Game 34: Knicks @ Sixers 1/5 @ 7:30 pm ET ESPN Thread

[Bum Adebayo]

Still happy with Oubre though, amazing signing.

[youngcrev]

Would Sixers have won if we, instead of the Knicks, had OG Anunoby instead?

No.

This game was won on a massive 3 point disparity.

They looked pretty damn good at the start of the game. And then McBride came in at the end of the 1st, hit like 4 straight 3s, and it went downhill fast.

18-41 vs 6-23 from 3. Unless you're playing an absolutely awful team, that's a pretty surefire loss.

Maybe the guys outside Maxey and Embiid should not just be 3pt shooters. Make some baskets in the paint and get the defense set will put more pressure on their shooters

I don't think there's anything to take from a game like this. If anything you'd think they'd need more/better 3 point shooting around those 2. Or someone to matchup with Brunson, although you didn't have Melton.

Mostly... Just feels like a typical blowout where one team is crazy hot from the 3 and the other is cold.

[mjkvol]

There schedule has been easy but lets not exaggerate. They have played Boston three times, Milwaukee on the road, Minnesota 2x, OKC on the road, and lost a few heart breakers at home to good teams like Cleveland and Indiana. The only games that have really bothered me are the home loss to Chicago and the home loss to the Knicks tonight. Putrid efforts in both cases. They need more scoring. They rely too much on Embiid and Maxey. There are some decent options out there I would be looking at both the Bogey's and Lavine. I don't see Lavine's ball dominance as a proglem at all Maxey and him could be on the court seperately for like 15 minutes a game. What worries me about Lavine is his bad knees. Derozan could be an option also along with another three point shooter or two since Derozan doesnt make threes.

I'll never get the Lavine fascination. His health is the least of my concerns. He is a career empty stats chucker who plays no defense on bad teams with the most toxic contract in the league, hands down. The national media puts the 'star' label on any scorer regardless of context, and people buy it. There's a reason the trade market on him is non-existent, and Chicago is just hoping some GM that is desperate to "do something" bites.

I'd obviously love to get Caruso, and I'll take DeRozan in a second over Lavine. Doesn't shoot 3's, but provides that shot creator this team desperately needs, and he is an expiring to boot.

[mjkvol]

The Knicks made 18 threes and we only made 6. That's all this was.

Pretty much. We were incredibly sloppy and couldn't throw it in the ocean in the 3rd, when we had a bunch of opportunities to cut the lead to single digits.

The one guy who I don't get on the Knicks is Randle. I know he had an awful game, but he just seems to not fit with that group right now. I never much liked him as a player, but this is Brunson's team, and it seems like he has to play because of his contract. If they could turn him into a legit 3&D PF who didn't need the ball, they could be really good.

[Kobblehead]

The Knicks made 18 threes and we only made 6. That's all this was.

Pretty much. We were incredibly sloppy and couldn't throw it in the ocean in the 3rd, when we had a bunch of opportunities to cut the lead to single digits.

The one guy who I don't get on the Knicks is Randle. I know he had an awful game, but he just seems to not fit with that group right now. I never much liked him as a player, but this is Brunson's team, and it seems like he has to play because of his contract. If they could turn him into a legit 3&D PF who didn't need the ball, they could be really good.

Yup, agreed. Their next step is to try to get Randle out of there.

We all know their plan is Embiid. They're going to do their best through tampering to get him to ask out of here and demand a trade to the Knicks. Their pipedream is Brunson/Anunoby/Embiid as their G/F/C trio. I do think that is a championship group.

I think Brunson and two third banana types could also work. But there's also some conditioning issues I could see Brunson running into as the only creator on a team.

[Sixerscan]

I’d say the 3s is what turned the game around for them but then we played like crap and let it effect the rest of the game. Disappointing performance.

They can try to get Embiid to demand a trade all they want, Morey has shown he’s not gonna trade guys for less than what he values guys at, even if they demand a trade, even if they hold out, even if they make it personal and turn it into an international incident, and the Knicks don’t have the assets to play on those waters. All they have is their picks, a Mavs pick this year that is currently #21, and protected picks from the Pistons and Wizards that could convert to 2nds. So it doesn’t really seem like something to be concerned about.

It probably ends up being a lower tiered guy like Mitchell or Murray or someone with questions like Zion. Brunson can be a free agent after next season and that’s an easy max so they’re on a bit of a quicker timeline than some might think. Probably part of why they pushed to get OG in the door.

[Mik317]

when you struggle to score and then the other team runs down and bombs 3s on you...it tends to snowball out of control,

Need to find a consistent third option...even if that is multiple guys because when Maxey's deep 3s aren't on and Biid is gimpy and thus his jumper loses some pop...having something to go to to keep above water and be able to actually set up on defense is key. Tobias slow post ups isn't that as it requires too much set up and isn't that consistent most nights.

I love Joel Embiid. Legit only reason I probably still care about this franchise atm. Him winning it all would justify all of the time I have spent caring lol....HOWEVA him going for another MVP is the worst thing that could have happened IMO. Team would be better ironically if he scored 27 pts a game and focused on rebounding and defense more,.,..allowing others to get into a rhythm and get shots... His assists are Westbrookian ATM IMO. I feel like we have been at our best when he gets his points off of others or boards because it flows more. There has been a lot less movement over the last month outside of the Maxey tetherball plays lol. High Usage IMO doesn't lead to playoff success because a short stretch of being off can mean a snowball like last night. See Harden, Westbrook, Luka....and yet here we are again with the "best duo in da league doe" and wondering why no one else does anything....

Again tho...I do like that Nurse seemingly told Biid to attack in the third...we just ran out of juice so maybe thats the difference this year but I still think the main flaw is the approach of one or two guys do everything. Jokic is a waaay better passer than Biid and looks to actually get others involved first. Murray is a god tier playoff guy and they have true gunners for days....and despite that they still may struggle come playoff time for similar reasons...they beat two 8 seeds , a 7 and a gimpy Suns team during their run...Keep mentioning it but the Bucks team in which they had Jrue run the show, Giannis finish plays or RB dive, and Middleton to randomly be Jordan in the clutch, w/ shooters and defenders on deck is probably the best team build of the recent champs.... following the Nuggets script feels wrong a bit.

[mjkvol]

The Knicks made 18 threes and we only made 6. That's all this was.

Pretty much. We were incredibly sloppy and couldn't throw it in the ocean in the 3rd, when we had a bunch of opportunities to cut the lead to single digits.

The one guy who I don't get on the Knicks is Randle. I know he had an awful game, but he just seems to not fit with that group right now. I never much liked him as a player, but this is Brunson's team, and it seems like he has to play because of his contract. If they could turn him into a legit 3&D PF who didn't need the ball, they could be really good.

Yup, agreed. Their next step is to try to get Randle out of there.

We all know their plan is Embiid. They're going to do their best through tampering to get him to ask out of here and demand a trade to the Knicks. Their pipedream is Brunson/Anunoby/Embiid as their G/F/C trio. I do think that is a championship group.

I think Brunson and two third banana types could also work. But there's also some conditioning issues I could see Brunson running into as the only creator on a team.

Yeah, Brunson-Embiid-Anonoby with solid role players like Hart and Grimes is a championship group, but the problem for them if this is their dream is how are they going to get Embiid without giving up Brunson and other core players plus a boatload of picks?

Like you said, if I'm the Knicks I would turn Randle into a solid third banana type and maybe use your picks to get 1-2 more solid pieces. They could put together a Nuggets type group that revolves around Brunson but has 2-3 others that can get you big bucket and a lot of good role players.

[the_process]

Knicks are a dangerous team after this trade. Essentially they're a good defense, that can play a style that leads to what happened in the first quarter

Essentially they got rid of 2 guys that prefer to dribble instead of being quick finishers, or with RJ lacks the ability to be effective that way. Allowing their 2 best shot creators to have an open floor and several finishers around them. Kinda like Indiana, except NYKs stars are looking to score with that style.

Interesting concept.

[M2J]

Knicks are a dangerous team after this trade. Essentially they're a good defense, that can play a style that leads to what happened in the first quarter

Essentially they got rid of 2 guys that prefer to dribble instead of being quick finishers, or with RJ lacks the ability to be effective that way. Allowing their 2 best shot creators to have an open floor and several finishers around them. Kinda like Indiana, except NYKs stars are looking to score with that style.

Interesting concept.

It is... They don't have the level of finishers or stars to be true contenders, but they are good enough at all of it to be dangerous.

Philly has the stars, and has the dribbling issue of Tobias and needs either an upgrade in a finisher (Lavine,Bogi, Grant) or upgraded creator that can finish some and make Maxey even more of a finisher (Brogdon, Murray).

[the_process]

Knicks are a dangerous team after this trade. Essentially they're a good defense, that can play a style that leads to what happened in the first quarter

Essentially they got rid of 2 guys that prefer to dribble instead of being quick finishers, or with RJ lacks the ability to be effective that way. Allowing their 2 best shot creators to have an open floor and several finishers around them. Kinda like Indiana, except NYKs stars are looking to score with that style.

Interesting concept.

It is... They don't have the level of finishers or stars to be true contenders, but they are good enough at all of it to be dangerous.

Philly has the stars,

and has the dribbling issue of Tobias

and needs either an upgrade in a finisher (Lavine,Bogi, Grant) or upgraded creator that can finish some and make Maxey even more of a finisher (Brogdon, Murray).

You don't say?