Taj Gibson, man.
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Taj Gibson is 500% More MAN
Leon & WWW's Shit Show
Taj Gibson [A]: All the does is show up and play, a leader on and off the court, offensively and defensively. ALWAYS Ready
Julius Randle [B-/Incomplete]: It took Julius 3/4 of the season to have a game like last night, and for he and Thibs to finally move away from tasking him with being a facilitator and the defacto #1 option, in part because of the emergence of RJ and more recently IQ--which dramatically cuts down on his turnovers, and has contributed to his efficiency. His focused aggression, as opposed to his misplaced aggression, all came together last night, as it hasn't since his peaks of 2020-21: his brute focus in driving to the rack, his midrange game, and last night, after a horrific first quarter, a recalibrated three pointer [8-16]. Showed some greater interest in D, though the presence of rival Sabonis surely had something to do with that. As he admitted, post-game, he was not SECOND GUESSING HIMSELF. PS: Hugging his ex-Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry affectionately post-game to keep him from going after the refs, showed a level of self-awareness, and humor, in the wake of his dumbass ejection, that was a welcome development. PPS: Ceding the lead facilitator #1 option role to RJ, has supercharged Barrett's growth, and enhanced his own game by deflating his ego, and focusing his strengths.
Derrick Rose [Incomplete]: Pre-Operation, Derrick was showing a significant skll set and leadership that steadied the ship, when he went down. His 3-pt shooting was dramtically better and his FF shooting, while he was not getting to the line nearly enough, 30-31 is nothing to sneeze at. Still, how much is left in the tank? Enough to return and make a run at the #10 spot? To be an effctive mentor to Quickley, McBride and possibly Jokubaitis in 2022-23?
Kemba Walker [D-]: Showed flashes of his offensive acumen, and was a positive teammate, but could not guard anyone, and the offense seemed to grind to a fucking halt when he was on the floor. Leon and WWW were too clever by half, and Kemba's inabillity to mesh or perform 75-85% of the time, put the kibbosh on team chemistry, cohesion, our team defense and the development of IQ and Deuce for most of the season.
Nerlens Noel [D-]: As BoD likes to point out, in moments of humility, committing such monies over two seasons [with a third year team option] when suitable/affordable free agent role player options [Howard, Drummond, Biyombo, Jordan, Robin Lopez, Demarcus Cousins] was an overly sunshiney assessment of NN's skill set and durability. He played heroically in 2020-21, but has been utterly incapable of staying on the court in 2021-2022, and presents us with a untradeable contract [$9.2 Million] in the offseason, lest significant assets are attached.
Evan Fournier: [C+/B-]: The Frenchman has heart, an offensive skill set and character enough to own his failings, but has been plagued by inconsistency. When locked in, he is a deadly three point sniper, and is surprisingly nimble in going to the hoop, but has had a tendency to fade demonstrably in the fourth as he did against Phoenix, when Thibs inexplicably subbed him back in for Reddish, who was having and excellent run, and EF proceeded to launch a couple of dying quail. Thibs did NOT repeat that mistake against the Clips and Kings. While a game defender, it is surely not his forte, and with two guaranteed years remaining at aroughly 18-19 million, it will take some creativity and likely the sacrifice of some assets to explore offloading him. Likley he remains, but will find himself in more of a sixth man/second team role with the emergence of RJ, Cam and Quentin. DeMar DeRozan we hardly knew ye. Rose and WWW made a serious miscalculation in overestimating the value of Kemba, and underestimating the value and leadership of DeMar.
Alec Burks [B-/B]: Has remained healthy and taken one for the team on a niglty basis, even as he, too, like Julius and IQ, has suffered in being tasked as a facilitator, taking away as it does from his offensive game, and his judgement has often been faulty, as he has faded notably in fourth quarters [more telling than his missed free thrown against Phoenix was his lack of awareness after Mitch's defensive play, remaining stationary instead of driving the ball up court, taking more time off of the clock]. But he has reamained game if at times overtasked/overmatched with thankless responsibilities, has endeavored to defend and remain positive. The past few games, again, with less on ball responsiblities, has seen an uptick in his threat as an offensive option.
Luka Samanic [Incomplete]: The Curse Of Nerlens. The 6'10" 22 year old two-way signing was emerging as a significant offensive force for Westchester in the G League, when this stretch 4 he went down with a foot injury in December, and has not been heard from since.
Rokas Jokubaitis [Incomplete]: The 6'5" Lithuanian PG with a 6'9" wingspan, has been manning up for Barcelona in Europe, a very high level of competition, with a 56 FG%, 52 3-PT%, 86 FT%. Are the Knicks likley to push for him to come over for 2022-2023? Would Thibs be likely to show him some daylight? How might he mesh with IQ, Quentin, Deuce and Cam as Rose is likely handed the keys to the first unit? Might he prosper in the G League as Deuce did? Would he accept such a possibility. Inviting Kiid's mockery here, but I sure hope we do not trade our entire team for another savior, given how our puppies have responded when afforded the opportunity. ROHAS WILL BE 22 In November.
Jericho Sims [B-]: The 6'9" 250 pounder was our second two-way contract, and has, by and large shown such remarkable upside and discipline for a #58 pick, that by and large, he has remained with the big club all season. Despite being a tad undersized for a Center [not unlike Taj, though 20 pounds heavier], he is game, agile, comeptitive and can leap out of the gym. His serene visage bespeaks a ferocious competitive battler, and he fights hard for every board, sets good picks, and seems to get better with every game. Offensive limitations are manifest, but he clearly has a work ethic and is a high character, intelligent cat.
Quentin Grimes [B+]: The #25 pick was emerging as a trusted Thibs rotation player when he got injured. No sense in rushing him back, as he is clearly the real deal. A sometimes unconscious spot up catch and shoot three point sniper, and a savage defender with a solid 6'4" frame. Can seemingly find his way to the rack, but not so dramatic creating off the bounce, and by and large was going with his shooting prowess. That's two years Leon & WWW [and presumably Perry, though he seems to be outvoted in many matters, such as DeRozan] scored with the #25 pick [IQ].
Deuce McBride [B-/B]: A damn nice pick at #36, and while struggling to crack the rotation, given Thibs' commitment to IQ and the emergence of Grimes, stayed positive, and tore up the G League. The last couple of games, Thibs finally relented, and he has taken some of Fournier's minutes, earning Coach's trust with his tenacious, sometimes overly aggressive defense, which appears to have a cumulative effect on the second unit's overall D. Was initially playing off the ball with IQ, but last night got a number of possessions running the point, and he and IQ seem to be having a positive reciprocal effect on each other. Was tearing it up from three in Westchester, and finally nailed a three, though he still needs to show some of that tenacity going to the rack he showed in the G & Summer League. Slowly gaining Thibs' trust and we know who that is.
Cam Reddish [B-/B]: CAM I AM, as dubbed by Clyde, Was also slowly gaining Thibs' trust when he went down, gleaning minutes in light of the absence of Grimes and Toppin. Sure hope he is okay, because while he has been plagued by erratic moments and brain farts, his moments of focus such as his limber finished around the rack, have been breathtaking. He is long and limber, an authentic 6'8", with SpiderMan 7'1" wingspan, capable of playing effectively at the 3-4-2 spots, an excellent FT shooter who has shown he can create contact and get to the line with consistency, while still calibrating his three point rifle. Oh, and has shown he can defend, though like Deuce, his aggression sometimes gets the best of him. Watching him and fellow Dukie RJ attack the rim in the open court makes my skin tingle. Those dipshits in the fan-o-sphere, complaining about how we didn't make any moves at the trade deadline? Hello! We cashed in Knox, who while an excellent spot up three point shooter, making incrfemental improvements on D, didn't have Cam's wingspan, agility, abillity to create off the bounce, defense or Coach's trust. Rather than letting KK walk for nothing, like Frank, we cashed him in, and the #19 we paid forward with Charlotte to save cash on #1 signings [with the caveat that we could likely get Grimes at #25 and McBride at #36, let alone Jokubaitis at #34 thanks to offloading our #32 pick to OKC] MIGHT NOT CONVEY to Atlanta, as Charlotte is on the cusp of the 1-18 scrum.
PS: The emergence of RJ & IQ, taking command as it were, both in leadership and performance, this past stretch of games, seems to have reframed the team, perhaps too late for a final push, but certainly has brought out the best in Julius, and our remaining puppies, and if the lessons gleaned and chemistry earned, can build upon the collective team cohesion and spirit we have seen the past few games, and helped downshift Julius into a more effective, aggressive second option, and not a point fucking forward, well, that is something to unpack for 2022-23.
PPS...THIBS [C+/Incomplete]: Yes I have plenty of issues with the Sultan Of Stubborn, but we still have the final furlongs to complete, and while fate and the fans and management and injuries seem to have forced his hand, given the rocky journey of the past month and change, and I don't want to get too fucking giddy over two consecutive wins, we are entering a terrifying stretch this week with Dallas, Memphis and Brooklyn topping off our final 17 games. Let's see how we play and how Thibs rudders the team, let alone the 4 1/2 games we stiil have to make up for the 10th spot, assuming Atlanta fades and Washington doesn't outduel us in the Porzingis Epoch [we play the Wizards on March 18 and April 8.
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