DLeethal wrote:

martin wrote:Or watch on ESPN:

Tweet was deleted or there was problem with the URL:

https://www.twitter.com/NBA_NewYork/status/1781004305824125432

I might be in the minority but this crew has turned out to be VERY good and a nice replacement to Breen/JVG/Jax.

They are functioning well right now - they can run 4 solid offensive players White, DeRozan, Vuc and Dusomo (sp?) out there + Caruso.

If they knock off Heat the Celtics are going to have a wrestling match on their hands.

Refs better keep those whistles quiet on Embid/Maxey and not revert to a light breeze equals a foul.

Not sure if I was dreaming but can’t find it now.

VDesai wrote:I think if Embiid is hobbled, the biggest difference will show up on defense. He's either not gonna come up from the foul line to challenge a pull up (Herro missed a lot of open pull ups last night, that Brunson won't miss), or he's not gonna offer much at the rim protection. Knicks will play the 2 man game with Brunson and Hartenstein. Remember Hartenstein had a huge game the night we beat them by 30 in Philly.

However, I still think the key to this series for us is containing Maxey's drives. To some extent OG will see time on Maxey, but I really want to see Deuce play a big role this series. Deuce is a better matchup on Maxey than DDV. DDV is aggressive and gambles great in lanes, but against a guy who relentlessly drives the ball like Maxey he is a bad matchup. DDV is a key to this team, but I wouldn't mind a more aggressive split of minutes for Deuce at the expense of DDV because I think it tilts the defensive matchup in our favor.

On Embiid, if he's slowed up like he looked last night, I would try to stick to one on one coverage with Hartenstein/Robinson and Achiuwa (I'm using Precious as a 3rd center more than I'm using him as a PF in this series). OG can come over to hedge when needed - I think you can leave Oubre and Harris and see if they can beat you on 3's - I don't think they can.

+1 on pretty much everything. :)

I can't really say if his knee isn't right or if he's just out of shape. He's moving sort of like with Mitch since his return - half a step slow and isn't as purposeful in his movements on the floor. I think tentative is the word. It was still good enough for 23/15 on offense. Embiid showed he can still be effective on offense, though perhaps without the full arsenal. I agree on the defensive end.

The knee will probably be more of a problem when he has to be make sudden, unscripted adjustments on D... AND... simply getting up and down the court. We have the right style of play to make Embiid work hard, hobbled or not.

That guy saved their season. What we saw was highly unusual - I suppose the Heat rightfully could not have predicted that.

technomaster wrote:Did you know that:
Nic Batum averaged 5.3ppg this year and finished the regular season with *ZERO* 20 point games all season until yesterday's play-in game? Worth noting, in his first round series with the Clippers 2022-23, he scored 22 total points over 5 games, playing over 18mpg.

That guy saved their season. What we saw was highly unusual - I suppose the Heat rightfully could not have predicted that.

OF all these guys I mentioned: Oubre, Tobias, Lowry and a bench of Batum, Hield, Reed

Batum and Lowry are the most dangerous, especially in short spurts. Those are the two guys (aside from Joel/Maxey) who scare you in crunch time. They got a lot of tricks.

End of the day I feel great about our physical matchups and our energy and conditioning and style of play vs. their age and current state of the roster (#1 being Embiid looking gimpy)

martin wrote:Probably 🤤

Tweet was deleted or there was problem with the URL:

https://www.twitter.com/knicksmemes/status/1780988891027427388

I mean, you get to pick a NY food and you go with Pastrami? I mean, it’s good, but you ever tried pizza?