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Knicks rout Celtics, reach conference finals for first time in 25 years – The Washington Post
05/17/2025 10:27:19
2025 NBA playoffs schedule: Knicks vs. Pacers game times, Eastern Conference finals dates, complete bracket – CBS Sports
05/17/2025 10:07:00
Celtics were going to lose to the Knicks with or without Jayson Tatum | Karen Guregian – MassLive
05/17/2025 10:00:00
Boston Celtics vs. New York Knicks: live game updates, stats, play-by-play – Yahoo Sports
05/17/2025 08:56:37
Knicks oust Celtics in Game 6 playoffs, make Eastern Conference finals – Al Jazeera
05/17/2025 07:50:45
The Knicks? transition from laughing stock to title contenders is complete – The Guardian
05/17/2025 08:01:00
What?s next for Celtics after Jayson Tatum injury and season-ending loss to Knicks? – The New York Times
05/17/2025 07:22:01
NBA play-offs: New York Knicks eliminate defending champions Boston Celtics – BBC
05/17/2025 06:45:57
Josh Hart records first Knicks playoff triple-double in over 50 years to help eliminate Celtics in Game 6 – SNY
05/17/2025 06:04:06
‘We’re not done:’ After blitzing Boston in Game 6, it’s time to ask ? why not the Knicks? – Yahoo Sports
05/17/2025 05:28:00
Brown: Loss to Knicks ‘feels like death,’ but life after – ESPN
05/17/2025 05:40:00
NBA playoffs results and takeaways: Knicks wallop Celtics for first trip to conference finals in 25 years – The New York Times
05/17/2025 04:50:00
Knicks beat Celtics 119-81 in Game 6 and advance to face Pacers in Eastern Conference finals – AP News
05/17/2025 05:37:00
Wild numbers from Knicks vs. Celtics Game 6 highlight historic NBA playoffs moment – USA Today
05/17/2025 05:11:48
NBA playoffs: What to expect in Knicks-Pacers series – NBA
05/17/2025 05:39:08
Madhouse erupts outside Madison Square Garden as fans celebrate Knicks’ Game 6 victory – USA Today
05/17/2025 04:42:56
Knicks beat Celtics, advance to Eastern Conference finals: Live updates, analysis and reaction from Game 6 – The New York Times
05/17/2025 05:05:00
Celtics-Knicks: 5 takeaways as New York oust Boston to advance to East Finals – NBA
05/17/2025 05:16:53
Thousands of Knicks fans take over streets outside MSG to celebrate Game 6 blowout win against Celtics in wild scene – New York Post
05/17/2025 04:30:00
The Celtics fall flat, bow out of playoffs in Knicks? Game 6 beatdown: Takeaways – Boston.com
05/17/2025 03:56:15
102 replies on “Knicks Morning News (2025.05.17)”
MSG, Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Indiana Pacers.
I feel like I’m getting to re-experience some of my favorite sports memories from my youth.
It’s very appreciated, Knicks!
I still can’t get over this:
https://x.com/batghouls/status/1923549734788047115
HE DEFENDED ALL FIVE CELTICS ON ONE POSSESSION!
And I love that the final game was such a rout, that Brown was so demoralized that he just let himself foul out before the third quarter was over, that there was no damn way the Celtics could even make us sweat, that the crowd was doing a “PJ Tucker!” chant, etc. Game 4 also felt decisive by the time Tatum fouled out, but there was that, and there was… this.
I still can’t believe that the ultimate retribution for that opening day shellacking was to kick the Celtics’ ass in an elimination game at home, possibly ending their team.
Never really been that impressed with these Celtic teams. Good riddance.
Puncher’s chance shaping up very nicely indeed.
I think we can definitely beat the Pacers, and I would be really satisfied if we make it to the Finals by slaying two of our oldest and worst nemeses.
That said, they look pretty awesome at the moment themselves, and I would like Thibs to try something new in terms of defending Haliburton in the PNR, so that smug irritant doesn’t just slice us to death with it.
Also, yeah, as I have said repeatedly for years now….boy do I love Mitch. 🙂
If those Mikal plays at the ends of game 1 and 2 made the trade cost feel less exorbitant in hindsight, does that Mitch rotation/closeout possession make the Melo era feel less annoying in hindsight?
I don’t think the Knicks ever switched P&Rs with the Pacers last year. Now they know how to do it.
Good point, Marechal.
That’s such a great clip, Alan. Thx.
And, yeah, the announcers were eulogizing this Celtics team like it was Bill Russell’s. Sure they won a title. But dynasty? Come on.
OMG, what a game… what a game!!
After the nearly 2 decades of losing, sprinkled with some hope when we had the “old team” of 2013, at some point i thought we would never get back here again… thank God we finally got back to the ECF! 25 years in the waiting!
Now let’s win this and put a stop to the 26 years waiting to get back to the Finals again, and while we’re at it let’s put a stop to 52 years* of waiting to win the championship again!
*And why do i know the years so well? It’s because i was born only mere weeks from the Knicks winning the championship! 😉
Hahaha! Was the 2008 team of Pierce, Garnett, Allen and Rondo a dinasty too? If winning ONE championship is a dynasty, what should we call the Warriors with 4? LOL
Same here, Brian, same here! I’m ecstatic!
But i hope the team doesn’t feel like they achieve something, we got work to do, we’ll think about it when the season ends… right now the focus needs to always be the next one!
8 more wins until Donnie believes!! LOL
Compared with the possibilities going into the playoffs (and the season) we are literally in Position A.
-Pretty much at full health
-two EC seeds above us eliminated, one by us
-teams out west not looking all that invincible.
Honestly couldn’t be set up any better for us, no?
Nope.
this scenario is almost too good to be true. but even though garland’s a injury made a huge difference in that series, the pacers have been a lot better than they seemed for most of the year. early in the year you not only had hali spinning his wheels, but they played a lot of minutes without their best perimeter defenders, which is especially rough when you have no backup 5. even if you look at the entire season and not the just the calendar 25 segment that’s become popular, you get this pretty amazing nugget: when at least 4 of the 5 pacer starters were in the floor this season, they were a plus 13.3 per 100. that’s not some tiny sample, it’s 2543 possessions. 13.3! of 3 or 4 man lineups with over 1000 minutes, that would be best in the league. not to say that they are okc or boston. and the regular season isn’t the playoffs. but they are very good.
I’ve stated for the record many times over the years that it is unlikely that Mitch could be the starting C on a championship-level team unless there was a very special mix of players around him.
But this supporting role off the bench is tailor-made for him. Plus 20 in 13:30 minutes and seeing him patrolling the paint like a menacing junkyard Doberman was a sight to behold.
The most gratifying thing is that he really earned this glory. His multiple injury rehabs, especially the last one, must have been incredibly demoralizing. To come back and to play at this level in this role, and to cap it off by making 7 of his last 8 FTs.
Fuck you, Celtics. Fuck you, iHart. We have Mitch.
ESPN’s bullshit at its most unalloyed.
The Pacers are deeper than us. Our track record against defending Haliburton isn’t great. Nembhard has turned into a beast for them. Siakam’s taller than almost any defender we can put on him (outside of the double big minutes). TJ will drive us all insane.
At the same time, they have nobody who can guard Jalen Brunson. I was at the last game we won against them in the semis last spring, and in person it was shocking to see how completely helpless everyone they threw at him was. And between OG (who wasn’t healthy last spring) and Mikal (who wasn’t here last spring), we have two guys who can make Hali’s life difficult if Thibs can scheme at the level he did against Boston.
I wouldn’t be shocked to lose to this team. But I also wouldn’t be shocked by us winning in the way I would have been at the start of the Boston series. That’s all you can ask for at this point.
The weird (*) thing about Mitch is that it’s not really “rim protection” that he’s bringing — it’s far more the improvement in perimeter defense he’s bringing.
(*) I.e., basketball interesting.
It’s me, Ephus, here to celebrate with the Knickerblogger community.
I’m now 5+ years cancer-free.
This team has brought me so much joy and connection during my life, even with all of the disappointments.
This community is filled with the best types of Knicks fans: passionate, knowledgeable, opinionated and loud.
The only thing I know for certain about the future is that it has not happened yet. We may win a lot more this year. We may not win another game. I’m all in.
What a milestone, Ephus! Congrats!
one thing i don’t love about the pacers matchup is og guarding siakam. it just feels like a waste of og. he does an okay job on him, but mostly siakam seems to get to something near his typical shot diet, which by itself is rarely the primary engine anyway. yet og is still somewhat limited in helping off him. it’s very different than when og can just change the entire experience of a cade or a tatum.
they have no back up 5, and our two big lineup should be a massive problem for them on the pitch offensive boards. but that lineup has looked vulnerable in transition, and indy is one of the best playoff transition teams we’ve ever seen. i am holding out hope that we can surprise there if we can access supermitch playing at 1.5x podcast speed when he’s only going 20 minutes. we were up and down against detroit’s running in general, not really sure how it will play out.
that’s great to hear ephus
Ephus!!!! Great to see you!!!! Glad all is well on your end.
And yeah, game ball for Mike K and the Knickerblogger community.
I have waited 20 years for a morning like this and it is glorious.
E, don’t forget that what excited us about Mitch once upon a time was that he could protect the rim but also blocked a lot of three-pointers. So his ability to get out on the perimeter was there even when he was an impulsive kid with poor fundamentals who wanted to send every ball into the stands. He can’t jump like he used to, but he’s become SO smart about using his length to disrupt other teams, both down low and at the point of attack.
BTW, if anyone would rather not go on X for that clip, I just posted it to BlueSky https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:qpqyay6mqatzyyet3jdgxiwi/post/3lpem67f6ck2l
Especially if Denver wins tomorrow night. Knicks and Pacers fans are going to be watching that one with as much interest as Game 1.
Welcome home, Ephus. We need you more than ever in the apron era.
The last Celtics “dynasty” was in the 1980s. The KG/Pierce/Allen team was a perennial powerhouse, but there was only 1.5 seasons when they were clearly the best team (until KG got hurt). From 2009-12, they were strong contenders.
The most recent Celtics do not qualify as a dynasty, any more than the 2000s Pistons. One ring and one other Finals with a bunch of playoff runs does not equal dynasty.
Welcome back Ephus! Great news!
I think Indy is going to be very hard to beat. They have one of the premier coaches in the NBA, play a great style of basketball, have loads of shooting, athleticism, and perimeter length, and a deep bench. McConnell is a sensational backup PG, Obi is a run-out threat on every possession, and Mathurin can get hot.
They are not elite defensively, although Turner, Siakam, and Nesmith are all very good 2-way players and switchable for their respective sizes. Our bigs should be dominant in what they do, and KAT has to play consistently huge like he has in select games.
The games will come fast and furious, only 1 day of rest between all 7 games. That probably helps them, and they are a younger, deeper, fresher team. But we have home court, so there’s that!
At the end of the day, it will probably come down to who wins the Brunson-Hali matchup. I like our chances, but think it will be a long, bitter battle, reminiscent of the 1990’s NYK-IND wars.
The Pacers are deeper than us.
i would say not really? sure they play 9 and we play 7 plus cam, but tj, obi and mathurin are their real bench and that’s not a big edge over mitch and deuce unless you’re donnie and you don’t watch enough basketball to know who mathurin really is at this stage. people think of the pacers as deep but with jackson hurt and sheppard having struggled to develop offensively they’re more just good than they are deep.
DAAAAAWG
EPHUS! IN DA HOUSE!
Great news
And a wonderful comeback
I’m simply not ready. It feels untrue, whatever this is.
Great news, Ephus. I’m a *relatively new stranger here wishing you all the best. Likewise, my brother-in-law is cancer-free five years running after a severe bout with leukemia. Keep it up!
agree on mitch’s 1 on 5 drill as the play of the game but let’s keep a candle lit for deuce giving white a taste of his own meds with the chase down leading to a hart and one
https://tinyurl.com/2tvt7j7c
Great victory, excellent defense and Boston made a big mistake by winning Game-5 that way, it only pissed our players and the reaction had to be expected, very well done.
It’s weird, “Just get to the postseason healthy and anything can happen” was my mantra during the regular season and now I’m a bit confused, it’s working so well sometimes it doesn’t feel real.
The perfect storm is shaping up, let’s ride with the feeling!
LGK!
Ephus is cancer-free, ptmilo is breaking down the pros and cons of this matchup, E has no complaints about Thibs… what a glorious morning here at Knickerblogger Dot Net!
ephus, really great to have you back, and to hear that your health is in a great place!
And yes, shout-out to Mike K for keeping the site up and running as we enjoy the most entertaining and promising Knicks season since last century. It truly means a lot to all of us!
This is one of the keys to the whole series, as it was last year. The Pacers are not deeper than us, Carlisle just goes deeper in order to employ a strategy that wears teams down. It’s a long game, and it is incumbent on Thibs to recognize that so we’re not looking so worn out and dead legged like in the ECSF last year.
Playing the Pistons got the Knicks more physical to prepare for Boston. Playing Boston got the Knicks to focus on defending three and P&R to prepare for Indiana.
Wonderful news, ephus. Even better than the Game 6 win.
A big difference with Indiana this season is that they are much improved defensively. They stifled the (admittedly injured) Cavs in some of their games. They have relentless ball pressure, and we know Brunson can get annoyed at that. They might need to rely more on Mikal and Hart to bring the ball up in the half court.
On the other side, Indiana’s superpower is limiting opponents’ threes, and the Knicks are the least dependent team on shots from deep in the playoffs. They were a perfect matchup against the Cavs given how much the Cavs rely on 3PAs.
Mikal on Hali may be a real game changer given his length compared to last year. On the other hand, Deuce has not been a great matchup for TJ.
Game 4 vs the Celtics was where I really started to believe in the potential of this team. Winning games 1 and 2 was awesome, but both games involved epic meltdowns by Boston.
In game 4 we took their best punch, including Tatum going nuclear, and responded with our best half of the season. That’s where I started to believe that we can beat anybody, including whoever comes out of the West.
But in the meantime, let’s enjoy every minute of this magic carpet ride!
Wonderful to hear from you, Ephus!
Funny because the season’s storyline never really allowed this to become a ‘thing,’ at least in my head, but there’s now a real non-zero chance for a finals involving KAT and the Novas vs. Julius and DDV. Gobert vs. Mitch. Brunson vs. Ant. Talk about narratives…
I don’t recall past Indy games, but maybe it would make sense to put OG on Turner? He’s a guy you really don’t want going off.
songs on my playlist today so far….
Good Vibrations- beach boys
Oh what a feeling – irene cara
just can’t get enough – depeche mode
i hate that team in green with a passion and to see them dust them like that last night was euphoric…
I think we’ve had a tougher path than indy…that and home court should be the edge…they soft…
It may seem odd to suggest Cleveland showed a blue print for beating Indiana but in game 3 they flummoxed the Pacers pick and roll with a zone defense that put Mobley at the top. This is something we should be looking at doing with OG.
The Pacers quickly learned, though, and destroyed that zone the next game.
I’m glad we have a lot of time off before the next game. IMO it’s tougher to put two games like that together after such an emotional win. Honestly, I think that could be why Boston was flat. They gave it everything they had in game 5.
“i would say not really? sure they play 9 and we play 7 plus cam, but tj, obi and mathurin are their real bench and that’s not a big edge over mitch and deuce unless you’re donnie and you don’t watch enough basketball to know who mathurin really is at this stage.”
Sorry pt, I’m not with you here. I think you pretty much have to throw out IND’s regular season, at least before the 60-game mark. This is a much better team than their regular season record. So in the playoffs, their non-garbage bench (TJ, Obi, Ben, and Sheppard) has played an average of 63 mpg. They all play at a fast pace, and can blend in with the starters for long stretches. That keeps their starters’ minutes down…in the playoffs, no starter has averaged more than 34mpg (Hali) and all the others are between 29-32. Mathurin is not a high IQ player, but he’s posting a .632 TS% on a 25.6% usage with a .524 FTr, probably because of McConnell and Hali breaking down defenses and setting him up. Carlisle will strategically use Sheppard, Bryant, and Walker to eat enough minutes for the team to play lightning-fast for 48 minutes.
OTOH, no Knicks starter is averaging under 35 minutes. Brunson is at 39.5 and Bridges and OG are both over 40mpg. Carlisle is going to try to run our starters ragged, and that’s when injuries are more likely to happen, especially with all 7 games on 1-day of rest.
If ever there was a series where Thibs’ over-reliance on his starters might be an issue, it’s this one. I think he should dust off Cam, Shamet, and Precious…and maybe even Delon…for a combined 15-20mpg to keep the starters fresh for crunch time. If it becomes a war of attrition, right now the Pacers have the advantage.
Just wow. Expected a dub, but only by less than 10. This was WWE belt to ass. This was Pootie Tang whuppin Dirty Dee in the car wash. Sheeeeeesh!
No disrespect to Indy, but this is revenge. We gotta take this in 5. Last postseason and all regular season matchups, we didn’t have Mitch. So..if we feed KAT early, and our wings continue to work on defense, I see a gentleman sweep.
Guys- WE ARE HOSTING THE FAWKIN ECF!! And would have been even if Tatum never suffered that injury. This feels good.
I’ve been at a conference all week in NYC of all places but have been able to catch these games.
Man, what a joy to experience this and big shout out to everyone on this blog who has stuck with it over the years.
Whatever happens from here on out is gravy but fuck it. Let’s win a chip. This is our best shot. Tomorrow is never promised. So let’s go grab that ring.
Very happy to hear this. Congrats!
That’s the spirit! Let’s enjoy the ride! 🧡💙
Are you sure? That game didn’t keep my attention for long but from what I did watch the Pacers weren’t beating the zone, they were pummeling Cleveland defensively and running off misses and turnovers. I thought that was more a beating of the Cavs holistically than a beating of the zone strategy.
Having either OG or Mitch available to move laterally for 48 minutes strikes me as something we should give strong consideration to. I was not optimistic Thibs would look at the Orlando series and copy their strategy, but lo and behold. If he does it again, this will shape up to be his Budenholzer spring of ‘21. (A lot of similarities shaping up between that Bucks title run and this one, btw.)
To quote Zach Lowe, this is not an open window for the Knicks, this is it.
Best chance to win it all since 1994. I was there for the 1999 Finals, but the Spurs just had so much more talent than the Knicks, once Ewing went down. Camby gave a spark, but he could not hold off both Duncan & Robinson.
I’m not sure how much we learned about the Pacers from the Cavs series. The Cavs are a very good team, but they were shooting over their heads as a group early in the season, probably peaked too soon, were starting to show some chinks in their armor down the stretch of the season and were crippled in the playoffs. They also blew one of the playoff games.
I think we are a hair better than them, but I think they are a bit more consistent than us. We have a tendency to throw in some real duds.
This is one series where I’m not sure what to expect. I could see it going 7 games and I could see it 4-1 in either direction.
One thing that is so amazing about the Knicks is that they clearly OWN the city like no other franchise. Mets and Yankees divide the fan base, to a lesser degree, so do the Jets and Giants…and baseball occurs in the outer boroughs and Football in the swamps of NJ. The Rangers are obviously big but there’s the Islanders and Devils and the fact is that many NYers consider hockey to be a niche sport (not to mention that at the last Rangers game I went to I was hard-pressed to find a person of color in the seats.) And the Brooklyn Nets are, shall we say, not peeling off the Knicks’ fan base as hoped?
To see the pent-up joy pouring out onto the streets of midtown Manhattan after a second-round clinching game reminded me of how things were in the early ’70s, when even though the Mets and Jets had recently won chips, it was the Knicks that owned NY…a feeling magnified by the great character of that team. This team is so fucking rootable and high character, I think more so than the Ewing version that turned a lot of casual fans off, or the Melo version that seemed like a one-shot merc-fest.
Sorry pt, I’m not with you here. I think you pretty much have to throw out IND’s regular season, at least before the 60-game mark. This is a much better team than their regular season record.
i once dated a girl with this excruciating habit of agreeing with you by saying “yeah it is,” but with the exact intonation you would use if you were disagreeing. i’m not saying that’s completely on point here because i’m obviously out of zman’s league but i did make that precise argument.
So in the playoffs, their non-garbage bench (TJ, Obi, Ben, and Sheppard) has played an average of 63 mpg. They all play at a fast pace, and can blend in with the starters for long stretches. That keeps their starters’ minutes down…in the playoffs, no starter has averaged more than 34mpg (Hali) and all the others are between 29-32.
indy’s one weakness in the playoffs has been when the bench mob infiltrates, continuing the regular season theme. they’ve dominated the 260 mins with at least 4 starters at +12.5 and lost the 225 with fewer than 4 by -3.7.
but i don’t disagree with your point about the acute risk that we play right into their hands by exhausting our starters.
+1
I really wish we had next year’s bench this year. 😉
I thought the interesting thing about last night was that effort is repeatable. We saw it a few times in the first half of the season, but seldom since.
They didn’t shoot some outlandish rate from three or anything gimmicky. They won because their defensive effort was focused, moved the ball (mostly) and they rebounded like when they pummeled Cleveland. All that stuff is repeatable against anyone.
Also, look who put up 45 threes last night and outrebounded the opposition by 19!
When I saw that classic close out by Mitch v Brown in the corner in my mind I could hear the Black Knight from Monty Python and the Holy Grail screaming, “None shall pass!”
Ephus, so glad to hear. Appreciated all your thoughtful posts over the years.
One thing I was reflecting on is that throughout the season when the Knicks were being evaluated, most of the media downplayed the importance of not having Mitch. The impact he’s made on bringing a better defensive player on to the floor when KaT gets in foul trouble (pls no more of that KaT), offensive rebounding and ability to guard PnR on the perimeter was VASTLY underrated, esp now that he’s rounded into shape and has gotten significant reps in.
Will worry about the Pacers tomorrow.
What an amazing game, and truly amazing time to be a Knicks fan! LGK!
Welcome back, Ephus! When guys disappear for awhile, I often wonder what happened to them… I hope this run brings some more of the old timers back to say hello… This win was something really special for the city. I wish I was there to enjoy it… Mitch’s scramble to cover all 5 Celtic’s before coming up with the steal and Deuce’s chase down block were the defining moments… I have complete confidence in our top seven to get the job done against Indy, but I’m sure Thibs will need to sprinkle in another couple of bench pieces as the series progresses… I can’t believe we are this close to the finals… It’s been so long… How do you like them apples?
To return out of the mists on the this day Eephus, with such heartwarming news! Feel so good for you, Eephus. You’re back just in time. The fog of war is clearing. Before us a yowling mob of jaundiced bandits with ill gotten gains made from waylaying the injured they find along the way. I think the quick turnarounds favor momentum and home court. They have numbers on us but we have Kambei. By protecting others, you save yourselves. If you only think of yourself, you’ll only destroy yourself. I’m girding my loins hard.
“indy’s one weakness in the playoffs has been when the bench mob infiltrates, continuing the regular season theme. they’ve dominated the 260 mins with at least 4 starters at +12.5 and lost the 225 with fewer than 4 by -3.7.”
Little bit of voodoo economics here, by saying “at least 4 starters” you are including a large sample of minutes with “at least 1 bench player.”
And you’re not my type, assuming you even exist outside of chatgpt bot cooked up by Mike K to keep haughty posters in check.
Ephus, it’s great to hear from you again. And congrats on your health.
Mazzulla had some very nice words for Thibs and the Knicks.
This is from the Al-Jazeera link above (an excellent article, by the way)
I say complete, total, and utter disrespect to Indiana.
I hate the Celtics on principle. I hate the Pacers from experience.
These MFs have a 5-3 lead on us now in head-to-head series. And we won the first two!
The Celtics haven’t actually done much to us. In fact we’ve beaten them in the playoffs all three times I’ve been old enough to remember (‘90, ‘13, ‘25). Sure there was the sweep in Melo’s first year but we were a 7 seed, no one cared.
Losing to the Pacers in ‘95, ‘13, and ‘24 were three of the worst experiences I’ve had as a Knicks fan. Even ‘98 sucked hard bc Ewing coming back unexpectedly gave us hope. ‘00 wasn’t cool but there was a little resignation at the time.
I fucking hate these guys, and losing to them in back-to-back years when both times we had a huge title window would kinda make us their bitch, and I cannot stomach that. We need this. I would have rather lost to Boston than lose now.
If folks want a very sober Celtics post-mortem, read this from CelticsBlog.com.
https://www.celticsblog.com/2025/5/17/24431947/boston-celtics-new-york-knicks-game-6-ten-takeaways-final-game-jaylen-brown-joe-mazzulla
If you click through to the video, you will see that I put my love for the Knicks on display in every media appearance (and video conference).
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=C57uz67bCfc
Our bench is fine. Cam Payne, Landry Shamet, and Delon Wright are all good enough to hang with the Pacers’ reserves.
Thibs needed play his starters heavy minutes against Boston bc their best 5 were killing our best 5. It was smart to give our best time against their reserves to cut into the leads.
Indiana’s starters shouldn’t dominate ours like Boston’s did, so it won’t be smart now. You don’t need to do it any more.
My main criticism of Thibs in the playoffs is that he throws rock every time. Boston was throwing scissors, so his strategy worked. Indiana is going to throw paper. If he keeps throwing rock, we’re in trouble.
They did. Caitlin Cooper went into some detail on this, this video being an example of how they neutralized Mobley.
https://x.com/C2_Cooper/status/1921910667633676788
They are really smart. I think the Knicks have more talent, but it’s a challenge.
They should all be 3rd string bench players.
Mitch is obviously a very good reserve and when Deuce is shooting well he’s very good, but IMO we need to add two more upgrades to the bench. I think the bench will be stronger next year.
It will be interesting to see whether/how Carlisle employs the hack-a-Mitch strategy. If he can stay on the court, it would make such a difference…they have no answer at all for him.
He did grab at his back at one point, hopefully it’s nothing that will bother him come Wednesday. These 4 days off are very much needed.
They are definitely smart. But I wouldn’t throw out the strategy. Sometimes a team can just beat whatever you throw at them.
In the second half of game 5, for instance, the Celtics destroyed Orlando’s switch-everything defense as emphatically as Indiana destroyed Cleveland (BOS outscored ORL 73-30) in the first half of game 4. We still copied it and it was effective.
And last night we destroyed a Celtics team that was putting a wing on KAT the whole game just as emphatically. I imagine that strategy will still give us trouble, though.
Not to mention Mobley was playing his second game on a sprained ankle, so who knows how limited he was.
The key thing is whatever we come up with isn’t likely to last very long. Carlisle is always fixing things. Hell last year after we dominated the boards in game 5, they outrebounded us the next two games.
Ephus, that is better news than the Knicks going to the ECF with a real shot at a chip. Salute to you!
Has anyone found out what’s up with Mitch? Does he have an injury beyond a bruise? Or was Thibs just being cautious with the Knicks leading by so much?
Yeah, I don’t disagree, Hubert. I am not saying their offense is unstoppable or that the Cavs’ offense was impenetrable. I do think that the biggest battle this series will be Indiana O vs Knicks D, as I think the Knicks should be able to score well against them.
I would put KAT on Siakam and OG on Turner. Siakam loves to use his length to shoot over OG. I’d like us to neutralize his length.
If Ben Sheppard can win the series by dominating our 3rd string bench players for 6 minutes a game, so be it. I’ll take my chances with that vs letting them run our guys ragged for 7 games again.
I can’t get over the fact that Chalamet is just one of us:
https://bsky.app/profile/nbanewyork.bsky.social/post/3lpeue5km422b
The downside here is that Turner will rebound over OG all night long.
On the bench: Mitch is the most dominant non-starter out of both teams, and it’s not close.
KAT had big games in all contests against the Pacers this year. Indiana really does not have a great wing to put on him, so I think the Knicks will be able to run 1/5 PNR with KAT & Brunson.
I was thinking that, too, Ephus. They’ll also have a hard time putting a big on Hart because that’s where Halliburton needs to hide. We’ve been giving up on the KAT Brunson pnr for so long now, though.
so…do we have to listen to reggie miller each game try to hide his bias for the pacers? that sucks…definitely going sound off…
😊
West sider, PS 87 and Booker T. middle school about 6-7 years ahead of a fellow alum of whom I’m quite fond.
And frankly, the only real A-list “celebrity” on “celebrity row.” (**) Next tier are probably Spike and Stiller and Jon Stewart — meh. The rest are actually kind of embarrassing, starting from Bobby Baccala and then ranging to almost entirely retired NY athletes. It’s actually kind of weird to see guys like Marbury dancing around, always on ESPN’s cameras.(*)
Great news for you ephus — congrats.
(*) And even more off-putting that Marbury’s welcome with open arms in Dolan’s MSG while Oak is banned.
(**) I’m probably forgetting someone, whatever. Generally speaking, the celebrity row thing with ESPN showing all the “celebrities” on the association’s behalf has prominently jumped the shark.
Lest you forget, Mr Chalamet is separated from us here on KB by a mere one degree.
Timothee, if you’re lurking, I have been dying to know if you actually walk with your boots untied like this, or if you just untied them when you sat down the way an older man loosens his belt after a big meal.
https://people.com/kylie-jenner-timothee-chalamet-score-courtside-date-night-during-knicks-celtics-playoff-game-kendall-joining-11733572
Amazing Fred Katz piece, on the Knicks holding a players only meeting to get their shit together after the game 5 debacle: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6363425/2025/05/17/knicks-advance-celtics-conference-finals/
I expect the following primary matchups:
KAT on Turner
OG on Siakam
Bridges on Hali
Hart on Nesmith
Brunson on Nembhard
I expect lots of screening and switching as IND tries to iso on Brunson. Every one of their starters can score over Brunson in some way except maybe Nembhard, and if we help, they will start knocking down 3’s (like Boston did), unless they are cold (like Boston was in Games 1, 2, and 6.) Hali, with his length and herky-jerky ways, will be a very tough matchup for Brunson. So the Pacers will probably run PnR with Hali or Siakam and whoever Brunson is guarding to either get space or a switch. If the Knicks blitz Hali, he’s such a good passer (and they are such a great passing team) that they will wind up with an open look from somewhere. Same with Siakam.
It will be very difficult for us to hide Brunson, I think tougher than it was vs. Boston, mainly because of Hali’s length and gifted passing, being able top go 5-out, and Siakam’s ability to post up. But they will have problems defending us as well.
Really a great matchup.
“I just think there’s still more to go. We’re not done,” said Bridges, who joined the team after being traded from the Brooklyn Nets during the offseason. “We played hard and handled business, but the season’s not over yet.”
EPHUS! Now is a great time to be a Knicks fan, and a great time to be a Knickerblogger poster—one of the GOATs has returned and is healthy. Indiana is scared now.
Re: Timmy, we were good friends growing up. Attended countless games headlined by Al Harrington and Chris Duhon and the like. It’s all 100% real on his end.
This quote from Katz gets at something that was tickling at the corner of my mind:
“Boston rarely looked comfortable in this series, in part because of how physical the Knicks have become.”
I think the Detroit series, where the Pistons turned it into a rugby scrum, really helped us. The team was forced to respond in kind, and with the refs swallowing their whistles in every game now, our new-found physicality may well give us an edge against the Pacers.
Congrats ephus!! Looking good on TV top!
I have no feelings. I don’t think I know what to feel. It’s a mix of incredulity and surreality, we can’t really be here? It can’t really have been that easy?
I agree that Siakam is not the best OG matchup. He’s stronger and just long enough that OG doesn’t have the same impact against him. At the same time, Siakam is going to cook every other defender we put on him.
Man, I really don’t want to watch the Knicks try and pickup another defense on the fly. We had enough trouble figuring out switch and hedge. It could work, but there’s been a lot of ugly defense because of it.
A lot of ugly defense is to be expected when you have KAT and Brunson, even when you play what they know best. I think it’s pretty easy for Mikal, Mitch, Hart, and OG to figure stuff out quickly.
Last night still feels like a wet dream…
Not that OG on Siakam is a problem, but I do think this is an example where having a legit PF could help. As is, there are certain teams that are going to get the best of us on the boards or that will make it tougher on us because of a size advantage.
My son lives on the Upper East side and said he’s seeing a crazy amount of folks walking around in Knicks gear.
The bandwagon is overflowing, and you know what? I’m fine with it.
So happy to hear you’re will, Ephus! Keep on keeping on.
My memory of the OG/Siakam matchup of that OG often looks overmatched. I’ve always assumed it was some kind of Big Brother/Little Brother thing from their days in Toronto. Not sure if the double-big lineup would work, with Mitch on Siakam, but maybe?
I think a shibboleth is required, like “finish this starting lineup: Galloway, Amundson, Thomas, and….?” I’m not interested in celebrating with people who did not pass through the valley of the shadow of death.
Yes, Reggie Miller is going to doing the Knicks-Pacers broadcasts for TNT.
https://sports.yahoo.com/article/reggie-millers-final-call-tnt-045617634.html
If I can get the audio to synch, I’ll be listening to Knicks radio team.
I think you’re right that’ll be good to try the zone, there’s just a special pulling my hair out that’s reserved for the kind of breakdowns we were seeing in the Boston series.
Couldn’t sleep last night so I watched the first half of Seven Samurai last night. Never gets old.
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