Its funny that before the playoffs some posters wanted to avoid facing the Pistons and wanted an easier matchup, but I think that Piston's series was a blessing in disguise. All season long we talked about how something was just lacking with this team, they just didn't have that spirit that last year's team had. I think they learned something from that Pistons series, they learned how to fight, and how to grind out wins as a team. That series awakened the inner dog in this team and now they are taking the fight to the Celtics.

One interesting thing to think about is last year, the Celtics, due to every single team they faced having injuries to key players, basically had a cakewalk to their championship. They never really had to grind for wins, they just steamrolled over everyone they faced. We are pretty much their first real test when you think about it. I think the challenge will be to keep it close until the 4th and then we have a shot at tearing their hearts out like we did today. Also, lets hope KP is missing for as long as possible. With KP out, Mitch can set up shop in the paint and gobble up rebounds as well as block/alter shots.

DLeethal wrote:

Chandler wrote:What a game

So was it a change in D that threw celts shooting odd or did they just go cold?

Now let’s steal the next one too

Both but we are playing much different defense then we did in the regular season which was primarily drop and also against DET which was a hedge and recover style defense. Knicks switched everything 1 thru 5 tonight. That’s basically prevent defense against 3s.

That's what Orlando did for great success in round one- problem was the magic are so weak offensively that they weren't able to score enough to win.

Knicks achilles heel all season was Brunson and KAT on defense. Basically the Celtics just hunted those two on switches and then jacked up a 3. They both did a great job of getting a hand up and more importantly not fouling the shooter.

Post game Mazzula said he was happy with taking 60 3s.I'm guessing Celtics don't radically change their shot diet. Biggest danger for New York is if the Celtics start to lean on Holiday more to handle the ball. He can beat the Knicks off the pass but was more or less side lined tonight.

DLeethal wrote:

Chandler wrote:What a game

So was it a change in D that threw celts shooting odd or did they just go cold?

Now let’s steal the next one too

Both but we are playing much different defense then we did in the regular season which was primarily drop and also against DET which was a hedge and recover style defense. Knicks switched everything 1 thru 5 tonight. That’s basically prevent defense against 3s.

Thanks! I saw all the switching but why were the celts still chucking 3s rather than driving on the mismatches which is what I thought they were doing in the past eg pnr to get KAT on ball and then drive by KAT

I know it can be lumped into team defense label but how precisely do they cover up these weaknesses?

Chandler wrote:One more question for anyone who knows this stuff. What is bostons secret sauce on D? They had kornet, Pritchard and Tatum out there together. At an individual level they should suck yet they don’t. They also roll out 38(?) year old horFord and KP each of whom should be vulnerable on the perimeter. Sam hauser etc

I know it can be lumped into team defense label but how precisely do they cover up these weaknesses?

They have some Elite perimeter defenders like Holiday who is maybe the best 1 on 1 defender in the league. But I think you have guys like White who makes tremendous help defense plays, and Tatum who is so lengthy and mobile that he can guard 1 to 5. Horford is old, but has always been a really good defensive player. They can play pure 5 man switching defense. Strategically they are smart too - they will exploit advantages on both ends, so on the defensive end they feel like they can stick KP on Hart and let KP protect the rim. They can hide their lesser defenders, but I think everyone on their team competes. I see Pritchard compet

That said I also think they just benefit from the fact that they pressure you by taking so many 3s. The deficits start to pile up so you chase 3's too - and if that's not a comfortable part of your offense, then they throw you off your game as well. I see guys like Pritchard and Kornet competing out there even if you would not think of them as great defenders.

That said I still think Boston is susceptible to runs. They will go cold from 3 for a periods and will give up some leads. Even in the games we got blown out, I recall us making several runs to cut it to mid single digits in those games. Of course then Boston can get hot again, get a 3 a steal and another 3 and shut the run down in a matter of seconds.

1) Don't throw him the ball in traffic or make some kind of fancy lead pass where he has to adjust to the ball

2) Avoid use him in the situations where Hack a Mitch is possible - i.e. more than 2 mins in the quarter with the opposing team in the penalty. If KAT is in foul trouble, I understand we have limited options, but this is at least 3 games now where this strategy has been deployed on us, and if we can find a way to get through a few mins without Mitch/KAT with Precious or even going smaller, that's probably better than us coming away with 2 pts from 3 possessions or whatever rate he's hitting at. Honestly this isn't a bad series for the corpse of PJ Tucker. The Celtics bigs are not gonna bang you inside offensively. Even with what he gives up in height, he can box out and also defend more on the perimeter. If we're talking about covering up 2-3 mins its something to think about.

Where Mitch has really evolved is not getting hit with the stupid aggressive touch fouls on switches (like KAT does). He has done fantastic when switched onto the likes of Cade/Tatum so far in containing these guys. He also draws so much attention under the boards.

GustavBahler wrote:

Knixkik wrote:

NYStateOfMind wrote:How about the hack a Mitch 8 minutes before that?

gradyandrew wrote:Really the only time Knicks looked lost were in Precious minutes.

The answer is both. Achiuwa isn’t helpful and Mitch is unplayable in the playoffs with the fouling. Knicks need to address the backup big this summer. We just need a Paul Reed type.

We made that big comeback with Mitch at center. Mitch pressured Tatum on that missed 3 late in the game. And defended the inbound pass in crunch time. F the missed free throws, Mitch played a role in this win with defense and rebounding. We dont play him we lose.

yea Mitch is a noticeable upgrade on D, by far a team best +13. He impacted the game.

Just can't play him when other teams are in the penalty or the last 2 minutes of quarters, so that's something Thibs has to figure out, maybe take KAT out earlier or play them together earlier. But Mitch's 20mpg are crucial for us.

We just need OG and Mikal to stop feeding him bullet passes.

Precious brings very little, he's just so unaware out there at times.

martin wrote:Difference between inexperienced Detroit and been there done that Celtics right here

Tweet was deleted or there was problem with the URL:

https://www.twitter.com/sny_knicks/status/1919599407466512706

Hard to hate this guy. Wait... He is a Celtic. Fuck him!