Game Thread: New York Knicks vs Los Angeles Clippers 1/31/2021 1:00 pm [Game #21]

Clippers have the 2nd best record in the NBA for a reason. They know how to close the other team out. Knicks had the lead all the way down to 2 in the 4th but now trail by 13.
 
Randle with 27, Quickley with 24, RJ with 21. Our defense got picked apart though and about to fall to 9 - 12.
 
Clippers are now 16 - 5. I?m prepared for the overreactions just like when we lost to the now 15 - 5 Utah Jazz. Some teams are just better than everyone else right now.
 
Alan Hahn says ?it?s hard not to feel good about the direction of this team?. Jury still out, but no doubt things are much better than under Fizdale.
 
Quickley has now scored at least 25 points in 3 of the last 4 games. Most minutes he played in any of those games was 27.
 

jimkcchief88

All Star
It?s gonna be hard to keep IQ out of the lineup as starting PG. The handwriting is written on the wall for Frank, DSjr, and and anyone else. The rook is taking over the PG position finally. And whomever was against RJ looks dumb now. We have a young nucleus to build around now finally.
 

Kiyaman

Legend
Clippers are now 16 - 5. I?m prepared for the overreactions just like when we lost to the now 15 - 5 Utah Jazz. Some teams are just better than everyone else right now.

NO Frank .. No win !!!

The Clippers took charge of the game and win at the start of the 2nd half of the game.
The Knicks needed Frank, Bullock, and Gibson's hustle defense to put a impact on Kawhi, PG3, and Lou Williams high scoring performance.

Coach Thib's substitution, lineups, and 7 or 8 man rotation when the TEAM has 4 games in 6 days .... has made Thibs coaching questionable of playing .500 B.ball the remainder of the season.
Especially, when a rookie (IQ) keep coming off the bench to change the tone of the game to fit his style and tone for a win (every other-other game).
In the Knicks vs Cavs game, I predicted that Sexton & Drummond Cavs were gonna keep a 10 point lead over Randle & Barrett throughout the game for a Cavs win. The Cavs defense held Randle to 4 pts throughout the first half of the game.

Thibs need to give Quickley's 2nd unit lineup three good defender (Frank, Bullock, Gibson) that perform well on help-offense where screens and passes lead to team-scoring .. the 5th player in the lineup could be Knox or Noel. Knox need to be in the lineup to start moving without the ball, picking, passing, and scoring. Noel's speed need to be in the lineup so Gibson could play his natural position PF to give our Rookie Obi all the pointers of being a well rounded PF in the NBA.
Rivers don't belong in the 2nd unit!
Our Knicks starter PG have to support & compliment our other starters performance Barrett, Randle, and MitchRob.
Rivers and Payton should be switching-games as the Knicks starter PG only.
After 21 games, does Payton deserve to be Starter PG the remainder of the season?
Or should Payton & Rivers switch who start, depending on the Knicks opponents?
 

Kiyaman

Legend
It’s gonna be hard to keep IQ out of the lineup as starting PG. The handwriting is written on the wall for Frank, DSjr, and and anyone else. The rook is taking over the PG position finally. And whomever was against RJ looks dumb now. We have a young nucleus to build around now finally.

Thibs has to start given decent minute to a TEN-Man rotation, if his plan is having a .500 season.
Shoot-first RJ Barrett holds the ball for his Iso-offense.
Shoot-first Randle holds the ball for his Iso-offense.
IQ best talent (Kentucky/NBA) has been his quick-release shot from either inside or outside to score.
Yes, our rookie Quickley are a Shoot-First SG that scores quickly.
Does IQ creative scoring deserve to get the green-light to be our 1st or 2nd option on offense? Yes!
On the 2nd unit lineup of win-win bench players.
IQ combo-style of b.ball makes him more of a threat on offense as a SG, that need a pass-first defensive PG (Frank), and a pass-first defensive SF or PF (Bullock or Gibson) to make our defense our best offense.
The Jazz and the Clippers took total control of the 2nd half of the game by stepping up their defense/offense to have a 35-62 half, then Clippers 50-63 half for the win.
 

mafra

Legend
On the broadcast, the radio announcers believed Thibbs is keeping IQ in the bench bc he wants scoring with that second unit. I think he?s playing himself into that starting role tho...

I?m not sure why anybody is down on the Knicks.... A brutal schedule, after being off for 9 months and having no offseason stuff.

RJ is showing in his sophomore year that there?s more to come. Again, picture RJ at 24!

Mitch is proving to be a viable starter, who can stay on the court.

IQ is a home run.

Randle is an All-Star caliber player.

I mean, doesn?t this check all the boxes?

Get a real coaching staff in here. Check!
Develop RJ and Mitch. Check.
Find gold in the draft. Check.
Establish a winning culture. Check.

We may not have leapt on to the national scene, but I?ll take incremental improvement.

Now we need to make a shrewd trade and get lucky again in the draft.

We get even better next year... then, I suspect, 2022-223 is the season it falls into place with a second round playoff run.

Now the focus needs to be to develop Knox or Toppin. Tough call what to do here... Trade Randle and just let both fill SF/PF and see what you got? Let 1 be the SF with Randle and the other a sixth man type?

If we are sticking with Randle, then start Obi or Knox at the 3 and let the other serve with the second unit.

Bottom line is Knox and Toppin need 25 minutes a night NOW so we can evaluate. Starting Bullock or Burks after the ASB, if we are out of the mix, won?t fly...
 

mafra

Legend
In 1987, with the18th pick, the NYK took Mark Jackson. The next year, in 1988, with the 19th selection, the NYK took Rod Strickland.

In 1994, with the 26th pick, Knicks take Heisman Trophy Charlie Ward.

In 2005, with the 21st selection, Knicks draft N8 Robinson ...

Now, in 2020, Knicks grab IQ with the 25th Pick.

Being this is NYC, the flagship base and fertile ground for the quintessential PG talent...

I have to say, in my lifetime, there has not been many more G rookies that have impressed me more.

Gerald Wilkins wasn?t a waste of space, I missed the Clyde and Monroe era (B.974).

Aside from Rod.... I can?t recall a more impressive rookie G prospect than IQ. What a find he was...
 

Kiyaman

Legend
I'm looking for the Knicks to keep on playing aggressive the next 2 games against Chicago Bulls for 2 Knicks WINS !!!
 

mafra

Legend
Ty Lue called Immanuel Quickley a ?special talent? after watching him on Sunday afternoon.

Certainly, Quickley?s 25 points off the bench against the Clippers got Lue?s attention. But something Quickley did before tipoff also impressed Lue.

?After he shot (during warmups), he sat down and watched Kawhi (Leonard) shoot and work out for like 15 minutes,? Lue said. ?So he?s willing to learn, he wants to learn, he wants to be great. And that?s what you want from young players,? Lue said after the Clippers withstood a challenge from the Knicks and pulled away late for a 14-point win.


Lue?s team ? one of the best in the NBA ? had a lot of positive things to say about Quickley, the combo guard New York selected with the No. 25 overall pick.

?His float game was off the charts for a young guy,? Paul George said, adding that Quickley?s floater was a topic of discussion among the Clippers after the game.

Something else about Quickley stood out to George on Sunday afternoon.

?I think what I love the most and it?s a hard quality to find: I thought he was fearless,? George said. ?He took some big shots.?

Here?s Quickley on why he decided to watch Leonard before the game:

?I?m intrigued on just watching the best players and what they do, their habits. I ask a lot of questions. I?m just a really curious person. So just watching what he does, wasn?t going to really bother him or nothing, ask him questions. But just seeing how he carries himself, what type of pro he is and just really that. I was just intrigued at seeing the best players at our game and what they do.?

Quickley also got a chance to play against Lou Williams, one of the players he?s referenced when talking about those he models his game after.

He shared a message with Williams during the game.

?I just told him he was one of my favorite players. His game, just as far as how smooth he is, his offensive ability, being able to get to his spots, his floater, drawing fouls. I?ve watched a lot of synergy and YouTube highlights of him. I was trying not to foul him tonight because I knew he was just going to try to do that sweep through when he was getting in the lane, so I tried as best as I could. But just being a rookie, being able to talk to somebody like that is really cool.?
 

tiger0330

Legend
Ty Lue called Immanuel Quickley a ‘special talent’ after watching him on Sunday afternoon.

Certainly, Quickley’s 25 points off the bench against the Clippers got Lue’s attention. But something Quickley did before tipoff also impressed Lue.

“After he shot (during warmups), he sat down and watched Kawhi (Leonard) shoot and work out for like 15 minutes,” Lue said. “So he’s willing to learn, he wants to learn, he wants to be great. And that’s what you want from young players,” Lue said after the Clippers withstood a challenge from the Knicks and pulled away late for a 14-point win.


Lue’s team – one of the best in the NBA – had a lot of positive things to say about Quickley, the combo guard New York selected with the No. 25 overall pick.

“His float game was off the charts for a young guy,” Paul George said, adding that Quickley’s floater was a topic of discussion among the Clippers after the game.

Something else about Quickley stood out to George on Sunday afternoon.

“I think what I love the most and it’s a hard quality to find: I thought he was fearless,” George said. “He took some big shots.”

Here’s Quickley on why he decided to watch Leonard before the game:

“I’m intrigued on just watching the best players and what they do, their habits. I ask a lot of questions. I’m just a really curious person. So just watching what he does, wasn’t going to really bother him or nothing, ask him questions. But just seeing how he carries himself, what type of pro he is and just really that. I was just intrigued at seeing the best players at our game and what they do.”

Quickley also got a chance to play against Lou Williams, one of the players he’s referenced when talking about those he models his game after.

He shared a message with Williams during the game.

“I just told him he was one of my favorite players. His game, just as far as how smooth he is, his offensive ability, being able to get to his spots, his floater, drawing fouls. I’ve watched a lot of synergy and YouTube highlights of him. I was trying not to foul him tonight because I knew he was just going to try to do that sweep through when he was getting in the lane, so I tried as best as I could. But just being a rookie, being able to talk to somebody like that is really cool.”
The kid is generating a lot of buzz around the league with the most comments about the starting PG question between him and Payton. Just a matter of time before Thibs has to pull the trigger on starting the kid, you have to see how that future backcourt of RJ and IQ look together rather than EP and RJ.

RJ 10 20 pt scoring games in the Knicks 20 games so far, confirming my faith in him as perhaps a future AS. MRob improvement in staying on the floor without fouling another credit to our coaching staff, JR AS play this year and of course the decision to take Quick with the 25th pick. Now if Obi can show he was worth spending a lottery pick on and Kenny Payne can turnaround Kevin Knox game we may have that young nucleus Knicks fans have been clamoring for.
 

Kiyaman

Legend
The kid is generating a lot of buzz around the league with the most comments about the starting PG question between him and Payton. Just a matter of time before Thibs has to pull the trigger on starting the kid, you have to see how that future backcourt of RJ and IQ look together rather than EP and RJ.

RJ 10 20 pt scoring games in the Knicks 20 games so far, confirming my faith in him as perhaps a future AS. MRob improvement in staying on the floor without fouling another credit to our coaching staff, JR AS play this year and of course the decision to take Quick with the 25th pick. Now if Obi can show he was worth spending a lottery pick on and Kenny Payne can turnaround Kevin Knox game we may have that young nucleus Knicks fans have been clamoring for.


Last season, rookie RJ Barrett poor consistent performance did not belong in the starter lineup as a guard or SF.
RJ Barrett 2nd season scoring 20 pts in 10 games out of 21 games are inconsistent because RJ average 37 minute per game on 43% FG shooting, and 28% from the 3-ball line.
Before the season started, I predicted that the rookie Quickley was gonna take RJ Barrett's starters job at the SG position.
Now, I would like to see Quickley & Frank come off the bench as our backup backcourt Finishers.
 
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