Toggle sidebar

NBA Playoffs

*Fox2Monk*

*Fox2Monk*

Heisman
Jun 10, 2009
42,900
76,296
113
LineSkiCat14 said:
And.. I sometimes think this team outperforms it's true abilities. I think their hustle and grit outweighs their talent. And that works a lot of the time. But it gets a little tougher when youre playing the same team in a 4 or 5 or 6 game series. Lastly, and this will piss some people off.. but im not sure KAT is built for this moment. Hes a really good dude, has a lot of skill.. but lacks that killer instinct mentality. Jimmy Butler was not a fan of his. I sort of questioned the KAT trade.. but ill give it a full off season for them to make it work.
Click to expand...
Maybe so but KAT has played well these playoffs overall. I don’t think he was ever a number one pro option but he’s perfect as a Robin to Brunson’s Batman. I think Brunson’s usage is way too high sometimes. They have a lot of great guys to pass too and they disappear with him pounding the ball into the floor most of the shot clock. Kinda the Calipari guard problem we often ran into late in his time here. As great a player as he is, he forces a lot of bad looks.
 
  • Like
Reactions: chroix, Cowtown Cat, coalBucket and 1 other person
S

SemperFiCat

Heisman
Mar 2, 2009
14,566
30,005
0
LineSkiCat14 said:
Yeah haha.. I'm trying to be nice about a former wildcat (and a great one at that). But the short and sweet of it is.. I don't know if I want KAT on my team. Don't know if he's mentally built to win anything of importance in the NBA. *Shrugs*
Click to expand...
KAT would absolutely give the Pacers, or any team, fits if they played him as a traditional big. BUT, the current issue with KAT isn't on the Offensive side. He's an absolute liability Defensively if he leaves the paint.

And to your point earlier, what the Knicks did last year was nothing short of impressive.
 
LineSkiCat14

LineSkiCat14

Heisman
Aug 5, 2015
38,308
59,934
113
In fairness to KAT, these new teams take time. Knicks really didnt look all that great this regular season compared to last year. I even gave Detroit the slight edge and I gave the Knicks NO shot against Boston.. so they are starting to play better as a whole unit. And that should bleed into next year.
 
A

anon1751545683

All-American
Dec 14, 2020
4,722
6,268
0
LineSkiCat14 said:
In fairness to KAT, these new teams take time. Knicks really didnt look all that great this regular season compared to last year. I even gave Detroit the slight edge and I gave the Knicks NO shot against Boston.. so they are starting to play better as a whole unit. And that should bleed into next year.
Click to expand...
I think they will be better next year too.

But they have to add a player without losing one of their top 7.

That’s going to be a difficult task unless they just get lucky in the draft.
 
  • Like
Reactions: LineSkiCat14
C

catsfanbgky

All-American
Oct 18, 2006
18,901
7,622
0
UKBB4Ever said:
Yeah. The Knicks sorely need a 3 and D guy.

At their draft spot they are not getting that guy in the draft.

So what do they give up to get that guy in a trade?

They should have kept Donte.

Brunson is a very good player. But he’s a ball stopper.

He couldn’t play in Indiana’s offense.

It really just comes down to the Pacers are better than the Knicks.
Click to expand...
No the Knicks need depth. They have everything in the starting 5, but playing 40 minutes per game is killing them. Solid 3/D guy (Bridges / Hart), just after playing 40 minutes they wear down.
 
LineSkiCat14

LineSkiCat14

Heisman
Aug 5, 2015
38,308
59,934
113
They have to actually USE their bench to have one. Look at Kolek.. he kind of fits that mold of a villanova-type player. Hard worker, not overly athletic, but high IQ. But you can't put him in now because he just didnt get a lot of burn yet to be ready. Granted hes a rookie I believe, but watch a player like him become a very good piece for the Knicks. They should try and get him minutes next year. He could very well be the answer they need.
 
A

anon1751545683

All-American
Dec 14, 2020
4,722
6,268
0
catsfanbgky said:
No the Knicks need depth. They have everything in the starting 5, but playing 40 minutes per game is killing them. Solid 3/D guy (Bridges / Hart), just after playing 40 minutes they wear down.
Click to expand...
Isn’t getting a guy without giving up their top 7 adding depth?
 
K

kywildcats8

All-Conference
Oct 1, 2019
1,235
1,565
0
SemperFiCat said:
KAT would absolutely give the Pacers, or any team, fits if they played him as a traditional big. BUT, the current issue with KAT isn't on the Offensive side. He's an absolute liability Defensively if he leaves the paint.

And to your point earlier, what the Knicks did last year was nothing short of impressive.
Click to expand...
KAT and Randle should be posting up inside every play and make the teams who play smaller guys on them pay- no idea why they do not do that 75% of the time- oh wait, it's because every NBA team wants to jack up 3's all the time
 
S

SandyBell'sFaxMachine

All-Conference
Dec 3, 2020
1,325
1,970
113
bigblueinsanity said:
Imo sga gets a bad rap. By a large margin, he led the league the last five years on drives to the basket. I think this year was his first at leading the league in free throws, if he even did this year.

In a league fixated on shooting threes, those stats show he probably doesn't even get as many free throws as he deserves.

The actual foul merchant is Jalen brunsen.
Click to expand...
He's not a foul merchant. He ranks 12th of of 25 MVPS this century and 23rd all time for players who've averaged 30ppg. It's a narrative to deny his greatness
 
  • Like
Reactions: coalBucket, bigblueinsanity_rivals250340, SemperFiCat and 1 other person
M

Montana81

Heisman
Aug 12, 2004
82,723
29,399
113
Slightly off topic since they were eliminated last round but here’s 4 minutes of Draymond Greene hurting people to a funny voice over.

 
LineSkiCat14

LineSkiCat14

Heisman
Aug 5, 2015
38,308
59,934
113
Here's something to ponder.. if the Knicks get swept or lose like 4-1, I think Thibs gets canned.

But then the question is, who is their next coach? And is it possible that NY could lure Hurley from Uconn? I think this is a possibility. A real argument can be made that ANY coach that wins back-to-back NCAAT has peaked, and will likely never get back to that level of success. Do Hurley, after losing in the 2nd round this year, might bolt to the Knicks and coach a near-contender level roster.

I bet they will contact him for sure.
 
  • Like
Reactions: bigblueinsanity_rivals250340
A

anon1751545683

All-American
Dec 14, 2020
4,722
6,268
0
LineSkiCat14 said:
Here's something to ponder.. if the Knicks get swept or lose like 4-1, I think Thibs gets canned.

But then the question is, who is their next coach? And is it possible that NY could lure Hurley from Uconn? I think this is a possibility. A real argument can be made that ANY coach that wins back-to-back NCAAT has peaked, and will likely never get back to that level of success. Do Hurley, after losing in the 2nd round this year, might bolt to the Knicks and coach a near-contender level roster.

I bet they will contact him for sure.
Click to expand...
I don’t think there’s any question that Thibs is done in NY.

Who would they hire?

They might very well test Hurley.

NY has a lot of talent.

It would be a desirable job.

Thibs is a good team builder. But he hits a ceiling. It’s happened at every stop.
 
  • Like
Reactions: LineSkiCat14
LineSkiCat14

LineSkiCat14

Heisman
Aug 5, 2015
38,308
59,934
113
UKBB4Ever said:
I don’t think there’s any question that Thibs is done in NY.

Who would they hire?

They might very well test Hurley.

NY has a lot of talent.

It would be a desirable job.

Thibs is a good team builder. But he hits a ceiling. It’s happened at every stop.
Click to expand...

I believe Hurley has said that his ultimate gola is to eventually coach in the NBA. Now he didnt say when, that might be well in the future for him.

But you have the villanova guys there, who hes familiar with.. a roster that should be able to contend.. playing on the east coast, and coaching for the Knicks.. that opportunity may never come up again with a roster this good. And its not like Uconns roster looks to be any real contender next year.
 
A

anon1751545683

All-American
Dec 14, 2020
4,722
6,268
0
NY doesn’t have any fast break offense at all. No “quick hitters”.

They just go and hope.

The Pacers are the opposite. Everything is scripted.
 
  • Like
Reactions: The_Catfather
A

anon1751545683

All-American
Dec 14, 2020
4,722
6,268
0
kywildcats8 said:
they almost play better when Brunson is on the bench and the 5 guys all get involved on offense and he is not a defensive liability
Click to expand...
Not for the season. But against the Pacers they play better without Brunson. The Pacers just faceguard Brunson when he doesn't have the ball and then double him when he does. He tries to fight it instead of making them pay for doubling him.
 
  • Like
Reactions: chroix
chroix

chroix

Heisman
Jul 22, 2013
10,393
26,237
113
Fox2monk said:
Maybe so but KAT has played well these playoffs overall. I don’t think he was ever a number one pro option but he’s perfect as a Robin to Brunson’s Batman. I think Brunson’s usage is way too high sometimes. They have a lot of great guys to pass too and they disappear with him pounding the ball into the floor most of the shot clock. Kinda the Calipari guard problem we often ran into late in his time here. As great a player as he is, he forces a lot of bad looks.
Click to expand...

Totally agree with all of this. Fun as hell when they’re clicking but when Bridges or OG or Hart don’t show up it gets real ugly real quick.
 
  • Like
Reactions: *Fox2Monk*
LineSkiCat14

LineSkiCat14

Heisman
Aug 5, 2015
38,308
59,934
113
Fox2monk said:
He’s lucky the Pacers didn’t play well and KAT saved their bacon.
Click to expand...

I honestly think if the Knicks just had a decent coach instead, they'd have won the Pacers series last year and probably this year. Instesd, they have Thibs, who has inflated wins because he grinds his stars all year, only to see them get injured. If he used his bench better, Knicks might be up in the series 2-1 or even 3-0.

Its kind of interesting if you look at it this way. Most other coaches don't overuse their starting 5. But that probably means they lose some games by not going with their best players for 40 minutes a game. So Thibs has often looked better in the regular season by basically making his stars play an additional 10% of minutes. Makes you wonder what his win/loss record would be if he didn't do it this way.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: chroix
S

SemperFiCat

Heisman
Mar 2, 2009
14,566
30,005
0
Pacers on that 500 hangover, ugh. Leave it to the Knicks to spoil one of my favorite days. But, they definitely won the battle of energy and effort. Knicks have a pulse.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Runt#1969
Runt#1969

Runt#1969

All-American
Dec 13, 2010
20,641
7,768
113
Just to bust on myself, and show you all where my TRUE fan hood resides, I don't really have a favorite NBA team (this year, I'm with OK city and SGA) but I left last nights game on the table, totally gave up on the Knicks. Then I miss KAT with a classic. Should serve me right.

But I didn't leave the game early when we played dUKe this past season....

:)
 
  • Haha
Reactions: CastleRubric
H

hotelblue

Heisman
Jul 6, 2006
41,683
13,121
0
sefus12 said:
You ever seen Holmgreen play?
Click to expand...
not enough, i guess. maybe they just need one at the 4 as well, or a top tier rebounder. down the stretch it seemed half their rebounds were tipped multiple times, or an offensive rebound for the wolves.

i know they’re the best defense it just looks to me like their missing a real enforcer on the block. maybe not.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom