I mean, this is the rub, right? If the Knicks win tonight, the series isn’t officially over, but, well, come on, the series is effectively over. No NBA team has ever come back from a 3-0 deficit in a best of seven series (I don’t think anyone’s come back from a 3-0 deficit in a nine-game series, or whatever weird formats baseball used to play in its early days). It’s only happened once in baseball, and I think twice in hockey.
So yeah, tonight is huge. As Pat Riley always used to say, a series doesn’t really begin until the home team loses a game (so if the home team wins all of its home games, and wins the series in seven games, does Riley think that the series didn’t actually start yet?), and, well, it would be great if the series really began tonight.
The Knicks have ripped the heart out of the Sixers in the first two games, and the Sixers aren’t a team with a lot of heart to begin with, so that’s pretty notable. Here’s hoping that the Knicks don’t even bother with the heart-ripping tonight, and just destroy them.
Let’s go, Knicks!
390 replies on “2024 Playoff Thread: Knicks vs Sixers, Game 3, Playoff Road Opener, which is actually an important thing”
Update:
According to Thibs, Mitch shoud be good to go.
The 76ers have their backs against the wall, are we ready for a fight?
Let’s Go Knicks!
Brian, you’re running too fast, it’s Game-3 š
Okay, Brian, but what do you think about the Josh Hart trade???
Iād say upon recount itās 43 percent knicks 42 percent sixers 15 percent Nova and 1 guy in a nuggets jersey š¤·š¾āāļø
You’re making us proud BJ!
WE ARE NEW YORK! WE ARE LEGION!!! Our rallying cry is KNICKS IN 4! WE WILL NOT BE SILENCED!!!!
While I am (very cautiously) optimistic about our chances to win the series as a team, I am deeply concerned and disappointed on Brunson.
Going into the playoffs, I really thought he had the kind of resilient scoring game that true superstars have, where they can never be truly shut down, only slowed. I was dead wrong.
Philly turned him into a complete offensive liability using nothing more than a couple of extremely ordinary wings and an small guard who is so old that itās shocking heās still playable in the league. I honestly donāt know how we stop other teams from replicating that now that the world has seen it on a big stage, because any future opponent will have the personnel to do it and hours of film on it working to perfection.
I think Brunson is just too small and too slow to be that kind of scorer. I thought the craftiness and the footwork and the IQ and the moves were good enough to weather any defense, and they probably would be if he was 6ā6ā³, but as it is I donāt think he can ever be the best player on a championship team. I love his game. Heās as smart a player as there is in the league and IMO heās deserving of 1st Team All-NBA based on his RS play this year.
However, heās just a tier below the level of true superstar scorers like Luka, Embiid, Giannis, Jokic, or SGA. Given his pedigree and price, thereās no shame in that whatsoever.
Moreover, Iāve seen enough at this point to conclude that Maxey is the better player and asset ā his RS numbers werenāt far off Brunsonās, he has plenty of upside left at 23, and he has dominated the matchup on both ends so badly that Iāve never seen the like in 30 years. Frankly, Iām not so sure Brunson would have carried the gang of corpses that are Phillyās role players any better in Embiidās absence.
If we are going to become real contenders during Brunsonās prime, I think we now know that we do need that real 1A, a player better than both him and Randle, to anchor our offense.
Not my point at all.
Like I said, he’s a very good player and a great value on his current contract. Any team where he is the 2nd best player is likely a true contender. We should do whatever we can to acquire a guy that makes him the 2nd best player. Our collective notion that he’s gotten so good that we don’t need to do that anymore was clearly mistaken.
Against all odds and sods and bball gods…
Let’s Fkn Do This!
Okay Pags, since you moved your post, I’m moving mine in response:
There are so many story lines in this game that Iām utterly unable to wrap my head around a prediction for what will happen. In no particular order:
Is Joel okay?
Will Good Brunson show up?
Is Mitch okay?
Will Maxey supernova?
Whereās OG (offensively)?
Will Josh make four more threes?
iHart foul trouble?
The answer to any of these could turn the game. Iāll be there, but in fear and nausea. (Although I do expect a Knicks victoryā¦)
Edit: And Pags, that was borderline negativeā¦ we havenāt even played Game 3 yetā¦ suck it upā¦ you promised…
Hey! I said I expect us to win the series! This is Knickerblogger, not Brunsonblogger!
Legit no idea how I made that error. I obviously just cut and paste the previous thread name to start, and that said 2, so why would I change it to a 4? Very weird. Fixed now in any event!
He’s trying, but he cannot help himself…
Yes Pags, you did promise that if the Knicks won the first two games, you would only be only positive for the next two.
Josh Hart only guy out here early taking 3s. Like Thibs said, you put in the work, not surprising when the big shot dropsā¦
Also the DJ here knows whatās up heās playing way too much Biggie to think Philly has a pulse
Now I know what Trump feels like under all these gag orders!
As I said, I think we’ll win the series on the strength of our depth, teamwork, toughness, and the Sixers being a bunch of whiny bitches that are less than the sum of their talent.
I only hope I’ve put enough of a reverse jinx on Brunson that he throws up a 40-point masterclass like he was doing every other game in the late RS!
Way too early for that conclusion, though I do agree that our faith in JB as a tentpole should be at least temporarily slightly shaken.
But it’s only been two games. Way too early.
Embiid out here now bricking it up
Bang bang!
BJ! Thanks for the boots on the ground report!
Wonder how Silver feels tonight he has his playoffs going on and The NFL just swoops in and will take all the coverage until Saturday night
Ok Raven & Pags, since you both moved your posts Iāll also move mine.
The reason the Josh Hart trade isnātā¦.
Ah Iām just fooling. Go Knicks!
Yikes. I can’t even make myself watch an actual football game, let alone a draft with a million rounds in a sport where no one player really moves the needle.
Steph Curry won the Clutch Player Of The Year award,
the Little General finished 5th, with two 1st place votes.
Pags if you are able to reverse jinx Brunson into gear despite muzzling your powers with a positivity mandate, you will forever earn a place of honor amongst this blogs commentariat.
Shootaround now literally every shot was falling for knicks
Shaq and team sounds like Knickerblogger from earlier today. Flap-flap.
I canāt watch until later. I will watch a recording hopefully without seeing the score in advance. Go Knicks!!!
How does Brunson look? I was surprised at game 2 shootaround footage that showed him missing but the allegedly sick Maxey swishing everything…
So they’re relitigating Josh Hart trade for the 15th time?
Brunson started to tighten up heās been stretching his hips for a while
JB Draining foul shots now
Jalen 3/3 movin from the corner to the elbow šš¾
Donāt use up all the magic.
Bogey and deuce also looking good from 3
Donte a bit long from corner
Brunson bounce back prediction tonight:
13-23 37 points 8 assist 2 turnovers
Are you from overseas? I know many who don’t care for it outside the U.S.A..
First quarter lead? We’re doomed
I suppose the good news is that iHart only has one foul on their first three possessions.
catch and shoot 3 for JB
Not bad so far
I know Oubre sucks but you still have to at least try to pretend to cover him.
Nope, born & raised in Brooklyn. I’ve always been a one-sport guy ever since NBA Jam hit the arcades in 1993.
Fuck. Kyle. Lowry.
Little prick lowry…goon
At least Knicks up 2-0 seem to care about winning Game 3 unlike Cleveland in Orlando.
Brunsonās misses have nothing to do with Phillyās defense theyāre all pretty open looks.
Deserved flagrant 1, that was a clear smack to the head
Yeah, going for the head, not the ball. Pretty clear to me. Doesn’t matter what kind of windup you have.
Are we playing the Sixers or the Flyers?
Fuck Embiid.
Well, the refs aren’t clearly in Philly’s pocket. Yet.
I actually canāt stand this Philadelphia team. Theyāre so fake-tough
Swim move my ass. If you swim by driving your knee into someone’s groin.
Are they really trying to intimidate us with these fouls?
LOL
Kicked him in the nuts
The replay in the stadium conveniently cut off right above Embiids knee lol
What’s the point of flagrant 1 flagrant 2
If something is flagrant it’s deliberate, you either aim to stop the play by a deliberate means or not.
Tldr; get lowry out of there before he damages the players and us on the scoreboard
Embiid is a loser.
Thatās at least flagarant 1 foul.
Hart was thrown out for less not long ago.
And Philly complains. Itās insane. This should have been a flagrant.
This Philly team is just garbage.
That was a truly dirty play by Embiid.
OGGG
Philly pre-emptively getting their “refs hate us” rhetoric ready for the loss
Does OG have extend-o arms???
Lowry is really being a dick
Another flagrant if thereās any justice
What a fucking loserā¦
Embiid an self- entitled punk. Broad Street Bully Bullshit
Embiid is out of control. Jesus.
Embiid is a fucking punk
Embiid fouling Mitch from the floor?!
That is THROW HIM OUT!
Jesus fucking Christ! Toss the motherfucker
dirty fucking play
I think they may have to throw Embiid out. Grabbing both legs and taking him down???
God I wish Embiid would have to go up against Ewing, Oak and Mase.
any player does that to embiid he gets ejected
That’s obviously a 2 and they just didn’t have the balls
They totally didnāt have the balls. Ridiculous.
Wow. I donāt know how thatās not a flagarant 2 on Embiid. Incredibly dangerous play on Robinsonās legs
On the other hand, only three more threes from Hart and we win…
this is wild
That shouldāve been an ejection
Looking forward to Thibs mentioning the 46 minute review tonight
Any other player gets tossed. Officials are just afraid of what the overlords would say.
there is no guard in nba worse at bringing the ball up than divo
How many times is Embiid going to hurt out guys before getting tossed.
He should at least have gotten a tech for flopping (never mind the flagrant 2)
Maybe I’m just being vigilant after the flagrant but didn’t like that play either!
I think I prefer Precious right now than Mitch.
DDV dumb turnover, Mitch butter hands, missed opportunities that keep them closeā¦
Now Embiid hobbled Mitch. What a punk.
get ready for the precious game
Mitch pisses Embiid off. I prefer Mitch.
Mitch is clearly hobbled…gotta go to Precious. Embiid decided he’s gotta take someone down with him.
This is NFL playoff basketball!
Deuce has no chance covering Maxey.
I think Ebiid hurt his knee when he pulled Mitch down on his knew on what have should have been a flagrant-2.
Embiid’s melting down.
Here i am! Let’s win this! š
The guy who will comand 35 plus million a year should be the answer, but he can’t guard him
After watching Embiid closely for 2 Ā¼ games, he might be right up there with Kyrie for biggest douche in the NBA and Grayson Allen for dirtiest.
Bogie time.
They’re giving us their best shot and we’re taking it like champs.
Keep our cool boys
Hield has been beyond trash for them.
Put Precious in there and tell him to play as physical as humanly possible against Embiidās punk ass. It doesnāt even matter if Precious is productive. Just get in there and fuck shit up
Mitch cant jump. Got to replace him
I’ll just say that this first quarter was totally bizarre, but a hell of a lot better than being down 10+ as per usual.
Cyber cyber
we seem to have forgotten how to inbound the ball in the last few weeks.
Best 1 quarter for the Knicks this playoffs. We’re just warming up.
Amazing composure from the Knicks given all the BS from Philly.
“Mitch cant jump. Got to replace him”
He can’t jump, but he’s got 4 rebounds in 6 minutes. Can’t teach tall.
Mitch is not 100% but he is still a force. As long as he doesnāt re-injure himself.
Not for nothing iHart was hot on offense right out of the box. Letās have more of that when he returns.
PS ā at the half letās have Shaq and Charles break down Embiidās BS foul
Mitch is a big strong body. You can’t teach that shit.
Sacrifice Sims to poke embiid in his good eye
Just joking. Or…
Last few weeks!? We’ve been a disaster inbounding the ball all season long.
We have to get this game just because the crying will be lovely to read about.
Better start than games 1 and 2.
Bogey attack!
Bogey
Jalen had Hart wide open in the corner there
Cam Payne always shoot that funny?
Knicks defense has been garbage so far tonight.
Yes š
I was about to praise Brunson then he takes back to back stupid shots.
Sometimes OGās hands remind me of Nerlens Noel.
Man. Mitch is totally gimping around, but if that foul sticks on Embiid. Amazing.
The Cam Payne game. God damn.
Joel has lost his fucking mind
Embiid is not mentally toughā¦
they better not win this challenge
If Nick Nurse loses the challenge he should have to surrender all the chains he wears as a 56 year old man
They’re going to win the challenge.
This is a really hard game to watch.
Can’t we just win by 20 please?
Itās a clear offensive foul, no?
How come ācontain Cam Payneā wasnāt one of Alan and Wallyās keys to the game?
LOL
Mitch wasn’t set from what I saw.
Mitch deserves a Purple Heart.
This times 1000. I really donāt wanna hear, āthey came into our house and we had to rough them upā under clips of Divo getting bloodied and Mitch being dragged to the floor.
So far….so good!
Embiid is such a little bitch, any other player gets ejected for the shit he’s pulled tonight
Patriots take Maye, will the Giants trade up for Mccarthy now..
Woooooo!!!
Embiid canāt rebound, itās hilarious.
Would love to have Randle in a game this physical.
Man the Cavs are getting wrecked
Cavs have reached 100 points once in the last 7 playoff games they’ve played
Payne a little over enthusiastic out there, settle down dude
Bogey blocked ONE shot this season don’t you dare deprive him
More replays in this game than in the NFL.
I hope we can integrate Randle into this offense next year. He could be phenomenal with a buy in to this type of game we’re playing.
Look at Bogey with the block.
The Bogey Block is good!
OG!
I was going to say where’s the offense going to come from with this lineup, and OG tells me to shut up.
Two challenges and both our way. I’m not used to this. š
Think Mitch and Embiid might have bumped knees there.
Nevermind. Got him in the nuts. Lol
Embiid shoves off every god damn time
Kinda think Embiid practices hitting opponents in the nuts.
The whistles this loser gets are unbelievableā¦
Precious in
Excellent job by Precious on that one
Mccarthy will be available for the Giants at 6 after all lol
Embiid to kick precious in the nuts in 5.4.3.2….
Knicks are playing well but not shooting enough 3s.
Letās hope we benefit from playing Precious a lot during the season. I even think he should go at Embiid a couple times, even if we donāt get the bucket. Get Joel another foul or two.
The Flying Donte!
Malik Nabers, well hello Daniel Jones..
The Letās Go Knicks Chants are honestly getting pretty aggressive
Hell of a first half! Are you not entertained!?
Helluva ending to the half by DDV after his airball.
Divo en fuego! And knows no buzzer! Hahahahaha
This is a fun game and I like the way it’s going.
Knicks up at the half and the Giants made a great pick. Life is good.
All props to Precious for making an immediate impact after sitting for 2 games
That Big Ragu flying dunk was awesome, but I’ll be damned how Hart got that pass in.
I’m exhausted.
Nova home court š
Excellent half. The Embiid foul marathon and a random Cameron Payne outburst is keeping Philly in it but we are playing well.
Brunson has some life as well.
So far, so good. Too bad the heave didn’t count.
This
This is the first time I have felt like they were lucky to be keeping it close
Embiid played 21 minutes that half. Philly is truly desperate.
FT line only thing keeping Philly in the game.
I wonder if the Jets get their pick in before the start of the 3rd…
My cat got sick and I am now in the pet hospital emergency room and trying to politely tell the nurse I want to watch the knick game on my phone and stop talking to me…
DiVincenzo passed his heat check with no problem there at the end of the half.
We are the better team
I like our chances tonight
Pretty rare for Brunson to have zero FTs in a half
My cat died yesterday peacefully in her sleep in one of her favorite spots. She was 17 ā¤ļø
I donāt know why I always flip to TNT at halftime to hear those guys say absolutely nothing insightful
Just Charles bitching about the fans being more Knicks.
Weāre being pretty disrespectful out here in Knickadelphia, people were yelling Embiiitch and the Boos during their free throws seemed to have an effect at times.
Cavs down 40 to Orlando.
always good when the 4-5 matchup is a 40 pointer… great viewing… those Cavs really have that killer instinct
ugh crappy start to half
Man the Bears are going to be filthy if Caleb is the real deal
Awful fucking start to the 3rd quarter.
Maxey is the most fun to watch on their squad and he also seems like the only high character guy.
OG has a lot of trouble hanging onto the ball.
Its out of the national TV spotlight, they don’t even talk about this series on the TV shows
You’re at the arena, BJ?
Cam Embiid miss one god damn jumper?
Knicks are losing their composure.
Too much bitching at the refs. Like we haven’t seen this story before.
Brunson is shaky…
Sorry to hear, Bidiong. 17 is a lot in human years, right? I have 3 cats, and they’re family.
What a surprise they have 2x our FTA
Well, not a great start to the 2nd half. š
Other than the flagrants, the Knicks have 3 ftas
I guess the NBA doesn’t want this series to end too soon. Somehow they have been physical enough to get multiple flagrants but like no other foul calls ever
Seems influenced. NBA looking for a longer series $
Jets fan wearing a Knicks hat in the crowd at the draft lol
Wasnāt Embiidās foot clearly on the line??
Jets get Rodgers protection the mocks were wrong!
I hate this game so much.
Josh has hesitated three times on open threes. That’s the game…
This is such awful defense by the Knicks.
Two more threes from Hart and we win…
What is the deal with this team and the third quarter?
For the rest of the game? Just 2 more?
One more to go!!!!!
We took a hard punch but didn’t give in, Embiid can’t hit every 3…right?
Weāre the toughest team in the NBA
Love that we kept our composure under the hailstorm of threesā¦
They have to take a point away from Philly. Embiid had his foot on the line for that first 3.
Hard to play good defense when they turn off fouls for the other team. Embiitch shoots nothing but jump shots and gets more FTA than our entire team, but manages to stay in the game after a flagrant that would have gotten Draymond Green suspended for a fucking week
Feels like Embiid hasnāt missed a shot since the first quarter
Hanging in there. Cāmon, now.
They need to get in Embiid’s face m he’s getting tired that’s why he’s just shooting. Make him work more.
Yes…
The fix is in boys. There are so many calls going Phillyās way. Like Lowry so obviously traveled at this timeout and it wasnāt called
Ron Howard voice: He could
i hate the betting sites so far aheadd.. its 90-80
This might be the worst playoffs defensive performance by a Knicks team in my lifetime.
Did you bet
76ers playing an NBA Jam game
how
Knicks are straight up getting punked right now.
no i didnt bet tonight… but… i am always tempted to bet live… so i watch the game but also i already know… its gotta be a minute ahead at least
Turning this one off. I regret any positive sentiment I may have expressed. If we lose game 4 I think we lose ther
is it unsportsmanlike if im pouring out a libation to mighty zeus to smite embiids knees with his celestial fulminations
What a dumb quarter. Philly didnāt even play well.
Thatās why we need to go up by 20.
And, yes, make Embiid work. It will pay off later. If not tonight, next game.
Donāt give in. That was their best punch.
just need to work this final quarter in pieces… win every 3 minutes…
Helluva quarter by Embiid.
How come the NBA can take a record-tying 3 away from Donte without a challenge 5 minutes after he hits one but they canāt do it here? Make it make sense.
That was ridiculous. Awful shot attempts by Philly that ALL went in. They were literally chucking them up.
So M rob is back on the sidelines again
Was it embiid..
9-12 from 3, I mean what can you do
43-points quarter, 17-22 shooting 9-12 3FG.
If somehow weāll be able to win this game theyāre gonna forfeit Game-4ā¦
Looks like Pags and his negativity won’t be around for the comeback.
4th quarter comeback incoming.
Iād like to tear their heart out one more time please
The NBA is like WWE
Knicks played pretty well that quarter Philly just didn’t miss
Thatās a bit extreme. If Embiid is gonna hit pull up 3ās from 27 feet not a lot you can do
Iād love to see OG on Embiid a little bit. Especially if heās just gonna camp out beyond the arc.
Need a Bojan explosion
Yeah sorry not buying bad luck that quarter, majority of the 3s were wide fucking open.
We’ve had some terrible misses from 3.
We canāt do this, we just canātā¦. š¤¦š»āāļø
Like OG’s arms, I think Precious’s entire body is an extend-o. He goes from being an undersized power forward to a 7’10” terror on dunks and blocks. I don’t get it.
Comebacks are hard when the league sets custom rules for the opposing star, Raven. It’s illegal to contest his shots so he gets the highest FTA rate in the goddam league just chucking set shots from the perimeter
Bojan just exploded. Thibs’ head.
They gonna call a single reach in foul on Batum?
Just wanted to say to the Brunson can’t play against this team crowd
He is having a hell of a game
12-21 30 points and 10 dimes
This call is unbelievable
How can you defend against Embiid? Itās a fucking joke
I should have broadened the scope of my reverse jinx today. My honor would have been a small price to pay to win this one
I would’ve challenged that
UGHHHHHHHHH
Incredibly dumb foul theater there
You canāt be more of a dick than Joel Embiid
Thatās just a gift.
Embiitch going for 50 when he should have been ejected Q1
What a bullshit call.
Horseshit
i dont put much stock in the fix is in type thinking but i can’t think of anything the refs would have done differently this game if they were trying to tip the scales
god we keep letting them take 3s
you can’t touch embiid without him getting a foul, how do you keep him from shooting threes? real morton’s fork
we’re still breathing but barely
Hart got his fourth, but too late?
Sometimes you get got with an insane shooting performance. Not sure how much I’d takeaway from this. Glad we got Brunson going.
Well, it’s hard to win a game where Embiid looks like Steph from 3P land
Joel Curry in the house.
Nurse saw the Heat’s shoot 50% from 3 gameplan and said let’s try that
Stop rooting for the Sixers out loud, Donnie
i don’t think this portends much re:the series in general, not much you can do when embiid is hitting everything and refs are indulging him. i still think we take the series in 6
They literally can’t guard Embiid. They guard him it’s a foul, they don’t guard him he gets to shoot open 3s.
Somehow the Heat’s “play zone and let them shoot all the threes they want” gameplan also works to perfection every time
Thatās pretty much it. Win game 4.
Embiid shouldnāt be in the game right now after the shit he pulled in the 1st quarter.
All Philly is doing is chucking up 3s and making them. And the refs are swallowing the whistle for Knicks drivers and calling everything for Philly. I knew this was coming because the NBA wants this to be a long series but my god
Kaminari, the refs are ALWAYS indulging him and he is always hitting everything. Our only hope was his health but he is allowed to injure our players too so he will probably outlast Mitch
Yeah, not many of us predicted we would sweep, right? I thought this was def the game we would lose, so the important points were to get Jalen some confidence and keep Mitch healthy. Looks like we are gonna get one out of two, but Precious is looking like he brought his game to Philly, so ā¦
And now Thibs has a replay to complain about (or 2 or 3 or 4).
I got a pile of cheesesteaks on my plate and smoothie from the wawa to wash it down.
OG!!!
Lol more FT it just never ends. Why do i watch this league
We’re still gonna win this
Doubt we can pull it off but we ain’t gonna quit
The sad thing (okay, one of many) is that if it had been Oubre who took down Mitch, he might be suspended for the next game.
How is nurse bitching about touch fouls now? Insane
Eight points. We scored that many in 40 seconds last game.
OG needs to get to top of key there.
Blew a real chance
We needed that 3 by DDV.
Anyone see Minority Report? When Embiid drives refs see fouls before they happen.
Didn’t have room for unforced errors and we made a few there.
Nurse never stops bitching because it works. If they have 2x our fta he will keep bitching until it’s 3x
every minute we make embiid play is worth it even if we lose, there will be no rest for the wicked this series
In soccer, teams will often resort to the ādark artsā when they know theyāre overmatched. Diving, shoves, dirty fouls when the ref isnāt looking. Lowry is a master of itā¦ as is this Philly team.
Mitch getting hurt was a major problem for us tonight.
Their free throw advantage is normal. The refs arenāt killing us. They are just making shots.
We need a 6-0 run.
oh jalen… he’s played better tonight but he’s still pressing
Brunson with two bloody turnovers at the most inappropriate momentā¦
I hate this Philly team so much…I would root for Boston if they meet up
THAT WAS A HIP CHECK
Embiid slowed down and delivered a dirty hip check. That should have been offensive foul and two FTs
Embiid giving the challenge sign on Knicks fouls is fucking annoying as hell
Embiid is a piece of shit but he straight up toyed with the Knicks tonight.
embiid has more free throw attempts than our entire team
come on, at least give Hart some FTs for getting clubbed
He should have been ejected he’s a piece of shit
Nice of the league to schedule this series specifically to maximize Embiitch’s rest for his home games. They treat him like our legal system treats Trump
genuinely disgusting how much embiid gets babied but thats showbiz for ya
Saw that, too. Official review ā¦.
Very curious how Philly Twitter/blogs explain the pull down of Mitch.
if Adam Silver had half the stones of Yoshii Toranaga he would order Nick Nurse and Embiid to commit seppuku and end their bloodlines for their shameful conduct
Crying about Embiid not getting ejected is just as weak as 76ers fans crying about the refs after Game 2.
Embiid straight up dominated the game and shitted all over the Knicks tonight. Game 4 Knicks better respond by actually playing some fucking defense, not worry about the refs and just win the damn game by any means necessary.
Is it wrong to want to break Nick Nurse’s glasses with my forehead?
My god, he IS wearing a load of bling around his neck! Nice catch (Dred?).
Embiid attempted a dragon screw leg whip on Mitch but he also had a hot shooting night from 3, so who’s to say?
fuck off
I mean Embiid is a FT merchant, he’s good at drawing fouls, and he was a brilliant 3 point shooter. He also grabbed mitch’s leg while he was in the air and tried to pull him down and should have been ejected for that.
This was horrible. Huge momentum for Philly now that they know it’s 8 on 5. Embiitch literally tried to hurt Mitch and got rewarded for 48 minutes. He looks 100% to me
Promises or not, I can’t lie to myself. We lose in 6 if it’s gonna be this way.
Agreed. Not whinging about the refs as much as curious to see whether folks think that Mitch play was called correctly.
Obvs we played terrible defense and their star ā¦ starred. Again, this one was the risky game for us IMO.
Glad Brunson got on track. Build on it.
Some of you didn’t think Embiid was worth trading for
Iām sorry, Embiid toyed with the Knicks? He made several set shot threes that were not good shots but happen to go in. He stumbled down the lane and when the Knicks breathed on him, got calls from refs. I wasnāt impressed at all.
They shot 50% from 3, had 15 more FT attempts, and were lucky Embiid wasnāt ejected in the first quarter. Iām not worried at all. Get ready for Sunday
Philly is a dangerous team, Embiid is awesome. idk why you would defend Embiid injuring one of our players though
We can talk about playing better defense but when the biggest guy in the court gets a foul called on the other team when he’s not fouled it’s kind of hard to play defense.
Philly’s ref grievance worked tonight, but they can’t go to that well 3 more times. On to the next one.
Honestly the Knicks should have lost by a lot more the way this game went. I haven’t lost confidence in them at all.
This.
And check Brunsonās line. Thatās our guy.
Only regret is that we should have rested Mitch tonight to set him up for the rest of the series. If Mitch is strong, I think we crush them. If he canāt go, itās pickāem.
– Only Hubie predicted a sweep, sooner or later we were due to lose a game, no need to panic yet.
– Time to unleash Pagliacci. We need you Pags, use your damned superpowers!
I’m not defending Embiid, after the play I called him a bitch and he is. Have no respect for him at all. But that play happened in the 1st quarter, Knicks had a 3pt lead at halftime then Embiid came out and singlehandedly won the game in the 2nd half while the Knicks spent most of the 2nd half whining to the refs and allowing a ton of open 3s.
They were hot from 3P (48.4%) but we were not that far (43.3%). I think the FTs decided the game, it’s 33 for Philly and just 19 to the Knicks. 14 more FTs in an 11 pt game. End of story, on to the next.
I donāt think the league conspires to control the outcomes of games, but, obviously, if Joel Embiid gets ejected from a playoff game early in the 1st quarter, millions of televisions will literally turn off. Nobody outside of the tristate area is interested in seeing Paul Reed and Precious Achiuwa go mono a mono for 45 minutes to decide the future.
Thatās said, he should have been ejected. Grabbing a guys leg from the floor is what flagrant 2 was made to prevent.
Like I said earlier, if a 7ā2ā 260 lb dude is gonna hit pull up 3ās from 3 feet behind the line we might as well not show up for game 4.
Reversion to the mean baby, hope he keeps firing away next game.
Pretty much. The NBA is not ejecting Embiid in the 1st quarter if it means Philly goes down 3-0, not unless he sucker punches someone.
The fact that Joel injured one of our best options for defending him probably had something to do with his great second half.
He kneed iHart in the dick, tried to pull Mitch down out of the air and then dove on Mitch’s legs in like 4 minute span, he was fucking out of control and he hurt one of our guys. iHart couldn’t play aggressive D on him the rest of the game because he was in foul trouble and our backup center was in the locker room.
I blame Hubert
Expecting Embiid to be ejected is like expecting the touch foul on Maxey. It’s not gonna happen.
I thought this was actually a very good performance by the Knicks tonight. A lot of really good teams would have lost this game by 20+. The Sixers (and Embiid, in particular) just made a lot of shots.
If Thibs doesn’t go fucking NUCLEAR on the refs tonight we have lost this series
Looking at replays on the foul on Mitchā¦ Mitch couldāve seriously got hurt and it probably weaken his ankles to the point that he eventually did get hurt. That whole first quarter from Embiid was reckless and weāre lucky at least Hartenstein is alive for another day.
Tough game. We knew Philly was going to get the best of the whistle tonight, but if the 18th best 3 ball shooting team doesn’t hit an outrageous 8-10 in the third even the Embiid procession to the ft line wouldn’t have saved them tonight. Embiid is a great player but that bitch assed move yanking on MR’s leg will be paid back by karma
+1
The good news is that as well as Embiid played, he’s not going to play that well consistently.
The good news is that Brunson is back.
The bad news is that Mitch is probably going to be out and he’s a better physical matchup for Embiid than anyone else we can put out there.
The bad new is that we played really well overall but still lost.
Thibs was pretty pissed after the game, Knicks are fucking winning Game 4.
Honestly the filthy hip check Embiid gave someone (I couldn’t see who) in the final minutes was one of the most aggravating things I saw tonight other than the Mitch thing. I don’t know how many people saw it, but it was like 10 feet behind the play. Whoever inbounded the ball was walking up the court, and Joel just stopped and leveled him from in front. Totally dirty.
Yeah it was OG who Embiid hip checked.
The NBA could still upgrade it and suspend him for game 4. I’m obviously not going to hold my breath but flagrant 2 is trending on Twitter and there are barely any Embiid defenders.
About what in particular?
And honestly, because of Nick Nurse’s douche reaction of “I didn’t see it.” I hope karma bites them right in the ass for the total douchebaggery they’re displaying.
Just in general. Mostly short, terse answers from Thibs. When asked about Embiid’s flagrant he said which one, the one they called or the one they didn’t call. Also said when he sends in highlights to NBA tonight about missed foul calls on Brunson the NBA will just say marginal contact while Embiid takes 21 FTs.
I’m all in favor of allowing more physical play in the playoffs, but Embiid was dirty to the point one could argue he was trying to hurt someone. If that’s the case, he’s vermin.
Iām Donnie Sixers Fan, and I say it should have been a 2.
But Iām hoping the league lets it stay a 1, because I like entertainment more than justice.
One other positive. Precious came to play.
Also, searching Embiid flagrant returns a few other gems. This guy.
That 43-27 beating in the third quarter was hard to overcome. The Sixers got into a rhythm and 3s were falling from all directions. The Knicks didnāt adjust early enough ā the should have upped the intensity and made it tougher for Philly; they should have bodied up Embiid away from the basket and made him put the ball on the floor or double him at stretches.
I do believe, however, that the big factor in this game was the effect that Phillyās two-day whining had on officiating. Officiating was poor for both teams but the most critical errors went by far against the Knicks. No question Embiid should have been ejected in the first half. Not many players would have stayed in the game having done what he did. Would Draymond Green stay in the game? In my decades and decades of watching basketball, I have never seen nor heard of a player getting better treatment by the refs than Joel Embiid on both offense and defense. This is just disturbing and I don’t care whether or not he is a good player.
Thibs was very smart at the press conference. His innuendos talked volumes. The Knicks have to be ready. It’s only going to get tougher from now on.
Noice.
Mitch left the arena in a walking boot.
I don’t think they’ll suspend Joel because that could end the series in 5 games.
I hope I’m wrong, but that seems like the way they do things.
I blame Ebmiid’s dirty plays for this particular injury, but the truth is that Mitch cannot stay healthy. I won’t be surprised if he is out for the series, for the rest of the season, or if he is traded this summer.
Embiid dirty play comp. Criminal
He literally grabbed Mitchs leg..dangerous play . The Knicks should’ve kept Taj to bring him in to punch Embiid in the face
He will not have much trade value, why would teams take him on if he is always in street clothes..
Where’s Charles Oakley when you need him?
‘weāre lucky at least Hartenstein is alive for another day’
Yeah, but he may never have children now, no matter how attractive his spouse is.
Joel Embiid played a dirty, dirty game. I also saw OG fly out of the picture on that hip check. I give him props for his actual basketball prowess — he shot the fuck out of the ball and honestly has been doing that (and drawing endless fouls) for some years now.
But he’s the Queen Bitch.
Quotes from the Associated Press’ recap:
“Embiid mostly kept his cool and was in the mix on both ends of the court all game.”
“Embiid had 17 points, three fouls and he even grabbed Mitchell Robinson and dragged him to the court in a first half where they again weren’t good enough to look like a team that could beat the Knicks.”
“Game 3 was played without any significant disputes with the officiating after the NBA said the referees missed several late calls in Game 2.”
Embiid is trash
Knicks in 6 or probably 7
Hubie, that probably makes me angrier than watching Embiid drag Mitch to the floor.
Yeah, that’s right.
Has anyone watching this series actually been convinced that we should tear this team apart & go all in with Joel?
The Suns look good with Beal,Booker and KD
Those teams don’t work anymore
What annoys me most is that Embiid seemed to be moving better tonight than the first two games. Looks like he is recovering, while his dirty plays took out one of our centers and almost did the same to the other one.
Diakiteās gonna have to come in and play the heavy. āSweep the legā time.
The NBA has the Pacers/Bucks game starting at 5:30 on a Friday…that’s crazy
Cross your fingers the Bucks fall apart and the Freak asks out.
Wonder what the odds are for Lebron going back to L.A
No way you can lose 11 straight times and counting and want to run it back
Sorry guys. I let us down today by putting my personal honor, which is really just a form of vanity, above the team. I predicted Brunson would be terrible and we would win. What happened? Brunson was great and we lost in an incredibly costly, infuriating, and unfair fashion.
This is much more demoralizing than anything that happened to Philly in G2. Refs missing calls is one thing. Refs allowing a player to literally take out his best defender in a play that has more resemblance to an MMA move than an NBA move, and then continually rewarding that player with more FTA than the entire opposing team when he spends all day chucking jumpshots…
This game was fucking rigged. It felt like watching Donald Trump skate by all his legal troubles with endless special treatment at every level all the way up to SCOTUS. It makes me not want to be a basketball fan anymore, and wish I never was.
I renounce all vows towards positivity because this game undid all the good vibes from G2 and then some. We have lost this series because:
-Embiid is clearly 100% or close enough
-Our best defender against him is out for the rest of the series. iHart is probably next.
-He gets a custom rulebook where he gets Shaq’s FTA rate on soft-ass perimeter jump shots. It’s functionally illegal to play defense.
-Their guys get to mug us all game on the perimeter. They get a “clean” strip on our guards every fucking play it seems
-Their coach/GM can just flip a game any time they want by whining about the refs. Ours just makes a few classy innuendoes and gets back to work, a clearly inferior strategy in this league
So there it is, we lose in 6 and it goes down as another run of disappointment, gut punches, and broken dreams. The Iron Law of Knicks fandom holds: anything good that happens is only to set up a greater disappointment down the road.
I am going to try to work on myself this offseason to stop following and caring about this sport and this league. It’s just misery and bullshit all the way down.
I think that’s an excellent idea.
Donāt forget your water ice and pretzel jawn
Well, that was a tough second half. Joel jobbed the refs, getting every call when he should have been yanked from the game. Somebody said WWE on NBA on TNT, surprised Embiitch didnāt pull out a chair from the standsā¦ Heās always been a Villain but he really went full Heel last night. We let him get in our heads, but if this team plays their game and fights the dirty shit by just going even harder, we got this.
On the plus side Pagliacci unlocked Brunson. Mitch is a warrior and heās already fought back once this season, heās got that dog in him, mark my words heās coming back with a vengeance.