PG: KNICKS Take Game 1

[K_ick_God]

You know one thing, the primetime game last night was bad. Lakers getting destroyed. This first game on Easter Sunday today is awful. Knicks games, as much as the league views them as a lesser franchise, was the only game in town. Denver game was good too but not as good as the Knicks in terms of raw thrills. Okay that last statement is bias but Denver is just not the venue that MSG is.

I was going to turn on this OKC game and early on checked the score and decided not to watch.

So from a business perspective, only the Knicks keep things exciting really. Lakers are washed. Edwards is exciting but it's not a show. Sorry the Cavs play an exciting style but that's not an exciting roster or soap opera.

Boston is about as boring as a team that talented could be really - including all the 3's.

Where would the NBA be without the Knicks.

[K_ick_God]

Worst thing about this game is that people heaping praise on JB. Yeah it shows he's a top player that he can get 30+ after a bad start. But he's really NOT the guy who turned the tide. And in fact he helped the Pistons build a lead that more than half the time they would keep. He played poorly IMO and not going to change my mind on that bc of his statline.

If anything this enables him to play that way again. Pass and facilitate early JB. Don't let Thibs make you into a selfish player.

[LFGK]

nah bro gets feisty w the best of them

OG started taking it to the rack with attitude about 6 weeks ago

Now he's adding a good amount of stepback jumpers from mid-range

He's starting to score from everywhere on the floor

I don't think we expected OG to be a legit scoring threat, but that's what we're seeing these days

Quoting myself here, because I woke realizing this was validating my analysis of OG's game from earlier in this season.

In a nutshell, OG's at full strength now. He definitely was not in the same physical condition from month # 2 to about six weeks ago.

I had said he had some kind of weakness in his joints which had him collapsing at the knees multiple times a game.

The guy is built like a brick house, but looks can be deceiving. OG lacked stamina and the full strength he needed to be as athletic on propulsive offensive moves as he wanted to be.

His drives are now more powerful and dominating. He has the push/jump in his knees now to do a strong step-back to unleash his mid-range jumpers. He simply did not have that strength in his legs and his knees before. Maybe it was knee issues, but it largely appears to have been structural in nature, i.e. the coordinated strength in his whole frame required to make those pushing motions without collapsing into a heap like he was doing before.

He's at full strength now. OG at mid-season was not the same due to stamina and some level of physical conditioning he still required. You could see it in some games where he'd have bursts early in the game, but if he was out there more than 30 minutes his ability on offense would disappear. OG is a guy who needs to be well-tuned with a full gas tank to hit the levels he's hitting now.

While is a mostly frivolous exercise to pick one player when all are needed to succeed, but I do think he is the key to how far we go this season.

In sum, OG at full strength is one scary MF.

Been saying for weeks he's been held back to be healthy for the playoffs, he might be the best defender in the games Cade wasn't able to do anything and they were trying to screen off him every time down the court

[LFGK]

Read on Twitter

Read on Twitter

He can't guard the whole team. If you stop Brunson, you still have 4 other guys to worry about. Team can score without Brunson too.

Delusional...game 2 he'll have 2 fouls and be on the bench 5 min into the game....

[K_ick_God]

Read on Twitter

Read on Twitter

He can't guard the whole team. If you stop Brunson, you still have 4 other guys to worry about. Team can score without Brunson too.

Honestly don't remember one controversial foul he drew.

[Deeeez Knicks]

Brunson is def not selfish. He's just an elite iso player and the only good creator we really have. It's a necessity that he has the ball. Even in terms of iso he's at 17% which actually is not that high compared to other top iso stars who are 20%-25+%

The balance and overall offense could def be better but a lot of that is on Thibs.

[K_ick_God]

Brunson is def not selfish. He's just an elite iso player and the only good creator we really have. It's a necessity that he has the ball. Even in terms of iso he's at 17% which actually is not that high compared to other top iso stars who are 20%-25+%

The balance and overall offense could def be better but a lot of that is on Thibs.

It's Thibs but JB took a lot of forced shots he simply didn't need to take.

I can actually pinpoint when it went wrong too - he comes back with Knicks playing well and up 5 in the 2nd. He played poorly and they lost the lead fast and were down 5 or so. Big 10-point swing. That would have been an easier W if he didn't do what he did. Up 2 at half, could have been up closer to 10.

Just what I think.

He made that into a dramatic comeback win that it didn't have to be.

[Deeeez Knicks]

That is who Brunson is and people celebrate that then people complain that Thibs is not forcing him to not be him and move the ball and run plays for KAT, Mikal and OG.

Bur never mind Buzz. He's deep in a tired ol schtick.

Sent from my SM-S9080 using RealGM mobile app

This is the system. Period, ITS NOT who Brunson is. It's free for all most of the time with some actions sprinkled in but, no real offense. Just do what the game tells you. Brunson isn't out there costing us games being selfish. This entire discussion is ridiculous. Dude dropped 17 dimes in a game he scored 39 in IIRC.

BEST PG SINCE CLYDE!!

This is also Brunson. It waa him at Villanova. It waa him in Dallas (he waa just off the ball because of Luka.) He can whatever he wants with the ball. He chooses to score. If you celebrate it in wins you have to live with it in losses. We don't do that, though.

Sent from my SM-S9080 using RealGM mobile app

The bolded could not be any further from the truth. Brunson was never selfish at Villanova. He had one of the most successful team runs in his 4 years…They won 2 championships, had a ton of team success and the identy was balanced and unselfish basketball. The complete opposite from being selfish.

[robillionaire]

Read on Twitter

Read on Twitter

He can't guard the whole team. If you stop Brunson, you still have 4 other guys to worry about. Team can score without Brunson too.

Honestly don't remember one controversial foul he drew.

They’re trying the Rick Carlisle playbook from last year of whining about the refs to hope they quit giving us any calls

[Clyde_Style]

OG started taking it to the rack with attitude about 6 weeks ago

Now he's adding a good amount of stepback jumpers from mid-range

He's starting to score from everywhere on the floor

I don't think we expected OG to be a legit scoring threat, but that's what we're seeing these days

Quoting myself here, because I woke realizing this was validating my analysis of OG's game from earlier in this season.

In a nutshell, OG's at full strength now. He definitely was not in the same physical condition from month # 2 to about six weeks ago.

I had said he had some kind of weakness in his joints which had him collapsing at the knees multiple times a game.

The guy is built like a brick house, but looks can be deceiving. OG lacked stamina and the full strength he needed to be as athletic on propulsive offensive moves as he wanted to be.

His drives are now more powerful and dominating. He has the push/jump in his knees now to do a strong step-back to unleash his mid-range jumpers. He simply did not have that strength in his legs and his knees before. Maybe it was knee issues, but it largely appears to have been structural in nature, i.e. the coordinated strength in his whole frame required to make those pushing motions without collapsing into a heap like he was doing before.

He's at full strength now. OG at mid-season was not the same due to stamina and some level of physical conditioning he still required. You could see it in some games where he'd have bursts early in the game, but if he was out there more than 30 minutes his ability on offense would disappear. OG is a guy who needs to be well-tuned with a full gas tank to hit the levels he's hitting now.

While is a mostly frivolous exercise to pick one player when all are needed to succeed, but I do think he is the key to how far we go this season.

In sum, OG at full strength is one scary MF.

Been saying for weeks he's been held back to be healthy for the playoffs, he might be the best defender in the games Cade wasn't able to do anything and they were trying to screen off him every time down the court

They did that with Mitch, another thing I proposed early on, i.e. holding Mitch back specifically for the playoffs. That turned out to be true and he looks pretty healthy now so it was probably the right decision since Mitch is always a risk to miss games.

You may remember the game in which OG had his first 40 point explosion earlier in the season. I think he played over 40 minutes in a decisive victory and in the 4th quarter he was gasping and had his hands on his hips and his knees trying to hold it together.

Then the next few weeks, that guy was GONE. He was falling to the floor inexplicably several times a game just dribbling into the paint and when his posture dipped too low into a crouch he'd just go Plonk! and sit down because he couldn't keep himself upright.

Point being, you don't want run to run his gas tank to empty. Keep a quarter tank full with OG so he can recharge for the next game.

Yet we know that won't happen in the playoffs so we'll see where's at in terms of stamina after playing big minutes.

Did you know OG played 44 minutes last night?

That's too much for OG. Stay tuned

[3toheadmelo]

I don’t know how anyone can argue or complain about anything right now. We got the win. It’s the playoffs. It won’t be pretty or perfect. Just get the job done.

We saw the knicks flip the switch and play with some grit and toughness in the 4th quarter that we haven't seen from them all season long. If we are doing that in the playoffs, what is there really to complain about?

[Gravy]

Yall gonna drive Brunson to eating vaseline on the podcast

[Deeeez Knicks]

Brunson is def not selfish. He's just an elite iso player and the only good creator we really have. It's a necessity that he has the ball. Even in terms of iso he's at 17% which actually is not that high compared to other top iso stars who are 20%-25+%

The balance and overall offense could def be better but a lot of that is on Thibs.

It's Thibs but JB took a lot of forced shots he simply didn't need to take.

I can actually pinpoint when it went wrong too - he comes back with Knicks playing well and up 5 in the 2nd. He played poorly and they lost the lead fast and were down 5 or so. Big 10-point swing. That would have been an easier W if he didn't do what he did. Up 2 at half, could have been up closer to 10.

Just what I think.

He made that into a dramatic comeback win that it didn't have to be.

He didn’t have his best game and forced too many shots. That was a bad stretch for sure. He also hit some big shots too. He was def banged up. I mean, you take the bad with the good. Usually Brunson comes thru for us more than not. Even with all of that, the defense is focusing on him which should open things up for others.

In general Thibs does need to call some more play variety.

[Clyde_Style]

Brunson is def not selfish. He's just an elite iso player and the only good creator we really have. It's a necessity that he has the ball. Even in terms of iso he's at 17% which actually is not that high compared to other top iso stars who are 20%-25+%

The balance and overall offense could def be better but a lot of that is on Thibs.

It's Thibs but JB took a lot of forced shots he simply didn't need to take.

I can actually pinpoint when it went wrong too - he comes back with Knicks playing well and up 5 in the 2nd. He played poorly and they lost the lead fast and were down 5 or so. Big 10-point swing. That would have been an easier W if he didn't do what he did. Up 2 at half, could have been up closer to 10.

Just what I think.

He made that into a dramatic comeback win that it didn't have to be.

He didn’t have his best game and forced too many shots. That was a bad stretch for sure. He also hit some big shots too. He was def banged up. I mean, you take the bad with the good. Usually Brunson comes thru for us more than not. Even with all of that, the defense is focusing on him which should open things up for others.

In general Thibs does need to call some more play variety.

That was probably one of Brunson's worst first halfs in months, but he is quite reliable when it comes to turning it around at half-time.

The reason his first half didn't put us into a hole was primarily due to OG having a brilliant first half.

That's what talent can do for you. One star can offset the temporary struggles of another star. I consider KAT and OG star players too. We have 3 stars and you need one of them clicking to stay in the game.

Brunson was great when he had to be which is what you need from your clutch man.

[K_ick_God]

Yall gonna drive Brunson to eating vaseline on the podcast

It's a close call. He def deserves leeway as the best player. But this was a game where OG was red hot early, where Karl barely missed. He can't take fadeaways and get blocked off no motion. Or take fast break floaters from behind the basket.

Some was egregious. It just was, even for how much leeway JB has earned.

Hopefully he learns and stops. Team is much better when he tries to let others take the lead early. Hart is also showing signs again. We may have something, but not with solo JB in quarters one and two especially.

[Im Coming Home]

I don’t know how anyone can argue or complain about anything right now. We got the win. It’s the playoffs. It won’t be pretty or perfect. Just get the job done.

We saw the knicks flip the switch and play with some grit and toughness in the 4th quarter that we haven't seen from them all season long. If we are doing that in the playoffs, what is there really to complain about?

Honestly I don't even think the defense changed THAT much in the 4th, Pistons had plenty of open shots they missed. I do think they upped it a little bit, but I still wasn't happy with the defense in the 4th, felt like they picked it up a tiny bit, but also felt like the Knicks got lucky that the Pistons got shook and started missing.

[thebuzzardman]

Me too. Wouldn’t that be a coaching issue?

Yes it’s 100% a coaching issue that we have an all star starter PG who is one of the best playoff performers in NBA history and he led us to a game 1 victory. This is all on the coach

This is the quandary. Thibs allows JB to be this. Nobody wants to complain about JB so they complain about Thibs. But if Thibs changes JB then there was obviously something to complain about. But we can't complain about JB. And we kerp going around in circles.

Sent from my SM-S9080 using RealGM mobile app

I'd say it always lies at the coaches feet.

President: "Hey, general, can you get that insubordinate colonel in line?"
General: "No, it's his nature. What's a general to do?"

I think Brunson is who is he and Thibs uses him GENERALLY the right way. As a score first PG with ok passing skills who is mostly a willing passer. Even though you feel he's Steve Nash/Jason Kidd and refusing to pass. I disagree. The scouting report on Brunson has ALWAYS been his vision is "ok".

As you know from watching Brunson, you are correct that he's good off the ball and willingly played off the ball with Luka. So we are both correct that Thibs could leverage this part of Brunson's game, but doesn't.

IMHO, that's on the coach IF the player is going off script. Or, in Thibs "read/react" offense, he's too often reading that he should take his own shot.
Having a seat and some instruction should temper that.

Or, maybe the fact that the Knicks don't really have another player that can break down the defense with the ball in their hands means Thibs is ok with Brunson dominating it. Unfortunately, because I think everyone thinks they can run sets where Brunson is off the ball and KAT\Hart\Mikal are on it, facilitating more.

Or, as usual, everything about the Knicks is jusssttttt flawed enough that they won't win any chip. Just like the mid 90s.

[thebuzzardman]

I don’t know how anyone can argue or complain about anything right now. We got the win. It’s the playoffs. It won’t be pretty or perfect. Just get the job done.

We saw the knicks flip the switch and play with some grit and toughness in the 4th quarter that we haven't seen from them all season long. If we are doing that in the playoffs, what is there really to complain about?

You of all people don't need to see the tour bus!

[Clyde_Style]

I don’t know how anyone can argue or complain about anything right now. We got the win. It’s the playoffs. It won’t be pretty or perfect. Just get the job done.

We saw the knicks flip the switch and play with some grit and toughness in the 4th quarter that we haven't seen from them all season long. If we are doing that in the playoffs, what is there really to complain about?

Honestly I don't even think the defense changed THAT much in the 4th, Pistons had plenty of open shots they missed. I do think they upped it a little bit, but I still wasn't happy with the defense in the 4th, felt like they picked it up a tiny bit, but also felt like the Knicks got lucky that the Pistons got shook and started missing.

Knicks def forced more TOs in the 4th quarter resulting in easy buckets for us

[3toheadmelo]

I don’t know how anyone can argue or complain about anything right now. We got the win. It’s the playoffs. It won’t be pretty or perfect. Just get the job done.

We saw the knicks flip the switch and play with some grit and toughness in the 4th quarter that we haven't seen from them all season long. If we are doing that in the playoffs, what is there really to complain about?

Honestly I don't even think the defense changed THAT much in the 4th, Pistons had plenty of open shots they missed. I do think they upped it a little bit, but I still wasn't happy with the defense in the 4th, felt like they picked it up a tiny bit, but also felt like the Knicks got lucky that the Pistons got shook and started missing.

I mean we're not gonna be an elite team defensively, but I think our 4th quarter was the best we've seen so far from this team. At the very least, that was the hands down the best defense we've seen from KAT all season. And OG had Cade in hell. I am not complaining. It was a great win. 21-0 run is pretty crazy