Gravy wrote:JayTWill wrote:Gravy wrote:Would you rather play the Celtics in the 1st round, 2nd rnd or ecf?
They never made it to the Celtics so who cares. They could have gotten just as far as they did last year without being a 2nd seed. Mitch might have actually survived a non-Embiid first round matchup. Thibs wasn't trying to avoid the Celtics until ECF. He is just doing what he does. Trying to win every game he can the only way he knows how. His regular season success has never been a true indicator of what should be expected in the postseason.
Year 1 in NY - Swept the Hawks the regular season. Lost to the lower seeded Hawks in 5 in the postseason
Year 2 - Missed playoffs
Year 3 - Beat the Heat 3 out of 4 games in the regular season. Lost to the lower seeded Heat in 6 in the postseason
Year 4 - Can't really judge with the amount of injuries but part of me does wonder if a healthy version of the Knicks with Thibs shortened rotation would have held up against the Pacers depth and pace.
Being a higher seed meant nothing in those matchups.
So you would be fine playing the Celtics in the 1st round as the 7th seed this season
Once again, who cares???? If you have the better team it shouldn't matter when you match up. I'm trying to develop and have the best team when it matters most. If we are going to be completely honest with ourselves this team is unlikely to win a championship in year 1 after making such a drastic change to the roster with limited depth.
There are a ton of reasons not to play guys a ton of minutes just in an attempt to win as many regular season games as possible even though i'm not sure if it's necessary to win games.
Maybe don't play KAT a ton of minutes because he is an almost 30 year old big that just came off of meniscus surgery that is in year 1 of a 4 year/$220M contract.
Maybe don't play OG a ton of minutes because of his yearly injuries and seeing how much of a difference his addition made to the team last year.
Maybe don't play Mikal a ton of minutes because he is asked to be the point of attack defender all game while also needing to create his own offense for himself and others.
Maybe don't play Brunson a ton of minutes because he is a small guard with limited athleticism that is leading the league in time of possession once again trying to carry a very unimaginative offense.
Maybe don't play Hart as much because despite looking like an ironman and putting up incredible numbers this year the team is actually performing better when he and Mikal aren't on the floor at the same time.
Maybe they should play the bench more just so the top guys can be a little more rested late in games to give more energy.
Maybe they should play the bench more so the top guys are a little less worn down late in the season.
Maybe they should have learned from dumping Grimes last year for short term success to show a little bit more patience with young players that show positive signs.
Maybe they should look at the limited impact of vet min additions like Shamet and Payne and realize that adding more vet mins over the next few years isn't going to change much and give the young guys a chance.
Maybe they should look and see that Thibs' way has never succeeded when it mattered and expect a different result.
How is playing guys a ton of minutes in the regular season an effective strategy for postseason success in your mind when there is no evidence it has ever worked under Thibs???? The same teams that he is beating in the regular season he is losing to in the postseason.
More regular season minutes is not some special strategy. Is that what was missing to beat 100 pound Trae Young in the postseason? Is that how Jimmy Butler who sleep walks through the regular season beat the Knicks and advanced to the finals multiple times? Did the Pacers seem like they lacked conditioning from their deep rotation as they ran the Knicks off the court last postseason?
RIP mags
