OT: NBA & Basketball - 2023-24 Season

[huerter]

If we ever get a Josh Hart type on the Rangers we shouldn’t complain what line he plays on and we shouldn’t let him walk for 2 mil AAV.

 

[17futurecap]

Knicks home court in round 2, wow.

 

[Rangerfan4life90]

Knicks home court in round 2, wow.

I have Knicks in 7. This will be a war of a series.

 

[cgf]

So trying to predict how each team will plan on defending one another and what would make the most sense to me would be for them to :
- use their JB on our JB & Bam on Ju, their two best defenders on our two best offensive players;
- hope Love can keep Mitch/IH from feasting on the offensive glass;
- let Vincent / Martin chase RJ / IQ around whenever one of them is out there with our top 2;
- hope that Lowry / Robinson can hide on Hart / Grimes.


From our perspective there are a couple of big questions that could change a lot:
1. Robinson or Hartenstein?
There were a lot of games in which Mitch only got 18-22 minutes, despite being healthy & not being in foul-trouble, and if Spo starts having Bam bringing the ball up the court to pull our 5 into space, this could be another one of those matchups where Thibs leans on Hartenstein more than Robinson.

2. Jimmy or the shooters?
If their shooters stay hot, then even with all of our bodies we'll have to pick between giving Jimmy extra attention or staying tight to their shooters.

I think I would start the game focused on keeping their shooters from coming to life and letting Jimmy be Jimmy; before starting to throw a lot more at Jimmy in the 2nd half when their shooters will have a lot less time to find their rhythm...and Jimmy will have less time to figure out the counters to what we're throwing at him.

I figure Hart & Grimes will be the main Jimmy defenders, but Quickley, Barrett, Randle, and McBride, will likely get thrown at Jimmy at some point...especially if we start throwing the kitchen sink at him the way Thibs did Garland / Mitchell.

 

[East Coast Bias]

Just attack Lowry. He can’t move.

And be prepared for absolute horseshit fouls all series. Butler just runs around crashing into everyone. If they ever called the Heat on their bullshit, the series would be over quickly. But they won’t.

 

[cgf]

Just attack Lowry. He can’t move.

And be prepared for absolute horseshit fouls all series. Butler just runs around crashing into everyone. If they ever called the Heat on their bullshit, the series would be over quickly. But they won’t.

I feel like we should be able to play Lowry, Robinson, and Strus off the court in crunch-time. But Vincent and Martin are capable defenders who shot 43.8 & 42.4% on 9.8 3s per game against Milwaukee. If they stay hot against us, Vincent - Jimmy - Martin - Love - Bam could be a tough closing-5.

 

[Irishguy42]

Knicks vs Jimmy Butler is one hell of an even series.

 

[LionsHeart]

I keep thinking about what this team could do with a healthy Julius Randle. The east is wide open right now.

 

[cgf]

I keep thinking about what this team could do with a healthy Julius Randle. The east is wide open right now.

Rewatching his FGAs & assists from game 5 on NBA.com really hammers this home. Julius is such a force when he's fit & playing well.

 

[LeetchisGod]

The Knicks are actually good. This is surreal.

 

[Filip Chytil]

Knicks struggling in 3rd quarter

 

[LionsHeart]

Knicks stopped playing their game in the 2nd Quarter. They’re not a great shooting team. They need to play good D and drive to the basket. They also really need Randle back.

 

[inranger94]

Both teams are a carbon copy of each other. Miami is one scrappy team.

 

[NCRanger]

Knicks do not get any calls whatsoever.

Doris Burke is nauseating.

 

[17futurecap]

Too much complaining to the refs. They missed a ton of wide open threes, that will need to change obviously.

The Heat aren’t going to give them easy drives like the Cavs did.

Still think they are okay, but obviously frustrating.

 

[inranger94]

Knicks or Rangers. Same story.

 

[mrmovies779]

Couldn't shoot worth a damn today

 

[LeetchisGod]

Knicks or Rangers. Same story.

The Rangers have significantly more talent than the Knicks. The Knicks have overachieved this season.

 

[LionsHeart]

Knicks or Rangers. Same story.

Rangers have more star power, the Knicks aren’t as talented but play their asses off. If the Rangers played with the same heart they wouldn’t be playing a Game 7 tomorrow.

 

[17futurecap]

Curry, still ridiculous.

 

[cgf]

We could genuinely make it to the finals with the way things have shaped up in the east...as we can fight the Heat & Celtics on level footing and have the depth to wear them out over 7 games if Julius gets back.

But we can't shoot 3-23 (13%) from 3 outside of Obi; we need to do a better job on their non-Jimmy shooters even if that means Jimmy goes off for 40; and we have to be better prepared for Spo's in-game adjustments...like those Love hail-mary's.

This is a winnable series even without Julius, but we definitely weren't ready to punch them back with the right counter-adjustments.

 

[cgf]

Knicks stopped playing their game in the 2nd Quarter. They’re not a great shooting team. They need to play good D and drive to the basket. They also really need Randle back.

The Knicks were a firmly middle-of-the-pack shooting team in the regular season (35.4%), on high volume (8th in the NBA).

There's things that aren't your strength and there's this. If we can't shoot over 20% from 3 we're done. Spo will just pack the paint and that'll be that.

This is why Julius being out is such a blow, even if he had just been a decoy who drew Bam out of the paint.

 

[NCRanger]

I thought home teams got the benefit of the doubt on calls. The Knicks are getting screwed.

And for a “New York” guy, Ian Eagle is blatantly rooting for Miami from the “booth”.

 

[17futurecap]

That was a struggle, but they got it done. Lot of rest now, need to be much better once Butler comes back Saturday.

 

[Machinehead]

If we ever get a Josh Hart type on the Rangers we shouldn’t complain what line he plays on and we shouldn’t let him walk for 2 mil AAV.

You mean Jesper Fast?