SNY's The Warm-Up: The Knicks have achieved competency

Plus: How Giants fans can enjoy the playoffs Get Today’s New York Sports Here Tweet of the Day --------------------------------------------------------------- Happy Monday! 👋 and welcome to The Warm-Up. Here's hoping the next time the Knicks score 45 points in a quarter, they actually win... Today's viewing guide... - Nets at Magic, 7 p.m. 🏀 - Avalanche at Islanders, 7 p.m. 🏒 Today's word count: 676 words (about five minutes) --------------------------------------------------------------- The New York Minute - Still no big developments on the Giants' coaching search, but Baylor's Matt Rhule [remains the favorite]( and will interview with the team Tuesday. - Jason Garrett is officially no longer the Cowboys' coach. How Ian Rapoport [framed it]( "The #Cowboys have officially fired coach Jason Garrett, and Garrett has allowed them to do so." - [Here's how]( the Mets' bullpen stacks up against the rest of the NL East. - Doc Rivers, on the [impromptu press conference]( by Steve Mills and Scott Perry that led to David Fizdale's demise: "That was bad. I think we all know that." - The Giants have the fourth pick in April's draft. What should [they do]( with it? --------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Under Mike Miller, the Knicks are at least competent Last night, on the road against the Kawhi-less Clippers, the Knicks scored 45 points in the first quarter, blew a 16-point lead, almost overcame a 16-point deficit, and eventually lost, 135-132. It was, if you're into that, [a moral victory]( and another example of the uptick in overall competency since interim head coach Mike Miller took over for David Fizdale. Miller has guided the Knicks to a 6-8 record, erasing the possibility of a remarkably bad record after a 4-18 start under Fizdale. Both [Marcus Morris]( who had 38 points Sunday, and [Julius Randle]( recently gave him a vote of confidence. Even more impressive than the eye test is the Knicks' advanced numbers, before and after Miller took over. Offensive rating: - [Under Fizdale]( 101.9, last in NBA - [Under Miller]( 109.4, 14th Defensive rating: - Under Fizdale: 112.9, 25th - Under Miller: 110.5, 21st Net rating: - Under Fizdale: -10.9, last - Under Miller: -1.1, 17th With Miller, the Knicks are still averaging a loss by net rating, but they're 9.8 points per 100 possessions better. The offense is drastically more efficient while the defense has improved as well. On SNY.tv: [Marcus Morris: 'I want to be here long term']( --------------------------------------------------------------- 2. The playoff bandwagoning guide for Giants fans In case you didn't pick up on today's Tweet of the Day, the Giants' two biggest foes -- the Eagles and the Patriots -- have been taken care of. Here are suggestions for who (and who not to) root for if you're a Giants fan with an eye on the NFC... The Packers Should you root for them? No. Why not? The Giants have four Super Bowls. The Packers have four Super Bowls. One of those two can take the lead this winter, and it isn't the Giants. The 49ers Should you root for them? No. Why not? Simply too much mutual history (all-time series: 21-20, New York). San Francisco owns a slight Super Bowl edge (5-4); last thing Giants fans need is for the 49ers to pull further away. The Seahawks Should you root for them? No. Why not? Since 2007, the only team in the NFC to win two Super Bowls is the Giants. If the Seahawks -- who beat the Eagles yesterday -- win another, that fun fact will cease to exist. And if we can't have fun facts, what is this all about? The Vikings Should you root for them? Yes. Why? The Giants and Vikings have relatively little history (New York is 2-1 in playoff matchups). Plus, the 2019 Vikings have some '07-'11 Giants in them. Should they reach the Super Bowl, Minnesota will have to beat New Orleans, San Francisco, and Seattle or Green Bay. --------------------------------------------------------------- DAILY TRIVIA Ex-Jets quarterback Josh McCown played most of the game for the Eagles yesterday after Carson Wentz left the game with a concussion. How many teams has McCown played for? Bonus: What was his record in two seasons as a starter with the Jets? 3. Bonus GIF! Caris LeVert, who missed 24 games with a thumb injury, returned on Saturday in a 121-102 loss to the Raptors. He scored 13 points in 15 minutes on seven shots, including the 3-pointer GIF'd above. --------------------------------------------------------------- 4. Three more things from this weekend 1. Kyrie gives context Kyrie Irving has now missed 23 games, and his team has now lost five in a row, to fall to 16-18. On Saturday, he spoke to the media for the first time since his initial shoulder impingement in November. In short: He still might get shoulder surgery; he's focused on the "big picture"; and he wants to reevaluate things in the next few weeks. Read our takeaways [here](. 2. Knicks were never on Kawhi's radar [According to Kawhi Leonard]( "I never said I was considering going to the Knicks. Everybody knew where I wanted to go once I requested the trade so I don't know where that came from." There was a report floating around in July that the Knicks cancelled a meeting with the reigning Finals MVP. 3. Islanders get a rare result The New York hockey teams were 0-for the weekend; the Rangers lost to the Canucks on Saturday, 2-1, and the Islanders were blanked on the same day by the Maple Leafs, 3-0. It was only [the second time all season]( the Isles have been shut out. --------------------------------------------------------------- 5. The Grab Bag Some shows and movies that just hit your favorite streaming services ... - The best sports documentary ever, or Hoop Dreams [HBO Now] - Almost Famous [Amazon Prime] - The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel [Amazon Prime] - Malcolm X [Netflix] - The Royal Tenenbaums [Showtime] Source: [Vulture]( --------------------------------------------------------------- TRIVIA ANSWER Nine teams: Arizona, Detroit, Oakland, Carolina, Chicago, Tampa Bay, Cleveland, JETS, Philadelphia Bonus: 5-11 --------------------------------------------------------------- That's the buzzer, folks. Enjoy your Monday! [Twitter]( [Instagram]( [Facebook]( This email was sent by: SportsNet New York (SNY) 150 Greenwich st 50th floor New York, NY 10007 US [Unsubscribe](