The first quarter we came out great with ball movement. Tell tale things were going south was how hard Brunson had to work in the 2nd period. Grimes was Eh, and IQ is being exposed and handled by a team that is really good at it.
How good was RJ in the 1st period? For a while now its like he has air to breath when Randle is not in. Times you have to cut down big trees to let the saplings have light and grow.
OBI had some really good moments also.

Win or lose our yoot is gettting quite an education. RJ is 22. I can’t tell you his future but I hope its with us.
Not saying he can carry a team on its back, but he is family.

Its not to say Josh can’t get his clutch back or IQ won’t adjust to whats they got handed yesterday.
Knicks did not hit what miami gave them yesterday. They did not execute. They played very well outside of that.

SergioNYK wrote:Cannot get swept! Got to find a way to get lucky and win one! Game two might be our only chance if Butler sits out.

Not time to panic. Knicks are a good road team and as said, they. Did not play badly. they did not execute one part of the plan. It happens. I get “should have made adjustments, should have kept in………”
In reality thats not how things work.
I expect this to be a long series which should favor us on paper but there are too many intangibles that they would be favored.

Just because they have many non drafted players does not mean they are not a very good team!

Grimes is 22, great motor, is logically afraid of going to the rim of late and his shot is not raining in. He plays because he moves the ball and DEFENSE>. He is 22, he’ll get better.

Deuce. The romantic notion is if knicks are not dominating he should play more. Too bad fans and not the coaches understand this.
(Sarcasm)
Its logical………Knicks are not killing it, I (the fan) have an idea, it could work, thibs should try it.
Knicks lose its: “See, we should have tried it”.
Really guys? Really?
StarJay is Inconsistant. Is he “inconsistently good or inconsistently bad”? I don’t know. He is 22, some gave up on him. Im not going full “NYMENTAL” on him but stands to reason “ we should Upgrade” without basis of reality after a bad game is easy. At what price, and who comes in? No guarantee it works better does it?

“Yet here we are, 1-1 in second round with all our “limitations”, or foibles and in the running. I get there is a path to finals its too bad we have all the above but this is how it works. Go all in and be like Cavs, thin behind the stars, or be patient and understand this is a process. We have exceeded all expectations and no doubt will raise the bar going forward.

This is what chats are for. Complain? Vent? Pray? And learn. Personally I loved last nights game. Game thread was all kinds of grumpy and its why I don’t participate often. Losing sucks but being down and not respecting the opponent to me loses the beauty of the contest. That we never got down double digits was massive. Showed good coaching and resolve by the players. Jimmuy was out and randle was in so fans expected more? Sure, but its why we lost game one? Maybe.
All teams dealing with injuries and sometimes the better team does not win because of it.
Miami won 3 games less than we did but this core of there’s has quite an impressive resume the last two years.
WE might not be the better team. First to win four proves it. Its 1-1. Great series thus far!!!!!!

GustavBahler wrote:IQ's stock has taken a dip in the playoffs, but I'm not selling.

It took 3 seasons for IQ to become the player we watched in the regular season. With a few hiccups along the way. Forget counting the last playoff as experience. IQ had a floater, and that was about it.

Quickley's progress hasnt been meteoric, we shouldnt expect any different from the playoffs. I'm seeing a little progress with each game. Even in the 9 minutes Quick played last nite. At some point I'm confident IQ will figure things out.

Playoffs expose alot. StarJay clutch reappears. Why and how I don’t know. Don’t mean he is complete, he is still 22 and inconsistent.
IQ is 23 and also. He had a great regular season and now learning what the next level is. Im sure its been taught but you have to feel it. 82 games is a grind then this level comes. Same team and adjustments…..more of a grind.
IQ plays a loose and fearless game when he is on. Playoff is different. Arena has high emotion, teams are better prepared, and his coaches are really throwing a lot at him too! All of them!!!!

WIn or lose the yoot are growing. The vets are galvanizing even more! Both sides too. Each team is going hard!
Knicks outplayed Cavs for many reasons. Miami has talent deficits on paper but just because they did not get drafted or have a certain “pedigree” does not mean they are lacking. Same for RJ, he has the highest of pedigree from highschool, thru Duke, and the 3rd pick. Fans expect a lot. The kid is actually doing well but is maddening to most fans for his inconsistency. His peers will not respect him because of it and his contract status. Some have come further to prove themselves. Gabe Vincent? Kid is out playing his contract and must despise many others who have the money he deserves. Likewise media loves to jump on RJ too and fans eat that up. Fans love to hate. They do.
But, they love when they deliver even more!!!! RJ and NBA players get this. Its part of the the profession. Randle struggled with it as he has been on the highest extreme of both sides!!!

Thibs has nice chess pieces and we’ll play monday morning QB if and when eliminated. Its what fans do.
Yes, fans have limitations too!! LOL