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Tag: Knicks

  • Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau: No defensive scheme Jalen Brunson hasn’t seen

    Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau: No defensive scheme Jalen Brunson hasn’t seen

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    MILWAUKEE — Tom Thibodeau believes Jalen Brunson is ready for whatever the Bucks — or any defense — can throw at him.

    Ahead of tipoff against the Knicks on Tuesday, Bucks head coach Adrian Griffin said “everything is on the table [defensively] when you have an adversary like Jalen Brunson.” That meant blitzing the pick-and-roll, sending an outright double-team on the perimeter, face-guarding him to prevent him getting onto the ball and guarding the Knicks’ star the full 94-foot length of the basketball floor.

    Shortly after Griffin’s comments, Thibodeau expressed confidence his star guard would be able to solve any problems thrown at him in a game.

    “I always say the game tells you what to do. There’s nothing that he hasn’t seen, The blitz or size, whatever it may be. Trust the pass, make the right reads, which he does all the time,” Thibodeau said ahead of tipoff on Tuesday. “I think all the great players, they’re used to seeing all the different schemes and it’s up to us to make sure we’re moving at the right intensity level where we’re giving him the right outlets.”

    He sure did it the last time the two teams faced one another.

    Brunson scored 45 points in the Nov. 3 meeting between the Knicks and Bucks at the Fiserv Forum, and the Bucks still had nightmares about his explosive scoring night leading into the In-Season Tournament quarterfinal on their home court on Tuesday.

    “Jalen Brunson is aggressive,” said Lillard — whose late-game heroics lifted the Bucks to victory over the Knicks in early November — on Sunday. “He’s playing with a lot of confidence, and he’s the head of the snake, so we gotta handle that.”

    Griffin said Brunson’s unique style of play makes him a difficult cover, especially given his propensity to draw fouls.

    “He’s crafty. I think continue to guard him. We have to defend him without fouling. And that’s kind of a tough task at times because you want to keep your physicality,” he said. “But also you don’t want to send him to the free throw line. He’s cunning. He knows how to draw fouls. And he does a great job with it. One thing I’ll say is just have the discipline to keep him off the free-throw line.”

    RANDLE BACK TO NORMAL

    Thibodeau said he thinks Julius Randle is back to his old self.

    After offseason ankle surgery stunted Randle’s start to the season, the All-Star forward claimed Eastern Conference Player of the Week honors in early December.

    “Just a steady climb from the start of the season to where we are now. He’s finally healthy. But sort of what we had anticipated,” he said. “I think he’s back to the level he was at last year. He’s worked extremely hard. I think the important thing is the winning that goes along with it. He’s playing at a very high level. Doing the scoring, but the playmaking has been terrific and it’s giving us great rhythm.”

    PUSHING BACK

    Thibodeau pushed back on the idea that Tuesday’s matchup against the championship-contending Bucks marked some sort of litmus test.

    “Every game’s a test, so just — I don’t want us to get caught up in hoopla,” he said. “Understand what’s important in getting ready to play. So be focused. Have great concentration. Give maximum effort. And if we’re doing the right things, the results will be good.”

    The Knicks have lost seven straight to the Bucks but each of the last three games were decided by two or fewer possessions.

    “I think they’re hard-fought games, style of play — they’re physical, we try to be physical,” Thibodeau said. “You’ve got to play for 48 minutes. It comes down to the end.”

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    Kristian Winfield

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  • Knicks declare In-Season Tournament a success after Friday’s victory over Heat: ‘It felt like a playoff game’

    Knicks declare In-Season Tournament a success after Friday’s victory over Heat: ‘It felt like a playoff game’

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    After defeating the Miami Heat in miraculous, come-from-behind fashion on Friday, the Knicks now have a 2-1 record in In-Season Tournament play.

    They project to go 3-1 hosting the reeling Charlotte Hornets in their group stage finale at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday.

    The Knicks have played the Hornets twice this season and have defeated them by an average of 13 points.

    Point differential will be critical for the Knicks in their pursuit of the In-Season Tournament cup championship.

    There are still many hypotheticals determining whether or not the Knicks will advance to the knockout rounds in Las Vegas, but they did themselves a favor defeating the Heat on Friday.

    Here’s what you need to know:

    The Knicks can only secure an automatic In-Season Tournament berth under the following scenario: a Milwaukee Bucks loss to the Heat on Tuesday, with a Knicks blowout victory over the Hornets.

    The Bucks have a point differential of plus-39 to plus-18 for the Knicks. If Milwaukee were to lose to Miami by one, the Knicks would need to defeat the Hornets by 21 to win the point differential over the Bucks and leapfrog them in the Wild Card standings.

    The Indiana Pacers have clinched an automatic berth with an undefeated 4-0 record, the Bucks are 3-0 and can clinch with a victory in Miami over the Heat on Tuesday, and the Orlando Magic hold a 3-1 record after stunning the Boston Celtics on Friday.

    There is a five-way tie between the Celtics, Cavaliers, Nets, Heat and Knicks in the East among teams that aren’t on track to secure an automatic bid to Las Vegas.

    In the event of such a tie, point differential is used to determine which team will advance as a Wild Card in each conference.

    The Heat project as underdogs against Giannis Antetokounmpo, Damian Lillard and the Bucks; the Cavaliers matchup against the Atlanta Hawks is a toss-up; the Nets will host the scrappy, athletic Toronto Raptors; and the Celtics, who have a point differential of zero, must blowout the Chicago Bulls by close to 30 points if the Knicks secure a double-digit victory over the Hornets on Tuesday.

    A Heat blowout over the Bucks and a Knicks blowout over the Hornets could position New York for an unlikely automatic berth for the knockout rounds in Las Vegas.

    WHAT ARE PLAYERS SAYING ABOUT THE TOURNAMENT

    If it looks, feels and sounds like a playoff game, the NBA might have a hit on its hands.

    Knicks star Julius Randle was complimentary of the league’s newest midseason wrinkle for the second time this season after Friday’s victory.

    “It was fun. I think the In-Season Tournament brings a little extra juice. I don’t know. It was fun, it was good to get a win. It was the first one for the in-season on our home court so it was cool,” he said postgame. “Yeah it felt like we was fighting for the playoffs, it was cool.”

    Immanuel Quickley, the game’s hero with 20 points off the bench, echoed Randle’s sentiment.

    “It felt like a playoff game. Felt like a playoff atmosphere,” he said. “Nothing like being in The Garden when The Garden is rocking like that. You get chills throughout the game and stuff like that. So, it’s great to be part of.”

    Knicks star RJ Barrett, who secured the game-winning stop on Jimmy Butler, said the tournament gives regular-season games more meaning.

    “Everyone’s fighting for something,” he said. “I think the In-Season Tournament has made, especially these games, a lot more competitive, and I’m happy to come out with the win.”

    Jalen Brunson said he’s excited there’s something else to win.

    “As a competitor, you always want to win whatever is in front of you. No matter what it is,” he said. “So, just another opportunity really. Put me anywhere, I’m playing whoever.

    “It was great. Court was better than I thought it would be. Fans were amazing as always. Happy they were behind me to get this win.”

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    Kristian Winfield

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  • Knicks rule RJ Barrett, Quentin Grimes out vs. Wizards

    Knicks rule RJ Barrett, Quentin Grimes out vs. Wizards

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    WASHINGTON, D.C. — Two starters are out of the Knicks’ rotation, though one could return any day now.

    RJ Barrett missed his third straight game due to a migraine on Friday, but was in good spirits ahead of tipoff against the Wizards. He was listed as questionable and scratched from the lineup a half-hour before tip but was all smiles when he arrived on-court at the Capital One Arena, and was laughing his way through the locker room ahead of pregame warmups.

    “Looking at him, he looks a lot better,” head coach Tom Thibodeau said ahead of tipoff. “So we’ll see. He was under the weather. Feeling a lot better today.”

    Friday’s matchup against the Wizards, however, was the first leg of a road back-to-back, with the second leg coming in Charlotte against the Hornets on Saturday.

    Barrett could be in play for an injury return for the second game.

    Quentin Grimes, however, was nowhere to be found on Friday.

    Grimes checked himself out of the game and darted straight to the locker room in the fourth quarter after swiping down on Bogdan Bogdanovic’s drive to the rim in Wednesday’s victory over the Hawks.

    Thibodeau called Grimes’ injury a bruised hand after the game, and the team ruled him out with a sprained left wrist on Friday. Josh Hart and Donte DiVincenzo started in place of Barrett and Grimes.

    “It’s just a sprain, so we’ll see where he is tomorrow,” Thibodeau said. Asked if Grimes is day-to-day and is expected to play for the remaining two games of the Knicks’ road trip, the coach said: “Yeah, so it’s just a bruise really.”

    Thibodeau, however, said he wasn’t sure whether or not Grimes got X-rays done on his hand. Without clarity on scans on his hand, there is no clarity for an injury return timeline.

    Grimes is the Knicks’ best perimeter defender who routinely defends the opposing team’s No. 1 scoring option. He is also shooting a career-best 40% from downtown to start the season.

    “Next guy get in there, get the job done,” he said. “We’ve got a bunch of wings that are more than capable.”

    With Grimes out on Friday, he is also likely to miss Saturday’s matchup against the Hornets.

    The Knicks wrap their five-game road trip on Monday against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

    ***

    Thibodeau chuckled at the idea that the NBA’s new In-Season Tournament  margin of victory format would influence the way he coached blowout games in the fourth quarter.

    “I don’t get stuck in all that,” he said with a smile. “I just want to win. So we’re gonna play the right way. That’s the bottom line.”

    The Knicks lost their first In-Season Tournament game to the Milwaukee Bucks by five. If they lose a second game, it will be difficult to envision them advancing to a further round.

    Thibodeau suggested his team has bigger fish to fry, but thinks the tournament is good for the league.

    “I think the interest is good for the fans,” he said. “I think the important thing for us is to understand each and every game counts the same, and to lock into that, so don’t get caught up in all the other stuff, ‘cause when you do that, that’s usually when you get knocked down.”

    ***

    Wizards coach Wes Unseld Jr. said Julius Randle’s ability to operate the pick-and-roll with both smaller and bigger  players setting screens creates matchup nightmares.

    “He’s a guy, obviously his size and his strength, he has the ability to score on all three levels,” he said ahead of tipoff. “For a power forward to play pick-and-roll the way he does, whether that’s big-big or small-big, it causes some coverage issues at some times, unconventional when smalls are setting for your power forward, but they find that action in the flow [of the offense] and it does cause some issues. You want to minimize the switch and the collateral that causes because it can be very effective in the post.

    “He’s another guy that finds a way to get to the line. The use of shot fakes and step-throughs, initiates contact and gets you lifted, so being able to guard a guy in space, minimize the fouls, but then also know that he can get hot from three. So he can do it at all three levels.”

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    Kristian Winfield

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  • Julius Randle arrives, Knicks survive in Atlanta to defeat Hawks in 116-114 thriller

    Julius Randle arrives, Knicks survive in Atlanta to defeat Hawks in 116-114 thriller

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    ATLANTA — Julius Randle spun on the low block, pump-faked, then jumped into Hawks’s defender Saddiq Bey, warding Bey’s block attempt with one arm and double-pumping the basketball with the other for the off-handed bank shot.

    The whistle blew shortly after for the and-one.

    Randle shrugged his shoulders, as if to shed Bey’s body weight. Then he had some words for a fan sitting court side before stepping to the line and hitting his free throw.

    Two possessions later, Quentin Grimes had a dunk attempt blocked at the rim with less than three seconds left on the shot clock. Randle received the inbounds pass, then immediately rifled a no-look pass to a cutting Isaiah Hartenstein, who finished at the rim for an and-one of his own.

    A night like this has been a long time coming for Randle, who endured one of the worst opening-season stretches imaginable after enduring offseason ankle surgery.

    It’s safe to say Randle is back, and with his All-Star caliber play, so are the Knicks, who defeated the Hawks, 116-114, in front of an electric State Farm Arena crowd on Wednesday.

    The victory wasn’t without its theatrics — Randle and Hawks star Trae Young jawed back and forth and were separated by Isaiah Hartenstein, who shoved Young in the direction of his bench.

    The victory also came with its fair share of anxiety. The Hawks, on tired legs in the second leg of a back-to-back, trailed by as many as 13, and made a ferocious comeback in the fourth quarter, leading by as many as seven on a late-game run after Quentin Grimes checked himself out of the game with an apparent hand injury.

    The Knicks survived, securing their fourth win in their last five games to improve to an above-.500 record of 6-5.

    Randle had help, none from the officials, who awarded the Knicks with just nine free throws to 24 for the Hawks. With no RJ Barrett, who is day-to-day with a migraine, Josh Hart got the start — but Immanuel Quickley played the featured scoring role as the third head of the Knicks’ offensive attack.

    Randle finished with a game-high 29 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists, and Jalen Brunson added another 24 points and eight assists of his own. Quickley’s shooting — 20 points off the bench on 6-of-11 shooting from the field — swung the game.

    So did Mitchell Robinson’s offensive rebounding.

    Robinson finished with more rebounds (15) than both Hawks centers Clint Capela and Onyeka Okongwu combined (nine).

    The starting Knicks big man also impacted Hawks guard Dejounte Murray on a driving layup that would have given the Hawks a 109-108 lead with 1:51 to go in the fourth quarter.

    With less than a minute left, Randle missed a turnaround fading shot, but Robinson created an extra possession with Josh Hart the beneficiary of the offensive rebound. Hart gave the ball to Brunson, who drove baseline, then dished a no-look swipe pass to the cutting Randle, who hit a layup to five the Knicks the lead.

    On the ensuing possession, Brunson his Hawks forward Deandre Hunter with an in-and-out dribble then stopped-and-popped at the foul line for a dagger two that gave the Knicks a three-point lead with 18.8 seconds left.

    Hawks fans rose to their feet for what felt like an eternity. Murray finished with just 12 points but made a driving layup that made it a one-point game with 15 seconds left. The Hawks sent Immanuel Quickley to the line, and he made both free throws.

    Then out of the timeout, Hawks shooter Bogdan Bogdanovic — who had a team-high 28 points — up-chucked an ill-advised fading three with 15 seconds left on the clock. It air-balled, all but sealing defeat for the Hawks at home.

    Until DiVincenzo was whistled for a five-second violation while attempting to inbound the ball.

    Up three, the Knicks intentionally fouled Murray, who made the first free throw, then intentionally missed the second before the Hawks were whistled for a lane violation.

    The Knicks now travel to Washington, D.C., for a matchup with the Wizards before traveling to Charlotte for the second leg of a back-to-back against the Hornets.

    It’s clear Randle is back after a slow start to the season. And with him go the Knicks hopes for a deep playoff run.

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    Kristian Winfield

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  • Jayson Tatum cooks Knicks, again, with 35-point performance in Celtics victory

    Jayson Tatum cooks Knicks, again, with 35-point performance in Celtics victory

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    BOSTON — It’s hard to beat the Celtics when Jayson Tatum is this good.

    Tatum had 18 points through the first three quarters before scoring 17 in the fourth period alone to finish with 35 points in the Celtics’ 114-98 victory over the Knicks at the TD Garden on Monday.

    The All-Star forward shot 13-of-23 from the field and 5-of-12 from downtown while also logging seven assists and six rebounds on the night.

    “A player like that, of that caliber, you’ve gotta give him a lot of credit,” said Knicks star Jalen Brunson. “He hits shots like that, makes it look easy. We’re playing good defense. He’s making tough shots. I think next time, we’ve gotta be more prepared and be ready to adjust a little bit, but you’ve just gotta give him a lot of credit.”

    Tatum’s fourth-quarter run started two minutes into the period when the Knicks fought back from a 10-point third-quarter deficit. Isolated on the left wing against Josh Hart, who got the start in place of RJ Barrett (migraine), Tatum lowered his shoulder, took a dribble into Hart’s chest then stepped back for a mid-range two.

    Two minutes later he did the same thing, only this time from the left wing for a step-back three over Hart’s contest. The Knicks had cut the Celtics lead to just three before Tatum’s shot stunted their momentum.

    Tatum did his damage in spurts. Two minutes later, he shed Hart on a top-of-the-key screen, then lost Mitchell Robinson with an in-and-out before euro-stepping around help defender Immanuel Quickley for a layup at the rim.

    Then came the daggers: a step-back three over Robinson, a side-step corner three over Julius Randle, and a wide-open three as the shot clock sounded to put the icing on the cake and give the Celtics a 17-point lead with a minute left in regulation.

    “He’s a great player, he’s a great scorer,” said Randle. “The game always balances out or evens out. Josh, the other guys, did a good job of making it tough for him. Unfortunately, he got it rolling there in the end. He hit some deep threes there, too.”

    Tatum is now averaging 34.5 points through two games against the Knicks after hanging 34 in the season opener at Madison Square Garden.

    “Yeah, obviously a great player. Try to make him work,” said Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau. “I thought Josh, Quentin [Grimes], they were there. He’s got the ability to make. And you know. Take a look at the film, see what we can do better.”

    The Knicks don’t play the Celtics again until Feb. 24, well after both the NBA All-Star break and trade deadline.

    That gives them more than three months to come up with a recipe that’ll keep Boston’s top chef from cooking the Knicks the third time around.

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    Kristian Winfield

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  • Knicks’ Tom Thibodeau on playing starters late in blowouts: ‘I’ve seen 13 points in 35 seconds’

    Knicks’ Tom Thibodeau on playing starters late in blowouts: ‘I’ve seen 13 points in 35 seconds’

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    Tom Thibodeau didn’t say a word to Julius Randle or Jalen Brunson — or anyone for that matter.

    His Knicks were up big on Sunday — a 21-point advantage with 1:20 remaining in an eventual 129-107 victory over the Charlotte Hornets, their third in a row — with a back-to-back looming against the Boston Celtics on Monday.

    Thibodeau pulled Randle, Brunson and Mitchell Robinson from the game. As the lead ballooned, the three expected to play closing minutes in the fourth quarter.

    A Thibs specialty.

    Only four days earlier, the Knicks led the San Antonio Spurs by 30 with three minutes to go in the third quarter, and he played his starters until the 1:28 mark of the fourth quarter when no run imaginable could have powered the opponent back to victory.

    Two nights before that, Los Angeles Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue waved the white flag and sent James Harden, Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and Russell Westbrook to the bench trailing the Knicks by 16 at the 4:25 mark of the fourth quarter.

    Thibodeau played his starters for the rest of the period. The Knicks went on to win by 14.

    Thibodeau has his reasons, reasons he explained after sitting the trio of Randle, Brunson and Robinson the entire fourth quarter, then leaving RJ Barrett, Quentin Grimes, Immanuel Quickley, Josh Hart and Isaiah Hartenstein on the floor for extended garbage time minutes.

    Thibodeau subbed Grimes in for Barrett at the 6:59 mark of the fourth, subbed Hartenstein out for Jericho Sims 27 seconds later, then Miles McBride for Hart and DaQuan Jeffries for Quickley with just over three minutes left.

    The odd man out, Donte DiVincenzo played the entire fourth quarter.

    The rationale has its roots during earlier stints of Thibodeau’s coaching career.

    He was a member of the Houston Rockets’ coaching staff on Dec. 9, 2004, the night Tracy McGrady went nuclear and scored 13 points in 33 seconds to power a remarkable Rockets fourth-quarter comeback over the San Antonio Spurs.

    “He’s got a lotta trauma man,” Randle joked after sitting the fourth quarter. “He’s gotta work on that. He’s gotta work on that.”

    Thibodeau said he can’t even relax when his team’s up big in the fourth quarter and he’s pulled his starters from the game. He wants his players to put everything they have into each and every play, each and every day, and he’s setting the tone on the sidelines — even if he’s got McGrady PTSD.

    “In this league, no lead is safe,” Thibodeau said. “I’ve seen it all. I’ve seen 13 points in 35 seconds. So people will tell you ‘ah he needs to get the starters out of there.’ Yeah? Well I know what experience tells me.”

    Brunson and Randle seldom experience rest the way they were spectators for the fourth quarter on Sunday. The quarter off came as a surprise for the two stars who expect to carry heavy minutes burdens this season.

    “No he never tells me bro,” Randle said. “Mentally, I was ready [to go back in]. If they had one run, we was going back in for sure.”

    “I thought I was going back in,” Brunson added. The Knicks floor general isn’t sure there’s a lead big enough for Thibodeau to feel comfortable pulling his starters for good: “Always got to assume [you’re going back in],” he added. “Always assume.”

    With the second leg of a back-to-back on the road against the championship-contending Boston Celtics on Monday, Thibodeau hoped there would be an opportunity to sit his stars on Sunday.

    “You never know how the game will unfold, and we were fortunate that it did [give our stars some rest],” he said. “And then the fact the bench is playing as well as they are, and our depth is really good. So finding that balance where the starters finding get that rhythm. But you got to play well. You got to make sure you’re doing all the things necessary to improve and win. So that’s where we were. I’m glad it worked out the way it did.”

    Brunson is happy he got a chance to rest — but he says he stayed locked in until the end of the game. Thibs would approve.

    “Let’s be honest. Whenever we can win like that it’s definitely a good feeling,” he said. “I try not to check out at any point in the game. It is what it is.”

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    Kristian Winfield

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  • Julius Randle calls for less isolation amid shooting slump: ‘There’s some things that we can do different’

    Julius Randle calls for less isolation amid shooting slump: ‘There’s some things that we can do different’

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    MILWAUKEE — Julius Randle wants less isolation and more movement off the ball.

    It’s a message he’s relayed now two games in a row as his inefficient shooting start to the season crescendoed with the Knicks’ 110-105 loss to the Bucks in their first in-season tournament group stage game on Friday.

    Randle shot just 5-of-20 from the field and one-of-nine from downtown for 16 points and the Knicks fell to a 2-4 record to start the season.

    The All-Star forward reiterated he is seeing “a lot of bodies” when he attacks the rim, and pointed to some areas his role in the offense can change.

    “I think there’s some things that we can do different, but you know, we’ve just gotta working with it and keep staying at it,” Randle said in the locker room postgame. “For me personally, I think I can just play off the catch, play off the move a little bit more. For me less isolation, less getting into pick-and-rolls, just playing on the move more, rather than just catching it and staring at bodies.”

    Randle is now shooting 26-of-96 (27%) from the field and 9-of-40 (22.5%) from three-point range on the year — unrecognizable numbers for a player who earned All-NBA and All-Star honors last season.

    Many of his misses are wide-open looks. Last season, he shot 34% from three on more than 630 attempts and 46% from the field altogether.

    “I’m just not in rhythm,” Randle said in the locker room postgame. “Not in rhythm, everything just seems a little bit off, you just start pressing a little bit, but like I said, I’ve just gotta stay with it. Keep working.”

    Randle also refuses to use his offseason ankle surgery as an excuse for his inefficient shooting, even though head coach Tom Thibodeau said the summertime procedure threw a wrench in the star forward’s preparation ahead of the season.

    “I’m not gonna sit here and make excuses or anything,” he said. “Like I said, just gotta keep figuring it out, keep trusting the process, and it’ll fall into place.”

    Despite Randle’s shooting struggles, Thibodeau wants his star forward to continue to let the threes fly.

    “He’s gotta trust the process. If you’re open, you gotta shoot,” he said. “Shoot it well. Don’t miss short, be long. But I thought we created a lot of good, open looks. You can’t hesitate. You gotta let it go.”

    Thibodeau said Randle has to trust the pass when defenses are crowding the paint.

    “The game tells you what to do,” he said postgame. “So when you look at their defense, what were they doing? They were collapsing. They’ve got two seven footers, so when they collapse, you have to trust the pass.”

    Knicks star Jalen Brunson scored a game-high 45 points, which wasn’t enough to sink the Bucks at the Fiserv Forum without a more efficient game from his co-star.

    Brunson said Randle’s shooting struggles are “part of basketball” and appeared optimistic his All-Star teammate will return to form.

    “It happens,” he said. “This dude, he has a great mindset, a great work ethic. He comes in every day, does what he has to do, does his routine and all that stuff. The ball is not going through the hoop right now for him.

    “I tell him every day I’m with him: ‘We’re going to work through this, everything.’ When I have days I’m not making shots, he says the same to me. It’s just, it’s alright.

    “I mean, he’s missing shots, but we’re still in games. He’s still contributing in a big way. I’m not going to get into all that stuff, but his heart’s still there. He just has to get over this little hump.”

    Thibodeau said he’s concerned less about Randle’s shot quality and focused more on the quality of his decisions. Randle also finished with five assists to just one turnover and grabbed 12 rebounds on the night.

    “I want him to make good decisions,” Thibodeau said postgame. “I’m not going to measure every shot that he takes. Like he got into the lane, he created good separation and he got two really good looks, and that’s what he’s got to do. The game tells you what to do.”

    Thibodeau refuses to pin the blame on Randle, even though his shooting has been dreadful to start the season.

    “We all have to do more,” he said. “It’s not about individuals. It’s about the team. You don’t have to shoot well to play well. And that goes for everybody. As a team we’re not shooting well right now.”

    Randle, however, also broached the topic of spacing after his 3-of-15 shooting night in the Knicks’ Nov. 1 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

    Thibodeau said the court shrinks when shots aren’t falling.

    “Yeah, we missed wide open shots,” he said. “We’ve got to make sure we get easy baskets and then we’ve got to move and get off the ball and move.”

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    Kristian Winfield

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  • Mike Lupica: Knicks have finally built a foundation, but when will they make next step towards NBA title?

    Mike Lupica: Knicks have finally built a foundation, but when will they make next step towards NBA title?

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    The Knicks have signed enough role players now, and have certainly set some kind of world’s record for signing ex-Villanova Wildcats. The Knicks found themselves a real and appealing star last season, if not a superstar, in Jalen Brunson. They even managed to win a playoff series, something they have now done exactly twice in this century, which means in the century when James L. Dolan has become the face of the executive suite at Madison Square Garden, and who knows more about facial recognition than Jimmy?

    The Knicks play hard for Tom Thibodeau. Twice in the last three seasons they’ve been in the 4-5 first round series in the Eastern Conference. But the question Knicks have to ask themselves as another Knicks season is about to begin is this:

    When is this enough for a fan base that has been waiting almost as long for a title as Jets fans have?

    Or maybe the real question to ask about the Knicks, under Dolan and quiet man Leon Rose, is this:

    Where are they going this season, north or south, and that doesn’t mean up Eighth Ave. or down Seventh?

    It is without question that the Knicks have established themselves as a nice, middle-class team under the leadership of Rose and Thibodeau and William Wesley, the great and mysterious Wizard of Oz at The Garden. And they did play the Heat, who went on to the NBA Finals, a very hard series in the second round last spring before final losing by four points in Game 6 in Miami.

    It is also an absolute fact that Rose has only been on the job as Dolan’s top basketball executive since March of 2020, which is not a lifetime in professional sports, but is still a long time.

    The Knicks seem, at least for the time being and perhaps for the foreseeable future, stuck in the middle of the Eastern Conference. They’re not where Phil (The Thrill) Jackson left them when he became Dolan’s basketball savior-in-chief, which means nowhere. They’re no longer one of the NBA’s lost franchises, which they were under Jackson and the way they once were under a basketball confidence man named Isiah Thomas.

    But where are the Knicks, exactly, going into a season when two Eastern Conference teams — Bucks, Celtics — are considered co-favorites to win an NBA title? Are they better than the Heat, or Cavs, or even the Nets? And by the way? Chris Young took over the Texas Rangers the same year that Leon Rose took over the running of the Knicks. You know where the Rangers are going? They’re going to a World Series that opens in their ballpark on Friday night.

    The Knicks haven’t played for the title since 1999. They are moving up on having gone as long without winning a title as the Rangers did before June of 1994, another time the Knicks made it to the Finals. We know that Knicks fans are forever. They continued to pack the Garden through all the losing, and all the times when Dolan raised ticket prices. But in a world where you are either moving towards the big trophy or away from it, who looks at this Knicks team, as young and athletic as it is, and sees it making even the conference finals this season? Or next?

    Who sees them going toe-to-toe with the Bucks of Giannis and Chris Middleton and Damian Lillard, or the Celtics of Jayson Taytum and Jaylen Brown and Kristaps Porzingis and now Jrue Holliday, who may help the Celtics more than Lillard is going to help the Bucks? It’s a lot of question marks, I know. So, too, are the 2023-24 Knicks, who could make a move up to No. 3 in their conference, or go the other way if anything ever happens to Brunson.

    Somehow there was this fever dream around here, because there always a fever dream like it with the Knicks, all the way back to LeBron, that Giannis was somehow going to end up at the Garden. He wasn’t, even before he signed that $186 million extension with the home team. Now the next longshot dream is Joel Embiid, who looks around at his immediate future in Philadelphia and wakes up one morning and decides he’s the one who wants to go play somewhere else, and the somewhere else is 33rd Street, New York City.

    Again: Brunson is terrific, and should have been an All-Star last season. Julius Randle, as head-scratchingly inconsistent as he can be, has already been an All-Star. RJ Barrett, a former No. 3 pick in the draft, is still a work in progress, though he still doesn’t turn 24 until next June. Josh Hart, ex-Villanova Wildcat, is a high-level role player, you bet, and Donte DeVincenzo, also ex-Villanova Wildcat, is going to be a crowd favorite at the Garden, almost without question.

    The Knicks still need a superstar. As good as Brunson is, you saw the difference between him and Jimmy Butler last spring when the money was on the table. The Knicks need someone like Embiid, or Luka Doncic or — don’t laugh — Ja Morant, the player the Grizzlies drafted right before the Knicks took Barrett in that same draft. The whole world knows how Morant looked like an idiot last season, as he seemed almost drunk with pride being an idiot waving around guns. Maybe he won’t be anything more than that. Or maybe he’s learned a lesson before blowing what should be a promising career, the way Latrell Sprewell once did at the Garden.

    The Knicks are an appealing team. They are. They’re going to be fun to watch. But, in the words of the great Al McGuire, when do they move uptown?

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    Mike Lupica

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  • Jordan Poole hangs 41 on Knicks as ex-Warriors star leads Wizards to victory

    Jordan Poole hangs 41 on Knicks as ex-Warriors star leads Wizards to victory

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    This time, it was Jordan Poole who threw the haymakers.

    Yes — that Jordan Poole: the third Splash Brother turned Washington Wizards franchise cornerstone who was unceremoniously traded from the Golden State Warriors after the punch felt ‘round the world.

    The last time the basketball world heard from Poole, he spoke with a tattered jaw after his tough-guy teammate Draymond Green duffed (read: sucker-punched) him during Warriors training camp a summer ago.

    Poole spent the entirety of an uncomfortable season playing alongside Green before the Warriors shuttled him to D.C. in a deal for Chris Paul.

    My-oh-my how things can turn with a change of scenery and a blaring green light.

    Poole’s light shined emerald with Kyle Kuzma sitting for the Wizards against the Knicks on Wednesday night. There was a Poole Party at MSG to end the preseason and usher in the regular season, which begins in a week on Oct. 25.

    The Warriors’ castaway-turned-Wizards star is still instant offense, an early front-runner for Most Improved Player of the Year after pelting the Knicks from downtown in a 131-106 finish in New York’s preseason finale on Wednesday.

    The Knicks, on the other hand, end the preseason on a low note in their first game with their starters playing a full share of minutes. Immanuel Quickley sat after head coach Tom Thibodeau called him “nicked-up” for the finale.

    Poole was anything but that.

    He finished with 41 points on 6-of-12 shooting from downtown, but 29 points came in the first half alone. Of his six threes, none were more impressive than his final three of the second quarter, where he pump-faked to get R.J. Barrett off his feet, then took one dribble toward the paint as if he were driving to the rim, before uncorking an unorthodox escape side-step three — a sequence that left Barrett swerving like an Uber driver on the Jackie Robinson Parkway.

    On his previous attempt from downtown, Poole let an open three fly, then turned his back and got back on defense before the shot ripped through the net.

    Just like he learned from Steph Curry.

    And he hit his final three of the night with three-and-a-half minutes left in the third quarter, when
    Quentin Grimes crowded him at half court, only for Poole to drive into him and push off for a top-of-the-key three. On the very next possession, Poole blew by Jalen Brunson and got to the line. He converted on 15-of-16 attempts from the line, 11 of the 12 coming in the first half.

    Maybe Poole is the new James Harden?

    After all, Harden’s ascent to superstardom occurred after his trade from the Oklahoma City Thunder to the Houston Rockets, where the organization built an entire identity around The Beard’s offensive prowess and crafty style of play.

    Harden ironically did not win Most Improved Player of the Year despite a jump from 17 to 26 points and six assists as Rockets point guard the following season. Poole could very well be overlooked for the honor this season, as well: He has always had this kind of offensive ability – it was just dumbed downplaying fourth fiddle to Curry, Green and Klay Thompson on the Warriors.

    Poole’s 40-point night is going to become a regular occurrence on a team – aside from Kuzma – otherwise devoid of scoring.

    What cannot become the norm at The Garden is the Knick bench getting outplayed by the opponent.

    Wizards stretch-four Mike Muscala came off the bench and gave the Knicks 20 points — all after Julius Randle dunked on him midway through the first quarter. Muscala made his first five threes of the night. The Wizard bench scored 63 points to 48 for the Knicks reserves, minus Quickley — whose value increased in a loss he watched idly from the bench. Quickley will be a restricted free agent next summer, and the Knicks have an Oct. 23 deadline to sign him to a contract extension

    Randle finished with 20 points, Barrett with 19 and Jalen Brunson finished with just 12 points on 12 shot attempts. No Knicks players scored in double figures off the bench, Miles McBride struggled from downtown, and both McBride and Donte DiVincenzo posted the worst plus-minuses of the night: The Knicks were outscored by 23 in each of their minutes on the floor.

    And now, it’s a wrap: The exhibition games are over and the games will begin to count. Beginning with a seven-game stretch against teams far more talented than the Wizards — who hosted a Poole Party at The Garden to end the preseason.

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    Kristian Winfield

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  • Knicks open preseason with 114-107 victory over load-managed Celtics

    Knicks open preseason with 114-107 victory over load-managed Celtics

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    What can you glean from a preseason-opener against a team sitting each of its best six players?

    The Knicks kicked off their 2023-24 NBA preseason hosting a Boston Celtics team that rested Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Jrue Holiday, Kristaps Porzingis, Al Horford and Derrick White.

    They protected home court at Madison Square Garden with a 114-107 victory over the undermanned Celtics to jump out to a 1-0 start to exhibition play. The Knicks, however, will play the Celtics again on Oct. 17 in the first game of a preseason back-to-back — and then again for the regular-season opener at The Garden on Oct. 25.

    Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau said ahead of tipoff the most important thing to take away from a relatively meaningless preseason game is taking advantage of the team’s first opportunity to compete against an opponent after spending a week scrimmaging in training camp in Charleston, S.C.

    “Just establish a baseline to see: ]It’s] the first opportunity to get out and compete as a team,” the Knicks’ coach said Monday evening. “So be a team. That’s always the first priority, and then, be ready to play. Establish who we are, style of play, that sort of thing.”

    Thibodeau carried over last season’s starters and went with Jalen Brunson, Quentin Grimes, R.J. Barrett, Julius Randle and Mitchell Robinson.

    Brunson played just six minutes and scored 10 points on four-of-five shooting from the field. Robinson and Grimes played the most of any starters, Randle logged just 13 minutes and Barrett played 16 minutes. Quickley scored a game-high 21 points on 8-of-14 shooting from the field off the bench.

    “Just get your feet wet,” Thibodeau said was his minutes limit rationale ahead of tip-off on Monday. “[It’ll] sort of be a lot lighter, bigger rotation. We’ll see how that unfolds, but it’ll be much shorter than normal.”

    Josh Hart and Ryan Arcidiacono didn’t play as part of what Thibodeau called “maintenance stuff,” so the first players off the bench were Sixth Man of the Year runner-up Quickley and reserve big man Jericho Sims.

    “Just because there’s so many people that we have [to play],” Thibs explained when asked why Arcidacono would be held out of the opener, “so we’ll probably sit a couple guys out every game.”

    Sims’ emergence as one of the first two players off the bench comes after Thibodeau called him a standout player during Knicks training camp in Charleston, S.C.

    The decision to insert him into the lineup in place of Randle and alongside Robinson was surprising given Robinson and Sims only shared the floor for 11 total minutes all of last season.

    Thibodeau also played Sims alongside reserve big man Isaiah Hartenstein for long stretches of Monday’s preseason opener against the Celtics.

    The dual big man approach could be a response to the lack of a traditional four to backup Randle after the Knicks traded former first-round pick Obi Toppin to the Indiana Pacers for a pair of second-round draft picks over the summer. Hart is slotted to play minutes at the backup four spot and didn’t suit up on Monday.

    “The thing I like about Josh is you don’t lose anything because he can guard multiple positions. He can guard up, he can guard down and he’s a great rebounder. So we like that,” Thibodeau said on the final day of training camp in Charleston. “Jericho has really had a great camp. He’s the one guy, obviously coming off the surgery, he had a great summer the way he worked. He’s really done a good job for us.”

    FINAL ROSTER SPOT

    The Knicks have 14 of 15 guaranteed roster spots full, which means there’s a battle for the final spot on a playoff-bound basketball team underway.

    Arcidiacono, Charlie Brown Jr., Duane Washington Jr. and Jacob Toppin — Obi Toppin’s younger brother — are the players who have signed contracts with the Knicks that are in the mix for the final roster spot.

    Thibodeau also said the Knicks are monitoring other teams’ training camp battles in case a quality player on another team fails to earn a roster spot.

    “Not stuck on it,” he said when asked if the team is planning to fill the final roster spot. “We have a number of guys who are fighting it out for those spots at the end, and they’re all worthy. They’ve been here a long time. They’re working extremely hard, and they’ve done their jobs, so we’ll see how it unfolds.

    “We’ll be looking at other things as well, whether it’s people being released on guaranteed contracts because their team is over [the roster maximum]. So whatever we feel will help the team the most, that’s what we’re going to do.”

    Thibodeau also said during training camp he wanted to retain some of the end-of-the-roster players for the Westchester Knicks team.

    “It’s going to be a tough call. Like I said, those guys have been here for a good chunk of the summer and fall and worked extremely hard,” he said on Saturday in Charleston. “We’ll see how it unfolds. We still have a little more time to go. But they’ve been terrific. Hopefully, we’ll be able to keep some of those guys for our G League team. I like who they are, I like how they practice, I like how they compete.”

    FOURNIER’S ROLLER COASTER RIDE

    After declaring he could still help the Knicks this season following his benching most of last year, Evan Fournier checked into the game at the 2:57 mark of the first quarter on Monday.

    The Knicks were up 25-16 when he entered the game and gave up a 13-3 run to finish the quarter down, 29-28, entering the second period.

    The lineup of Fournier, Quickley, Sims, Hartenstein and Donte DiVincenzo was outscored by 10 in those minutes by the Celtics’ third unit.

    Fournier, however, caught fire after the slow start and finished the game with 11 points on three-of-seven shooting from downtown. He also converted on a pretty, one-handed catch-and-scoop layup on a dime from Hartenstein in the fourth quarter.

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    Kristian Winfield

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  • How the NBA’s new player participation policy affects the Knicks and Nets

    How the NBA’s new player participation policy affects the Knicks and Nets

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    Julius Randle and Ben Simmons are “star” players under the criteria set by the NBA’s new Player Participation Policy.

    Jalen Brunson and Mikal Bridges are not — though that could change the instance either earn their first All-Star or All-NBA nod.

    This is how the league is tackling its widespread load management issue, with new rules that penalize teams for sitting star-level players without just cause.

    Teams with two such star players — that is: a player who has been named an All-Star or made an All-NBA team in any of the previous three seasons — are not allowed to rest both players in the same game.

    Randle is a two-time NBA All-Star (2021 and 2023) and a two-time All-NBA honoree (2021 Second Team, 2023 Third Team). Simmons is a three-time All-Star, though his last All-Star appearance was in 2021. If he does not make an All-Star team this season, he will not qualify as a star for the Nets next season.

    As a practical example, the Los Angeles Lakers deciding to sit both superstars LeBron James and Anthony Davis in the same game without prior approval from the league would trigger a league investigation this season.

    Under the NBA’s new player participation policy, star-level players must appear in all nationally-televised games – and they must appear in all of the league’s upcoming In-Season Tournament games, as well.

    The Knicks play 25 nationally-televised games in the 2023-24 season, 20 if you exclude games broadcast on NBA TV. And now that Durant and Irving have orchestrated trades out of Brooklyn, the Nets have seen their national exposure nosedive: just five games this season set to air on either ESPN or TNT and six more on NBA TV.

    This new set of rules, however, also triggers the moment a player earns star status.

    So if Brunson were to become an All-Star this season, the NBA would fine the Knicks for resting both Brunson and Randle in the same game unless both were justifiably hurt or excused by the league for a pre-approved absence.

    These exceptions to the rule include multigame absences for bona fide injury, personal reasons, rare and unusual circumstances, roster management of unavailable star players, and end-of-season flexibility

    The Nets would need to seek similar approval should Bridges earn his first All-Star nod this season, a likely outcome given his exceptional play representing Team USA in the FIBA World Cup.

    Mikal Bridges’ standout World Cup game marred by late miss

    The Player Participation Policy features five key rules teams must comply with to avoid the stiff financial penalties for sitting star players: No more than one star player can be unavailable for the same game; star players must be available for nationally-televised and In-Season Tournament games; if a player is going to miss games, the league prefers the games be missed at home; teams can no longer shut down players for long stretches of games without league approval; and healthy players who are resting a game must be on the bench and visible to fans.

    Failure to comply with any of these rules will now trigger a league investigation, with a team’s first PPP infraction set to trigger a $100,000 fine — not to the player but levied upon the team.

    The second infraction of the player participation policy prompts a $250,000 fine, and the third activates a $1.25 million penalty. Every subsequent violation triggers a fine worth $1 million more than its previous penalty.

    This fine structure would have crippled the Nets during the Durant, Irving and James Harden era, where the Big 3 only appeared in 16 games as a trio. It would have also hurt the Nets last season, when Simmons appeared in just 42 of a possible 82 regular-season games.

    Nets rule Ben Simmons out for season with goal of rehabbing back

    WHAT ABOUT BACK-TO-BACKS

    Teams must now seek pre-approval to rest stars in either night of back-to-back games, and if one of those games is a nationally-televised, the rest must occur for the other game.

    For example, the Knicks travel to Boston on April 11 for a matchup against the Celtics set to air on TNT. The following night, they host the Nets at Madison Square Garden in a game that will air locally on MSG Networks.

    Under the new rules, barring verifiable injury or excused absence from the league, Julius Randle must play against the Celtics. If the Knicks wanted to rest him for any game of that back-to-back, they would need pre-approval from the league to sit their star forward against the Nets.

    This would become complicated, however, if Brunson were to also receive his first All-Star nod this season as teams cannot rest both star players in any single game. Both would be required to play against the Celtics, then only one would be eligible to rest the ensuing night.

    The Knicks have three other instances of nationally-televised games occurring on one leg of back-to-back: Oct. 27 at Atlanta and 28 at New Orleans (NBA TV); Oct. 31 at Cleveland (TNT), then Nov. 1 at home against the Cavaliers; and Nov. 12 hosting the Charlotte Hornets before Nov. 13 at Boston (NBA TV).

    In each of these instances, the Knicks would need pre-approval to rest Randle in the non-nationally-televised leg of the back-to-back, though Brunson wouldn’t apply to this rule because he is not yet an All-Star.

    The Nets host the reigning champion Denver Nuggets in a nationally-televised (NBA TV) game on Dec. 22, then host the Detroit Pistons on Dec. 23. Under new league rules, Brooklyn would need to seek pre-approval to rest Simmons against the Pistons – though given his injury history, they should have no problem securing such approval; nor should they have any issues with the fashionable Simmons appearing on the bench in games he is resting.

    Embed from Getty Images

    The Nets, however, have a nationally-televised back-to-back: Feb. 5 against the Golden State Warriors in a game that airs on NBA TV, then Feb. 6 against the Dallas Mavericks in Kyrie Irving’s return to Brooklyn – a game that will air on TNT.

    According to the new rules, the Nets would need to seek prior approval for a player to rest one leg of a back-to-back if both games are nationally televised or In-Season Tournament games.

    The Nets have two more back-to-backs that feature a game aired on national television: March 9 at Charlotte and March 10 at Cleveland (ESPN); then March 16 at Indiana before March 17 against Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs, a game set to air on NBA TV and, surprisingly, be played at a neutral location.

    These games will be played after the All-Star break, meaning if Bridges earns his first career All-Star nod, both he and Simmons will be ineligible to rest one leg of each back-to-back.

    Nets’ Ben Simmons ‘as healthy as he’s ever been’ since last season in Philly’: report

    EXCLUSIONS TO THE RULES

    According to the release issued by the league, the exclusions to the player participation policy include injuries, personal reasons and pre-approved back-to-back restrictions based on a player’s age, career workload or serious injury.

    Under these rules, the Nets should have no issues seeking rest time for both Simmons and Bridges, as Simmons has a verifiable back injury history that must be monitored to prevent aggravation.

    Bridges, due for an All-Star nod, played in 83 combined regular-season games for both the Suns and Nets last season, then played more minutes than any player not named Anthony Edwards for Team USA during the FIBA World Cup. Should he qualify for star status, the Nets could easily point to his workload over the past calendar year as just cause to rest him in the second half of the season.

    Despite Bridges’ miracle, Canada eliminates Team USA in bronze-medal game

    That will be difficult to pull off, however, if they are actively load-managing Simmons’ back.

    For the Knicks, both Brunson and Josh Hart played into the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs then played regular Team USA minutes in the FIBA World Cup. Hart does not qualify as a star under the new rules, but a case can be made for workload management for both.

    Cam Johnson also represented the Nets for Team USA but should have fresh regular-season legs after spending most of the World Cup watching from the sidelines.

    WHAT ABOUT THE AGE AND WORKLOAD EXCEPTION?

    The NBA has created an exception to the rule for appearances in back-to-back games for players who are 35 years old on opening night or have career workloads of 34,000 regular-season minutes or 1,000 combined regular-season and playoff games, according to ESPN.

    Neither the Knicks nor Nets rosters feature a player who qualifies for this exception. Bridges has appeared in 392 regular-season games and 39 additional playoff games. Randle has appeared in 595 regular-season games and an additional 15 playoff games. Brunson has only appeared in 345 regular-season games plus 36 more playoff games. And after missing an entire season, then half of last season, while also missing his entire rookie season due to injury, Simmons has only tallied 317 regular-season games since 2017, plus 34 more playoff games.

    Chris Paul, Mike Conley, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, DeMar DeRozan and James Harden are the only NBA players covered by this exception.

    Under these new rules, the Nets would have only been able to rest Durant, who met the 34,000 minutes criteria, in last season’s Dec. 10 matchup against the Indiana Pacers, where they won despite sitting Durant, Irving and Simmons.

    PLAYER PARTICIPATION POLICY

    NBA end-of-the-season honors now have updated criteria based on availability.

    In order to be eligible for Most Valuable Player, Most Improved Player or Defensive Player of the Year, as well as any All-NBA or All-Defensive Teams, a player must appear in at least 65 regular-season games. They may appear in 62 games and still qualify for an end-of-the-season award if they suffer a season-ending injury and appeared in at least 85% of his team’s regular-season games prior to suffering the injury.

    Under this new rule, Memphis Grizzlies center Jaren Jackson Jr. would not have been eligible to win Defensive Player of the Year because he only appeared in 63 games.

    Julius Randle, who earned Third Team All-NBA honors last season, appeared in 77 games for the Knicks last season and would have remained unaffected had these new rules been implemented last season.

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    Kristian Winfield

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  • Two New York Rivalries Unfold On Consecutive Nights As Islanders Beat Rangers And Nets Dominate Knicks

    Two New York Rivalries Unfold On Consecutive Nights As Islanders Beat Rangers And Nets Dominate Knicks

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    In recent times, the Rangers and Islanders never see their playoff schedules intersect where they play each other to decide who advances. Neither do the Knicks and Nets but occasionally the regular season schedule unfolds in a way where both rivalries play out on consecutive nights such as this week.

    The Rangers and Islanders last played a playoff series in 1994, the first and easiest four of the 16 the Rangers needed to stop hearing chants of 1940 which ultimately happened on June 14, 1994.

    The same year the Knicks dispatched the Nets in four games in a best-of-five before going the distance to eliminate the Bulls in the only full season of Michael Jordan’s hiatus and the Pacers, who would prove to be as much of a nemesis as the Jordan Bulls.

    By the time the teams played each other again in the playoffs it was 10 years later with the Nets as a top seed against the Knicks, who got in by winning 37 games, prompting then team president Isiah Thomas to say, “Welcome to the Playoffs.”

    Since 2004, the Nets and Knicks have seldom been good at the same time. In 2013, they were separated by six games with the Knicks winning the division and the Nets getting the fourth seed, It took eight more seasons for the teams to finish over .500 at the same time again when the Knicks stunningly made a late run for the fourth seed and the Nets finished second.

    It is unknown if the rivalries in two different sports unfold in a playoff series next spring. First, the teams actually have to get there and in the early going the four teams might be providing some early clues about where their respective seasons may be headed.

    Starting with hockey after two wins over the Rangers, the Islanders are on impressive 7-1-0 run in their past eight games. It started with a matter of fact 3-0 win on Hempstead Turnpike right near the Queens county line on Oct. 26 – three days after the Astros eliminated the Yankees and officially shifting the weeknight focus of area sports fans to the winter sports and baseball trade rumors.

    It also featured three wins of overcoming multi-goal deficits, including one over the defending champion Colorado Avalanche
    AVAX
    . The other two came in a span of 24 hours, first when the Islanders rallied from a two-goal deficit for a 4-3 win over Calgary and then Tuesday in an impressive third period where their scoring opportunities resulted in goals — a blast by Adam Pelech, another blast by Brock Nelson and a backhander by Anders Lee in front of the net.

    “We’ll take that sometimes. Not all the time,” Lee said after noting how previous experience does not faze the Islanders when trailing by multiple goals.

    The final goal came after Oliver Wahlstrom may have tripped Kakko Kappo, but not on the second Tuesday of November. Still the missing whistle was apparent to Rangers coach Gerard Gallant, who avoided a fine when he merely said: “You guys saw it?” in response to an inquiry about his reaction.

    “We lost a tough hockey game, tough to swallow,” Gallant said. “We played well. We deserved the game tonight. The Islanders are the best team in the league in the third period.”

    The non-call going against the Rangers was part of a rough patch for a team, whose season lasted through June 11 with a run to Game 6 of the conference finals, which usually get done around Memorial Day. The tough third period was a better showing than Sunday when the Rangers switched up their lines but still sent them to a seventh loss in 10 games (3-4-3) and it’s a stretch that has created some of the urgent comments you tend to hear when a team slides.

    “I don’t think it’s lost on anybody, the start we’ve had,’’ Rangers captain Jacob Trouba said. “Time is a-ticking. We don’t have all the time in the world. We’ve got to find a way to play a better game.’’

    A night later the Knicks and Nets got together in Brooklyn. By about 10 pm, both sported five wins with different paths on how they got there.

    In their third season under Tom Thibodeau, the Knicks are a typical hovering around .500 team, winning games they are supposed to, losing to teams you would expect and occasionally beating a good team missing a key contributor.

    As for the Nets, their path to reaching 5-7 with their impressive 112-85 win on Wednesday is well unique to say the least.

    They entered the fourth season of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving after both their stars appeared to be seeking an exit and Durant went so far to request Steve Nash and Sean Marks be replaced before eventually dropping his desire.

    Then they began with five losses in six games, got a win in their seventh game and then parted ways with Steve Nash on Nov. 1 and four days after Kyrie Irving posted a link to an antisemitic movie then grew defensive in an embarrassing press conference on Oct. 29 after lack of effort resulted in the Nets allowing 23 3-pointers.

    Nash’s replacement was Jacque Vaughn and for a week it seemed like he was a placeholder, similar to the 14 games spread out over five-plus months in 2020 after Kenny Atkinson got the parted ways treatment. It seemed he was a temporary because of the questionable reported pursuit of Ime Udoka, who would be coaching the Celtics if not for his allegations of inappropriate conduct.

    By Wednesday afternoon, the Nets decided to remove the interim tag after seeing the defense allow 96 points in their first four games under him. Considering the move came a day after election day, it prompted a quip from Vaughn.

    “I guess I was the write-in candidate in the minds of elections right now, but I’m ok with that. I said to my wife, I might not have been her first choice and we’ve been together 20 years, so it can all work out. So, off we go.”

    A few hours after his wisecrack, he was beaming as the Nets did things like hand out 30 assists, get 55 rebounds and lead by double-digits for 42-plus minutes.

    It left the Knicks lamenting a night when they constantly hoisted bad looking 3-pointers (12 for 43), made defense seem optional and lost their eighth straight to the Nets, whose effort continued to increase.

    “It’s not OK,” Knicks guard Jalen Brunson said.

    Just like it wasn’t an OK result for the other MSG tenant a night earlier against the team who has owned them of late on the ice.

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    Larry Fleisher, Contributor

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