The Knicks Thread....

[Jeffx]

What the **** did I just watch??? You can't make this s*** up!!! New York Chokerbockers.

This is what happens when you don't do the little things right in tight playoff games. No margin for error now....Friday night is a MUST-win.

[Leander]

Please let us win this game, basketball gods.

[Leander]

Indiana: good strategy (fouling Mitch immediately so that Brunson cannot even bring the ball up court), fast play, defense

New York: turnovers, lack of defense

The Knicks have some good shooters, but lack strategy...don't adept to the opponent well...has been a "shoot a ton of threes, if they go in, we will win" all season long.

[Jeffx]

Co-sign on all the above.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vEEdM2t2kqM

"They don't spread the wealth enough, they don't spread the floor enough and they don't facilitate enough and I blame Thibs for that!" (Mike Francesca on the Knicks offense not getting Bridges & OG involved at the same time). He nailed it.

We need a change in offensive philosophy....draw up plays for Brunson to be more of a facilitator, get OG & Bridges on the move so they'll get better shots. If Brunson, OG, Bridges and KAT are playing like a jazz quartet (as the 70s Knicks used to, and they beat Wilt), who can stop that? We don't need a Durant or a Giannis, as some fans are already saying. Adjustments are on the coaching staff, but offense isn't Thibs strength. He doesn't even believe in (or develop) his bench. He's has the Pat Riley 7-man rotation mindset and he's getting out-coached by Carlisle.

Pacers go 10 deep, they have 4, maybe 5 guys who can get double-digit buckets, they're fast, better coached and they have a championship winning veteran in Pascal Siakam. Knicks are getting exposed big time. Pacers took advantage of their two main stars (Brunson & KAT) being liabilities on defense. That's why Towns was benched. Thibs can't coach around that. All we can hope for now is a split in Indiana. If they get swept, the seat might get hot for Thibs.

During the off-season, I'd like to see Leon Rose follow the Pacers example. Strengthen the bench with cats who can light it up, add a couple of defensive stoppers and maybe hire a coach who's not stuck in that 7-man rotation mentality.

[Leander]

I wouldn't have had a problem if they Knicks were eliminated in the first round because of the bye bye to Thibs. Is Hukporti injured? Give him some minutes for rim protection. Just McBride and Payne is not enough...play Achuwa for better defense. Kolek is not ready for the playoffs, but play him in the regular season more. How should players develop if they only get 2-3 posseions in blowout wins?

Nobody should play more than 35 minutes a game. Backups should get some minutes, too...Hukporti and Achuwa are good defenders. Brunson is awesome, but this does not mean he should be the only one for the final shots. His last-minute threes were an airball and a bad shot...on a good day, Bridges is a good shooter...Anunoby, KAT etc. can all make threes.

When Indiana can hack Mitch and wear Brunson down with much bigger guys, why not use Hukporti for 5 minutes and Achuwa for 10-15? Brunson is 6'2'' just like me...he gets bullied by a 6'6' defender (I am too lazy to look up names and the actual heights right now), is pushed, has problems bringing the ball. Watching the Pacers wear down the Knicks (even starting with full court defense) vs. "Let's watch the Pacers score" is night and day...the dunk by Toppin was a slap to the face with nobody guarding him.

The Knicks are too easy to contain, their "strategy" is too one-sided. They become on fire with a ton of threes or take the ball to the rim with Brunson and KAT's "Get out of my way" moves...but that's it...oh, and Brdiges with his midrange jumper.

Back in the 90s, every team played in a different way. You had to adjust, think about offense and defense...today, it is a layup vs. 3PT festival...and hardly any team comes up with something creative.

Losing to the Pacers AGAIN would suck after a long season with a "good" team, but credits go out to them and the coaching staff.

It would be interesting to see how they Knicks played with a different coach.

[mp3]

Let's hope we can tie up the series tonight in Indiana, I never want to see a Pacers player doing the "choke" sign at msg and I hope we get passed the Pacers just so that isn't all we have to see played on air for the next 30 years like the reggie miller play

[Leander]

Good bye, playoffs.

[Jeffx]

Turnovers, dumb fouls, horrible defense. Doesn't help that our two best players couldn't guard me. KAT gets the most ridiculous fouls. Team is gassed trying to play at Indy's pace. But this series was lost in Game 1. It was fun while it lasted. Hopefully, it won't be another 25 years before another ECF appearance. It's only Year 1 of the KAT era, so Leon Rose needs to do his job during the off-season by doing what I posted earlier.

[Andrew]

Game 1 really did end up setting the tone. It's not totally on Thibs, but he is the one calling the shots and his weaknesses as a coach are as well documented as his strengths, so I too could see them moving on from him.

[mp3]

3-1 down I feel like our season ends tonight, I think the knicks are going to pull off some magic and trade for Gannis this summer.

KAT + Bridges for Greek + filler?

[Leander]

I don't believe that the NBA is rigged, but it is strange that there are always games that feel scripted so that the season isn't over too fast.

KAT's fouls are just stupid.

[mp3]

The holding hands foul game 4 was ridiculous that he argued it, fair play to Barkley for calling him out post game live in person on TNT

[Jeffx]

I'm angry and disappointed...no moral victories for me. Knicks lost this series in Game 1 with an epic choke job.

Going forward, I hope Leon Rose follows the Pacers example...strengthen the bench with bucket-getters and some defensive stoppers. And tell the stubborn coach to develop them instead of playing the same five guys throughout the season.

[Leander]

True. The Pacers played great defense and played fast, something we could not guard. Anunoby is a great defender and so is Robinson, but Robinson's impact is limited when the other team plays "Hack a Mitch". If he was a decent freethrow shooter, it would be much better. All we have is firepower...3pointers...and take it to the hoop moves with Brunson and KAT.

I mean it is difficult to adjust when other teams don't play defense during the long season, and then suddenly the Pacers stick to Brunson like glue...and he has problems getting the ball in the other half of the court.

https://www.nba.com/news/knicks-pacers- ... a-playoffs

[Jeffx]

No surprise here;

https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/knic ... 8alh9yKuoA


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73U2AvO5oOs

[mp3]

We definitely dropped the ball throughout both this and the Boston series too going down big but finding a way to come back shows heart but I'd like us to try and prevent it happening in the first place, I want KAT to stop being lazy on defence and I want Thibs to trust the bench more and play more than 8 players a game

[Jeffx]

.....and I want Thibs to trust the bench more and play more than 8 players a game

Well, you don't have to worry about Thibs anymore;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9hoCcN4Beo

[Leander]

https://www.nba.com/news/knicks-coach-t ... -part-ways

Finally! I am really happy now! He might have some strenghts, but not using the bench and playing the starters for 35-40 minutes all season long is not the way. And not much strategy involved.

We should have played like the Pacers...with Towns as the starting center, but using Robinson, Hukporti and Achuwa for defense...and if a player is cold and can't make shots, sub him out and use someone else.

We need a mastermind now!

[Jeffx]

I'm not surprised. I guarantee you Knicks brass was upset about losing to a lower-seeded team in Indiana, plus Thibs stubborness about not developing/utilizing the bench during the regular season (only went to the bench when NY went down 0-2) and lack of creativity (and adjustments) on offense. Thibs can get a team to a certain point (as we saw in Chicago & Minnesota), but his flaws were exposed in the conference finals against a better-coached team.

It's funny, Knicks fans were saying the same things about Thibs I remember hearing from Bulls fans like Andrew and T'Wolves fans.

[Andrew]

I do like Thibs, I think he's certainly a good coach, but he does have a couple of weaknesses/blind spots that have held him back from being a great coach, or at least being more successful. That's not to say that he hasn't had deficiencies in the roster wherever he's been - imagine the 2011 Bulls with Ben Gordon instead of Keith Bogans as the starting shooting guard - but yeah, there are some recurring problems with his approach.

[Jeffx]

Interesting take from Rick Pitino;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Cpp_uGhLD8

[Jeffx]

https://nbaanalysis.net/new-york-knicks ... k-perkins/

We don't need either one. It would a typical old-school Knicks front office move - Carmelo Anthony, version 2, and how did that work out? Follow the Pacers model and strengthen the bench....get some defensive stoppers and a couple of lights-out shooters. Hire a coach who'll update the offense to the modern NBA and stop the iso-Brunson crap.

[Jeffx]

Hope I'm wrong, but it sounds like the dysfunction is back at MSG, with Dolan getting involved;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fX6NQKIQ2yE