Emergency game thread:Knicks vs Lakers

[tiger0330]

Road to 69 is now the Road to 68. Can win 2 more before the end of the season and still be guaranteed worst record in the NBA.

I said they would go 3-11 and the Lakers was one of the games I thought they could win. We have the the 12th toughest strength of schedule left, not the worst with majority of games played at MSG. The boys could spring a surprise and win some games if they cut the sloppy play and DJ, Mudiay, DSJ and Hezonja start playing like All Stars.

[mafra]

It seems as if LeBron James “doesn’t really care.”

Those are the words of Walt “Clyde” Frazier, who called out the Lakers star for sitting on his own, apart from the team, during a timeout as Los Angeles visited the Knicks at the Garden on Sunday.

The Lakers, who entered the game 31-38 and will not be part of the playoffs, have had a chaotic season in LeBron Year 1, with injuries, trades that weren’t and a lot of losing.

You can see it all on James’ face, a face that wasn’t offering advice in the huddle, or even in the huddle at all.

“This type of behavior … when you’re the face of the NBA, you should be more a part of your team, folks,” Frazier said on the MSG telecast. “No matter what is going on. In the public, you gotta be a part of the team. Maybe in the locker room you’re not, but you have to exude that type of togetherness in public, folks. And right now we see he doesn’t really care.”

The 34-year-old, who has questioned his teammates’ primary motivations publicly multiple times in the past month, still has been near impossible to stop when he’s on the court. Through three quarters, James was 7-of-11 for 24 points with five assists.

NY Post

[jimkcchief88]

Trier is not the odd man but he'll have an off-season to work off his One Trick Pony ways. With M-Rob here it will likely help expand his game, they have chemistry and hopefully it'll bleed into a few more players by next season. The player I'm most concerned with is Knox going forward. I don't se his game taking off at all. He plays a position that will be greatly impacted by who we draft/sign as a free agent, I honestly believe this.

Supposedly Fiz had Lebron and Knox huddled after the game, my guess he wants them to link up in the summer or for Lebron to be some kind of mentor

We've had very few wins this yr but the games where we got the Dub Mudiay was a factor in most of them especially at MSG. The number don't lie but hatin Knick fans do

Knox had a nice game yesterday....esp in the 1st quarter he and Dot were responsible for the Knicks 41 first quarter points....remember KK is one of the if not the youngest player in the league so an 82 NBA season is deep water for him but the skills are there so I’m not worried about him. But DSjr was out yesterday so Mudiay started and balled out with 28, Dot added 25, and even super Mario dropped 17 while guarding Lebitch and making the game saving block on him to end the game. Trier didn’t do much besides pick up a bogus flagrant foul for throwing an elbow. Frank didn’t play either...I just see Frank and Trier as odd men out when the dust settles this offseason.

[mafra]

Super Mario with this season’s 2 memorable moments: dunking on The Greek Freak and blocking LeBron.

[mafra]

"He's one of the most un-guardable guys in the world and one of the greatest players of all time," Hezonja said, according to ESPN's Ian Begley. "So it is tough. But when we're on the court, who cares? I think you gain respect by fighting for that, so I just didn't care. I wasn't trying to look around. I was just trying to play as hard as I can and try to stop him."

New York trailed 122-111 with 3:45 left after James made a 22-foot jumper, but DeAndre Jordan's alley-oop started a game-ending 13-1 run that snapped the Knicks' eight-game losing streak.

After Damyean Dotson's layup with 37.1 seconds remaining cut it to 123-122, James missed a jumper on the ensuing possession. Emmanuel Mudiay made both his free throws after Kentavious Caldwell-Pope fouled him with 22.3 seconds remaining, and the Lakers had one last chance.

James drove down the left side where Hezonja guarded him closely. James tried putting up a fadeaway shot but Hezonja got his right hand on the ball, deflecting it back to Jordan as the clock expired.

"To beat a great player, sometimes you've got to do the unexpected and you've got to make big plays," Knicks head coach David Fizdale said, according to the Associated Press, "because you know that they're gearing up to make a big play."

James, who finished with a game-high 33 points to go along with eight assists and six rebounds, went 4-for-15 from the floor in the fourth quarter, to which Hezonja attributed to a team effort.

"He just missed shots," Hezonja said, according to Begley. "Don't get that twisted. ... We did a good job of sending him of where he doesn't like to be, if I can say that because he likes to be everywhere. But yeah, overall good job by the team on playing defense on him."

Starting for the first time since Feb. 13, Hezonja scored 17 points and brought down eight rebounds in a season-high 36:36. The 24-year-old Hezonja, who signed a one-year deal last offseason, has averaged 7.6 points and 3.7 rebounds this season.

While he said he wasn't known especially for his defensive presence prior to the season, he has made a larger effort to improve his skills.

"I've never played like this," Hezonja said, according to Begley. "It happens you know. Especially now. If you look at guys like Klay Thompson and Kawhi (Leonard) and stuff like that: they are as effective on offense as they are on defense and that's what the NBA needs right now to win. That's what teams need. I'm trying my best to be one of those type of guys."


Theknicksblog

[Broadway]

Knox had a nice game yesterday....esp in the 1st quarter he and Dot were responsible for the Knicks 41 first quarter points....remember KK is one of the if not the youngest player in the league so an 82 NBA season is deep water for him but the skills are there so I’m not worried about him. But DSjr was out yesterday so Mudiay started and balled out with 28, Dot added 25, and even super Mario dropped 17 while guarding Lebitch and making the game saving block on him to end the game. Trier didn’t do much besides pick up a bogus flagrant foul for throwing an elbow. Frank didn’t play either...I just see Frank and Trier as odd men out when the dust settles this offseason.

Trier has a definable skill which is getting a bucket, sometimes at the detriment to the team and a bust to offensive flow but he has one. He can play make when looking to do so, the key is to get him to do more of the latter to blend better with his offensive skillset.

Knox has recovered some this month but for the yr his stats are eerily similar to Knits rookie season. Add in the influx of individual growth and acquisition of other players next season, I don't see his game peaking very high on this team unless he were to bear the load. He might get to a Tobias Harris level but he kind of needs to be DA MAN to do so. Knox game also seems to be tied to playing with Mudiay, I could be wrong but the way the season has played out for both, appears so

Dotson is progressing, he needs to be more consistent to be a starting 2 guard

[jimkcchief88]

Trier has a definable skill which is getting a bucket, sometimes at the detriment to the team and a bust to offensive flow but he has one. He can play make when looking to do so, the key is to get him to do more of the latter to blend better with his offensive skillset.

Knox has recovered some this month but for the yr his stats are eerily similar to Knits rookie season. Add in the influx of individual growth and acquisition of other players next season, I don't see his game peaking very high on this team unless he were to bear the load. He might get to a Tobias Harris level but he kind of needs to be DA MAN to do so. Knox game also seems to be tied to playing with Mudiay, I could be wrong but the way the season has played out for both, appears so

Dotson is progressing, he needs to be more consistent to be a starting 2 guard

So that’s just not true Broadway Frank averaged 6 points per game his rookie season and KK is averaging 12. That’s not “eerily similar that’s double. You watch many more Knicks games than me so get your eyes checked. Frank doesn’t pass the “eye test” at least to me where KK does. Kk has a smooth shot and can knock it down from 3 where Frank struggles. Kk looks like he has a clue on offense and will take you to the cup where Frank dribbles around without a clue and has NO handle to be considered an NBA pg. I guarantee you will see better pg skills this weekend in the NCAA tourney than Frank. And while KK hit the “rookie wall” Frank has now shown he can’t survive an NBA season. Cut bait Mills while you can. Trade Frank if you can(I doubt it) or give Frank a one-way ticket back to France 🇫🇷

[Kiyaman]

So that’s just not true Broadway Frank averaged 6 points per game his rookie season and KK is averaging 12. That’s not “eerily similar that’s double. You watch many more Knicks games than me so get your eyes checked. Frank doesn’t pass the “eye test” at least to me where KK does. Kk has a smooth shot and can knock it down from 3 where Frank struggles. Kk looks like he has a clue on offense and will take you to the cup where Frank dribbles around without a clue and has NO handle to be considered an NBA pg. I guarantee you will see better pg skills this weekend in the NCAA tourney than Frank. And while KK hit the “rookie wall” Frank has now shown he can’t survive an NBA season. Cut bait Mills while you can. Trade Frank if you can(I doubt it) or give Frank a one-way ticket back to France ����

Sorry Chief .. your evaluation on Knox & Frank need correction .. Knox has average 30 minute per TANKING game in this history breaking losing season, the Knicks get outscored on by every NBA team when Knox is on the court. Knox poor defensive effort has not won any regular season games, and may not be ready for a post season game for the next 2 or 3 seasons.
Frank has average 20 minute of playing time under Coach Horn, and coach Fizdale .. the big problem with Frank has been playing in all 4 quarters of the game averaging 20 minute of playing time per game .. Do the math on playing time, and the Knicks front-office goal the past two seasons !!!

[jimkcchief88]

Sorry Chief .. your evaluation on Knox & Frank need correction .. Knox has average 30 minute per TANKING game in this history breaking losing season, the Knicks get outscored on by every NBA team when Knox is on the court. Knox poor defensive effort has not won any regular season games, and may not be ready for a post season game for the next 2 or 3 seasons.
Frank has average 20 minute of playing time under Coach Horn, and coach Fizdale .. the big problem with Frank has been playing in all 4 quarters of the game averaging 20 minute of playing time per game .. Do the math on playing time, and the Knicks front-office goal the past two seasons !!!

I posted this on the wrong thread but...I just don’t see it...the reason why Frank gets no clock is because he’s a liability on BOTH ends of the floor...on offense you don’t have to guard Frank because he can’t shoot, has no handle, has no post moves, has no go to shot, so no clue on offense. So it’s 4 on 5 when the Knicks are on offense when Frank is on the floor because you don’t have to guard him. Franks paltry offensive numbers bear that out. The myth is that Frank plays good defense. The truth is while Frank has the measurables, he is an average defender. So he’s very disappointing for a lottery pick. Maybe there is a GM that shares your opinion of Frank and we can move him for a 2nd rounder. That’s all Franks worth at this point now that he can’t stay healthy as well