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New York Knicks, Los Angeles Lakers Linked For Trade – Sports Illustrated
05/08/2025 11:00:01
Deja 2!: Knicks come back from 20 again, stun Celtics for 2-0 series lead – amNewYork
05/08/2025 10:40:43
Celtics? greatest weapon is betraying them in disastrous Knicks series – Boston Herald
05/08/2025 10:06:21
Knicks take a 2-0 lead over the Celtics after coming from 20 down again to win 91-90 – News 12 – New Jersey
05/08/2025 08:43:03
Knicks ?outstanding? fourth quarter defense difference in the end – New York Post
05/08/2025 07:41:00
How to Buy Carmelo Anthony Mitchell & Ness New York Knicks Throwback Jersey – Newsweek
05/08/2025 08:12:01
5 Reasons the Boston Celtics Keep Choking vs. New York Knicks – Bleacher Report
05/08/2025 08:03:45
Knicks 91, Celtics 90: “What they gonna say now?” – Posting and Toasting
05/08/2025 07:14:52
Celtics vs. Knicks Game 3 prediction, how to watch, TV channel, odds – May 10 – FOX Sports
05/08/2025 07:24:58
Hart, Knicks win Game 2 against Celtics, take 2-0 series lead – Al Jazeera
05/08/2025 07:07:02
NBA Legend Charles Barkley Was Wrong About The New York Knicks – Sports Illustrated
05/08/2025 07:12:16
Tom Thibodeau explains how Knicks stopped Jayson Tatum – BasketNews.com
05/08/2025 07:34:00
Celtics-Knicks: 5 takeaways as New York storms back again to stun Boston – NBA
05/08/2025 06:02:34
Charles Barkley?s Strong Statement on Knicks After Game 2 vs. Celtics – Athlon Sports
05/08/2025 06:22:32
New York Knicks vs. Boston Celtics – Final Score – May 07, 2025 – FOX Sports
05/08/2025 06:01:40
Full Focus: Knicks rally in Game 2, stun Celtics again – NBA
05/08/2025 05:46:30
Callahan: Jayson Tatum put the Celtics in a 2-0 hole against the Knicks – Boston Herald
05/08/2025 06:11:15
Knicks rally for another road win over Celtics, lead set 2-0 – 1330 & 101.5 WHBL
05/08/2025 06:25:12
Charles Barkley Draws Attention After Complaining About NBA?s Celtics-Knicks Decision – Athlon Sports
05/08/2025 05:48:41
Celtics vs. Knicks score: Jalen Brunson leads eerily similar Game 2 comeback, Boston blows 20-point lead again – CBS Sports
05/08/2025 05:06:14
158 replies on “Knicks Morning News (2025.05.08)”
Great Win!!!
I fell asleep somewhere in the 3rd quarter when the Celtics were on a little run (but still not up by 20) and I was feeling like we were squandering a chance because, while our offense was bad, Boston was unable to shook loose.
After Game-1 there was a little voice in the back of my head whispering we had a run somewhere, we just had to find it.
Watching the rest of the game this morning, without knowing the final score, was another gift in what has been a crazy (and draining) stretch for my sports fandom*.
Thoughts:
– The Atomic Cockroaches are back!
The resiliency of this team is a pleasant surprise.
On balance they’re maddening, they play so bad for long stretches, then they play like potential champs, but in the end we’re always in a one possession game.
It’s the only thing, but it’s a HUGE thing, I give Thibs credit for this team sometimes perceived as lazy and feeble* instead never quits.
– I think we had another strong defensive game and Mitch was a wall. Josh’s and KAT’s offense kept us in the game before JB and Mikal took over.
– Bridges’ 4th quarter metamorphosis in the last two games has no rational explanation, we just have to take it and rejoice.
Yesterday he was scoreless before the 4th (0-8 FG), he scored 14 points (4-4 2FG, 2-6 3FG) in the last stanza.
His final defensive plays in the last two games** have earned a well deserved spot in Knicks’s history book.
– The series is far from over, we absolutely need to win one in MSG.
The good news, we are up 2-0 and we haven’t really played our best basketball on offense, there are things to clean up (turnovers, defensive boards) and open shots should start to go in.
The bad news, Boston has shot 25% from three in both games, how long could the cold spell go on***?
Will Mazzulla show that he’s a coach?
– Speaking of Mazzulla, I used to clown him for his use of timeouts, but I thought it was over after last year. It turned out he isn’t.
Anyway, Boston has high BB-IQ players (JRue, White, Horford) but his floor leader isn’t one of them.
Tatum’s decision making isn’t great and one should really question their coach when, like in Game-1, they completely refused to attack us despite our foul troubles (19 threes on 20 shots in the 3rd period!).
Good for us and please keep it goin’ leprechauns.
– The refs have been terrible, they are letting assault and battery fouls go scot free then they whistle someone for blowing kisses.
You literally never know what they’re going to do, it’s like they had some kind of Wheel of Fortune app in their hands and decide based on it.
Pretty annoying.
* 3 OT wins (all combacks) plus yesterday 20-points comeback in 48 hours.
** at least based on the Regular Season
*** Two-More-Games! Two-More-Games!
BigBlueALsays:
May 7, 2025 at 20:36
It might take a miracle but hopefully Knicks return to Boston for Game 5 tied 2-2.
Please take this back BBA!
Mitch Mitch!
He’s been so good.
I hosted a charity event last night, which I can only describe as the fastest four hours of my life, so I caught literally nothing. I checked the score one time. I vividly recall it was 81-65 in the 4Q and I thought “typical NBA, home team down 0-1 wins easy, Celtics probably got a great whistle.”
A woman named Ali MacNeil comes up to say good night, she’s leaving. I give her a hug. We lament the Knicks loss and carry on.
Approximately 90 seconds later I see her running across the ballroom towards me. She says we won and I don’t believe her. She shows me the score and I still don’t believe her. It’s 91-90, there must be 4 minutes left or something. She points to the word Final and I still don’t believe it! So then I open up my phone, because I don’t know why, maybe I thought she had the wrong version of the internet or something and my phone had the right one. I didn’t even have to open the ESPN app I could tell we won by the number of text messages I had.
Remarkable.
Just box score perusing it seems like Mitch is the key here. Or maybe it’s just not having KAT out there at C. It looks like they must have done the big lineup a little bit, I’m curious how that went. Also noticed Josh Hart was the leading scorer in a Knicks Celtics game. I bet you could have gotten good odds on that.
Incredibly excited but also know it’s far from over. The next two wins are going to be hard AF. The crowd ain’t gonna win it for us. A timely remarkable offensive KAT game might. 21 & 17 looks like a good line but I’m talking about one of those 40 point games where no one can stop him. I’d like to order one of those.
Crazy to think that against the Celtics of all teams, the double big lineup seems to be the key. Just unreal.
by the way – not to give anyone PTSD here but 7 years ago yesterday, the Knicks also made NBA news –> David Fizdale hired as coach. Just unbelievable how Leon and co – who definitely have not done a perfect job — have changed the franchise. Just think about how incompetent that former front office with Steve Mills as GM was. I mean just LOOK at this eye-melting history.
But he DID draft Mitchell Robinson.
And he DID sign Julius, who started the turnaround.
He was unstoppable for large chunks of the game last night. If anything, they didn’t use him enough.
The Knicks scored 91 points last night. Luckily, they’re playing a team coached by Joe Mazzulla.
Among his other massive errors, really weird that Mazzulla didn’t put Porzingis back in the game last night. He played great in that stretch in the third where Boston pulled away. Uncle Al’s running on fumes at this point.
Dude’s just a terrible coach. Healthy 2023 Knick team with Josh Hart playing this way would have beat him in the playoffs if they’d gotten by Miami.
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DJYHHrExm-N/?igsh=MWozdGp5Z2FyOG5tNw==
Anyone else think Monica McNutt is the platonic ideal of a woman?
I grew up listening to Breen & Clyde on the radio (I had no access to cable tv). Monica is such a worthy heir to Frazier. The absolute best.
When Boston was up 20 they had an easy two-on-one, Tatum and Brown, and Tatum got fancy and cocky and douchey and threw the ball away.
Can’t waste a single possession in the playoffs. Ball don’t lie.
I saw 4 fouls in the box score and just assumed he took himself out of the game. He seems to do that a lot. Also when Brunson gets going in the 4th he tends to do almost nothing.
When the time comes for Clyde to inevitably step away from broadcasting i really hope the org gives Monica a chance to make it her role, I love her reactions and her insight.
I just realized that they had Brunson on the floor in the last defensive possession (because he shot FTs) and Boston’s plan was to attack Mitch and OG (with Mikal on help). Amazing stuff.
Reposting….
The thing I woke up thinking about was the Holliday foul. It was so strange how he defended Brunson on that play and how easily he conceded two free throws. Frankly quite bizarre, so unlike Jrue to defend like a chicken with his head cut off
Mazzulla said in his postgame press conference that he didn’t call a TO because he wanted to run the same “play” that had gotten the Tatum dunk on the previous possession, which I mean, it’s hard to think of anything more stupid than that.
Thx for that link to Monica. So amazing.
Knicks down to 10 to 1 to win it all. Quite happy with the 28 to 1.
There’s certainly a big part of me saying “Pump the brakes, the Celtics just missed a bunch of open shots,” but we’ll see. That’s why they play the games. If the game’s close, the Knicks are smarter and more resiliant and not coached by a buffoon, so they got that going for them.
Celtics are favored by 5 in Game 3.
Brian’s point about narrative stands even in victory. In both games we were fingertips away from moaning and groaning and calling for Thibs’s head (at least I was). Instead: “Ya gotta believe.” And I do!
I think it wasn’t just the Celtics missed a bunch of shots. Our defense was good. That said, the Celtics have been a better raid than home team all year, their backs are against the wall, and I expect to lose Saturday
This series is far from over. Advantage Knicks, but let’s not forget the Miami series a few years ago. The Celtics probably win that in 7 if Tatum doesn’t hurt his ankle early in game 7.
KAT was key last night. I’ve defended him all playoffs but last night he was the only one getting buckets in the first half. I think he had another 15 board game and his put back bucket at the end was key. And, maybe my eyes are lying, but I think he’s playing pretty good defense.
I mean, Boston is going to give it their all on Saturday and we cannot be complacent. But is it just me or is lost in all this “Boston just hasn’t hit their shots” narrative is the fact that WE have not played our best game either.
I mean, Brunson has been Captain Clutch in the 4th, OG had a great first game, Hart and KAT were good yesterday, Mikal has been stellar in the 4th…but the starting 5 as a whole has yet to just really click on offense in this series. I guess HATS off to the Celtics defense but if we can have a stretch or one game where Brunson has a classic Brunson game and KAT goes off while OG and Mikal are hitting their shots and Hart is doing his thing, I feel like we could blow these dudes out of the gym.
And I hope that is what happens in game 3. The home crowd gets us going and we smell blood and just fucking cook to start the game. Get up on these clowns early and they might just fold it up.
Also, anyone else think if we sweep or gentleman sweep the C’s, we might end this iteration of the Celtics? Brown and Tatum take up a huge chunk of their payroll. Horford is getting up there. They’re going to be way over the luxury tax. I think they have new owners coming in. If we embarrass them, they might just blow it all up.
Also, people say Brunson is bad on defense but the way he takes charges is so key. Brunson is so fucking tough and the way he’s willing to sacrifice his body with those charges…you gotta think his teammates see that from their captain and it inspires them.
Have we reached the point where people are willing to run it all back with the same team and some tweaks regardless of what happens from here?
Don’t let the excitement of the most unexpected 2-0 lead of my life distract you from the fact that the refs robbed OG Anunoby of what should’ve been the coolest highlight of the playoffs.
KP seemed to be playing well for them and was making a difference. Was surprised he didn’t get more time in 4th
RE KP: Yeah agree he was doing well. Interviewed after the game, he said he just couldn’t go, due to unknown medical issues. NYPost story on it.
That dunk was INSANE.
OG is lucky he didn’t get hurt on that – looked like one of his feet landed on White’s lower leg – could easily have tweaked an ankle there.
I am actually really glad that OG played “only” 38 minutes last night — he’s working so hard every game, and it was the 2nd round last year that he got the hamstring strain after playing so many minutes.
My god, E is now a Thibs believer. (Or, at least, doesn’t think Thibs is the worst coach in the NBA.)
Absolutely not.
You make a decision based on the totality of evidence, not on the excitement of two unexpected results. And there’s still a lot of evidence forthcoming.
That Monica McNutt clip is incredible. To be able to go from as shocked and giddy as she was at seeing the block to being able to be that composed and articulate and smart in her observations is… that’s someone who can somehow juggle being a fan and being a total pro.
I think the question for the rest of the series is whether the Knicks’ overall offense can improve enough to compensate for any positive shooting variance from the Celtics. I think we all agree that the Knicks’ offense has been subpar. I’d love to see Boston having a normal shooting night but losing because the Knicks level up their offense as we know they can at times.
It truly was. Brunson could have gotten an and-1 in that play, it was so uncharacteristic. He did guard Brunson really well throughout the game, but seemed frazzled there.
Seemed like Holliday was going for a steal. If Brunson doesn’t hold onto the call and get a shot up, they may not have called a reach in but Brunson was able to stay with it. I agree it was very weird though.
The thing with variance is that you don’t take past results when projecting forward. So the Celtics are just as likely to under perform with their shooting in the next game as they were in the last game. And with potentially 5 games left, it starts to become statistically likely that they still have some under performances ahead of them.
I mean, I hear ya but I feel like the consensus before this series was that if we won 2 or 3 games, that would prove that we were closer to being real contenders than pretenders and people would want to run it back.
Is it because we won these games so close? I don’t remember what your exact stance on this was but, for me, beyond whatever “shortcomings” we see with the team, winning these 2 games has validated that the the core guys (the starting 5 plus Mitch and McBride) have earned the opportunity to run it back because they have shown the mental toughness and togetherness that many thought the team lacked going into the playoffs. The “soft” label is forever put to bed with this bunch.
I mean, I guess if Giannis is desperate to come here then we gotta go for that but beyond Giannis or Jokic forcing a trade here, I don’t see why we would trade Bridges or KAT or whoever to reconfigure the team again.
Get Mitch to work on his hands and free throws. Fill out the bench some with a few ring chasing vets who would be an upgrade over Cam and Shamet. Develop Huk and Kolek. Continue to work on improving the offense.
For me, these dudes have earned that. Plus, like we might literally end the celtics with this series. That would basically put us (and Cleveland) at the top of the heap in the east, no?
Folks, we have plenty of time in the offseason to talk about team changes.
The Knicks just had what I think is probably the most incredible 72 hours in the 21st century. And they haven’t even played well offensively! Can we enjoy that?
PS: I recommend the Game Theory podcast with Sam Vecenie, today’s episode had a few interesting nuggets on what the Knicks are doing to the Celtics defensively.
PS2: Warts and all, I love KAT: https://x.com/StephNoh/status/1920292111921918223
I honestly don’t remember that consensus.
Two points are the difference between 0-2 and 2-0. Let’s enjoy the fuck out of this run and judge everyone when it’s over.
I kinda want to trade KAT right now, for instance. But he might be the key to beating Indiana. We’ll have plenty of time in the summer to discuss.
i’m almost 61…in my lifetime…i can’t recall beating boston two in a row on their homecourt…even more so …in the playoffs..it probably has happened but not many times…anyway…homecourt isn’t/hasn’t been a big advantage for us it seems like this year and obviously in the last series…but…its does feel a bit like something karmically is happening on the good side for us…which is unsettling..because in the last 3 or 4 decades…it hasn’t…
Yes, definitely, but I’m having a hard time talking about these two games beyond HOLY SHIT!!! It’s all so unbelievable.
One consensus I will say might be getting reached is that Mikal Bridges can stay 🙂
His season reminds me so much of Xavier McDaniel’s it’s uncanny.
Why and for what? We lose yesterday without KAT carrying the offense in the first half.
KAT did an admirable job of finding out how to affect the game positively on the offensive end. He’s gonna have a face hugger on every three he dreams about in this series but at least he remembered that he’s bigger and that bending a defense isn’t just ATB. On defense, without Mitch, danger will robinson.
Man, that hadn’t occurred to me, but yes. Mikal’s doing it in a different way from X-Man in those playoffs, where McDaniel was just beating dudes up. But the the narrative is startlingly similar: seemingly no-brainer acquisition to solve a problem on the wing and with secondary scoring, super blah regular season, and then kicks major ass once the playoffs begin.
If we really can close out Boston, Bridges (and his steals) also reminds of me Aaron Boone’s Yankee season as a player. Total meh and below expectation (for me), but we’ll never forget that walk-off.
Bc it’s an emotional response to seeing us play much better with Mitch that makes me want to get rid of his terrible defense and replace him with players who can support this switch-heavy scheme better.
Which is why I don’t think we should be drawing conclusions now. I want to experience these emotions, I don’t want to make decisions in them.
Holiday’s defense Brunson on the penultimate play really was so weird. As others have mentioned it’s like he wasn’t even trying to, you know, defend Brunson. He basically hacked him as if he were Mitch.
Mitch being absolutely enormous in this series has to be the most surprising aspect of it so far (aside from the results through two games), right? The Celtics’ offense seems shockingly discombobulated regardless of who’s in the game, but with Mitch out there it absolutely disintegrates such that they are racking up fouls to get him out of the game. It’s crazy.
Also it’s been understandably memory holed since he wasn’t a huge factor in the last few minutes, but considering the stakes that was the most important game of KAT’s Knicks career. He hung in there on switches defensively, finally punished switches offensively, and a lot of his rebounds were contested and crucial. I still want a lot more 3PA from him, but KAT is a certified dawg.
Another video that will warm your hearts:
https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTjUAQXF2/
She wants security to remove these guys because they are rooting for the visiting team.
Worthy of wonder whether he was confused by the penalty situation, since they’d hack-a-Mitched their way to the penalty by that point.(*) Little doubt in this observer’s eyes that Mazzulla didn’t communicate the precise foul situation to his team before that possession or, really, at any time and obviously barely nodded in the direction of the big picture when fouling to reach the penalty … down the stretch of a close game.
(*) Which was really fucking stupid.
KAT was awesome last night. Twenty-one and 17 taken for granted — yeah, that’s a highly worthy player.
Sort of a perfect storm emerging here, as Boston has shriveled up like a puny little raisin in Q4 in back to back games, their coach pushes every wrong button at the wrong time, they have a key player (Horford) who suddenly looks washed, and another key player (KP) who is effective but can’t get on the floor for what seems like bizarre reasons. You have one of the best defenders in the NBA (Jrue) gifting us crucial free throws with a dumb and blatantly obvious foul, and superstars (Tatum) missing unguarded corner threes.
I rewatched the last six minutes of the game a second time late at night and it was truly remarkable. The whole Celtics team and coaching staff got the collective yips after just sort of casually dominating the first 40 minutes or so of the game. For the second straight game!
NYK didn’t play great in either game, but they stuck around, made plays when they could, and were in position to take advantage when Boston wilted. TWICE!
I have no idea how to predict the rest of this series and I honestly don’t care. This is just such a massive unexpected plot twist to this season, which has been very frustrating a lot of the time. I did not have “The Knicks didn’t play all that well in either game but left Boston with a 2-0 lead” on my bingo card.
The dip in efficiency from the Celtics 3point shooting feels trendy considering the Orlando series. 25 – 100 feels like a reasonably ridiculous number to land at after two games. But we’re considerably better than Orlando. Celts only shot 31% against the Magic down from 37% in season. Maybe they’re just good at being healthier and deeper.
What exactly WAS the point of that little run of Hack-A-Mitch? I guess they wanted him off the floor, or at least to put the Knicks in a position where he might have to take FTs, but wow did that blow up in their face.
There’s no conceivable scenario in which it makes sense to intentionally put an NBA team in the penalty in the fourth quarter of a close, low-scoring playoff game.
Jrue played that possession like he was confused. Was he actually confused? Those that know won’t say, so we’ll never know, but I know what I think and have no compunction saying.
Playoff Bridges and Captain Clutch. I can’t imagine what MSG will be like Saturday. Last night was my wife’s birthday game. She wears an old Melo jersey when we watch the games.
And stop the clock while leading.
Gotta be Mazzula thought he was already in the penalty. Even Thibs was gonna take Mitch out, then sent him back in to get another foul. hahaha.
Alan, that “Security, help!” vid has gotta be the meme of the series. hahaha.
What you do when you’re running low on fouls in the last 5-6 minutes is that you amp up your defense and aggression even more and get way up in the other team’s grill because you can afford the fouls.
That’s what normal teams do anyway. When Joe M’s your coach, I guess you foul on purpose to put the other team in the penalty.
This is great, but here’s the most heart-warming thing I watched last night:
Narrative is powerful. It can gnaw at the back of your consciousness until your medulla oblongatta goes yip. Cs last night played scared.
Security, HELP!
Won despite bad offensive games from JB, OG, and Mikal, only shot 29% from 3, didn’t get a friendly whistle. Really incredible performance from Josh & KAT to keep it from completely falling apart most of the game.
This was insane. OG was pulled back from the scorers table and Mazulla still went ahead with the pointless foul knowing that Thibs would sub Mitch anyway before he went to the FT line.
The most surprising thing to me about this series so far is that I thought if we had any chance it was going to be making adjustments to our offense and outscoring them because we have way more talent on offense than the results this season or against the Pistons suggested.
Instead, the defense has stepped up.
We knew Mitch would help, but he appears to be having a big impact.
Our trio of Mitch, OG and Mikal had 10 steals last night.
They are a defensive force, as is Deuce.
Sure, the Celtics are missing shots, but I’m not giving them all the credit (or blame) for that. I think our defense has been much better than in the regular season. So even though our offense is not playing up to its potential, the defense is getting us back into games and closing them out.
One other thing. I have no idea what Leon is thinking about the off season, but Mitch’s value is a LOT higher now than it was at the trade deadline. So far he’s holding up and showing he can still have an impact on a game despite limited skill on offense. There are teams out there that need that (including us). It’s just a matter of whether there’s something out there we need even more and whether Huk can take over Mitch’s role successfully.
I’m guessing the Boston brain trust can read the box score as well as we can. The Knicks are +32 in MR’s 43 minutes on the floor. Getting Thibs to take him off the floor voluntarily seems pretty smart.
Damn, I was on the wrong side of one of those. Sommer did have some amazing saves.
Unpopular opinion: OG’s dunk was indeed an offensive foul, and White is crazy for taking that contact.
Jrue’s “defense” on that possession is so inexplicable I might be on board with E’s theory. He was doing everything you do when you’re trying to intentionally hack someone. This is a guy who has been on all-defense teams for the last 4 seasons.
Mitch didn’t have a lot of time to get up to speed after returning from his injury, and his timing still doesn’t look great. The Knicks didn’t play the two bigs configuration much after his return, and he was on a minutes restriction.
But he’s still a difference maker on defense, and it is looking like he is rounding into good form at just the right time. He gives us a look we have not had all season. Very eye opening how much better he is than Precious Achiuwa and Jericho Sims.
If I understand correctly, there was 40-ish seconds left before Thibs could bring Mitch back in at the 2min mark and someone else would be allowed to take FTs on an off the ball foul.
Was he really that desperate to get Mitch off the court for 40 seconds or was he so sure that Thibs would keep him out? And is having OG in there really your game plan?
Idk, maybe Mazz will double down and just immediately foul Mitch to get him out of the game regardless, we’re destroying them in the non-hack Mitch minutes. Force KAT to go 48, let Mitch shoot, or bring in Precious.
https://x.com/NBA_NewYork/status/1920471322481598905?s=19
Knicks getting positive vibes for officially having Ewing back in the organization. It’s so awesome to have him back and seeing how happy he is for the current Knicks.
based on reg season bos is better on road based on this playoff run so are we that means we win this series
Generally, agree, but Boston up 4 with 2:30 to go, Mazzula’s gotta believe his guys (The World Champions) should outscore us and run out the clock.
Plus, with all the stoppage down the stretch, Thibs was able to swap Towns and Mitch three times anyway for offense/defense.
@marechal, I also think the call was correct on OG’s dunk (sadly so)
@EB — also great point:
“If I understand correctly, there was 40-ish seconds left before Thibs could bring Mitch back in at the 2min mark and someone else would be allowed to take FTs on an off the ball foul.”
I still can’t quite believe that they didn’t have Jrue screen in the last possession to get a Tatum on Brunson mismatch.
Jrue does rely on his rep to get a friendly whistle but that was just stupid right there.
Bernie I’ll now take being up 3-1 going back to Boston! I mean shit we couldn’t possibly actually sweep Boston can we?
Just the fact we’re in a position to contemplate that is truly amazing, I haven’t been this shocked since the Knicks won Game 5 at Indiana in the 1999 Conference Finals.
That was always my position. 😉
Seriously, the anti Bridges sentiment was a bit overblown. I didn’t know whether to just laugh or keep trying to pursuade people that he was having a positive impact given the role he has on this team. I think the 5 picks thing really screwed with people’s thinking. It was widespread among Knicks fans. He’s a very good two way player. He’s just not a superstar.
Mikal has doubled his regular season stocks/36, that’s why he’s valuable. He was not doing this during the regular season. If he did, there wouldn’t be so many complaints.
Mikal’s physical durability is matched by his mental durability. Say what you want but he has showed up when it has mattered most. That’s priceless.
I was listening to the ESPN NY radio app on my way to work and a fan called in saying if the Knicks lose this series now it would be the biggest failure in franchise history. I was like damn I don’t thnk even we are that bad we during game threads!
No one denied he was having a “positive impact.” People just had expectations that surpassed that, given the trade package, his salary, his history, etc.
If we’re keeping it a buck, the 14.9 PPG, .504 TS%. and .319 3PT% in the playoffs are, um, not ideal, but I am on board with the consensus of hand waving all of that away if he keeps having 14 point 4th quarters and playing DPOY level defense.
I love Monica McNutt. I hope she gets a much larger role at minimum. Adding her to the broadcast permanently would be a great move. If not her, then bring Crawford or Gus Johnson in
BTW…I am still pinching myself. I asked Lady PJ did I take a really strong gummy and hallucinate the dub last night, and she said “no dummy..yal came back and won when Brunson made free throws”
Yal!
WE’RE REALLY GOIN BACK HOME UP 2-0!!
Incredible
This (the embedded video) is incredible:
https://www.pinstripealley.com/2025/5/8/24425974/yankee-stadium-knicks-fan-reaction-nba-playoffs-yankees-padres-celtics-reflection
People cheering in Yankees Stadium as the Padres take the lead, just because the Knicks happened to win the game at the same time.
I don’t know if it was mentioned already, but Tatum traveled big time on his dunk in the 4th. Three full steps.
Think how cooked Boston would be if we still had iHart and you couldn’t just hack Mitch out of the game.
He also had Horford setting a ridiculous moving screen
https://x.com/HaterReport_/status/1920367002276835408
I’ve been suggesting that people’s expectations were so far beyond ridiculous the entire conversation was comical. It was mostly due to the price and not whether he could be a starter on a contender for us (which he already proved on the Suns before he even began expanding his offense).
He was never more than an elite role player that we were hoping could grow into a 2a or 2b option with OG based on his improvement. Then we got Towns. So that was moot. He was going to be a 3a or 3b option where he would probably be slighlty underutilized as a scorer. But that’s great because we’d probably need him to step up at times anyway (like when Brunson was out). His role on offense was always going to be more limited and dependent on defenses, matchups etc..
On defense he was brought here to be a switchable wing defender. He and OG were going to try to contain Tatum and Brown. He was never brought he to be an elite POA defender against super quick scoring PGs. He was put in that role as the least bad option because Brunson would get killed by those guys. So you hope for the best because our PG can’t defend and when he’s needed to guard a wing, that’s when he has to step it up and earn his keep on defense.
He’s done everything we could possibly expect other than a very brief period at the start of the season when he was tinkering with his shot and probably learning how to fit in.
As to price, we overpaid, but part of that was that his deal was attractive. It also enabled us to make other moves. If we stay at this level, those picks are not as valauble as giving away real lottery type picks.
Glad someone said it. I thought the refs let Tatum get away with at least 2 charges and 1 defensive foul too. He wasn’t the typical smooth Tatum that he normally is. It was weird and refreshing at the same time. Obviously refreshing because we want Knicks wins, but weird because Tatum is a monster when he’s right
The NBA is a brutal league. The clock was always ticking on Horford (38) and Jrue (34), and even if they’ve only lost a small percentage of a step, that would be enough to swing games in our favor.
BTW, where is Jowles during this madness?
Jerry Kramer and Fuzzy Thurston had nothing on big Al on that play.
Knicks have one 2nd round pick next month. Leon must call the NBA office today and inform them that he’s sending it to Brooklyn as a gratuity. They need it more than we do.
Game 3 in the EC semis, up 2-0, at MSG, injury-free. You dream about this scenario. And that coaching is probably the biggest factor for the next game where we have Thibs and they’ve got Mazzulla.
I normally defend referees because I am one myself and I think it’s virtually impossible to referee an NBA game, but the non-call on the obvious foul by White on Brunson on his 3 point attempt with about 5 minutes left was egregious. I mean it wasn’t even borderline!
That could have cost us the game right there, we were down 7 and could have cut it to 4 but instead White got fouled on the other end and we were down 9.
(and btw, the refs are never, ever going to call a travel on Tatum on that dunk. LeBron has been doing that his whole career)
That made me so mad. White did not jump vertically and hit Brunson’s legs on the way down. Sometimes they will even review that for a flagrant!
I don’t know, dude. My expectations of Mikal were that he wouldn’t disappear and play like an utterly generic player most of the time. He was just not very good in the regular season, and honestly he has not been very good for much of the playoffs either. He stunk out the joint yesterday until the fourth quarter.
In the fourth quarter: huzzah! He showed something special. Gave us vitally important scoring on high leverage possessions, played defense at a high level, and consistently made high IQ plays. He deserves all the credit in the world for coming up huge in the highest possible leverage situations.
He also deserves the criticism for playing pedestrian basketball for most of the season. I don’t think Mikal was underrated or overrated by this blog for his play this season. He was correctly rated. He is redeeming himself in a major way in these high leverage possessions, and he’s getting his well earned flowers for that. I for one am thrilled at his heady play in these playoff games.
But to say “the entire conversation was comical,” uh, nah, fuck that. He just was not very good for much of the season. It was a perfectly legitimate conversation.
Strat I’m not sure how many times this needs to be repeated: no one was disappointed with Mikal because of his reduced role.
We all knew what were signing up for in that regard. His surface level numbers wouldn’t necessarily resemble those of players typically traded for that kind of package, and we were all fine with that if it meant the team would be excellent.
People were/are disappointed because he was not good in that reduced role. His efficiency was barely above league average. The portions were small and the food wasn’t good. He was undoubtedly worse than De’Andre Hunter offensively. There’s no amount of condescending Stratspeak that can put lipstick on that pig.
But if we win a championship I will not care at all anymore!
The thing with Mikal is that we need him to be more than just good 3 and D Mikal that he was in Phoenix but less than Main scoring option Mikal that he was in Brooklyn. We need him to be the best of both of those players. IE, when he’s on the floor with Brunson and KAT, he needs to be that 3 and D guy who can catch and shoot (and make) 3’s when he gets those shots and take the middy when nothing is happening for Brunson or KAT.
But then when those dudes sit (especially Brunson) we need him to be Brooklyn Mikal who can carry an offense.
I think it’s been a tough adjustment for him and maybe he was also coasting at times in the regular season. But the high pressure situations seem to have brought out the best in him and, hopefully, regardless of how the rest of these playoffs pan out, this will carry over to next season.
Pretty sure the Cardinals decided to get it done with the Conclave so that they can focus on the Knicks.
Strat, what value would you have put on Mikal over the course of the regular season? 1 pick? 3 picks?
Nobody is saying he’s a bad player, but there’s a huge range between Deuce McBride good and 5 picks good.
And if your take is that he’s a bad defensive fit because we need a PoA defender and he can’t guard the PoA, or that we’re underutilizing his creation because we already have 4 guys who can create, then maybe we should trade him for someone who can handle those roles more capably instead of paying Mikal to be a subpar version of it.
Pope Mikal I
tatum didn’t travel on the dunk. gather control doesn’t begin until ball is fully cradled, which is after he plants the left. then it’s just two steps. one weird disadvantage we’ve had in both series is that maybe the single steepest change in how they’ve called the games between the regular season and the playoffs is suddenly completely ignoring illegal screens like it’s not even a rule, after hammering them all year. and for various mostly tangential reasons, we tend to set very few illegal screens and our two opponents are serial offenders. horford and jaylen brown each got away with several last night, including horford just holding the fuck out of og and his obvious moving takedown of deuce mentioned above.
maybe the craziest thing about watching that comeback in real time is how much it felt like actually went wrong for us during what should have felt like an immaculate run. it seems like you should have to be nearly perfect to close like that, but it somehow felt like an unending series of if-onlys that just worked out anyway.
LOL
Pope Pope!
Quick reckless, uninformed speculation about Porzingis’ situation: if you have an illness that makes you fatigued, apparently poses no threat to your teammates or opponents, and you are choosing to not disclose anything about it, I certainly know where my mind goes.
Porziphilis.
Even in the midst of Mikal ‘s scoring outburst he turned the ball over once and almost did a second time when he lost his dribble. Really glad that midrange game finally started to pay off.
Not to mention that we probably have the biggest defensive drop off from OG as primary defender to whoever the screener is. Credit to Brunson and our Cs for holding up after Boston exploited Brunson several times in a row early. He came up big with the drawn charge.
This is exactly what happened last night. Mikal gave himself permission (or Thibs did) and he went solo shooter for a streak of success. It was a bit like the Alex Burks scoring role tbh. If we can just get that regularly, I’m happy.
So the new pope went to Villanova.
No one can prove the Knicks’ run didn’t sway some votes in his favor.
Leon’s gonna trade McCullar and the rights to Rokas for the new pope this summer.
… but first we’re gonna hire his Father as an assistant coach
I’m curious how much shit Mitch got in the locker room after the game for his airball FT since they ended up winning the game.
Totally a football play.
He was visibly upset after that one. But in all seriousness, the ball grazed the net, what more can you ask.
Two great games who could have gone either way and a great spot for fooball.
The future is yours, Yamal is a martian.
I reluctantly agree about the foul.
And a very dangerous play for both players.
I like the way Deuce dunks. Felt like it took it from a huh comeback to an oh comeback.
Zach Lowe is giddy about the Knicks.
I definitely thought the OG dunk was a foul, which still makes it a terrible call. If it’s cool enough of a dunk it should still count.
Not totally surprising
Frankly I don’t think Mitch has been great yet this series – not as good as he was before the run of injuries the last couple of years. But he was obviously and absolutely the missing piece as we struggled to defend most of the season.
I also wanted to quote the Pope comments, but they are all good
newton’s 3rd law of physics helps to secure what is most likely a new pope who favors the bulls…
The Jrue play is why I think the Mazzulla criticism is overblown. He trusts his players who just won a title last year. Those same stars are all playing like morons in this series. I don’t think it’s unreasonable for him to have faith in his guys.
I think Boston’s collapse is on the players. Jrue is one of the smartest players in the league, and he made a terrible attempt at a steal on Brunson in a one-point game where a foul would put Brunson at the line for a lead. Tatum at the end of the game ran into two defenders and then just…didn’t have a backup plan (or the intelligence to simply call a timeout to let Mazzulla draw up a play). I don’t think you blame the coach for that at all.
I know the Celtics were better last year but this series has deeply affirmed my belief that a healthy Knicks team last year had a great chance to beat them and win the championship.
Fuck Jacques.
I absolutely believe this.
During the 1st game and while we were down big (and i was semi awake) i felt the agony of TNT’s Miller & Harlan that their product would be mostly garbage time material (via Boston blowouts) and the series would be a TV fail.
Then the 1st mighty comeback started.
2nd game almost same situation.
Many things like Kp’s strange “absence”,hack a Mitch weird execution,Mazzula’s decisions and Boston’s way of playing triggered the conspiracy theorist in me to the point of rewatching the end of the first game and trying to find the “rigged” link.
After moments of disbelief i decided to live it and Ride the Upset Train!
It’s Too Good to be True but I’ll take it anyway!
I keep thinking of poor Donnie Walsh. If the Knicks win these next two games he’s not even gonna remember this series.
I have nothing to add other than that Monica McNutt rules and I hope she does a lot more color commentary for the Knicks in the future.
Ali MacNeil is at home crying reading this.
Per NBA tracking data, Anunoby was the primary defender on Tatum for 39 of the Celtics’ offensive possessions in Game 2.
Over those 39 possessions, Tatum attempted just one shot, which he missed.
1 FG attempt
See, the Celtics get it! Gotta give their fans memories to last a life time. Can’t do that with 20 point wins and gentlemen’s sweeps.
Last year’s playoffs peaked in the 1st round, every subsequent round got less and less interesting. Nice to see the second round be juiced this year.
Competition is probably the main reason for any league’s success.
Fairness and Entertainment are right behind it.
Knicks defense starting to look more and more modular. Like maybe Thibs is the right guy to play with the puzzle but gat dang does he have some motherfucking pieces to play with.
They won the title going 4-1, 4-1, 4-0, 4-1. Do their fans even remember it?
They’re trying to do better this year.
The Boston crowd died some time in the last 3rd or early 4th as the Knicks started the comeback even though they were still up 10, don’t really know what to make of that
12:16 out of 96:00
twelve minutes and sixteen seconds, that’s how much time we have spent leading in this series…
we’ve basically been behind for almost the whole time playing, except for when it has mattered most…
just how much of an incentive is it for boston to change up their playstyle…
shooters shoot, if they hit closer to their season average from behind the arc, hopefully we can get it close in the 4th, give ourselves a chance again at the end…
that group of: deuce, hart, mikal, OG, and mitch – that’s a lock down defensive squad right there…
if 2 of that group can score consistently while they’re together on the court – that is a really tough group to score a bucket on…great opportunity for them to get some easier transition type scoring plays…
funniest thing to date in the series: hack a mitch – and how it has actually backfired on the celtics…serves them right for trying to cheat the game, that and for shooting an insane amount of 3’s…
This is a great video that breaks down the Knicks’ outstanding defense last night
https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZP86ANKnW/
Boston has two key players who are old, one who is sick, and the two Js have logged tons of minutes over their careers and seem banged up, they have played really well in stretches (like their awesome defense in the first quarter yesterday) but it’s starting to feel like they can’t physically maintain it
Yeah, they definitely are in decline.
Been a long year for them, too. White & Jrue were key players on Team USA. Also Tatum was the water boy. And those guys drink a lot of water.
The sound effects in that video are a deft touch, d-mar
Not quite clear if they got a belushi on that roster. The party might be over.
Great win, great thread. 😉
About the Knicks, i’m speechless… this looks like a dream, and i don’t want to wake up! 🧡💙
Was traveling during both games, for the last one I got off the plane and saw the final score and like Hubert wanted another phone to double check.
I have NO idea what might happen in the next game. Right now it feels like every possible scenario is in play, all with equal likelihood.
Knicks could open with a punch to the mouth and the Celtics wilt; Celtics suddenly unlock their three-point shooting and cruise; a third game just like the first two; a back and forth with endless lead changes. No clue.
I don’t know, Tatum just turned 27, Brown is 28. I buy the long season argument, not the decline argument.
The fact that All our players brought their A’ game even if not consistently is the most encouraging of all imo.
No choking, no ball hogging and No quit till now.
Win or lose this series We came to play.
And We played till the very end so far.
Oh, not those two guys, the team in general, because of Jrue and Horford.
Jrue and Horford are, like, the platonic ideal for “winning basketball role players” for a good playoff run.
Horford has looked a bit his age, but stupid foul aside, Jrue has looked spry and still the best defender they have on Brunson.
Warriors are following the Knicks game plan so far
I finally had a chance to watch the game on DVR (well, just the good part). Jesus on that last Celtics attempt Horford would have gotten a 15 yard penalty for holding if he did that in football. Why is the NBA suddenly more lenient than the NFL?
Did you notice his elbow/moving screen that destroyed Deuce in the 4th? Insane.
just finished watching a bunch of post-game interviews…
I wonder that’s going on with the celtic’s team guest locker area…
deuce looked like he was sitting in someone’s unfinished garage…
Kept a journal of everyone’s least favorite crunch time play, the Josh Hart screen for Jalen Brunson.
4:49 – led to a hard double team, Brunson kept it, eventually passed to Bridges for a late shot clock bailout shot (missed)
3:26 – led to a hard double team, Brunson kept, offense eventually reset, Hart keeps moving, brings Horford to the corner, Brunson swings to Bridges, passes to Hart, who beats Horford for a bucket.
2:49 – hard double team, Brunson kept, shot over double team (missed)
1:57 – soft double team but this time Hart makes a great roll to the basket that Horford has to respect, Brunson beats Jrue 1-on-1
1:30 – soft double cuts Brunson off, Brunson keeps, Hart doesn’t cut, Brunson passes off to Bridges for a contested 3 (misses)
:28 – hard double, Brunson keeps, shoots over Jrue (misses)
And then of course the last shot which leads to Jrue fouling Brunson for some reason.
We’re averaging .25 ppp running this play in the last 6 minutes and OT over the course of two playoff games when Brunson keeps, which he did all but one time (the one above where Hart scored).
Kevin Knox! I’d feel better about the Warriors’ chances here if it was a game of 3-on-3.
It’s strange the NBA really made a point to call fouls on moving screens this year and completely abandoned that in the playoffs
I did not realize that Tatum shot .343 from deep this season (on 10 attempts per game). I was sure it was much closer to .390 or thereabouts. Brown shot .324. Clearly Thibs has been game planning for them to take as many of their 3s as possible.
when knox dunked in transition in his second summer league game i immediately knew he’d be the perfect guy to throw into a playoff game that draymond green is desperately trying to get ejected from
Edwards down…
Minnesota is falling apart, even with Edward’s back on the floor