If this were any other player, I'd agree. But he really did set the bar high enough during that eight year stretch that I consider the last seven years of his career to be somewhat unnoteworthy from a team perspective. Obviously the fact that he's still this good at 40 solidifies his place on a very short list of all-time players. (I'm not a huge GOAT debate guy, but I think he's definitely in that tier)
I still think Thibs is gone when they lose to Boston next round
Maybe. Feels harsh though. Boston is miles ahead of NY and has been the whole year.
Your last sentence is why it needs to happen. You can't waste a year of the championship window with a coach and core that showed all year they were not on the same level as Boston/Cleveland/OKC
I get that argument. I just don’t see how that’s different than a year ago when Thibs got an extension. Is it Thibs’ fault that Bridges and KAT haven’t made the Knicks a title contender? It’s a genuine question I don’t actually know.
Were the other teams trying in the bubble? Was Boston trying? Miami? Denver?
The difference is a year ago they were still a team with no expectations beyond being competitive in the playoffs. It's not Thibs fault that Bridges has disappointed (KAT has been everything they could have hoped for and more), but that also doesn't absolve him of blame either.
1-4 against a team they were heavy betting favorites to beat. His counting stats were good this series but he was bad in the 4th quarters and they're now 2-12 in his last three playoff series. It isn't working. Despite his numbers he can't be the second best player on a championship team at this point. His longevity/minutes on his body is crazy but we all know he wants another championship and that isn't happening unless he creates another super team with a couple Hall of Famers where he's the third fiddle.
You may end up being right. I just think it would be pretty harsh on Thibs when Boston was a big title favorite even in the preseason. I think it’s fair to say that this Knicks roster should’ve at least been good enough for the 2 seed this year but Cleveland seemed to come out of nowhere as well. Again I’m not a huge NBA guy, especially regular season so my opinion ain’t worth much.
Can’t be the 2nd best player? He’s gonna be 2nd Team All-NBA. Are we serious right now?
Yes, can't be the second best player on a championship team. He played with an all-NBA second team Hall of famer last season and they lost 4-1 in the first round. His teammate this year was an all-NBA first teamer last year, NBA leading scorer last year, who took his team to the NBA finals last year and they lost 4-1 in the first round again.
Did they switch the format to two-on-two?
You’re genuinely ridiculous. A top 10 player can’t be the 2nd best player. Sometimes you just come up against better teams. Wolves were in the WCF last year, beat your beloved Jokic!
Let’s just go ahead and state unequivocally the guy that was 13th in ppg, 6th in apg, 8th in PER, 8th in BPM and 7th in VORP can, in fact, be the 2nd best player on a Championship team.
Seriously. I don't think it would be right to blame Thibs for losing to the Celtics. The rosters weren't even comparable to start the season. If you want to fire someone then fire the GM.
Thibs has his flaws for sure and I never liked that he ran his starting players into the ground and I don't mean just game time minutes. His practices are known to do that as well.
Lebron is still damn good even at age 40. I think there are better players than Lebron now, including Jokic, but after watching the Olympics last summer, it isn't unreasonable to think Lebron is the best player in the world-he was fantastic throughout the Olympics.
Nope, NBA basketball is played with 5 guys on the court for each team, there's two teams on the court. There's 15 roster spots, 5 starters and 10 bench guys. One team wins the NBA championship, at this point in his career Lebron needs to be the third best player on his team to win a championship. He's currently the second best player on his team and they just got smoked in the first round.
It isn't unreasonable to think Lebron is the best player in the world? What??
I don't think he is the best player in the world anymore. However, no, I don't think it's unreasonable if someone only watched the Olympics last year if they thought that-Lebron was fantastic and clutch in the Olympics and was arguably the best player in the Olympics last year. He came up big when USA needed him the most.
Firing the GM would legitimately, and there is not an ounce of exaggeration here, be the dumbest thing the Knicks have done in their entire existence. And they're a franchise almost exclusively known for dumb decisions
Denver might well lose in the first round. What does that say about Jokic and his ability to be the best player on a title-winning team at this stage of his career?
It says Jokic needs some help. The way Denver has wasted Jokic's prime is one of the saddest things I've seen in sports.
So the fact that Luka and Reaves are cones defensively, the Lakers had no players over 6’8 play minutes, and the bench was literally non existent doesn’t matter. No, LeBron, the guy who is gonna be 2nd Team all NBA, has tremendous counting stats and legitimately was a very good defender pretty much all season, can’t be the 2nd best player.
He can be the second best player, he was the second best player but he can't be the second best player if he wants to win a championship.