ATLANTIC
Boston
Brooklyn
New York
Philidelphia
Toronto
CENTRAL
Chicago
Cleveland
Detroit
Indiana
Milwaukee
SOUTHEAST
Atlanta
Charlotte
Miami
Orlando
Washington
Reality?
Yet another transitional season.
A playoff team?
The Positive Pussy in me says...NEXT QUESTION.
A playin team?
The Positive Pussy in me says...TOUGH.
Top Tier
Milwauke
Boston
Philidelphia
Brooklyn
Miami
Atlanta
Cleveland
Toronto
Second Tier
Chicago
New York
Charlotte
Washington
Indiana
Orlando
Detroit
All of the teams in the play in tier got better, including the Knicks.
However, we have a LONG ROAD TO HOE.
We can be a competitive team.
Can we be a winning team?
Fuck Donovan Mitchell. The notion that his addition, particularly at the price we'd have had to pay, would make us a playoff team is a stretch. The Knicks have opted to remain patient with the process.
How patient will the fans be?
Leon has basically proferred Thibs a Fate Accompli by removing his VETERAN's FALLBACK.
Gibson, Noel, Burks, Walker. GONE.
Our "Veterans" are basically Derrick Rose, Evan Fournier and Julius Randle.
Thibs HAS TO figure out a way to balance our first and second units, further develop all of the puppies we did not want to give to fucking Danny Ainge, allocate minutes in a proactive manner and NOT BURN OUT OUR STARTERS.
Bigs: Robinson, Hartenstein, Sims, Randle, Toppin
Wings: Barrett, Reddish, Fournier, Grimes [Hunt]
Guards: Brunson, Quickley, Rose, McBride [Keels]
That's [13] + A Pair Of Two-Ways
Robinson-Randle-Barrett-Grimes-Brunson
Hartenstein/Sims-Toppin-Reddish/Fournier-Quickley/Rose/McBride
That's how it shakes out to me.
Of course, how does it shake out to Thibs?
He simply HAS to find minutes for Obi, Cam and IQ, let alone Rose and Fournier.
Hopefully there is an honest competition in camp.
It is time to reduce Julius and RJ's minutes so they have gas in the tank come the fourth quarter. Do I have faith in Thibs to do this?
That remains to be seen. He is a good coach, but stubborn, and with a well established track record for running his lead dogs into the ground.
Leon's Fait Accompli to Thibs is a transitional roster, largely constituted with young, developing players.
YEARS OF SERVICE [Puppies As KNICKS]: Robinson [4], RJ [3], Obi [2], IQ [2], Grimes [1], Sims [1], McBride [1], Reddish [1]
Randle [4], Rose [2], Fournier [1]
Even our free agent additions, are works in progress.
Brunson, just turned 26 on August 31, and entering his fifth season.
Hartenstein, a late bloomer, is 24, and entering his fifth season.
Thibs' challenge is to keep everyone engaged, and give everyone minutes.
Our first and second units need to be more interchangable, and while the first team starters seem fairly obvious, Thibs has to do a much better job of expanding the rotation and KEEPING EVERYONE ENGAGED.
I don't see Thibs' job in jeopardy, given the deck he's been dealt, but the manner in which he deploys his playing cards is up for judgement.
There is nothing to be gained, as some douche nozzles in the blogosphere have suggested, that Thibs will be gone mid-season.
Pointless. What's to be gained? Thibs is NOT a manifestly jive leader like Fizdale, Hornacek or Fisher. Mike Miller was a good transitional figure placed in a tough position, but not a long term option.
Fire Thibs in mid-season. Moronic. Revisit his status in the Spring/Summer of 2023?
Absolutely. He is on the clock.
Thibs has minimally, established a culture. And the Knicks have evolved a process, surely not quickly or dramatically enough for some. But have been reasonable prudent and patient. Be curious to see what deals they seek to execute moving forward.
MOVING FORWARD?
The most critical evolutionary piece in the equation is Tom Thibodeau.
Can this old dog learn any new tricks. Least ways, can he evolve a more variable offense to revolve around Brunson, allowing RJ and Julius to be more efficient. AND CAN HE EVOLVE HIS APPROACH TO PRECLUDE LEAD DOG BURN OUT AND ADVANCE THE CORE OF YOUNG TALENT Rose-Aller-Perry-Perrin WERE RETICENT TO SURRENDER IN THE PURSUIT OF THE ELUSIVE SHINY OBJECT.
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