Knicks · Thibs. There is no "system." He demands defense, effort and brains but he lets players be who they are and it's a joy (page 1)

We have a real odd (but good) mix of players in some ways. Our PGs are older but incredibly shifty players... both past their prime but capable of being throwback flamethrowers. The platoon is looking great.

The 2-4s are a mix but over all there appears to be a depth of skill, shooting, size and fresh legs. The 5s either offer rim protection or savvy play (Taj)

So its interesting to see what kind of system is going to earn our first year head coach COY honors, and it turns out its no system at all. Thib's coaching and his staff have really seemed to push one theme:

Thibs doesnt care what you do. Just do it good. Play smart and play aggressive. 3s are your thing? Lets find your best spots and get you looks. Whatever it is it seems good so long as you are playing hard on both ends. Remember after Larry Brown wrecked him Nate Robinson had his best NBA season under Thibs (for the how is Kemba gonna fit crowd)

We defend every night and challenge shots even though we arent loaded with stoppers. We really grind on you with our size. We got bombers. We got slashers. We got jumpers. He got bangers.

Can you imagine anyone coaching here at this point?

On defense Thibs is letting guys who can shoot like Kemba stop and pop. It’s quite simple

I was very critical of him last season. This time around I am stunned. Thibs abandoned the "limit # of possessions per game" approach and we are off and running this season. It's really a 180 degrees type of turnaround.
The great part is that it's working like a charm. We have one of the best offenses in the league.
Also, just like was said before, our playbook has gotten a lot more diverse. It's so refreshing to see plays like "give and go" between RJ and Randle

I won't be happy until Robinson has a 20 point night

So far，so good.

gradyandrew wrote:I won't be happy until Robinson has a 20 point night

So far，so good.

I love it when Mitch puts up 11 and 17 because that means we probably win

Yes, its all good and I love the free flow. But when we're up by 10 with a 3 mins to go can we milk some clock and make the other team work? Been nearly 3 times now where we put the game way with one basket/one stop based on where the clock/score was, and we found ourselves in a tie or one possession game. My only criticism is to have an end game system so we don't blow leads. Been scary when we give up a ton of points in a few mins.

VDesai wrote:Yes, its all good and I love the free flow. But when we're up by 10 with a 3 mins to go can we milk some clock and make the other team work? Been nearly 3 times now where we put the game way with one basket/one stop based on where the clock/score was, and we found ourselves in a tie or one possession game. My only criticism is to have an end game system so we don't blow leads. Been scary when we give up a ton of points in a few mins.

Some of you question why Thibs tends to play his starter when the game looks to be in hand, and thibs has responded on several occasions that the 3 ball and the pace of the game makes it almost impossible to think a 12 point lead can't vanish in 2 minutes.

knicks1248 wrote:

VDesai wrote:Yes, its all good and I love the free flow. But when we're up by 10 with a 3 mins to go can we milk some clock and make the other team work? Been nearly 3 times now where we put the game way with one basket/one stop based on where the clock/score was, and we found ourselves in a tie or one possession game. My only criticism is to have an end game system so we don't blow leads. Been scary when we give up a ton of points in a few mins.

Some of you question why Thibs tends to play his starter when the game looks to be in hand, and thibs has responded on several occasions that the 3 ball and the pace of the game makes it almost impossible to think a 12 point lead can't vanish in 2 minutes.

This is so true...pace, D and 3s change that equation unless you're truly blowing out your opponent and they're too psyched out or too inexperienced to retrench. Ws are what we want. We have depth.

Not easy to change play style, but they need to change the pace/make it harder to let a team come back. To me that starts with a PG and Rose is our only PG capable of orchestrating the pace of the game and executing- so my view is he should be out there at the end. We'll see how that continues, but its been a perfect storm of us doing everything wrong at the end of the game, but doing just enough to not lose.

-Fouling the opponent, stopping the clock and giving away pts
-Giving up quick layups
-Shooting early in the shot clock
-Shooting long 3's and giving up long rebounds leading to breaks
-No offensive flow, pure ISO on Randle where he can't get a good shot or pass
-Missing our own FTs

To me a PG like Rose helps matters on a number of those issues around managing the clock and O - he is also a good playmaker/ballhandler/FT shooter for end game situations.

We're still towards the bottom of the league as far as pace, but we're bottom half defensively this year, even though our net rating is top 6.
We were 18th last year at % of points coming from 3. Now we are first.

So much for Thibs not being adaptable.

VDesai wrote:Yes, its all good and I love the free flow. But when we're up by 10 with a 3 mins to go can we milk some clock and make the other team work? Been nearly 3 times now where we put the game way with one basket/one stop based on where the clock/score was, and we found ourselves in a tie or one possession game. My only criticism is to have an end game system so we don't blow leads. Been scary when we give up a ton of points in a few mins.

there was a play where Kemba took a quick 3 with 20 on the shot clock. Its a shot he was hitting but its bad situational basketball. When you are up a dozen with 3 minutes you must take 20 seconds off the clock. Its like how sports works. Unless its a clear path dunk type of thing you dont take a shot early in the clock there, you just dont (still love Kemba, make no mistake)

fishmike wrote:We have a real odd (but good) mix of players in some ways. Our PGs are older but incredibly shifty players... both past their prime but capable of being throwback flamethrowers. The platoon is looking great.

The 2-4s are a mix but over all there appears to be a depth of skill, shooting, size and fresh legs. The 5s either offer rim protection or savvy play (Taj)

So its interesting to see what kind of system is going to earn our first year head coach COY honors, and it turns out its no system at all. Thib's coaching and his staff have really seemed to push one theme:

Thibs doesnt care what you do. Just do it good. Play smart and play aggressive. 3s are your thing? Lets find your best spots and get you looks. Whatever it is it seems good so long as you are playing hard on both ends. Remember after Larry Brown wrecked him Nate Robinson had his best NBA season under Thibs (for the how is Kemba gonna fit crowd)

We defend every night and challenge shots even though we arent loaded with stoppers. We really grind on you with our size. We got bombers. We got slashers. We got jumpers. He got bangers.

Can you imagine anyone coaching here at this point?

Do you remember all the threads before PJ was hired where some of us wanted Thinlbs and so many said he would not work on NY. Ah the memories.

Fact is he is a defensive coach but so much more. As we see with Taj and Rose he geta the most out of guys he is loyal to. Also noticing he builds loyalty with new players. Liked how he kept Walker in the game against the Pels. Showed he will go with the hot hand and will show loyalty to those playing well. Not just "his" guys.

Really like how well we are playing and how seamless the additions have fit in. Also think we will continue to improve with Noel returning, Burks getting back to level he was playing last year and IQ getting out of his slump. Also think Obi will continue to be a bigger part of the plan.