Time for a change?

[smicker16]

I think the playoffs are different than the regular season. I do not think Simons would have gotten a ton of play in these playoffs honestly because you have to choose him or Pritchard. It?s tough to have two guys people can attack and Pritchard has a bit more strength to resist at times than Simons. Same for Brunson since he is pretty strong so he is not as easy to pick on as Simons in my opinion. I would take Simons back if we trade Pritchard otherwise not really worth what we would likely have to pay for him.

[Goldstar88]

Sign 1 of Porzingis/Timelord using the full MLE

I am glad Rob is healthy, but we should stay away from these two due to rich injury/medical histories.

3B.) .....OR if they can get Anfernee Simons back for cheaper instead of trading for Jerome, I'd take that too.

I hear all the podcasts, say bring back Simons.   We all know he was a good soldier here, and he can score.   But the thought of him trying to guard Maxey or Edgcombe should scare you.

It would depend on the price tag. I?m sure other teams are going to be hesitant to pay a lot for those two due to the injury history.

I don?t really want Simons back. He would get Hunted in the postseason. Teams already do this to Pritchard.

Smart teams should also hunt Brunson, but for some reason they don't.  Or the Knicks' team defense does a good job covering for him.

Simons did a much better job than anticipated on defense when he was here.  It's not like he's 5'9".

Playoffs are different animal. Pritchard was fine in the regular season last year and then the Knicks hunted him relentlessly in the Postseason. Teams would do the same to Simons.

My point again is that Simons would be no worse than Brunson in terms of teams ?hunting? him.

Plus he?s a taller better defender than Brunson anyway.

Sometimes you have to give a little (defense) to get a little (offense). 

Heck, Simons is no worse than Mitchell for the Cavs on defense.

My point is that you can?t have two small guards playing big minutes in the playoffs. The Celtics will get eaten alive. Pritchard is more than just a microwave scorer, so that makes up for it to some extent.

The stats don't seem to back up your argument.  One of our colleagues on this board laid it out...

I understand the worry, but we did run a White/Pritchard/Simons backcourt for much of this year and still had a top 5 defense. With a much better defender in Tatum out there instead of Brown, and presumably a premium big like Giannis or Bam (yes, I have now added Bam as a Jaylen trade hopeful lol), the defense should be that much better. Especially with Queta, Walsh, and Hugo also still getting plenty of minutes.

Playoffs and regular season are not the same thing. Teams will target small guards like Simons and Pritchard in the postseason. We?ve already seen this.

[Goldstar88]

I think the playoffs are different than the regular season. I do not think Simons would have gotten a ton of play in these playoffs honestly because you have to choose him or Pritchard. It?s tough to have two guys people can attack and Pritchard has a bit more strength to resist at times than Simons. Same for Brunson since he is pretty strong so he is not as easy to pick on as Simons in my opinion. I would take Simons back if we trade Pritchard otherwise not really worth what we would likely have to pay for him.

Exactly. Knicks surrounded Brunson with a lot of size so they can get away with it to some extent. Feel like it is going to catch up with them in the Finals, though. Assuming they advance. I expect NY to lose in 4 or 5 games.