Well, there were a few moments that were just a little bit nerve-wracking, but the start of the game was not one of them. Klay and Poole both looked good in the first quarter, and to some extent all game long. Definitely saw the same thing with Klay being better at using his opportunities to pass into a bigger advantage rather than forcing up a shot; I didn't see the stuff highlighted here with Steph directing the offense. That's cool!
More generally, I think Poole's off-ball defense is coming along: he's getting better at knowing when to help and when to stick to his guy, and getting hands in the passing lanes. Actually the defense in general seems to be doing more and better including bringing back some zone looks.
Room for improvement: Lamb was over-helping off shooters in the corner a little during the stretch where New York threatened to come back, and I'm still not all that impressed with JMG's rebounding or much else really. I didn't think I'd so desperately wish for Bjelica back but here we are. Once again in the 4th I was wishing for us to bring Looney back for J. Green and this time Kerr did it... just in time for Loon to get called for some and-1 fouls under the basket. Oops.
I'm not looking forward to Fitz and Buike saying "defend without fouling" every game this season...
Also, not really sure about big trades (though the Wiseman status quo seems shaky), but I think even minor roster adds around the margins would be really good for us right now.
There are FAs like Favors and RHJ who can probably play rotation minutes for us right now. RHJ especially could be a useful smallball 5 for us. Early season returns on JMG have been very rough, though last night seems to have been better.
And we really really cannot withstand any injury to Dray/Loon right now (Steph obvs too, but we're really short in the front-court).
Nov 19, 2022·edited Nov 19, 2022Liked by Eric Apricot
6 game sample size so pretty tiny, but our DRTG in the last 6 games since we basically said "fuck dem kids" has been 107.3 which is the 5th best in that span. And while this includes the game against the Spurs, it also includes:
1. 2 games against the Kings (a top 5 offense in the league imo - #2 right now early in the season)
2. 1 game against the Suns (just behind the Kings at #3)
3. 1 game against the Cavs (#7 offense in the league right now)
Teams have shot 35.3% from 3 in that span, so don't think it is shooting luck.
Haven't been great on offense in that span though (113.7 ORTG), but we have Steph Curry so we'll be fine on that end. JP needs to improve though.
The way I see it if JK can take over JMG’s role and Moody take over Lambs minutes by shadowing what he does by the end of the season we’ll have a very satisfied team and fans.
The other thing I noticed about Klay last night was that he made a lot of good passes after faking a shot attempt - guys were generally open as the D expected Klay to shoot. If he is respected a little more as a passer, it's likely that he'll have even more space to operate in.
Good to see Klay being more Klay-like last night. As I have been told more than once by my child: "Calm your shit." And that's exactly what Klay needed to do.
Well, there were a few moments that were just a little bit nerve-wracking, but the start of the game was not one of them. Klay and Poole both looked good in the first quarter, and to some extent all game long. Definitely saw the same thing with Klay being better at using his opportunities to pass into a bigger advantage rather than forcing up a shot; I didn't see the stuff highlighted here with Steph directing the offense. That's cool!
More generally, I think Poole's off-ball defense is coming along: he's getting better at knowing when to help and when to stick to his guy, and getting hands in the passing lanes. Actually the defense in general seems to be doing more and better including bringing back some zone looks.
Room for improvement: Lamb was over-helping off shooters in the corner a little during the stretch where New York threatened to come back, and I'm still not all that impressed with JMG's rebounding or much else really. I didn't think I'd so desperately wish for Bjelica back but here we are. Once again in the 4th I was wishing for us to bring Looney back for J. Green and this time Kerr did it... just in time for Loon to get called for some and-1 fouls under the basket. Oops.
I'm not looking forward to Fitz and Buike saying "defend without fouling" every game this season...
On that break where Steph pointed for Klay to spot up, four Knicks followed Steph anyway. As of this writing, none were fired for doing so.
Just here to say thank you to Eric for the explain one play per the usual…
Now constantly hitting refresh on dnhq for a Gold Blooded King article!
Also, not really sure about big trades (though the Wiseman status quo seems shaky), but I think even minor roster adds around the margins would be really good for us right now.
There are FAs like Favors and RHJ who can probably play rotation minutes for us right now. RHJ especially could be a useful smallball 5 for us. Early season returns on JMG have been very rough, though last night seems to have been better.
And we really really cannot withstand any injury to Dray/Loon right now (Steph obvs too, but we're really short in the front-court).
6 game sample size so pretty tiny, but our DRTG in the last 6 games since we basically said "fuck dem kids" has been 107.3 which is the 5th best in that span. And while this includes the game against the Spurs, it also includes:
1. 2 games against the Kings (a top 5 offense in the league imo - #2 right now early in the season)
2. 1 game against the Suns (just behind the Kings at #3)
3. 1 game against the Cavs (#7 offense in the league right now)
Teams have shot 35.3% from 3 in that span, so don't think it is shooting luck.
Haven't been great on offense in that span though (113.7 ORTG), but we have Steph Curry so we'll be fine on that end. JP needs to improve though.
The way I see it if JK can take over JMG’s role and Moody take over Lambs minutes by shadowing what he does by the end of the season we’ll have a very satisfied team and fans.
The other thing I noticed about Klay last night was that he made a lot of good passes after faking a shot attempt - guys were generally open as the D expected Klay to shoot. If he is respected a little more as a passer, it's likely that he'll have even more space to operate in.
Good to see Klay being more Klay-like last night. As I have been told more than once by my child: "Calm your shit." And that's exactly what Klay needed to do.
I think it's only premature celebration if the shooter hasn't started his upward motion yet. The league codified that a few seasons ago.
You get a side out of bounds and goggle eyes.