NBA Games Discussion Thread - Part 6

[Despy]

lol wemby was so passive. I hope AJ has that dog in him

[9 and 20]

Congrats to Brunson and the Knicks. Brunson was unshakeable. What a performance.

Refs tried their best but Fox was on a mission to deliver the championship to NYC.

I also feel good for Spike Lee - the man put up with humiliation after humiliation dressed like a chump as the Knicks disappointed for years. Glad he gets to celebrate now. I want the same for Wale!!!

Hopefully the city is still standing this morning, ha!

[tontoz]

Fox 3-15. Can the Sours trade him or is the contract too much?

For the series Fox had a TS of 43%. He's going to make over $50 million a year in each of their next 3 years so probably not.

[9 and 20]

Read on Twitter

[AFM]

What an amazing series. Brunson is incredible. These last two games, probably some life lesson in there on never giving up, no matter how bleak it looks. The Knicks just kept chipping away at the lead point by point, I mean last night the Spurs played stifling defense in the first half and NY couldn't hit the side of a barn. But Brunson just willed them to victory. That was awesome.

[nate33]

I find myself getting jaded with basketball. It's so hard to watch most stars play because of the way they hunt fouls. I don't feel that with Brunson. Brunson is really fun to watch. The guy is all heart.

[doclinkin]

This series was refereed like 80’s basketball. Hard fouls. Flops not rewarded. The tougher team won. Emotionally tougher. This was the starkest example that playoff basketball is a different game than the regular season.

[doclinkin]

Brunson took less money to extend in New York to give them freedom to ink the right players around him. Smart man. Frugal even, considering he will never have to pay for a damned thing in New York for the rest of his life.

[nate33]

Read on Twitter

Interesting, the elite defensive role players are the ones who deliver championships.

[doclinkin]

Teams with championship aspirations hunt a 3&D guy as a final piece.

[nate33]

Teams with championship aspirations hunt a 3&D guy as a final piece.

Man, that Lakers team had KCP, Green AND Caruso.

[AFM]

We need a Mitch Robinson. Dude was lowkey a beast.

[Paris41]

This series was refereed like 80’s basketball. Hard fouls. Flops not rewarded. The tougher team won. Emotionally tougher. This was the starkest example that playoff basketball is a different game than the regular season.

Yeah, the refs let everyone be extremely physical (unless you touched Wemby). There was virtually no space out there. Driving to the basket required lowering your shoulder into people and creating your own space.

Premium on High level/high speed processing and physicality.

[nate33]

This series was refereed like 80’s basketball. Hard fouls. Flops not rewarded. The tougher team won. Emotionally tougher. This was the starkest example that playoff basketball is a different game than the regular season.

Yeah, the refs let everyone be extremely physical (unless you touched Wemby). There was virtually no space out there. Driving to the basket required lowering your shoulder into people and creating your own space.

Premium on High level/high speed processing and physicality.

I'm not sure to favor Peterson's higher processing or AJ's superior strength in this type of setting. AJ's offensive game would probably hold up better, but at the other end of the floor could he implement the type of complex rotations and trickery that both the Spurs and Knicks employ defensively?

[Paris41]

I'm not sure to favor Peterson's higher processing or AJ's superior strength in this type of setting. AJ's offensive game would probably hold up better, but at the other end of the floor could he implement the type of complex rotations and trickery that both the Spurs and Knicks employ defensively?

You essentially had two primary option guards in Brunson and Harper. Everyone else had to be effective playing off the ball, or got played off the floor (Castle, Johnson, and Fox).

Brunson and Harper both have to be guarded out to the 3pt line both on and off the ball and are elite high-speed processors.

The only defensive liability that played significant minutes for either team was Brunson, and the Knicks had a different game plan to have him get through all ball screens and not switch.

Think Peterson’s skillset would resemble Harper in this series.

[nate33]

I'm not sure to favor Peterson's higher processing or AJ's superior strength in this type of setting. AJ's offensive game would probably hold up better, but at the other end of the floor could he implement the type of complex rotations and trickery that both the Spurs and Knicks employ defensively?

You essentially had two primary option guards in Brunson and Harper. Everyone else had to be effective playing off the ball, or got played off the floor (Castle, Johnson, and Fox).

Brunson and Harper both have to be guarded out to the 3pt line both on and off the ball and are elite high-speed processors.

The only defensive liability that played significant minutes for either team was Brunson, and the Knicks had a different game plan to have him get through all ball screens and not switch.

Think Peterson’s skillset would resemble Harper in this series.

Maybe. Tough to say. Peterson doesn't strike me as the most physical guy in the world - not like Harper anyhow. I think AJ would do a better job of holding up against all the bumping and hand checking.

[Tyrone Messby]

How about Mikal Bridges having never missed a game in college or the pros? Remarkable in this load management era.

[9 and 20]

Dybantsa looks and plays like a forward-sized version of Dylan Harper. I think Harper even had some of the same questions on defense.

[FAH1223]

Read on Twitter

Interesting, the elite defensive role players are the ones who deliver championships.

Don’t forget Wizards preseason legend Dillon Jones.

[tontoz]

Dybantsa looks and plays like a forward-sized version of Dylan Harper. I think Harper even had some of the same questions on defense.

I watched Harper a lot in college. He definitely gave off some " I am just here because I have to be" vibes. He was clearly one of those guys who was NBA ready out of high school and looked bored at times playing on a bad Rutgers team.

His effort on D in these playoffs has been on a totally different level than what I saw at Rutgers. However the drive and finish ability was definitely there at Rutgers. Many times watching him I would be like