The Strickland’s 2024-25 Knicks Roundtable
“How many games will the Knicks win? Who’ll be their MVP?” Tired of predictable predictions that insult your intelligence? This one’s insult- and intelligence-free!
It’s the day we’ve all been waiting for! Yes, the Knicks open their 78th season against the defending champs/personification of evil, but that’s not what I meant – the real excitement is that the long-awaited 2024-25 Strickland Roundtable is here.
In last year’s roundtable we were unanimous that Leon Rose would not make a big in-season trade and that Deuce McBride should not/would not get more minutes, while the lovely Drew predicted the Knicks would finish 50-32, which they did. So while some of what’s to follow is unadulterated fooforaw, some contains hidden knowledge of the season to come. Your job is to separate the wheat from the chaff. C’est la vie. Let’s roundtable!
What's something Knicks fans will overreact to the first few months that will end up just fine?
Drew: The depth of the bench. They’re gonna get Mitchell Robinson back by January or trade him for someone who can play. Deuce McBride, Precious “The Walking Miracle” Achuiwa, Cam Payne and literally anyone else will be fine enough to start the season. (Ed. note: Drew’s breezy take came before word broke that Achiuwa will miss the next 2-4 weeks after pulling his hamstring)
Max: If any of Mikal Bridges, Karl-Anthony Towns or OG Anunoby struggle to start the year. Like it or not, the front office moves have amplified everything around this team. Folks will riot if any one of those three don’t deliver.
Shwin: Bridges’ shooting and scoring output.
Geoff: KAT shooting too many 3-pointers.
Joe: The wing depth. I wrote a whole damn article on why Josh Hart should come off the bench, and a big part of that was the lack of wing depth. But then I saw Pacôme Dadiet hoop, and I opened my eyes to the FUTURE.
Collin: Tyler Kolek’s playing time. Whether he gets it or he doesn’t, there will be a passionate discourse.
What's something that will seem fixable that will instead rot and fester all year?
Drew: The depth of the bench. They’re gonna get Mitchell Robinson back by January or trade him for someone who can play. Deuce McBride, Precious, “The Walking Miracle” Achuiwa,
Cam Payne and literally anyone else will be fine enough to start the season – however, if they do not add one more quality player, or Mitchell or another starter gets hurt, the playoffs are going to be tough.
Geoff: The rotations. Bridges is gonna play a TON of minutes.
Joe: Donte DiVincenzo will ball out in Minnesota while Bridges struggles to live up to the king’s ransom the Knicks paid for him.
Miranda: Moving on from the physical toll last year took. Mitch is out, Achiuwa is hurt, even Benedict Hartenstein will miss time for the franchise that murdered the Seattle Supersonics. Hart and Brunson were both showing signs of lower-body injuries by the end of the Indiana series. Last year was a rough trick. The mind moves on from trauma far faster than the body that endured it. I expect the regular-season to be a bit of a slog after surviving last year’s playoff Megiddo. Hopefully the Knicks are healthy come April, though even that dream is imperiled with this morning’s news that Anunoby is out indefinitely with a left calf strain. I made that up, but the fact that your heart skipped a beat means you know it’s a concern.
Collin: I think Thibs is gonna play Jericho Sims. And I think that he thinks that’s a good idea. It is not.
Prez: Knicks gonna trade for Stephon Marbury’s statue.
The Celtics, Knicks and 76ers are the East’s three best teams. If none reach the Finals, who will from the East?
Max: I’m tempted to go with the Cavs if we see a leap from Evan Mobley and Donovan Mitchell gets on a heater in the playoffs. (Interestingly, I felt like every MyNBA mode I did on NBA2K last year has the Cavs in the Finals.) But I’m going to go with the Milwaukee Bucks. If Giannis Antetokoumpo, Damian Lillard and Khris Middleton are healthy in the playoffs and they get enough from the bench, I still think they’re a tough out over seven games. (Ed. note: Milwaukee announced Middleton will miss their opener as he continues to recover from surgeries to both ankles)
Miranda: Miami. Can’t you see it? The darkest timeline. The Heat in the Finals just a few months after Trump oozes his way into office. Gross.
Drew: Immanuel Quickley and RJ Barrett will lead the Toronto Raptors to the Finals!
Geoff: Orlando?
Prez: Cleveland if they finally pull the trigger on a Jarrett Allen trade after Mobley shows he can handle minutes at the 5. No reason they can’t do something like a Allen/Trey Murphy III deal.
Joe: Some random group of assholes. Miami, I guess.
Shwin: Indiana. They're deep – almost too deep – and thus have the ammo to add a potential difference maker in a consolidation trade.
Collin: I can see Milwaukee putting it back together this year.
After Jalen Brunson, who’s the most important Knick: OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges or Karl-Anthony Towns? Or . . . ?
Miranda: Games 1-82, it’s Towns, both for the transformative effect he could have on offense and for the entertainment value of his defensive lapses and conceptual audacities. Once the playoffs start, I think it’s Bridges. I expect Brunson to excel at that stage; I expect Towns to be a mixed bag. Towns’ mixed bag would be more than Brunson got from Randle when he was second banana; if Bridges adds any kind of reliable shot creation and efficiency, the Knicks really could make a run at a title.
Shwin: It's Brunson. He is the one player capable of creating efficient team offense at a high level and can up his usage to Herculean levels when required. If he goes down, the Knicks have absolutely no way to replicate what he does and it will force a number of players into creation loads they are incapable of shouldering.
Drew: Since the Professor took Towns, I’m going to make the argument for Bridges. I wrote about how Bridges was miscast in Brooklyn and is now in a much better role with the Knicks. But the better role means greater responsibility, or whatever Uncle Ben told Peter as he died on the side of the road. With DiVincenzo gone, someone in the starting lineup is going to have to replace that volume 3-point scoring. Towns will more than likely be that person, but you also want him to be a threat driving to the rim and scoring down low. That’s where Bridges comes in. He’s going to need to fill in the offensive gaps — shoot threes when needed, drive to the rim when needed, facilitate when needed — while also playing elite defense, something he absolutely was not doing in Brooklyn.
Max: McBride. Will he start or will he be expected to carry the bench unit? Will he close games? Whatever his role, there will be a lot asked. If he plays like he did at the end of last season, the Knicks should be fine like wine. If he regresses at all, the Knicks' depth could be even thinner.
Prez: I said it on a pod: after Brunson and Towns, OG will become the third guy instead of Mikal. Quiet as it’s kept, he continues to develop his offensive repertoire and is now a capable drive-and-kick guy and an elite midrange shooter with counters, now with more space to finally not suck at the rim.
Joe: OG. Men lie; women lie; last season’s on/off numbers don't.
Geoff: Everything hinges on Anunoby (especially if Bridges isn’t gonna be the 40% shooter from deep we want from him). The spacing hinges on OG’s shooting with Towns, and defensively the reason they feel comfortable with Towns is because of OG’s rim protection. He’s also by far their best option on big wings like Jayson Tatum.
Collin: It’s Frank Ntilikina. It’s always Frank Ntilikina.
Obi Toppin, Immanuel Quickley, RJ Barrett, Julius Randle, Donte DiVincenzo – all gone. Which ex-Knick do you miss the most? (I didn’t mention Quentin Grimes because you and I both know you’re not picking Quentin Grimes)
Miranda: Obi. Not because he’s my favorite player of the bunch, nor the best. And it’s a bit concerning that four years into his career he’s still busting out the East Bay dunk on breakaways, the NBA version of Matthew McConaughey’s creepy Dazed & Confused twentysomething asking a ninth grader how hot the 13- and 14-year-old girls are. I choose Obi for his warmth. He reminds me of a special time in Knicks history and in my life.
Shwin: Immanuel Jaylen Quickley. One of the most joyous Knicks we’ve had, who electrified the Garden crowd, gave us glimpses of what vibrant offensive threat at point guard could do for this team prior to Brunson's arrival, never complained about his role and simply found a way to make himself invaluable and effective, regardless of what was asked of him. The essence of what being a New York Knick should be about.
Drew: Quentin Grimes. No one tells me what to do! I’m going to miss him just letting DiVincenzo take his job without a fight. I’m going to miss him hesitating to pull the trigger as if he weren’t open all the time from behind the arc. DiVincenzo took 15.1 3-point attempts per 100 possessions compared to Grimes’ 11.7. Grimes only took 0.4 more than Quickley, who was also running the bench offense.
Max: If you’ve ever read any of my writing, my answer will not be surprising in the slightest. No M. Night Shyamalan twist here: it’s Randle. It’s a purely non-basketball response. The “We Here” season was when I started writing about the Knicks, so Randle has a special place for me. The fact that he rebounded from the awful “Thumbs Down” season to yet again be an All-NBA performer is movie-script heartstrings stuff. Bummed to see him go, even if I think it was the right basketball move.
Geoff: There’s no chance anyone reading this doesn’t know who I’m picking.
Joe: Maybe Randle? Can we bend the spacetime continuum and get him to play with KAT?
Collin: It’s Frank Ntilikina. It’s always Frank Ntilikina.
What’s one adjustment you’d like to see from Tom Thibodeau?
Drew: I don’t think this necessarily this is an adjustment, but don’t expect the Knicks to lead the league in offensive rebounding like they have. They’ll replace the rebounding with even more 3-point attempts. I think Towns will effectively be a scoring-threat version of Hartenstein, where he’ll facilitate at the top of the key and run pick-and-rolls with Brunson. Well, pick-and-pops, mainly, but you get the point.
Shwin: More aggressive pick-and-roll defensive coverages. Thibs has come a long way in New York, no longer just deploying a deep drop at all times, but KAT is at his best playing at the level of screens or executing traps and blitzes, and with Mikal and OG on the wings the Knicks can accommodate such schemes. Be willing to mix it up more and often.
Max: The NBA season is long, and my hunch is that this team will still be playing well into May. It’s okay to pull dudes early on a Thursday night in December against the Pistons. I promise it’ll be okay, Thomas!
Prez: Giving Kolek and Ariel Hukporti bench minutes together before Christmas. It’d be good to get minutes to two players who can not only elevate our bench but also change the look for small stretches: alley-oops, pass-happy possessions, etc.
Geoff: Well, I’ve spent a month talking about it; might as well one more time. I think the best version of the Knicks has Deuce in the starting lineup for Hart. The starting lineup will be the same or slightly better, and the bench unit will be WAY better emphasizing Hart’s versatility and sliding Precious to center rather than pairing Precious with Sims.
Joe: Dadiet minutes NOW!
Collin: Please don’t play Sims.
Julius Randle, Donte DiVincenzo and Isaiah Hartenstein will all have New York homecomings this season; those will be big games. What’s one not-obvious game you’re looking forward to this season? Or a player/coach/vibe you’re looking forward to?
Shwin: Minnesota’s visit to MSG on January 17, 2025. Randle with a chance to prove a point can be great or atrocious, as we all know. Also, will he even still be a Timberwolf by then?
Drew: February 3rd, 2025. Knicks versus Rockets. Why? I’ll leave that for you guys to figure out.
Max: That way the Pacers series ended last year really, really irked me. Everything about that team is so easily detestable, and I’m looking forward to some regular-season and maybe even playoff retribution. I might even have to drive over to Indy for a game.
Miranda: I always look forward to Knicks games against Sacramento. The Kings have been our spiritual cousins for most of this century and the parallels continue this season, with both teams betting favorites for a third straight winning season, something the Knicks last did in 2013 and the Kings capping an eight-year run in 2006. Both extended head coaches whose career success still may not transcend their rep. Both are pinning mucho hopes on new swingmen acquired via trade (Bridges; DeMar DeRozan) from teams whose suffering does not move me in the slightest. Both feature terrific bench guards with the most alluring of alliterative appellations (Miles McBride; Malik Monk). I’ll miss the Randle/Domantas Sabonis and their two-bulls-in-a-china-shop matchups. I may be alone in that.
Prez: Wednesday, January 15th. We catch Philly on the second game of a tough back-to-back (for them) where they play the Thunder and then us. Joel will sit, we will beat the breaks off them and it will set up a good 48-hour Twitter/media storm over why he’s a loser and coward.
Geoff: Lame answer, but almost every game is exciting to me. The NBA is in such an awesome place right now with so much talent. I’m just excited for these games to start mattering.
Joe: I saw the Heat getting buzz on Twitter and it reminded me of how much I hate them.
Collin: I can always get up for a Dallas Mavericks game. Let’s put Luka in his place — second place.
Where do the Knicks rank among your other sports teams? Whoever you else you follow – where do the Knicks stack as far as current quality/outlook?
Drew: I can barely keep up with television shows these days, let alone ANOTHER sports team. I’m definitely interested in seeing if Aryna Sabalenka can win the Australian Open after beating Jessica Pegula in straight sets. There’s also my rec volleyball team coming off a loss in the finals of our division last season with the playoffs creeping up. I know I gotta be ready for that, as I’m setting versus middle/opposite hitting – a completely different mindset, as you have so much more control over the game as a setter, and more control means more responsibilities, or whatever Uncle Ben told Peter as he died on the side of the road.
Shwin: Far and away number 1 and nothing is really that close.
Prez: Number one. My MLB fandom will always burn like a hearth, steady and reliable and comfortable and warming. The Knicks, however, are a random-outcome generating wildfire machine that I can’t get enough of.
Geoff: Number one in my heart and that’s all that matters.
Joe: I said this the other day after the Yankees' heartbreaking Game 3 loss: I love watching the Knicks more than I love watching the Yankees, but the Yankees’ playoff losses hit harder, because I know deep down that the Knicks are always going to lose.
Collin: In order of fandom: Knicks, Panthers, Orioles. In order of current success: Knicks, Orioles, Panthers. Ditto for alphabetical. It’s taken a few years, but New York basketball is the oasis where I take solace in the absence or in lieu of the other two teams. Can Josh Hart play first base? Asking for a friend.
Miranda: This is my sports golden age. The Mets surprised the world getting two wins from the World Series, and they’re the worst of my teams. The Liberty won their first WNBA championship and left the losers gnashing their teeth and wailing about it. The Knicks’ roommates, the Rangers, are a Stanley Cup contender featuring the best goalie on Earth. And Manchester City, perhaps not satisfied with dominating the Premier League on the pitch, is now waging courtroom Armageddon against the league off it, threatening a lot of scummy British hypocrites along the way. This is the age of winners.
Who’s going to be the most famous non-regular celebrity to appear in celebrity row?
Miranda: Stacy Patton.
Shwin: “Fat Joe.” (Zach Blatter)
Drew: Rosie from Blackpink made an appearance during the Knicks-Timberwolves preseason game. My guess is going to be her bandmate Lisa.
Geoff: Ansel Elgort.
Collin: I anticipate friend of the pod Sam Morril will get Stavros Halkias courtside this year at some point.
Prez: Drew is cultured. Lisa or another K-Pop star with 100 million Instagram followers is the answer.
Joe: Ronan Farrow, who at halftime finally challenges his father, Woody Allen, to a knife fight.
What insane conspiracy theory will Robert Randloph push?
Miranda: That he can tell the difference between butter and I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter.
Shwin: Mikal and Donte have beef and that's why DiVo was included in the KAT trade.
Drew: Birds aren’t real.
Geoff: Randle never got traded; it was all a dream.
Collin: That the Knicks will trade for Randle at the deadline.
