Top 10 Contenders: Fear the New York Knicks, Jalen Brunson over Damian Lillard? | Hoops Tonight

Top 10 Contenders: Fear the New York Knicks, Jalen Brunson over Damian Lillard? | Hoops Tonight

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So you guys don’t miss any of our content over the course of this season all right let’s talk some basketball all right my number seven is a team that I’m actually kind of sneaky high on and I had to really temper myself because there was a there was a version of this

List where they were higher and it’s the New York Knicks and and here’s my reasoning I think if a couple of things go right for them and that’s Mitchell Robinson coming back from his ankle injury which apparently there’s some optimism coming out of his camp that it’s a possibility if Mitchell Robinson can

Come back from his injury if Julius Randle can come back and get in rhythm in time for the playoffs I think they’re one of the most physically imposing teams in the league the the numbers coming out of their core three are insane 285 minutes of Randall Brunson and an anobi 129

Offensive rating 104 defensive rating and a 56% rebound percentage and before anybody brings up the talent stuff I think personally Jaylen Brunson is a fringe Superstar type of guard I like I think he is so so so good I think he’s let me put it this way I think he’s

Closer to like what people think Dame is than like the Mitchell tier in my opinion like I I think he is I think Jaylen Brunson is freaking awesome and I think if you give him a truly physically imposing team that can defend at an elite level that can rebound at an elite

Level and as long as Julius Randall doesn’t piss down his leg when he gets to the playoffs I think they have that type of potential am I too high on the Knicks what do you feel about the Knicks the Knicks were my clear third

Team in the East for sure I had them a little bit lower in the grand scheme of the league I had them ninth I have a couple of teams in the west ahead of them still but we’re not too far off in terms of where we are if you have them

Seven I have them ninth uh I am generally with you that this construction of this roster really accentuates Jaylen Brunson and makes him to the point where look I would have Donovan Mitchell in this tier but I I don’t mind your take there that like he is within that

Lillard Mitchell grouping of players at this point he really just kind of is he is a fantastic fantastic player in terms of being able to get to his spots he decelerates exceptionally well he’s constantly on balance he has elite elite elite touch he’s a genuine three-level scorer in a way that you need

Three-level scorers to consistently keep Defenders off of their toes now how much do you trust him in isolation versus without a ball screen uh the only reason I say that is because I don’t know if they have another guy on this team that can score without a ball

Screen right now that’s my one concern about this everything is so tied to what jayen can do offensively being able to create separation being able to make the offense work what do they do if an opposing team you know I’m trying to think of like in

The West for instance right like if an opposing team is just like it we’re gonna throw Kawai on him and like just go okay like let’s make this work or the Nuggets throw kcp on him and say let’s go crazy and like completely shut it

Down on top of it teams are going to attack him on defense that’s the reality uh the Cavs last year had an easy spot to hide Jaylen Brunson on and tibs did that immaculately well uh they spent time using the Levert aoro Etc grouping uh at the three where they’

Space that guy into the corner using like an attacking help Defender and they spent time with Brunson using him as like a rest Defender basically to get him a blow to be able to get some uh get some like active rest on the court basically uh the heat also really gave

Him a lot of options to be able to hide on in a real way if they run into the Celtics there isn’t a place to hide uh if they run into the Bucks there are probably places to hide I would say like you could hide them on Patrick Beverly and be fine you

Could hide them on Andre Jackson on Jay Crowder whoever ever uh but in the west I think there are much there are many fewer places to hide uh on Jaylen Bronson so I agree with you on offense I think brunson’s a bit worse defensively than what Donovan Mitchell is and that causes

A few issues for them schematically they are total ass kickers uh if they are fully healthy OG and anobi is a stud uh playoff potential player hasn’t really shown it yet in the playoffs but like I think that that will come I think it will happen at the highest level uh like

You said Mitchell Robinson is kind of the key for me I love Isaiah hartenstein I think he is again another one of the most like underrated impactful players across the entire league but they need 48 minutes of just being like total ass kickers on the glass not just 24 I think

To be able to make a run honestly if they got placed into a buck Series right now I really might take them yeah well to put it clearly if they if they started tomorrow the Bucks aren’t sharp enough uh but the but for the record if they started

Tomorrow It’s Tricky but like I I look man like I I literally sit there and I think okay like if they’re healthy they have such a clear top five in the sense that it’s like like literally Dante dienzo has been one of the best spot up

Players in the league this year and and he’s a good point of attack Defender brings physical ball pressure like yep like that Brunson Devan chenzo OG Julius Mitchell Robinson that’s just a really good basketball team I I that’s an that’s an interesting thing to to put him against

Milwaukee because Milwaukee is like one of those teams that’s just so far from their potential at this point but that to me is the case it’s like the case you know we talked about the Suns a minute ago if the Suns started their playoff run tomorrow they would have to beat Denver four

Times out of seven and then after that they would have to turn around and beat Minnesota four times after out of seven and then after that they’d have to turn around and beat what Oklahoma City probably four times out of seven and then after that or the Clippers or The

Clippers yeah most likely the Clippers and then if they won that they’d have to turn around and most likely Beat Boston or somebody like that four times out of seven there’s just in the EAS in conference to your point they’re third like in in all likelihood if you’re

Ranking the team so like it’s really like if the Bucks don’t materialize you physically bully the Bucks you you get it done then you go on and it’s like all we have to do is Beat Boston and now we’re in the finals you know just it just seems like a more achievable they

Have a lot of ways they have a lot of ways to cause problems schematically for Milwaukee in that series you could throw OG and anobi onto Giannis you could use Julius Randall to guard uh Brook Lopez shooting in the corner whatever you want to do get late contests

Etc you can also then use your big Isaiah hartenstein Mitchell Robinson onto whoever the help Defender you know player is you know you can’t do it if it’s Malik Beasley out on the court so they probably have to play Beasley in those circumstances but if you’re playing Beasley then you have a real

Schematic offensive advantage on the court so let’s say it’s Beasley you put uh honestly like I would I don’t know if I would put Randle on him they run Beasley off of a lot of actions there there are different ways schematically that like you can really

Cause problems for them uh in terms of blup constructions in terms of different things because you have the anobi factor now who can throw 30 minutes onto Giannis and he won’t stop Giannis but he’s strong enough physical enough to at least think work slightly reduce giannis’s you know Effectiveness over

The course of the series especially when you have a help Defender at the center position there waiting as well you can just get late contests on Brook Lopez 3s at that point and you’d be pretty comfortable I think if you’re the Knicks the more I talk about this the

More I think I would take the Knicks in a series specifically against the bucks right now I think I would too but it’s only because of the fact that like there’s still so much theoretical with the buck but then I feel bad saying that because like like literally the entire

Nick’s front court is injured right now like all three guys so no I know like it’s all theoretical like everything about this exercise is I think you can run out of bodies though I think there could be a point where it’s like okay we have somebody that’s way too small to

Guard oan and noi on him right now like I think they present I I think they’re a difficult team to match up with physically and by the way Mitchell Robinson we talked about the Evan Mobley stuff Mitchell Robinson also just kicked their ass on the offensive glass in that

Series like like Mitchell Robinson is a real playoff mismatch problem for a lot of front lines in the league I I’m just really high I’m just really high on the Knicks um no I’m 100% with you and by the way that could create a real just like possession issue because the Bucks

Never hit the offensive class like that’s your whole thing like they would really have to they’ve been a good defensive rebounding team this year they haven’t been a great defensive rebounding team this year uh they would really have to control the defensive glass in that series in order to win

That series and if they’re in rotation nonstop too like if like as if they can’t contain at the point of attack and Yiannis and Brooke are always in help then no one’s matched up on the backline so like thinking about it like offensively there you put Giannis on

Julius Randall assuredly and then you have Brooke be the help man and then what you’re then throwing like Andre Jackson Malik Beasley Damen Lillard on Jaylen Bruns and midd and Middleton on OG and OG is bigger and stronger than Middleton yeah they have a real look

Like again the Bucks have the two best players in that Series in my opinion uh that might be enough but the Knicks have real schematic advantages against the Bucks in a series that are also let’s just let’s just call it what it is I think Jaylen brunson’s been a

Substantially better player this season than Dame I agree like I I agree with that um but yeah at least two of the top three but yeah the Knicks are interesting to me I I just I think they’re I think they’re Dangerous

Jason Timpf is joined by The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie to discuss the championship hopes for Jalen Brunson and the New York Knicks. Jason shares why he thinks Brunson is closer to Damian Lillard than Donovan Mitchell as a player, and the two debate whether they would take the Knicks or Bucks to win a playoff series.

Watch the full episode here: https://youtu.be/OJ5U55c_Kdk

Timeline:
00:00 – Jalen Brunson is a superstar
01:56 – Will Brunson carry Knicks in playoffs?
05:50 – Knicks or Bucks?

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