NBA Thread

[Shitbag]

Knicks impressed beating the Magic, Brunson gave them a 40 piece and they looked good on both sides of the ball.

Damn they have to play the winner of OKC/Spurs for the cup, I think they have a decent chance to beat the Spurs but OKC is going to be a tough ask.
They’ve lost one game the entire season!

I already called it NY winning the cup and chip both this year.
Bing Bong

I’m not a betting man but I stick by my story.
Knickerbockers!

[BallDontLie]

Thank you San Antone.

Last 5 mins of that game was incredible tho.

[Cuban_Lynx]

^It was looking like a blowout in Q1 but turned out to be a really entertaining game.

Caruso foul should have been a flagrant. I hate SGA, but he only had one really bad foul bait and generally carried the team. Chet on the other hand, 33 minutes on the court and 1-2 FG, 2-4 FT in game 7!? Woof

Spurs/Knicks is going to blow up TV ratings. I think Wednesday at SA will end the Knicks winning streak, but it’s going to be such a great matchup.

[Atiba Applebum]

New Yorker cover is amazing

[Tear Up a Trick]

Saw in WSJ that Dow Jones has it 64% for the Spurs.  That's probably the vegas thinking too?

City is feeling juiced.  Office is near the Garden and the energy is there.  C'mon Knicks

For Spurs fans, I offer you this

[gringo_viejo]

Anybody else feel like this series will be won by the team whose center settles for fewer 3’s early in the clock?

[scab]

^... I just typed out a ridiculously detailed compare and contrast analysis of KAT's and Victor's shooting numbers and their respective impact on the overall games these two teams want to play. Then my browser crashed and I wept. The tl;dr version is this:

KAT's most effective, most dangerous and most important trait is his elite three point shooting (40% career shooter, 48% over this playoff run). As long as KAT shoots threes early and often--he doesn't even have to make them, although he naturally will--the Knicks offense can work the way it's intended to because the mere threat of KAT shooting opens up space for everyone else.

For Victor, it's the opposite. His shooting is one of the very few aspects of his game that's just average (for now: 35% for his career, 37% over the playoffs). The Knicks will want him to shoot as many threes as they can make him take. If he drains them at a high clip, there's nothing to be done but to tip your cap. It's still very much preferable over just letting him feast in the paint.

I am so fucking excited for this series. I think it's a total toss-up as of now. How's Mitch's pinky? What about Fox's ankle? Are the Spurs just too young and athletic to wear down or will the war they just came out of take its toll at some point? Are the Knicks going to be as rusty as they were in the first three quarters of game 1 against Cleveland? Will Josh Hart just let it fly from the start or does his unwillingness to shoot hamper the Knicks' offense in yet another series opener? Is Dylan Harper a bigger, badder, more athletic Jalen Brunson already? So many questions. I can't wait to find out.

[gringo_viejo]

^... I just typed out a ridiculously detailed compare and contrast analysis of KAT's and Victor's shooting numbers and their respective impact on the overall games these two teams want to play. Then my browser crashed and I wept. The tl;dr version is this:

KAT's most effective, most dangerous and most important trait is his elite three point shooting (40% career shooter, 48% over this playoff run). As long as KAT shoots threes early and often--he doesn't even have to make them, although he naturally will--the Knicks offense can work the way it's intended to because the mere threat of KAT shooting opens up space for everyone else.

For Victor, it's the opposite. His shooting is one of the very few aspects of his game that's just average (for now: 35% for his career, 37% over the playoffs). The Knicks will want him to shoot as many threes as they can make him take. If he drains them at a high clip, there's nothing to be done but to tip your cap. It's still very much preferable over just letting him feast in the paint.

I am so fucking excited for this series. I think it's a total toss-up as of now. How's Mitch's pinky? What about Fox's ankle? Are the Spurs just too young and athletic to wear down or will the war they just came out of take its toll at some point? Are the Knicks going to be as rusty as they were in the first three quarters of game 1 against Cleveland? Will Josh Hart just let it fly from the start or does his unwillingness to shoot hamper the Knicks' offense in yet another series opener? Is Dylan Harper a bigger, badder, more athletic Jalen Brunson already? So many questions. I can't wait to find out.

If that’s how it plays out, with KAT able to pull Victor away from the hoop with his shooting, it’s a problem for the Spurs. Even if KAT misses a few, if Victor has to close out on him it opens up the paint for Brunson’s drives. Worse, it lets the knicks bigger, longer guys (OG, Bridges…) get offensive rebounds, which was already a huge problem for SA vs okc.

If Victor can catch it in the paint and score over KAT, advantage Spurs. Especially if KAT gets in foul trouble. Especially if OGs hamstring makes him half a step slow to help.

I wish the nuns could mojo-heal Fox’s ankle and OG’s hammy and let these two teams go at it full strength, as the lawd intended.

Edit: just realized that this post is pretty much me wholesale adopting @scab ‘s theory. It’s a good theory!

I’m interested in what happens if the spurs can make kat just a spot up shooter instead of a passer/facilitator. I think Brunson-ball def. favors the spurs and their physical guards. Kat being a passer is trickier to defend.

[Shapelessness]

hmmm. pretty good stuff.
But, what if for most of the game Victor isnt guarding KAT? Spurs will run the french-vanilla a few times in this series.
They've been calling Kornet "the big elote" recently and its caught on.

anyways,
question for yall. Will you be watching at the casa? or go out?

me?
Casa.
bunch of advertisements for watch parties here, and to be honest, im annoyed by most of our fans. i didnt see them during the Sochan point guard experiment. or before Victor.

peas.

[RoaryMcTwang]

Though I struggle to rationalize it adequately, I feel it in my bones that the Knicks got this one. Fuck that one will be exciting.

[scab]

@Shapelessness  I'm in Europe, all the games are at like 2:30 in the morning for me. I've been watching games on re-live alone at home or snuck them in at work for as long as league pass has been around, but I'll try and watch at least the games on the weekends live even though my toddler is bound to wake up right around the final buzzer.

Re: KAT, Wemby and who's guarding who: I tend to get carried away talking about ball, so please just ignore the rest of this post if you don't want to read the incoherent ramblings of a nervous wreck.
 

Sorry but you are not allowed to view spoiler contents.

[Shapelessness]

nice.
Bridges might give the Spurs the most problems.
ready for the game.