The Knicks are Not Actually Bad Right Now

RD may not want to hear this, hell a lot of resident New Yorkers might not want to hear this, but the Knicks look like a solid team. They are currently on a six game win streak, they are fifth in the East, Julius Randle is finally living up to the hype and they are playing really solid basketball at the exact right time.

I agree with LeBron when he said the NBA is better when the Knicks are good. It makes sense. I am not a Lakers, Celtics or Knicks fan, but when they are all good teams, playoff teams, the NBA is better. Those are some of the biggest market teams, and if Chicago would get their act together, this could be like the NBA of the 90's, which is the NBA I watched and fell in love with.

Now, not to temper things down for Knicks fans that are excited, they are currently fifth in the East, and they would get destroyed by the 76ers, Bucks or Celtics. Hell, I'd even take the Heat or Raptors, teams far behind them, to win a seven game series over them. The Knicks are a nice story. That is what this whole season will be for them. But they are not ready to compete with the upper echelon of the East. If you all will remember, Tom Thibodeau went to Minnesota a few years back and turned them into a playoff team in year two. Then they totally went down the drain and he was gone well before his contract was done. He was not only the coach in Minnesota, but also the GM. He made all the player personnel decisions. He chose who they drafted, who they traded for and who they signed as free agents. He signed all the guys he likes and only played them, with few exceptions, and the Timberwolves fell back into obscurity.

What the Knicks have going for them is Thibodeau is just the head coach. He excels in the regular season as just the head coach. He won in Minnesota for a few years, and he had some really good teams in Chicago. But he overworks his players and he is sometimes unwilling to play younger players. So far that has not been the case in New York. Julius Randle is a vet, but this is his first real time being "the guy" for an offense, and Thibodeau has made it work. He is being forced to play RJ Barrett, and he is looking more and more like the player some GM's and scouts envisioned when he left Duke after one year. He is hitting shots and getting to the rim. Obi Toppin isn't getting a ton of playing time, but when he gets in, he is a good defender and good rebounder. Immanuel Quickley was kind of forced into the lineup, but he has been a revelation. He has more than earned his spot in the rotation. Derrick Rose is becoming the super sub for them. That is a perfect role for where he is in his career right now, and he is doing great. I think with the roster construct before he got there, he doesn't have a choice but to play the young kids, and it is working.

We will see what happens from here, how they finish out the year. But right now, Thibodeau has no other choice but to roll the best players out there, and a lot of them are younger guys. The Knicks are going to make the playoffs this season. Where we sit right now they are 32-27, firmly in the fifth spot in the East. They only have 13 more games left in the regular season, I think they will hold on to that 5 seed, meaning they will not have to play in the play in tourney, and I wouldn't be surprised if they win a round. As it stands today they would face the Hawks in the first round. I could see them winning that series in six games. But then they would get one of the buzzsaw teams. One of the three teams at the top that will destroy them. But, as if right now, the Knicks should be proud of what they have done this year. I had no faith in them, and I know a ton of other writers were right there with me. They have proved all of us wrong, and I have loved seeing Julius Randle, who I am a big fan of, turn into this force, especially on the offensive end.

This has been a nice season so far for New York, and they could make it more fun by winning in the playoffs.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet.

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Duke is Really, Really, Good

To keep my mind off the election stuff last night I decided to watch basketball. The college season tipped off officially last night and it was a very good distraction.

I watched the KU-Michigan State game. That was fine. KU looks pretty good, but MSU kept it closer than I thought. I watched Michigan play. It was their opener, they looked very sloppy and sluggish on offense, but that defense was as stifling as it was last year, and that was more than enough to beat an overmatched Norfolk State team. I checked in on a few other college games, watched a little NBA, but the game I wanted to watch most, even over Michigan, was the Duke-Kentucky game.

This was, by far, the best matchup of the night. It was supposed to be a close, tight game. There were as many as 7 potential first round picks playing in this game. It was Coach K versus Coach Cal, the two biggest "one and done" guys. It had all the build up. Then, the game happened.

Look, I loathe Duke. I despise Duke. I cannot stand Coach K, and everything he gets away with that other coaches get hammered for. I have never, ever liked this school. But holy shit do they look like they are going to be really, really, really good.

Duke didn't just beat Kentucky last night, they embarrassed them. I turned on the game a little late, Michigan was finishing up their win, and Duke was already up double figures. I was interested in all these freshman playing, but I had to see Zion Williamson. I also wanted to see Cam Reddish and RJ Barrett. These are 3 of the top 5 players in last year's recruiting pass. As I stated in my preseason preview, I have not seen a freshman class this good since the Fab Five at Michigan. They also have Tre Jones, who is, quietly, a great point guard. These kids all lived up to the hype, and then some. I know, this is one game, but it was against the preseason number 2 team, at a neutral site with players that were ranked just as high. And Duke won by 34 points. I mean, holy cow. Zion Williamson, at least last night, was as advertised. He is humongous, but extremely agile and moves pretty smooth on the floor. He also hammers the hell out of the rim. He finished with 28 points. Cam Reddish looked great. He scored the quietest 22 points, on only 14 shots. He also D'ed up very well. RJ Barrett scored 33, a freshman record at Duke. He seemingly could not miss. He is as pure a scorer as I have seen in college basketball. Tre Jones is the leader at point guard that this team needs. I know he is a freshman, but he seems wise beyond his years on the court. These 4 played so well it cancelled out anything the super freshman that Kentucky had. I don't remember a thing about them last night. This is the number 2 team in the nation. And Duke just destroyed them.

I know it's just one game, the first game, and there is a lot of season left and maybe Duke was just super gassed up, and the ACC is very tough. But, this team looked as impressive a college team that I have seen in quite some time. This is a whole thing of, I despise this team, I hope they get beat every time they step on the floor, I will constantly root against them, but they look nearly unbeatable. They are so talented and look like they can win anyway they please. If one of these kids has an off night, they have 3 others that can step up. They also have depth. I believe that I picked them to finish second in the ACC, but that changes immediately after last night. They should win the ACC. They should win it with ease. UNC may challenge them, but I do not think they can beat them one time, let alone 3 times.

After the amount of games that I saw bits and pieces of last night, Duke is clearly the best team. KU is the only other team that I think has a fleeting shot at giving them a game. I hope they get sanctioned to shit, but for right now, after last night, Duke is scarily good. They look like the Alabama, or New England Patriots or Golden State Warriors of college basketball. Unfortunately the hype seems to be legit.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet. 

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