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MS wrote:21, 22, 22, 24 minutes for our starters.

Fucking adjust Thibs. Play Precious. You can’t run the guys into the ground every night. Fucking nurse playing Buddy, Spo played Robinson. This iron man stuff bites you in the ass.

Some folks will just have to start adjusting to KNICK CULTURE. While some aspects of this may make you uncomfortable allow me to present you with something to assuage your suffering. Winning.

While Brunson has been out of this world, every single night we get signature moments and signature contributions from an array of other guys and that array of guys seems to switch on a nightly basis. Definition of a TEAM and also props to Thibs for pushing the right buttons enough to find the winning formula to put us in a position to win 5 out of 6 games down the stretch.

The Deuce game, the Josh 3s in game 1, the Mitch 4th quarter D in game 1, the Bogie momentum 3s, the Dante heroics in game 2, the iHart rebound in game 2, the Precious/OG suffocation in game 4, the Dante 1st Q last night, the OG dunk, the Hart sealer. Brunson heroics sprinkled throughout. So many moments and every single player got a piece.

I understand the Josh Hart strategy, it worked for Miami, but is it me or does this guy have more game busting 3s in crunch time than anyone on our team? Even going back to Cleveland last year, this guy has won us a ton of games with late game 3s. I don't understand leaving him wide open, he has proven he will hit the big shots. Throw the numbers out the window when it's winning time.

I was perplexed when Thibs subbed iHart back in the game with tons of time left in the 4th Q. Embiid was hot all night and just taking it to iHart, our doubles when iHart was in were getting blasted with open 3s from their role players. Mitch was guarding him effectively straight up. I thought Thibs was trying to give Mitch 1-2 mins so he could finish the game. But he went with iHart and iHart delivered big time once again. I believe the same thing happened in game 2, where Mitch just looked like the better defender on Embiid but Thibs went with iHart who had one of the biggest rebounds in Knick history to lead to the Dante shot. iHart was huge down the stretch last night.

OG is low key the unsung hero last night though. He got us back in the game late in the 3rd quarter when it was getting dicey, and I think had 5 straight points to even it up going into the 4th. That was massive. This guy is a pure winner. I look around the league and think to myself sometimes how all these teams need an OG Anunoby or a Josh Hart and we have both those guys. The two best glue guys in the league in different ways and we have them both.

Looking at our box score, damn this team is close to having zero depth. Basically, Burks, Shake, and Precious are the only guys left with any sort of real NBA experience. Thibs needs to integrate one of these guys into the rotation for Indy, he has 4 days to get one of those guys ready. We can't play 7 guys all the way through. And with Mitch coming off the bench, it really leaves Deuce as the only guy who can provide any points at all. Indy has a deep bench that puts up a ton of points. We need to get some scoring support - I think Alec is the guy. With Brunson playing 40 minutes and Deuce rounding into form, I think Alec can come in and play off ball and just try to let the game come to him instead of playing pseudo-point guard. We need Burks now.

martin wrote:

VDesai wrote:Brunson rarely makes the same mistake over and over. He might learn and adjust as well as any player in the league. Teams started doubling him months ago and he's like been averaging 35 and 10 for weeks now. This kid is brilliant.

TRUTH

And yet I keep expecting more lol

Because he keeps giving us more! This guy has literally been averaging 35.5 and 9 in April games and the playoffs. That's insane.

DLeethal wrote:I love how the script on Thibs has been flipped, for now at least. The NBA world is in awe of how the Knicks guys can play 40+ mins per game with such energy like it's nothing. Thibs has gone from madman who kills his players to evil genius who better preps them for the biggest playoff moments.

i mean this team is decimated with injuries.

Jhart only averaged 32mpg last years playoffs.

but Nurse was playing his guys a ton too, even Embiid on one leg, playoffs are a different animal

Beyond grateful for Brunson. Stepped up when he needed to step up and continues to show why he is an elite player and a true 1A. Sorry Becky and Candance! Most happy he was able to hit the last two FT's. It's been an issue for him but great sign he was able to knock those two down! Third straight 40 point game in the playoffs! That's some Jordan and Kobe **** LOL.

Hart is very LJ like in the clutch. LJ was never what you'd consider a great three point shooter but as we know he always seemed to hit the clutch ones and Hart does that same thing! Super happy DVo was able to have a big game. He knew and heard he needed to step up if we were going to win and he answered the call. Great coaching by Thibs too. I too was really frustrated with the 2nd quarter leaving Hield open but we adjusted in the second half and I think Hield only got 1 three. But great leadership keeping the team focused and not getting their heads down after blowing the lead. The defense on Maxey was also good all game long. OGA also stepped up. Timely shots and a dunk for ages over Embiid! OG is a dawg!

Much respect to Maxey. He's a really good player and will only get better. But a big FUCK YOU to Embiid! He's like the modern day Mourning with his antics and crying. Nick Nurse is also a big baby. And we got revenge on Lowry. Can't stand him! I think we're going to see this team a lot in the future. A rivalry was born.

BRING ON THE HICKS!

nycdan wrote:In the middle of this series, my disdain for the 76ers rose to new heights. Embiid is dirty no doubt. But over the last two games, I started to see the basketball player in him. He really is an incredible shooter and a damned good basketball player when he is completely engaged. And Maxey had started to give me Reggie Miller vibes. Also a great player and seems to have a great attitude. Total boss.

Still don't like Embiid, but I admit I might only be 95% opposed to him being a Knick now. He would never survive Thibs (I have to play defense?!) though.

Back to reality. I felt a few things about that game.

1) Thankfully Thibs fixed his game 5 mistake and fouled them on the inbound at the end. 10 seconds seemed a bit early, I'd have liked to see them foul on the other end of a downcourt pass but perhaps that was too risky.

2) I felt like there were quite a few moments where the Knicks had a lane to the layup but pulled back and passed back out to the perimeter. Anyone else see that?

3) OG sealed himself into Knicks lore with that dunk.

4) Free Throw practice please. We ended up shooting 75% I think, but it felt like the last two games were closer than they should have been because of missed FTs down the stretch. Meanwhile, PHI missing one all night. My gawd!

5) I hated Thibs burning starters all season long. Hated it. But I have to admit, it paid off in this series. Philly couldn't match up with us past their top-2 (maybe Hield also for a few scary minutes) and down the stretch when Embiid gets tired, it was a difference maker. I just hope it doesn't backfire later on.

6) If MIB was a real movie, Josh Hart would be my #1 vote among NBA players for alien in disguise. He even likes sugar an awful lot.

I think after winning it's easy to be gracious and respect the opponent for playing their part in one of the most epic first round playoff series of all time. Embiid is a bit on the dirty side like lots of players can be. But he was a warrior out there and you got to love Maxey on and off the court. That dude is easy to root for, very down to earth kid.

IMO Embiid and Maxey can be just as good as Jokic/Murray they just need a better cast of role players. Lowry/Harris/Batum/Oubre is not good enough to surround them with. But they will be scary if they get that fixed for next year.

Overall they were OK from the FT line but they missed 4 FTs in the 4th quarter. That's where it is a problem. That said, they nailed the final 4.

Playing the foul game worked out for us last night, but I couldn't help but think of how wrong it could've went when they fouled Maxey up 3 with 10 seconds left. So much time left, so much execution required to pull that off, they basically had to sink four straight FTs, secure multiple inbound passes to win it that way. It worked, but I'm not so sure I love going that route. Playing defense gives them a chance to tie, but pretty much zero chance to lose in regulation. The foul game opens yourself up for a chance to lose if you miss a FT or fumble an inbounds pass.

nycericanguy wrote:

blkexec wrote:

martin wrote:

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BOOM !!!

There are different ways to use a great defender. Use all his energy on Maxey? Or put him in position to play help defense.

How Thibs uses OG is the key for this team's success in the playoffs and beyond.

I'm glad we took OG off Maxey, it wasnt a good matchup for him.

I think he could be effective on Haliburton. Haliburton doesn't have the same type of burst as Maxey. More of a methodical player. I think we likely see him mostly on Siakam though.