News & Blogs
How the Knicks’ big three have stifled the Hawks defense – Posting & Toasting
Knicks Injury Tracker: Josh Hart listed as questionable for Game 6 vs. Hawks with a back contusion – SNY
‘Ridiculous’ OG Anunoby has been Knicks’ steady hand and Hawks’ disruptor – The New York Times
KAT, Jordyn Woods, Timothee Chalamet, Kylie Jenner Photographed on Double Date After Knicks Win – BleacherReport
How serious are these Knicks? We’ll find out in Game 6 in Atlanta – The New York Times
The revival of Jordan Clarkson – Posting & Toasting
The Run.down Knicks vs Hawks R1G6 Postgame Show – The Strickland
Knicks Massacre Hawks In Game 6!! | Mitch Ejected!!! – Knick of Time
Knicks DOMINATION in Game 6 | CP The Fanchise Reacts – Knicks Fan TV
Betting Knicks vs.Hawks, Game 6 | KFS Weekly Wagers | Knicks Film School – Knicks Film School
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121 replies on “Knicks Morning News (2026.05.01)”
“You up?”
^ Donnie to the Sixers at 2am this morning
If you told me that KAT made 1 of 4 FGAs with his last attempt 4 minutes into the 3rd, Mikal continued to be a complete non-factor in the 4th, and Mitch needed to go to the locker room once before heading there for good after only 8 minutes of play…I would be worried about game 7 at the Garden.
SEND BROOKLYN MORE PICKS
They really DID get pretty darn close! But more importantly, the other teams are just so fucking flawed. Vegas BETTER be lowering the Knicks’ odds DRAMATICALLY right now.
The Knicks have to be favored against anyone they face in the next round, and anyone they would theoretically face in the Conference Finals.
San Antonio getting an Ant-less Timberwolves team is kind of hilarious. Wemby can just take the series off.
Knicks odds down to +1500, still kind of tepid belief IMHO.
Boston still at +750 with a very losable first round series; that said, there’s no comparison between a team with a healthy Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, and Paul George, and the much less talented team that just quit against the Knicks.
Vegas likely treats the core result — Knicks win the game and the series — as what it is, but 98% ignores the underlying blowout and player performances and, quite frankly, so do I. This did not in any serious sense “free Mikal Bridges.”
From yesterday’s thread:
Wow, powerful words. But I’m trying to not be too optimistic. I hope the team, and the fans, can do it too. Specifically the team. We need to keep our feet on the ground to play our best version.
Even if you give Boston a 70% chance of winning Game 7 – which is too high – and think they are better than the Knicks, those odds make no sense.
Boston at +750 and Philly at +12500 is simply insane. In what world is Boston 15 times more likely (or whatever it is) to win the championship than the Sixers?
Oh, that’s obviously an extremely tepid belief, and i just don’t get it. Yes, the Sixers with Embiid are a MUCH better team than the Hawks, but the Sixers kicked the Celtics’ ass in one of those games WITHOUT Embiid.
The Knicks made the Hawks look like a JV high school team. That’s pure DOMINANCE, and it should be rewarded with much better than not even HALF the odds as the Celtics, who might not even fucking MAKE the second round!!
I think it really is a team effort. We need to thank KAT and OG for this series, Mikal is a Celtic killer, Deuce and Mitch have been super important. Hart is the glue that keeps this all together. I thank everybody, they are a great team. I hope we have the luck that we didn’t have in 1994. We all deserve it. 🙂
For all the flak the Wolves got for the Gobert trade, it turned out to be pretty great. The dude is a one man elite defense, and has made them competitive basically every playoffs. That they beat the Nuggets without Ant, Donte and Dosunmu is incredible.
What happened to Dosunmu now? Is he out for a while? If so, the road likely ends at the Spurs.
Ant is supposed to be back at some point next week. Dosunmu is supposed to get back soon.
Thanks, Marechal.
I have to admit that the bloom is off the rose for me quite a bit on Jalen Johnson after seeing him throughout this series. He’s definitely a *good* player for sure, but I’ve been jealous of his counting stats (including his rebounds and assists) to a point more than I should have been throughout the season. It’s a lot of empty calories Carmelo style, and I think if he were on our team he would similarly drive us nuts.
C’mon, Mitch. We’re trying to keep you unsuspended. I still don’t think you will be, but this doesn’t help: https://nypost.com/2026/05/01/sports/mitchell-robinson-lost-in-the-world-after-raucous-hawks-melee-and-posts-nsfw-dig/
Obviously we have better personnel than the Hawks and Quin Snyder is not exactly a brilliant tactician. But it was still pretty remarkable to see the Knicks solve a playoff opponent so comprehensively.
I’ve said here a few times that I’ve found it kind of hard to get all that excited about this team, but…
Well, they have my attention now.
Strongly recommend watching the first half again.
As written!
Last night was very reminiscent of games like 5-0 Rangers over Capitals Game 7 2013 or even more so Rangers over Hurricanes 5-2 Game 6 and then 6-2 (*) Game 7. Through a a combination of momentum, one team sniffing the finish line, and the other team realizing early on they aren’t going to be able to muster anything, and although they gave things a good fight, it isn’t going to work out and the trailing team just submits and succumbs to a result that doesn’t really substantively indicate that much.
Happens a lot near the end of seven-game series.
Last year’s Knicks/Celtics Game 6 had a little of that, with the Celtics’ injuries helping the unfortunate realization sink in early.
The building had no energy last night, the Hawks’ first few possessions were crap, they did ok for a few minutes, but then about five minutes in, that was that. Submission and thoughts of the beach and the golf course.
I wouldn’t expect much lingering carryover.
(*) And not really even that close.
I’m still pinching myself. No one could have expected more than a 15-20 point win at the absolute best. If this is what the team looks like at peak power, SHEESH! We’re probably not that good, but if our peak is half that good- then the remaining playoff teams need to be very concerned.
My honest takeaway about the last 3 games is:
Playing through KAT is great! Exactly what I’ve been asking for since the halfway point of last season. Moving forward, KAT’s gonna play well if we continue to do that, but not as great as he looked the past 3 games because the teams are gonna be bigger. But playing through KAT at the same time Brunson and OG are carving up defenses is one helluva wrinkle for even the best defenses to stress over. And then we have the Mitch factor. I just hope the extra focus doesn’t slow the machine. Guys are locked in- especially Hart. Whomever we face in the next round, we definitely need that big man attitude KAT’s been showing.
Question- do we believe Mike Brown has been holding these adjustments in his back pocket for the playoffs? Or did everything he’s been asking the team to do finally click?
Delete your account
The Sixers pose a few problems: a lot of good wings to defend Brunson, Maxey might be unguardable, Paul George is in form, and Embiid can pose problems to KAT. But at the same time, I don’t think they are well equipped to guard the Brunson/KAT P&R, and it’s hard for them to put George on KAT. Also, they play every other day, and I’m not sure Embiid can handle the minutes. I would hate that series, because Nurse is such a whiner, Embiid might hurt a Knick, etc.
The Celtics can beat you any day with their 3-pt shooting, they are very good at targeting weak links, and they’ll surely want to get revenge for last year. But they also have the most predictable offense. Tatum doesn’t look right (and even at his peak, his offensive tendencies can be exploited by the defense), Brown seems to be reverting to his bad habits, and the Knicks have a major advantage at center (though they’ll hack-a-Mitch) and to prevent some of the OREB that is key to the Celtics. I feel like the offense has generally worked well against their defense.
Kind of a toss up for me, even if I think the Knicks are better suited to target the Celtics’ weaknesses.
My thought is that all season when KAT said he was trying to figure out the offense, he was trying to figure out how to play this role (or was maybe even resistant to it). The facilitator who takes far less shots but we run the offense through. He’s never been asked to play that way and even though he is a good passer, he’s not Jokic (or even Sabonis) in that regard and since he’s never played this way, it’s take him this long to figure it out but now that he has, he’s enjoying the role and buying in more.
But credit where credit is due. Mike Brown has unlocked something with this and also has KAT playing better defense than he’s ever played. Maybe all that tinkering and experimenting has finally paid off. And maybe there was also some resistance from Brunson too? But whatever.
However, after the high of last night has worn off, I do think we need to not get too ahead of our selves. Maybe Atlanta just isn’t THAT good. Like they got lucky and we played shitty in games 2 and 3 but they are a young, inexperienced team that was able to put together a nice end of the season run against a soft schedule No disrespect, they did the right thing trading Trae and they’ve got a promising future, but they were not ready for prime time and only got those 2 wins because we fucked up.
And maybe Boston is struggling against Philly not because they’re weak but because Philly is actually very good. Their record does not reflect the team they are now. If Embiid is healthy, they’re gonna be a problem for us. And Boston is really good too.
I do think we can beat them both but the team definitely shouldn’t just assume because they kicked ATL’s ass that they’ve got it made.
I don’t think he’s held these adjustments back. I would think a team would want as many reps running certain sets and plays as possible in the regular season so they work like well-oiled machine. Holding stuff back just for the sake of surprise seems risky. But I bet maybe they were practicing some of this stuff but not implementing it in games because they weren’t ready to do it?
I think there’s something to that, but I dunno, man, every other top seed is struggling, and the Knicks just fucking NUKED the Hawks.
You can’t help but think that this team is destined to own this conference this season.
Atlanta had been trapping Brunson a lot as he brought the ball up court and it was gumming up our offense, but New York solved that by having someone else bring the ball up (like Hart or Bridges) and then passing the ball to KAT at the top of the circle. Atlanta was then in trouble because if they were focusing to much on Brunson with their best defenders Towns could pass to cutters and they also had to guard Towns. They were forced to spread out their defense and that hurt them in other ways.
no you
“ and the trailing team just submits and succumbs to a result that doesn’t really substantively indicate that much.
Happens a lot near the end of seven-game series”
Gotta hand it to E. Completely ignoring the stats that most series that go six games are competitive in game six, particularly if game six is the home team, including every one the Knicks have played in over the last 50 years. But keep on posting….your agenda whiatever it is these days.
It was a remarkably bad X’s and O’s kind of performance from the Hawks, that’s for sure. Mike Brown made some adjustments after game 3 and Snyder never came up with an answer.
The Knicks got a LOT of easy buckets in these last three games. Their offensive numbers for the series were just absolutely torrid.
Cronin coolly circulating confident conjecture communicates clear contempt for Cronin Curse.
If the day ever comes we win a title (god-willing), I will be very curious to read E’s posts on the next day’s thread.
Yeah, but Leon only made a team that can win one title. Ant Man got hurt in round one and if that didn’t happen Minny would have come out of the West and beat us. OKC wasn’t trying because they won a title last year and they have plenty of more chances.
Couldn’t watch live bc of time zone. Watched whole game upon waking up without checking scores or this blog. Just a sublime effort. Was only nervous about Mitch’s limping, which continued after he came back in, and was only (mercifully?) ended by his ejection. I hope it was nothing(?)
Nikarl-Anthony Townsic update:
21/13/7 and 3.8 (!) stocks per 36
74% TS
13.4 BPM leads all qualifying players in the playoffs
OG in 2nd place with 10.7 lmao
Are we still sure about that?
Yeah, KAT was doing this on a smaller scale for the last month or so of the regular season. It took Dyson Daniels shutting Brunson down to unleash point-Towns’ full potential.
No, we aren’t! And I love that.
It is wild to think that no one thought to try this with him before Brown. Although I guess he was coached by Thibs for most of his career, lol. But Thibs used Noah as a point center a lot. So kind of odd.
Worth keeping in mind that this was his first playoff series as an All-Star. He’s only 24 and has time to continue developing.
JJ’s shooting has lagged behind the rest of his game but seems to be getting better. He needs to develop some more touch as a scorer in general. If he can develop a couple midrange or post moves to go over the top of the Josh Hart’s of the world, he could reach another level once again.
Even still he put up 20/8/5 per 36. He and some bad shooting luck and was only 29% from 3, which dragged his efficiency down.
Also, shout-out to OG’s rebounding. He usually looks incredibly static going for rebounds, basically needing the ball to bounce directly to him. Even a single step or needing to bend down and he couldn’t grab it a lot of the time.
In this series he was grabbing things out of his immediate zone and showed a willingness to twist himself a bit off-balance to secure the ball when he used to just go straight up and down.
Cromulent comment
We’ve seen OG have break out periods before that weren’t sustained, but that was typically with Brunson off the court and him having to step up his usage. He won’t sustain this kind of shooting, but this one feels more sustainable. He’s more agressive going to the boards and is finishing way better around the rim. Those were two areas we’ve been waiting for him to improve at.
OG also seems more judicious on his forays to the hoop..like he assesses who is guarding him and whether it makes sense to just shoot a jumper or take it to hoop…before he just seemed to make his mind up and bum rush the lane.
Bigger point about OG’s offense is that he seems to be either trying to dunk or shoot from distance. He recognizes that he’s not the best with the ball on the floor, so he’s no longer trying to be AI and is simply overpowering guys. It’s fun to watch.
Only one title has no bearing on my argument. Good franchises often win back-back-back titles. Or 2-3 in a 5 year span. Let’s see them do it again, which obviously won’t happen given the inherent flaws in this lineup, coaching staff, hot dog vendors, and ownership group.
That was a Mike Brown win. This KAT that sacrifices points and shots is gonna have a much longer shelf life in a league where much less talented men rely on athleticism to compete. Here’s to hoping KAT keeps it up. Better to be a legend than a martyr.
Also hoping that ass whipping, which allowed Mikal to take a bunch of shots, gets him back into rhythm. If he can find his groove while the rest of the starting line up keeps theirs, we’re a completely different team.
I think it’s definitely the latter. It feels like KAT & Brown finally clicked. This is the role Brown’s been pushing him to — and KAT’s been resisting — all year. He dominated the game on 4 shots.
I don’t really think I’d call OG’s .567 shooting from there is sustainable.
As for the interior offense, he may be benefitting from Atlanta’s relative lack of size.
Dunking against Queta or Embiid is not the same.
That’s where you’re wrong. Say it with me: they’re an overrated try-hard team.
Knicks-Sixers would be a war. Maxey is legit and PG is in form. They have size and depth. I’m low key scared of that team.
Knicks-Celtics would be a breeze.
Pray for a good shooting day for the C’s Saturday.
Also going back a ways on the thread…
+750 doesn’t necessarily reflect the true odds Vegas has on Boston, it reflects the odds they can get the most suckers at.
If the general betting populus believes +750 is a good line and Vegas thinks it gives enough cushion from the true odds to offset the loss in marginal bettors, they’ll take the better expected value.
In general futures are not great bets because Vegas gives itself a nice cushion for each one.
C’mon Hubie. I’m riding high too but this is really blithe.
Boston spent most of the season putting up what would have been the 2nd highest SRS in the history of our franchise, trailing only the 1970 title team. Then they added an MVP candidate, who has played to an 8.9 BPM this playoffs so far.
A few poor shooting games against another very good team doesn’t just erase that.
I think we’ll have a dogfight against either one and I’m not feeling great either way. It’s not that the Celtics suck, it’s that the Sixers at full strength are also really, really good.
I will say that the Celts are everything I fear our team is in my worst moments. They have a penchant for choking and losing to inferior teams, and when you look at their playoff opposition their 2024 title was among the weakest in history despite the gaudy 16-3 record. Not a single opponent won over 50 games.
I think it’s Ace-King vs. QQ all in preflop in either case. We’re AK against BOS and QQ against PHI.
You don’t say.
What’s that supposed to mean? I said we’ll have a competitive series either way. 3.8 roentgen. Not great, not terrible. Do you disagree?
Yeah you can put up some gaudy numbers trying very hard in a league where half the teams aren’t. Doesn’t mean you’re very good.
See Detroit for further evidence.
There’s a great clown coming to town that could help out with that
This is a fun stat, courtesy of @krispursiainen:
It also potentially helps if you shoot a lot of 3s.
Over the course of a season it probably makes sense to shoot a lot of 3s in terms of total points scored, but it also adds to volatility.
If you win 130 – 110 on a very hot night and then lose 110 – 105 on a very cold night, you are +15 and 1 – 1.
If you win 115 – 100 and 115 -110 you are +10 and 2-0.
I’m not convinced that focusing on 3s is the best way to win a single game or even series unless you have all great 3 point shooters like the old Warriors or just happen to be creating a lot of great looks. I think we are probably past the point of doing it right. I prefer what OKC does. They play like the old school basketball teams. They often play big, try to get high quality mid range and inside shots, extra FTs, but they have added in shooting 3s when they get a very good look. It’s less volatile than what Boston does.
It’s at least arguable that Boston lost last year because of 3s and they may be on the ropes for that reason in part because of 3s again.
I’d prefer forcing a lot of 3s if I was the inferior team hoping to get lucky.
Yeah, the weird thing is that if you’re the better team talent-wise, you don’t want the variance that chucking up a bunch of threes brings to the party.
think the simpsons and stephen king got the whole clown situation sorted out pretty well…
Boston is on the ropes bc a lot of their players aren’t very good.
White is either injured or washed. Pritchard is variance personified. The rest of those guys are just not great… Queta, Hauser, Walsh, Garza… they try hard but they’re pretty mid.
Fellini shan’t go unmentioned
Thanks, Clarence. Why is he being mentioned today specifically, though, if I may ask?
I’m thinking that if we haven’t heard anything about Mitch being suspended for Game 1 of the conference semi-finals by now, he’s probably out of the water. IIRC, they make those decisions pretty quickly, usually the next day after the game when the incident occurred. Maybe he got off with having a little convo over at 645 Fifth.
My podcast is gonna launch later this month, and JK did an awesome job on the theme music. In case we needed any more evidence of his musicianship.
Don’t delete your account, JK!
He was into bozos Doogie.
If I had to pick which team I’d rather play, I’d probably go with Clyde’s pick of Boston; but honestly, I’d rather not make a pick. I’m just savoring the fact that both those teams have to play a tough extra game for the honor of playing us.
Looking forward to that, Alan (and JK)!
Hit us with a link to those jamz, Alan!
Detroit got the tigers and the paper tigers
Does anyone know of a channel that is broadcasting the Magic – Pistons game without the dreaded Kevin Harlan?
I’m forced to watch right now with the sound off. The struggle is real.
It’s on Prime. So no other options.
How is Ben Rice so good?
Motor city meltdown
Detroit is doing the thing.
Raptors, please.
If Detroit loses, that would have to be an all-time meltdown.
Add it to Denver, which wouldn’t be such an upset except half the Wolves are out.
Scottie Barnes has been so good this series.
Magic are going to blow this. Assholes.
Mosley seeing his team melting down and not calling a timeout is making me want to throw things at the TV.
Pistons are fugazi.
If the Pistons lose this game – which the Magic really want to hand to them – they should be utterly embarrassed.
Loving the parity in the league right now and I bet Silver is too….
I don’t think Orlando is winning. Banchero sucks too much
That’s SPOT ON.
ATL and Denver too. Three Frauds fully exposed. CLE is mid as well.
Boston would have lost in 5, – if Embiid was healthy all series.
I’m with you 100% , – let’s all pray for a great shooting day, corrupt referreing and some of that ol Irish luck tomorrow.
Let’s hope Franz can get back for Game 7. He’s their engine.
Why is Banchero still shooting? Terrible
Magic are fugazi.
Also, this is some terrible basketball. Feels like the nineties.
It’s like an entire team of John Starks
Bane is a sociopath. Shooting without conscience.
Banchero really is the new Melo
Toronto vs DET/ORL would be a really ugly series too.
I really blame this on Mosley. He was so freaking passive during the 16-2 Detroit run, letting Banchero take contested 3 after contested 3. Awful coaching.
Thompson is an absolute hellhound
Hawks and Magic should be relegated.
Neither Detroit or Magic deserve to advance. A truly awful, historical bad, display of basketball by the Magic in the second half to GIFT Detroit the win.
I expect a blowout in game 7 and Detroit, undeservingly, winning the series. They needed a Franz injury and terrible coaching and shooting to win it
How does a professional basketball team score 15 points in 22 and a half minutes?
They shouldn’t be allowed to play a game 7 after that. It’s not like Detroit was even lighting it up
Murray-Boyles is like a great name for a printing press.
Toronto almost as bad
If you were wondering whether or not Christian Scott was any good, rest assured he is not.
Toronto is playing like ass in the 4th.
I have nothing to complain about the Yankees…
RJ TO and RJ missed 3. Drink!
Edit: And yet another one. Drink!
Cavs are atrocious.
RJ, my dude, come on.
Jesus. What a disaster he has been.
All these teams playing offense tonight make the Knicks look like the 2017 Warriors.
That should not be a shooting foul
My eyes hurt after watching so much bad basketball tonight. I will skip watching Houston.
RJ is so bad.
Magic gonna lose game 7 by 20+
LOL the Haliburton shot.
Good god fucking ded
RJ pulled a Haliburton!
Lol at my previous post…. RJ throws up a total brick and it goes in…. Ha!
Raptors will get blown out in gm 7 …just like magic
Looool
Yeah unfortunately I think both home teams will have fairly easy Game 7 wins.
Okay so Mitch is FINED but NOT suspended for game 1.
Which is okay, as long as they throw Embiid in prison for his yanking of Mitch’s surgically repaired ankle two years ago. (or was it one?)
Don’t really care who wins the other series. Just glad they’re all going 7.
Big blue, last night we did look like the 2017 Warriors!
So Dyson instigates but Mitch gets fined more? Thats some bullshit.
There has been some really bad basketball tonight
One real negative about the game is that Reggie Miller didn’t have to call it. Though it was painful enough for RJeff.
Even with the Dodgers mired in some pretty wacky baseballing lately, I have to say, to this point I am not sorry that the NBA playoffs are not televised anymore.
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