The 2022 New York Knicks: Kemba Comes Home

[bigeastbumrush]

Re: The 2022 New York Knicks: Kemba Comes Home

IMO on paper we are (a lot of pretenders in the East including us). Schematically and mentally we are not.

This is a mentally fragile team living off the success of last season with a stubborn coach too afraid to go away from the guy who helped him win COTY.

To have learned from the Atlanta series, any coach worth his salt would’ve said that moving the ball would help to alleviate our offensive deficiencies.

I truly believed bringing in a banged up Kemba would’ve helped that (offense only) because he is a penetrating PG. We have enough capable outside shooters. But to run essentially the same offense (ball movement leading to Randle ISO mode) is asinine.

This is pretty much the same team from Mike Miller. Thibs coached them up to scheme better defensively last year. Elf & Bullock > Kemba & Fournier.

But you also have to be able to score in this league. Randle thinks he’s Shammgod. RJ thinks he’s Ray Allen.

I’d start Quickley at SG. I’d also tell RJ if he puts up a 3 he’s getting benched. He’s too big and strong to be so bad around the basket. He should be at the line all game long. And Obi needs to play more than 12 MPG.

At this point don’t make a rash move and trade anyone. It’s still early. But with Thibs stubbornness I don’t expect anything to change. They’ll hang around .500 the whole season at this rate.

[DieHardYankee26]

Re: The 2022 New York Knicks: Kemba Comes Home

I don’t even know if the scheme is different. I was saying all last year that our defense is basically collapse on drivers and get really lucky when dudes miss wide open 3s. Now we’re not as lucky, and anyone in the league could walk around Kemba and Fournier so it looks even more egregious.

I think Kemba’s knee injury basically took his penetration away. He could still get some separation on his step backs, but he doesn’t have the burst anymore to blow by guys. RJ has no handle so he can’t get around his man to get guys off balance and get to the line. Randle’s shotmaking just isn’t what it was last year but that’s not what pisses me off about him. I hate the pace we play at. We’ll have a chance to get out on the break but if Randle got the rebound or gets the pass, everything comes to a screeching halt like we’re great at half court execution or something. I’m with you on the isos too, I just don’t know why they act like he’s some matchup nightmare when game after game he turns those opportunities into a fadeaway.

The thing that Obi exposes most about the starting lineup is how nobody gets out ahead of the break for easy buckets off of misses in the starting lineup. Randle, RJ, and Fournier also have a tendency to turn down a quick open shot for a better setup, better defended difficult one. I know it’s not 2k but I wish we’d take more chances. So often Mitch will have a small window off of a pick but nobody seems willing to try to thread the needle and it goes nowhere.

[bigeastbumrush]

Re: The 2022 New York Knicks: Kemba Comes Home

I don’t even know if the scheme is different. I was saying all last year that our defense is basically collapse on drivers and get really lucky when dudes miss wide open 3s. Now we’re not as lucky, and anyone in the league could walk around Kemba and Fournier so it looks even more egregious.

I think Kemba’s knee injury basically took his penetration away. He could still get some separation on his step backs, but he doesn’t have the burst anymore to blow by guys. RJ has no handle so he can’t get around his man to get guys off balance and get to the line. Randle’s shotmaking just isn’t what it was last year but that’s not what pisses me off about him. I hate the pace we play at. We’ll have a chance to get out on the break but if Randle got the rebound or gets the pass, everything comes to a screeching halt like we’re great at half court execution or something. I’m with you on the isos too, I just don’t know why they act like he’s some matchup nightmare when game after game he turns those opportunities into a fadeaway.

The thing that Obi exposes most about the starting lineup is how nobody gets out ahead of the break for easy buckets off of misses in the starting lineup. Randle, RJ, and Fournier also have a tendency to turn down a quick open shot for a better setup, better defended difficult one. I know it’s not 2k but I wish we’d take more chances. So often Mitch will have a small window off of a pick but nobody seems willing to try to thread the needle and it goes nowhere.

Last year we had the best defensive rotations I've ever seen us have. It was like clockwork. They rotated like how you would draw it up.

This year, Fournier is running around clueless and that just messes it up for everyone else.

When people talk about Kemba I don't want it to seem like I'm defending him. All I'm saying is that he has "enough" to run the PG position differently than anyone else we've had. I don't expect him to be CP3. But can he create? I think so. We just never had him do that. His role was to be a jumpshooter.

EDIT:
Now that I think about it. When we signed Kemba, wasn't the thinking that he'd be running P&Rs to death throwing alley oops to Mitch? How often has that happened? We don't even use Mitch that way anymore (yes teams have caught up). But he's just a cleanup guy. I'd rather have Sims or Taj out there if that's the case.

[DieHardYankee26]

Re: The 2022 New York Knicks: Kemba Comes Home

Wonder what it would take to get Myles Turner? Goes without saying I’m for blowing it up but knowing that’s not an option, getting a center that can hit from the corner and actually give Randle the room he needs on these isos would be interesting.

[bigeastbumrush]

Re: The 2022 New York Knicks: Kemba Comes Home

I assume they’d ask for Mitch, IQ and a pick to which I’d easily say hell no.

[bigeastbumrush]

Re: The 2022 New York Knicks: Kemba Comes Home

https://twitter.com/tom_piccolo/status/1470202445334814723?s=21

[jb12780]

Re: The 2022 New York Knicks: Kemba Comes Home

McBride had a nice night and hopefully we get a McBride/Quickley backcourt sooner than later.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Hassan Darkside]

Re: The 2022 New York Knicks: Kemba Comes Home

Looks like it'll be closer to later because Quickley was just placed in health and safety protocols smh.

Our rooks look good, though, and glad to see Deuce get an opportunity. He looks like he did in Summer League, under control and confident. Hasn't shown much playmaking but his finishing looked good last night and his defense is on point.

We're a team that's spinning our wheels in mediocrity but we have a roster of guys who can all be rotation players, so I expect us to be very active at the deadline.

I don't think we need to go backwards into the lottery, but I think we need to start looking at trades where we might be able to flip 4 quarters for a dollar.

[bigeastbumrush]

Re: The 2022 New York Knicks: Kemba Comes Home

https://twitter.com/tom_piccolo/status/1476553617712857091?s=21

Case closed

[Hassan Darkside]

Re: The 2022 New York Knicks: Kemba Comes Home

https://twitter.com/tom_piccolo/stat...712857091?s=21

Case closed

He's been awful on both ends and I don't even understand his regression. It's one thing to have the shooting drop off but the drop off in just effort is ridiculous.

He's become this lazy defender who stares at his teammates with his hands out while watching the other team get layups. He doesn't screen, he doesn't run back on defense, and he doesn't do anything when he doesn't have the ball.

Speaking of, I just saw he entered Health and Safety protocols and I've been waiting for this for weeks now. I hope he's asymptomatic and healthy, but I'm excited to see what the team looks like without him since we basically have everyone back now.

[Hassan Darkside]

Re: The 2022 New York Knicks: Kemba Comes Home

This take might get me banned from this thread but I'm starting to give up on RJ as much more than a 4th (or maybe 3rd) option. Yeah he had 30 the other night and hit a game winner last night but I feel like he has some strong limitations and a shorter ceiling than I really want to believe.

I heard a couple of Podcasts talking about De'Aaron Fox needing a change of scenery and New York came up as a theoretical destination. The topic shifted to whether or not RJ would be included in a trade like that and I can't help but think I would center him in a package to bring in a player like Fox or some other All-Star level player that needs out.

The most redeemable part of his game is his passing ability. He looks very comfortable running the Pick and Roll and making the necessary pass, as well as lobs and wrap-arounds. However, his handle is shaky and he has very little ability to score off the dribble in Iso situations. Because of his shaky jumper and slower release, he doesn't create space for his shot and doesn't look comfortable doing so. He's a "Power guard" who will put his shoulder down to get to the basket, but lacks creative finishes and ability to draw fouls or finish through contact.

Watching him get drive after drive swatted by Robert Williams last night made me want to throw my remote. He's an average athlete for his position and his lack of explosiveness near the rim prevents him from being able to score on shot blockers.

I know a lot of Knick fans like to compare him to Jaylen Brown and hope/think he'll follow that trajectory but I don't really see it. He's a more skilled and unselfish passer but not the off ball cutter or athlete Brown was/is. Brown also flashed a better handle even though he didn't create a whole lot for himself over his first few years in the league.

[ehh]

Re: The 2022 New York Knicks: Kemba Comes Home

I'd be fine with moving Barrett but Fox isn't anything to write home about. Our fanbase will turn on him before the season ends, though I would not be surprised if this team trades for a PG with a career 31% from deep though.

[bigeastbumrush]

Re: The 2022 New York Knicks: Kemba Comes Home

Keep Barrett.

And not because he dropped 30 again.

21 years old. You have to see what you got even though he is so damn inconsistent.

They need to draft the best PG in the draft by any means necessary even if it means trading a 1st rounder to get it done.

We need a Ja Morant type of PG.

[ehh]

Re: The 2022 New York Knicks: Kemba Comes Home

Welcome, Cam Reddish. Probably my least favorite Top 10 prospect of the last decade.

Easily worth it for what we gave up though. The CHA 1st is Top 18-projected.

[Jeffx]

Re: The 2022 New York Knicks: Kemba Comes Home

We need a Ja Morant type of PG.

Yep, things won't really change until the Knicks get "the guy", a franchise player. But they don't come around often.


Still burns my a** NY passed on Donovan Mitchell.