PG: Refs help the new NBA Goldenboy Flopper beat Knicks despite Brunson's 61 point game.

[Reign23]

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Love this guy

I love this guy too, but at the end of the day it doesn't mean **** how tough he is, when he misses 40-50 games anyway.

[Fat Kat]

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[Clyde_Style]

Spurs 32 Free Throws

Knicks 12 Free Throws

How can anyone see that stat and not think the game was rigged?

I have a couple of long time friends who have completely given up on pro sports. The gambling has just gotten to big and out of control. I'm not there yet but getting closer myself.

Same. Fair competition is an aspect of our society that is vanishing which goes in hand with the ideology of lawlessness that is exhibited in a large portion of the population now. The only value is winning regardless of how you win or whom you hurt to get there.

[Jay10]

Spurs were shooting crazy to start and Knicks have been winning lately despite the injuries but you can’t win them all. Not too worried about this one.

Wemby is fun to watch. Spurs tank and get Wemby, we get RJ.

Wemby was always going to end up on the Spurs as long as they were in the lottery, and the reason the Knicks got RJ was because Mike Conley was leaving Memphis(Ja Morant), and Anthony Davis wanted out of New Orleans(Zion Williamson).

[3toheadmelo]

This makes sense why sham hates ihart. He used to work for the nets. Also shows why he’s been rooting for nets these past couple of years. Wow.

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[Jay10]

It's these type of games that make me want to quit watching this league. How does a rookie get as many FT's as an entire team? How does a 6'2" guard shoot 47 times, has 30 points in the paint and only ends up with 6 FT's? The eye test doesn't lie either. Brunson got hit on his way to the basket multiple times. Twice in the OT by Vassell. Just plain biased officiating that makes you wonder if there is something else going on. Cause it just doesn't make sense!

Listen to the players when they say the NBA is a business.

This game not being nationally televised also gave the refs/league an out because everyone wasn't watching the game to call out the bad officiating, and because of that the refs/league knows people aren't going to go back and watch the full game but only the highlights.

How anyone can bet on NBA games when the refs have this much control over outcomes is wild.

[thebuzzardman]

If the Knicks keep Mitch and re-sign OG, it'll be a contest each year who misses more games. Edge Mitch.

[Clyde_Style]

No game is meaningless when it comes to betting and getting a piece of the action. The league is dirty and getting worse. A disparity of 32 to 12 is absurd.

We've had 6 games this year where we've taken less than that, it's the nature of our offense, we've had a bunch of games where we've taken exactly 12 too. With just 1 guy that can dribble we don't have many options getting to the line if they're not calling fouls on his attempts.

I think the refs had a finger on the scale, but there's also the issue that without Randle, there isn't really a bonafide 2nd scoring option, and no, Donte doesn't really count.

Even Randle has his issues, as you really don't want him creating with the ball in his hands from the 3 point line on into the rim; not too often.

Knicks lack that other wing, which is kind of an issue as they filled those spots with Donte, who is a 6th man, and OG, who isn't that dynamic on offense. Which in fine for the regular season but will probably be an issue for the playoffs, if OG even plays in them.

Donte could move to the bench if the Knicks add a wing.
I suppose the Knicks could try for more offense from the 5 if Towns is truly available for economic reasons.

Randle I'm not even counting on, because if he comes back, it'll be as hobbled Randle, which might be ok in another player, but of course Randle will still try to have the ball 40% of the time and take 20 shots a game.

Yes, Randle would help and I'd say OG would have helped even more. Wemby's tentacles will win a championship with a modest roster and a great coach like Pops. We had many plays where we did defend well or boxed out and Wemby's hand would appear from somewhere outside Minsk and control the ball. OG's help defense would have won this game if only by limiting Vassell.

I'm quite surprised by some pushback against the reality that Deuce is not going to be able to contain wings and swing guards. It's physics. 15-20 minutes of Grimes on Vassell minus Bogie and you easily win this game.

You are correct. Without OG, we must have an elite wing defender. This will win as many games as added scoring. Having both will put us into contention. If Randle and OG are AWOL we'll fight in the playoffs, but our ceiling may be capped this year if they don't show up.

That we played like absolute caca in the first half and still went to OT shows resilience and Brunson's greatness, but to lose by the margin we did and not see the role of the refs in this is just blindness IMO.

Brunson had 6 FT, Wemby had 12. Someone posted last night that Brunson had the lowest # of FTs relative to points scored in NBA history. Setting historical officiating records are not anomalies. They are clues as to intent.

The NBA is feeding Wemby now. It won't be just the Knicks that get screwed when playing SA, but this was eggregious and another brick in the corrupt wall of professional sports.

[TrueWarrior]

Donte is not a 2nd option, but he could be a solid 3rd option, or 3B with OG as 3A.

He’s officially averaging 15 ppg now, in only 27.8 mpg, on 60% TS%. Been shooting better again lately.

As a starter, in 30.5 mpg, he’s averaging 17.4 ppg (61% TS), 3.9 rpg, 2.9 apg, 1.5 spg.

We are also the slowest paced team in the whole league, and 2nd to last in assists. The Thibs system.

Id want to see Donte diversify his scoring more in the future though. He had a great game attacking the basket against the Nets last weekend (which I attended) but on the year 3/4 of his shots are 3s. It’s fine when he’s hitting them, but we saw what happened last month when he wasn’t.

Anyway, when/if Julius or even OG return we’ll have another guy who can score. Deuce is inconsistent, Isaiah is too unselfish, Bojan/Alec obviously aren’t cutting it, Precious/Josh aren’t scorers, and Shake doesn’t seem like he’ll get much burn.

[Clyde_Style]

Games like this remind you how much they miss OG and Randle. His 25/10/5 every night should never be taken for granted because of his usual couple of dumb plays. Jalen and Deuce won't be enough against the top teams

With OG we'd still beat most teams in the playoffs even without Randle. We've already demonstrated this in spades.

Whether we could go all the way without Randle is doubtful though.

[RHODEY]

It's these type of games that make me want to quit watching this league. How does a rookie get as many FT's as an entire team? How does a 6'2" guard shoot 47 times, has 30 points in the paint and only ends up with 6 FT's? The eye test doesn't lie either. Brunson got hit on his way to the basket multiple times. Twice in the OT by Vassell. Just plain biased officiating that makes you wonder if there is something else going on. Cause it just doesn't make sense!

I think its one of the reason why ratings are down and declining. There is a scripted feel....to it all....from the broadcasting big upping the same 6-10 players (while ignoring others) down to the court where those same players seem to get biased treatment. To me what made made the nba great was when I felt any team could win if they played the right way, or played hard enough. Teams like the 2004 Pistons or the 2011 Mavs toppling the talent laden favorites.

Nowadays I dont get that feeling.

[Clyde_Style]

Why would the nba rig such a meaningless game that wasn’t even on national TV?

Outside of the Nova three, we played like crap collectively. Soft on defense and perhaps too reliant on Brunson on offense. We didn’t deserve to win.

you entirely missed the point

being off national TV is exactly the kind of game you'd fix

No it's not. If you want to mark wemby as the next big thing, you rig it on live tv for the whole world to see. I guarantee you NBA's pissed that the 40/20 game didn't happen on national tv.

Catering to Wemby is going to be an every game thing so your point is irrelevant about whether a game is nationally televised or not. This went far beyond coddling Wemby.

Refs are being influenced by betting lines (and there are so many betting arbitrages besides team scores that it is becoming too easy to manipulate). When it comes to corrupt officiating due to betting outcomes, then a game that is not televised nationally is going to be less risky to rig.

[Clyde_Style]

If Randle is going to play in the playoffs he better get cracking.

He will need a minimum of a half dozen games to get up to speed.

If he's not ready to play in part of the last 9 games he may actually hurt us in the playoffs if they wait until then to activate him. He has a clear history of needing some ramp up games to shake the rust off.

[NoDopeOnSundays]

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These people are paid to talk about basketball too. The advanced stats were screaming out that the guy was better than his season stats, and you didn't even need to use them since he showed out against the Jazz without Luka. It was painfully obvious that he would be a 20+ppg scorer with more touches and if his three point shot could improve he'd be a star, which it did. They are embarrassing and should neve talk about the NBA.

[aggo]

Teams know we crash the boards for offensive rebs

Spurs exploited this.

[aggo]

Teams know we guard the weak side corner 3 with 1 foot in the paint

Spurs exploited this

Teams know when we go fire or send help to guard the paint from dribble drive we do it from the weak side leaving the corner and elbow 3 in a 2 v 1.

Spurs exploited this

[3toheadmelo]

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These people are paid to talk about basketball too. The advanced stats were screaming out that the guy was better than his season stats, and you didn't even need to use them since he showed out against the Jazz without Luka. It was painfully obvious that he would be a 20+ppg scorer with more touches and if his three point shot could improve he'd be a star, which it did. They are embarrassing and should neve talk about the NBA.

yeah, i didnt want brunson until i saw what he did in the playoffs without luka. i came on board with him since then. it seemed obvious he was going to be good for us. i was very vocal on the GB he was going to be good once we signed him and all the raptors fans got mad when i said i would easily take him over fred van felton. maybe i should bump that thread again.

[Ma10]

Spurs were shooting crazy to start and Knicks have been winning lately despite the injuries but you can’t win them all. Not too worried about this one.

Wemby is fun to watch. Spurs tank and get Wemby, we get RJ.

Wemby was always going to end up on the Spurs as long as they were in the lottery, and the reason the Knicks got RJ was because Mike Conley was leaving Memphis(Ja Morant), and Anthony Davis wanted out of New Orleans(Zion Williamson).

Wow you guys are pathetic!

[TrueWarrior]

In the Brunson signing thread, on the first page I said he could be a Lowry/Jameer Nelson/Van Vleet type player. Give us 20 ppg and maybe sneak into an All Star game.

That would have still been a great pickup, but Jalen has obviously surpassed the hell out of that. We’re talking multiple All NBA, perennial All Star, and hopefully NBA Champ if Leon keeps building right.

I admit I take Jalen for granted sometimes and dont talk about him enough, but he’s so good and consistent that I just expect this kind of play out of him now. When he gets 40, or even 50-60, it’s not a surprise. He’s that nice, and I don’t have to worry about him.

Very fun to watch too with his unorthodox style. He got 61 last night, and didnt even have many threes or free throws. Did most of his damage in the mid range, 3-10 foot area, where he is the best in the game. Got tired at the end, but gave it his all.

Salute to our boy JB.

[omerome]

In the Brunson signing thread, on the first page I said he could be a Lowry/Jameer Nelson/Van Vleet type player. Give us 20 ppg and maybe sneak into an All Star game.

That would have still been a great pickup, but Jalen has obviously surpassed the hell out of that. We’re talking multiple All NBA, perennial All Star, and hopefully NBA Champ if Leon keeps building right.

I admit I take Jalen for granted sometimes and dont talk about him enough, but he’s so good and consistent that I just expect this kind of play out of him now. When he gets 40, or even 50-60, it’s not a surprise. He’s that nice, and I don’t have to worry about him.

Very fun to watch too with his unorthodox style. He got 61 last night, and didnt even have many threes or free throws. Did most of his damage in the mid range, 3-10 foot area, where he is the best in the game. Got tired at the end, but gave it his all.

Salute to our boy JB.

For real. Last night, he was on a different level, and if only someone else could have given him a little more offensively. I only wish that he would get the same respect his star peers get when it comes to getting to the FT line (i.e., SGA).