Marc and Jay are joined again by Big Data to give their reactions to game 1. What changed need to be made, how we’re feeling now that we’ve had time to think about it, the Garden crowd, Big Data has us guess the Knicks player based on stats, around the league thoughts.
Elfrid Payton
What Are the Odds the Knicks Make the Playoffs Under Thibodeau?
The Knicks have officially hired Tom Thibodeau as their head coach. He got a 5 year deal, but this is the Knicks so lets be realistic and say he’ll be coach for at least the next two years. The Knicks will also most likely be getting Mike Woodson as their assistant coach. He happened to be the coach the last time the Knicks made the playoffs. That got me thinking, what are the odds the Knicks make the playoffs under Tom Thibodeau?
First lets take a look at what happened last year. The Knicks entered the 2019-20 season with +575 odds, on average, to reach the postseason. They finished the abbreviated regular season with the fourth-worst point differential in the league and the lowest ELO rating at FiveThirtyEight. There is every reason to expect NY’s odds to make the 2021 playoffs to open at roughly the same number, i.e. in the +550 to +600 range. That would mean oddsmakers are giving them about a 12-15% chance. Once the current season ends in a few months, there should be early odds available for next season. The NBA section at Sports Betting Dime should have updated content by then so you’ll be able to check on the 2020-21 season.
Of course those odds were with Hornacek as coach and the Knicks now have a real actual basketball coaching staff. Now that the Knicks have the coach settled it’s time to look at the roster. It looks like Payton and Portis are gone. Payton was the Knicks best (only?) point guard last season. This means the Knicks point guard rotation will probably look something like whatever rookie they draft, Smith Jr., and Frank. Unless that draft pick is immediately good this can get messy. Of course the Knicks will have a ton of cap space if they don’t pick up a few team options but there doesn’t seem to be a quick fix on the market currently.
For arguments sake lets say everything works out, the draft pick is great, Frank, Knox, and Robinson all take a leap, and they find a free agent that makes them a little better. The next question is; is there room for the Knicks in the playoff picture? Milwaukee, Toronto, Boston, Philly, Miami and Indiana are virtual locks, and the Nets will most likely be there too. That means the Knicks would have to pass Charlotte, Washington, Orlando, and Chicago while staying ahead of Detroit and Atlanta who both will probably be better than last season. A lot can change between now and December but as of now I’d say a 12-15% chance at making the playoffs seems a little high.
New York’s Offense and the Erasing of the Fizdale Effect
David Fizdale seen here mimicking everyone watching the game.
Written by: Austin Snyder
In order to fully understand the following jumble of words about America’s favorite target for uninformed sports opinions some backstory is needed. The enigma at the center of the story? David Fizdale (finally, a twist worthy of Stephen A. Smith). The general consensus about the Fizdale hiring from those who, like myself, actually pay attention to the Knicks is that Fizdale was brought in with the sole intention of being a lure for Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving and was probably never thought to be a solid choice to lead a team on a complete rebuild. So why does it matter?
Anyone who watched the Knicks with Fizdale at the helm would have been hard pressed not to notice the lack of an offensive system (or defensive one for that matter) under his guidance. Instead, the most valuable franchise in the NBA, worth an excess of four billion dollars, sported an offense reminiscent of watching my 7 year old nephew’s elementary school games on a nightly basis. No ball movement, no plays, and certainly no consistency. So why did Fiz ever get the job in the first place?
New York Knicks vs. Orlando Magic – 1/2/17 – Game Recap
New York Knicks vs. Orlando Magic
Game 34: January 2, 2017
Magic 115, Knicks 103
Written by Eric Weinstein – @ericcweinsteinn
flagrant2blog.blogspot.com
This game was what I like to call, “bowling shoe ugly.”
So after dropping four games in a row, The Knicks hosted the Orlando Magic on Monday night in a game that most thought would be a nice way for them to get back to their winning ways and snap out of this funk. Even without Kristaps Porzingis, the Magic should have been an easy win, right? Wrong. In a miserable game, the Knicks lost to the Magic, 115-103. Carmelo Anthony led the Knicks with 19 points, and Derrick Rose went for 18 points and 4 assists. Jodie Meeks, AKA Ray Allen, apparently, paced Orlando with 26 points on 7-9 shooting, including 6-7 from downtown. Serge Ibaka and Aaron Gordon each put up 22 points for the Magic.
Takeaways from this game:
All around bad:
Not much to takeaway from this game, as the Knicks were just plain bad on pretty much all aspects of this one. Their defense on the three point line was basically non-existent against a team that doesn’t shoot a high percentage from anywhere, and guys were just camping out in the paint for offensive rebounds and easy putbacks. Players like Elfrid Payton and Nikola Vucevic, who are in the doghouse down in Orlando, tore the Knicks apart coming off the bench. Both these guys had double-doubles, and the Knicks had no answer for them defensively.
Orlando shot 49% from the floor, and 48% from behind the three point line. You make it hard for yourself if you allow a team to shoot like that, not to mention the 35 assists they handed out.
The New York Knicks Podcast 