knicks lose....i blame mpharris who blames thibs

[thebuzzardman]

Enzo with the heroic post

[GONYK]

The percentage of teammate field goals a player assisted on while they were on the floor

Knicks have the 3rd lowest ast% in the clutch

The Knicks have the 4th best win % in the clutch and average the second most assists per game in clutch situations though.

Denver has the highest ast % in the clutch with 68%, but average 2.4 APG in clutch situations.

The Knicks have an ast% of 46.9%, but average 2.1 APG in clutch situations.

So what that says is that all teams ISO in the clutch.

[B8RcDeMktfxC]

I have a pretty sceptical attitude towards Thibs, and, yes, there were one or two end of game errors. However, I don't think an overtime loss to the Celtics - who are likely to make a decent fist of defending their championship - is where to start the analysis.

[nedleeds]

I have a pretty sceptical attitude towards Thibs, and, yes, there were one or two end of game errors. However, I don't think an overtime loss to the Celtics - who are likely to make a decent fist of defending their championship - is where to start the analysis.

Why is the opponent even relative? Could have been a 4th grade girls team. You go to like 95% to win if you just foul.

[DOT]

The percentage of teammate field goals a player assisted on while they were on the floor

Knicks have the 3rd lowest ast% in the clutch

The Knicks have the 4th best win % in the clutch and average the second most assists per game in clutch situations though.

Denver has the highest ast % in the clutch with 68%, but average 2.4 APG in clutch situations.

The Knicks have an ast% of 46.9%, but average 2.1 APG in clutch situations.

So what that says is that all teams ISO in the clutch.

We also have 3 players shooting over 50% in the clutch - Brunson, KAT, and Mikal

[NoDopeOnSundays]

Read on Twitter

We had a foul to give too

[LFGK]

I wouldn't call it meaningless from the Celtics point of view. They wanted to make a statement since we're probably facing them in the 2nd round and they've owned us all season. True it wasn't a blow out and a close game, but they let us know that when the pressures on, they will out play us and out coach us. It was demoralizing!

I thought the game showed we could beat them. Instead of getting blown out previously we lost by 2 in overtime.

There is still a talent gap with the roster. Mazzulla is coaching on easy mode when he has so many great 3pt shooters. When fans say any of us could coach a NBA team thats a team like the Celtics. The last few minutes of the game and overtime was Tatum or KP shooting threes or a tough iso basket. Their stars were better than our stars which is usually what wins championships.

They have a better bench but our top 7 versus theirs should be a toss up. Last night was the first game where we looked like we were meant to stand in the same ring as them.

our 7 can go toe to toe with theirs, everyone thinks its the end of the world and we cant play with these guys. Couple plays(really 1) and we win yesterday, couple plays the last one when we cut that huge lead down to 4 and that was winnable too. They finally force-fed the ball to Towns when he had a midget defending him. You keep at that and replace Hart with McBride and they wont be able to double KAT(or they do and we get an open 3). The Knicks can beat the celtics in the second round.

[Capn'O]

They finally force-fed the ball to Towns when he had a midget defending him.

I'm not sure who you mean but any time Towns got the ball vs Tatum it was BBQ chicken. If they want to send KP/Horford/Kornet to Hart or Brunson we need to figure out ways to spam KAT down low.

[mpharris36]

Read on Twitter

We had a foul to give too

I think in the 4th we didn't have a foul to give...KAT just fouled Tatum for 3 I think around the 40 second mark so that would be the 1st foul in the last 2 minutes. Any foul after would be penalty.

[prophet_of_rage]

Read on Twitter

So it isn't just Thibs?

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OG said he should have fouled...but there was complete confusion on the play. No one looking to foul, the coach not animated on the sideline to foul.

Clearly the plan was not to foul or they didn't discuss the situation in the timeout before we made it a 3pt game...if it was Thibs would have been more animated on the sideline. He was just standing and watching.

You simply can't let there best player walk the ball up the court with approx 10 seconds left and take a relatively clean look to tie the game.

Thibs could straight up murder someone on the sideline and some of you would be like...well did he deserve it?

No, but I don't overreact.to everything. This loss is on Thibs as we can see by the narrow margin of defeat but when they were blown out then it has to be on the players.

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[prophet_of_rage]

You keep belaboring this point in every post game thread the Knicks lose a close game but exactly what exotic sets did Mazzulla run at the end of the game that Thibs didn't run?

Was it the falling out of bounds 3 that Tatum took in an iso against KAT that he got bailed out on?

Or was it the last second ridiculous step back over the Knicks best defender by Tatum?

What was the magical set that Thibs couldn't possibly comprehend or run on those plays that gave Boston the edge?

They had Tatum taking their game winner we had jHart. Doesn't even have to be elaborate just better than stupid.

This is being willingly obtuse, and for what, you've watched us all season so you've had to see the handful of dumb things happen at the end of games this season that lead to questioning the coaching.

I think it's fair to get mad at Thibs for not fouling up 3. It's a damned if you do damned if you don't situation for me but I do get being mad at that.

I don't think the team's philosophy down the stretch of close games is necessarily bad. Maybe a little more variety at times would be nice but it doesn't make sense to not have the ball in Brunson's hands most of the time. We have one of the best shot makers in the league on our team who is also a good passer. We saw it last night. When they blitzed him we got Mikal in a 4 on 3 situation multiple times which is a big win in those situations.

We're 18-10 in "clutch games" as defined by NBA.com. 4th best in the league. A lot of Thibs late game criticisms are pretty overblown IMO.

It's coping.

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[mpharris36]

So it isn't just Thibs?

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OG said he should have fouled...but there was complete confusion on the play. No one looking to foul, the coach not animated on the sideline to foul.

Clearly the plan was not to foul or they didn't discuss the situation in the timeout before we made it a 3pt game...if it was Thibs would have been more animated on the sideline. He was just standing and watching.

You simply can't let there best player walk the ball up the court with approx 10 seconds left and take a relatively clean look to tie the game.

Thibs could straight up murder someone on the sideline and some of you would be like...well did he deserve it?

No, but I don't overreact.to everything. This loss is on Thibs as we can see by the narrow margin of defeat but when they were blown out then it has to be on the players.

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Like I said not every loss is on the coach. The players obviously share some blame. Thibs didn't make OG miss 3 FT's...Thibs didn't make KAT lose KP on a few open 3's. Thibs didn't make Mikal drop the ball. Thibs didn't make Brunson overcommit to a steal in OT that lead to KP game winning 3.

But BOS players made mistakes as well. Players make mistakes during a game...it happens. But when you play the top teams everything is on the margins. And he simply didn't put his team in the best position to win the game. And we already are trying to come so of his hard headed approach where we don't shoot enough 3's and give up too many 3's. We already have a match deficit we have to make up for scheme...when we are winning late and close we have to know how to execute.

You foul up 3 100 times out of 100 in that situation.

[HEZI]

I don't know. That window was kind of small with KP trailing behind KAT. There was a moment I thought he might be able to lob it to KAT but he isn't exactly a high flyer where can just throw it anywhere. It would have needed to be a near perfect pass with KP's length. I'm not sure you want to risk turning the ball over and giving the ball back to the Celtics with a chance to win the game.

He would need to trust that KAT would break free and throw the pass before KAT actually got open.

https://www.nba.com/stats/events?CFID=&CFPARAMS=&ContextMeasure=FG3A&EndPeriod=4&EndRange=28800&GameID=0022401151&PlayerID=1628404&RangeType=1&Season=2024-25&SeasonType=Regular%20Season&StartPeriod=4&StartRange=21600&TeamID=1610612752&flag=3&sct=plot&section=game

There’s only 2 seconds left in the game. With Brunson getting doubled you need to be looking at KAT. You live with the outcome but at least it’s going to your scorer and not Josh Hart. With 2 seconds left and your main option getting doubled, you will be taking a risk regardless so I rather see that pass to KAT than settling for that pass to Hart

It was 3 seconds left. The Celtics had multiple timeouts remaining. If he throws that ball early before even seeing if KP gets hung up on the Brunson screen or if White stays with Brunson that could have easily been a turnover. If it was under 1 second I can understand it since once the ball is touched the time will likely run out no matter what but if he throws that ball early and White, the best shot blocking guard in the league with great timing simply stays with KAT and intercepts the ball since you can't just throw it to the top of the square for KAT with his athleticism the Celtics would have still had time to win the game in regulation.

The same thing if KP doesn't get hung up on the screen for a split second. Mikal would essentially be throwing a lob to a better lob target in KP. For that to work the ball needed to be in the air before either of those things occurred with the team just hoping for the best results.

And Brunson wasn't doubled by White and KP. Holiday came over to take the passing lane away to Brunson late and by that time KP had recovered to KAT. Obviously the Celtics were going to try to take away options for the Knicks 2 best shot makers in Brunson and KAT so the question remains why even have Hart out there knowing he is not really a threat to score unless he has an open lane to the rim?

That’s the job of the guy inbounding the ball, to watch for the play develop. You can see who is reacting to what and there was plenty time to throw that lob but because it’s Mikal and he doesn’t have that type of awareness or IQ he just doesn’t make that play. He settles for the safe option. This is just one of the examples of how we lack in versatility. Celtics have multiple guys who could have made the read and pass as they have multiple guards and forwards with guard like abilities. We do not

[spree8]

So it isn't just Thibs?

Sent from my SM-S9080 using RealGM mobile app

OG said he should have fouled...but there was complete confusion on the play. No one looking to foul, the coach not animated on the sideline to foul.

Clearly the plan was not to foul or they didn't discuss the situation in the timeout before we made it a 3pt game...if it was Thibs would have been more animated on the sideline. He was just standing and watching.

You simply can't let there best player walk the ball up the court with approx 10 seconds left and take a relatively clean look to tie the game.

Thibs could straight up murder someone on the sideline and some of you would be like...well did he deserve it?

This loss is on Thibs as we can see by the narrow margin of defeat but when they were blown out then it has to be on the players.

Really? I’d like to hear how exactly you came to that conclusion..

[NoDopeOnSundays]

I actually had to go double check to see if this was true, and it is. This is a little concerning.

Read on Twitter

[god shammgod]

at the end of the day, losing a close game to them doesn't really matter that we need to analyze it to death. would you have been more convinced we can beat them 4 times out of 7 if we won ?

my biggest takeaway from this game for the possible series is that the jaylen brown injury seems serious and that might possibly give us a chance. albeit a small one.

[god shammgod]

Why is Brown playing at all in games that are essentially meaningless for the Celtics, who are locked into the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference? Last year’s NBA Finals MVP has said he’s choosing to suit up rather than rest because he knows his knee injury could linger into the playoffs and wants to hone his game to be effective amid potential physical limitations.

Regardless of Brown’s motivation, Porzingis wants him to prioritize his health.

“He’s a tough dude,” Porzingis said after scoring 34 points and hitting eight 3-pointers against the Knicks, including a go-ahead three in overtime. “He’s a tough dude. He always preaches his warrior mindset and he lives by it, but to what extent do we need that right now? Maybe he needs to take care of it and make sure he’s going to be ready for the most important moments. So I think we just have to urge him to make sure he does everything he needs to prepare, to get it healthy and to prepare for what’s going to come. And I think he’s a smart guy, so he will. It just shows his heart and how bad he wants to be out there even for games that don’t mean super much for us right now. But that’s who he is, and I appreciate him for that.”

Jayson Tatum said the Celtics are doing what they can to support Brown, who’s also battled hip, shoulder and back injuries this season.

“Just being there for him as much as you can,” Tatum said. “We’ve all been there to a certain extent. It’s tough. We work really hard on our craft and try to prepare ourselves to be at our best and it’s tough mentally when you’re out there and you maybe can’t do the things that you normally do. So it’s a mental hurdle that you have to fight, but that’s why it’s a team sport. We have teammates that have your back, cover for you and just help you get through things.”

some quotes from after the game

https://www.bostonherald.com/2025/04/09/kristaps-porzingis-questions-jaylen-brown-knee-injury/

[3toheadmelo]

at the end of the day, losing a close game to them doesn't really matter that we need to analyze it to death. would you have been more convinced we can beat them 4 times out of 7 if we won ?

my biggest takeaway from this game for the possible series is that the jaylen brown injury seems serious and that might possibly give us a chance. albeit a small one.

Man that injury prob improved our chances by 2%

[god shammgod]

at the end of the day, losing a close game to them doesn't really matter that we need to analyze it to death. would you have been more convinced we can beat them 4 times out of 7 if we won ?

my biggest takeaway from this game for the possible series is that the jaylen brown injury seems serious and that might possibly give us a chance. albeit a small one.

Man that injury prob improved our chances by 2%

i'll take it

[NoDopeOnSundays]

at the end of the day, losing a close game to them doesn't really matter that we need to analyze it to death. would you have been more convinced we can beat them 4 times out of 7 if we won ?

my biggest takeaway from this game for the possible series is that the jaylen brown injury seems serious and that might possibly give us a chance. albeit a small one.

Honestly, a healthy Horford is more damaging to us than Brown, if he plays in that series we're cooked regardless of whether Brown is out or not. He misses a game, and it's close, he plays in the 3 others and it's blow out city, he has a +33 net rating against use which is highest on their team vs us.

He stops the KAT post ups with weakside help from KP, and on the other end they're still 5 out.