Nice stat line for Mason Plumlee in a 122 - 92 win for the Nuggets over the Knicks on 12/5
11 points on 5-5 FG and 1-2 FT, 11 rebounds, 6 assists, and 3 steals in 21 minutes (+32 in the +/- category)
RJ had 9 points
Sidetrack for Knicks rant time: this game was an abomination. It was actually a pretty interesting contest for about a quarter and a half. It was 38-37 Nuggets after a Kevin Knox jumper at 7:49 left in the second quarter (man, he's been pretty bad this year, by the way. Though maybe that's not surprising when you sign 4 veteran power forwards so that he can't play the spot he's best suited for in the modern NBA). Five minutes later: the Nuggets are up 61-38 and the game is a joke. The only interesting thing that happened after that point was that a ball bounced over to where Clyde Frazier was commentating, and he caught it and threatened on air to not give it back so that the game would end and we'd all be put out of our misery.
The Knicks are just so hopeless. The number of wide, wide, WIDE open threes they give up is just mindblowing. And when they do contest, they foul the shooter a horrifying amount (personal favorite from tonight: when Julius Randle and Bobby Portis both decided to contest the same jumper, and Randle actually pushed Portis into tackling the three-point shooter). This team is an absolute disaster. RJ certainly taking his lumps this year.
It's pathetic and disheartening for fans. It's easy to say, "Give up and start rooting for someone else", but that is a lot harder to do than it appears. I have an affection for the Nets and root for them to do well, but it isn't the same. They aren't my team.
As bad as the Dolan era has been, it wasn't until the recent combo of Dolan-inspired Perry/Mills hostage video press conference and the comments about players around the league refusing to consider the Knicks as a free agent destination, that I became convinced that nothing will change until Dolan sells the team. I held out hope that the Knicks could evolve into the generally hands-off way he own the Rangers, but I am past that now.
While I know the roster is not his fault, I can't see how Fizdale survives these recent blowout losses. Vaunted former Tar Heel, Pat Sullivan, is waiting in the wings.
Kudos for being a real fan. In my mind, that is what gives you the right to revel in the good times and use the term "we" when referring to your team.
I've been a fan of the Steelers since the '60s. There were some bad times. I just wish every true fan like you could experience the renaissance Steeler fans have enjoyed.
As for Fizdale, I wish I were in his position. He'll be extremely well compensated for his short tenure, and nobody in the NBA will blame him for what has happened to the Knicks.
Zion update (or, rather, nonupdate but hint): there's been a few different messages like this one from this morning coming out of the Pelicans front office, and they all read to me like the Pels are prepping everyone for Zion to miss his theoretical mid-December return time. Again, maybe I'm reading more into this than I should, and there's definitely been no adjustment with the timeframe as of yet, but I wouldn't be surprised if his time off the court stretches out a bit.
I agree. The Pelican's organization has already come out on the record as saying Zion would NOT be returning by the original 6-8 week time frame they gave when he was first injured. My guess is they are prepping everyone - not just fans - that he'll probably not be playing on Christmas Day (which is what the NBA so desperately wants to see for ratings purposes). I don't think we'll see Zion play this calendar year. He'll make his debut in 2020.
But I hope I'm wrong and he does play on Dec 25th. That would be a great Christmas present.
The Knicks have finally lost their Fiz, no surprise there, they've been absolutely pitiful.
Here’s the N.Y. Post.
https://nypost.com/2019/12/06/david-...pasteboard_app
(Sorry, couldn’t do the link)
Last edited by JBDuke; 12-06-2019 at 08:52 PM. Reason: Apology for no link
Thanks BD80...I am old enough to have enjoyed some high...the short but glorious Bernard King era, the Pat Ewing/Pat Riley/Jeff Van Gundy era. That last stretch at least featured two finals trips, many epic battles against Michael Jordan, etc. But, it's been 20 years of absolute dreck since then, with 2013 (Melo, Kidd, Chauncey, JR Smith, Tyson Chandler, Steve Novak, etc.) being a minor brighter light. The 10 game Jeremy Lin fantasia was also memorable.
Now? It's all about RJ.
Oof, here's a real downer. Looks like Rodney Hood tore his Achilles tonight. He was off to such a solid start to the year, too. Here's wishing him a good recovery.
PG - JWill $4
SG - Justice $2
SF - Luol $2
PF - Shane $4
C - Brand $3
We have two ball handlers in JWill and Justice and two swiss army knife players in Deng and Battier. Justice is the only perimeter player who can't shoot but if this is a college game that's just fine. Brand and Battier manning the inside is a scary combo. This will be a scary good defensive team with an explosive offense.
With a $15 cap, the $5 cost too much. Kyrie is below average on defense so he's overrated at $5.
RJ at $4 is OK if the team is bad, but he needs the ball a lot and others on the team are too good.
Tatum is good but $4...JWill and Shane did far more in college and deserve the $4.
Brand at $3 is a steal...he was so dominant in college and an all-star.
Ingram at $3 is very tempting.
Tyus at $1 is underrated, he was critical for that title team. But he's just a journeyman in the NBA.
That’s horrendous, those injuries are career killers. Check out the quotes from his teammates in this article which highlight how much they care about him but also has devastating an injury this is. The article reads like a eulogy.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/28240968/trail-blazers-rodney-hood-tears-left-achilles-tendon%3fplatform=amp
Let's do an NBA team first and see how much it changes when we switch to college. (Above, I highlighted what I believe to be the only proven, high-quality shooters at the NBA level).
C - Zion ($5)
F - Ingram ($3)
F - Shane ($4)
F - Ferry ($1)
G - Rodney ($1)
6th man - Tyus ($1)
The basic idea is to surround Zion with 4 shooters and then win everything because you were able to surround Zion with 4 shooters.
Sage Grouse
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'When I got on the bus for my first road game at Duke, I saw that every player was carrying textbooks or laptops. I coached in the SEC for 25 years, and I had never seen that before, not even once.' - David Cutcliffe to Duke alumni in Washington, DC, June 2013