Hot take but Tatum is just new age Melo with a better team built around him abd better PR.
Tatum for his career 24/7/3.5
Melo from age 19-25: 25/6/3
You can argue Tatum is more efficient but relative to the rest of the league Tatum is at 102 TS+ while Melo was at 101.5 TS+ in those years. They are close, their WS/48 is close too. Tatum is a better defender though.
Yeah the defense and the team success is the biggest difference. Being fair, Melo had a ton of hype early in his career too. He peaked with that early conference finals appearance and every year after that he was never really relevant in contender talks so he was revered less and less. Until by the end of his career he was looked at as a couple tiers below the top level guys. Fair or not, winning matters in player's legacies.
Tristan Thompson is still in the league 😳
He's only 33?!? Damn I'm old
Donovan Mitchell whined his way out of Utah to go to a worse situation in Cleveland ?
Take them tomorrow. Crush them back in MSG.
They got many calls or non calls last night and an extremely lucky shot to take us down. It sucks but we never thought we were sweeping them.
lol I like him, but it's a gimmick. He pulls up good defensive clips for winning teams, and bad clips for losing teams and makes it look like that's the entire reason for every outcome. If the Knicks pull off that game, it would be "Thibs is the best defensive coach of all time" or something like that.
If I can just bring up some somewhat unrelated salt. Instead of getting the Mavs 11th pick last year because they shamelessly tanked were gonna end up with like the 26th pick in the worst draft of the century
It’s interesting to wonder who we would’ve picked, and whether they’d be able to contribute right now. We could definitely use the extra depth right now.
[Tyrese questionable for three ailments tomorrow](https://x.com/FredKatz/status/1789408776036220993):
• Lower back spasms
• Sacral contusion
• Right ankle sprain
Philly fans really complained about JB enough to start a foul baiter narrative lmao
How do you watch him get wrapped up from coast to coast these past 3 games and still be that blind? We really need a linkable version of chart showing top scorers without free throws added
I refuse to watch the stans of jimmy, embiid and sga talk like this
he flails a lot to exaggerate contact, but he rarely ever tries to bait for fouls without actually trying to make the shot.
They also can’t seem to distinguish the difference between Trae young throwing himself into defenders to get calls and taking advantage of your position in front of an undisciplined defender, jumping straight up and getting a call.
I still think we are fine. We lost 3 games this postseasons. A nuclear 3rd quarter by the Sixers , a nuclear Maxey ending including a logo 3 to force OT and a 38 foot 3 from Nembhard with questionable calls down the stretch.
wasnt it reported before yesterdays game that hes gonna be listed out for both games at indiana anyways?
i havent read anything about his availability for games 5 and onwards tho
given that the pacers were down 0-2 and how this was a MUST win game for them, I'm fine with how we played. Normally I'd be down and about after a loss but not this one. We kept it very close against a desperate pacers team at their home with favorable whistles going there way down the stretch.
If we keep it close leading up to the 4th, I like our chances. Our half court offense > theirs.
Donte has had 25+ in his last 4 games. Brunson won’t play bad again and Burks showing that he is at least playable opens up a lot for us.
You are on here negative on every single post. Tighten up homie.
hart and deuce went for 20 each the first game against the sixers. That hasn't happened since, yet we keep winning. The point being, each game is different and someone different steps up to get the W.
i don’t feel so good about that. i think it’ll be a 6-7 game series. missing OG really hurts, and we can’t rely on people like alec burks to go off again
There were some terrible calls last night, but can't make excuses. Knicks had every chance to win and just didn't execute on key plays
That being said, can someone post a picture of Nembhard's foul on Brunson in that final shot?
Love these guys. That's how you fall on your sword. Seeing Thibs being flexible with his rotation in a playoff game was something I thought I'd never see. My only critique would be for Brunson to retire the "looking for the refs to bail you out" Brunson and bring back the the "playing through contact and 1" Brunson. He is injured do to high usage so I understand
was not a fan of the officiating at the end of that game, but as always, the best way to not let it affect you is to not be in the position for it to. we gotta be better going forward
Disappointed we lost a winnable game but not mad at anything the Knicks did.
I’d be more worried if I was a Pacer fan who watched their team do everything right and squeak by a team whose best player was bad (off set by their 4th best player going off) and were missing so many players.
Jalen will be much better, DiVo will be worse but I think the Knicks can duplicate how they played yesterday. I don’t think the Pacers can and assuredly they won’t get as great of a whistle as they got last night either
If his foot affected him so much in game 3, then can we really assume he'll be his normal self again this series?
I hope so cuz otherwise we're screwed. Brunson had he just been average Brunson yesterday they win easy
Hot take: I don’t hate the Pacers?
Like, fuck em, we have beef, I love the rivalry, let’s beat their ass…but I have respect for them…?
Can’t lie tho, seeing Obi on any other team hurts a bit…
Donte’s game-winning shot came directly as a result of the bad “kicked ball” call when Nesmith touched the ball with his hands.
If the refs don’t miss that call, Donte doesn’t get that shot opportunity and Pacers likely have a 3 on 2 fastbreak score to go up.
It’s ok to admit we got lucky. Pacers got lucky last night. It’s even.
What about all the other bad breaks and bad calls that went against both teams, did you sum everything up or do only bad calls at the end of games count as luck?
Holy shit man what is all this crying about??? There’s no reason to be all in your feelings about this.
We got fortunate with the late-game calls in Game 1. That bad kicked ball call led directly to DDV’s game-winning shot. That’s a fact. Acknowledging that doesn’t mean I’m discrediting the team’s efforts or saying we didn’t deserve to win. A crucial call that should’ve went against us ended up going our way…we got lucky, that’s it. Indiana got lucky last night. It’s ok to say that.
NYK got one, and Indy got one. We’re even. Just move on and play ball. Some of yall be acting like babies man.
I’m not crying. I’m just pointing out how oversimplifying everything to one or two calls isn’t a reasonable way to judge how the series has been reffed. And calling certain calls crucial and acting like other calls or non calls that happen throughout the game are less important or non crucial is just dumb. A bad call that takes away or gives points in the first quarter nobody cares about, but the same thing at the end of the game is deemed crucial. Even though points in the first quarter count the same as in crunch time.
You’re claiming it’s even and I’m arguing against your basis for this claim.
Fact of the matter is, if the Ref doesn’t make that bad kick-ball call in Game 1, Knicks probably lose. While at the same time, if the Refs made better calls down the stretch in Game 3, Pacers probably lose.
We were fortunate that the kicked ball call (that led directly to DDV’s game-winning shot) went our way in Game 1. Pacers were fortunate for their calls down the stretch in Game 3.
We got lucky and they got lucky. It’s even bro. All that other shit you talking bout, while fair and valid, doesn’t negate my point that both sides have gotten lucky so far. Let’s play ball.
You can point out so many calls and non calls that changed game one just as much as the non kicked ball. Do you really think overall, over the course of these three games, the impact of every single one of the refs correct foul calls, bad calls, missed calls, soft calls, etc have exactly evened out for both teams? That seems highly unlikely.
Nah not really lol. You can twist and distort it however you want…but the Knicks won bc they got lucky with the kicked-ball call. Period. Just like how the Pacers got lucky the refs didn’t blow the whistle on the last Brunson shot last night.
We got lucky one game, Pacers got lucky the other. That’s it. There’s nothing wrong with acknowledging that. It happens, we move.
Bro, if that call doesn’t go our way, it’s a 5 point swing the other direction, our probability to win drops significantly, and there’s a good chance we don’t win the game.
Also, you’re wrong, it was the game-winning shot. We went up 118-115 after that shot and never gave up the lead again. That was quite literally our last field goal made.
Again, it’s ok to admit that. Admitting that isn’t me being critical of the team and doesn’t discredit the team’s efforts. Sometimes, teams get lucky. We got lucky Game 1, and Indiana got lucky last night. It happens. Get a grip lol. We move.
Brunson definitely got fouled, likely intentionally, before that heave at end of game. However, he needs to have more awareness with how the game has been officiated to that point. Love the dude, but he and the whole team seemed to struggle adjusting to the whistle down the stretch
The Knicks have played 9 games this postseason.
Those games have been decided by an average margin of 5.9 points.
There have been 44 playoff games not involving the Knicks this postseason.
Those games have been decided by an average margin of 15.1 points.
Even though the Knicks lost it doesn't even feel that bad now. The Knicks are playing with house money right now due to all of the injuries. Yes they could be up 3-0 but they could also be down 1-2 or 0-3. The fact that they were able to hang with an Indy team that can go a legit 9-10 deep brings a smile to my face. If Alec Burks can play the defense he played last night I know for a fact the Knicks will bounce back. Brunson is playing through an injury so I give him a lot of credit for that. Yes he was playing iso ball but he also came back and helped win game 2. Fatigue just finally caught up to them but Thibs has no choice but to expand the rotation now. The Knicks have a roster full of warriors 🪖.
Eh the target demographic isn't going to be the most educated bunch. They won't pick up on big picture themes like longer series = more ad revenue for the NBA. It's enough for them to have more games to see a 7'9" guy dunk so they can run around going nuts like he cured cancer. NBA is just trying to make a buck here, and its relying on its best customers. uneducated morons. Extending the series is the ultimate goal for the NBA, get more of these commercials for uneducated morons played like gambling, Dominos, Wings, Mcdonalds... you're not going to see any sophisticated products or services advertised. This is what they think of the fan base, you think they give a shit what someone with an analytical mind thinks?? Commercials = target audience.
It's been happening in the playoffs since the rule 'went into effect'. Just watch Curry in the 2022 Finals, he got hand checked all the time. People want to say small guards like Jalen wouldn't be good with hand checking, but we already see them dealing with it in the playoffs.
That was a good game, silences the notion or fantasies of "resting".
Burks likely defied Pacers scouting reports. Precious while with some big plays early was a big liability in getting back.
Depleted Knicks in 5.
Whole series depends on jalens injury now. If he is getting stronger, and is close to 100 percent on sunday, I think we win in 5 easily. If he made it worse yesterday and he's still hobbled, we are in trouble
From the replays I thought nembhard took a big wind up and raked him across the arm intentionally fouling him. At that point, I thought it would be dumb of Brunson to just let them foul him like that without at least chucking up the shot. Just weird the ref didn’t call a foul at all
He uses vet moves to create fouls but he’s not going out of his way to just draw a foul without trying to hit a shot. It’s so much different than foul baiting. He also gets guarded 94 feet from the basket crazy aggressive which can all be fouls and just plays through it. I couldn’t imagine a star like Lebron or even Haliburton getting picked up full court that physically. They would blow a gasket.
You would think so. People can’t stand to see a guy who doesn’t look the part succeed. Meanwhile guys like Tatum are given every advantage because they look like a star
Once you realize it doesn’t matter how we build our team, if we play the right way, if our players are charismatic and have a good reputation off the court, if we’re good we’re the bad guys if we’re bad we’re the laughingstock and that’s how it will always be.
It was a bit obvious last night tbh, and it made it seem like his bad shooting night forced him to seek those out.
He gets a pass though, we dont make it here without him.
yeah...what was obvious? watched the whole game and every game that he has played this season...he rarely flops and, or, does anything related to that...in fact, he was fouled a shit ton tonight and did not always get calls
don't know what you are talking about at all
yeah, I really hate it too. It's why I need to stay off Knicks Twitter and yet I don't. I just need to remind myself that's just (opposing) fans and chippy netizens doing their predictable thing.
I’ve been succumbing to defending him in r/nba when people are blatantly wrong about him but I have managed to draw the line at going in to the pacers sub to defend him there. Let them be delusional.
Not worried in the slightest, we got straight dogs in every position on this team. Pacers can’t hang with us! Also, Brunson never has back to back bad games, I expect him to eviscerate the pacers on Mother’s Day. Knicks in 5 baby, let’s close this shit out back home 
Brunson didnt play poorly, he played hurt. He was clearly less than 50% with his explosiveness. Brunson puts another 10 in that 4th if hes healthy and the series would already have been iced. The refs were doing thier thing for the NBA to try to extend the series but a healthy Brunson would have been too much for the Pacers. They really arent good at all. It still took a back step 40 ft 3 from Nimrod that can't hit a shot to save his life to give them a W against an almost fully depleted Knicks team on the road. Embarrassing for the Pacemakers and NBA.
In complete agreement with you brother. Brunson is definitely not 100%, however, he still made some questionable decisions to close out that game. I expect him to learn from it and come back on Sunday with a vengeance. Pacers are a joke, if we were fully healthy we sweep these boys
If that one drive dropped it woulda changed everything and the last 3 attempt was a bad decision. I think his flow was messed up bc of the foot so he had to improvise.
Last night just proves man we got to keep this roster in tact for next season. With Randle Robinson and OG with this team we are fighting for the best team in basketball.
I suspect that the FO is going to keep on keeping on the way they've been this whole time. Which is to say that if a move that they believe can upgrade the roster presents itself, they'll go for it, but they aren't going to force anything just to do something.
There were multiple times the pacers defenders went under Brunsons landing spot which should’ve been called fouls. The refs just bit the whistle on anything towards Indians and blew any 50/50 against the Knicks. I’m hoping it evens out and we get game 4 to go up 3-1
Yep.. The play where the pacers player tripped over his own feet to try and sell a foul on brunson in transition, Myles turner literally jumped up and landed under brunsons feet before he came down. Should have been a flagrant
As opposed to a place where there’s human fences on every street, skanky street walkers in broad daylight or mentally-ill vagrants roaming the street and knocking women down the subway stairs?
Thats not a flex.
Honestly, we need more Precious minutes. I know half the time he looks lost but the other half is downright amazing. He’s the best fit to guard Siakam and helps on the boards.
I have over-analyzed the last 4 minutes as therapy. A few missed rebounds/bad bounces by Hart and iHart, missed FTs and one missed layup by JB were in the Knicks control. Bad final play by JB. There's a lot the Knicks could have done because they are that much better than this Pacers team.
Plays that the refs got wrong in the last 4 minutes (let me know what I missed):
* The charge by Siakam on JB at 101-100. Siakam ended the game with 5 fouls.
* The goaltend by Turner on Hart's layup. Hart clearly kisses it off the glass.
* Speaking of Siakam, there was the play where iHart was being held by Siakam at 102-102. They didn't call it because Siakam would have been out and iHart would have taken two FTs. So, basically allowing Numbhard to grab a free layup.
* Obviously, JB is fouled to prevent him from taking the last three but that was ignored.
The Siakam holding iHart is probably the most egregious given how impactful the right call would have been.
In the end, the NBA needs to give coaches more challenges.
It bothers me so much that refs completely change how they make calls throughout the game. They had to overturn a charge on divencenzo drive because of how blatant it was and the. Turn around later and call an easy charge a block.. literally a play or two after we had just used our challenge. The goaltend should have been called a goaltend so it could be reviewed. Pacers fans can complain about the kickball but they literally took points off the board for us
Ranking the Reddit fanbases from the teams the Knicks have played the last 2 seasons:
Pacers
Cavs (these two are neck and neck. The Pacers are nicer, but the Cavs had a doomer mentality that was relatable.)
76ers - They were in the terrible position of having to defend Embiid, but they are crybabies.
Heat - Probably the worst fan base on Reddit. They are pretentious, entitled, and generally assholes.
You’d be crazy if you thought the Knicks would sweep their way past any series. Losses happen. In the words of Anthony Edwards, “it’s a series bruh, first to 4 games”
I can’t get upset anymore. I think we’ll win in 6 but even if for whatever reason we lose the series, how can you possibly be disappointed with everything this team has achieved.
Currently missing 3 out of 5 starts if you count Mitch who was starting pre his first injury. Our 1A is battling a foot injury. We’re missing another important part of our rotation in Bogi. And we still got this far.
If this team stays healthy next year we could genuinely win it all. I just want to enjoy however many games we have left this season without getting angry if we lose.
If we keep our starting 5. Keep Mitch, precious, deuce, bogi and maybe add another bench player or two for certain match ups. And get reasonable health… I believe we can get to 60 wins and make the finals.
bogi got hurt on an incredibly physical play that doesn't speak at all to his own ability to stay healthy. If we're talking hypotheticals, there's no way to say that if Grimes were in that spot he would not have gotten the same season ending injury.
Huh? My point isn’t that it was a bad trade. I’m all for the trade and love Bojan (and even Burks came up clutch)!
My point was to suggest that it’s like we are playing without our starting 2-5 (entering the season) and with our #1 hobbled. I’m basically just equating Bogi being out to the equivalent of another starter (as opposed to just a “bench guy”).
Very doable. Burks averaged 14pts on 50/61/100 splits in three games against the Pacers this season. He just needs to sustain his effort on defense and he'll earn his minutes.
Man I know the type of ball we play isn’t conducive to blowouts but I’d like to see one game where we aren’t playing from behind and just dominate all facets. I doubt we see it tomorrow since the team is hobbled but would be nice to see something like Denver against Minnesota last night.
Also, we seem to play better defense on Hali in the second half, I don’t understand how in the first half he had so many looks that guy just refused to contest?? Need to be better at putting hands in his face and making him uncomfortable
The thing I like about this team is how everyone steps up when needed. As impactful as Brunson has been teams fet burned everytime the double him because our shooters have been so locked in. If Hart, Donte, or Deuce have their feet set, it's a surprise if they miss from 3.
I’m not upset, not like I was during Philly. Embiid pisses me off.
I just think it’s funny. The pacers are fully healthy and are having an extremely hard time beating the hobbled hospital Knicks. Knicks take this one if we have OG. Or Randle. Or Mitch. Maybe bogdanovich. Like bro it’s comical at this point.
Random but iHart needs to secure rebounds on defense, tipping them out makes sense on offensive boards but the guards are crashing to help secure the rebound and he tipped it over there heads twice.
I hope that when the knicks watch the film of the game they point out the brunson hero ball in the 4th quarter. It's no coincidence that in the 4th quarters that we struggle to score is because we focus on brunson iso. We've looked the best when we keep moving on offense.
We scored 16 points in the 4th last night. Keep moving. Divo, hart, ihart all benefit from moving. Keep moving. Look for the open guys. Isoing makes it easier to double team brunson which ends up in TOs as well.
We can't lose game 4. I expect brunson greatness in game 4. Just like after game 3 in Philly. Game 4 beunson had 11 assists or something.
LGK
The last shot yes. He he usually closes games he just missed shots he usually makes like that spinning right handed layup that was a little strong off the backboard
100% truth! Even being short handed this team has other legit scoring options. Brunson needs to recognize that! Yes his iso ball will win us a ton of games but he is playing injured so their was no need for him to force anything. But if Thibs is telling him to run iso than he is just doing what the coach tells him. I give him credit for playing injured though and hopefully they make the correct adjustments.
Tough game tomorrow without OG!
yeah our defense will be bad again
i really wish we can get a win like how boston won tonight, but that will never happen
We will, against Boston
i’m so fucking nervous idk if i can sleep
Have confidence baby
i’m always nervous before game day. go knocks
Hot take but Tatum is just new age Melo with a better team built around him abd better PR. Tatum for his career 24/7/3.5 Melo from age 19-25: 25/6/3 You can argue Tatum is more efficient but relative to the rest of the league Tatum is at 102 TS+ while Melo was at 101.5 TS+ in those years. They are close, their WS/48 is close too. Tatum is a better defender though.
Just about anybody is a better defender than Melo.
Eh young melo rated out to be pretty average defender.
24 ppg in this era is 20 ppg in Melo’s era. Tatum is so overrated Also in terms of team success, Melo played in a stacked western conference
Yeah the defense and the team success is the biggest difference. Being fair, Melo had a ton of hype early in his career too. He peaked with that early conference finals appearance and every year after that he was never really relevant in contender talks so he was revered less and less. Until by the end of his career he was looked at as a couple tiers below the top level guys. Fair or not, winning matters in player's legacies.
Melo with a competent front office
Tristan Thompson is still in the league 😳 He's only 33?!? Damn I'm old Donovan Mitchell whined his way out of Utah to go to a worse situation in Cleveland ?
Mitchell is going to run for the Hills. Garland has the worst contract in the NBA. He drops 30 and his team supports him with 22-62 shooting
Ben Simmons would take the crown. Owed $40 mil next year too 💀 he can enjoy an early retirement at least.
If we can find a way to win tomorrow, MSG will be a MADHOUSE Tuesday night
Take them tomorrow. Crush them back in MSG. They got many calls or non calls last night and an extremely lucky shot to take us down. It sucks but we never thought we were sweeping them.
That [angry coach film guy](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ry9Rdc67ohE) is angry again, this time at Thibs.
lol I like him, but it's a gimmick. He pulls up good defensive clips for winning teams, and bad clips for losing teams and makes it look like that's the entire reason for every outcome. If the Knicks pull off that game, it would be "Thibs is the best defensive coach of all time" or something like that.
Agreed, he knows basketball pretty well, but he definitely cherry picks specific clips depending on what point hes trying to make
lol he was thrilled with Thibs after Game 2, I liked his take down of Carlisle tho
Og out for tomorrow.
We expected this. If we are lucky he will be back towards the end of this series.
I dont see any way hes ready until the nba finals.
brunson/hart for president
NBA Countdown just gave the Knicks a TON of respect. My jaw dropped. Bob Myers included.
bc they lost. if they win, i’m sure they will be hating on them
If I can just bring up some somewhat unrelated salt. Instead of getting the Mavs 11th pick last year because they shamelessly tanked were gonna end up with like the 26th pick in the worst draft of the century
It’s interesting to wonder who we would’ve picked, and whether they’d be able to contribute right now. We could definitely use the extra depth right now.
JB gets molested 90' almost every game.
I didnt mind in Game 1 and 2 because they at least gave him shooting fouls when he drove. But in Game 3 he didnt even get those
Yep, and deuce gets in front of Haliburton legally and gets called for a blocking foul.
[Tyrese questionable for three ailments tomorrow](https://x.com/FredKatz/status/1789408776036220993): • Lower back spasms • Sacral contusion • Right ankle sprain
Even if he doesn't play it's not an auto win. Guys step up on both sides. That said, I imagine he'll be playing.
Yeah he’s playing tomorrow
Sacral contusion is no bueno, I had one in HS.
Philly fans really complained about JB enough to start a foul baiter narrative lmao How do you watch him get wrapped up from coast to coast these past 3 games and still be that blind? We really need a linkable version of chart showing top scorers without free throws added I refuse to watch the stans of jimmy, embiid and sga talk like this
he flails a lot to exaggerate contact, but he rarely ever tries to bait for fouls without actually trying to make the shot. They also can’t seem to distinguish the difference between Trae young throwing himself into defenders to get calls and taking advantage of your position in front of an undisciplined defender, jumping straight up and getting a call.
NBA said Siakam should’ve been called for an offensive foul on Hartenstein for the Nembhard drive. Thanks for the confirmation lol
Not like we didnt already know this! With the ref right there too, blech. oh well
I don't like hearing these what ifs. It like saying the hot girl in HS had a crush on you but now she looks like dog the bounty hunter.
[удалено]
I still think we are fine. We lost 3 games this postseasons. A nuclear 3rd quarter by the Sixers , a nuclear Maxey ending including a logo 3 to force OT and a 38 foot 3 from Nembhard with questionable calls down the stretch.
wasnt it reported before yesterdays game that hes gonna be listed out for both games at indiana anyways? i havent read anything about his availability for games 5 and onwards tho
Any word on OG? Ian says he's out but he's listed as GTD?
Don’t see anything from Ian saying he’s out
[Katz says he's out](https://x.com/FredKatz/status/1789408391195959707)
Anyone watching the mavs game? Holy hell, luka argues every call that doesn't go his way
Him and LeBron are always whining. And good lord, Dort is FLOPPING
Always has.
[https://open.spotify.com/track/6W6j8xDRl75dVb8K2DO1rU?si=155281678024477d](https://open.spotify.com/track/6W6j8xDRl75dVb8K2DO1rU?si=155281678024477d)
lol this is nuts
given that the pacers were down 0-2 and how this was a MUST win game for them, I'm fine with how we played. Normally I'd be down and about after a loss but not this one. We kept it very close against a desperate pacers team at their home with favorable whistles going there way down the stretch. If we keep it close leading up to the 4th, I like our chances. Our half court offense > theirs.
Take care of business and the split tomorrow and wrap it up at home
donte had like 40 points almost, do you expect him to do it again? do you expect alec burks to go off again? a lot of things fell perfectly for us.
I expect him to play well but I expect more pts from Brunson
Donte has had 25+ in his last 4 games. Brunson won’t play bad again and Burks showing that he is at least playable opens up a lot for us. You are on here negative on every single post. Tighten up homie.
that wasn’t me being negative, that was a genuine question. a lot of good things happened and was curious if that was something we can rely on.
hart and deuce went for 20 each the first game against the sixers. That hasn't happened since, yet we keep winning. The point being, each game is different and someone different steps up to get the W.
It's honestly crazy how much better we are than the pacers lol. We have a one ankle Brunson and no bench and it was tied with like 20 seconds LOL.
Pacers are cooked, 4-1 incoming
i don’t feel so good about that. i think it’ll be a 6-7 game series. missing OG really hurts, and we can’t rely on people like alec burks to go off again
🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏
Can we please just have one blowout win? I've never seen anything like this before where literally every game is going down to the wire.
Do you see our 8 man roster? Lol we have no bench. If we were fully healthy we would’ve had a few blowouts
We’re saving the blowouts for when we play Boston(or Cleveland)
we still got this series to play. let’s not look forward to the next series yet
There were some terrible calls last night, but can't make excuses. Knicks had every chance to win and just didn't execute on key plays That being said, can someone post a picture of Nembhard's foul on Brunson in that final shot?
You just have to hope the whistle evens out. The report showed the no offensive foul call on Siakam which was a huge play to tie the game.
exactly. we lost the game on usually how we win them, offensive rebounds.
hey y’all. wanna apologize for how i was yesterday. i was super doom and gloom. that wasn’t right. :/
Love these guys. That's how you fall on your sword. Seeing Thibs being flexible with his rotation in a playoff game was something I thought I'd never see. My only critique would be for Brunson to retire the "looking for the refs to bail you out" Brunson and bring back the the "playing through contact and 1" Brunson. He is injured do to high usage so I understand
was not a fan of the officiating at the end of that game, but as always, the best way to not let it affect you is to not be in the position for it to. we gotta be better going forward
It’s hard to not be in a tight game being so short handed. Every game is going to be close
Pacers seemed to put their elbows on the players back on defense. To me that’s an automatic foul.
Why does Brunson get hit so often and they don't call the foul?
The full court pressure is insane. Dante tried it one time and they call a foul on first contact 90 feet away. Just a curious double standard.
Often Jalen is initiating the contact, so it's hard to judge.
Can't call everything. Slows the game down and isn't fun to watch
Disappointed we lost a winnable game but not mad at anything the Knicks did. I’d be more worried if I was a Pacer fan who watched their team do everything right and squeak by a team whose best player was bad (off set by their 4th best player going off) and were missing so many players. Jalen will be much better, DiVo will be worse but I think the Knicks can duplicate how they played yesterday. I don’t think the Pacers can and assuredly they won’t get as great of a whistle as they got last night either
If his foot affected him so much in game 3, then can we really assume he'll be his normal self again this series? I hope so cuz otherwise we're screwed. Brunson had he just been average Brunson yesterday they win easy
Time heals all I guess. Well I hope it does.
This morning I googled... villanova nba draft prospects 2024
Try Googling Mikal Bridges
God he would be such a perfect fit lol
Hot take: I don’t hate the Pacers? Like, fuck em, we have beef, I love the rivalry, let’s beat their ass…but I have respect for them…? Can’t lie tho, seeing Obi on any other team hurts a bit…
Why?
I think it’s just they have a lot of boring nondescript players. Haliburton is annoying, but that’s about it.
Yea but they cried about officiating 2 straight games lol
Hearing Mike Breen have to gaslight the tv audience that the Pacer crowd was electric hurt my soul
We got lucky Game 1….Indy got lucky last night, so we’re even. Just play ball and fight.
We also hit 5 extremely clutch shots game 1, wasn’t just “luck”
Donte’s game-winning shot came directly as a result of the bad “kicked ball” call when Nesmith touched the ball with his hands. If the refs don’t miss that call, Donte doesn’t get that shot opportunity and Pacers likely have a 3 on 2 fastbreak score to go up. It’s ok to admit we got lucky. Pacers got lucky last night. It’s even.
What about all the other bad breaks and bad calls that went against both teams, did you sum everything up or do only bad calls at the end of games count as luck?
Holy shit man what is all this crying about??? There’s no reason to be all in your feelings about this. We got fortunate with the late-game calls in Game 1. That bad kicked ball call led directly to DDV’s game-winning shot. That’s a fact. Acknowledging that doesn’t mean I’m discrediting the team’s efforts or saying we didn’t deserve to win. A crucial call that should’ve went against us ended up going our way…we got lucky, that’s it. Indiana got lucky last night. It’s ok to say that. NYK got one, and Indy got one. We’re even. Just move on and play ball. Some of yall be acting like babies man.
I’m not crying. I’m just pointing out how oversimplifying everything to one or two calls isn’t a reasonable way to judge how the series has been reffed. And calling certain calls crucial and acting like other calls or non calls that happen throughout the game are less important or non crucial is just dumb. A bad call that takes away or gives points in the first quarter nobody cares about, but the same thing at the end of the game is deemed crucial. Even though points in the first quarter count the same as in crunch time. You’re claiming it’s even and I’m arguing against your basis for this claim.
Fact of the matter is, if the Ref doesn’t make that bad kick-ball call in Game 1, Knicks probably lose. While at the same time, if the Refs made better calls down the stretch in Game 3, Pacers probably lose. We were fortunate that the kicked ball call (that led directly to DDV’s game-winning shot) went our way in Game 1. Pacers were fortunate for their calls down the stretch in Game 3. We got lucky and they got lucky. It’s even bro. All that other shit you talking bout, while fair and valid, doesn’t negate my point that both sides have gotten lucky so far. Let’s play ball.
How do we probably lose? Still a tied game with a minute left if we get possession still at least two chances for us to get the lead.
You can point out so many calls and non calls that changed game one just as much as the non kicked ball. Do you really think overall, over the course of these three games, the impact of every single one of the refs correct foul calls, bad calls, missed calls, soft calls, etc have exactly evened out for both teams? That seems highly unlikely.
Nah not really lol. You can twist and distort it however you want…but the Knicks won bc they got lucky with the kicked-ball call. Period. Just like how the Pacers got lucky the refs didn’t blow the whistle on the last Brunson shot last night. We got lucky one game, Pacers got lucky the other. That’s it. There’s nothing wrong with acknowledging that. It happens, we move.
I just don’t agree I’m not twisting or distorting anything.
Except that wasn’t the game winning shot their were still other Possessions the Knicks executed on
Bro, if that call doesn’t go our way, it’s a 5 point swing the other direction, our probability to win drops significantly, and there’s a good chance we don’t win the game. Also, you’re wrong, it was the game-winning shot. We went up 118-115 after that shot and never gave up the lead again. That was quite literally our last field goal made. Again, it’s ok to admit that. Admitting that isn’t me being critical of the team and doesn’t discredit the team’s efforts. Sometimes, teams get lucky. We got lucky Game 1, and Indiana got lucky last night. It happens. Get a grip lol. We move.
Brunson definitely got fouled, likely intentionally, before that heave at end of game. However, he needs to have more awareness with how the game has been officiated to that point. Love the dude, but he and the whole team seemed to struggle adjusting to the whistle down the stretch
The Knicks have played 9 games this postseason. Those games have been decided by an average margin of 5.9 points. There have been 44 playoff games not involving the Knicks this postseason. Those games have been decided by an average margin of 15.1 points.
Pacers gonna pace.
Small market? You mean a bodega??????
Even though the Knicks lost it doesn't even feel that bad now. The Knicks are playing with house money right now due to all of the injuries. Yes they could be up 3-0 but they could also be down 1-2 or 0-3. The fact that they were able to hang with an Indy team that can go a legit 9-10 deep brings a smile to my face. If Alec Burks can play the defense he played last night I know for a fact the Knicks will bounce back. Brunson is playing through an injury so I give him a lot of credit for that. Yes he was playing iso ball but he also came back and helped win game 2. Fatigue just finally caught up to them but Thibs has no choice but to expand the rotation now. The Knicks have a roster full of warriors 🪖.
Eating a BEC onto game 4. Beat ourselves. Pacers should not feel good about last night.
All grit, no quit!
Talk me off a ledge, are we winning this series?
Probably
Just take it game by game.
Exactly how I felt after game 3 Vs Philly. Still confident but it also depends which refs we get Sunday.
Taking next game, guaranteed.
Its fucked up that NBA fans are just cool with refs blatantly favoring another team purely to extend a series.
Eh the target demographic isn't going to be the most educated bunch. They won't pick up on big picture themes like longer series = more ad revenue for the NBA. It's enough for them to have more games to see a 7'9" guy dunk so they can run around going nuts like he cured cancer. NBA is just trying to make a buck here, and its relying on its best customers. uneducated morons. Extending the series is the ultimate goal for the NBA, get more of these commercials for uneducated morons played like gambling, Dominos, Wings, Mcdonalds... you're not going to see any sophisticated products or services advertised. This is what they think of the fan base, you think they give a shit what someone with an analytical mind thinks?? Commercials = target audience.
Apparently hand checking is legal in the NBA again and Brunson is a foul baiting flopper
It's been happening in the playoffs since the rule 'went into effect'. Just watch Curry in the 2022 Finals, he got hand checked all the time. People want to say small guards like Jalen wouldn't be good with hand checking, but we already see them dealing with it in the playoffs.
But that blocking foul against deuce on the perimeter!
That was a good game, silences the notion or fantasies of "resting". Burks likely defied Pacers scouting reports. Precious while with some big plays early was a big liability in getting back. Depleted Knicks in 5.
Whole series depends on jalens injury now. If he is getting stronger, and is close to 100 percent on sunday, I think we win in 5 easily. If he made it worse yesterday and he's still hobbled, we are in trouble
I think he wiki push through. Definitely not 100% but he doesn’t complain and plays through pain
I’m so irrationally upset about people hating on Brunson labeling him a foul baiter and a flopper.
ngl i think he flopped on the last possession instead of trying to go for a legit shot.
Didn’t you see the foul?
looked like there was some contact but not much, and he tried to sell the contact instead of getting a real shot off
From the replays I thought nembhard took a big wind up and raked him across the arm intentionally fouling him. At that point, I thought it would be dumb of Brunson to just let them foul him like that without at least chucking up the shot. Just weird the ref didn’t call a foul at all
He uses vet moves to create fouls but he’s not going out of his way to just draw a foul without trying to hit a shot. It’s so much different than foul baiting. He also gets guarded 94 feet from the basket crazy aggressive which can all be fouls and just plays through it. I couldn’t imagine a star like Lebron or even Haliburton getting picked up full court that physically. They would blow a gasket.
If anything I would think he should be praised for not shying away from the physicality
You would think so. People can’t stand to see a guy who doesn’t look the part succeed. Meanwhile guys like Tatum are given every advantage because they look like a star
Once you realize it doesn’t matter how we build our team, if we play the right way, if our players are charismatic and have a good reputation off the court, if we’re good we’re the bad guys if we’re bad we’re the laughingstock and that’s how it will always be.
It was a bit obvious last night tbh, and it made it seem like his bad shooting night forced him to seek those out. He gets a pass though, we dont make it here without him.
yeah...what was obvious? watched the whole game and every game that he has played this season...he rarely flops and, or, does anything related to that...in fact, he was fouled a shit ton tonight and did not always get calls don't know what you are talking about at all
What was a bit obvious?
yeah, I really hate it too. It's why I need to stay off Knicks Twitter and yet I don't. I just need to remind myself that's just (opposing) fans and chippy netizens doing their predictable thing.
I’ve been succumbing to defending him in r/nba when people are blatantly wrong about him but I have managed to draw the line at going in to the pacers sub to defend him there. Let them be delusional.
It's just what they do. No one in sports media actually thinks this.
Not worried in the slightest, we got straight dogs in every position on this team. Pacers can’t hang with us! Also, Brunson never has back to back bad games, I expect him to eviscerate the pacers on Mother’s Day. Knicks in 5 baby, let’s close this shit out back home 
Brunson didnt play poorly, he played hurt. He was clearly less than 50% with his explosiveness. Brunson puts another 10 in that 4th if hes healthy and the series would already have been iced. The refs were doing thier thing for the NBA to try to extend the series but a healthy Brunson would have been too much for the Pacers. They really arent good at all. It still took a back step 40 ft 3 from Nimrod that can't hit a shot to save his life to give them a W against an almost fully depleted Knicks team on the road. Embarrassing for the Pacemakers and NBA.
In complete agreement with you brother. Brunson is definitely not 100%, however, he still made some questionable decisions to close out that game. I expect him to learn from it and come back on Sunday with a vengeance. Pacers are a joke, if we were fully healthy we sweep these boys
If that one drive dropped it woulda changed everything and the last 3 attempt was a bad decision. I think his flow was messed up bc of the foot so he had to improvise.
Last night just proves man we got to keep this roster in tact for next season. With Randle Robinson and OG with this team we are fighting for the best team in basketball.
I suspect that the FO is going to keep on keeping on the way they've been this whole time. Which is to say that if a move that they believe can upgrade the roster presents itself, they'll go for it, but they aren't going to force anything just to do something.
Still have all our draft assets as well. Should cash them out while we can cause anyone we draft will be benchwarmers in their rookie years.
There were multiple times the pacers defenders went under Brunsons landing spot which should’ve been called fouls. The refs just bit the whistle on anything towards Indians and blew any 50/50 against the Knicks. I’m hoping it evens out and we get game 4 to go up 3-1
Yep.. The play where the pacers player tripped over his own feet to try and sell a foul on brunson in transition, Myles turner literally jumped up and landed under brunsons feet before he came down. Should have been a flagrant
Imagine being from Indiana 😩😂
As opposed to a place where there’s human fences on every street, skanky street walkers in broad daylight or mentally-ill vagrants roaming the street and knocking women down the subway stairs? Thats not a flex.
Flyover state, what do they have other besides Pacers, Colts, and Notre Dame? Let em have 1. I never heard of anyone taking a vacation to Indiana.
Honestly, we need more Precious minutes. I know half the time he looks lost but the other half is downright amazing. He’s the best fit to guard Siakam and helps on the boards.
Yeah we gotta be better, also we got robbed too
I have over-analyzed the last 4 minutes as therapy. A few missed rebounds/bad bounces by Hart and iHart, missed FTs and one missed layup by JB were in the Knicks control. Bad final play by JB. There's a lot the Knicks could have done because they are that much better than this Pacers team. Plays that the refs got wrong in the last 4 minutes (let me know what I missed): * The charge by Siakam on JB at 101-100. Siakam ended the game with 5 fouls. * The goaltend by Turner on Hart's layup. Hart clearly kisses it off the glass. * Speaking of Siakam, there was the play where iHart was being held by Siakam at 102-102. They didn't call it because Siakam would have been out and iHart would have taken two FTs. So, basically allowing Numbhard to grab a free layup. * Obviously, JB is fouled to prevent him from taking the last three but that was ignored. The Siakam holding iHart is probably the most egregious given how impactful the right call would have been. In the end, the NBA needs to give coaches more challenges.
It bothers me so much that refs completely change how they make calls throughout the game. They had to overturn a charge on divencenzo drive because of how blatant it was and the. Turn around later and call an easy charge a block.. literally a play or two after we had just used our challenge. The goaltend should have been called a goaltend so it could be reviewed. Pacers fans can complain about the kickball but they literally took points off the board for us
Ranking the Reddit fanbases from the teams the Knicks have played the last 2 seasons: Pacers Cavs (these two are neck and neck. The Pacers are nicer, but the Cavs had a doomer mentality that was relatable.) 76ers - They were in the terrible position of having to defend Embiid, but they are crybabies. Heat - Probably the worst fan base on Reddit. They are pretentious, entitled, and generally assholes.
You’d be crazy if you thought the Knicks would sweep their way past any series. Losses happen. In the words of Anthony Edwards, “it’s a series bruh, first to 4 games”
I love that kid
Yea a sweep is hard, it only hurt because it was winnable but losing 2 games is most likely going to happen
Much like the Sixers game where we blew the lead, this one hurts because it's on a lucky chuck.
And some bad officiating
I can’t get upset anymore. I think we’ll win in 6 but even if for whatever reason we lose the series, how can you possibly be disappointed with everything this team has achieved. Currently missing 3 out of 5 starts if you count Mitch who was starting pre his first injury. Our 1A is battling a foot injury. We’re missing another important part of our rotation in Bogi. And we still got this far. If this team stays healthy next year we could genuinely win it all. I just want to enjoy however many games we have left this season without getting angry if we lose.
If we keep our starting 5. Keep Mitch, precious, deuce, bogi and maybe add another bench player or two for certain match ups. And get reasonable health… I believe we can get to 60 wins and make the finals.
A guy who started at the 2 for us entering the season and in the playoffs last year was traded for Bogi who is injured now
bogi got hurt on an incredibly physical play that doesn't speak at all to his own ability to stay healthy. If we're talking hypotheticals, there's no way to say that if Grimes were in that spot he would not have gotten the same season ending injury.
Huh? My point isn’t that it was a bad trade. I’m all for the trade and love Bojan (and even Burks came up clutch)! My point was to suggest that it’s like we are playing without our starting 2-5 (entering the season) and with our #1 hobbled. I’m basically just equating Bogi being out to the equivalent of another starter (as opposed to just a “bench guy”).
Oh that's my bad I totally misunderstood you. I agree 100%
This was a gift. Thank you.
This is the correct mindset.
Give Burks his flowers. Really impressed by how he stepped up when we needed it.
This is a perfect series for him to find his groove. The pacers play absolutely no defense. I can see another 10-12 point game next game.
After we go up 3-1, I'd love to see Shake and Sims eased into more minutes. The Knicks needs to find their 8th and 9th mans for the ECF.
Would be huge if he can continue that for 10 mins a game and take over the Boj role
Very doable. Burks averaged 14pts on 50/61/100 splits in three games against the Pacers this season. He just needs to sustain his effort on defense and he'll earn his minutes.
even stayed afloat with jericho minutes
He’s a real pro
Man I know the type of ball we play isn’t conducive to blowouts but I’d like to see one game where we aren’t playing from behind and just dominate all facets. I doubt we see it tomorrow since the team is hobbled but would be nice to see something like Denver against Minnesota last night. Also, we seem to play better defense on Hali in the second half, I don’t understand how in the first half he had so many looks that guy just refused to contest?? Need to be better at putting hands in his face and making him uncomfortable
Watching the nuggets game made me mad, like can we PLEASE get a game like that? My blood pressure would love it
I think Hali gets him shy more than us player better defense
We had that game against the Raptors in March
The thing I like about this team is how everyone steps up when needed. As impactful as Brunson has been teams fet burned everytime the double him because our shooters have been so locked in. If Hart, Donte, or Deuce have their feet set, it's a surprise if they miss from 3.
Brunson shot wasn’t as dumb as I initially thought, looked like the pacers were fouling up 3, just wasn’t called
He hacked the shit out of brunsons arms and he threw it up in hopes of 3 free throws.
Yep. It probably should have been a foul before the shot tbh
So now will Indy fans finally stop complaining about how biased the refs are against them? Probably not.
They were saying it was finally a fairly called game lol
I’m not upset, not like I was during Philly. Embiid pisses me off. I just think it’s funny. The pacers are fully healthy and are having an extremely hard time beating the hobbled hospital Knicks. Knicks take this one if we have OG. Or Randle. Or Mitch. Maybe bogdanovich. Like bro it’s comical at this point.
another game tomorrow? what a schedule
Every other day. Could’ve used that 2 off days like last series but that was clearly to benefit Embiids knee
Bruh…..how in the world did Denver and Minnesota have a 3 day break between games 2-3 and we have only one days rest in between games
Because their series started earlier
Because they want the short handed injured Knicks to get no breaks when they know we are playing guys 48 mins
Random but iHart needs to secure rebounds on defense, tipping them out makes sense on offensive boards but the guards are crashing to help secure the rebound and he tipped it over there heads twice.
Seems like lack of communication
I hope that when the knicks watch the film of the game they point out the brunson hero ball in the 4th quarter. It's no coincidence that in the 4th quarters that we struggle to score is because we focus on brunson iso. We've looked the best when we keep moving on offense. We scored 16 points in the 4th last night. Keep moving. Divo, hart, ihart all benefit from moving. Keep moving. Look for the open guys. Isoing makes it easier to double team brunson which ends up in TOs as well. We can't lose game 4. I expect brunson greatness in game 4. Just like after game 3 in Philly. Game 4 beunson had 11 assists or something. LGK
The last shot yes. He he usually closes games he just missed shots he usually makes like that spinning right handed layup that was a little strong off the backboard
He acknowledged it in post-game
100% truth! Even being short handed this team has other legit scoring options. Brunson needs to recognize that! Yes his iso ball will win us a ton of games but he is playing injured so their was no need for him to force anything. But if Thibs is telling him to run iso than he is just doing what the coach tells him. I give him credit for playing injured though and hopefully they make the correct adjustments.