Your expectations are whack man

I’m sorry but:

#1. We just won an ECF game, which should be the focus.
#2. When did I share my expectations?

This is the first year this entire team was put together. With that said, I’m expecting Thibs to get us out of the 2nd round or put up a fight against the Celtics. My expectations was met going into the ECF game vs Indy. How is that whack? Confused. #PUFFPUFFPASS

Deuce only played 15mins
Delon Wright played 7mins
Mitch is a starter now who didn't play in the 4th and only played 19mins
Hart was off with too many TO's and he played too many mins
Mikal should sat down several times. He was off today on defense, and non existance on offense in key moments.

He has 2 all nba players, one of the best 3&d in the league, a good swiss army knife, one of the best glue guy as starters plus one of the best offensive rebounders and defender in the game, a good 3&d guard on the bench. 7 or 8 players on the squad are above average career 3pts shooters.
He had a healthy squad the whole playoffs. What more a team can have. Still they didn't play to their potential. Nothing is clicking and nothing comes easy for this team.
A championship was not guaranteed because there are better teams.

Still, they struggled against Detroit who is not a bad team but limited, the Celtics were not 100%, and they make the pacers look like a juggernaut.

Despite the wins and some clutch plays throughout the playoffs, they did not play well. That's on Thibs. They are one of the worst 3pt% shooting team in the playoffs despite being on paper a one of the best shooting team. They didn't all forget to shoot at the same time. The offensive systems do not give good quality shots.

VDesai wrote:Carlisle seems to have Thibs' number. They want to double and trap and wear down Brunson. Slow down our offense and reduce our transition game, then run off everything we do. They are playing guys in 4-5 minutes shifts and we're leaving the likes of Mitch out for 10-12 minutes stretches and you can see them huffing and puffing. The thing is we went through this last year.

When the Knicks made things work in Game 3 (and even game 1) they created turnovers and got physical defending the Pacers. Using Mitch as a starter I think has negated the impact of throwing him into a game and disrupting.

The Knicks also best countered the press and trap in the playoffs back in Game 1 in Detroit....when we had 2 point guards out there. Maybe Cam ain't the answer, but Deuce and Delon have been effective in this series. AND Deuce and Delon give you the opportunity to have a better defender against Haliburton out there. Why not try this lineup with Brunson?

Deuce has been the answer since the beginning and he should’ve been the change in the starting lineup instead of Mitch. Love Mitch and he helps, but for this Pacers series, Deuce should’ve been the adjustment with more Wright off the bench.

Nalod wrote:

DLeethal wrote:If Thibs is back I hope we force a high level offensive mind on his bench like we did with Woodson/D'Antoni. And I hope we can convince him to develop a bench over the course of the season.

5th best rated offense this season. what is really missing on the bench? Who does what and who is not getting it done?
With Mikal and KAT the team went thru a big change from last year.
Indy mostly ran it back and once healthy making a run to the finals!
They are far from invincible but they are getting it done.
OKC had a treasure trove of picks and giddy to make moves with and salary flex to sign iHart.
They have a window before they have to pay Williams and Chet. They are succeeding in the new CBA better than most.
Teams like Bulls and Grizz have not! Teams with talent that did not work or injury issues.

You are whitewashing things with season long generalities. This team was far from the 5th best offensive team for months and nowhere near it in the playoffs.

Yes, we started off the season HISTORICALLY good on offense. Now things get slanted in today's league, but for a couple months we were the 3rd best offense of all time (first 2 were 2025 Celtics and 2025 Cavs which is what I mean by slanted).

Since then, every month the offense regressed on a steady downward slope to the point of being just about average going into the playoffs, where it became well below average. And in the playoffs we pivoted to becoming a more defensive minded team then we had been all season.

Nalod wrote:

DLeethal wrote:If Thibs is back I hope we force a high level offensive mind on his bench like we did with Woodson/D'Antoni. And I hope we can convince him to develop a bench over the course of the season.

5th best rated offense this season. what is really missing on the bench? Who does what and who is not getting it done?
With Mikal and KAT the team went thru a big change from last year.
Indy mostly ran it back and once healthy making a run to the finals!
They are far from invincible but they are getting it done.
OKC had a treasure trove of picks and giddy to make moves with and salary flex to sign iHart.
They have a window before they have to pay Williams and Chet. They are succeeding in the new CBA better than most.
Teams like Bulls and Grizz have not! Teams with talent that did not work or injury issues.

Knicks were last in bench points, last in bench minutes, and 9th in bench NET. Which means they had a good enough bench to be 9th in NET yet were not trusted to play and thus didn't produce.

https://www.nba.com/stats/teams/traditional?SeasonType=Regular%20Season&StarterBench=Bench&dir=A&sort=PTS

In my opinion, Knicks had a good enough bench this year to be middle of the pack. Especially later in the year. Deuce, Mitch, Wright, Shamet is a potent bench. Deuce should be much closer to Hart in minutes than he is. Wright is an analytics darling on defense and it lines up with the eye test. And Shamet can shoot and play disruptive defense. We wasted away the season playing Cam Payne who is most likely the worst backup in the league by far. Not to mention Tyler Kolek is good enough to warrant a developing and does things no one else on our team can do in the playmaking department.

GustavBahler wrote:

blkexec wrote:Thibs didn’t have a great series, but neither did the players. Leon was great. He provided Thibs with defensive wings, shooters and a roster talented enough to win it all. Unfortunately all the pieces together wasn’t enough to beat the pacers. Still have a chance but the light is fading...

I’m not on this “fire Thibs” stuff. He hasn’t lost the locker room and players respect him. But like the players, Thibs needs to reflect and grow from this experience. I’m not going to react off an emotional loss, But I will guarantee this. Leon is already cooking up a few strategies to improve the team. So I’m happy we have a competent GM who knows how to improve a team incrementally, without gutting the core.

We have a team with potential and a culture is developing. Just need a tuneup / upgrade on the off season. I can’t put my finger on that one upgrade that’s needed, so I’m just going to enjoy the bright lights of the ECF and be grateful we made it to the ELITE 4. Nobody expected us to make it this far.

If it’s another season of running the starters ragged. To the point where the NBA’s Ironman is complaining. We will be lucky to make the ECF again because the competition is going to get tougher. It’s not just Boston in our way now. It’s Indy.

Leon seems to have a hands off approach when it comes to how Thibs runs the team. But I don’t believe he can or should stay silent, if Thibs plans on spending another season ghosting his bench for the most part. No one else in the league does it like that.

I don't think we can predict the competition getting tougher. Yes Indiana will be there, and yes Cleveland will be there. But DET and BOS was not an easy road to the ECF. In fact it could be easier next year where we don't have to play a 60 win team in the second round. Knicks are well positioned to make another run at it again next year, but we have to get better, we aren't going to make the ECF again with double digit 4th quarter comebacks in every win, that's for sure.

I do agree that Leon needs to get more involved if Thibs is gonna stay. Beef up his staff, put some ultimatums on developing a bench.

GustavBahler wrote:

DLeethal wrote:

GustavBahler wrote:

blkexec wrote:Thibs didn’t have a great series, but neither did the players. Leon was great. He provided Thibs with defensive wings, shooters and a roster talented enough to win it all. Unfortunately all the pieces together wasn’t enough to beat the pacers. Still have a chance but the light is fading...

I’m not on this “fire Thibs” stuff. He hasn’t lost the locker room and players respect him. But like the players, Thibs needs to reflect and grow from this experience. I’m not going to react off an emotional loss, But I will guarantee this. Leon is already cooking up a few strategies to improve the team. So I’m happy we have a competent GM who knows how to improve a team incrementally, without gutting the core.

We have a team with potential and a culture is developing. Just need a tuneup / upgrade on the off season. I can’t put my finger on that one upgrade that’s needed, so I’m just going to enjoy the bright lights of the ECF and be grateful we made it to the ELITE 4. Nobody expected us to make it this far.

If it’s another season of running the starters ragged. To the point where the NBA’s Ironman is complaining. We will be lucky to make the ECF again because the competition is going to get tougher. It’s not just Boston in our way now. It’s Indy.

Leon seems to have a hands off approach when it comes to how Thibs runs the team. But I don’t believe he can or should stay silent, if Thibs plans on spending another season ghosting his bench for the most part. No one else in the league does it like that.

I don't think we can predict the competition getting tougher. Yes Indiana will be there, and yes Cleveland will be there. But DET and BOS was not an easy road to the ECF. In fact it could be easier next year where we don't have to play a 60 win team in the second round. Knicks are well positioned to make another run at it again next year, but we have to get better, we aren't going to make the ECF again with double digit 4th quarter comebacks in every win, that's for sure.

I do agree that Leon needs to get more involved if Thibs is gonna stay. Beef up his staff, put some ultimatums on developing a bench.

It will be another year of growing for the Pacers. I doubt the Cavs will be as easy to take out next season, with Atkinson as coach in year 2. Boston might be out of the picture next season, but they’ll be back. Pistons took a big step this season.

I don’t believe we should put the same starting lineup out there again next season. It could be chemistry that needs time to improve, or it’s just a bad fit in the postseason. I’m hoping we have a different starting lineup next season. Move a starter to the bench so we aren’t so top heavy.

I wholeheartedly agree with the latter point. At a minimum this team needs a new starter, Josh to bench, and some moves around the margins to get more depth and ball handling and shooting. And they need to be committed to developing a bench.

DLeethal wrote:

GustavBahler wrote:

DLeethal wrote:

GustavBahler wrote:

blkexec wrote:Thibs didn’t have a great series, but neither did the players. Leon was great. He provided Thibs with defensive wings, shooters and a roster talented enough to win it all. Unfortunately all the pieces together wasn’t enough to beat the pacers. Still have a chance but the light is fading...

I’m not on this “fire Thibs” stuff. He hasn’t lost the locker room and players respect him. But like the players, Thibs needs to reflect and grow from this experience. I’m not going to react off an emotional loss, But I will guarantee this. Leon is already cooking up a few strategies to improve the team. So I’m happy we have a competent GM who knows how to improve a team incrementally, without gutting the core.

We have a team with potential and a culture is developing. Just need a tuneup / upgrade on the off season. I can’t put my finger on that one upgrade that’s needed, so I’m just going to enjoy the bright lights of the ECF and be grateful we made it to the ELITE 4. Nobody expected us to make it this far.

If it’s another season of running the starters ragged. To the point where the NBA’s Ironman is complaining. We will be lucky to make the ECF again because the competition is going to get tougher. It’s not just Boston in our way now. It’s Indy.

Leon seems to have a hands off approach when it comes to how Thibs runs the team. But I don’t believe he can or should stay silent, if Thibs plans on spending another season ghosting his bench for the most part. No one else in the league does it like that.

I don't think we can predict the competition getting tougher. Yes Indiana will be there, and yes Cleveland will be there. But DET and BOS was not an easy road to the ECF. In fact it could be easier next year where we don't have to play a 60 win team in the second round. Knicks are well positioned to make another run at it again next year, but we have to get better, we aren't going to make the ECF again with double digit 4th quarter comebacks in every win, that's for sure.

I do agree that Leon needs to get more involved if Thibs is gonna stay. Beef up his staff, put some ultimatums on developing a bench.

It will be another year of growing for the Pacers. I doubt the Cavs will be as easy to take out next season, with Atkinson as coach in year 2. Boston might be out of the picture next season, but they’ll be back. Pistons took a big step this season.

I don’t believe we should put the same starting lineup out there again next season. It could be chemistry that needs time to improve, or it’s just a bad fit in the postseason. I’m hoping we have a different starting lineup next season. Move a starter to the bench so we aren’t so top heavy.

I wholeheartedly agree with the latter point. At a minimum this team needs a new starter, Josh to bench, and some moves around the margins to get more depth and ball handling and shooting. And they need to be committed to developing a bench.

All good points. My concern is Leon building that bench, and Thibs still sticking with the starters. I know Leon has to tread carefully, only so much you can do when it comes to telling a head coach who to play. But I agree he has to send a message that having the least used bench in the league again won’t cut it.