Knicks Select PF Obi Toppin with the 8th Pick

[YoungStuna]

I'm not sure what people want. He isn't impacting games but he hasnt been terrible either. In February the guy is shooting 56% from the field and 33% from 3. His attempts are limited bc his mins are limited and he is us having trouble finding his place but he’s not killing us or terrible.

Tonight I thought he could of had an impact. We ran all that two man game with Gibson in the 4th quarter and he got catches in the lane. Run that with Obi


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Now Obi is up to 60% and 38% from 3 in February after tonight’s game. He’s not a high usage guy, but he’s playing very efficient. He’s showing more confidence in the post. He had Wiggins on him in the post, and he bodied him inside and finished over him with the left. His defense has actually been solid.

I would love to see what he’d do with 25-30 mins.

[ewing]

Now Obi is up to 60% and 38% from 3 in February after tonight’s game. He’s not a high usage guy, but he’s playing very efficient. He’s showing more confidence in the post. He had Wiggins on him in the post, and he bodied him inside and finished over him with the left. His defense has actually been solid.

I would love to see what he’d do with 25-30 mins.

I think we have fault him some for his low usage. Still i am impressed with the touch he has shown out of the post


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[YoungStuna]

I think we have fault him some for his low usage. Still i am impressed with the touch he has shown out of the post


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I don’t think he has the freedom to create much yet. Like they aren’t going to run the offense through Obi, although I think that’s something that is possible in the future. He’ll be able to use his passing skills out of the post once he becomes more of a threat too. There’s only so much you can create in 10-15 mins/game.

[Bubba313]

I know it's never going to happen, but I'd love to just start Obi over Noel at this point while Mitch is hurt.

Our offense is completely garbage in the first unit. Our defense is pretty solid. Why not try out a small ball lineup? I think it would help everyone on that starting lineup - providing more spacing and another shooter (in theory) on the floor. Randle has shown he can hold it down on defense, and I'd rather get beat by a post-big than on the perimeter.

Moving Obi to the starting lineup also allows us to insert Knox into the second unit, who will be covered defensively by Noel at center. It's a win-win for me.

Payton
RJ
Bullock
Obi
Randle

Rose
IQ
Burks
Knox
Noel

[D-Leethal]

I know it's never going to happen, but I'd love to just start Obi over Noel at this point while Mitch is hurt.

Our offense is completely garbage in the first unit. Our defense is pretty solid. Why not try out a small ball lineup? I think it would help everyone on that starting lineup - providing more spacing and another shooter (in theory) on the floor. Randle has shown he can hold it down on defense, and I'd rather get beat by a post-big than on the perimeter.

Moving Obi to the starting lineup also allows us to insert Knox into the second unit, who will be covered defensively by Noel at center. It's a win-win for me.

Payton
RJ
Bullock
Obi
Randle

Rose
IQ
Burks
Knox
Noel

Our rim protection is the foundation of our defense. Noel is elite at that even if he sucks elsewhere. Our defense would fall off a cliff if you took him out and we still wouldn’t score well enough to offset it.

[Bubba313]

Our rim protection is the foundation of our defense. Noel is elite at that even if he sucks elsewhere. Our defense would fall off a cliff if you took him out and we still wouldn’t score well enough to offset it.

We don't take or make enough 3s, and teams are shooting us to death. Something's gotta give. And while Noel does provide the rim protection, he doesn't provide the necessary defensive rebounding or anything whatsoever on offense.

[YoungStuna]

We don't take or make enough 3s, and teams are shooting us to death. Something's gotta give. And while Noel does provide the rim protection, he doesn't provide the necessary defensive rebounding or anything whatsoever on offense.

I would love to see it. Small sample size, but Obi and Randle looked pretty good together in the 1st game.

Obi’s rim protection skills aren’t the worst either. He’s averaging 0.5 blocks in 12 MPG.

[HeartOfStarks]

I would love to see it. Small sample size, but Obi and Randle looked pretty good together in the 1st game.

Obi’s rim protection skills aren’t the worst either. He’s averaging 0.5 blocks in 12 MPG.

Yeah I said it the second we drafted him the way you mask his defensive inefficiencies is park him at the rim. It’s the one spot on the floor where he doesn’t struggle too horribly, though he will get pushed around under there.

But I’d be curious to see more of him and Randle together as well. Sucks his three ball is so consistently ugly but it’s pretty much what I expected. His rim running is potentially great if we utilize that more and his post game is better than I’d realized. It’s just about maximizing his strengths.

[YoungStuna]

Yeah I said it the second we drafted him the way you mask his defensive inefficiencies is park him at the rim. It’s the one spot on the floor where he doesn’t struggle too horribly, though he will get pushed around under there.

But I’d be curious to see more of him and Randle together as well. Sucks his three ball is so consistently ugly but it’s pretty much what I expected. His rim running is potentially great if we utilize that more and his post game is better than I’d realized. It’s just about maximizing his strengths.

Obi’s defense from what I’ve seen isn’t bad. Even on the perimeter he hasn’t been exposed and I’ve seen him flip his hips much better than he did in college. His length also helps when contesting shooters. Thibs has definitely refined his technique a ton behind the scenes.

Obi’s 3 isn’t consistently ugly. He has some awful misses and he went through a little rough stretch, but he seems to shooting with much more confidence now. I don’t care if he’s about to be 23, he’s still a rookie who isn’t getting a lot of NBA in-game experience.

[HeartOfStarks]

Obi’s defense from what I’ve seen isn’t bad. Even on the perimeter he hasn’t been exposed and I’ve seen him flip his hips much better than he did in college. His length also helps when contesting shooters. Thibs has definitely refined his technique a ton behind the scenes.

Obi’s 3 isn’t consistently ugly. He has some awful misses and he went through a little rough stretch, but he seems to shooting with much more confidence now. I don’t care if he’s about to be 23, he’s still a rookie who isn’t getting a lot of NBA in-game experience.

K I disagree but that’s fine

[Dr. Detfink]

I've been saying since game one, what's Obi Toppin's position? Randle gobbles a lot of minutes over 30/game because he's a Thibs favorite. It didn't help that Obi got hurt. No one was looking for him when he initially came back...

But then Derrick Rose came back to New York. He pushed the ball up the court at a faster rate than Payton's methodical, look for Randle pace.

What I've learned, Obi Toppin is arguably the FASTEST big man of his size. He can sprint like the wind. I really think, if the Knicks' bench play an up tempo game that you'll see Toppin reach his potential.

[YoungStuna]

I've been saying since game one, what's Obi Toppin's position? Randle gobbles a lot of minutes over 30/game because he's a Thibs favorite. It didn't help that Obi got hurt. No one was looking for him when he initially came back...

But then Derrick Rose came back to New York. He pushed the ball up the court at a faster rate than Payton's methodical, look for Randle pace.

What I've learned, Obi Toppin is arguably the FASTEST big man of his size. He can sprint like the wind. I really think, if the Knicks' bench play an up tempo game that you'll see Toppin reach his potential.

Obi is a 4, but I still believe he can be used as a small-ball 5. But that’s unlikely to happen with Thibs. He likes defense-first guys like Mitch/Noel/Taj playing the 5 over a more under-sized guy like Obi who is offense-first. His D still needs continued improvement.

I agree that an uptempo pace would benefit Obi the most. He’s always looking to do something on the break. He’s so athletic.

[ewing]

Obi is a 4, but I still believe he can be used as a small-ball 5. But that’s unlikely to happen with Thibs. He likes defense-first guys like Mitch/Noel/Taj playing the 5 over a more under-sized guy like Obi who is offense-first. His D still needs continued improvement.

I agree that an uptempo pace would benefit Obi the most. He’s always looking to do something on the break. He’s so athletic.

Running would help but so would using him as our main roller with Taj hanging out on the wing instead of the other way around. With Obi’s finishing tools and least equal passing ability it I think it would be the best choice to. Taj might read the play better in screen roll but still.

Maybe if Rose moves to the starting line up we will see more two man game btw Q and Toppin. Gibson and Rose knowing each other so well plays a factor


I feel with Gibson out there instead of Noel we have an opportunity to get more out of Obi but we aren't taking advantage. I think Obi should be involved in a lot of two man game right now and we don't do it

Hopefully he's not tentative tonight
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[ewing]

I'm not going to pretend Obi been good or has to look near as good as Haliburton and they might be forever linked but I think the doomsayers are also a bit off. I still think he projects to be a positive player. Here is a look at the bright side by the #s.

Obi has played 25 games. Not a lot. He has also only played about 12 mins a night.

He is shooting 61% from 2. 65% at the rim and 43% from mid-range. 40% of his field goals are unassisted (they are not all ally op dunks or easy shots).

He is only shooting 29% from 3 but is 9/23 from above the break and 3/18 from the corners. If he becomes a primary role man I think most of his attempts would be from above the break.

On D the team is giving up 3 fewer points per 100 possessions with Obi on the floor than with him off it.

He has been good in the post where he should get stronger and should he be a very good finisher. If he can become an OK open shooter I think at min you have a good bench scorer. The other end is still a big question mark but so far I think he is treading water and that's not bad for a defensively challenged rookie playing for Thibs.

[ShadyOne]

I'm not going to pretend Obi been good or has to look near as good as Haliburton and they might be forever linked but I think the doomsayers are also a bit off. I still think he projects to be a positive player. Here is a look at the bright side by the #s.

Obi has played 25 games. Not a lot. He has also only played about 12 mins a night.

He is shooting 61% from 2. 65% at the rim and 43% from mid-range. 40% of his field goals are unassisted (they are not all ally op dunks or easy shots).

He is only shooting 29% from 3 but is 9/23 from above the break and 3/18 from the corners. If he becomes a primary role man I think most of his attempts would be from above the break.

On D the team is giving up 3 fewer points per 100 possessions with Obi on the floor than with him off it.

He has been good in the post where he should get stronger and should he be a very good finisher. If he can become an OK open shooter I think at min you have a good bench scorer. The other end is still a big question mark but so far I think he is treading water and that's not bad for a defensively challenged rookie playing for Thibs.

Big part of the reason he hasn’t played a lot, is the quality of his play.

And the reasoning he will get a lot stronger also isn’t as relevant for him, as he’s older. Not saying he can’t/won’t, but it’s not like a 20 yr old twig out there, and you know he will get a lot bigger. He’s a few years ahead of that already. He’s not going to be an overpowering guy, strength wise