BlueKnickers wrote:It is almost surreal reading the last page of comments and seeing so many finally understanding that Brunson has been the bottleneck all along.

Sorry, not sorry, basically. It is the Brunson conundrum. The only way to contend is to downgrade his role and not feature him as much as before, because he doesn't know how to modify his game correctly.

KAT should have the most shot attempts on the team EVERY GAME. The more the offense flows through him the more you'll see KAT engage his inner Jokic. Guys will run around like they've got bugs in their undies just trying to make a good cut for a KAT pass.

OG was running around KAT on high curls and scooting down the lane for easy buckets, stuff we were not seeing before.

KAT and OG are the two guys you feed on offense to keep them engaged and Brunson adds in his points playing off the ball more and you get a balanced scoring attack.

With motion and sharing the ball comes engagement and you will see Deuce starting to hit his shots and Bridges coming back from the dead.

And when guys are engaged on offense, they come alive on defense.

It was never that complicated, but here I was saying you needed somebody to go alpha on Brunson and it looks like somebody did. Maybe Daddy did spank his son after all, ha ha.

Basically, there was some form of council or intervention, because they went to KAT immediately.

It was do or die so better late than never.

The talent is there.

This issue was Brunson pounding the stuffing out of the ball and becoming less productive while not protecting the ball and making poor decisions.

The next step if this team wants to take it is running options down the stretch to free up other shooters on the team, not just hero ball by Brunson.

Maybe Brown will finally get them to play like he was hired to have them play.

I did not think they could make the switch now, but it happened today so that's a good thing then. They just cannot let Brunson milk the clock any longer. He needs to be happy getting his share of the offense touching the ball less often.

It even makes sense from Brunson’s point of view. He is clutch, that we know, but he is much better as a shooter product of our ball movement and maybe a last resort shot than an iso stagnation tough shot that gets everyone out of rhythm.

Our first option should always be KAT with movement, where he either shoots or passes, then Brunson with movement. Brunson’s ISO’s should be heavily limited.

LivingLegend wrote:I often bitch about Josh during regular season because very rarely does the Animal come out but last night he was THE HULK.

Josh Hart is the most impactful player on this team.

Brunson needs to go. He can be packaged with Bridges.

We will lose this series because of Brunson. Can’t guard anyone and doesn’t ass the ball.

The playoffs always expose your greatest weakness.

SergioNYK wrote:That was one of my favorite games of this era. The way we played and defended and how physical we were reminded me a lot of those 90s teams!

Give Brown credit. He made adjustments and coached a flawless game. The gameplan at both ends, the timeouts, the challenges and subs were near perfect. Finally we featured KAT and he delivered. Looked like Joker out there with the passing and triple-double! That play where they had Brunson screen for him in the corner led to like 3 dunks alone. And I cannot believe I'm saying it but kudos to the zebras, even though they made some bad calls as usual, for calling fouls when KAT drove the ball and got hit. KAT had 9 attempts at the line and I think it's the first officiating crew they treated him like the All-Star he is in month's. OG has been our best player so far this series. He's ballin' at both ends! Scary fall after that dunk attempt but he finished the game and looked fine but hopefully he doesn't wake up today too sore. Hart's defense was insane and that back to back sequence where he got the layup and immediately stole the ball and took it coast to coast for the dunk was sick! He's got to chill with the techs. I get it's an emotional game but he's a vet and needs to stay cool. Great coaching by Brown going to him and calming him down. Mikal was A LOT better even though he didn't play much in the second half. I was about to lose it if Brunson didn't give him that dunk off the turnover LOL. Got to get Mikal his confidence back! He clearly cares or he wouldn't have yelled "**** you" to that dirty POS scrub Dyson Daniels! I HATE THAT FUCKING SCRUB!

Bench was terrific! Sucks that Shamet has been demoted but he hasn't done his job in this series. He'll just need to wait for his next opportunity. I have no issues starting Mikal if Deuce get's rewarded and finishes the game when he plays well which he did. His three point shooting is such a weapon! Clarkson's defense on Kuminga was key. Keeping Kuminga in check is so important. In both wins we've held him in check and in their two wins he's killed us. Containing him needs to be part of the gameplan! GTA5 played really well. Love love love how he got into that altercation! We needed a guy like that! He also had his trademark steal which gives the entire team a huge boost. Mitch 2/3 from the line!

Brunson wasn't good. He did shoot 3/7 from three including the last dagger but he played pretty much the same. Took bad shots and turned the ball over way too much (6 turnovers, only 3 assists) and I'm starting to wonder if there is any way he can last an entire playoffs cause every other game he goes down and get's hurt. Partially not his fault cause he's not the biggest guy and plays hard and teams hunt him and play extra physical and Daniels is a dirty POS but I worry that he's not durable enough for a long playoff run. I read somewhere that his father yelled at him to "pass the ball" during that heated altercation on the sideline so everyone is aware of the issues. Brunson just needs to trust his teammates and recognize that maybe this is not his series to dominate. Take a step back and let KAT and OG lead us home to the second round. Concentrate more on "setting up the table" as he says.

Expected to be tied 2-2 and this going to 7 but it'd be nice if we can end this in 6! Got to get game 5 at home! Expect Snyder to make adjustments and for Atlanta to up their physicality and intensity!

GET WELL DONTE!

I thought the refs gave us a very generous whistle yesterday. Specifically, on KAT hooks which they called all year. Saw a bunch of his highlight replays that they simply bit their whistle on. But that's also playoff basketball.

Many times the whistle blew in our favor to curb their momentum, the replays justified it. But still seemed like they were heavily on our side yesterday, outside of some egregious blunders like the OG out of bounds.

SergioNYK wrote:That was one of my favorite games of this era. The way we played and defended and how physical we were reminded me a lot of those 90s teams!

Give Brown credit. He made adjustments and coached a flawless game. The gameplan at both ends, the timeouts, the challenges and subs were near perfect. Finally we featured KAT and he delivered. Looked like Joker out there with the passing and triple-double! That play where they had Brunson screen for him in the corner led to like 3 dunks alone. And I cannot believe I'm saying it but kudos to the zebras, even though they made some bad calls as usual, for calling fouls when KAT drove the ball and got hit. KAT had 9 attempts at the line and I think it's the first officiating crew they treated him like the All-Star he is in month's. OG has been our best player so far this series. He's ballin' at both ends! Scary fall after that dunk attempt but he finished the game and looked fine but hopefully he doesn't wake up today too sore. Hart's defense was insane and that back to back sequence where he got the layup and immediately stole the ball and took it coast to coast for the dunk was sick! He's got to chill with the techs. I get it's an emotional game but he's a vet and needs to stay cool. Great coaching by Brown going to him and calming him down. Mikal was A LOT better even though he didn't play much in the second half. I was about to lose it if Brunson didn't give him that dunk off the turnover LOL. Got to get Mikal his confidence back! He clearly cares or he wouldn't have yelled "**** you" to that dirty POS scrub Dyson Daniels! I HATE THAT FUCKING SCRUB!

Bench was terrific! Sucks that Shamet has been demoted but he hasn't done his job in this series. He'll just need to wait for his next opportunity. I have no issues starting Mikal if Deuce get's rewarded and finishes the game when he plays well which he did. His three point shooting is such a weapon! Clarkson's defense on Kuminga was key. Keeping Kuminga in check is so important. In both wins we've held him in check and in their two wins he's killed us. Containing him needs to be part of the gameplan! GTA5 played really well. Love love love how he got into that altercation! We needed a guy like that! He also had his trademark steal which gives the entire team a huge boost.

Brunson wasn't good. He did shoot 3/7 from three including the last dagger but he played pretty much the same. Took bad shots and turned the ball over way too much (6 turnovers, only 3 assists) and I'm starting to wonder if there is any way he can last an entire playoffs cause every other game he goes down and get's hurt. Partially not his fault cause he's not the biggest guy and plays hard and teams hunt him and play extra physical and Daniels is a dirty POS but I worry that he's not durable enough for a long playoff run. I read somewhere that his father yelled at him to "pass the ball" during that heated altercation on the sideline so everyone is aware of the issues. Brunson just needs to trust his teammates and recognize that maybe this is not his series to dominate. Take a step back and let KAT and OG lead us home to the second round. Concentrate more on "setting up the table" as he says.

Expected to be tied 2-2 and this going to 7 but it'd be nice if we can end this in 6! Got to get game 5 at home! Expect Snyder to make adjustments and for Atlanta to up their physicality and intensity!

+1. Good write up.

Thought it was great to get Jose and his energy into the game in the 1st quarter. Obviously helps that he hit some shots, but Brunson has been fighting for everything, including just bringing the ball up. Get him some rest earlier on so we can see Captain Clutch when we need him.

Refs finally started calling some holds on the Atlanta defense. They've been getting away with it all series and started whining when finally getting called for it.

KAT has been terrific, and while he had some moments last year's postseason (thinking of saving our asses game 3 in Detroit), hoping this is the year he really cements himself as a Knick.

Deuce hitting shots again was a big boost as he's still working himself into pre surgery form.

Happy with the rotations last night like you said. Also want to continue giving props to Clarkson. We know the lifeline he gives us on offense, but his defense needs to be praised the last couple weeks of the season through now. Since he got knocked out of the rotation, he's really taken a step up and giving Brown no excuse but to play him.

nycericanguy wrote:Brunson isn't a bottleneck, he's been arguably the best playoff performer in the NBA during his tenure here. But he's human and has his struggles with intense ball pressure.

Thing is though, you can't stop EVERYONE, so KAT & OG are feasting.

Maybe this is a bad matchup for Brunson, would it surprise anyone to see him feast and average 32 in the next round? He's still the leading scorer in this series on either team, which he has amazingly done in EVERY playoff series on the Knicks.

We went through this last year with both Detroit and Indy and finally learned to get the ball out of JB's hands when he's being pressured in the back court or doubled near center court. New staff, but you'd think they would look back at some game tape and stop making Jalen work so hard on this.

Jalen's really struggled, despite still putting up numbers at the end of the day. Can't believe I'm saying it, but I think he'll have a better time vs. Boston, provided we advance.

MaTT4281 wrote:

nycericanguy wrote:Brunson isn't a bottleneck, he's been arguably the best playoff performer in the NBA during his tenure here. But he's human and has his struggles with intense ball pressure.

Thing is though, you can't stop EVERYONE, so KAT & OG are feasting.

Maybe this is a bad matchup for Brunson, would it surprise anyone to see him feast and average 32 in the next round? He's still the leading scorer in this series on either team, which he has amazingly done in EVERY playoff series on the Knicks.

We went through this last year with both Detroit and Indy and finally learned to get the ball out of JB's hands when he's being pressured in the back court or doubled near center court. New staff, but you'd think they would look back at some game tape and stop making Jalen work so hard on this.

Jalen's really struggled, despite still putting up numbers at the end of the day. Can't believe I'm saying it, but I think he'll have a better time vs. Boston, provided we advance.

and yet we beat BOS & DET and should have beaten IND if we didn't choke away G1.

Playoffs aren't always pretty, JJ and Daniels are taking alot of heat from ATL fans. but Brunson is very much a reason we can win it all, not part of any problem.

nycericanguy wrote:

MaTT4281 wrote:

nycericanguy wrote:Brunson isn't a bottleneck, he's been arguably the best playoff performer in the NBA during his tenure here. But he's human and has his struggles with intense ball pressure.

Thing is though, you can't stop EVERYONE, so KAT & OG are feasting.

Maybe this is a bad matchup for Brunson, would it surprise anyone to see him feast and average 32 in the next round? He's still the leading scorer in this series on either team, which he has amazingly done in EVERY playoff series on the Knicks.

We went through this last year with both Detroit and Indy and finally learned to get the ball out of JB's hands when he's being pressured in the back court or doubled near center court. New staff, but you'd think they would look back at some game tape and stop making Jalen work so hard on this.

Jalen's really struggled, despite still putting up numbers at the end of the day. Can't believe I'm saying it, but I think he'll have a better time vs. Boston, provided we advance.

and yet we beat BOS & DET and should have beaten IND if we didn't choke away G1.

Playoffs aren't always pretty, JJ and Daniels are taking alot of heat from ATL fans. but Brunson is very much a reason we can win it all, not part of any problem.

Don't get me wrong, the finger pointing isn't directly at Brunson. The point being last year, we adapted and had success doing so. This year, we're slow to adapt. Atlanta is targeting him specifically on both sides of the ball, and we're turning the ball over far more than we should be.

Yes, give the Atlanta defense credit, but Brown and team need to help Cap out here.

nycericanguy wrote:Brunson isn't a bottleneck, he's been arguably the best playoff performer in the NBA during his tenure here. But he's human and has his struggles with intense ball pressure.

Thing is though, you can't stop EVERYONE, so KAT & OG are feasting.

Maybe this is a bad matchup for Brunson, would it surprise anyone to see him feast and average 32 in the next round? He's still the leading scorer in this series on either team, which he has amazingly done in EVERY playoff series on the Knicks.

It is a bad matchup for Brunson, but he is also leaning into that bad matchup by bringing the ball up the court himself too much while taking a long time to do it and then calling this own number too many time.

He just has to recognize the matchups for the team and do differently, like running the offense through KAT.

It's the next step for him and we are seeing the learning process in real time.

Tweet was deleted or there was problem with the URL:

https://www.twitter.com/HotHandTheory/status/2048440001931714709

He feels like a 3rd star on a deep playoff team. Seems like a really good regular season guy and not at the next playoff level yet.

Knicksfan wrote:

BlueKnickers wrote:It is almost surreal reading the last page of comments and seeing so many finally understanding that Brunson has been the bottleneck all along.

Sorry, not sorry, basically. It is the Brunson conundrum. The only way to contend is to downgrade his role and not feature him as much as before, because he doesn't know how to modify his game correctly.

KAT should have the most shot attempts on the team EVERY GAME. The more the offense flows through him the more you'll see KAT engage his inner Jokic. Guys will run around like they've got bugs in their undies just trying to make a good cut for a KAT pass.

OG was running around KAT on high curls and scooting down the lane for easy buckets, stuff we were not seeing before.

KAT and OG are the two guys you feed on offense to keep them engaged and Brunson adds in his points playing off the ball more and you get a balanced scoring attack.

With motion and sharing the ball comes engagement and you will see Deuce starting to hit his shots and Bridges coming back from the dead.

And when guys are engaged on offense, they come alive on defense.

It was never that complicated, but here I was saying you needed somebody to go alpha on Brunson and it looks like somebody did. Maybe Daddy did spank his son after all, ha ha.

Basically, there was some form of council or intervention, because they went to KAT immediately.

It was do or die so better late than never.

The talent is there.

This issue was Brunson pounding the stuffing out of the ball and becoming less productive while not protecting the ball and making poor decisions.

The next step if this team wants to take it is running options down the stretch to free up other shooters on the team, not just hero ball by Brunson.

Maybe Brown will finally get them to play like he was hired to have them play.

I did not think they could make the switch now, but it happened today so that's a good thing then. They just cannot let Brunson milk the clock any longer. He needs to be happy getting his share of the offense touching the ball less often.

It even makes sense from Brunson’s point of view. He is clutch, that we know, but he is much better as a shooter product of our ball movement and maybe a last resort shot than an iso stagnation tough shot that gets everyone out of rhythm.

Our first option should always be KAT with movement, where he either shoots or passes, then Brunson with movement. Brunson’s ISO’s should be heavily limited.

The last three games of the season were the blueprint.

And then Brunson forgot it all over again in the first three games of this series.

At the very end of the season, Brunson suddenly compressed the time he spent on individual ISO moves. Instead of hammering the ball for 10-15 seconds, he made his ISO moves in 4-8 seconds and either shot the ball or off-loaded it someone else with enough time on the clock for another play to develop.

Brunson's style has been to dump the ball with 3 seconds left on the clock when he gets trapped which leads to a desperation heave by a teammate. That's not good basketball.

As long as Brunson runs the court more off the ball and stays ready for spot jumpers or quick moves and he condenses his ball handling time and manages the shot clock better everyone benefits, including him. He'll still get almost the same amount of points on greater efficiency over time while the scoring attack balances out.