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Jalen Brunson, Knicks strike first (and often) against 76ers: Game 1 takeaways – The New York Times
Playoff Game Thread: Knicks vs 76ers, Game 1, May 4, 2026 – Posting & Toasting
Karl-Anthony Towns finding groove as ‘quarterback’ of Knicks’ high-scoring offense amid record stretch – SNY
Knicks’ Jalen Brunson doesn’t expect to see same 76ers team from Game 1 in Game 2 – SNY
Philadelphia 76ers vs. New York Knicks Live Score and Stats – May 4, 2026 Gametracker – CBS Sports
Knicks 137, 76ers 98: Scenes from getting it done in Game One – Posting & Toasting
How To Bet Knicks vs. 76ers, Game 1 | KFS Weekly Wagers | Knicks Film School – Knicks Film School
The Run.down Knicks vs Sixers R2G1 Postgame Show – The Strickland
KOT Pregame KNicks vs 76ers – Knick of Time
Knicks DOMINATION in Game 1 | Rapid Reaction – Knicks Fan TV
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150 replies on “Knicks Morning News (2026.05.05)”
There’s something happenin’ here.
What it is ain’t exactly clear.
But we’re starting to maybe get some clarity.
The money still isn’t impressed, though. Peaked at +850 Sunday between the Celtics loss and before the Pistons’ Game 7, Pistons won to put things back to +900. Still +900 as we speak.
The “pessimistic” take on things would be that Atlanta surrendered — they did — and Philly had an emotional letdown after a tough seven game series and short layover — jury’s still very much out on that one.
Game 2 will be very telling.
Atlanta gave up because we stomped them.
The schedule is not forgiving for Philly at all. Only one day off between games until game 6, if they make it that far.
Maybe it’s just luck or a hot streak, but this is the best the Knicks have looked in my lifetime.
The only possible pessimistic take to me is regarding rounds after this one. We drew what turned out to be two VERY favorable matchups. Atlanta has no size. Embiid can’t move. Neither team has a bench. Cleveland and, especially, Detroit, will be more well-rounded, albeit also with flaws to exploit. (Nobody on the Cavs can guard Brunson, nobody on Detroit but Cade can generate offense.)
That said, the team learned so much about itself in Atlanta, and even in this game. They can beat you so many ways. The point center thing wasn’t working against Embiid, so Brown adjusted quickly and started running pick and roll on every play. And the players seem totally bought into whatever is asked of them. Mikal and Hart are defending like their 99th percentile outcome. KAT is doing everything. Brunson will facilitate if that’s what the defense is dictating. Etc. It’s awesome to see.
6ers will continue to get whistle, and perhaps they put JoJo on Hart in game 2, but their defense was horrendous and hard to envision a big leap, even if Knicks’s shooting regresses.
edit: @Alan, I think KAT has watched some prime Bill Walton on Portland film.
It’s been really fun to watch them play this past week. Atlanta was lucky to get 2 games and if they keep playing like this we won’t have to worry about a 6 game series.
After the game found its speed it felt like one of our core guys was checking in at every time out. Just wave after wave of merciless energy hitting the floor with purpose. Another Brown win. Mechanical depth.
Gotta give major props to Josh Hart’s defense last night. The box score says he had 3 steals but it felt like he had 10. The dude was flying around the court on the defensive end and constantly disrupting the Sixers offense.
Oh and 8 rebounds and 6 assists ain’t bad either.
It’s weird to say about a guy who rebounds as well as he does at his size, but Hart can kind of half-ass it during the regular season, at least on defense. But he’s been a goddamn maniac on that end in these playoffs. Now that Mikal has gotten his head on straight offensively, it feels like all the rotation guys have 1000% bought into the idea that this could really be their year, and they need to do everything possible to make it happen. I’m loving it.
I think I know. And I seem to have a crystal ball this spring so listen up.
There was a moment in the 1Q when KAT fell awkwardly and I honestly thought he had broken something and it was all over. And then after the game we invoked the January Knicks, which ended when Julius Randle separated his shoulder. And of course the last time the Knicks looked this good in a postseason, Patrick Ewing got injured.
So this will go one of two ways:
A. The Knicks win the championship.
B. A critical Knicks gets struck down in this series when we are seemingly at the height of our power.
Search your feelings. You know it’s true.
He looked toast defensively at points in the regular season and he’s been one of the best defenders in the playoffs. Unbelievable.
BTW I had to go for a walk to calm down after this happened… “ticky tack foul” my ass, Ian… this was as dirty AF:
https://www.nba.com/stats/events?CFID=&CFPARAMS=&GameEventID=33&GameID=0042500211&Season=2025-26&flag=1&title=Embiid%20P.FOUL%20(P1.T1)%20(S.Foster)
PS – You may recall that I know exactly where Joel Embiid lives in NYC. If he injures a Knick in this series I am publishing that address to all the fan blogs in NY.
Jalen Brunson is a +111 for the playofs.
LOL
There was also a sequence of 3 consecutive plays in which they targeted Brunson pretty hard.
Also, here’s a quote from Embiid after the game regarding the play in which Mikal hit his core:
He’s announcing what he’s about to do.
I’m sure the OGs here remember The Honeymooners episode where Norton misreads the thermometer after taking Ralph’s temperature. That’s Nick Nurse’s assistant giving him that stat.
I probably won’t do that bc it seems dangerous and unethical… but I will need you guys to help me if it comes to that.
Fuck Embiid. After what he did to Mitch in ’24 and getting away with it, they should go through every screen he sets with gusto.
And Strat’s had enough.
Good number, but can you imagine how high it would be if he was willing to play more like Tyler Kolek?
Playing basketball against a locked in Josh Hart seems like no fun. I agree with Alan that it seems like he has a playoff switch, which is pretty insane considering no one has ever accused the guy of dogging it.
If everyone continues to give this level of effort, both physically and in terms of decision making, we’ve got a shot at the damn thing.
I said this last night and got some likes but would love to here some commentary:
Is it soon enough to conclude that Mike Brown is a superior playoff coach to Thins? Or are a combination of the luck of soft-ish opponents compared to those in the past, plus the improved roster to work with, plus the blown leads in games 2 and 3 to a vastly inferior team enough to keep the jury out?
I think I have enough data to give Brown the clear edge.
Mike Brown has his flaws, and let’s see how he adjusts after a bad stretch here.
That said, I still have nightmares of Nembhard pressuring Brunson every possession and Thibs never making a switch to help the offense.
“If everyone continues to give this level of effort, both physically and in terms of decision making, we’ve got a shot at the damn thing.”
James Dolan said that back in early January.
re: Brown, I shouldn’t jinx it, but if we prevail, either Cleveland or Detroit would be a significant step up in competition, and I think Cleveland would be the tougher opponent. Either series may come down to a coaching edge. I don’t have a lot of faith in either Bickerstaff or Atkinson to out-coach anyone, but it would help if Brown actually turns out to be a good “tight series” coach.
Browns a better coach in the only meaningful way if we get to the finals. Aesthetically he’s way better.
If KAT had played full minutes, he might have had his 3rd triple-double of the playoffs vs 4 the rest of his career. Brown is definitely making something work that no other coach has made work.
“Browns a better coach in the only meaningful way if we get to the finals. Aesthetically he’s way better.”
I think you nailed it.
Agree with Hubert above…I feel like the only thing in our way of getting to the finals is injury…
on another note…need to see what OKC looks like …seems like they haven’t played in weeks but it would be ironic if Wolves end up making it through the West…and we make it through the East…
“If KAT had played full minutes, he might have had his 3rd triple-double of the playoffs vs 4 the rest of his career. Brown is definitely making something work that no other coach has made work.”
Benji on KFS pointed out that the main thing that Brown should be credited for is KAT’s improved defense. So if you put those things together you could say that Brown’s impact on KAT is a huge feather in his cap, and particularly so because KAT kinda bitched and moaned about what Brown was asking from him since preseason.
“Is it soon enough to conclude that Mike Brown is a superior playoff coach to Thins?”
This continues to be my most ironic typo ever….although not my funniest, as a principal I believe I once reminded staff about the big teats coming up…
Practice Kinda sucks when it’s not clicking. But when it does…
One of my favorite offensive sets is when KAT gets the ball at the top of the 3 point line and holds it up high and looks for cutters. Sort of Jokic-esque, and it puts enormous pressure on the defense.
That’s hard to refute. At the same time, this series has just begun. No, I don’t see them losing, but it’s early, and as well, wouldn’t we need to get to the Finals to truly determine Brown did better? Yes, the defense looks more locked in than it ever was during Thibs’ time, and yes, we are finally using our offensive versatility the way we always hoped, but … it’s early.
That’s just because of the big teats coming up
If you watch the highlights, it’s remarkable how many times Embiid gets roasted in one way or another. Most of the time it seems like he’s just standing around doing nothing. He has absolutely zero speed to his game on either end. On offense he can put it on the floor and crash his arms into his defender and get whistles, but that was the sum total of his game in game one. He was a disaster.
Are we still firing Leon Rose? Or maybe the best Knicks GM since forever is good enough.
The Sixers seem to be blaming their Game 7 for this. I get that a Game 7 is more intense, but they still have to play every two days, so I don’t know how Embiid becomes more mobile. Maybe their strategy will be to just park him in the paint and live with the Hart threes. We’ll see.
If this remains, though – what an indictment on Joe Mazzulla, who instead of attacking him relentlessly, kept his team shooting contested 3s.
In the postgame presser, Nurse repeatedly talked about how the game was “physical” and how they’re going to have to match that. So it seems to me they are telegraphing that they know they are going to have to go full WWF bad guy from this point on. They’re gonna start hitting us with folding chairs.
Nurse has Embiid playing in drop most of the time, and it was some of the most atrocious drop defense I have ever seen. I get it that he was tired from game 7, but could he have been THAT tired? If he can’t start moving any better than that it’s going to be tough to hide him.
I’m curious how Nurse is going to adjust on Brunson. Its odd to me that Morey didn’t give him a single prototypical defender to slow down Brunson. Not even a Nebrand type pest to guard and harrass him full court.
If they find an answer and Brunson lights them up with 40 and high efficiency, this series was over before it started.
Also, LOVE the OG vs PG13 match up since they really wanted OG and had to settle for George
I have such a low opinion of Embiid and the Sixers writ large I legitimately fear that they’re going to give up on the series at some point and turn their focus to injuring us going forward. Embiid is already trying to manufacture a casus belli by whining about this wholly innocuous play.
I can only hope that Mitch’s newfound propensity to not take getting cheap shot lying down serves as a deterrent.
Embiid was doing exactly the same thing against Boston. With him there is no need for pump fakes and/or counter type moves because he’s both super slow and doesn’t give effort. All you have to do just go up the first time. He wont jump. Don’t overthink it.
Bona picked up 5 fouls in under 4 minutes. It was obvious from that.
TNF, that’s a normal physical play on every screen. As a matter a fact, Boston should have been doing it at least 5X a game. It’s not even a foul.
I think Detroit would be a much tougher matchup than the Cavs because their defense and style of play will frustrate the shit out of the Knicks. Cavs are certainly more talented and have the offensive firepower to blow out teams but their perimeter defense is non existent. Knicks would also obviously have homecourt against the Cavs.
But don’t wanna get ahead of ourselves just yet, Knicks are clearly better than Philly and will win this series but I still fear we might lose a couple of games. Just hope Pistons Cavs go 7 games.
There a political comment to be made about the kind of group that accuses others of doing exactly what they’re doing, but I won’t kill the vibe and make it.
Hukporti all of a sudden looks very playable out there. In that shift early in the game when it was still close, he held his own. He was a perfectly effective antidote to Hack-A-Mitch.
Hubs, I certainly see why you would think something bad is going to happen to us. And it could. Winning a championship isn’t just about playing well. Luck is a huge part of it and this franchise has had it’s share of bad luck just when it looked like things were going our way.
But sometimes luck changes. And good luck is really just when opportunity meets preparedness and we seem the most prepared that we’ve ever been. Maybe, just maybe this is our year.
The Red Sox were cursed until they weren’t. The Cubs couldn’t win a world series until they did. Eventually, everything comes around and everything changes.
The best way for us to prevent the 76ers from playing dirty and injuring us is to do what we did last night. Get ahead early and pull away from them early. If we’re up 5 to 10 points in the 3rd quarter, that gives them more of a reason to try something sketchy than if we’re up 20 or 30 by halftime.
I’m worried. Whenever we get a really happy KB community, things go wrong. I hope this Knicks version is real.
They’re building vertical microdrama theatres in China usurping the wide format forever. dooooooooom.
This should be our mantra these playoffs. Except for getting to the Finals.
Then let’s put the good energy out there! No bad thoughts!
Was hoping this series would be 1-1 headed to Philly, to get me out of my cave to start watching this stuff. That line score, though, wow. I guess they lost by 32 to the Celtics in both games 1 and 4 last series, so cautiously optimistic for some decent competitive basketball still come the weekend…
The Knicks were never cursed a single day since 1973. Their results were a pure function of meddling ownership, poor management and one Michael Jordan.
You could add stupidity when the came off the bench vs Miami.
Glad I wasn’t the only one.
If anything shows the difference between Thibs & Brown, it’s Brown putting in Huk in the first quarter up only 4. I liked Thibs, but I really like seeing the extended bench folks being used in appropriate situations. I think it helps the team ATM, it helps the player develop, and it helps the team get used to playing alongside said player. It also throws a wrench into the opposition. There’s no reason to have a deep bench & stick to 7 players.
Also I really LOVE emptying the whole bench in a blowout & watching them play. I don’t think Thibs would have brought in the end of bench folks until about 2:00 left.
Dude even our third stringers looked locked in. Kolek was playing like it was game 7 of the finals.
Adem Bona was definitely told to sweep the leg last night. 5 fouls in 3 minutes.
Re: the offense – if Embiid can’t move then I don’t know how the Sixers can turn this around – he was barely even a traffic cone last night. Sometimes the announcers will say Team X is getting whatever they want, but last night it really did seem like the Knicks were getting whatever they wanted. Every time down it was a good if not great shot. Sure there was some shooting variance, but when all the shots are wide open you’re going to shoot better!
I have to think at least half of how bad the Sixers looked was hangover from the Boston series…. or at least that is what i will tell myself so as not to jinx. Very superstitious!
“They are the best team in the East and I’ve felt that way for months,” a rival East head coach said. “When they fell down [2-1] in the Hawks series, you could see that it actually brought them together. You can see they’re together and they’re hungry, which wasn’t the case for much of the year. Sometimes when we played them, I thought they didn’t all like each other. Now they seem like they do.”
I do think it’s too soon. He’s definitely made our ceiling feel higher, but we have to face better teams to see if it’s more than a feeling.
Plus Brown was pretty bad in those two close games vs Atlanta. I’m still a little afraid of his decision making in big spots.
With Thibs, the worst thing you could expect is he’d make the conservative choice. He never made blunders like benching Mitch on a final defensive possession.
Hard to argue against what Brown is doing, but I have always wondered why Brown (and Thibs) don’t structure their rotations such that Hack-a-Mitch is a less viable option. Bring him in at the 2 min mark of 1st quarter (when you can’t intentionally foul away from the ball) and then let him play the first 6+ min of the 2Q when the Knicks are not in the penalty. Or something like that. But instead he starts the 2Q with Towns. I get not wanting to mess up the initial rotation, but he could go double-big at the start of the 2nd to get more mitch time without having to worry about hack-a-mitch.
Because KAT had 2 fouls before the 2 min mark in the 1Q
Mitch was reinserted with 9:30 left in the 2nd.
https://www.reddit.com/r/NYKnicks/comments/1t4hjv0/sny_joel_embiid_cuts_off_a_question_about_the/
As I said in the game thread: just consider this practice for managing your anger at the calls SGA will get against Mikal and OG in the finals.
@Early Bird – i just mean in general re: Mitch’s rotations -not specifically this game
I think not moving up once in the lottery since 1985 is kind of a curse
Wow wow wow wow wow. I’m beginning to believe:
-I was wrong about most everything. This is our best team since at least 1994, and possibly 1970.
-Our net rating for the entire playoffs is fucking 21.3! OKC is 2nd with 18.3 and they’ve only played the shitty Phoenix Suns.
-No team has ever won 3 consecutive playoff games by 25 or more (we just did it by 29+).
-Hawks and Sixers didn’t have great season records, but there’s a LOT of evidence to show that they are better than their records, and mounting evidence that we are a lot better than them.
-Nikarl-Anthony Townsic continues to dominate the playoffs at a mere 22.5% USG. His league-leading BPM of 13.4 (lmao) held steady.
-KawhOG Leonardoby’s BPM actually slipped to 3rd at 9.9 due to Wemby’s one-man block party. He leads the entire playoffs at 77.8% TS.
I’m inspired to begin a redemption arc! I feel like Gollum when he tells his ring-corrupted alter ego, “Leave now, and never come back!”
Updated prediction: Knicks in 5. And we’re going to the Finals.
Greaaaaaaat…….
I believe the alter ego was actually Smeagol…
That set them up for 15 years of terrific basketball. Now is not the time to go all Uncle Sol from Nobody Loses All the Time on us.
I don’t want to look past the Sixers because they are the unholy alliance of “dirty teams that complain about every calls” & “Floppy Little Bitches” that can easily get everyone frustrated/hurt. That being said, if we maintain this level of performance this is done on Sunday.
Maybe it’s more like he has made the floor higher. Thibs had mostly the same personnel, but never got them to play defense the way the Mike Brown team plays defense. They’re a real deal top 5 defense. Maybe top 3. Maybe even better than that.
So that gives you a nice solid floor– you’re gonna be in most games if you’re defending your ass off. The ceiling part is still a question mark– what happens when we face a team that can really give us a run for our money and play us on even terms, in a series where the X’s and O’s really matter?
There are going to be close games, right?
Back in the 2023 season I wrote several times that if the Knicks could get by the Heat, in the next round they’d get to face “a team coached by Joe Mazzulla.” And then of course the team coached by Joe Mazzulla lost in the next round to the eighth-seed Heat.
Then it kind of started to look like he was a good coach, won a championship, won coach of the year (I think), got nominated again this year, team “overachieved” in the regular season this year and so I started wavering a bit and thought maybe the 2023 thoughts were either off or that he’d grown as a coach.
But nope — he sucks.
I think Brown also deserves his flowers for figuring out ways to involve Anunoby fully into the gameplan on offense. We’ve heard rumblings from OG that he wanted a bigger role in the offense before, but with Thibs it felt like there was never a real plan to do it, either he would get the ball and try to drive clumsily or sit in the corner taking shots.
Making it so that the offense can run through KAT at times allows OG to cut to the paint or get the ball in deeper positions so he can use his strength to score. He went 7/8 yesterday and it looked like none of the Sixers wings could handle him at all, and he was incredible to finish the series against Atlanta too after the adjustments.
I had to go old school last night and listen on the radio and in the pregame on ESPN radio, they interviewed Brown and he said that it was his job to get the players in the best positions for them to succeed and that he’d done a meh job of that during the season with KAT and that after ATL Game 3 they made some adjustments to take advantage of KAT’s passing skills and, according to Brown, JB’s screening skills. (He said that JB was one of the best screeners in the league.)
All in all, quite impressive — which is why when things were looking bleak here, I wrote my thoughts that if things kept going south, he’d have a soft landing. He’s certainly a very solid coach.
What’s so amazing is that outside of a few times, all season long it felt like what this team could be would never be realized — i.e., we all saw how absolutely dominant this team could be, but we very rarely saw it (short stretches now and again was it). And all season long we bitched about it, because we knew in our bones it was in there somewhere. And now, suddenly, here it is.
Also, I gotta call out Mikal, not for his offense but for shutting down Maxey. Every time I looked he was on him, and having Maxey go 3-9 was astonishing.
I believe the stats say that Maxey didn’t make a single field goal while Bridges was guarding him.
OG’s a much better cutter than a dribbler and so KAT as point center makes OG better, too.
KAT at PC also helps make up for JB’s deficiencies as a distributor. (Which are of course overwhelmed by his skills as a penetrator and shooter.)
A perfectly reasonable question. Again, we’ve had incredibly favorable matchups so far. Daniels’ ability to make life difficult for Brunson was more than made up for by Atlanta not having a single guy who could guard KAT. Embiid is a statue. Both teams have no bench.
If we make it to the next round to face, say, Detroit, and Ausar is smothering Brunson and Duren and/or Beef Stew are more successfully bothering KAT, will Brown have a counter? I feel much better about that idea today than I did even a week ago. And I do think there are ways in which us getting to beat the shit out of this flawed teams will pay off for us against the more solidly-built ones(*). But we’ll see. For the moment, though, Brown is coaching his ass off.
(*) Katz likes to talk about how, after Game 1 or 2 against Boston, Cam Payne was in the locker room say, “Thank god for Detroit,” because he felt like the challenge of that series made them better against the Celtics. The Atlanta series offered some of that in the first few games. But it also gave us an excuse in the later ones to fully actualize Voltron. And that can carry over even if we’re playing teams with personnel better suited to defend some of our individual guys.
hope mikal gets a chance to stuff them bony arms into embiid’s gut again next game…
other than the win itself, 2 biggest positives for me – mikal seems to be getting his mojo back, and huk stepping in early, looking ready and playing well…
tyler and mo look totally ready is they’re needed…
life is good at the moment in knickerblogger land…
It’s legitimately hilarious to me that the Sixers are complaining about the referees. Insane. Embiid said Brunson was foul baiting!
My armchair psychologist version: I can’t help thinking that this is downstream of organizational cultures that want to win literally every single edge in every transaction. So you have Daryl Morey at the top, doing what he does; this flows to Nurse, to the players, etc. Push all the boundaries, but then somehow complain when those are applied to you (see also: OKC, SGA, Dort).
Yeah I just wonder how much of this was stuff they were working on in practice during the season but would only try sporadically during actual games because KAT wasn’t comfortable doing it or did they really hold some of this back for now?
I’m guessing it’s the former with maybe a bit of the later sprinkled in? But it’s just wild after the first half of the season with KAT having so many problems adjusting to now get to this place. He looked better overall in the second half of the season but he still wasn’t pulling this rabbit out of the hat. The 2 man game with OG adds such a huge new element to the offense and makes the other stuff we were already doing (Jalen ISO, spraying, hart getting out and running on rebounds, etc.) work even so much better.
I don’t know. Again, cannot get ahead of ourselves but if this is, indeed, a new level, we are not just a 53 win team pseudo contender. We will face tougher defenses with Detroit and OKC and tougher offenses if we face Cleveland, but none of them have seen this version of the Knicks either.
Absolutely. Current events have shown the tremendous advantage of complete shamelessness in arenas far beyond the NBA’s.
The modern meta is defying norms that hold your adversaries back and embracing hypocrisy not as a badge of shame, but as a show of power.
God he’s such a despicable player. I hate him more than Boston.
I am really on all time heater right now…
I gotta figure out when this thing started…
I’m gonna be secretly rooting for Cleveland while pretending in front of my Michigander wife to be rooting for Detroit in this next series.
I’m not sure which team is really the better team, but I’m pretty confident we can beat this same iteration of the Cavs that we always seem to beat, while Detroit seems more like a wild card. Cleveland is what it is, but Detroit is an up and coming team that seems like a risk to put it all together.
Go Cavs (uh, I mean Pistons, yeah, that’s the ticket, Pistons)
Hubie, in case you’re planning on starting some sort of basketball religion soon, I volunteer to be your Paul
I need to stop reading about last night’s game because I’m getting way ahead of my skis. Need to get back to my anxiety.
To wit: the 2024-2025 Cavs had a +122 point differential in a 4-game sequence in the playoffs.
Here it is… April 16th… My first day back after giving up basketball for Lent… Look at this shit…
Do you guys realize what happened here?
I gave myself up to God and now he has given me wisdom!
1. After criticizing Brown about the offense and some of his lineups early in the Atlanta series I think he deserves a lot of credit for adjusting the offense to run through Towns more so we get less dribbling and fewer forced shots from Brunson. I also think using Alvarado has been the right move.
2. Mikal was good defensively against Atlanta and looked better on defense and offense last night than I was expecting. I think he has his playoff mojo back.
3. OG is paying out of his mind
4. I had no problem with Brunson’s shot attempts last night. I have a problem when he has a bad matchup, starts dribbling too much and forcing tough shots. But if they aren’t going to defend him and he can get wherever he wants to on the court and is taking great shots, the more the merrier.
5. I don’t think the 76ers were 100% last night. They were coming off a very tough series and game 7 on the road. I didn’t expect a blowout in game #1, but I expected it to be the easiest game of the series. I think they’ll be tougher in game #2 and we are going to have some trouble sustaining this shooting.
I definitely had the Holy Spirit on my tongue when I said this before game 4:
(ICYMI the ’98 Yankees responded with a clutch game 4 then dominated the rest of the postseason.)
Pags if you were Paul we’d still be Greco-Roman polytheists.
A subtle but defining moment for this resurgence was after one of the Atlanta beat-downs when the interviewer noted to KAT that he only had four shots in the game, and he was visibly shocked (he had 10 free throws, so going 1-4 isn’t entirely accurate).
But I thought that was telling — he’s so involved as a point center, and so clearly enjoying being the fulcrum, that he’s totally embraced it. He doesn’t seem to care if he isn’t getting a lot of shots, he just wants to feel involved. And this does it for him.
While also opening up the offense and minimizing annoying stuff as noted (Brunson overdribbling, OG trying to initiate offense and doing something pathetic, Bridges disappearing altogether, etc.).
A reading from Pags’ First Letter to the Corinthians:
Love is patient, love is kind. Love does not strive in envy, does not boast and does not inflate with pride. But Satan is the best player in the series, and Christ’s Church is doomed. Hellfire in 6.
Nailed me to the wall! Better than a cross, I suppose.
But Hubie, I said I’d be your Paul — that’s Saul talking. Note the name change!
Anyway, Satan is well past his prime now. All he’s got left is foul baiting, dirty plays, and the appendicitis excuse.
I do believe the offense is much better than it has been, but a lot of this has to be the matchups. Atlanta had no one to deal with KAT and Mitch, and Philly has no one to deal with KAT or Brunson. It’ll get way more difficult with Detroit. I would def take my chances with Cleveland — we know that Mobley and Allen are too soft to deal with our frontcourt, and they also have no one to deal with Brunson.
Not looking ahead to the next series. Thinking about this one. I think we made plenty of mistakes, and could definitely be better.
rama, if it ain’t by 51, it’s not a win!
I just expect them to figure out how to deploy Maxey better. I doubt there is a good way to hide Embiid, but maybe they show some wrinkles that take time to beat? They did briefly try a zone, maybe they work on that more.
Also, we shot incredibly well, so that won’t likely continue…. but also it won’t crater, because there were lots of good looks. So we should be OK on offense; I just think we’re still working through some issues, especially on D, and we may not have quite the margin for error with the miscommunications that we had in the first game.
Can anybody who watched Celtics game 2 give a poor peacockless ex-knick fan something to cling to now?
From the bit of espionage I did last night (read: lurking Sixers fan communities while masturbating furiously):
The Sixers have two defensive schemes that actually work with the current iteration of Embiid on the floor:
1. Drop coverage
2. Zone
Jalen Brunson is drop coverage kryptonite. Very few NBA guards consistently eviscerate this look like Brunson does.
Against the zone, TIL that we had the best Ortg against zone in the NBA this year by a country mile.
Yeah we shot great and they were tired but a lot of our advantages here are structural and repeatable.
dang, peacock at it again…no cavs/pistons for me…
oh well, more red dead redemption 2 time…
working on hunting cougars now (need 5 kills with a bow)…I’ve had the chance to get munched on and clawed up more than a few times…
trick is not to get distracted and caught up in too much plant picking in their areas, cuz, that is exactly when they’ll decide to come say hi…
whoa there tiger, keep it pg please…
Important NBA playoffs question: Alan, what are you watching? Is it Rooster? Cause Lady Walsh is, and, as I was trying to read Shantaram next to her, I ended up with so, so, so many questions…
Hey, geo, you’re the one eviscerating big cats!
geo, *now* you’re worried about keeping it clean? A little late for that. LOL
One thing we have not seen because of the good shooting / good looks is offensive rebounding. The Sixers are a bad defensive rebounding team. So I think the offense will not fall from a cliff if shots stop falling. Their will get more shots on goal.
can’t find the comment now, but think it may have been hubie mentioning that letting KAT run the offense from the top of the key had unlocked a totally bought in and joyful KAT…
who is an elite center…now a happy and fully engaged elite center…
of course this is something most of us were hoping for – like from the beginning of the season…however, not: spray spray spray, so MB no likey…
brunson likes getting his, KAT seems to truly enjoy setting up others, and rebounding, and watch out, he wants to play some defense now too…
this is a different kind of KAT, no longer simply el grande gato, going forward: trueno gato!!!
Donnie, I’ve been watching Rooster, yeah. I enjoy parts of it, while others are baffling.
It was me Geo. I was pointing out that having KAT hold the ball high from the top of the 3 point line and look for cutters puts a ton of pressure on the defense.
And if nothing’s there, he can do his bullyball to the hoop (without committing an offensive foul of course)
Embiid is so much bigger than anybody Atlanta had that KAT holding the ball out there was less effective. But the mere threat of it opens up the KAT/JB pick and roll.
That’s funny, d-mar, I was about to write that it was me!
“But I thought that was telling — he’s so involved as a point center, and so clearly enjoying being the fulcrum, that he’s totally embraced it. He doesn’t seem to care if he isn’t getting a lot of shots, he just wants to feel involved. And this does it for him.
While also opening up the offense and minimizing annoying stuff as noted (Brunson overdribbling, OG trying to initiate offense and doing something pathetic, Bridges disappearing altogether, etc.).”
Nice that we’re all on the same page, at least!
Love Michael calling in….
Michael you speak for, well, a few people on this board….
https://x.com/DHRonESPN/status/2051779419962839392/video/1?s=46
Hubie, that was funny
and the winner – all of us 😊
oh yeah, the comment had referenced the post game interview when KAT only took 4 shots – and he didn’t seem to care at all…
seems he really looks up to joker, so he wants to dish too…
I guess instead of feeding the KAT, better to let the dude dish and OG and mikal feast off his finds…
My kingdom for a matchup against this crummy Cavs team
Cleveland is not good
Can someone explain to me how Detroit’s defense is so good?
I know Thompson is great on D but I understand Duren is not, I can’t imagine Cade is much better than average, and then the other starters are Tobias Harris and Duncan Robinson…
Ausar Thompson is a pretty insane defender. And when him and Isaiah Stewart play together it basically walls off the rim. Bickerstaff has coached up the team into an elite defense that pressures the point of attack.
Cleveland was barely able to beat a really mediocre Toronto team, while Detroit had the tougher assignment in Orlando. This doesn’t look like it’s going to be much of a series.
Booking a marriage counselor now
We almost had it.
That Magic collapse in game 6 was meaningful to us.
I have to think Atkinson is not a good coach. He has some pretty elite athletes on that team, at least among the starters, with skills that should mesh. But then they let the Homeless version of Aaron Gordon go 10 and 6 in the first half…
The Cavs are also pretty deep, so it’s strange that Atkinson hasn’t found anything that works.
That said, facing the Mitchell/Harden frontcourt after Suggs/Bane must be a breeze.
I think Mobley and Allen deserve most of the blame for Cleveland’s constant underwhelment. They got punked by Mitch in their first playoffs, and everyone gave them a pass because they were young. But they’ve been getting punked by everyone else since then, too. They’re just soft.
I’m unwilling to cast any shade on Mitchell. I’m a big fan, and I hope he makes it to the Knicks one day like he’s always wanted to. Brunson and Mitchell would be dynamite, like a modern day Clyde and Pearl.
This version of the Cavaliers is like the 90’s Cavaliers. Sure, they have some pretty nice players like Mark Price and Brad Daugherty, and can even win 50 games, but the rest of the roster is a bunch of Bobby Phillses and Craig Ehlos and Chris Millses, and they scare exactly nobody in the playoffs.
I’m Ausar is truly special
Fun to watch
Detroit would be a tough out
And Tobias’ late career resurgence is something
I don’t get how teams haven’t been able to play Duncan Robinson off the floor. Even Spoelstra found it hard to play him in the playoffs.
I think Cade is supposed to be a good bit better than average but maybe his usage scales that back, but just his height/length alone goes a long way vs having a normal-sized PG.
Duren isn’t a bad defender, he’s not amazing but he’s average to above average. He may have surpassed that level this season.
As Doug mentioned, Stewart has received a heap of praise for being elite. If he qualified with the bare minimum games/minutes, there’s a decent chance he’d be all-defense.
Thibs to the Cavs during the off season?
I mean if he can’t get them to play tough nobody can, plus they’re really only eight deep, so who cares if the starters go 40 a night…
Plus there’s the never-ending spectacle of Harden vs. Thibs…
I assume that the Cavs would break up the team if they get eliminated by Detroit.
Doesn’t happen as much in the regular season and I’m not sure Orlando has the personnel to exploit anyone since you can just pack the paint against them.
Playoff Harden in the house.
Yeah, the Cavs are the only team over the second apron, right? That’s not worth paying for if you can’t get past the second round.
Of course, making any moves when over the second apron isn’t easy …
Cavs are not dead.
(deGrom, on the other hand, just surrender quite the moonshot to Jazz).
Defensively the Pistons are very similar to us:
Robinson = Brunson
Ausar = OG
Duren = KAT
Stewart = Mitch
Schroeder = Deuce
Hart & Mikal are better than Cade & Harris.
KAT is much better than Duren.
edit: nevermind, you are obviously talking defense. I think you are right.
Picking a team for Thibs is one of my favorite pastimes, but I never thought of the Cavs. Bad match. He deserves better.
Who is worse at the nonstop complaining, Nurse or Bieckerstaff?
makes me happy to see sga take a shot and not get the whistle…
re.inds me a bit of embiid…how does he draw so many fouls while setting a screen…
he’s such a flopper…hopefully he meets up with mikal’s elbows again…
I agree, Hubie. He does deserve better, it would be tortuous. But a lot of fun to watch. In a black comedy way.
Cavs are so soft that even Duncan Robinson is bodying them.
Detroit blowing this game would be kinda sweet
Yall blew off the Cavs a little too quickly.
Nah the Cavs still stink
How did Mobley win DPOY?
The Pistons have twice as many foul shots
Cavs somehow might be even softer now than they were when Knicks dominated them in the playoffs 3 years ago.
I can’t believe how many soft plays the Cavs made in that last two minutes. Just so much weak shit it was genuinely amazing.
Mobley sucks ass in the playoffs every year. You can set your watch to it.
what’s amusing is that they brought in james harden to solve their playoff performance issues…
ha…
Nice fake comeback by Cleveland
Lakers look very outgunned but are gamely hanging around. Getting SGA to commit turnovers is keeping them in the game.
a healthy luka and this would have been a close series…
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