GT: Pistons vs Knicks GAME 2 4/21/25 @ 7:30 pm on TNT

[3toheadmelo]

If we keeping it 100, mikal has always been pretty meh on the playoffs. I used to watch the suns all the time cause of Ayton and that dude mikal would disappear a bunch of times while Ayton would get all the blame.

[HerSports85]

What happened to Mikal's confidence? Hopefully we get this guy at some point during these playoffs. We need him.

I think he is fine.

Last game, he got to rest for a while. Mikal comes in the 4th quarter I think and Brunson immediately set him up for a middy

Mikal probably has the best mid-range game out of anyone in the series. It's going to come in handy in the playoffs when teams figure out how take away the paint and the three.

That's my issue. He has one of the best midrange games in the league. But he's just too passive. He's not aggressive at all at trying to get his shot.

[HopelessKnick]

What happened to Mikal's confidence? Hopefully we get this guy at some point during these playoffs. We need him.

I think he is fine.

Last game, he got to rest for a while. Mikal comes in the 4th quarter I think and Brunson immediately set him up for a middy

Mikal probably has the best mid-range game out of anyone in the series. It's going to come in handy in the playoffs when teams figure out how take away the paint and the three.

That's my issue. He has one of the best midrange games in the league. But he's just too passive. He's not aggressive at all at trying to get his shot.

But that's my general problem with the set-up of this team. We want JB, KAT, OG and Mikal to be aggressive. But realistically that is not going to happen. JB and KAT are our best offensive players----if both of them take 20+ shots, which they should and OG takes 15-18, then Mikal is going to have trouble getting much more than 10-12 really. There are not going to be enough shots.

[Lord Commander]

Sex dees foos...NO LUBE!!!

[Jeff Van Gully]

What happened to Mikal's confidence? Hopefully we get this guy at some point during these playoffs. We need him.

I think he is fine.

Last game, he got to rest for a while. Mikal comes in the 4th quarter I think and Brunson immediately set him up for a middy

Mikal probably has the best mid-range game out of anyone in the series. It's going to come in handy in the playoffs when teams figure out how take away the paint and the three.

we have so many options we don't really need him to put up those big numbers right now. he's there when we call his number.

he's done what's been needed every game of every season since he was a child and it is largely ignored. mans is fighting through wild screens and running MILES chasing guys around. thankless dirty work that sets up the plays that get glory.

mikal is really is one of those guys for whom the stat sheet doesn't tell the story. i feel glad for him that he's getting that respect in the locker room when he's not getting it from the fans and media.

not excusing the early poor shooting, but i'm not worried about dude anymore. the role is a little weird and he's overqualified for it. but this is what sacrifice looks like sometimes.

[Jeff Van Gully]

I think he is fine.

Last game, he got to rest for a while. Mikal comes in the 4th quarter I think and Brunson immediately set him up for a middy

Mikal probably has the best mid-range game out of anyone in the series. It's going to come in handy in the playoffs when teams figure out how take away the paint and the three.

That's my issue. He has one of the best midrange games in the league. But he's just too passive. He's not aggressive at all at trying to get his shot.

But that's my general problem with the set-up of this team. We want JB, KAT, OG and Mikal to be aggressive. But realistically that is not going to happen. JB and KAT are our best offensive players----if both of them take 20+ shots, which they should and OG takes 15-18, then Mikal is going to have trouble getting much more than 10-12 really. There are not going to be enough shots.

dude has to get the ball in position to do something to be aggressive. realistically, there's usually a better option than his midrange shot. we lean on it when we need to.

could there be more offensive creativity overall? sure. but how many brunson/KAT/OG shots do i really want to trade for mikal shots?

[rajajackal]

If we keeping it 100, mikal has always been pretty meh on the playoffs. I used to watch the suns all the time cause of Ayton and that dude mikal would disappear a bunch of times while Ayton would get all the blame.

however, we are not keeping it 100 rn, it's homer hours til the final bell

[HerSports85]

That's my issue. He has one of the best midrange games in the league. But he's just too passive. He's not aggressive at all at trying to get his shot.

But that's my general problem with the set-up of this team. We want JB, KAT, OG and Mikal to be aggressive. But realistically that is not going to happen. JB and KAT are our best offensive players----if both of them take 20+ shots, which they should and OG takes 15-18, then Mikal is going to have trouble getting much more than 10-12 really. There are not going to be enough shots.

dude has to get the ball in position to do something to be aggressive. realistically, there's usually a better option than his midrange shot. we lean on it when we need to.

could there be more offensive creativity overall? sure. but how many brunson/KAT/OG shots do i really want to trade for mikal shots?

This goes back to my problem with rotations. Outside of the first 4-5 mins in each half. 2 of Brunson/KAT/OG/Mikal should always be on the floor. Ideally you pair KAT and Mikal and Brunson and OG.

But for me it's not all about his scoring. He also doesn't seem as aggressive on defense compared to 2 years ago. Is it him? Is it the scheme? I don't know but something is off.

[ezmoney707]

Mikal this year reminds me of Derrick White in the Celtics first title appearance.

Totally out of sorts, didn’t really understand where he fit in, and really wasn’t comfortable in the role he was asked to play after being on ball so much with the Spurs previously.

Fast forward to the last couple seasons and White has become one of their most important players.

Yes the value we gave up were completely different, but the role Mikal is being asked to play here is very similar.

I think he’s going to have some good moments this playoffs, but when he’s not I’m fine with riding with whoever gives you best chance to win.

All the other stuff will address itself in the offseason and I think if we do bring him back he’ll have a much better overall season next year.

[Wildcat]

I really want to see Bridges breakout these playoffs and stop being so passive

I really think Bridges was fine. Played excellent help defense. There's not much room for him to be aggressive when you have OG taking 18 shots, JB taking 27, and KAT taking 14.

[HopelessKnick]

Mikal this year reminds me of Derrick White in the Celtics first title appearance.

Totally out of sorts, didn’t really understand where he fit in, and really wasn’t comfortable in the role he was asked to play after being on ball so much with the Spurs previously.

Fast forward to the last couple seasons and White has become one of their most important players.

Yes the value we gave up were completely different, but the role Mikal is being asked to play here is very similar.

I think he’s going to have some good moments this playoffs, but when he’s not I’m fine with riding with whoever gives you best chance to win.

All the other stuff will address itself in the offseason and I think if we do bring him back he’ll have a much better overall season next year.

I really hope you are right. For the Knicks to close that gap to the elite teams we really need Mikal to be absolutely elite on defense and efficient on offense. Like 18points is alright but on like 50%+ and 38%+ from 3, being a threat from everywhere. It would be nice if by next season we could all agree we overpaid by 1 FRP instead of 3.

[RHODEY]

What happened to Mikal's confidence? Hopefully we get this guy at some point during these playoffs. We need him.

Watch on YouTube

Its possible that he needs a pass first setup guy like CP3...otherwise he will continue to get lost as a 4th option for us. But thanks for the vid, I was definitely impressed by the aggression.

[HerSports85]

Read on Twitter

[HopelessKnick]

I really want to see Bridges breakout these playoffs and stop being so passive

I really think Bridges was fine. Played excellent help defense. There's not much room for him to be aggressive when you have OG taking 18 shots, JB taking 27, and KAT taking 14.

Pretty much this. I thought he was fine overall and then Payne went off in the 4th and Thibs stuck with Payne (right call). If Mikal came back in the 4th he would have likely put up 3-4 more shots and gotten into the 15points range.

[Wildcat]

If we keeping it 100, mikal has always been pretty meh on the playoffs. I used to watch the suns all the time cause of Ayton and that dude mikal would disappear a bunch of times while Ayton would get all the blame.

Mikal's numbers in 2 playoff seasons with Phoenix were solid. Not 5 picks solid, but solid nonetheless. There are some similarities to this team and that team because there were many months to feed back then too with Booker, Ayton, CP13, with a bench of Payne and Cam.

[MrDollarBills]

What happened to Mikal's confidence? Hopefully we get this guy at some point during these playoffs. We need him.

I think he is fine.

Last game, he got to rest for a while. Mikal comes in the 4th quarter I think and Brunson immediately set him up for a middy

Mikal probably has the best mid-range game out of anyone in the series. It's going to come in handy in the playoffs when teams figure out how take away the paint and the three.

we have so many options we don't really need him to put up those big numbers right now. he's there when we call his number.

he's done what's been needed every game of every season since he was a child and it is largely ignored. mans is fighting through wild screens and running MILES chasing guys around. thankless dirty work that sets up the plays that get glory.

mikal is really is one of those guys for whom the stat sheet doesn't tell the story. i feel glad for him that he's getting that respect in the locker room when he's not getting it from the fans and media.

not excusing the early poor shooting, but i'm not worried about dude anymore. the role is a little weird and he's overqualified for it. but this is what sacrifice looks like sometimes.

I thought he was solid defensively on Saturday.

My concern is how can the team pay him 40m a season and be able to function with the apron limiting everything. Plus Brunson's pay day is imminent

[Wildcat]

I really want to see Bridges breakout these playoffs and stop being so passive

I really think Bridges was fine. Played excellent help defense. There's not much room for him to be aggressive when you have OG taking 18 shots, JB taking 27, and KAT taking 14.

Pretty much this. I thought he was fine overall and then Payne went off in the 4th and Thibs stuck with Payne (right call). If Mikal came back in the 4th he would have likely put up 3-4 more shots and gotten into the 15points range.

Basically. The play he checked it, he scored. And I'm sure the D is going to tighten on OG and KAT, so Mikal will have his opportunities tonight.

[robillionaire]

I’m going to cut Mikal slack as long as we win. He scored some points to start the game and he did make another one near the end to help ice it. The -16 in a double digit win is a concern but doesn’t always tell the whole story. And in fact he’s a +334 on the season which is second only to Towns +378. So let’s just calm down and let him cook

Also we don’t need him to score 31 points we have Brunson and Towns on the team just play defense and smart basketball

[Buttah304]

Mikal has frustrated me as much as any rational Knick fan but I wouldn’t be surprised if he goes OGs route of getting more comfortable as a Knick in year 2. If you look back at OG last year he was a 14PPG scorer across his 24 games with us. Even this year prior to his final 20 in March/April he was hovering around 16PPG. Something legitimately clicked with him and it’s not just his aggression. The guy simply knows exactly where he wants to be at all times on the court now. Mikal still does that awkward disappearing act. This opinion aside which could be inherently false on my part, the reality is that it’s the playoffs. There are no excuses to be made. You gotta find your confidence or take action. This Knick offense isn’t always going to set the perfect screen or pin down to free him open so he’s got to take matters into his own hands. If he has a mismatch, an open lane, a C&S opportunity or even something off the dribble he needs to seize the moment.

[Capn'O]

Sex dees foos...NO LUBE!!!

Best way to take out a Piston.