The Knicks are a complete mess. The offense looks open and free flowing but they have no defensive presence. They’re getting blasted by the Jazz as I type this. Kat is not a true #5, Hart isn’t a #4 or a starting #2, Bridges isn’t a #2.

Minnesota doesn’t even play DiVincenzo and the Randle v Gobert experience looks awkward. They are not the scary team they were last season.

If they just reversed that trade, both teams would be automatically better.

Kawhi returning will obviously be a high-class problem. We were worried about Harden and Norm playing together, and that has worked out. The Clippers are in the midst of forging an even more determined identity in Norm’s absence. My sense is that it’s less about who starts and more about the waves and succession of players, maintaining pressure and execution. Having multiple guys to harass star players and scorers is important too.

Zu is so hard to handle for teams and he anchors everything, and having Bamba with length and rebounding behind him should ease his load and be a big boost. The weak link remains KPJ, and it’s hard to know what to say about that. There’s no obvious solution, as it does seem like KPJ is a better defensive fit than Bones, simply because of his size. I’m curious about how JVG assesses KPJ and his utility. I even feel like Kobe Brown might jump in and make an impact at some point. We’ll see what happens. We also don’t know what kind of new tests might be on the horizon. Getting past Norm’s tweak has been significant, and it goes along with waiting for Bamba.