DNHQ Rooting Guide: (2) New York vs. (6) Indiana; plus open thread
Hartenstein vs Turner for the hearts of Dub Nation
See the master index at Dub Nation HQ Rooting Guide For Other Teams.
New York Knicks
Ex-Warriors
Donte DiVincenzo. Hard working, two-way role player with GSW who has become a 3 point sharpshooter in NYK. GSW couldn’t come close to matching this contract, which is good for GSW’s reputation for having players play for cheap and reviving their careers.
Alec Burks. Nice guy who helped out during the 2019-20 Lost Season.
Friends
Tom Thibodeau. NYK head coach, spent a year sabbatical between jobs studying Steve Kerr and helping a little bit behind the scenes with GSW.
Unrequited Loves
Isaiah Hartenstein has been a longtime target of Dub Nation.
Warriors Villains
None?
Petty Rivalries
None
Team Grudges
Amazingly little to say about this historic franchise. Madison Square Garden was a great location for Steph Curry’s 54-point coming out party. It was also a great site for hearing Knick fans wail when GSW drafted Steph one spot ahead of the NYK pick.
Now, NYK rarely plays GSW and the game never has real playoff implications. NYK has been so irrelevant for so long that it is a blessing. If they ever harnessed their regional wealth and media influence, they could become a second power hub like the Lakers. As it is, they remain merely blah.
Indiana Pacers
Ex-Warriors
None.
Friends
None.
Unrequited Love
Tyrese Haliburton is famously Dub Nation HQ's choice in the 2020 Draft. No really, this isn’t some 20-20-hindsight yapping, we did a whole pre-draft tournament and the group vote was for Haliburton.
I wrote: Tyrese Haliburton just seems like the most Warriors player in the draft, with his high character, shooting, defensive effort and smart playmaking, and his weakness of poor shot creation seems less urgent in Kerr’s motion O and with Steph Curry passing to you. This season revealed that without Steph and Klay Thompson, the Warriors were the worst shooting team in the league, so Dub Nation is pining for players who can hit an open shot.
I had Haliburton as my 1A with Okongwu, but I also wrote: Haliburton over Edwards. Edwards could be the next Oladipo, but Oladipo look a long time to become Dipo and Steph isn’t getting younger. The Haliburton dream is that his flaws (not explosive creator) aren’t relevant in Kerrball.
Before we get too high on ourselves, I note that Haliburton beat Wiseman in our semifinals by 1 vote.Myles Turner is on the all-time list of Dub Nation Unrequited Love. He’s been mock traded endlessly as a tough shot blocking big who can hit a three. It’s part of the DNA of Dub Nation to be endlessly pining for a great big man and being endlessly disappointed.
Obi Toppin, Aaron Nesmith, Ben Sheppard and Andrew Nembhard are all sleeper draft crushes at DNHQ.
Oscar Tshiebwe is the kind of bruising big guy that DNHQ always wants as a two-way.
Pascal Siakam was a target of GSW trade interest at the 2024 Trade Deadline.
Warriors Villains
None
Petty Rivalries
Pacers have been thoroughly off the GSW radar for a while now except maybe when Monta Ellis landed there, except to serve as foils for highlights.
Team Grudges
There was a hint of friction after the 2021 Draft when Indiana sources claimed that GSW was crushed when IND drafted Chris Duarte one spot ahead of GSW’s pick (which ended up being Moses Moody), and that GSW was phoning IND with tears in their eyes to trade for CD. If this is the best I can dredge up, it’s been a pretty drama-free relationship.
Pulling these Podz thoughts up here, in response the contention below that he’s “way” less athletic than DiVincenzo.
If we define athleticism narrowly as "hops," maybe.
If we allow it to include things like spatial awareness, court vision, coordination, slipperiness, wiggle, feel for the game, etc., I think Podz has some natural advantages over Donte. I think Donte's a bit more robotic/telegraphed in his game than BP (a bit like HB), whereas BP is more naturally fluid and improvisational. It's why I'd argue he has as much Brunson or Manu in him as DDV. Plus, southpaws have a certain sinister, gauche *je ne sais quoi* that we boring, right-minded folks lack.
He also has a streak of Josh Hart, one of the few guys in the league under 6'-5" who rebounds as well as he does (though Podz was the much better rebounder as a rookie).
And as long as we're comparing rookie seasons: it's worth noting that BP was kicking ass in the NBA (as by far the most positive player on a 46-win team) at just 20, an age when Donte, Brunson, and Hart were all still kicking around at Villanova keg parties. Gym rats like BP tend to improve *a ton* between 20 and 25. Heck, the Knicks' 'Nova trio have all improved a ton between age 25 and age 27-28.
Shooting's the biggest question mark with BP, but if he can make strides on that front (as young gym rats often do) his ceiling is *really* high, imo. What's stopping him from being Brunson with much better size, rebounding, and defense?
Two very different kinds of games tonight. Pacers-Knicks was anothe frantic wild mad house. I can’t believe what the Knicks can do with half their team on the IL. Donte was flat out amazing, he clearly learned a ton from Steph about shooting. Brunson and Hart had great games. Burks (???!!) was a real contributor - out of nowhere - off the bench. But they are just too short handed. Indiana was super fun as always, but seemed undisciplined and out of control. It was really seeming like they were going to blow it at the end, but Nembhard with the clutch 3 and clearly gassed Knicks allowed the Pacers to hold on to the win. Without the crazy Donte shooting, the next game could be even worse for NY.
Wolves - Nuggets was also bizarre. Or maybe normal. The teams we initially expected showed up. Murray had a great shooting game for once. Jokic started slow but finished strong. Got plenty from the supporting cast. And The TWs just weren’t in the game. Ok defense but intermittent and spotty shooting. Maybe we have a series. I’d like to see a game in which both teams show up!