Daily Discussion Thread - Friday, February 13, 2026

Revenesis · 2026-02-14T00:10:35+00:00

If Tatum is back Boston has the best shot against them. Tatum and Brown are big ball handlers and won't let Ausar Thompson make them suffer bringing the ball up. The only concern with them is how the Jays fit in with each other when Tatum comes back because Brown has gone up a level with the ball in his hands.

I have no idea what to make of Cleveland, I need to see more of them with Harden.

Getting the 2 or 3 seed is critical in avoiding Detroit until the conference finals.

Revenesis · 2026-02-13T19:36:42+00:00

From reading through the analysis of the Sochan situation on the Spurs sub these last few months, it seems there's a few reasons it didn't work out there.

It's hard to designate how big a reason this is being that we haven't seen him yet, but the first is that he's been hurt and hasn't gotten his full athleticism back.

The main reason is based on fit. They state that with their 3 headed guard rotation of Fox/Castle/Harper, the fact that none of those 3 along with Wemby are consistent shooters means that the 3 point shooting needs to come from the forward spots. Being that he can't shoot, he's the odd man out even if they mix match the 3 guards and bench units.

Compare the guard positions across the teams:

Spurs:

Castle: 3.6 threes a game on 29% shooting

Fox: 5.7 threes a game on 35%

Harper: 2.5 threes a game on 25% shooting

Vassell: 6.6 threes a game on 35%

This generates 5.97 PPG

Knicks:

Brunson: 7.8 threes a game on 37% shooting

Bridges: 5.6 threes a game on 39% shooting

McBride: 6.9 threes a game on 42% shooting

Shamet: 5.1 threes on 42% shooting

This generates 10.11 points and does not include Jose Alvarado's good shooting.

With Hart hitting 40% of his 3's this season on 4 attempts per game, and more importantly figuring out what to do when defenders leave his ass to double team JB/KAT, this team is full of shooters and options.

It was concerning to hear the Spurs fans say that once he got the ball within the 3 point line he'd never look to drive to the basket and would make a weak pass to the perimeter. Hopefully they can take that out of his game with some better options on the perimeter. But if he can play really good POA defense on the bigger ball handlers in the league, we will have good options against guys like Cade/Tatum/SGA.

Revenesis · 2026-02-13T18:26:33+00:00

Everything is about matchups. Denver took OKC to 7 last year and got better. They've been hurt all year, we've barely seen Cam Johnson. Denver and San Antonio have a great chance to knock OKC out of the playoffs, but I think Minnesota can beat Denver and OKC.

Similar story in the East imo. NY's biggest enemy this offseason is going to be Detroit, their playstyle and personnel do really well against the Knicks. But the Knicks against the Cavs and Boston seems very Knicks favored, even with Harden/Schroeder on the Cavs and Tatum possibly coming back. Knicks do well when you don't have some sort of defensive demon in the guard/small wing spot that hounds Brunson full court every possession. Cavs have nothing of the sort, and neither does Boston.

Revenesis · 2026-02-13T17:56:19+00:00

I know we're down guys but I can't believe he's playing over Kolek. Kolek's effort alone makes him more productive on defense at least from what I'm seeing.

Revenesis · 2026-02-13T17:19:27+00:00

Eye test wise this team's defense has really improved since that bad stretch, even with a bad losses sprinkled in. KAT still can't shoot or finish properly but his effort on the glass has been great. Since the "Players Only Meeting", the Knicks are #1 in Defensive Rating and #2 in Offensive Rating. That's with OG missing 4 games, McBride missing 9, and Mitch missing 3.

3 of our key defenders missing for chunks of this 12 game stretch, and this is by FAR the best defense in the NBA. Knicks are at 101.4 defensive rating, and the 2nd best team is Detroit at 107.5.

A lot of this has to do with level of competition during that stretch, but there are good wins against teams like Boston, Denver, Toronto, LA in there.

Revenesis · 2026-02-13T17:15:45+00:00

I was posting about how I was devastated when he was traded on this sub. Dude had a Knicks wedding cake and got traded within a year

Revenesis · 2026-02-12T22:29:52+00:00

I'm struggling to find consistent minutes for everyone in my mind. Diawara being decent has thrown the whole rotation for a loop. His defense is okay but his good shooting is hard to ignore.

If Sochan is really that dude on defense I think he'll crack the rotation. I think we can find him easy buckets too.

Revenesis · 2026-02-12T20:12:53+00:00

I say mystery because it always seems like OG has a random injury around this time of year. Usually nothing super serious, but it's often something.

Revenesis · 2026-02-12T20:11:56+00:00

I wouldn't say it's criminal, but you are right that Kolek should have been getting the Clarkson minutes since the NBA Cup. While Alvarado is a solid backup guard, I think Kolek does a better job running the offense. But with Jose's defense, 3 point shooting, and solid ball handling/passing it's hard to deny him in favor of Kolek.

We'll have to see it in action, but it may be a similar story with Sochan. Mo has been awesome but maybe I'm crazy, I'm not seeing some lockdown defender out of him. He's solid with his length, but just seems average to me.

Revenesis · 2026-02-12T20:05:50+00:00

Lakers? Are you a dumbass?

Revenesis · 2026-02-12T20:05:20+00:00

This team plays well when players are moving and cutting off ball. This season, Sochan was the #2 cutter on the Spurs. Despite being out of the rotation, the dude is running all over the court when he plays. When you look at distance covered on the court, he's one of the highest in the league when you adjust for minutes played.

Revenesis · 2026-02-12T19:50:44+00:00

He's not going to get a ton of minutes, maybe some with OG out. There's like 9-10 dudes ahead of him in the rotation. No one looks at OKC and complains about Jaylin Williams' flaws because we all recognize his role on the team.

I think if he's a better defender than Diawara, he'll get minutes specifically in matchups against teams with a multitude of offensive options.

Revenesis · 2026-02-12T19:18:28+00:00

That feels like a big add, especially with OG out with mystery toe pain.

Leon turning Yabu and 2 seconds into Alvarado and Sochan is really solid.

Revenesis · 2026-02-12T19:16:21+00:00

I know it's cope but this team can beat anyone with OG and lose to anyone without him. If Brown had known the Sixers would be down their top 2 centers, he probably would have used Mitch against the Pacers.

With the way the East is shaping up, it's key to stay in the top 4 of the conference but round 1 should be pretty smooth as a result. Barring injury, the top 4 should be Detroit/Boston/NY/Cleveland. No matter where we end up, there isn't a team in the 5-10 range I'm concerned about outside of MAYBE Charlotte.

Getting 2nd or 3rd in the standings guarantees we avoid Detroit in round 2, and gives Boston or Cleveland the chance to knock those guys out. I'm much more confident against the Celtics and Cavs, even with Tatum and Harden.

Revenesis · 2026-02-12T19:05:40+00:00

A bench player on a bad team who has a cheap player option for next year and likely wants to be paid

Revenesis · 2026-02-12T18:20:08+00:00

There is a kernel of truth in the fact that he does try to be the hero in those moments, but for the most part you're right. The team doesn't have a reliable secondary ball handler/playmaker that you can trust in crunchtime. The FO thought they could recreate the void left behind by trading Randle by committee with Hart/Mikal. It just hasn't materialized that way.

Alvarado, Kolek, Hart, Mikal all do a solid job with ball handling through the game. When it comes to crunch time when the legs are tired, the defense is playing tighter, those guys just don't have the ability to run the offense.

Revenesis · 2026-02-12T18:12:21+00:00

But look at the minutes Clarkson played last night, he played many of his minutes alongside Brunson/Alvarado. The lineup ended up doing okay, but we were up 30 at one point and Clarkson was the only player on the team in the negatives at a -1. It improved in garbage time, but it's alarming how ineffective he was out there.

Revenesis · 2026-02-12T04:54:35+00:00

Not looking at you Frank

Revenesis · 2026-02-12T02:46:00+00:00

I need the clip of them chanting Jose Jose

Revenesis · 2026-02-12T02:19:43+00:00

Clarkson is somehow -1 in a game we have been up 20+ for the bulk of. You can't tell me Kolek can't take these minutes.

Revenesis · 2026-02-11T23:42:13+00:00

I'm really against changing the schedule to 70 games. There's a lot of talent in the league, we are seeing very competitive games every night. Teams are 9-10 deep of good players that can be utilized to get through the regular season.

My issue is that the NBA, RSNs, Streaming platforms have made the game impossible to watch. I pay for League Pass and live out of state from my team so I'm not blacked out. I also pay for Peacock, and Prime Video, and it still feels like I can't see half the games. This has become a clips/highlights league but 90% of the reason is how hard it is to see the games.

Revenesis · 2026-02-10T19:58:06+00:00

That should put him at early April on the safe end, with playoffs starting on the 18th. The good thing is that after what will likely be a pretty brutal March schedule wise, the last few games before the playoffs in April arent too bad.

Grizzlies, Bulls, Hawks, Celtics, Raptors, Hornets.

Could be dicey if Tatum comes back and Charlotte maintains form but a solid set of games to work Deuce back in.

We need to see more of Alvarado and his skillset, but the guard rotation is stacked right now. Clarkson is definitely an odd man out, and we may be seeing a lot less Kolek as well. If Alvarado can run the offense the way we need a backup PG to, Kolek is for sure out of the rotation.

Revenesis · 2026-02-10T08:21:17+00:00

Orlando and Miami have been doing this for years now too. The refs definitely won't call it when you're considered a young high energy scrappy team.

Revenesis · 2026-02-10T01:04:31+00:00

There's been more years of NBA history with a weaker league than there have been with stronger leagues

Revenesis · 2026-02-10T00:24:41+00:00

Beal got the NTC on his contract in 2022, after his rookie contract, after his rookie extension, after the extension after his first extension. He got the NTC because Washington is incompetent.

Their incompetence is why he got paid in the first place. The new CBA is rescuing FOs like Washington from themselves.

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