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66 replies on “Knicks Morning News (2026.08.02)”
Some actual facts:
“2025 playoffs
71% of Brunson’s FGs came from his own on-ball actions (ISO, post up, pnr ballhandler).
Only 19.3% of his FGs were assisted
2026 playoffs
56% of his FGs came from his own on-ball actions.
35.7% of his FGs were assisted
Those are massive differences.
Maybe he was the least impacted player under Brown’s offense, but he was still hugely impacted by Brown’s offense.”
He’s another actual fact: Brunson’s playoff TS+ went from 101 in 2025 to 99 in 2026.
I also noted how we were talking about the 2025 ECF’s vs. the 2026 Finals. Nice goalpost move!
Brunson’s usage vs. the Pacers was 34.4%. His TS% was .632 and his eFG% was .564, best of the top-5.
Brunson’s usage vs. the Spurs was 37.9%. His TS% was .536 and his eFG% was .474, worst of the top-5.
As to the very obvious differences between Thibs and Brown, one of the most important ones was Brown’s strategies to keep guys fresh and rested throughout the regular season…keeping minutes down, using the entire roster. Another was his willingness to defer to assistants rather than to always be the smartest guy with the loudest voice in the room. There’s other stuff as well. He was a better coach for this team at this time, period. Hard stop. (and ironically, it was James Dolan, and only James Dolan who fired Thibs under the premise that someone better had to be out there.)
But we don’t have to make up stuff to imply that the Knicks beat the Spurs while the Knicks lost to the Pacers because of things like the newfound KAT-Brunson pick and roll freeing Brunson up for better iso opportunities. If anything freed Brunson up, it was a combination of Brunson himself and Mitch Johnson’s inexperience and rigidity.
What point are you trying to make? Just defending Thibs?
Not really interested in continuing to pick at the Thibs scab. If you want to believe Mike Brown’s offensive adjustments didn’t help Jalen Brunson in the 2026 playoffs, that’s ok.
I wonder if there’s a difference between the Pacers and Spurs that would explain the difference between Brunson’s shooting. Also, what would explain the difference in Brunson’s shooting vs the Pacers and vs Detroit and Boston that same year.
People have good weeks and bad weeks. I know I do.
“Not really interested in continuing to pick at the Thibs scab. If you want to believe Mike Brown’s offensive adjustments didn’t help Jalen Brunson in the 2026 playoffs, that’s ok.”
First of all, you are the one who brought it up in a specific context. Second, you moved the goalposts outside the context of the discussion. Third, when presented with facts (stats, video evidence) you say smug shit like you did above.
Never change, dude!
I don’t think you presented facts as well as you think you did (and vincoug already did a good job of pointing that out). But I have enough experience to know how this conversation will go if I engage, and I’d rather put my hand in a blender.
“I wonder if there’s a difference between the Pacers and Spurs that would explain the difference between Brunson’s shooting. Also, what would explain the difference in Brunson’s shooting vs the Pacers and vs Detroit and Boston that same year.”
What are the differences, do tell!
“I don’t think you presented facts as well as you think you did (and vincoug already did a pretty good of pointing that out).”
Actually, both of you just copped out behind smugness rather than defend the nonsense you posted.
I said a whole bunch of times that Brown was better than Thibs (obviously that has fallen on a few deaf ears, shocker!) but I don’t need to fabricate reasons to defend that position.
I don’t know. Why don’t you explain why Thibs had Brunson shoot 43% against Detroit and 44% against Boston that playoffs? And then you can explain to everyone again that you’re not a Thibs fan and you’re not defending him.
Great thread yesterday, but this is just perfect:
” his parting advice: ‘it’s all confidence young man.’ ”
Yeah, i know a scrub won’t be good no matter how much confidence he has, but it’s the other way around that it’s perfect. I know a lot of people, be it in sports, or in other areas of life, that have the ability to be good but lack the confidence. It was a really good advice, i would say. 🙂
I’m a bit obsessive about the NBA Cup…but looking at that final we were down by 5 entering the 4th, having not led since the 1st. Went on a 12-1 run to start the 4th and won by 11. And who was the NBA Cup MVP?–Rick Brunson’s son. Same playbook against the same team and same result.
The larger point is that one of the most effective offensive schemes in the history of NBA playoff basketball is “give Jalen Brunson the ball and get the hell out of his way.” Brunson took 133 FGAs vs. the Spurs. The next closest was OG at 61. KAT had 49. There wasn’t a whole lot of diversification of the offense.
As to the Pacers, we lost those games on the defensive end. We couldn’t stop Nesmith in game 1 when it counted. We couldn’t stop Siakam in Game 2. Haliburton destroyed us in Game 4. Siakam and Hali tagteamed us in Game 6.
The vector between Thibs and Brown was more pronounced on the defensive end. From midseason on, and throughout the playoffs, we had essentially the best defenses in the NBA.
I know I am overselling the NBA Cup, but JB won NBA Cup MVP and Finals MVP in the same year. That combo may stand as unique for quite some time, given that a team has to win both as a pre-requisite. The guy just thrives when winning matters the most.
“I don’t know. Why don’t you explain why Thibs had Brunson shoot 43% against Detroit and 44% against Boston that playoffs? And then you can explain to everyone again that you’re not a Thibs fan and you’re not defending him.”
How about you explaining to me how Brunson had a higher TS% in the 2025 playoffs than in thre 2026 playoffs on the same usage despite having a much better coach with better offensive schemes against weaker teams with worse coaches, and how you are not a knee-jerk Thibs hater.
The vibes were clearly too immaculate yesterday to last. Oh, well.
We mostly raced past the news that Sochan signed with Portland. Again, not a big loss. He’s small and can’t shoot, so his switchability is only so helpful. We all seem to agree that at this point, there will be a training camp battle for the third center job, and then if things aren’t working by mid-season, Leon will swing a trade. But I wonder who the participants in said training camp competition will be.
Brunson was playing with a fractured hand in 2026. Right?
I don’t really care about coaches, never have, so am not wading into this one.
That said, I do want to give a shoutout to Jordan Brink, speaking of assistant coaches. That guy did an absolutely unreal job all season and into the playoffs. I am not sure who contributed more than him from the end of the coaching bench and every team should be after him.
He might have been worth 15 points above replacement by himself.
“Brunson was playing with a fractured hand in 2026. Right?”
Seemed like a soft tissue thing, but definitely injured.
Sure, through the first 3 series Brunson’s TS% was 59% before playing San Antonio and their 106.7 DRtg (and one that I belive was even lower before the Finals).
Now you explain what the meaningful difference is between a 101 and 99 TS+.
“That said, I do want to give a shoutout to Jordan Brink, speaking of assistant coaches. That guy did an absolutely unreal job all season and into the playoffs. I am not sure who contributed more than him from the end of the coaching bench and every team should be after him.”
Brown and Leon did a superb job of building a cohesive and collaborative coaching environment.
Bringing in Patton as a shooting coach is an underrated move.
Chris Jent, by all accounts, was huge in getting the Point KAT offense to work. Lots of great assistants. I suspect we’ll lose a couple of them in the next hiring cycle.
“Now you explain what the meaningful difference is between a 101 and 99 TS+.”
Did you miss this post I made yesterday?
Anyway, thanks for actually defending what I was saying! Virtually no difference!
Oh wait, you actually were interpreting these words as a blind defense of Thibs in general, or saying that Thibs was better than Brown. Shocker!!
(and while you are blindly defending Hubert, maybe you can find all the KAT-Brunson PnR’s Brown ran vs. SAS that mad such a difference in his iso quality. I linked the film for you, should be easy!)
I don’t think you are. I like the cup, and am proud of the double. I hope the Knicks eventually recognize it with a banner.
I liked what Kolek said at the parade: “This my real trophy right here. Y’all got that one I got this one.” That’s what a cup is supposed to be.
The league needs to keep tinkering with it, though, to make it more like a real cup competition. They have to stop cramming it in to a short period, and I think they should have the cup final replace the all star game as the mid season centerpiece.
BTW the discussion of how Brunson took it to Wemby reminded me of when we first acquired Brunson and I was looking at his film, particularly from the playoffs vs. Utah when Luka was out. Rudy Gobert, who was a 3X DPoY at that time, and Brunson torched him just like he torched Wemby.
Generally speaking, when a crafty guard is in iso vs. a 7-footer, it’s considered a significant mismatch for the offense. Mitch Johnson seemed to learn that the hard way.
“I think they should have the cup final replace the all star game as the mid season centerpiece.”
The most important thing about the all-star break is that it is actually a “break.” It doesn’t make sense to me that while the rest of the league is resting, two teams are going to play at playoff-level intensity.
Besides, the Cup was initiated as a way to drum up fan interest during the early season dog days. It has accomplished that in spades. The only negative is that it doesn’t count for anything but some money for the scrubs and a fuqazi banner. Seems like having more at stake would make it more meaningful.
I suppose it could be argued that the Knicks benefitted from an additional game vs. their eventual finals opponent who took it very seriously.
Laurie Metcalf on stage is a fucking sight to behold.
“I suppose it could be argued that the Knicks benefitted from an additional game vs. their eventual finals opponent who took it very seriously.”
Yeah, whatever. Not sure what “who took it very seriously” means–the Knicks did who hadn’t won shit in 50 years and the Spurs didn’t? Wemby minutes limit was not an option, if that was what you were implying. Since you posited “it could be argued that the Knicks benefited” and I am at a loss as to why there is anything otherwise, interested to know what the facts point, or remotely point, to another conclusion. We won an elimination game from behind against the same opponents because we took it seriously?
FWIW I meant that both teams took it extremely seriously rather than the glorified exhibition game that it was.
ok, got it Z-man. Tone of my post dialled down considerably.
The worst part about the cup is the easiest thing to fix: they fuck up the final so bad that it makes the whole endeavor feel unworthy of the effort.
After months of buildup, it ends on a random Tuesday in mid December, which is typically the busiest time of the year for most people, making the game extremely easy to miss for everyone except die hard fans. And then the contestants both have to play an opponent two nights later that’s been off for 5 days.
And now they went and put the final in Indiana! Who the hell going on a mid-week trip to Indiana in December? I genuinely wonder if the cup can survive such a major gaffe. If the Pacers aren’t in the final they’re going to have to give away free tickets and beer to Butler students to fill that arena.
Meanwhile the all star game, which no one ever wants to watch because it always sucks, is played in a real city with tons of fanfare at the perfect time of the year — a Sunday in mid February, after the Super Bowl, when people are desperate for something to watch.
Seems a pretty easy fix to me. Keep all star weekend (in February, after the Super Bowl), but not the all star game. Put the cup final in there instead.
Give the league a week off so the two teams in the final have 3 days of rest before and after.
Name the all stars and name all star legends, too. Put all those guys in the front rows like all the old Knicks in the playoffs.
Now the whole sports world is watching, and you’ve got an event that makes the whole thing worthwhile, something people will talk about Monday morning.
Come on, Adam Silver… just steal my idea… I won’t sue you.
I’m too lazy and too ‘eye test friendly’ to go check stats to compare Thibs vs Brown and despite being a Thibs supporter i must confess that Brown’s Knicks’ offensive rhythm was clearly better than Thibs’ knicks rhythm.
The ball was moving freely like fresh water from Niagara falls and stagnation wasn’t a thing anymore.
Even Isos were used only when Defense was pressing hard and seemed as the best solution at these times.
Thibs was Top for overachieving mainly with scrubs but Brown was Even Better for taking it to another level by assembling a squad of low profile under the radar superstars.
When i was 10 yrs old the Nba All Star Game was something spectacular for me and waited to see the traditional battle between East and West while also rooting for Patrick to get the Mvp trophy.
I seriously can’t remember the last time i watched it… Probably during the 90s!
Death of a Salesman was written decades and decades ago…
did the story and presentation feel current/present, or was it more nostalgia?
it’s kind of a downer story…what was the audience vibe like afterwards?
Edit: only cuz i couldn’t get this out of my head when I read your post yesterday:
Wil- ly Lo-man
Wil-ly Lo-man
Wil-ly Low man
Lol no I didn’t see what you posted yesterday because I have family and friends and hobbies and don’t spend every waking moment on this website unlike you. If you can’t see how differently Brunson played this season and especially in the playoffs consider to previous seasons that’s on you for relying on highlight packages instead of actual factual information. It’s very easy to look this info up on various websites so I would recommend using some of your vast amounts of free time to do that. Barring that, touch grass you miserable fucking loser.
current af… in the age of truth finding purchase in utility it reaches deep… Jack Falahee was on as the understudy for Biff and he fucking killed. Lane is good old Glenlivet. WILLY LOMAN. Standing o… shredded
I still think most of these Brunson stats from game to game and even series to series are just a combination of statistical noise and how the opponent chose to defend him and the rest of the team.
Then over the long haul it’s how he chooses to respond.
If he tries to do much = not good.
If he makes good decisions based on the defense and matchups = good
I’ll never stop believing that the way to optimize this offense is for the ball to move, players to move with purpose and everyone to be involved. Then at crunch time if they are single covering Brunson and especially if he’s getting the best of the matchup he should take over, otherwise he should move the ball and someone else has to step up depending on who does have a good matchup.
I hope the Knicks have a good plan because I think Jeremy Sochan is a useful role player that is young enough to become a solid rotation player.
“Lol no I didn’t see what you posted yesterday because I have family and friends and hobbies and don’t spend every waking moment on this website unlike you…touch grass you miserable fucking loser..”
Wait, you have family, friends, and hobbies? You’e so special! I sure wish I could be like you! Please let us know about all of your amazing hobbies!
But thanks for taking some time away from your amazing family, devoted friends, and fascinating hobbies to inject your two cents into a discussion that you were too busy to even follow because all of your unique obligations, especially the extra effort you just put into personally attacking a poster. What a guy!!
My favorite thing about my hero Jalen Brunson is that he knows how to win basketball championships. He’s my hero.
I think there are two things going on.
1. Who can do the most things effectively on high volume as required game to game.
Those guys tend to put up elite boxscore stats, rate highly on AIO metrics and contribute heavily to winning games during a season.
2. Who is the best closer?
Those guys may or may not rate as highly as some other players on boxscore stats and AIO metrics, but they can create their own shot as needed and execute at a much higher level than almost all other players when under extreme pressure.
IMO, there are a bunch of players that add more wins than Brunson over the course of the season, but he’s arguably the best or 2nd best closer in the NBA. The other is Shai. To win championships, you usually need an elite closer. But there are others that maybe aren’t on as good a team as NY or OKC yet. So we haven’t seen it yet or they are still young and will grow into it.
While at the gym was listening to a KFS pod re: top 26 Knicks of last 26 seasons. I’m about halfway through and there have been some interesting debates between 4 KFS guys. Obviously Brunson was the consensus #1, but there was considerable debate between KAT and OG for the #2 spot. I definitely lean OG but both have strong cases. Then the debate turned to Melo vs. Julius for the 4-5 spots, with Melo ultimately getting the nod. Then it was between Josh and Mikal for 6-7, with Josh winning out. After that it got a lot more muddled, but ultimately they went with Chandler at 8, Mitch at 9, and Amar’e at 10.
I might quibble a bit, probably putting OG at 2 and KAT at 3, but that’s a pretty good top-10.
that experience sounds electric clarence…
ha, got me looking up the “rigors” of stage performers, add in singing/dancing to the thing, another level of commitment it seems…very similar to athlete’s regimes for event preparation and sustained performance…
got to imagine just working on the production staff/crew is pretty strenuous…
still hitching your wagon to that scrappy underdog dodger organization?
being a dodgers’ fan should feel shameful these days…
walter out there shaking his money around like: one ring to rule them all…
and yeah, i see your “maybe it’s your team” acquiring a future hall of fame starting pitcher to the yanks’ mighty acquisition of a potential platooning second baseman, who really can’t play second base…
down with the dodgers…
Saw Lori Metcalf in a Broadway play about ten years ago and she was mind blowing. Truly one of the greatest actresses ever and I still feel like most people don’t realize this.
Death of a Salesman is such a fantastic play. I saw a touring production of it in 1996 when I was a senior in HS starring Hal Holbrook and it changed my life.
nah. being a fan of all the other large market teams should.
at least cashman woke up from a 7 year slumber to finally address the yankees’ infield.
Y’all almost selling me on Death of a Salesman except I’m already depressed enough about the state of the world
Saw Melo on X in a clip talking about how stupid Jalen was for leaving $100 mil on the table. Dude really, really doesn’t get it. I find him impossible to care about.
Agreed.
Julius over Melo is a no brainer. Without Randle there is no title.
It was a good podcast, but I don’t get why anyone has love for Melo.
I’d put Amar’e before Melo, too.
Melo would be closer to Marbury.
The main reason I give Melo a bit of a pass is that Dolan and his underlings enabled his worst impulses, which were apparent even before the trade. Then when Phil had a chance to cut bait, he didn’t.
He was a better player for the Knicks than Randle (and far better than Marbury). He gave us 5 straight years of a BPM greater than 3. He played pretty well (but not great) in the playoffs. Randle generally exceeded expectations and outplayed his contract, while Melo disappointed and never was a true max player, but Randle never gave us a postive performance in the playoffs, even if it wasn’t all his fault.
I don’t have any more love for Melo than Julius, and most likely less. But he was better than Julius. In terms of the rankings, it seems pretty close.
Very much enjoying the new Brunson at a wedding meme.
Was just listening to an old episode of my favorite podcast. The Rest is History, about golden ages. It’s surprisingly difficult, they explain, to know what a golden age is. Often it’s just identified as such in retrospect.
Clearly, the hosts are not Knicks fans.
Also, Melo is a dumbass
Here is a good example
https://x.com/szantz/status/2083991853238562840?s=46&t=0wqff4cNt-sCGcDs-uMExw
Herb Williams is ahead of Melo and it ain’t close.
edit: Now that I mention it, I’m fucking insulted that he wasn’t front and center during the playoff run.
Take solace from Seneca, “We suffer more often in imagination than in reality”
It was Donovan Mitchell’s wedding!
I imagine he was like: “yo, you guys beat us so bad these clowns are giving me the supermax to not leave. thanks, bro. want to come to my wedding?”
Melo made the knicks relevant again.
There’s a reason he’s so high on that list.
If The supporting cast got his Vitamins and didn’t throw mitchpunches we may hadn’t waited 53yrs…
Funny, I was coming on to say Melo was Mr. Irrelevant!
I low-key despise Melo, arguably my least favorite Knick, but he was better than Julius. On the other hand, Julius was very good, and he actually made us relevant.
So, like MVP, “Top Knick” is very subjective. Best Knick, Melo over Randle. Most Relevant/Important Knick, I’d lean toward Randle over Melo.
On the other hand, Karmelo Anthony, 19, was indicted on first-degree murder in the fatal stabbing of 17-year-old Austin Metcalf at a track meet in Frisco, Texas.
Jaylen Brown took the video!!!
The whole thing is hilarious
Amare made the Knicks relevant again. Melo only wanted to come here after Miami formed a big three (so he couldn’t go there to play with LeBron) and Amare came here, made us decent, and suddenly the Knicks were fun and cool again. We beat the pants off of Denver with stat and right after that Melo started pushing the trade.
I fully believe if LeBron went to Miami with wade and Bosh didn’t go Melo would have eventually ended up there.
The amount Melo would have had to sacrifice if he had just gone to the Knicks as a free agent ça what jalen left on the table was nothing but it would have given the Knicks so much more room to build a contender around him.
In other words, Melo STFU. You aren’t an NBA champion. Jalen is. Deal with it.
I will never blame an athlete for trying to maximize his earnings, especially in a business where they’re paid disproportionately relative to the value they create for their billionaire employers. So if Melo decided his goal was to prioritize how much money he could make with each passing deal, then by all means.
But I’m with Swifty on this: kindly STFU when it comes to Brunson, Melo.
Gonna be fun watching all the no ring having motherfuckers who are trying to stay relevant on podcasts and twitter and tv talking about basketball when they gotta have an opinion on Brunson and his team next year.
I’m counting “most important” Knicks.
Randle joined the Knicks at one of the lowest points in team history.
His 2021 season gave Leon early credibility and built a store of good will that he needed to survive his learning curve.
And he played well enough to be the centerpiece of the KAT trade, without which we don’t win a title.
It’s an easy call for me. Randle is the third most important Knick of my lifetime after Brunson & Patrick.
Melo wouldn’t even make my list. He did more harm than good. We would have been better if he’d never joined.
Amare brought decency
Melo made me dream
And Julius was a VFM All Nbaer from Temu
Mrs Walsh went into labor during Death of a Salesman with George C Scott as Willy and little Donnie took his first poop a few hours later.
Now that I think about it I should have become a salesman, just to title my boring ass memoir Re-Birth of a Salesman. I guess there’s still time, George C Scott would only be 98 years old if he was still alive. It beats the title of my current memoir, Slow Death of a Knicks Fan. That won’t even sell two copies now.
I have a soft spot for Melo and always will, because he won a title at Syracuse, which was the only time one of “my” teams won a championship from 1986-2026. But yeah he’s pretty annoying.
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