OT: NBA & Basketball - 2023-24 Season

[Takeahnase]

Get a true and legit C. Huge acquisition

Even in today’s “modern” NBA, legit C’s don’t have 0 and I mean ZERO blocks for an entire WCF. How in the hell can you be 7 feet tall and not block a shot over an entire series. Kyrie had more blocks. With ONE. But mah 3 point shot! KAT shot 24% for that series from deep. Dude is one of the most overrated players of his generation. A slightly better Sam Perkins.

 

[Devilsfan992]

I don't know how to feel about this trade. Towns is certainly an upgrade over Randle and definitely opens the floor, but I'm concerned about play making and depth.

Our ball movement was elite last season when we had Brunson, OG, Randle, Divo/Hart and Hartenstein. We had Randle as the primary ball handler when Brunson was on the bench. Hartenstein was an elite center passer and Donte is underrated as well. Towns is not known for being a playmaker.

My guess is Bridges will take over as the secondary playmaker. He's okay at this, but he's as good at creating his own shot as Randle is. He's better as a 3 and D player.

The bench also takes a hit. Hart most likely slides in the starting line up and now we have to rely on McBride and Precious to really step up. I am confident in McBride, but he's not at the same level as Donte was offensively. But he is a better on ball defender.

A trade for a center was a must. I am not exactly sure this was the route I would have went. I think I would have waited it out and pulled the trigger closer to the trade deadline. The team was good enough to stay afloat even without an NBA caliber starting center.

With that said, I do think the ceiling for this trade is an NBA championship. If KAT can play good enough D, stretch the floor and score 20 and grab 10 rebounds, it'll be worth it. He brings a level of efficiency that Randle can't bring and he is an overall improvement on IHart and Mitch against the top centers of the East, who will need to expend energy guarding him of defense.

 

[Machinehead]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1841295289145033216

 

[cgf]

Randle is a mirage and was never going to be the guy

The Knicks win this trade by a landslide and any fans that are complaining about it are dorks

Randle might be the most under-rated player in the NBA just from how many people think he’s terrible

This move had obvious tradeoffs, and anyone pretending this trade didn’t have any downsides is just being silly.

It could work out great, but it could also backfire since Brunson is now our only big time playmaker.

So we may be better at taking our chances this season, but Randle & Hartenstein leaving is very likely to mean fewer open looks to take advantage of.

I don't know how to feel about this trade. Towns is certainly an upgrade over Randle and definitely opens the floor, but I'm concerned about play making and depth.

Our ball movement was elite last season when we had Brunson, OG, Randle, Divo/Hart and Hartenstein. We had Randle as the primary ball handler when Brunson was on the bench. Hartenstein was an elite center passer and Donte is underrated as well. Towns is not known for being a playmaker.

My guess is Bridges will take over as the secondary playmaker. He's okay at this, but he's as good at creating his own shot as Randle is. He's better as a 3 and D player.

The bench also takes a hit. Hart most likely slides in the starting line up and now we have to rely on McBride and Precious to really step up. I am confident in McBride, but he's not at the same level as Donte was offensively. But he is a better on ball defender.

A trade for a center was a must. I am not exactly sure this was the route I would have went. I think I would have waited it out and pulled the trigger closer to the trade deadline. The team was good enough to stay afloat even without an NBA caliber starting center.

With that said, I do think the ceiling for this trade is an NBA championship. If KAT can play good enough D, stretch the floor and score 20 and grab 10 rebounds, it'll be worth it. He brings a level of efficiency that Randle can't bring and he is an overall improvement on IHart and Mitch against the top centers of the East, who will need to expend energy guarding him of defense.

FWIW towns has shown some interesting potential as a passer, so maybe Thibs can unlock his playmaking the way he did Randle / Hartenstein / Noah’s…but yeah, I’m worried about the playmaking we lost this offseason too.

That said, I’m not sure Towns is a center for us most of the time. KAT has been a good defender in recent years but he has done that from the PF position, not as his team’s last line of defense.

So I suspect we’ll see a lot of KAT + rim protector (Robinson / Achiuwa / Sims) lineups.

 

[cgf]

Damn, didn't even get a minute of the Nova Knicks. Not going to pretend I'm that in tune with the NBA in general these days but that depth without Donte is worrying. Randle was underappreciated here but probably didn't fit. KAT is very talented but I dunno how I feel. Should be excited I guess, Knicks basketball is something I haven't been excited about since Linsanity and before that the late 90s teams.

Depth is a big concern. We should be fine if we can get healthy…Deuce, Hart, & Precious capable of stepping into the starting lineup while Payne / Sims can give us minutes against bench units…but with Mitch, Karl, & OG in the starting lineup that’s a big if.

Get a true and legit C. Huge acquisition

Depends how Sims does while Mitch is hurt. Achiuwa should be a nice fit next to towns and Mitch is basically a middle class Gobert when healthy, so as long as Jericho can hold the fort when Mitch is out. We should be good at center.

Elsewise Dadiet & the WSH FRP are likely trade bait to flip Sims for someone like Bitadze or Kessler.

 

[Machinehead]

The Towns trade is a risk and huge change to a team that was very good, but they had to make a change. They weren't as good as the teams ahead of them, one team in particular.

You can't keep rewinding the same season like the Rangers do.

 

[cgf]

The Towns trade is a risk and huge change to a team that was very good, but they had to make a change. They weren't as good as the teams ahead of them, one team in particular.

You can't keep rewinding the same season like the Rangers do.

TBF we don't really know how good that team would've been if Randle had been healthy. I would've been perfectly happy keeping it small this summer...throw both FRPs we had at Chicago for Caruso and when iHart left pivot to someone like Bitadze or Kessler

...but the moves made sense and the team could be very good...with the assets to make 1 more move using Dadiet + WSH FRP if Sims needs to be upgraded upon. Either way we should be heading into the season with:

Starters
Brunson - Bridges - Anunoby - Towns - Robinson*

Big minute bench guys; can step in without looking out of place playing against starters
McBride* - Hart* - Achiuwa*

Deeper bench options; can give us minutes against bench units
Payne - 1 of Shamet/Okeke/Morris/FA - Sims

Redshirts; barring massive progress in the GL
Kolek - McCullar

 

[Ben Grimm]

@Machinehead How bout those Liberty? I'm predicting they and both CT teams win titles.

 

[Machinehead]

@Machinehead How bout those Liberty? I'm predicting they and both CT teams win titles.

The beast is finally dead.

 

[80shockeywasbuns]

TBF we don't really know how good that team would've been if Randle had been healthy. I would've been perfectly happy keeping it small this summer...throw both FRPs we had at Chicago for Caruso and when iHart left pivot to someone like Bitadze or Kessler

...but the moves made sense and the team could be very good...with the assets to make 1 more move using Dadiet + WSH FRP if Sims needs to be upgraded upon. Either way we should be heading into the season with:

Starters
Brunson - Bridges - Anunoby - Towns - Robinson*

Big minute bench guys; can step in without looking out of place playing against starters
McBride* - Hart* - Achiuwa*

Deeper bench options; can give us minutes against bench units
Payne - 1 of Shamet/Okeke/Morris/FA - Sims

Redshirts; barring massive progress in the GL
Kolek - McCullar

Randle will be addition by subtraction come playoff time with his turnovers and high usage. Hopefully they can survive defensively with Towns at the 5 to get Mitch off the floor

 

[cgf]

Randle will be addition by subtraction come playoff time with his turnovers and high usage. Hopefully they can survive defensively with Towns at the 5 to get Mitch off the floor

We were better with Randle on the court against Cleveland & Miami than we were without him. Brunson in particular saw his efficiency plummet without Randle’s gravity & playmaking.

Towns will be a 4 for Thibs.

 

[80shockeywasbuns]

We were better with Randle on the court against Cleveland & Miami than we were without him. Brunson in particular saw his efficiency plummet without Randle’s gravity & playmaking.

Towns will be a 4 for Thibs.

Not sure about that. NYK offensive and defensive rating both saw a sizable improvement in Brunsons minutes without Randle on the court in 22-23 postseason, especially the offense (115 with Randle, 119 without). You’re right that Brunsons efficiency did drop without Randle but it just doesnt matter with Randles insanely high usage + low efficiency shooting along with his astronomical turnover rate. Playoff Randle has been buns

 

[cgf]

Not sure about that. NYK offensive and defensive rating both saw a sizable improvement in Brunsons minutes without Randle on the court in 22-23 postseason, especially the offense (115 with Randle, 119 without). You’re right that Brunsons efficiency did drop without Randle but it just doesnt matter with Randles insanely high usage + low efficiency shooting along with his astronomical turnover rate. Playoff Randle has been buns

Playoff Randle was playing on a bum ankle that required surgery. Had that been the regular season he wouldn’t have even played.

 

[80shockeywasbuns]

Playoff Randle was playing on a bum ankle that required surgery. Had that been the regular season he wouldn’t have even played.

It was similar enough to his even more horrible 2021 postseason where I think you can draw conclusions

 

[cgf]

It was similar enough to his even more horrible 2021 postseason where I think you can draw conclusions

Actually his numbers were better on the bum ankle than when Atlanta could double team him on every possession because they didn’t even bother defending Payton or Noel…especially in that Miami series when his TS was up to around 54%.

…but teams couldn’t defend Randle like the Hawks did without Brunson going for 50. So I dunno how informative that series is about Randle as a second option with a quality supporting cast.

And we’re still talking about a total of 15 games; 10 of which he know he shouldn’t have even been on the court for. That’s just not a meaningful sample size. Randle could totally be DeRozan 2.0, but the evidence just isn’t there to make an informed conclusion.


Plus we saw Randle playing the best basketball of his life last season after changing up his shot profile again…while upping his playmaking back to pre-Brunson levels. The way he was killing dudes last season after those first 6 games was just monstrous.

He was around 25-9-5 on 60% TS in the 40 games before he got hurt, with his usage still under 30% and his average touch time being right around Mikal Bridges & Bam Adebayo’s…and almost half of Brunson’s…

 

[Machinehead]

ngl watching Sabrina Ionescu be BETTER in the playoffs than she was in the regular season is...uh, certainly a thing.

Not mentioning any names.

 

[Rangerfan4life90]

The Towns trade is either going to propel the Knicks to a level above the Celtics, or have them be more of a treadmill team.

 

[Mac n Gs]

ngl watching Sabrina Ionescu be BETTER in the playoffs than she was in the regular season is...uh, certainly a thing.

Not mentioning any names.

She’s been unreal all year. Lynx would be a tough matchup, assuming they win their series, but I think the Liberty could pull it off

 

[80shockeywasbuns]

Actually his numbers were better on the bum ankle than when Atlanta could double team him on every possession because they didn’t even bother defending Payton or Noel…especially in that Miami series when his TS was up to around 54%.

…but teams couldn’t defend Randle like the Hawks did without Brunson going for 50. So I dunno how informative that series is about Randle as a second option with a quality supporting cast.

And we’re still talking about a total of 15 games; 10 of which he know he shouldn’t have even been on the court for. That’s just not a meaningful sample size. Randle could totally be DeRozan 2.0, but the evidence just isn’t there to make an informed conclusion.


Plus we saw Randle playing the best basketball of his life last season after changing up his shot profile again…while upping his playmaking back to pre-Brunson levels. The way he was killing dudes last season after those first 6 games was just monstrous.

He was around 25-9-5 on 60% TS in the 40 games before he got hurt, with his usage still under 30% and his average touch time being right around Mikal Bridges & Bam Adebayo’s…and almost half of Brunson’s…

All good points you’re making and you could be right. But I think you’re underselling how bad he’s been in the games he’s played injury or not

 

[cgf]

All good points you’re making and you could be right. But I think you’re underselling how bad he’s been in the games he’s played injury or not

I’m not saying he wasn’t bad. Just that the sample size & extenuating circumstances make it hard for me too read much from Julius struggling.

He could totally be DDR 2.0, but it’s not like Siakam hasn’t had a similar stretch of 15 hideous playoff games in the time since Kawhi left.

So I just need to see more. If a healthy Randle with Ant as his #1 fails again in the playoffs, then I’ll come over to that side. But 15 games that are all caveated isn’t enough.

 

[Machinehead]

She’s been unreal all year. Lynx would be a tough matchup, assuming they win their series, but I think the Liberty could pull it off

My concern with the Lynx is that we have a tendency to let their wings go off.

In four games against the Lynx this year, we held Collier to 17.3 points. The Liberty are really good at containing the other team's best player. If you hold Collier to 17 points in four games, you should win all four. We lost three of them.

In those three losses, Bridget Carleton, who has 9.6 PPG this year, is averaging close to 20.

It's the WNBA's Rangers vs Capitals. The Rangers contained Ovechkin in the playoffs better than any opponent he's faced. Meanwhile, Jason Chimera and Mike Ribeiro were Brett Hull and Mario Lemieux.

The lineup change should help. Carleton and McBride haven't had to shoot over 6'4" Leonie Fiebich.

 

[Ben Grimm]

Lakers star LeBron James complains about flying to Milwaukee for a preseason game

Though the Lakers control their own preseason schedule, LeBron James isn’t happy about flying halfway across the country for their game against the Bucks on Thursday night.

sports.yahoo.com

LeBron racks up frequent whiner miles.

 

[Ben Grimm]

Go Liberty!

 

[Brother Mouzone]

The pick & roll is gonna be lethal this year ..........

 

[Ratelleitlikeitis]

My concern with the Lynx is that we have a tendency to let their wings go off.

In four games against the Lynx this year, we held Collier to 17.3 points. The Liberty are really good at containing the other team's best player. If you hold Collier to 17 points in four games, you should win all four. We lost three of them.

In those three losses, Bridget Carleton, who has 9.6 PPG this year, is averaging close to 20.

It's the WNBA's Rangers vs Capitals. The Rangers contained Ovechkin in the playoffs better than any opponent he's faced. Meanwhile, Jason Chimera and Mike Ribeiro were Brett Hull and Mario Lemieux.

The lineup change should help. Carleton and McBride haven't had to shoot over 6'4" Leonie Fiebich.

Southern Ontario gal and Canadian national team player. Carleton can shoot the three ball. Quite the opener last night.