While the Knicks’ season ended last night, the future is potentially bright for this team, and they are definitely trending in the right direction. A few points:

1. This team plays hard. There is a grittiness to them.
2. Jalen Brunson had a coming out party against one of the best defensive teams in the NBA. He showed that he is an elite point guard, and if they can put some real shooters around him, then you have something special. Last night, he was all 1-on-1 but that was how they run their offense.
3. Get rid of the 1-on-1 offense next season. Julius Randle is Carmelo Redux. Jab step, jab step, pass the ball with 3 seconds on the shot clock. That is not the NBA anymore. The best teams are up tempo – the Knicks need to do that. Clearly, the Quickley injury was huge plus Thibodeau had put Rose and Fournier in moth balls so the roster was extra short.
4. Try and trade Randle. He is a solid player but his attitude seems to be up and down, and he is a ball stopper deluxe.

SU is back on the Knicks’ band wagon after a 20-year hiatus. Good times ahead.

Meanwhile, the Golden State Warriors are out. This year’s team just could not win on the road all year. James Wiseman never developed as expected, and they could have used a mobile big man vs. the Lakers. Jordan Poole is a mess and SU wonders if they may trade him in the off season. He is still fun to watch on offense but needs to learn to play defense. Klay Thompson shot them out of this series and Draymond Green can be a free agent soon. The Warriors’ GM is also a free agent. An interesting team to watch in the off-season.

The Yankees showed some fight last night coming back a couple of times late vs. Tampa Bay. SU says you can point to the injuries to explain their current last place position but even when fully healthy, they need more. The Frankie Montas trade was such a killer last summer. JP Sears on Oakland is a really good pitcher and had showed flashes for the Yankees last year. At this point, I think we can all agree that the Yankees over-hype their minor league prospects. Volpe is the real deal but others just never fully develop. Michael Kay pointed out that Tampa Bay has feasted on the bottom feeder teams so far while the Yankees have played few of them. Perhaps true but the Rays still beat up on them and the Yankees will continue to struggle to score runs all year. Josh Donaldson is closer to returning but is that a good thing?

SU heard last night that in 2022, 51% of all MLB pitchers spent time on the IL during the season. That is pretty amazing. Pitching is not a natural motion and pitching in the high 90’s must be even more unnatural. One wonders if there is a trade-off of speed for health?

The Mets have also underachieved but they have even more injuries than the Yankees. SU will reserve judgment until they are closer to a full roster. I still believe their long-term prospects this year are better than for the Yankees.

SIxers – Celtics game 7 will be a fun watch. These two teams are hard to predict. You have to give LeBron credit to play at such a high level given his age. The Lakers play hard on defense. Denver is really good though – have to give them the nod to make it to the finals. Miami will lose quickly to either the Sixers or the Celtics.