they play quite a few vets. They are a team that's made the adding veteran players to a bad team look good. Harris is the only guy they really broke the bank for though. A few days ago I looked at Towns stats. After his hot start he basically finished the season with another fairly typical Towns season which is good but he kinda raised expectations at one point. I didn't see his good game in game 3 but I find it hard to say he has been better than Randle in 2 games so far. In fact I think it would be easy to argue Randle has been better. Towns does have zero turnovers but Randle over has been worth having on the floor for sure. Match ups matter a lot in the playoffs.
The benches were a big factor. Schroeder had 20 points off the bench. McBride had all the Knicks bench points with 8 and 3 of those was a prayer bank three.
OG annanuby wasn't exactly good in this game either. Forgot he was even playing sometimes. He had 10 points. They gave up quite a bit to get that guy too.
It will be interesting to see how this series goes. I agree that Detroit seemed to have the length to bother some of the Knicks players. In theory the Knicks should have more high end talent but as other have pointed out it's not exactly a team with a bunch of size in terms of bigs. I don't hate the Knicks in fact I like a lot of their players but part of me would be happy to see them struggle and it's always fun to cheer for a team like the Pistons an underdog with a team that's really not supposed to be here.
Beasley shot poorly but he was in there down the stretch because he was doing other stuff like playing defense energy etc. Hardaway wasn't playing better. Beasley hit all 4 of his FTs. He is a flawed guy but he always competes. JB is probably a good coach for him.
Towns was a mixed bag. The Pistons out rebounded the Knicks 48-34 Duren was often out playing him on the board and the Pistons had 3 players with double digit rebounds and the Knicks had none. Towns had 6 rebounds. Hart had 7 and Robinson who played 20 mins had 7. Obviously you want more out of Towns than what he gave in that game but to be honest the Pistons looked like the better team most of the night. They kept saying how young the Pistons are. They have a couple young players but they play quite a few vets. They are a team that's made the adding veteran players to a bad team look good. Harris is the only guy they really broke the bank for though. A few days ago I looked at Towns stats. After his hot start he basically finished the season with another fairly typical Towns season which is good but he kinda raised expectations at one point. I didn't see his good game in game 3 but I find it hard to say he has been better than Randle in 2 games so far. In fact I think it would be easy to argue Randle has been better. Towns does have zero turnovers but Randle over has been worth having on the floor for sure. Match ups matter a lot in the playoffs.
The benches were a big factor. Schroeder had 20 points off the bench. McBride had all the Knicks bench points with 8 and 3 of those was a prayer bank three.
OG annanuby wasn't exactly good in this game either. Forgot he was even playing sometimes. He had 10 points. They gave up quite a bit to get that guy too.
It will be interesting to see how this series goes. I agree that Detroit seemed to have the length to bother some of the Knicks players. In theory the Knicks should have more high end talent but as other have pointed out it's not exactly a team with a bunch of size in terms of bigs. I don't hate the Knicks in fact I like a lot of their players but part of me would be happy to see them struggle and it's always fun to cheer for a team like the Pistons an underdog with a team that's really not supposed to be here.
Re: Playoffs discussion
I think it's a good theory, but Randle is too turnover-prone and erratic with his jumper to be a great fit with a Wolves team that wants to contend in future years. That doesn't mean the trade overall was bad, as KAT had his own issues, but I just don't think Randle is a good enough #2 option, especially when the #1 option also struggles a bit with turnovers and holding the ball.SameOldNudityDrew wrote: ↑Thu Apr 24, 2025 2:54 pm Y'ouch.
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/630062 ... s-touches/
Randle is far from perfect. But when you consider Donte, the pick, the contract flexibility, and the relative contributions of KAT and Randle so far this offseason, it's getting harder and harder to argue that the Knicks won that trade.
This could all look different after the next couple of games. Who knows?
On the court, the theory of Randle is that he gives us a guy who can create shots off the dribble better than Towns could, and that takes the pressure off Ant when teams zero in on him in the playoffs. Towns was a great shooter, he could drive to the basket in a straight line and finish fairly well sometimes, and his size and length were awesome last year next to Rudy. But he could never really dribble under control and change directions, so he could never really be a reliable outlet once Ant faced playoff pressure. As much as he's a better player than Randle, I can understand the argument that what KAT brings just isn't as helpful when a guy like Ant is the primary focus of your offense. I just hope Randle proves that theory correct in the rest of the playoffs.
I think the real challenge for Connelly this offseason is that if indeed he still agrees with the thesis of Ant needing a wingman that can create off the dribble, he has to decide if that person is currently already in the organization (probably not Randle, but may be Dillingham in 2-3 years?) or go find a way to get one. We do have assets.