Game Thread: New York Knicks (2nd seed) vs. Philadelphia 76ers (7th seed) Saturday, April 20th 6 p.m.

[moocow007]

There’s no way in hell should the Knicks lose this series.

Ok we'll trust you but if they do we're going to trade you to the Pistons for a couple of 2nd round picks and an Evan Fournier signed jersey.

[MrDollarBills]

I wonder what Paul Reed's feelings are about metal bats.

Why stop at metal? Wooden bats are heavier and do more damage on bone I would think?

*breaks out physics book*

[Capn'O]

I wonder what Paul Reed's feelings are about metal bats.

Why stop at metal? Wooden bats are heavier and do more damage on bone I would think?

*breaks out physics book*

Read on Twitter

I'm always open to refining our methods though.

[mpharris36]

It's the play in man, the Bulls nearly beat the Heat in last year's play in, don't draw too much from these games, especially not when the Heat threw a zone at them. You didn't answer me before about will Tom use a zone, and you didn't answer who is going to step up as a secondary scorer. If we're going to throw zones at them to muck things up then I'd have a lot more confidence, but I know we're going to stay man to man. Also, Nurse is probably going to go to a box and 1 against us at times, something we haven't seen all year.


Vegas has us as the slight underdogs, we have 1 guy that can score reliably. Most breakdowns on here are basically centering around Embiid not being 100%, and not asking the question of what happens if he looks better? I'll say it one more time, the best way to impact Embiid in a series isn't being physical with him, it's making him close out on a stretch big that gets him into rotation, that is what drains his energy and when he starts settling on offense. It's why the Celtics have beaten him so much and why Horford guards him well, having to close out then rotate is saps him of energy.

If he looks better then we have a tougher series. Which I'm not claiming otherwise. I'm saying if he looks the same then we have the advantage. I just don't see over the curse of a couple days he is just going to magically feel better.

And we aren't going zone...Thibs wont do that. We will play Embiid 1 on 1 (with occasional help depending how he is looking...and while that might mean Embiid gets more looks it also means that Batum won't be dropping 20 on us with open 3 after open 3 that miami was willing to give up with the zone.

I still like our chances. I am guessing you have us losing in 6?

You're basing too much off one game, not the other games he played prior to last night. He had 29 on 11-24 against Bam last week, they didn't zone him and he looked fairly close to his normal self. Last night he got Bam in foul trouble and then they went to a zone which clearly impacted them, he used a lot of energy fighting for post position last night because the zone kept him off his favorite spots. If we don't zone up we're going to just allow him to play where he wants and that's not good. It's like if Sixer fans said they'd win because we went to OT against the Bulls while playing guys real minutes, playoffs don't work like that and they'd be foolish to argue that. I don't use what happened against 1 team in 1 game as the basis of what I think will happen, especially if we won't use a key ingredient from last night which is the zone.



I don't see us winning if Embiid is like 80%, the Heat series was the better matchup because of how awful their offense is and now Jimmy being out. Like you say they aren't going to get 20 from Batum, when Maxey is averaging 26ppg on 45% vs us on the season, who is going to help Brunson with the shot creation and scoring? They have more top end talent than us, especially as far as scoring goes and they're just as good defensively when Embiid is on the floor. If Embiid gets hurt or misses games we'll win, if he's out there and he looks like he did against the Heat last week, we lose, if he looks like he did against the zone then we have a chance. You seem to think he's going to be the guy from last night , but what if he's the guy from April 12th game against the Magic when he has 32/13/7.

Basically you're hoping he's diminished and I'm just saying what if that's a biproduct of the zone?

The biproduct of the zone had him bending down struggling to get up and down the court? Why would he be holding something back in a playin game where if they lose they have to face the celtics...its not looking at one game like its a regular season game. he looked unhealthy in a play-in game basically a 1 game do or die game. I don't think he was saving stuff in the tank. Remember he went limping off in that ORL game. He finished the game but we haven't seen him since, and that play-in was the first time and I think he looked compromised.

I personally think we can beat them even with a healthy embiid if we get the right contributions. So we shall see.

[RHODEY]

Chanel is right. If we're not beating this Sixers squad we never had bigger aspirations than making the second round. We'll know where we stand after this series. Do we tweak things or go for broke?

You are not wrong. But ther'se a difference between that and wishing them to be at full strength, while we are not.

[Lord Commander]

The fact that Embiid isn't 100% negates the need to double him. That's HUGE. I think IHart can guard him effectively.

[The Lamma]

There’s no way in hell should the Knicks lose this series.

Ok we'll trust you but if they do we're going to trade you to the Pistons for a couple of 2nd round picks and an Evan Fournier signed jersey.

I find it odd we're actually considered underdogs for the series. We're favored to win game 1, because it's a home game, and therefore will likely be favored to win any/all home games. So we'll be favored to win at least 4 of the 7 games, but not the series. Mmkay, got it

Aside from this, we have a compromised Embiid, and a Knicks team with bigs that are about as good as you can ask for to counter him.

And people keep mentioning the 32-8 Sixers record with Embiid while not mentioning the Knicks 20-3 record with OG

[NoDopeOnSundays]

If he looks better then we have a tougher series. Which I'm not claiming otherwise. I'm saying if he looks the same then we have the advantage. I just don't see over the curse of a couple days he is just going to magically feel better.

And we aren't going zone...Thibs wont do that. We will play Embiid 1 on 1 (with occasional help depending how he is looking...and while that might mean Embiid gets more looks it also means that Batum won't be dropping 20 on us with open 3 after open 3 that miami was willing to give up with the zone.

I still like our chances. I am guessing you have us losing in 6?

You're basing too much off one game, not the other games he played prior to last night. He had 29 on 11-24 against Bam last week, they didn't zone him and he looked fairly close to his normal self. Last night he got Bam in foul trouble and then they went to a zone which clearly impacted them, he used a lot of energy fighting for post position last night because the zone kept him off his favorite spots. If we don't zone up we're going to just allow him to play where he wants and that's not good. It's like if Sixer fans said they'd win because we went to OT against the Bulls while playing guys real minutes, playoffs don't work like that and they'd be foolish to argue that. I don't use what happened against 1 team in 1 game as the basis of what I think will happen, especially if we won't use a key ingredient from last night which is the zone.



I don't see us winning if Embiid is like 80%, the Heat series was the better matchup because of how awful their offense is and now Jimmy being out. Like you say they aren't going to get 20 from Batum, when Maxey is averaging 26ppg on 45% vs us on the season, who is going to help Brunson with the shot creation and scoring? They have more top end talent than us, especially as far as scoring goes and they're just as good defensively when Embiid is on the floor. If Embiid gets hurt or misses games we'll win, if he's out there and he looks like he did against the Heat last week, we lose, if he looks like he did against the zone then we have a chance. You seem to think he's going to be the guy from last night , but what if he's the guy from April 12th game against the Magic when he has 32/13/7.

Basically you're hoping he's diminished and I'm just saying what if that's a biproduct of the zone?

The biproduct of the zone had him bending down struggling to get up and down the court? Why would he be holding something back in a playin game where if they lose they have to face the celtics...its not looking at one game like its a regular season game. he looked unhealthy in a play-in game basically a 1 game do or die game. I don't think he was saving stuff in the tank. Remember he went limping off in that ORL game. He finished the game but we haven't seen him since, and that play-in was the first time and I think he looked compromised.

I personally think we can beat them even with a healthy embiid if we get the right contributions. So we shall see.

Again, he was battling Love for post position within the zone, he was chasing the ball around posting and reposting trying to get it because the zone took them out of what they do. Also, having to check Love outside doesn't help, Kevin was +11 last night, the threat of shooting by a big is the biggest kryptonite for Embiid. Embiid tweaked his knee against the Pistons before he played the Magic too.

You haven't answered who is going along for the ride with Brunson too, if we can't get 20ppg from someone else....how do we win?



You think we'd beat them with a healthy Embiid? Come on man, it's only a discussion now because people don't know how he'll look, if he were healthy we'd lose.

[The Lamma]

Last time we played Philly in the playoffs. 1989.

Left to right: Sidney Green, Johnny Newman, Eddie Lee Wilkins, Mark Jackson, Oakman

Damn I'm old

Freakin loved Johnny Newman. He looked like he weighed 100 pounds but still tried to yam on everyone

[MrDollarBills]

I wonder what Paul Reed's feelings are about metal bats.

Why stop at metal? Wooden bats are heavier and do more damage on bone I would think?

*breaks out physics book*

Read on Twitter

I'm always open to refining our methods though.

I forgot about that

Metal bats are lighter and easier to swing with power, but a good old wood Louisville slugger will shatter a motherf'ers bones. It's playoff time now so we can't have people walking away with merely bruises, it's time to play for keeps

[MrDollarBills]

Last time we played Philly in the playoffs. 1989.

Left to right: Sidney Green, Johnny Newman, Eddie Lee Wilkins, Mark Jackson, Oakman

Damn I'm old

Freakin loved Johnny Newman. He looked like he weighed 100 pounds but still tried to yam on everyone

Good old Johnny Newman, he had a cup of coffee with the New Jersey Nets back in the day. He had a decent jumper from what I remember too

[mpharris36]

You're basing too much off one game, not the other games he played prior to last night. He had 29 on 11-24 against Bam last week, they didn't zone him and he looked fairly close to his normal self. Last night he got Bam in foul trouble and then they went to a zone which clearly impacted them, he used a lot of energy fighting for post position last night because the zone kept him off his favorite spots. If we don't zone up we're going to just allow him to play where he wants and that's not good. It's like if Sixer fans said they'd win because we went to OT against the Bulls while playing guys real minutes, playoffs don't work like that and they'd be foolish to argue that. I don't use what happened against 1 team in 1 game as the basis of what I think will happen, especially if we won't use a key ingredient from last night which is the zone.



I don't see us winning if Embiid is like 80%, the Heat series was the better matchup because of how awful their offense is and now Jimmy being out. Like you say they aren't going to get 20 from Batum, when Maxey is averaging 26ppg on 45% vs us on the season, who is going to help Brunson with the shot creation and scoring? They have more top end talent than us, especially as far as scoring goes and they're just as good defensively when Embiid is on the floor. If Embiid gets hurt or misses games we'll win, if he's out there and he looks like he did against the Heat last week, we lose, if he looks like he did against the zone then we have a chance. You seem to think he's going to be the guy from last night , but what if he's the guy from April 12th game against the Magic when he has 32/13/7.

Basically you're hoping he's diminished and I'm just saying what if that's a biproduct of the zone?

The biproduct of the zone had him bending down struggling to get up and down the court? Why would he be holding something back in a playin game where if they lose they have to face the celtics...its not looking at one game like its a regular season game. he looked unhealthy in a play-in game basically a 1 game do or die game. I don't think he was saving stuff in the tank. Remember he went limping off in that ORL game. He finished the game but we haven't seen him since, and that play-in was the first time and I think he looked compromised.

I personally think we can beat them even with a healthy embiid if we get the right contributions. So we shall see.

Again, he was battling Love for post position within the zone, he was chasing the ball around posting and reposting trying to get it because the zone took them out of what they do. Also, having to check Love outside doesn't help, Kevin was +11 last night, the threat of shooting by a big is the biggest kryptonite for Embiid. Embiid tweaked his knee against the Pistons before he played the Magic too.

You haven't answered who is going along for the ride with Brunson too, if we can't get 20ppg from someone else....how do we win?



You think we'd beat them with a healthy Embiid? Come on man, it's only a discussion now because people don't know how he'll look, if he were healthy we'd lose.

My guess with the pace we don't need another guy to get 20ppg. We just need a bunch of other guys in double figures. DD, OG, Ihart are all guys that should get double figures in this series along with +30 a night for Brunson.

I also expect this series to hover around 100pts or less.

But Donte been avg nearly 20 ppg for the last 3 months. I don't see how the sixers are going to stop him unless he ice cold especially if they are going to box in 1 to try and stop brunson we will have a lot of corner 3 and wing 3 open shots (especially if Embiid isn't guarding our center setting the screen and he is playing a low position on the box and 1...especially since brunson will be able to beat whoever is at the top of the key most of the time and that will force the sixers to collapse the box and try to help and they wont be able to recover in enough time.

[Context]

Reed...Reed....Reed...
I'm so glad you opened up your inexperienced mouth

Read on Twitter

[god shammgod]

embiid looked out of conditioning more than anything else. he was tired all game. i'm not sure it was the injury that was holding him back.

[Wildcat]

Read on Twitter

?s=46&t=nv1DuIYAil1NHCZU015rLg

The quote isn't nearly as egregious as everyone things. He said a lot more -- most flattering -- than this little headliner.

Doesn't matter. This quote is probably pinned to every Knick player's locker

Yeah, you bet you're right. I'm just not a fan of these sensationalist headlines.

[FrozenEnvelope]

I might have cared if it was Embiid or Maxey who talked some trash but it's their scrub back up Center.

[Knick4Real]

I actually hope that Embiid can look like himself.

The prospect of having a competitive series against one of the greatest talents in the modern history of the NBA is really enticing.

I want to see us overcome a strong Embiid. I want to see great games. Just no injuries. But competitive basketball against one of the greats.

I hope he is 50% and misses games.

This is not about pride. It's about winning and advancing.

I want to see good basketball.

And if Joel's healthy, it will give us a solid indication of how good this team is, and otherwise what needs to be done in the offseason.

If they didn't want to face Embiid, they should've tanked the last game. But they didn't. So here we are.

Our players are not trying to avoid Embiid. Since they all keep saying they're scared of no one, it's apparent they had no incentive to tank.

But, wishing Philly was at full strength when we're not is odd. Leon (hopefully) has several rounds of playoffs to evaluate the team before the offseason. There's no need to go into a fight with 1 hand tied behind our back while wishing our opponent comes out blazing.

[The Lamma]

Last time we played Philly in the playoffs. 1989.

Left to right: Sidney Green, Johnny Newman, Eddie Lee Wilkins, Mark Jackson, Oakman

Damn I'm old

Freakin loved Johnny Newman. He looked like he weighed 100 pounds but still tried to yam on everyone

Good old Johnny Newman, he had a cup of coffee with the New Jersey Nets back in the day. He had a decent jumper from what I remember too

Divo will do his Johnny Newman impersonation usually around once per game and try to yam on some random big unexpectedly. Doesn't always go in but I love it

[MrDollarBills]

Watch on YouTube

Posting some appropriate music for a NY vs. Philly series to set the mood

Spoiler:

"What the f*ck these _____ talking about? I'll shotgun the door off the frame and walk in ya house, leave you in an awkward position, coughing and pissing...."

[spree8]

I hope he is 50% and misses games.

This is not about pride. It's about winning and advancing.

I want to see good basketball.

And if Joel's healthy, it will give us a solid indication of how good this team is, and otherwise what needs to be done in the offseason.

If they didn't want to face Embiid, they should've tanked the last game. But they didn't. So here we are.

Our players are not trying to avoid Embiid. Since they all keep saying they're scared of no one, it's apparent they had no incentive to tank.

But, wishing Philly was at full strength when we're not is odd. Leon (hopefully) has several rounds of playoffs to evaluate the team before the offseason. There's no need to go into a fight with 1 hand tied behind our back while wishing our opponent comes out blazing.

Well said. We’re missing one of our All-Stars/All-NBA Team players. I’m more than fine seeing other teams experience our loss.