They have an actual superstar than can beat double teams and pass out of them. Yet he's not a perfect shooter because shooting isnt everything. They have a second superstar that is thick and can defend Wemby all over the court. We need a couple of young superstars. Not role players and an aged star that can shoot. We need a coach who has an actual offense. That is the main thing that saved the Knicks when they were getting destroyed playing Brunson ISO against the Hawks. They scrapped that and leaned on their offesive system going through Kat as a hub and it unlocked them as a multi dimiensional team. They stood together no matter what the media said and they didnt destroy teammates online. Our team is nowhere near theirs.
I'm with the OP mostly. We have talent. Enough to win. But our coach and our chemistry suck. I'll blame Ime for the first and KD for the second. Stone isn't without his blame also because there must be a way to leverage our young talent into a more complete team. But it doesn't matter without the chemistry I think.
The difference is they found a guy who could be credible as a #1 option in his prime, and their roster construction is balanced and well-fitted. Although it's true Brunson is not as good as the typical "best player on a championship team". It's easier to imagine Sengun or Amen becoming as good as Brunson than like, Joker or SGA. Still doesn't solve the fit issues on our roster / our lack of floor spacing relative to what New York has.
Problem is we play in the West and the Knicks don’t. No disrespect to the Knicks, they may just have the Spurs number but I don’t think they would match up as well against OKC and when you look at their path to the Finals it was pretty favorable
You’ll get cooked, 5 out offense and counting shooters is all the rage right now but the Knicks are good road map defensively and how to build out the team with Sengun and Amen in the KAT and Mikal spots. It’s a bit of a gamble but I do believe there are ways to score enough to win despite Amen and Alpi’s 3 point shooting limitations if you can match that Knicks level of speed and defense.
Everyone in this thread glazing the Knicks probably didn't think they had a chance about six weeks ago. Almost no one thought Brunson was a top tier star, let alone KAT. Recency bias is fine. The Knicks certainly deserve all the respect they're getting. But can we be honest and say they surprised us rather than treating their success like a forgone conclusion? People did this last year too with the Pacers. Shrugged at the Siakam trade when it happened, then acted like they knew it was a genius move when Indy was in the finals.
Hindsight is 20/20. I think MIkal and OG Anougby have long been underrated on this forum. KAT has finally lived up to his potential. He could fall back again, we will see. They are built more like a modern NBA team than we are. We are screwed as long as we keep trying to play 90’s style basketball with a coach that lacks innovation.
lol, I know you’re just joking but that was one of the best games this year. Amen clamping down Brunson, KAT had no answer for Sengun. That was a good game. I think it’s all about matchups. The Rockets played the Knicks well and I think could probably beat them in a 7 game series but they wouldn’t beat OKC or the Spurs. They got to find a way to beat those teams first. The Spurs are a good matchup for the Knicks but I don't think the Knicks beat a healthy OKC team.
This whole team does not like each other, KD has put any future trust and chemistry at risk as well. Knicks having a fresh reset with coaching also helped them, just never thought it would come from Mike Brown. They also had an easy path from the East. A fully healthy OKC team would have swept this Knicks team. This Knicks core always loved each other, you cant really just fix that by bringing back FVV. I honestly don't think it is just KD that does not like Sengun, I think the coaches and some other players likely feel the same way, he likely is rubbing them the wrong way. It reminds me a bit of CP3, he wants to win, he just doesn't know how to communicate and take accountability, he constantly complains about calls and is getting a reputation for it. We do not have a player like Brunson or KAT that can perform in the playoffs. Someone like OG has far more value than Amen does currently. We are not even close to the Knicks, and our path will always be far more challenging.
Name a Josh Hart player on the Rockets? Name a Jabari Smith on the Knicks? If Jabari played for the Knicks, he likely sits all game.
Jabari would absolutely get minutes on the Knicks, but it would probably be off the bench. He would probably be their best bench player, or right up there. Our whole young core is basically comprised of good to elite roleplayers. That's not the problem. The problem is that they don't fit together (specifically Amen and Sengun) like the Knicks guys do, our coaching isn't as good as New York's, and most importantly, we don't have a Jalen Brunson, a true offensive engine to tie it all together. KD is a bus rider, has always been, and he's about done anyway.
I disagree. This version of the Knicks didnt become what it is until the playoffs. They changed things up against the Hawks and have been dominant ever since. I know this first hand because I live in NY watched every game and half my family are knicks fans so when we talk basketaball its all about them and the Rockets because its where half of us came from. This version of the Knicks never played the Thunder. Mike Brown has been a hell of a coach but it took them all season get out of Thibbs ball and play Brown ball.
Yo. Jabari is set to make 23 million dollars next season. the entire Knicks bench: Mitchell Robinson(13) Jose Alvarado(4.5) Miles McBride(4.3) Landry Shamet(2.3) Makes 24 million this season. Unless you think Jabari can replace all of them..
The Knicks are in a weird situation because they massively overpaid for Mikal Bridges and OG Anunoby. Their starting lineup all makes pretty close to max dollars except for Josh Hart, who still gets paid $20M a year. They're much more top-heavy in their spending than most teams in that regard, which means they had to scrape around the edges to build a bench. It's not unusual for a 5th starter or 6th man to get paid like Jabari does these days.
