Tough call by Thibs.
Presumably Noel and Taj still healing.
Mitchell at 7'1" and Julius at 6'9" with two wings/facilitator in RJ, Fournier and Burks, all in that 6'6"/6'7" zone.
SIZE/SHOOTING
While Noel is healing...please note the ages of our second unit.
Sims [23]-Toppin [23]-Grimes [21]-Quickley [22]-Rose [33]
Sims a solid 6'9"/6'10" with insane hops and motor and Obi a lithe, quick, beefy 6'9" [Bam, Harrell] while Grimes is 6'5" and IQ 6'3"and Rose 6'2"
McBride [21, and 6'2"] is going to get his shot soon, assuming Rose requires some recovery time. Did you guys see that coverage and steal against the Hawks and his layup finish.
SPEED/TENACITY
Feel bad for Kemba, but we were getting crushed on defense, and were out of sync offensively.
Meanwhile, Thibs doesn't play youth?
I've been waiting most of my adult life to see the Knicks KEEP THEIR DRAFT PICKS, to nurture, develop and ACTUALLY PLAY their puppies.
And look at the tenacious spirit and intensity they bring to the court.
PS: A lot of fans were down on our brain trust for picking Grimes, as Cam Thomas dropped to the Nets, and he had a terrific summer league, just a lights out shooter. Well, hope they get to say hello on Tuesday. I still cannot get over Quentin's relentless defensive tenacity [that and a stellar performance from Burks and Walker's spot on the nench spelled Kemba's fate. Once those threes start falling, you're going to hear chants of Quen-Tin as well as O-Bi.