OT: NBA Playoffs
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The Knicks and Rutgers have the same offensive problem which is the failure to incorporate 3 point shooting like the Boston Celtics.Its far easier to make a open 3 pointer than a contested two pointer .It requires ball/player movement to get open 3 pointers from the corners.Poor coaching and roster formation are required to get the desired results.
All signs say yes
Quick stop and push off/restart followed by intense pain at back of ankle/achilles area
Quick stop and push off/restart followed by intense pain at back of ankle/achilles area
One thing about today's game vs decades ago is the amount of running and the fast pace. We like to talk about these young guys being soft but am 82 hame season in today's NBA is a lot tougher on the body. And the Celtics have been making deep playoff runs every year. You hate to see this smh..
Weren't the Knicks ranked ahead or just after the Celtics in 3's this year?
Edit, think it was they shot a better % from 3, didn't take nearly as many. C's only scored 1/2 point more per game though.
Knicks were 5th in the NBA this season on points per 100 possessions which is an
indicator of a very good offense. They finished 2nd in conference last season and 3rd this season. They've been to the 2nd round of the playoffs 3 seasons in a row and have pushed the defending champions to the brink in this series. I realize you have a hard on for denigrating Pike on this board.....but to draw a parallel to him and Thibs is pretty idiotic.
If you actually watch the games you would see that teams like the Celtics have multiple players from multiple positions that can break down a D off the dribble causing the defense to need to double and leaving open men/shots on the perimeter with drive and kicks or hockey swing pass assists. As great as Brunson is, his strength is in ISO & PnR sets on offense and the Knicks roster strength is not built
around having multiple penetrating players. Bridges and OG are slashers, Hart is very good in the open floor and finishing and KAT is a multi dimensional on O for a center, but not as a point. Thibs is running an offense that matches the talent he was given.
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Knicks ranked 6th in attempts from three. The Celtics were 7th. The Knicks finished 3rd in 3 pt. percentage, while Boston was 12th. Once the playoffs started, the Knicks have focused more on scoring closer to the basketball. They want higher percentage shots as that keep you in game and gives you a chance to win.
Confirmed that Tatum tore his achilles. Has already had surgery. I would not have been counting the Celts out if he was not injured. I still can see Boston winning the next game but I am hoping the Knicks can close it out and get a little rest before the next round. Nice balance in the scoring last night and good work on the boards.
Brunson vs Haliburton 2
EC Finals will be must see tv.
The Semifinals last year was a fun watch.
EC Finals will be must see tv.
The Semifinals last year was a fun watch.
I can see them tossing up another 50-60 3pt shots tonight. Losing Tatum is huge but that roster is still talented. Knicks have struggled to contain Pritchard. There will be a lot of emotion in the building.
But that was with Tatum on the floor. Without Tatum, Pritchard becomes another role player forced into a leading role. The Knicks can now focus on him with Bridges.
The one concern with Hauser is conditioning and rust. The Celtics will ask this man to man his battle station, and he might not be entirely ready for that. Also, remember that Brown's knee still hurts him, and you can see it in how he's played. Without Tatum, I'm not sure he can carry those types of expectations. Throw in KP, and the Celtics are the walking wounded.
Celtics play a little more structured offense without Tatum. If porzingas was healthy it would be more of a sure bet on the Celtics tonight but with him being sick idk if they will have enough. Holiday is not himself either and brown has a sprained MCL...team is worn down I heard the Celtics front office may even break them up now that Tatum's injured for all of next year..may be the last we see of these Celtics tonight..
The Celtic payroll for the starting 5 is greater than the roster for every team except the Suns and I think OKC. They are so far over the second apron, there is no way they can pay the roster and not blink. The new owners don't have a revenue source (arena) since they only own the team.
Brunson lost his chance to make the Olympic team because Kerr was high on Haliburton. He was the flavor of the month at the time. The Knicks should be healthy. Adding bridges along with OG on the perimeter should cause Indiana problems. Mitch and KAT might be too much for the Pacers if the Knicks run the two together for short periods.
Indiana's success is in pushing the pace, but they are in trouble if they have to run more half-court sets. The Knicks can run in the right situation, but would do better against the Pacers in half-court sets. The Knicks have more players who can generate their shots.
Survive 1st quarter adrenaline rush by Boston and Knicks should be ok !
New idea …Knicks up 32-19 after 1Q
Small side note …how many Knicks fans bought tickets from Celtics fans the last few days ??
New idea …Knicks up 32-19 after 1Q
Small side note …how many Knicks fans bought tickets from Celtics fans the last few days ??
I would be surprised if OKC. I believe they are a year or two away from having to deal with the cap. It is why they were able to sign Hartenstein to a front loaded deal.
I'm not at all a Knicks fan but it seems like both orange and blue wearing teams just mailed it in tonight.Dogperformance tonight
That is an accurate assessment of the second half for sure. There are certain nights where I really don't care for KAT's game. He should be way more assertive yet at times I also wonder if the Knicks do enough to establish him on the offensive end. I thought Thibs took too long getting Mitch back in the game late in the third quarter when it was clear KAT was content to just stand around out there. It will take an A effort across the board to beat these guys on Friday night. No complacency just because its a home game. The record at MSG has not been good in the playoffs.Dog
That's why Minnesota let kat go...hes soft at times, Randle makes Minnesota a much tougher team. Especially since gobert is already there with questionable toughness in the paint. The wolves had the biggest but softest front court in the league lol... But kat thrives in New York because ny already has enough toughness and needed a finesse shooting big man like kat. Trade worked out for both teams plus the wolves got divencenzo which makes them a deeper better shooting team.
Also, I think the league wanted to push this series as long as they can. When Brunson fouled out, I had to question it. This guy is not a defensive guy who hacks people.
Better get it done on Friday. I am not saying the Knicks can't win a game seven in Boston but I bet there is a good chance Tatum will be making a dramatic entry into Boston Garden for game seven. I thought Jaylen Brown gave Brunson problems when guarding him. OG is another guy who needs to be more consistently good given what the Knicks are paying him.
WFAN mentioned this, but cleared up the misleading record. This year, Boston is 10-2 without Tatum. Only 3 games were against teams with a winning record. What bothered me more about game 5 is the refs. When was the last time Brunson fouled out of a game. The NBA wanted to extend the series as it's better for the league. You do that by keeping one of the most clutch players in the league in check. The NBA might just be a step above the WWE when it comes to staging the outcome of a game or two.
Not a Knicks fan so couldn't care about the refs.
But the NBA absolutely knows what refs they are assigning to certain games and how that could impact things.
Refs have tendencies.
Just like MLB umpires.
I'm sure the NBA isn't outright saying "Make sure Boston wins."
Wouldn't be shocked if it was more "Hey, let's assign this guy to ref this particular game and see what happens."
Would be interesting to see what exactly the ref assignment process is and how far in advance it's decided.
Maybe they did but I will say the Celtics made a point to make brunson work on defense that game. They targeted him like they did Luka in the finals last year. More of a chance to commit a foul when you're the primary defender possession after possession.
And some of those fouls like the 6th, you have to call that because it effected the offensive players movement. Not saying there was no agenda but there was corresponding action that caused the reaction of the refs..
I was meeting friends at a bar that didn't have the game on, so I didn't get to see it, but did I hear he had 5 fouls in the third quarter? Crazy.
Almost all of KAT’s fouls are dumb fouls on both ends of the court.