Game Thread - New York Knicks vs Detroit Pistons - April 15, 2015

Finally, the end to this terrible season. Losing by 9 late in the first half, will we rally in the 2nd half and open up the possibility of picking as late as 6th in the first round? I wouldn't put it past this stupid team, but hopefully we just settle down and take the 2nd worst record in the NBA quietly. It's almost over. It's almost finally over.

Thanks for the game thread htr10. Real exciting day in the NBA with so many playoff spots being decided at the end of the day. The Wolves look like a lock for the worst record with the Knicks being second. Mafra always says the number one seed has only won the top pick twice in 19 years so the Knicks could still get the top pick, in fact the team with the 3rd worst record has had the most top picks in the past 19 years with 6 top picks so we'll just have to see on May 19.

Get excited fellas, here come the Knicks! Led by the greatest last few games of the season player of all-time, Tim Hardaway Jr! He has 23 points already early in the 3rd quarter and we have shaved that lead right down. If we end up picking 6th, will THJ be public enemy number one this offseason for Knicks fans? Yeah, probably.

Mercifully the Pistons go on a 13 - 3 run to finish the 3rd quarter and their lead is 14 with one quarter left to play in the season.

If Timmy could put this season behind him and become starting SG material next year it would make PJ's job a lot easier. CEarly after that decent game against the Nets hasn't shown much since.

I've said it before that I thought Monroe was a good player but not a max player, his game today only confirms that in my mind. He was nothing special.

It's over Knicks finish with the second worst record at 17-65. As a New Yorker I hope Brooklyn gets in, Indiana is in control of their own destiny, win against Memphis and they are in.

Pacers: out Heat: out Knicks smiling everywhere

tiger0330 said:

I've said it before that I thought Monroe was a good player but not a max player, his game today only confirms that in my mind. He was nothing special.

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def agree. Cole Aldrich, the (one) million dollar man, totally outplayed Greg "I want a max contract" Monroe tonight. if the Knicks give anywhere near a max contract, it's got to be someone at the upper echelon, ala Aldridge, Gasol, Butler, Dragic, Millsap, Jefferson.

i have a feeling Phil will attempt to lure one of the big men, or big playmakers with big money, but will not overspend next season. he is building the team and, according to Steve "talking out the side of my mouth" Mills, will try to get mid-level players to complement Melo, and the year after, will make another attempt at top talent and big money when the tv bucks roll in. IMHO.

Greg Monroe? 10-12M player, not 20M.

We will see if anything has changed up at the top. Mills talking about discipline and doing your homework and not trading away your draft picks like every GM has done, sign Monroe in the off-season for max money will tell you nothing has changed

Philly and Minny both finish the season on double digit losing streaks and we finish the season having won 2 out of 3. We are lucky the season ended when it did or who knows how many lottery balls we would have had left? Yeah, crazy after all that talk about the Pacers being a dangerous low seed with George back and Miami's aggressiveness at the trading deadline sending away 2 future 1st round picks, that neither team gets into the playoffs.

Now, finally, Knicks fans can sit back, relax, possibly enjoy some of the playoff basketball, and maybe in a month or two, get some hope for the future.

5 weeks until the lottery... 5 weeks... i will definitely enjoy playoff action to take my mind off this season.

i believe the Knicks started getting it together at the end basically because they had the same team on the floor for a good amount of games. the players started trusting one another, Galloway, THJR and Smith had confidence and knew where the others would be on the court, and the team played defense.

this team was a ragtag bunch of losers who didn't play with one another for a majority of the season, and if you don't have a leader pulling the team together (and i'm talking Melo to the Fish) you're not gonna come away with a plethora of wins.

sorry to see the team actually come together when the tank was in effect, but i was happy to see the Knicks lose against the Pistons to at least guarantee a 20% chance of #1-5 pick. Towns, Okafor, Mudiay, Russell, Winslowe: all would be an upgrade for this squad.

tiger0330 said:

I've said it before that I thought Monroe was a good player but not a max player, his game today only confirms that in my mind. He was nothing special.

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The sad part that's what it will take to land him. I ran the numbers the other day and a 4yr deal for him doesn't look pretty at all. Very gross actually. This wasn't a hard conclusion to arrive at. Cole dropped 25/15 yesterday lol

Moose is a plodder and slow motion pair him with Melo and you're asking for complete disaster

^especially when you compare what Monroe brings to the table vs what elite players such as Gasol and LaMarcus A can bring. those players are worth the max, while Monroe's value is NOT comparable.

CoolClyde said:

^especially when you compare what Monroe brings to the table vs what elite players such as Gasol and LaMarcus A can bring. those players are worth the max, while Monroe's value is NOT comparable.

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Clyde I prefer to get someone like Amir Johnson, a lot cheaper who will fulfill the role we need more than adequately. We'll have more money to play with to keep addressing other areas of needs. Maybe pursue Demarre Carroll and throw some coin at him(more than $5mil Berman sheesh!)

He's not my favorite but I'd take Kanter before Greg. If we need a more seasoned vet slightly sexier name, possibly throw money at Milsap(not sure if this makes sense or is even feasible looking at both sides)

The Greg situation from another angle, I don't like how he's trying to get a head start on negotiations just because he was asked a loaded question about potential mutual interest. When the media does stuff like this they deserve to be called out on their schtick, in particular if things happen to not pan out if player were to land here.

Broadway said:

The sad part that's what it will take to land him. I ran the numbers the other day and a 4yr deal for him doesn't look pretty at all. Very gross actually. This wasn't a hard conclusion to arrive at. Cole dropped 25/15 yesterday lol

Moose is a plodder and slow motion pair him with Melo and you're asking for complete disaster

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While Amare was the opposite but PJ called the pair of Melo/Stat "clumsy" when he was on the outside looking in. I don't think Phil Jackson has a clue. Knick fans have way too much faith in him based on what he's done so far but he has every chance to prove the skeptics, myself included, wrong this off-season.

Broadway said:

Clyde I prefer to get someone like Amir Johnson, a lot cheaper who will fulfill the role we need more than adequately. We'll have more money to play with to keep addressing other areas of needs. Maybe pursue Demarre Carroll and throw some coin at him(more than $5mil Berman sheesh!)

He's not my favorite but I'd take Kanter before Greg. If we need a more seasoned vet slightly sexier name, possibly throw money at Milsap(not sure if this makes sense or is even feasible looking at both sides)

The Greg situation from another angle, I don't like how he's trying to get a head start on negotiations just because he was asked a loaded question about potential mutual interest. When the media does stuff like this they deserve to be called out on their schtick, in particular if things happen to not pan out if player were to land here.

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here's where i start to agree with you, on mid-level players who can fulfill roles, ala rebounding/defense, even offense in Kanter's case. I like Millsap a lot, he does a little of everything, and can be had for a tad more than mid-level, but not max, and i think he's a better player with higher IQ than Monroe.

and there's the rub, high IQ. this is what PJ is looking for, not flashy players (ala JR), who have trouble with basic math.

agreed re the media, as soon as someone expresses an opinion, it gets taken as "source" material, and then blown up by other media, forums etc, as truth, when in reality, it's all bullsh*t.

CoolClyde said:

here's where i start to agree with you, on mid-level players who can fulfill roles, ala rebounding/defense, even offense in Kanter's case. I like Millsap a lot, he does a little of everything, and can be had for a tad more than mid-level, but not max, and i think he's a better player with higher IQ than Monroe.

and there's the rub, high IQ. this is what PJ is looking for, not flashy players (ala JR), who have trouble with basic math.

agreed re the media, as soon as someone expresses an opinion, it gets taken as "source" material, and then blown up by other media, forums etc, as truth, when in reality, it's all bullsh*t.

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Milsap is gimpy right now, not sure what how ATL's Post-Season performance will affect his finances. He's not young either. In the end I think he stays closer to the upper pay scale because of market. Meaning if Monroe gets a $70mil deal, well so will Milsap if not moreso because he'd be viewed as a winning impact player, and it will be his last major deal.

The first Signers will dictate much how this off-season goes.