The 2023 New York Knicks: Brunson's Show

[ehh]

Not going to lie, this is the least I've looked forward to a Knicks season in a long, long time. Treadmill teams are the worst--especially ones led by a dinosaur of a head coach and my least favorite Knick of all time.

Thibs is still here, Randle is still here. Gross. Barrett and Mitch got extended. Ho-hum. Brunson got brought in to play a role that's too big for him, same situation that Randle has found himself in. I assume Reddish will barely play before being traded for a pair of second rounders.

I hope we surprise everyone and that Brunson really elevates everyone around him but I'm not holding my breath.

[Hassan Darkside]

Re: The 2023 New York Knicks: Brunson's Show

Can't say I'm optimistic or pessimistic for this season. Maybe the word is just mystic.

The East is so strong it's hard to see us being more than a play-in team and the margin of error is pretty slim. The one thing we have going for us is depth and we have 12-13 players that are rotation players. Unfortunately, it's still to be seen if any of them are more than that.

That being said, these are the questions I'm looking forward to seeing answered this year:

• Exactly what kind of player is RJ Barrett? Is he destined to be a high-usage, low-efficiency slasher or will he improve to be an efficient, all-around player?
• With Thibs probably on the hot seat, what will the rotation look like? Who's the odd men out?
• What will the roster look like come February? I can't imagine we'll keep everyone.
• How does having a real PG change how we play?
• Pace and playing fast seems to be a focus for Thibs and co, will this actually carry into the season?
• What kind of player will Randle be this year?
• Will Grimes take a step? Will he get enough opportunity to take a step?
• Will Thibs make it through the season?
• What kind of impact will Hartenstein have? Will he eventually overtake Mitch?
• What kind of role does IQ have with Brunson here and Rose back?

[bigeastbumrush]

Re: The 2023 New York Knicks: Brunson's Show

I have zero interest for this season.

Hate the coach. Hate #30. Dumbfounded by the president.

Rooting for Obi, IQ, Grimes, Brunson, then RJ in that order.

Beyond that- this team can kick rocks.

[Hassan Darkside]

Re: The 2023 New York Knicks: Brunson's Show

bigeast already in midseason form.

[bigeastbumrush]

Re: The 2023 New York Knicks: Brunson's Show

Forgot to add my guy Feron Hunt aka “Reddish without a first-rounder attached”

[DieHardYankee26]

Re: The 2023 New York Knicks: Brunson's Show

Another year with the OS Knicks fam, no group of guys I’d rather experience this misery with.

[Jeffx]

Re: The 2023 New York Knicks: Brunson's Show

I have zero interest for this season.

Hate the coach. Hate #30. Dumbfounded by the president.

Rooting for Obi, IQ, Grimes, Brunson, then RJ in that order.

Beyond that- this team can kick rocks.

I told you younger Knick fans long ago eventually you'll become jaded like us older fans who saw the championship years.

[bigeastbumrush]

Re: The 2023 New York Knicks: Brunson's Show

I told you younger Knick fans long ago eventually you'll become jaded like us older fans who saw the championship years.

I got to experience the golden years under Riley *ducks* and JVG so at least I have something decent to hang onto.

Complete front office mismanagement since then.

[DieHardYankee26]

Re: The 2023 New York Knicks: Brunson's Show

I’m a Yankees fan born in the early 90s so the Riley era is the same in my mind as the dark decade the Yankees went through in the 2010s with fake competing and no ring. My mom was born the year after the last Knicks chip, this is all I’ve ever known. Thanks the sports gods for Derek Jeter and Eli Manning.

[Jeffx]

Re: The 2023 New York Knicks: Brunson's Show

I’m a Yankees fan born in the early 90s so the Riley era is the same in my mind as the dark decade the Yankees went through in the 2010s with fake competing and no ring. My mom was born the year after the last Knicks chip, this is all I’ve ever known. Thanks the sports gods for Derek Jeter and Eli Manning.

I was born in '61 (the year Roger Maris broke Babe's record), so I've experienced plenty of joy and pain regarding NY sports, lol. I just want the Knicks to be relevant again before I leave this planet. At this point, I'll settle for what they were during the 90 (even though they didn't win the chip).

[Hassan Darkside]

Re: The 2023 New York Knicks: Brunson's Show

Some pointless preseason thoughts:

• Team is infinitely more enjoyable to watch when Randle isn't walking the ball up the court and initiating the offense
• Can tell pace is a big emphasis this year and it feels like we're going to get easier looks because of it.
• Brunson is a difference maker and we're going to look back in disbelief on the years we were trying to run our offense through Randle.
• Randle looks a lot better as a 2nd or 3rd option. Him catching the ball on the elbow or wing makes a big difference. He still holds it too long and takes some hero-ball shots, but in general he's been quicker with making decisions.
• Mitch looks good and in shape, we'll see if he stays healthy.
• RJ's shot looks better. He's 7/12 so far from 3 and even his misses aren't as horrible as they were the last couple of years. Obviously a small sample size. There was also a moment when he was bringing the ball up on the break last game and he looked over and yelled at Randle to run down the court. Loved it.
• Quickley looks stronger and is trying to finish at the basket on drives. I think he's taken one floater so far and that was when the clock was down. He's got a couple of AND1s already. Still shoot first and over dribbles at times.
• Get Obi Minutes! He looks a lot more confident and ready now but he's still cockblocked by Randle.
• McBride also looks like he's fighting for minutes. Has been up and down on offense but reminds me of Avery Bradley out on defense. He'll be a bottom of the bench guy but I think Thibs loves him and it won't surprise me to see him get spot minutes when Quickley or someone else isn't playing well.
• Don't know what to make of Hartenstein yet. He looked really good in the first game, really bad in the last one. Looks like he's going to shoot more threes this year which will be a nice look if defenses respect him from there.
• Reddish will be off the team by February. If Randle is the heir of the Bad Porn nickname, then Reddish must be Softcore Porn--looks tantalizing and enticing to watch but you don't see the penetration and scoring you thought you would and are always left wanting to see more. He looks like a high usage player that can't adapt to a low usage role.

Granted, it's preseason but it's been nice to see Thibs not playing the starters 35 mpg and experimenting with rotations. We saw a Quickley-Rose-McBride lineup which performed pretty well.

[bigeastbumrush]

Re: The 2023 New York Knicks: Brunson's Show

Some pointless preseason thoughts:

• Reddish will be off the team by February. If Randle is the heir of the Bad Porn nickname, then Reddish must be Softcore Porn--looks tantalizing and enticing to watch but you don't see the penetration and scoring you thought you would and are always left wanting to see more. He looks like a high usage player that can't adapt to a low usage role.

If he didn’t go to Duke, he’d be gone already.

Typical 6’8 slasher with a suspect jumpshot who flashes once every 10 games or so.

They come a dime a dozen in this league.

I don’t blame him though. I blame the guy who made the trade. He had to know that the stubborn head coach would never play him. Heck I did.

And whoever decided to draft Keels must be sleeping with Coach K’s daughters or something.

[ehh]

Re: The 2023 New York Knicks: Brunson's Show

Reddish is 5/23 from the floor in the preseason. This dude isn't going to crack the rotation, barring injury.

[ehh]

Re: The 2023 New York Knicks: Brunson's Show

If he didn’t go to Duke, he’d be gone already.

Typical 6’8 slasher with a suspect jumpshot who flashes once every 10 games or so.

They come a dime a dozen in this league.

I don’t blame him though. I blame the guy who made the trade. He had to know that the stubborn head coach would never play him. Heck I did.

And whoever decided to draft Keels must be sleeping with Coach K’s daughters or something.

I absolutely railed against Reddish in the draft thread that year. He isn't even skilled, he's just a layup line all-star. He can't dribble, can't shoot, can't pass and I heard on a podcast the other day that was in the bottom 5% in the league in finishing at the rim last season. As you said, a handful of times a year he has a hot game and people are fooled.

He has an ideal NBA body and that's about it.

[Jeffx]

Re: The 2023 New York Knicks: Brunson's Show

With the Yankees advancing to the ALCS, and the NY football teams actually having decent seasons, Knicks will be on the back-burner for a while.

Knicks still don't have elite talent, so I'm not expecting much as usual. Maybe the play-in tournament.