#2 Knicks vs #7 Sixers

[Iscull]

Really need Oubre to play more like Oubre. Come out both guns blazing. He's doing a good job on Brunson, but they need his fearless shot jacking even more I think.

But if he misses a lot of shots, he will be a chucker.

He's always been a chucker. That's what the Sixers need. Their problem so far is not defense, it's offense.

Which is fine when he's hitting shots. I think they tried to get him going early in Game 2, but he missed a lot of his first attempts/drives to the bucket. With that,he probably lost some confidence and stopped shooting. Could've been why he wasn't in the game late in the 4th.

His energy and defense have been fantastic. I just think he cannot play with Harris, who has really struggled shooting this series. It needs to be Batum, given his ability to hit open shots.

[Iscull]

In game 2, we only went 8 players deep.

I think our best shot is starting:

Maxey
Lowry
Oubre (Rotation/Minutes should match Brunson)
Batum
Embiid

Off the bench

Harris (When Oubre is not playing)
Hield (Match Bogdanavic Rotation/Minutes, make him run)
Reed (Embiid off minutes)
Martin/Council - I'm not sure why we're focused on giving Tobias 40 minutes, who can't score more than 10 points. I pray Nurse gives these guys some minutes.

[Iscull]

Side note - maybe Melton comes out to guard against Hart in some minutes?

[youngcrev]

Really need Oubre to play more like Oubre. Come out both guns blazing. He's doing a good job on Brunson, but they need his fearless shot jacking even more I think.

Him and Buddy becoming gun shy was not on my bingo card.

[the_process]

Harris should be out of the rotation entirely at this point. Make up some injury, send him home. Play Council.

[AI_Efficiency]

Harris should be out of the rotation entirely at this point. Make up some injury, send him home. Play Council.

I would give him a short leash, but if he takes a contested fade away mid range I would pull him. I’m hoping he has one efficient scoring game in him and he looked at least like he cared last game, but he has to be more effective scoring.

[EmbiidRocks]

Really need Oubre to play more like Oubre. Come out both guns blazing. He's doing a good job on Brunson, but they need his fearless shot jacking even more I think.

Him and Buddy becoming gun shy was not on my bingo card.

Oubre at least has done some good things on defense, like some key steals he made. Buddy though, his contributions need to come on offense.

[Iscull]

Really need Oubre to play more like Oubre. Come out both guns blazing. He's doing a good job on Brunson, but they need his fearless shot jacking even more I think.

Him and Buddy becoming gun shy was not on my bingo card.

Oubre at least has done some good things on defense, like some key steals he made. Buddy though, his contributions need to come on offense.

He needs to see the ball go through the hoop - I think Nurse will have to draw something up to get him going. Being at home should help a lot too

[76ciology]

It's finally showing that the Knicks are vulnerable when Mitchell is off the court. There's quite a big difference in their on/off performance when comparing Hartenstein and Mitchell.

Using Payne over Hield is also the right move. Nurse should continue with this strategy where he assesses Hield's performance in a short span and then substitutes him for Payne if he underperforms.

Additionally, Batum and Lowry are crucial in close games during the stretch.

[76ciology]

I think Melton is our backup option if Payne ever struggles or Tobi becomes a liability. However, on paper, it could also be Council whom we can replace Tobi with if Tobi becomes a liability.

Hield/Payne/Melton
Tobi/Melton or Council

Having a healthy Melton would be huge

[Negrodamus]

Joel, Tyrese, Oubre

... Tobias.

Watch on YouTube

[ProcessDoctor]

Melton is the perfect 8th guy for this series. We need to create more chaos defensively.

[M2J]

Melton is the perfect 8th guy for this series. We need to create more chaos defensively.

Totally is. Even if they need to go smaller, they could due to the guys the Knicks play and their style.

I still think that Hield should get a look in the series. They need to try l run things for him and he needs to shoot whether he's open or not. The team needs to play faster and Payne helped with that as he's even more of a ball handler and playmaker than Kyle at this point. Plus like all of these guys should be doing he wasn't afraid to shoot early in transition. Push tempo and take the first early look, if they set their defense, wait for Joel or Maxey

They also should consider playing a similar style that they did in game 3 defensively. They less in terms of crowding Brunson.... Shutting off many open looks to the role players for Knicks. He was dominant, but won't always be. However, in doing so they should also be more physical with him. Any layup for him or donate for that matter should end up as a foul with them getting off the ground. Play more Tobias on Brunson as he's stronger... When Brunson does that push off step back, it knocks him more off balance to do it against Tobi.

I don't believe there's much that can be done against the Knicks transition buckets, but better effort can limit it. They're super committed to it and they should be

[mjkvol]

Melton is the perfect 8th guy for this series. We need to create more chaos defensively.

Totally is. Even if they need to go smaller, they could due to the guys the Knicks play and their style.

I still think that Hield should get a look in the series. They need to try l run things for him and he needs to shoot whether he's open or not. The team needs to play faster and Payne helped with that as he's even more of a ball handler and playmaker than Kyle at this point. Plus like all of these guys should be doing he wasn't afraid to shoot early in transition. Push tempo and take the first early look, if they set their defense, wait for Joel or Maxey

They also should consider playing a similar style that they did in game 3 defensively. They less in terms of crowding Brunson.... Shutting off many open looks to the role players for Knicks. He was dominant, but won't always be. However, in doing so they should also be more physical with him. Any layup for him or donate for that matter should end up as a foul with them getting off the ground. Play more Tobias on Brunson as he's stronger... When Brunson does that push off step back, it knocks him more off balance to do it against Tobi.

I don't believe there's much that can be done against the Knicks transition buckets, but better effort can limit it. They're super committed to it and they should be

I'd be happy if the Sixers played it like game 3 except I'd like to see them chasing the Knicks off the 3-pt. line. 2's can't kill you and lead to big runs and huge momentum shifts like 3's. Late in the game, the Sixers were allowing wide open 3's every time down the court, and couldn't put the Knicks away. Take away the 3, and dare them to beat you with mid-range shots - aside from Brunson, they're a team full of snipers.

[M2J]

When allowing Brunson to take the shots, they also need to make him work defensively. This video shows how they actually did make him work.

Watch on YouTube

Well if they counter by putting him on Oubre and Maxey loses a bit of advantage.... Run screens with Oubre and Joel or Tobias. That's how you get others involved

[Snotbubbles]

1 down, 3 to go. Sixers winning the next 3. Book it.

[Ferry Avenue]

1 down, 3 to go. Sixers winning the next 3. Book it.

There have been 449 playoff series in NBA history in which a team went up 2-0 in the series.

In only 14 of those series did the team down 0-2 win the following four games in a row to win the series.

As a function of NBA history alone, the Sixers have but a 3% chance of winning this series 4-2.

[ExplosionsInDaSky]

1 down, 3 to go. Sixers winning the next 3. Book it.

There have been 449 playoff series in NBA history in which a team went up 2-0 in the series.

In only 14 of those series did the team down 0-2 win the following four games in a row to win the series.

As a function of NBA history alone, the Sixers have but a 3% chance of winning this series 4-2.

And here he is.

[Snotbubbles]

1 down, 3 to go. Sixers winning the next 3. Book it.

There have been 449 playoff series in NBA history in which a team went up 2-0 in the series.

In only 14 of those series did the team down 0-2 win the following four games in a row to win the series.

As a function of NBA history alone, the Sixers have but a 3% chance of winning this series 4-2.

What happened in the previous 449 playoff series have no bearing on this series. Statistically speaking, these playoff series are independent of each other.

[Ferry Avenue]

1 down, 3 to go. Sixers winning the next 3. Book it.

There have been 449 playoff series in NBA history in which a team went up 2-0 in the series.

In only 14 of those series did the team down 0-2 win the following four games in a row to win the series.

As a function of NBA history alone, the Sixers have but a 3% chance of winning this series 4-2.

What happened in the previous 449 playoff series have no bearing on this series. Statistically speaking, these playoff series are independent of each other.

If you asked the question "what is the probability that a team wins an NBA playoff series 4-2 after going down 0-2," the answer would be 3%.