PG: Saved By The KAT

[HarthorneWingo]

Our defensive rating with Towns and Brunson on the court together (371 minutes) is 119.2 during these playoffs.

With Brunson and no Towns (155 minutes), the team had a 111.5 defensive rating.

With Towns and no Brunson (105 minutes), we have a defensive rating of 92!

At 7:50

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[KnixinSix]

Excellent statistical breakdown of the impact that Wright and Shamet had on this game. We better not see Payne back in the rotation this series.

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I don't have time to watch this, but I want to see more of Shamet for both his defense and because he might end up giving us critical threes when we need them

I couldn’t care less whether you watch it or not.

It’s a deep dive on net ratings etc. It shows that their impact is even better than the eye test, which is pretty good. Makes you wonder why Thibs didn’t include them in the rotation earlier. I recall that Shamet had a rough go in the Pistons series and got benched. But his mere presence on the 3 point line opens up the court for our penetrators.

These are adjustments most top coaches would have recognized earlier on.

But at least better late than never.

[HarthorneWingo]

I don't have time to watch this, but I want to see more of Shamet for both his defense and because he might end up giving us critical threes when we need them

I couldn’t care less whether you watch it or not.

It’s a deep dive on net ratings etc. It shows that their impact is even better than the eye test, which is pretty good. Makes you wonder why Thibs didn’t include them in the rotation earlier. I recall that Shamet had a rough go in the Pistons series and got benched. But his mere presence on the 3 point line opens up the court for our penetrators.

These are adjustments most top coaches would have recognized earlier on.

But at least better late than never.

I just got finished posting a comment to that effect. We’ve all been calling for these changes. Hopefully, it’s not too late.

Maybe that hair dye is a little too strong? LOL

[Chanel Bomber]

We not talking about OG Dirk fake for the 3 that rolled in to get us down 10 with the shot clock winding down.

@ chanel

Why do you keep tagging me, I don't understand

[Fury]

He’s ok for bench minutes but he’s not a starter. His defense is sometimes good sometimes bad. The bad defense is what got him in foul trouble when he was just hacking. His scoring is very inconsistent and more suitable for a bench role than someone that you want to depend on in the starting lineup. Hes not a better scorer than Hart. No the game didn’t turnaround because of those guys, it turned around because of KAT carrying the whole team on his back. Plus Hart was part of that lineup so I’m not sure why you are giving them all the credit as if he wasn’t out there, hustling and playing defense. He even closed the game out and made huge plays which secured the win. He did more than those guys to help us win.

Not sure about everything else but the game was 63-78 and Deuce went on a 7-0 run to close the gap. He was instrumental in the comeback.

The comeback at the end of the 2nd quarter when it looked like they were about to blow us out the gym was just as if not even more important because it looked like they were gaining all momentum and were about to run us out the gym. It was OG and Hart who were making plays to cut the lead down from 19 to 13 going into halftime. That run was just as important to keep us within reach even after Pacers went on another run in the 3rd. Deuce still finished the game on an inefficient 2-6 fg and 1-4 shooting from 3. There were plenty of guys who contributed and Deuce wasn’t doing anything special.

Okay, but that's not the point I was making

[WaltFrazier]

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yo he's the biggest troll of all time

the precious stuff and now this...

What did he say about Precious, I missed it

[mpharris36]

Read on Twitter

yo he's the biggest troll of all time

the precious stuff and now this...

What did he say about Precious, I missed it

basically was campaigning for him to have a huge roll of the bench for the Knicks this series...

[KnixinSix]

https://hoopshype.com/2025/05/26/og-anunoby-on-mitchell-robinson-i-dont-think-theres-anyone-in-the-league-who-can-do-what-he-does/

OG Anunoby on Mitchell Robinson: “What Mitch does is special. I don’t think there’s anyone in the league doing what he does. Quick feet, quick hands, anticipation on the perimeter at seven feet. Yeah, he’s one of one. It’s unreal to watch

Kurt Helin @basketballtalk
Josh Hart said he was okay coming off the bench because he ‘had a hand in that decision’ to start Mitchell Robinson.
The Knicks’ new starting lineup was +1 in 14 minutes for the game, the old starting five played 5 minutes and was -9).

-9....wow....you cant have Brun and KAT playing together (at minimum without Mitch that is) vs the Carlislie Pacers they matchup hunt and exploit every single time. Lineups with only one or Brun or KAT are almost all positive in the plus minus.

[BKlutch]

I realize that, but that poem is in Nantucket so I opted not to post it

I recall being young enough I believed the only word that rhymed with Nantucket was "bucket".

Wait, what?

There's another word that rhymes with Nantucket?

I had no idea

There's a resort village in Thailand - Phuket.

[KnixinSix]

Our defensive rating with Towns and Brunson on the court together (371 minutes) is 119.2 during these playoffs.

With Brunson and no Towns (155 minutes), the team had a 111.5 defensive rating.

With Towns and no Brunson (105 minutes), we have a defensive rating of 92!

At 7:50

Watch on YouTube

The best statistic you want if you want a proper effectiveness check is the NET rating for each of those combinations (in other words O-D rating). I am pretty sure the Towns/Brunson combo with no Mitch is strongly in the negative. Almost all of the other ones with one of Towns or Brunson only have a positive rating (and some significantly positive). The sample size is most definitely large enough at this point

The conclusion if Thibs was smart would be .....

1. Make staggering Brun and KAT minutes the top priority. Carlisle matchup hunts every single time and with both on the floor they feast on finding the weakness very quickly and exploiting it.
2. Leads at end of game MUST not have both KAT and Brun on floor at same time. (See game 1)
3. As much as absolutely possible have Mitch out when Brun and KAT are out there together.
4. Brunson and especially KAT should not play more than 35 minutes each. KAT ideally should be about 32 but featured more when he is out there.
5. Other players: DELON WRIGHT needs legit playing time bc the dude has length , can ball handle and can play serious perimeter D. Continue to play Shamet. Payne is way too inconsistent , isnt a great defender either. If you are losing and need some 3 ball maybe. Otherwise keep him on the bench.

[BKlutch]

I recall being young enough I believed the only word that rhymed with Nantucket was "bucket".

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Well, you definitely opted to post it Bill

I find this highly offensive, because the phrase "suck it" is two words, and isn't technically a one word rhyme. Grammar cops! Poetry police!

[BKlutch]

I think Robinson needs to go back to the bench. He looked like he was about to puke and collapse on the floor. Pacers were flying up a down the floor and he couldn’t keep up anymore. He’s better off the bench.

Mikal struggling to shoot no matter who he plays with. He just can’t shoot. 6-18 from the field and 1-6 from 3 and continuing to shoot poorly not just this series but all playoffs long. He’s been the worst fit in the starting lineup, doesn’t really add anything. He has to improve his shooting otherwise what good is he?

Regarding Mitch, I think the switch we can make is to subbing him out and JB at the 6 minute mark and keep KAT in instead. Then bring both JB and Mitch back to start the 2nd quarter. Mitch playing at the start of quarters prevents teams from even thinking about a Hack-a-Mitch strategy unless they want to be in the penalty quickly.

I think there was an overreaction to the start of our games. We had a lead in both of the first games after the 1st and 2nd quarters. The issues were the way things ended not the way things started. Yesterday after we made changes was the first time we didn’t lead after the 1st or 2nd quarter. The only real change that we could have made that would have made a difference was giving Paynes minutes to Wright because Payne was really bad. Besides that it just comes down to our main guys stepping up and playing better to close the game out

We signed Payne because he had a really good game against us for Philly in last years playoffs. So we thought he was good. They forgot that scrubs and rookies always seem to have their lifetime best games against us -- and then revert back to form. Payne is the player who helps Indy the most on our bench.

[Guano]

We not talking about OG Dirk fake for the 3 that rolled in to get us down 10 with the shot clock winding down.

@ chanel

Why do you keep tagging me, I don't understand

We're not going to act like you didnt call the greatest knick of alltime

Spoiler:

RG

[Chanel Bomber]

@ chanel

Why do you keep tagging me, I don't understand

We're not going to act like you didnt call the greatest knick of alltime

Spoiler:

RG

You have to admit, it's pretty good

[Guano]

Why do you keep tagging me, I don't understand

We're not going to act like you didnt call the greatest knick of alltime

Spoiler:

RG

You have to admit, it's pretty good

We have a fundamental difference of the meaning of the word "good" here.

[BKlutch]

Excellent statistical breakdown of the impact that Wright and Shamet had on this game. We better not see Payne back in the rotation this series.

Watch on YouTube

I don't have time to watch this, but I want to see more of Shamet for both his defense and because he might end up giving us critical threes when we need them

I couldn’t care less whether you watch it or not.

It’s a deep dive on net ratings etc. It shows that their impact is even better than the eye test, which is pretty good. Makes you wonder why Thibs didn’t include them in the rotation earlier. I recall that Shamet had a rough go in the Pistons series and got benched. But his mere presence on the 3 point line opens up the court for our penetrators.

I didn't have time to watch this, either, but after I started watching I wound up seeing the whole thing. His analysis is spot on and we have to hope the coaching staff is also aware of this. I think we wanted Cam Payne because of his good game against us last year, but he's not a plus defender and he's streaky, at best. Mostly he's unreliable, takes unhelpful shots, and doesn't improve us offensively or defensively.

I recall during the preseason hearing that Thibs wanted Shamet and had to advocate for getting him. I never really had much of a chance to see what he could do early on beause he was injured at the start, and we were all so focused on the shiny, expensive new guys. He's not tall, so the level of defense he brings is unexpected but very much needed.

Carlisle said they did poorly in the 4th because we had our best defenders on the court against them. So true!

[Chanel Bomber]

We're not going to act like you didnt call the greatest knick of alltime

Spoiler:

RG

You have to admit, it's pretty good

We have a fundamental difference of the meaning of the word "good" here.

I don't have a definition of the word "good" as I don't believe in the concept's existence. I just threw it out there, like a Michael Beasley turnaround fadeaway from the baseline.

[Guano]

You have to admit, it's pretty good

We have a fundamental difference of the meaning of the word "good" here.

I don't have a definition of the word "good" as I don't believe in the concept's existence. I just threw it out there, like a Michael Beasley turnaround fadeaway from the baseline.

Ok Nietzsche

[WaltFrazier]

https://hoopshype.com/2025/05/26/og-anunoby-on-mitchell-robinson-i-dont-think-theres-anyone-in-the-league-who-can-do-what-he-does/

OG Anunoby on Mitchell Robinson: “What Mitch does is special. I don’t think there’s anyone in the league doing what he does. Quick feet, quick hands, anticipation on the perimeter at seven feet. Yeah, he’s one of one. It’s unreal to watch.

OG doesn't often give quotes like that, usually it's just like, he's a great player, and, we're trying to get better every day

[Fat Kat]

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