The defensive-minded Knicks that were a surprise No. 4 seed in the East last season have been transformed, writes Marc Berman of The New York Post. Coach Tom Thibodeau’s team has a combined 259 points in its first two games and leads the NBA with 41 made three-pointers.
Thibodeau urged his players to commit to the three-point shot over the offseason, but some of the Knicks’ transformation has occurred out of necessity. The team is short-handed in the middle with Nerlens Noel dealing with a hamstring issue and Taj Gibson on paternity leave, so Thibodeau will have to decide whether to continue the new approach once they return.
“What we’re seeing in the NBA today is the premium that’s put on shooting,’’ he said. “Oftentimes, there’s at least four 3-point shooters on the floor. Now we’re seeing that there’s five. One of the things why I think we’re effective when Julius (Randle) is at the five and Obi (Toppin) is at the four is because the floor is opened up and now we have driving gaps where we can get to the basket. The great value in our team is the versatility.’’
There’s more from New York:
- Immanuel Quickley understands that he needs to keep his offensive game sharp to stay in the Knicks‘ rotation, per Steve Popper of Newsday. Quickley got an opportunity as a rookie because New York needed scoring punch, but after signing Kemba Walker and Evan Fournier and drafting two guards, the team has a lot more options for backcourt scoring.
- The Nets are “clearly sitting tight” in regard to a Kyrie Irving trade, a Western Conference executive tells basketball writer Jordan Schultz (Twitter link). Schultz doesn’t expect a deal for Irving to happen until much later in the season, if at all.
- Nets coach Steve Nash is tinkering with lineups as the team gets used to playing without Irving, according to Tim Bontemps and Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. Brooklyn is already dealing with a revamped roster that features 10 players who weren’t with the team at the end of last season. “It is not just the new pieces, it’s the void that we are used to playing with,” Nash said. “It is a lot for us to take on at this moment in time. But hopefully in the weeks coming, we start to clear some of the debris so to speak and figure out how we can best play together.”
The report that came out that the Sixers weren’t interested in a Kyrie for Simmons trade was probably one of the most hilarious articles of all time. Ben Simmons isn’t worth another team’s best concession stand bartender with his contract and playoff performance.
One team has an often injured flake, the other a lazy slacker …
Kyrie is willing to take a big shot and doesn’t start crying on the court screaming for a safe space immediately, so his antics are a little easier to handle in my opinion
#LetKyriePlay
Steve Nash is doing almost exactly fly what he did last year with his rotations and its baffling
Talked about Randle and Toppin at the 5 last year. Now the have the shooter at the 2/3 to play those lineups more frequently against certain matchups
You’re the guy who said Fournier wasn’t a fit. Right “Flip Flop”. Amazing lol.
I didnt say that. I said they have too many guys who need the ball in their hands, and said maybe 1 of Fournier, Burks, or Kemba should have maybe been Bullocks roster spot. I was advocating for shooting at the 2/3 position last year, while you were talking about centers
You are the biggest non on here. I’m the only one whoever talked about Fournier. For past two yrs. Cause I knew Magic would blow it up. I never talked about centers. Except to explain to you what Mitch means to us. Get some knowledge. You got more nonsense than any poster here. You say NOTHING. Absolutely Nothing.
Lol Fournier was one of the players I was talking about last year as well…I didnt even say anything about him possibly not making sense until after they added other guys that need the ball in their hands and getting rid of Bullocks…but even then, I suggested Burks and Kemba being the players that maybe didnt make as much sense than I did Fournier
Knicks offense is clicking. Cause they added what they needed most SHOOTERS. It’s really simple. What most media didn’t get was. Fournier is not a bad D guy. Bullock may be better. But Fournier is tough and doesn’t back down. Plus with Mitch back. He helps the team D more than anyone. Something our friend @formerlyz never understood. What a real rim protector does for a team. Knicks are better yes. But it’s their depth that will make the difference this yr. This a deep young team. Obi1 looks in incredible shape. The game has slowed down for him. That’s why the small ball lineup has worked so far. Where it didn’t last yr. Funny what difference a yr makes. Like to see Kemba with more ast. But he is running offense and pushing the ball. Depth depth depth. Knicks looking good cause they are DEEP. “ In Thibs We Trust “
I never said anything about Mitchell Robinson. I said hom being out wasnt killing them b/c they had multiple other bugs they could use at that spot, and therefore didnt need to add more centers, like you were constantly talking about. Their record was really good without him last year b/c they had Noel, Gibson, Randle, and Toppin all that can play the 5…I said rather than another center, they needed shooting at the 2/3…
Dude STFU already. You came at me. Cause I said we needed to pickup a big for playoffs. When Mitch went down. I explained our D was based of rim protector. And you tried and tell me how off I was. How today centers are not needed as rim protectors. One thing is to disagree. But lying is just childish. When grown art man like you lies. It only means how wrong they were so they have to lie. I’ve never lied on this syte ever. I know I can say it. They could look at all my posts for 5 yrs. It will be the most consistent one here. Get some game lol.
I did not say you dont need rim protectors either lol. I said you dont need more bigs when you need shooting at the 2/3, and have 5 other bigs that not only can play that position, but played it well