NBA first round

[Scoe]

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.

I think it depends how the Knicks would lose, which I'm kind of expecting them to lose by double digits and get swept. Maybe they win a game where Brunson or Towns go off and the Celtics stars have a bad game.

Bulls moved on from Doug Collins, and Warriors from Mark Jackson neither were popular moves at the time.

 

[aceboon]

expecting Game 7 to be a classic

 

[Scoe]

I don't think it's a stretch to say that LeBron needs to be a 3rd scorer on a championship team at his current age. Kareem was a 3rd scorer in his 40s as Worthy made the next step and became the number 2 guy, no one says Worthy is better then Kareem.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

I can accept and somewhat understand the feelings many have for LBJ, which range from mild dislike to out and out vitriol, but I don't get why so many deny that he was truly among the top very few players who played this game.

A prime example: in 2007 and again in 2018 he took the Cavs to the NBA finals. On either team, replace him with the third or fourth best player in the league at his position and they won't win 25 games. The 1981 Rockets with Moses Malone is the only other case where this has happened On any other NBA final participant, if you were to replace their best player with the third or fourth best player in the league at his position, you would still have a playoff team.

 

[CardiacAndre7]

I don't think it's a stretch to say that LeBron needs to be a 3rd scorer on a championship team at his current age. Kareem was a 3rd scorer in his 40s as Worthy made the next step and became the number 2 guy, no one says Worthy is better then Kareem.

Scorer ≠ best player. Difference between LeBron and a lot of stars all time is that he doesn’t need to score.

 

[CardiacAndre7]

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.

He was the second best player on his team this year and he lost 4-1 in the first round. He was the second best player on his team last year and he lost 4-1 in the first round.

Fully disagree, a better supporting cast and he 100% could. But alas, you dislike the guy and I like him. To each his own!

 

[Kemba15]

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.

He was the second best player on his team this year and he lost 4-1 in the first round. He was the second best player on his team last year and he lost 4-1 in the first round.

This logic is kinda silly. If GS loses to Houston or in Round 2 can Curry not be the best player on a team? Curry missed the playoffs last year BTW. Can KD no longer be the second-best player on a title team? How about Giannis? They have lost in 3 consecutive round 1s.

The playoffs are all about matchups and I think it's fair to say you need a very specific kind of team around LeBron at this point in his career. The better argument is that 40 yr old LeBron and Luka just aren't a great fit on the court together, despite what people were trying to tell us a few weeks ago.

 

[HooperScooper]

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

You may be right. But my point was if you’re going to fire Thibs for losing to the Celtics then fire the GM too because the rosters aren’t even comparable. I was responding to the other poster so I guess you missed that.

If you want to fire Thibs because of the entire season then do that but don’t do it just because the Knicks lost to the Celtics.

 

[Zonepress]

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.

He was the second best player on his team this year and he lost 4-1 in the first round. He was the second best player on his team last year and he lost 4-1 in the first round.

you keep trying to bring facts to the discussion!
lol
when I watch the games despite his impressive stats(and they truly are)
LBJ does not dominate and control games like he did in his prime
That being said not sure how the lakers can win in the NBA, with out a center and no rim
protection at all

 

[HooperScooper]

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

By the way, did you like the KAT trade?

 

[navery12]

You may be right. But my point was if you’re going to fire Thibs for losing to the Celtics then fire the GM too because the rosters aren’t even comparable. I was responding to the other poster so I guess you missed that.

If you want to fire Thibs because of the entire season then do that but don’t do it just because the Knicks lost to the Celtics.

I don't want him fired for losing to the Celtics, I want him fired because he sucks. I never said anything about firing him because they lost to the Celtics in the playoffs

By the way, did you like the KAT trade?

Loved the KAT trade when it happened and love it even more now. Bridges on the other hand, I no longer love

 

[Scoe]

Don't need to make this into a LeBron thread, the haters aren't gonna change their tune and the ones who wanna sleep with him also aren't gonna change their tune.

 

[Inyatkin]

Don't need to make this into a LeBron thread, the haters aren't gonna change their tune and the ones who wanna sleep with him also aren't gonna change their tune.

I think it's ok to talk about an all timer but maybe that's weird to you

 

[CardiacAndre7]

Don't need to make this into a LeBron thread, the haters aren't gonna change their tune and the ones who wanna sleep with him also aren't gonna change their tune.

Sad, sad man.

 

[Scoe]

I think it's ok to talk about an all timer but maybe that's weird to you

Ya we've talked about him but this is about the playoffs and leold is going fishing. It's fine I'm not trying to stop anyone from talking about him.

 

[HooperScooper]

I don't want him fired for losing to the Celtics, I want him fired because he sucks. I never said anything about firing him because they lost to the Celtics in the playoffs


Loved the KAT trade when it happened and love it even more now. Bridges on the other hand, I no longer love

If you were the GM who would you hire as the coach after firing Thibs?

 

[Scoe]

Sad, sad man.

Dude LeBron is not gonna sleep with you.

 

[navery12]

If you were the GM who would you hire as the coach after firing Thibs?

Mike Malone, which is what I expect to happen if they do move on from Thibs. He'll probably get another year and they'll package Robinson and Bridges in a trade though

 

[Scoe]

If you were the GM who would you hire as the coach after firing Thibs?

If I'm the Knicks I'm hiring Luke Murray in a second, I'll get laughing emojis from this because people can't think outside the box. How is Reddick a good NBA coach with no coaching experience but Luke can't be.

 

[Inyatkin]

Dude LeBron is not gonna sleep with you.

see now this is just weird

 

[superjohn]

This logic is kinda silly. If GS loses to Houston or in Round 2 can Curry not be the best player on a team? Curry missed the playoffs last year BTW. Can KD no longer be the second-best player on a title team? How about Giannis? They have lost in 3 consecutive round 1s.

The playoffs are all about matchups and I think it's fair to say you need a very specific kind of team around LeBron at this point in his career. The better argument is that 40 yr old LeBron and Luka just aren't a great fit on the court together, despite what people were trying to tell us a few weeks ago.

What's the right fit for Lebron at this point? He played with a dominant big who is a beast defensively and they lost 4-1 in the first round last year. He played with who some say is the most talented player in the league and they lost 4-1 in the first round this year. It will be 6 seasons removed from his last championship when he takes a crack at it again next season.

Outside of Jokic, Giannis, or another possible star coming to the Lakers or forming another super team somewhere else I don't see how he wins another championship.

People were saying Austin Reaves was the best third option in the league and now people are trashing him. Dude averaged 20/6/5 this season.

 

[Hunt for 7]

I would have thought the Knicks with OG and Bridges would at least be competitive against Boston. They were pretty much hand picked by Rose to combat Tatum and Brown. The mistake was the KAT trade. They could have signed Hartenstein and used Randle to get some depth.

KAT is just so bad defensively he can only play drop coverage and Boston just shoots too good so you have to switch everything on the perimeter.

I really hate the plus/minus metric for last night it shows KAT +8 as the most effective Knicks player other than Hart at +13. Then he fouls out with a minute and a half left and we win. Go figure.

Even with KAT’s deficiencies this team still under performed against the best teams. That has to be on someone. Thibs has taken this group as far as he can and maybe this team as constructed is just average as the pieces don’t fit together.

They are going to have to figure something out as far as roster construction because after the Boston series it will be three straight years of losing in the second round. They are not getting better.

 

[ctbro1999]

I would have thought the Knicks with OG and Bridges would at least be competitive against Boston. They were pretty much hand picked by Rose to combat Tatum and Brown. The mistake was the KAT trade. They could have signed Hartenstein and used Randle to get some depth.

KAT is just so bad defensively he can only play drop coverage and Boston just shoots too good so you have to switch everything on the perimeter.

I really hate the plus/minus metric for last night it shows KAT +8 as the most effective Knicks player other than Hart at +13. Then he fouls out with a minute and a half left and we win. Go figure.

Even with KAT’s deficiencies this team still under performed against the best teams. That has to be on someone. Thibs has taken this group as far as he can and maybe this team as constructed is just average as the pieces don’t fit together.

They are going to have to figure something out as far as roster construction because after the Boston series it will be three straight years of losing in the second round. They are not getting better.

Boston's shooters will render KAT useless on defense. Will be like Gobert against the Mavs last year (Gobert was on the bench a LOT). KAT at least brings a superior offensive game vs Gobert, but will be interesting to see how much PT he gets.

 

[CardiacAndre7]

What's the right fit for Lebron at this point? He played with a dominant big who is a beast defensively and they lost 4-1 in the first round last year. He played with who some say is the most talented player in the league and they lost 4-1 in the first round this year. It will be 6 seasons removed from his last championship when he takes a crack at it again next season.

Outside of Jokic, Giannis, or another possible star coming to the Lakers or forming another super team somewhere else I don't see how he wins another championship.

People were saying Austin Reaves was the best third option in the league and now people are trashing him. Dude averaged 20/6/5 this season.

Reaves played pretty poorly. Bringing up his regular season stats doesn’t change that fact.

 

[Scoe]

There's more defense for Lebron on this board more than Hurley.