Gavin Schall here, the host of the daily Locked On Knicks podcast, with your daily Locked On Knicks newsletter. Each day we bring you the biggest stories about the Knicks and the NBA, including the hottest links to other stories you need to read. Plus, Josh Lloyd delivers daily fantasy notes to crush your league.
NBA Cup Primer
Nov 12, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (21) and New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) tip off to start the game at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images|Bill Streicher/Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
The NBA Cup: What It Means for the Knicks
The NBA Cup is back, and it’s stirring up conversations among fans and analysts alike. As a dedicated follower of the New York Knicks, I find myself pondering the implications of this in-season tournament. The NBA’s decision to rebrand the in-season tournament as the NBA Cup aims to inject excitement into the early part of the season. But what does this mean for the Knicks, and should they be eager to advance?
Understanding the NBA Cup Format
The NBA Cup consists of two main phases: group play and knockout rounds. Currently, we’re in the group play stage, where the Knicks are part of a group that includes the Philadelphia 76ers, Brooklyn Nets, Charlotte Hornets, and Orlando Magic. Each team plays four games within their group, with the top teams advancing to the knockout rounds. The Knicks have already secured a win against the Sixers, setting a positive tone for their group play journey.
The tournament’s structure is designed to add a competitive edge to regular season games, with the ultimate goal of creating buzz and engagement among fans. However, the question remains: does this format truly benefit the Knicks, or is it merely an additional challenge in an already grueling season?
The Stakes and Potential Impact
One of the intriguing aspects of the NBA Cup is the potential for tiebreakers, which could lead to teams aggressively running up scores to secure their spot in the knockout rounds. This could result in more intense and competitive games, providing fans with thrilling matchups. However, the lack of significant rewards, such as playoff implications or additional wins, raises questions about the tournament’s true value.
For the Knicks, the NBA Cup presents an opportunity to test their mettle against familiar foes. The group play schedule includes matchups against the Nets, Hornets, and Magic, each offering unique challenges. The Nets, with their dynamic backcourt, pose a threat, while the Hornets’ high three-point rate and the Magic’s defensive prowess add layers of complexity to the Knicks’ path forward.
Despite the potential for exciting games, the NBA Cup’s current format leaves much to be desired in terms of tangible benefits. The absence of playoff implications or meaningful rewards for the winning team diminishes the tournament’s significance. As a Knicks fan, I find myself questioning whether the effort required to advance in the NBA Cup is worth the potential drawbacks, such as increased fatigue and injury risk.
For more insights and a deeper dive into the NBA Cup and its implications for the Knicks, tune into the Locked On Knicks podcast for this and much more.
Other Topics in Today’s Locked On Knicks Podcast:
- Analysis of the Knicks’ recent performance against the Philadelphia 76ers
- A look at the upcoming matchups against the Brooklyn Nets and Charlotte Hornets
- Discussion on the Knicks’ defensive strategies and potential adjustments
- Insights into the impact of player rotations and bench contributions
I held off on writing about the apparent rash, or rise, of early-season athlete injuries because there’s always some recency bias involved when the subject comes up. Are there really more injuries this year than any other? Do we have the data to support it? Is there a new, underlying cause? Or are injuries due to the same compounding mix of bad luck and the NBA’s 82-game schedule running into a long postseason, running into the offseason, running back into a brand new long regular season and the erosion of bodies this eventually leads to?
A report early this week showed early-season injuries were up 35%, and indeed ESPN’s list of injuries, at a glance, looks like a ferocious Christmas tree, lit up in blazing reds and yellows. A handful of teams (the Grizzlies, Pelicans, Raptors) are cobbling together rosters game-to-game depending on who’s still healthy. TrueHoop’s Henry Abbott ran a draft of the injured list this week and each team reads like an All-Star squad on steroids, and when Abbott printed out the league’s official injury report it was 10 pages long.
Injuries are definitely up — but why?
The Paris Olympics proved extra playing time for a few top-tier stars, but most of them remain healthy. The early season schedule hasn’t served up any more back-to-backs to longer road game stretches, which tend to be more gruelling on athletes, than usual. However, when everything appears to be normal and the bodily price is anything but, perhaps it’s time to examine that “normal”.
The NBA’s current schedule of 82 games was adopted in 1967. Already, I’m sure your brain is picturing black and white basketball, that’s good. When you picture that grainy, glitchy footage, how fast is it going? The reality is that the game used to be a lot slower. Not just in its mechanics (think of an offensive passing sequence, the ball flipping from set of hands to hands at a speed that can be hard to follow), but the athleticism too. Bodies were moving slower. The game was still physical — the trope of players from the 80s and 90s complaining about the “softness” of current athletes is a trope for a reason — but full tilt sprinting, cutting, complex rotations, these weren’t the norm. Given that, the bodily mechanics were different. Guys weren’t stopping on a dime, pivoting hard, having to force their ligaments and muscles and bones into exacting motions with all sorts of volatile force behind them.
Katie Heindl is a credentialed NBA and WNBA writer, her bylines have appeared with The New York Times Magazine, SLAM, The Athletic, Yahoo Sports, Dime, Rolling Stone, among others. She writes the bestselling Substack, Basketball Feelings and is working on a book of the same name.
Analysis ESPN Insiders break down the Knicks’ biggest needs as the trade deadline approaches, highlighting areas for improvement. (Posting and Toasting)
Must Watch Watch as a Knicks kiss cam moment takes an unexpectedly awkward turn, providing a good laugh for fans. (NY Post)
Fantasy Cheat Sheet
Fantasy Cheat Sheet
Replay: Navigating the injury bug
Oklahoma City Thunder forward Chet Holmgren (7) holds his leg after a hard following a play against the Golden State Warriors during the first quarter at Paycom Center.|Photo by Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images
This week in the fantasy basketball world has been a rollercoaster of highs and lows. A major talking point has been Chet Holmgren’s unfortunate injury, which has fantasy managers scrambling for replacements as the Oklahoma City Thunder adjust with potential lineup changes. Keep an eye on players like Aaron Wiggins and Cason Wallace — who might see increased minutes — and consider them as temporary pickups in deeper leagues.
Jalen Brunson And Karl-Anthony Towns Help The Knicks Torch The Phoenix Suns
Jalen Brunson loves to play in Phoenix and he made sure the rest of his Knicks teammates had fun as well. A year after dropping 50 in the Valley Of The Sun, Brunson had a little more help this time around combining with Karl-Anthony Towns for 70 points as the Knicks rode a red hot 1st quarter to a 138-122 win. Alex Wolfe and Gavin Schall break down the scalding start, Brunson’s shooting and passing leap, Josh Hart shooting with confidence, KAT breaking down opposing bigs, Mikal finding some confidence, the Knicks struggles to rotate on defense and some updates and insights from Tom Thibodeau.
Something Or Nothing: Does The Knicks Defense Actually Suck? + Can Mikal Bridges Find His Shot?
Gavin Schall and Alex Wolfe play a new Knicks theme’d version of “Something Or Nothing?” by running through six stats/trends (and one conspiracy theory) that have defined the team’s early season. Is the defense really this bad? Did Mikal Bridges really forget how to shoot threes while becoming Kevin Durant in the mid-range? Has Josh Hart transformed into an elite pick and roll operator?
The Knicks Cruise Past the Wizards | Are They Clicking At Just the Right Time?
Alex goes solo to break down the Knicks’ drubbing of the Wizards, including huge performances from Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns, some much-needed rest for the starters, and the continued emergence of Pacome Dadiet as the Knicks approach a very winnable part of their schedule.
