ECF Playoff Game Thread: Knicks @ Pacers, Game 3, May 25th 8pm

[The KnicksFix]

listen, the wolves had this guy for years. they know what he can and can't do. they traded everything they had for the guy who was the best defensive center in basketball at the time for a reason. you can't win with him starting there. this is not new information. everybody conveniently forgot when we traded for him.

if he's here next year, they need to have a 2nd center and almost never play him there. maybe it's huk. maybe it's someone we get for the mle. i don't know. but it can't be him. maybe horford will take the tax payers mle for a year to be the backup center.

We really lost a lot by not being able to give Mitch and KAT reps together in the RS. I agree, KAT should never have been starting C.

I liked Huk's aggression this year. It was such a stark difference from, say, valium Sims. He was a bit of a dummy but everyone is early on in the league. He showed some good stuff before he went down, including a little more offensive versatility than Mitch. Mitch is better, IJS.

If we go this way, and I agree we should, who's the odd man out? I think it's Hart and I wouldn't be surprised to see him moved this summer if he's not amenable to being moved to the bench. We moved Donte. It would be a big shockwave to our system but, return pending, we've gotta make some tough decisions. I love Hart but he's another bad defender in the lineup.

We also need another playmaker. Could be Kolek. Could be someone else who we receive if we do the above. But somebody to make them pay if they're pressing JB.

Kolek is ideal next to Deuce. Should have been the second unit backcourt all along instead of Cam Payne.

Kolek can shoot. Needs reps to get the consistency down, but the guy can score buckets off the bench, not just orchestrate.

Also, the last couple of times he saw game time when it was not garbage time his defense was wayyyyy better than people had been saying. He mostly stayed in front of his man and got deflections and a steal.

Huk is the big we should have been playing until Mitch came around, but just when it looked like he might get into the rotation he got hurt. It's not too late to give him spot minutes in this series. He is the biggest body we've got after Mitch.

If you start Mitch and KAT, Precious and/or Huk now HAVE to get minutes off the bench for them

[RHODEY]

the double bigs did not work well last game im not sure this is the magic elixir many are hoping

It doesn’t put us in a 10 point hole to start the game

waiting too long to try it put us in a 2 game hole. Thibs is not only slow, but fully reactionary.

[Clyde_Style]

Mitch
OG
Bridges
Deuce
Brunson

That should be our starting unit.

It is probably impossible for Thibs to go against his star phucking DNA, but KAT should come into the game after it is started so they can begin every game with maximum defensive intensity.

That's what wins games. It is crushing the other team's offense. When that happens your offense usually falls into place organically with extra defensive stops and several more easy buckets.

We settled for trading buckets this series.

This is EXACTLY what I’ve been screaming for all season
MITCH AND DEUCE IN THE STARTING LINEUP, SIT HART AND KAT
It’s quite literally the best opportunity we give ourself to win

Jb deuce Mikal OG Mitch

You mean recently, right?

Mitch only came back very late in the season.

But, yes, it is a radical move to not start KAT, but the priority has to be replace Hart to eliminate the early mismatches.

I can see some potential in starting the twin towers if it keeps KAT out of the drop zone and leaves that to Mitch.

The key move is Mitch for Hart.

Deuce for KAT would be only if KAT + Mitch doesn't work in the starting lineup.

[Clyde_Style]

the double bigs did not work well last game im not sure this is the magic elixir many are hoping

It doesn’t put us in a 10 point hole to start the game

waiting too long to try it put us in a 2 game hole. Thibs is not only slow, but fully reactionary.

and now desperate

Losing Game 3 could be the most humiliating loss of his coaching career

[Clyde_Style]

We really lost a lot by not being able to give Mitch and KAT reps together in the RS. I agree, KAT should never have been starting C.

I liked Huk's aggression this year. It was such a stark difference from, say, valium Sims. He was a bit of a dummy but everyone is early on in the league. He showed some good stuff before he went down, including a little more offensive versatility than Mitch. Mitch is better, IJS.

If we go this way, and I agree we should, who's the odd man out? I think it's Hart and I wouldn't be surprised to see him moved this summer if he's not amenable to being moved to the bench. We moved Donte. It would be a big shockwave to our system but, return pending, we've gotta make some tough decisions. I love Hart but he's another bad defender in the lineup.

We also need another playmaker. Could be Kolek. Could be someone else who we receive if we do the above. But somebody to make them pay if they're pressing JB.

Kolek is ideal next to Deuce. Should have been the second unit backcourt all along instead of Cam Payne.

Kolek can shoot. Needs reps to get the consistency down, but the guy can score buckets off the bench, not just orchestrate.

Also, the last couple of times he saw game time when it was not garbage time his defense was wayyyyy better than people had been saying. He mostly stayed in front of his man and got deflections and a steal.

Huk is the big we should have been playing until Mitch came around, but just when it looked like he might get into the rotation he got hurt. It's not too late to give him spot minutes in this series. He is the biggest body we've got after Mitch.

If you start Mitch and KAT, Precious and/or Huk now HAVE to get minutes off the bench for them

KAT's starting though. I cannot imagine Thibs will even consider otherwise

[The KnicksFix]

Mitch
OG
Bridges
Deuce
Brunson

That should be our starting unit.

It is probably impossible for Thibs to go against his star phucking DNA, but KAT should come into the game after it is started so they can begin every game with maximum defensive intensity.

That's what wins games. It is crushing the other team's offense. When that happens your offense usually falls into place organically with extra defensive stops and several more easy buckets.

We settled for trading buckets this series.

This is EXACTLY what I’ve been screaming for all season
MITCH AND DEUCE IN THE STARTING LINEUP, SIT HART AND KAT
It’s quite literally the best opportunity we give ourself to win

Jb deuce Mikal OG Mitch

You mean recently, right?

Mitch only came back very late in the season.

But, yes, it is a radical move to not start KAT, but the priority has to be replace Hart to eliminate the early mismatches.

I can see some potential in starting the twin towers if it keeps KAT out of the drop zone and leaves that to Mitch.

The key move is Mitch for Hart.

Deuce for KAT would be only if KAT + Mitch doesn't work in the starting lineup.

Mitch Returned on Feb. 28. I was quite literally yelling for Mitch back in the starting lineup by end of March so we could ramp up for the playoffs

If we can play Kat and let Mitch cover the switches, we would look so so different. We would finally crash the boards too.
Deuce for KAT in the starting lineup locks EVERYTHING down and puts the strangle hold on opponents offenses, and pushes our best chance to succeed from the jump.

[Clyde_Style]

This is EXACTLY what I’ve been screaming for all season
MITCH AND DEUCE IN THE STARTING LINEUP, SIT HART AND KAT
It’s quite literally the best opportunity we give ourself to win

Jb deuce Mikal OG Mitch

You mean recently, right?

Mitch only came back very late in the season.

But, yes, it is a radical move to not start KAT, but the priority has to be replace Hart to eliminate the early mismatches.

I can see some potential in starting the twin towers if it keeps KAT out of the drop zone and leaves that to Mitch.

The key move is Mitch for Hart.

Deuce for KAT would be only if KAT + Mitch doesn't work in the starting lineup.

Mitch Returned on Feb. 28. I was quite literally yelling for Mitch back in the starting lineup by end of March so we could ramp up for the playoffs

If we can play Kat and let Mitch cover the switches, we would look so so different. We would finally crash the boards too.
Deuce for KAT in the starting lineup locks EVERYTHING down and puts the strangle hold on opponents offenses, and pushes our best chance to succeed from the jump.

When he got back he was winded after five minutes. He only got his wind in the past two weeks. Takes time for them big fellas.

[Adelheid]

It doesn’t put us in a 10 point hole to start the game

waiting too long to try it put us in a 2 game hole. Thibs is not only slow, but fully reactionary.

and now desperate

Losing Game 3 could be the most humiliating loss of his coaching career

game 1 loss is the worst knicks loss and perhaps one of the worst in nba history
a choke of monumental proportions. Not surprising if the guys' psyche are damaged or destroyed after that loss. You simply cant recover from that
they defeated themselves, out of sheer incompetence and idiocy

[The KnicksFix]

You mean recently, right?

Mitch only came back very late in the season.

But, yes, it is a radical move to not start KAT, but the priority has to be replace Hart to eliminate the early mismatches.

I can see some potential in starting the twin towers if it keeps KAT out of the drop zone and leaves that to Mitch.

The key move is Mitch for Hart.

Deuce for KAT would be only if KAT + Mitch doesn't work in the starting lineup.

Mitch Returned on Feb. 28. I was quite literally yelling for Mitch back in the starting lineup by end of March so we could ramp up for the playoffs

If we can play Kat and let Mitch cover the switches, we would look so so different. We would finally crash the boards too.
Deuce for KAT in the starting lineup locks EVERYTHING down and puts the strangle hold on opponents offenses, and pushes our best chance to succeed from the jump.

When he got back he was winded after five minutes. He only got his wind in the past two weeks. Takes time for them big fellas.

Very true, but a month later? He wasn’t ready by the end of March? I know there were minutes restrictions, but an entire month?

[Clyde_Style]

waiting too long to try it put us in a 2 game hole. Thibs is not only slow, but fully reactionary.

and now desperate

Losing Game 3 could be the most humiliating loss of his coaching career

game 1 loss is the worst knicks loss and perhaps one of the worst in nba history
a choke of monumental proportions. Not surprising if the guys' psyche are damaged or destroyed after that loss. You simply cant recover from that
they defeated themselves, out of sheer incompetence and idiocy

If I may offer a small piece of advice. Never say never.

We don't know if this squad's spirit is broken yet.

If they underperform tomorrow night then you're probably correct.

But series are series, games are games. No matter how horrific one game is, series have been won by many teams after being embarrassed early in a series.

It was epic in its awfulness, but I don't write post-mortems until the patient is cold.

[Ursusamericanus]

Needless to say this one's a must-win. Season is on the line and this will be a character test. I'm not throwing in the towel yet, crazier things have happened and we're a great road team. Their response tomorrow will be very telling.

[Clyde_Style]

Mitch Returned on Feb. 28. I was quite literally yelling for Mitch back in the starting lineup by end of March so we could ramp up for the playoffs

If we can play Kat and let Mitch cover the switches, we would look so so different. We would finally crash the boards too.
Deuce for KAT in the starting lineup locks EVERYTHING down and puts the strangle hold on opponents offenses, and pushes our best chance to succeed from the jump.

When he got back he was winded after five minutes. He only got his wind in the past two weeks. Takes time for them big fellas.

Very true, but a month later? He wasn’t ready by the end of March? I know there were minutes restrictions, but an entire month?

It took over two months, so yeah, he's where he should be at finally. He was still gassing out in the Detroit series, playing poorly, getting boxed out.

He got into gear in the Boston series and his stamina has been increasing in the past two weeks.

[The KnicksFix]

When he got back he was winded after five minutes. He only got his wind in the past two weeks. Takes time for them big fellas.

Very true, but a month later? He wasn’t ready by the end of March? I know there were minutes restrictions, but an entire month?

It took over two months, so yeah, he's where he should be at finally. He was still gassing out in the Detroit series, playing poorly, getting boxed out.

He got into gear in the Boston series and his stamina has been increasing in the past two weeks.

Agreed, he played 29 minutes last night, he HAS to give us 36 tomorrow

[nyknicks09]

We will see how urgent the Knicks start this game……..

[Reign23]

Some perspective:

-Back to back 50 win seasons since forever
-Legit top 5 player locked up (Brunson)
-First ECF trip in 25 years
-Knocked off reigning champs against all odds
-Expected to be a top 3 seed again next season
-Core locked up for years
-This series is not quite over yet
-NY is finally a legit “star” destination again
-Coaching change could get us to 60 wins

The present and future is bright. We could be a very good team for a very long time.

thats some takes we need!

[The KnicksFix]

Does this mean if Mitch is in the starting lineup,
Mitch guards Siakim, Kat stays on turner, Brunson stays on Nembhard, Mikal switches to Neismith and OG guards Hali on point of attack??
Cause if so… OMGGGGGGGGGG

[The KnicksFix]

Or does this mean the matchups are

Mitch on Siakim
Kat on Neismith
Mikal on Hali
Brunson on Nembhard
OG on turner

So if they target a Neismith switch, to get Kat on an island with Hali again, now Mikal can get over these screens easier???

[HarthorneWingo]

Read on Twitter

Finally!!!!!!

[Adelheid]

against the pacers' high percentage 3 guys, you HAVE to stay home or switch / over the screen. Drive them off the 3 point line. If they make 2s, you can most likely keep up. Dont play the percentages with these guys

Celtics guys chuck mostly 3s but they are not the most consistent at it. The pacers are different.

[nyknicks09]

Mikal Bridges should come off the bench and let Hart guard Haliburton. That should leave JB, KAT, and OG to give us some points on offense.