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Warriors

1 (33.3%)

Celtics

2 (66.7%)

Total Members Voted: 3

Voting closed: June 13, 2022, 11:38:11 PM

[chipstern]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4PRoyHWraQ

OKAY.  Cool your jets, Chip. 

* He is only 21. 

* Barcelona is a top tier Euro team, but the EruoLeagues are not the NBA.

* Decent size for a PG/Combo, but not the most athletic motherfucker I've ever seen. 

* He plays pesky defense, but again, THE NBA level.

HOWEVER, we traded down to take Rokas AND Deuce in the second round, and nailed the Lithuanian kid at #34, two spots ahead of McBride at #36.  SOMEONE amongs the Knicks Euro-Scouts saw something.  AND WHAT DID THEY SEE? 

* He can really shoot from trey and makes his FTs at a near IQ-level. 

* He has excellent court vision, sees the court really well, and keeps his dribble.

* He is capable of the long pull up three, of stopping and popping in the midrange off of the dribble, and of going north/south and finishing. 

* One thing I have seen that impresses me, offensively, and again, COOL YOUR JETS, CHIP, is he has a way of pulling up, crossing his dribble, getting his defender to guard against a potential drive by, then stepping back and nailing the three.  And who does this move put me in mind of.  DERRICK ROSE, that's who.  Again, not that degree of speed and athleticism, pre or post-injury Rose, however, there are guys who are great athletes, and then there are guys who have superior basketball skills.  Again, I should be struck down by lightning for mentioning this kid in the same breath as Doncic and Bird, but their basketball skill set is far superior to their physical gifts, though one may count among those gifts, superior size and focus for point wings/forwards. 

* Rokas will be 22 in November. 

Maybe he needs another year of seasoning.  Maybe 2022-23 is the year to roll the dice.  I like Jalen Brunson a lot, but at 20-25 million per, and us with no cap space and a pricey sign and trade thus our most viable option, well. 

And I LOVE Donovan Mitchell, but the whole, stop me if the Donovan wants out, he wants to play in NY, Assistant Head Coach Johnny Bryant is really close to him, WORLDWIDEWAST is concocting a trade has a familiar ring. 

Donovan is a more advanced version of Quick.  Great offensive player on or off the ball, and an excellent facilitator. 

But most of the fantasies I've seen center around, minimally, multiple draft picks AND RJ Barrett.  NO FUCKING WAY I AM DANGLING R.J.  I mean, that is how you repay hard work and LOYALTY?  Someone who WANTS TO BE A KNICK?  Fuck You. 

Another Blog-O-Wack-A-Mole genius proposed, with a straight face, Randle, Quickley, Reddish plus [PLUS] Three #1 picks and three #2 picks. 

So, I'm just silly enough to want to give Rokas a look, rather than go for the WorldWideWaste BIG SPLASH. 

PS: Of course, the Knicks signing ex-Minnesota exec GERSSON ROSAS translates into OH HE HAS A GREAT RELATIONSHIP with KARL ANTHONY TOWNS.

PPS: Anyway, I am rambling.  DALLAS tomorrow night represents a serious reality check.  We beat Doncic and the Mavs convinctingly some months back, but the Doncic is in much better shape, playing at a whole other level, making beautiful music with Spencer Dimiwiddie, and Jason Kidd has the Mavs playing at a very high level in the West.  WE SHALL SEE. 

[elephant]

 

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. 

This team assessment is great, but there's a lot to unpack, and I've got quibbles all around.

Like a D- because a dude is hurt? Come on. Noel deserves more respect than that. Now if you're giving the D- to the front office for giving him a contract when they should have prophesied the injury, alright. But it's not Noel's fault he's not in there.

As for Walker, in retrospect, it's clear that he has never been physically right as a Knick, that Thibs knew that, and that it was a major fuck up for his bosses to misjudge the extent of his physical problems. I don't blame Walker for doing what he can, but it was far from enough, and I suppose your grade was apt.

[elephant]

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. 

At this point, this grade is way too generous. I think the Knicks are good enough to be a playoff team right now. Just as Thibs was praised for surprising success with the Knicks last season, he should be criticized for his poor management of the team this year. He and Randle face the same question: Can they change and grow with the game? For Thibs, the answer seems to be......NO.

C-

[chipstern]

I think your quibbles are all legit. 

COVID and injuries and lack of chemistry and cohesion amongst our squad all contributing factors. 

Not Noel's fault? Fair enough, but rolling the dice with a 2 + 1 on a player with a checkered injury history?  Not that $8.8 and $9.2 is over the top, but we are locked in to that through 2023. 

And as per Thibs, I have plenty of issues with him, though not quite at the Papal Bull level of some fans. 

But consider the hand he was dealt. 

No one is crying any tears over waving bye bye to Elfrid Payton, and a case could be made for the Fournier/Bullock sawp being a wash.  But whereas Payton's game was not predicated on him being an offensive focus, he was a decent facilitator and a tough defender, whereas Kemba is used to being the focus of the offense, and was never a robust defender, even pre-gimpy knees. 

More to the point [point guard that is, son], THE overall CHEMISTRY was fucked; the roles of RJ and JR becamse so garbled as they sought to accomodate Kemba and ended up fucking their own games up...

Blaming Thibs for THIS? 

No.  He shoulders some of the blame, for sure, but the front office dealt him a really fucked up focus at the PG.  Kemba upended the offensive cohesion, confused RJ & JR as to their roles, and torpedoed the Defense.  Thibs' exiling Kemba was a crappy response, but it had to be killing him. 

No, I'll stick with a C+ for Thibs, while giving the front office a B+ on the draft and a C- on free agency. 

As per Thibs final grade?  Be it C- or D or B-, well, we have 17 games to assess his impact. 

[kiidcarter8]

FIFTY spot for Kyrie


Hoooooot.

[facilitatorn]

Against a buttery soft hornets team it is not that impressive.

[chipstern]

Against a buttery soft hornets team it is not that impressive.

Not that impressive, MF?

Your Credibility Is Leaking. 

HELLO: Kyrie was 15-of-19 from the field, and 9-of-12 from trey.  

I don't care if it was against the Washington Generals. 

That be some EPIC top tier ballin'.

[kiidcarter8]

Yankguy doesn't like him very much

[lesterluv]

HELLO: Kyrie was 15-of-19 from the field, and 9-of-12 from trey.  

Pretty impressive stuff. A shame basketball is just his part-time hobby.

[kiidcarter8]

Not by his choosing but you could make a case the rules are keeping Irving healthy and fresh.

[chipstern]

My Dear Friend RON MILES.  One Of The Greatest Trumpeters & Composers In All Of Modern Music, In Addition To Being The Kindest & Gentlest Of Men--And One Of The Only ActualFactual Christians I Have Encountered In This Veil Of Tears.  He Didn't Talk It, He Walked It. 



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iuTtoXVu0XQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXPpeG74qYA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hk01FKchZ_I

[kiidcarter8]

Condolences CS

[carlos123]

...
Blaming Thibs for THIS? 

No.  He shoulders some of the blame, for sure, but the front office dealt him a really fucked up focus at the PG.  Kemba upended the offensive cohesion, confused RJ & JR as to their roles, and torpedoed the Defense.  Thibs' exiling Kemba was a crappy response, but it had to be killing him. 

No, I'll stick with a C+ for Thibs, while giving the front office a B+ on the draft and a C- on free agency. 

As per Thibs final grade?  Be it C- or D or B-, well, we have 17 games to assess his impact.

Sorry about your friend Ron Miles, Chip.

[facilitatorn]

That is what I am thinking we were all hoping to see this season.

The Mavs really have no front court at all right now. We were ready to take advantage.

Tough one next though. Get ready for a letdown.

[kidcarter8]

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.

C Stern


Simply....

No.  To all of it.