Jalen Brunson And Julius Randle Bully The Houston Rockets Into Submission W/ Ariel Pacheco
Welcome into the lock on Nicks podcast I’m Gavin Shaw tonight I’m joined by Ariel Pacho to breakdown a 109 to 94 win over the Houston Rockets a big- Time Performance by the Knicks two stars in the fourth quarter a Josh Hart Resurgence and is Quinton Grimes a goner
All that of more next un locked on Nicks you are locked on Nicks your daily New York Knicks podcast part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day you are locked on Knicks the Knicks were due for a good game and well they got
One a 109-94 win over the rockets and I’m lucky enough to be joined by Ariel Pacho you can follow him on Twitter AT AP Pacho MBA where you can also find his fantastic substack um if you want to learn more about the Knicks and become a smarter fan of basketball be sure to
Check it out and today’s episode is brought to you by Game Time download the game time app cre an account and use code lock on for $20 off your first purchase and I want to thank you for making lock on next your first listen today and every day be sure to subscribe
And hit that notifications Bell on YouTube and the Auto download function on your podcast platform of choice without further Ado let’s get into things right now with Ariel all right guys as promised I’m lucky enough to be joined by my buddy Ariel Pacho on today’s post game big win for the New
York Knicks over the Houston Rockets 109 to 94 arel it’s nice to have Jaylen Brunson back a dominant fourth quarter Julius Randall was kept in the game with four fouls he picked up his fourth with eight and a half minutes left in the third quarter I thought it was stupid
Shows you what I know Tom Fido happy birthday Tom a great decision Randall plays the rest of the way season high four threes both of them have over 30 points Josh Hart Redemption game a lot of stuff to talk about where do you want to start what stood out to you tonight
Um it’s just kind of refreshing just to see the the start difference in having Brunson on the floor again um especially down the stretch of the game we saw what the Orlando game was like um so it was just kind of like a reminder of just how
Good Brunson is and and how much of a difference maker he really is for the Knicks and has been since he’s joined I I thought it was um I I I was I thought it was interesting I guess would be the best way to put it um when tibs twice in
This game went to lineups with no Brunson and no Randall before um the injuries I think we’ pretty much only seen um those two like like one of them on the court for essentially every minute of the game I I think maybe a game or two before tib started
Experimenting with having one of them off the court at at a time and I I thought all right that’s a show of faith in deuce and a testament too he’s been playing that tibs is saying all right basically it’s your show go cook and then the fourth quarter dece had um the
Knicks were up by 13 they take Brunson out he’s out for like 90 seconds Deuce gets stripped someone on the Rockets goes Coast for coast and and Tom th is like I’ve seen enough Jaylen Brunson goes right back in um coming off an injury finishes tonight’s game with 37
Minutes I was surprised Julius only played 34 I think he had a really long stint out of the game in the first half OG an anobi 43 Isaiah hartenstein 41 I don’t really know if I’m going any particular direction with it other than the Tom Fido really wanted this win and
I I think we’ve just seen what the Knicks are this year against crummy teams this game moved him to 17- one against teams under 500 I believe that’s tied with the Denver Nuggets for the best record in the league against teams under 500 obviously still an open
Question just how good the OG anobi version of the Knick is is going to be against the best teams in the league but it just sort of feels like the floor is extremely extremely high with this group yeah that’s kind of where I’m at as well
Um just to touch on the minutes thing is it is a little bit concerning like seeing Isaiah hartstein I think he played the entire second half unless I missed like a very short sub um seeing you know uh Brunson just coming off an injury know straight to 37 minutes so
There definitely is is a little bit of weirdness there and then oobi’s been getting a ton of minutes um I think last time he had 43 minutes I don’t know much he had tonight but it0 oh okay there you go um so it’s just it’s a lot um and I think it’s it’s
Eventually may take his toe um hopefully not but I do think that the there needs to be like a little bit of a re reorientation of the minutes um precious I think he had five minutes in the first half didn’t touch the floor in the second half which I don’t necessarily
Disagree with um I think his minutes have been kind of up and down maybe more down than up so far um but I would have liked to see at some point to see like experimenting with Julius at the five I thought this was a good match up for
That with the Rockets going Jeff Green at the five but I mean overall you’re just happy to come away with the win um like you said beating you got to beat the bad teams you got to beat the teams you’re supposed to beat um but I was kind of impressed by Houston’s defense
As well I thought that was worth mentioning yeah no I think it’s I think it’s telling that I mean to your point five guys play at least 30 minutes and no one else on the roster plays over 20 minutes this this almost felt like like tibs treating this like a playoff game
The issue is I feel like he’s is going to treat every game like a playoff game the rest of the way um and and to me maybe the the single and we can Circle back on on Brunson and Randall but like the single most substantial part of this
Feeling like a playoff game was the way Josh Hart played like it felt like a weirdly vintage performance from him with 10 points 14 rebounds uh came into the game questionable with a knee injury I was like ready to come on and be pissed again obviously the reports out
There from Fred cats that the Knicks are actively listening to offers on on Grimes in search of another playmaker and my stance has kind of been like I feel like post trade Grimes has clearly been the better player than Hart and and Hart and and this was still an issue at
Times tonight has just constantly been passing up open threes and without Emanuel quickly out there to just like single-handedly provide some juice to the second unit in RJ Barrett to soak up some possessions like we’ve seen those Josh harled second units just totally stagnated I think in large part due to
His inability to create in the half court and his unwillingness to just take threes even if they’re the lightest of contests and again some of that stuff came up but the hustle like felt like last year’s Josh Hart and and that is a absolute game changer for the Knicks the
Chemistry between him and Brunson down the stretch of this game those two even having a pick and roll together um was was enticing and I I wonder if it was a case of like that’s something that works against the rockets and doesn’t work against better teams or or or heart
Hopefully hopefully this is the first game and him turning the corner a little bit looking more like the guy the Knicks got last year because he makes a different team yeah I’ve had similar concerns as you just with Josh Hart’s Menace overall um I don’t have I’ve
Never had an issue with like Josh Hart the player himself because I do think he brings some valuable things especially from the wing position like his rebounding um tonight we really saw him kind of get back to pushing in transition and kind of being really effective than that um definitely had a
Couple hiccups but overall like that kind of juice is the kind of things we saw from him last year when he was so effective so I mean I’m also been a little bit concerned because like his numbers around the rim have have dipped a little bit from last year um he’s not
Getting to the rim as much um the three-point shot you know it comes and goes for him and then he’s also can be passive and turn a lot of them down um but like when you get this version of Josh Hart where he’s like where where
It’s kind of hard to quantify like his impact where he’s like all over the floor and like he just seems to be like involved in every play um that’s the kind of Josh Hart that I think is like the one we’ve kind of come to like grow
And love and and and appreciate as a player um I would love to like my issue I guess when when I’m like critiquing I guess the heart situation is more so I just I’ve always had kind of concerns about the way his minutes are like kind
Of managed um like tonight we saw a lot of minutes with him at the two which I’m just not a fan of especially like when you have Grimes and and div chenzo the way they’re both playing it just feels like not having one of those two on the
Floor right now feels like kind of doing like Brunson and Randall at the service um so I’m just I’m a little iffy on it but it is nice to see him uh play nice once again and and I hope that it’s kind of the start of him kind of stringing
Together a good stretch of games yeah I think we’re we’re probably on the same page with this but I I’ve kind of been of the opinion it just takes the perfect storm for him to work at the two and tonight where Julius like I said it earlier but again and it’s it’s crazy
Because he was doing this regularly last year but it was a season high four threes for Julius like when Julius goes four for eight from three Brunson goes four for nine for three an anobi goes two for five from three like then all of a sudden it’s tenable like when you
Combine that with Josh Hart again just like making absurd hustle play after absurd hustle play in this game like he he had a save in the fourth quarter that was just ridiculous where he fought his way through like three rockets to like kind of like Tom Cruz Mission Impossible
Style slow-mo jump out of bounds like catch the ball in the air somehow able to keep it in like I I thought the defense like he he he didn’t get credit for all them but like he was taking like hit after hit on that end and like had that two-play sequence where Dylan
Brooks just kind of nailed him in the eye with the elbow and then there was a loose ball he beat Brooks to it you could tell Brooks was pissy and Brook just kind of started slapping him on the arm Josh Hart like pivots gets right to the rim lays it in
Big fist pump big let’s go to the crowd and it just sort of felt like a Year’s worth of frustration was let out on that one play he was also a key part of like what I thought was like the single best sequence for the Nicks all game where
Hartenstein I think it was on Jaylen green had a swat at The Rim Hart pushed it up to Julius Randall Randall touch pass to OG anobi for the and one dunk and and I guess that that that leads me to I mean unless you have any final
Thoughts on Hart and like I I don’t know that’s I think I think as much as it looks good on the right nights in the regular season um with no quickly on the floor like I I I just think him playing the two is is is death in the playoffs
And we saw that um against the Miami Heat last year with with even when Quinn Grimes had like 30 20 80 splits um he was still there were something like 30 points better with him on the floor than Josh Hart that still looms large for me
Even if anobi is a better shooter than RJ but anyways I bring up Randle to say like I I think the fact that he had four assists tonight does him a little bit of a service I I just thought this was such a smart like decisive game for him in
Terms of picking his spots as a scorer and he just he had three different assists that were just sort of one-timers where he’s getting off the ball quicker this year had two straight games where he didn’t totally do that and tonight I I just thought it was a
Series of good decisions from him yeah when randle’s working quickly and like decisively he’s so tough to stop um I think when he’s getting downhill and he knows where his teammates are on the floor and he’s able to map it out and he knows he has OG in the corner for
Example he found them for I think a couple of Threes um it’s just it’s a lot of fun and that’s when he’s really at his best when he’s able to kind of um use his his his downhill ability to get people going um and again I mentioned the quick decision making with Randle
Because when when he’s at his worst it’s always like holding on to the ball too long when there’s a double or you know he’s like can’t find an open man or or it’s just when when he’s working quickly that’s when you always see the best version of him and I thought it was
Really nice to see him hit some threes tonight um he’s kind of struggled with his shot this season um so just just seeing him get a couple a couple of tough ones too from the corner um just seeing him knock those down is just a positive sign um I just think overall
Like you can kind of point to anyone on the floor that played today for the most part and and kind of find something good to take away which which is kind of it’s good to see that after kind kind of a couple of ugly games um against some
Some worse Talent than the Rockets but um overall just an encouraging win and um I think the takeaways should be more positive than anything negative after T all right guys next on locked on Nicks we’re going to continue diving deep into what made it such a good night for
Julius Randall and a dominant fourth quarter from Jaylen Bronson but first I got to tell you about our buddies over at prize picks so you might be at home asking what is priz piix well priz piix is the largest daily fantasy sports DFS platform in North America where the
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Linkedin.com loock NBA to post your job for free terms and conditions apply yeah and and maybe maybe this is just a heads space I’ve been recently like I I find myself looking at this one and and definitely like it’s not I I don’t want to call this a negative I
Think Houston is a pretty good team and just the way the Knicks dismantled them down the stretch of this game was I mean it’s what they’ve been doing all year against teams that they’re better than it just sort of feels like again like you look at the minutes totals and like
I I keep I guess like I’m I’m repeating myself a little bit but I kind of come back to the same question like all right do the Knicks like should they need everyone like all their stars to play that much to beat the ETS and like and
And maybe this was Tom thibo saying like I want I want a clean win I want I want to win by 15 and I want to be up by five sweating it out with three minutes left and maybe if he’d kept Deuce out there for three or four minutes and like that
Bench line up out there for three or four minutes that’s what it would have been and it’s why it makes me think this Nicks team is is ultimately um not quite done yet but let’s um let’s dive a little deeper on on Jaylen Brunson because it was an amazing amazing return
For him 30 points seven assists three rebounds 11 to 21 from the field four for nine from three four for seven from the line um I mean I just this was like a him being the best guy on the court game and I remember last year he had all
Those duels with Fred Van vade and Van blade seemed to take a joy in in cooking against Brunson almost like you’re you’re not taking my title of of best diminutive guard in the Eastern Conference and and Brunson tonight was just so much better than him I don’t
Know about you Ariel maybe those games just because Toronto tortured the Knicks last year three and one all of them were ugly like it felt like the Knicks walked out with like black eyes and limps every time they they played those games like it was just satisfying even if fvv is on
A new team to watch Brunson just just kick his you know what all night yeah it was like a small guard War um between those two it has been in every match up and it’s fun to watch because they’re kind of both small guards but they do it
In different ways um I thought yeah but they’ve always kind of gone at it and it’s it’s just fun to see like guys at that size kind of find their own ways to like dominate NBA games um but yeah just to get back to Brunson he was he was
Awesome tonight like the tough shot making he made so many shots that like he F he got fouled on you could see him get frustrated but he’s still just able to knock it down just because he has that kind of innate ability to play through contact um it’s it’s interesting
To see what kind of whistles he gets night tonight because it always feels like he doesn’t get the amount of calls that he probably deserves um but I I I come away just feeling like when Brunson is on the floor like the Knicks just always they just feel better they they
Run better and he just has this kind of um feel for like the Knicks need a bucket or or when he needs to get somebody a touch and I think since the trade we’ve kind of seen his playmaking pop a little bit more I feel like we’re
Seeing him with the ball in his hands more I guess he he kind of understands the other guys on the floor other than Randall are guys that kind of they need they need him to get them involved they aren’t guys like OG OG can do a little
Bit off the bounce is not always the prettiest but I think a guy like OG guys like Grimes Dante they they they Thrive when the ball is being swung to them and it’s coming off of you know the defense is already bending over so I think
Overall it’s just it’s a lot it’s a lot to ask of Brunson so when we we talk about the minutes um and going forward I think he has a heavy load so I am a little bit concerned in that aspect um but um it’s just again it’s just really
Nice to see him on the court again yeah I mean I guess that’s what I was really getting at earlier and you summed it up more succinctly and better than I could like they’re just so reliant on Brunson and Randle to create everything but but to those guys’ credit they’ve been uppr
It and you you almost get the feeling that IB after the OG trade like almost pulled them aside and said like hey like you guys can’t just be scorers out there like because no one else is creating their own shot and I thought Brunson I
Mean he had he had two like deep threes to start the game and then only scored four more points the the entire rest of the first half but it’s because he was like really good in distribution he set up iHeart like over and over and over
Again like he he loves that little like he he’s done it with heart a bunch of times too where he’s like just dribbling across the middle of the floor and almost looking like he’s just like nashing it even though it’s not into the basket where he’s almost going
Horizontal um to the rim instead of instead of being like facing the rim and then he’ll just throw like this no look like pocket pass to whoever’s under the basket and there just so many eyes around him like he had another one where he was driving and Drew like three guys
At The Rim at the last second slung it out to the opposite corner to OG I mean what stood out to me more than anything else was just like was again tibs only sitting him for whatever it was a minute 90 seconds in the fourth quarter and then Brunson coming in and just
Immediately recognizing what the mission was just it just kind of said all right it’s winning and he he came in immediately hit a three had I I think this is one of the shots you were referencing just like a total circus shot like falling down where senon basically tackling him should have been
An and one I mentioned that that pick and roll with him and hard I I thought that was a thing of beauty we’re too stuck with Brunson off the on the ball and again like Brunson last year like maybe still tries to do something in terms of scoring there and instead he
Just gets off the ball fast like throws it right to hard hard gets right to the rim for a layup um like him getting to the middle of the floor for floating jumper like the late back-to-back wood be And1 he missed one free throw but he
He was just a force and houon had zero answer for him um you you mentioned Dante only 19 minutes in this game but I I thought like a gamechanging stretch in the first half where he accounted for seven straight points that was like just like it it kind of helped the Knicks
Shake away from Houston and Houston um I don’t know if they had another lead after that they got it to 4746 but um he he had two like um like he had that pick two where he left off for Randall for the dunk um then like had like a bunch
Of great helps on on shenon um and didn’t let him get anything up around the rim and then had that outlet to OG anobi then he hit a three when Julius just sort of left it behind and set a pick like I I just thought that stretch
And like Dante seemingly is doing this every game now like where he’s he’s just carrying the Knicks at at some point where they need offense and it’s been so crucial post trade to get that from him yeah he’s kind of been showing a little bit more like scoring ability inside the
Arc these past few games um I guess out of necessity more than like um him kind of flashing his skills but um overall like I tweeted this earlier but he’s just been so consistent and like he’s been about as good as like I think any reasonable person could have expected
From him um I think now that we’re seeing him defend off the ball a lot more you can see like he denies so many actions he he makes teams kind of turn away from their first or second options and go into their third and fourth and that just makes teams dribble out the
Shot clock more you know more difficult shots as a result or he’s you know getting steals in on in the passing lane and then dropping it off for Julius like he did earlier tonight um I I Come Away watching him and it’s like I I wasn’t I
Don’t want to say I was high or low on this de chenzel signing I was kind of you know I understood it and I was like okay I think he helps um I didn’t see him having this kind of an impact night and night out um and it’s it’s kind of
Been enjoyable to see him kind of build that chemistry alongside not just Brunson who we know he had a connection with but Rando as well seems like those two have been really good at at developing a two-man game and we’ve been really seeing it pop l so I’ve enjoyed
That as well all right guys we’ll be back with arel one final time to tell you whether it’s a good idea or an absolutely disgusting one for the New York Knicks to trade Quint Grimes maybe I just gave it away I don’t know uh but
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Minute tickets lowest price guaranteed he he’s almost the I mean hard heart taking and making threes is is probably the number one thing but divon chenzo just because he’s had kind of an iffy postseason track record like he he he might be up there for the biggest swing guy for the Knicks in
Terms of them maintaining this level of play into the postseason obviously another guy in that conversation OG an anobi 15 points five rebounds four steals one block and sometimes sometimes you see a guy has four Steals and and it jumps out you like whoa I didn’t I didn’t notice that watching that that’s
A big number and OG it felt it felt like at least four steals like I I thought this was about as dominant of a defensive game he’s had for the Knicks may maybe maybe save for that that first one where he was locking up Anthony Edwards and Carl Anthony Towns at
Different times but what did you make of his night that one play uh towards in the fourth where he was guarding shenon in the in the post and then I think he blocks the first attempt then he gets a strip on the next one it’s just like the
Kind of perfect kind of you know way to describe or if I was showing somebody a clip of OG I’m like yeah this is what he does he legitimately can guard one through five and it’s it’s it’s very unique it’s very rare um and I think
Like seeing him today you you just kind of notice his size on the court at all times it’s like he’s huge and maybe it’s just because like we’ve been watching the Knicks all these years like they haven’t had a legit like Wing player like size guy in a while so maybe he
Just pops a little bit more than usual but um I I think tonight he he kind of I’ve enjoyed the drives from him lately they’re kind of up and down and sometimes they’re not the prettiest but when he’s able to like maintain his balance he goes up strong and whether
He’s able to finish usually leads to like an offensive rebound because he’s dragging over the center um to rotate on the drive so um again I come away like very like I the OG trade has just been about again as good as you could have expected especially initially um I do
Think they will need to supplement that him and especially that bench unit with like another ball handler at some point because it does feel like they just kind of all take turns kind of like hey do you think you got something this possession um so I’m a little concerned
There um but OG OG’s awesome man yeah I’m I’m I’m with you on the drives I’ve been calling it out every game the dunk he almost had the the other day over what it was Jonathan Isaac and Paulo If I’m remember or maybe maybe Isaac and
Wendell Carter that was just absurd um I just get so hyped up every time he muscles something he was to your point like RJ would do that occasionally on a mismatch and Julius obviously has some of that in his game but the Knicks just like that was the type of thing that
Would happen to the Knicks and you’d have someone standing over your dude and like flexing on him and it it would I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that Josh Hart does that to guys sometimes but generally like this year it felt like the Knicks were the ones getting bullied
And OG has completely flipped that there are times again where the offense dies a little bit and and I think tibs is maybe asking for a little bit too much if he’s like I I I guess I don’t know if you would consider him this but if he is
Your nominal like number one option with that bench unit or co- number one with Deuce like but as a secondary Creator and like like when he when he has an opening and someone’s closing out to him like it’s so fun and I just want him to
Find a way to get to two of those drives a quarter like I know eight drives is is is a pretty high amount for a third option on a per game basis but the more of that he can do um and the less of him like pulling up for usually like awkward
Like mid-range jumpers which tonight he didn’t really take any of um that’d be great and his defense yeah again was just it’s just so nice like anytime he goes oneon-one like Ariel I know you you’re like me you play Pick A basketball like when when you know um
Like you’re better than someone and like someone else on their team’s like go at him go at him and I’m like please please go at me I feel like OG’s saying that like every second of every game and as a fan like I get to I get to pretend Emoji
Now like please go at him and it never works out for other teams yeah yeah yeah he’s just like he’s he’s like very sticky on the ball and then off the ball he’s always on point um I I I see him like make a lot of like backline
Rotations he’s just always on the ball he gets he gets his hand on the ball a lot um I just I’ve I’ve come to really appreciate him defensively and then on offense tooo and just to add to the point on his drives his passing is kind of it’s very simple it’s nothing like
Out of this world but sometimes making the simple decision is is the right decision and he’s found hartenstein on a couple of like dump off passes um so again it’s nothing that’ll like scream like like off the page but I think it’s something worth mentioning because I
Think like to contrast with RJ which isn’t really fair but with R.J sometimes on his drives he would um kind of try to do a little too much and with OG is just always like okay you close out on me I’ll take the drive to the paint and if
I have the dunk I’ll go up for it and if not I’ll just dump it off or if not he just resets it’s very simple decision- making but again like simple can be very effective and it is for him I I know I know people have mentioned it but I I
Think the the upgrade offensively I mean so so obviously so much of it is tied into his shooting and the fact that he’s treated as a shooter and then and then the next biggest thing is just the negative plays that RJ had are just few and far between with OG and it’s it’s
Almost less so the plays is making and more so the plays he isn’t making um let’s let’s finish on on Quinton Grimes because we didn’t um Al Alex of course did the great episode on uh Malcolm Brogden the other day which which you didn’t if you didn’t get to check out um
Really really fun Crossover with lock on Blazers um diving deep on on that potential trade I I think brogon would be a great fit um 52% shooter on spot of Threes this year Des fight I’m sure teams just flying out on him because there aren’t a lot of options on
Portland so that would be cool to see Quinn Grimes though um I I know I’m just from talking to you over the years Ariel you’re like me I’m a huge fan of his and probably similarly have been somewhat dismayed to see that this trade which I
Thought would open up like a much bigger role for him um hasn’t really changed his lot in life for the Knicks and it’s been pretty clear that he is like a breaking case of emergency option it almost doesn’t matter how well he plays like tonight only shot two for six from
Three the the bright spot was that he went five for five from the line when he’d only taken 16 free all season and those came on two straight plays but it it just feels like he’s continued to be in impossible position of trying to build a rhythm and trying to expand his
Game while not getting to play more than six seven minutes in a row at a time and now it feels like the Knicks are ready to move on for this guy that I don’t know about you I was super excited to see him and ogj anobi on the court
Defending together in the playoffs like I I thought that was going to be epic yeah that tandem would be like insane on any team’s like top two options um overall I am pretty frustrated with his minutes I do think that it should be pretty easy to get him and or Dante over
20 minutes a night um today they both played under 20 and I think the issue again we touched on it a little bit earlier with heart playing at the two that kind of eats away at those guys minutes just because they never play together um I believe I think it was
Fred Kats in his story who said that they only played 36 minutes together in total this season and I think that’s kind of a very it’s a severely limiting factor in ter in terms of what how many minutes Grimes can play and also de because they they’re slotted into the
Two and then now they have heart eating at their minutes as well um so it’s a little bit tough for Grimes right now um I do think he’s played a lot better since the since his benching and then even better since the trade um overall I
Think I think they started to look for him a little bit more he doesn’t feel as lost like offensively um and I think that he’s been more aggressive in the way he’s getting his shots now like tonight taking five free throws is something we haven’t seen from him all
Season um so again it’s just encouraging to see him get some minutes but I I do think think it is a little bit disappointing that he may be getting shipped out without really getting that increased opportunity we thought we’d see from the point of the trade to the
Trade deadline um yeah but yeah we no no no finish up oh yeah just that um I’ve nothing much else to add just that I think that his defense is very valuable and I think that it’s kind of going a little bit undervalued by tib so far um
Just I think that like sometimes Hart has the more difficult matchups when they’re on the court together um but yeah just basically yeah I think it’s I mean it’s a continuation from what we saw in the playoffs last year right where like in the Heat series like Tom
Thibo allegedly big proponent of of analytics and and of looking at net ratings and and watching the games three times and yet he he couldn’t seem to grasp that the Knicks were just way way way better with Grimes on the court because he was like the one fulcrum of
Spacing that they had and I understand like as noted before like that anobi changes the equation a little bit because he’s guarded in a way that RJ isn’t and it does open up a world where you can play Heart at the two and it’s
Not it’s not as much of a disaster as it was with RJ but I I think you’re you’re almost approaching it the wrong way if that’s your logic because what kind of world does it open up for Brunson and Randall if you have two guys who are treated like knockdown Shooters in
Grimes and anobi on the court at the same time and of course we get to see that with a starting lineup that has been incredible but Grimes just does I mean he’s just a different level of Defender than Dante Devan chenzo is and and I would argue he’s he’s a better
One-on-one Defender than Josh Hart is and I think we saw that at times in terms of how the two guarded Jimmy Butler in that series a year ago and I just I wish we could obviously I don’t want anyone to get hurt but I wish we could get five games of Grimes getting
Back to playing 30 minutes and just seeing what him and anobi look like together because with the bench at times they’ve been impenetrable at times it’s been a little shaky but I think over the Long Haul like those two on the court in the playoffs like if I were Tom Fido
That would be my endgame and I think he he just values the supplemental stuff that Hart does in terms of rebounding and and secondary playmaking to such a high extent but Grimes hasn’t necessarily had a chance in his career to develop those things and and to be
Clear like some of it is in grimes’s Camp and like it didn’t feel like he made a big leap this season and and if he’d come out this year with maybe a little bit more to his game and being more aggressive as a driver like we
Might not have gone down this road so I don’t I don’t want to say it’s all on tibs but it it just feels like a trade that the Knicks like when they make that eventual star move like I’m still the proponent like Quinn Grimes is someone you want on a championship caliber team
Yeah he’s just so easy to slot in alongside anybody just because you know you’re what you’re getting from him defensively you know the shot is going to be there you know teams are going to defend him at the three-point line which is kind of the biggest thing is just you
Create that spacing for Randall and Brunson which is which is so important as we saw last season in the playoffs um again I think it’s it’s I’m a little concerned that this is a longer conversation but just to jump just dip the toes in a little bit uh just the way
That I’ve always felt a little concerned at the way the Knicks have kind of traded their young Talent of late without really fully exploring the kind of lineups that work and don’t work and if Grimes is dealt um I it’ll feel again like we didn’t really see exactly like
What how he could have worked alongside in the starting lineup or you know on the bench alongside even chenzo in lineups or just him getting 20 25 minutes off the bench because I do think there’s a world where um pretty simply too where Hart divon chenzo and Grimes
Can all play over 20 minutes a game um but again with heart eating at the the minutes at the two it just it severely limits what divon chenzo and Grimes can play yeah and I think I think my like nauseous reaction at at seeing that report is partially because I love
Grimes and partially at the idea that the Knicks have drafted so well over the last few years and and it did it it was just amazing like even RJ who like I think we we were both and like a lot of people who follows him closely like kind
Of ifon as a player like it felt like such a win when he signed that contract extension and and broke the the Charlie Ward curse like of course he only gets whatever 30 games in in into that extension before getting dealt but you look at the roster if they traded Grimes
And and and it would be Duce and Mitch is the only two guys who were drafted in the Nickson rotation with with it looking like a real possibility all of a sudden like Mitch could be traded like I don’t know if before the deadline but certainly this off season if if the
Right deal came around and they were able to resign hardenstein so it’s great that the Knicks are good you you it’s champ champagne s is Chris Percy I didn’t put it when they’re in the podb they’re trading again quickly and and RJ for someone like anobi who’s who’s so
Exceptionally good um but it just it’s it’s a little bit of a bummer to not do it with these guys that that you’ve you’ve kind of fallen in love with that were that were all underdogs and like I mean quickly to a te RJ in his own way
And Grimes to his own way like all embraced like I think like the qualities that Nick’s fans like have have loved for years and years and years um and it it just it it be it’d be sad for the Nick to be great without any of those
Guys still on the team yeah like I think the easiest way to put it like from a basketball like GM front office perspective these deals might be the right deal in the long run to get the Knicks closer to a championship but I think from a fans perspective you know
You you you watch these guys grow and play for like two three four years and you get an attachment to them and then what they kind of mean to the team so then when you lose all of that you kind of just not that you lose the attachment
To the team but you kind of lose a little piece of like why you enjoyed this team over the past couple of years so that’s yeah beautifully said um as good a note as any to end on um Ariel Pacho um I I I will I will mention it in
The episode intro but uh one final time can you tell everyone uh where they can find all your great work yeah you can find me on Twitter at Apo NBA um I have a substack where I write occasionally about things that are going on with the
Knicks um so yeah just follow me on Twitter and anything I do will be on there all right um as always could not give a bigger endorsement to all of Ariel’s work you will be a smarter basketball fan for having consumed it you’ll be a better Nicks fan for having
Consumed it um but until next time this Ariel I’m Gavin we will talk to you very very soon on lock on Nicks
Oh yeah that Jalen Brunson guy is pretty good huh?
Gavin Schall and Ariel Pacheco team up to break down a dominant fourth quarter from Brunson and Julius Randle, plus a resurgent performance from Josh Hart before wrapping up discussing the Quentin Grimes rumors and the potential pain of another young beloved Knick being dealt.
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