CJ McCollum hunting Jalen Brunson. He went 6-9 with Brunson as the primary defender
They’re putting Brunson and KAT in every action and Mike Brown is doing absolutely nothing about it.
I watched every shot he took and the only time he switched off brunson was onto Kat who he immediately cooked with a step back 3 lmao
This is where NY fans simply did not appreciate Thibs enough. He understood that a Brunson/KAT pairing does not work defensively unless you get creative.
Like in the Boston series last year. On paper, the recipe was easy for Boston - use the Jays to hunt Brunson and have their way with him. However, the Knicks over-aggressively forced defensive switches against Boston to try to ensure that OG or Bridges were always there to cover for Brunson. It was risky as it lead to a ton of open 3’s for Boston, but it was NY’s best shot - Boston shot cold and Knicks won. Thibs won that series for NY in a way that Mike Brown never would.
NY should get past Atlanta simply due to talent, but I’m not sure they have a chance against Boston this year with Brown coaching.
We’re a better defensive team this year under Brown than we were under Thibs…KAT has a net positive defensive impact this year.
Also the Cs last year were top 10 in 3P%, number 1 in 3P takes and makes. The fact that Thibs played right into their strengths and it worked was sheer luck than some genius scheming.
Eh - I’d wager any statistical improvement was much more likely because Robinson was actually pretty healthy this season.
And KAT is not a positive defender, sorry. Individual defensive metrics suck, and that’s a great example of why.
As great as Mitch is he didn’t turn our middle of the pack defense to a top 10 defense alone. We had the best defensive rating since mid Jan after Brown made some adjustments. We were around where we were last year prior to that even with Mitch.
Even this game, defense was not why they lost. Brunson’s offense was more the problem.
Hawks don’t have great 3 point shooters outside of NAW so of course our gameplan is to let Brunson get iso-ed and Kuminga a free runway to the rim
? OO and JJ are pretty solid. Especially OO rn
Yeah OO was at nearly 38% on 5 attempts and is 66% in the series
What do you mean? We’re fifth in reg season 3 percentage
Welcome to the Mike Brown experience
Same thing wolves doing with Jokic and Murray
Whereas Quin did a great job at the end of the game forcing the ball out of Brunson’s hands
This is what I love about playoffs compared to regular season.
In playoffs, if your team has a weakness, someone will find it and hunt it over and over and over again, until your coach adjusts.
regular season games, you can hide weaknesses. playoffs, you can’t
Agreed. Absolutely love playoff basketball there’s no running no hiding. No possessions off no game off. It’s me for you for 7 games. Either step up or you’re going home to cancun.
I doubt any of these players live in Cancún.
Pacers have been feasting on Brunson and to some degree, KAT in the PnR for the last 2 years in the playoffs. Knicks starting lineup with both Brunson and KAT is way too porous to hold against an elite offense. If they got CJ McCollum looking like this can’t imagine what Shai would be doing on those switches
They’re gonna double immediately. You can’t risk that 1v1 matchup. Probably think Knicks will do this adjustment as well if McCollum can’t be contained
Probably a good call but then they risk JJ or NAW getting going which would be a real problem for them in the series
Yet people have to relearn every year why so and so not best player in the world bc they average 33 points
This is exactly what people conflate with ‘playoff experience’.
This is why I don’t believe in the Knicks to win a potential finals series. You’re telling me SGA won’t do this for 4 games straight?
Also KAT was late on so many of these as the help.
The combination of KAT and Brunson is brutal.
They don’t do anything for each other. I rather Mike brown put them out there with the bench and try to stagger their minutes
KAT also was a killer this game idk why Brunson decided to go hero ball and ice him out
Well that was always the problem with the pairing. How can you stagger minutes for your two best players in a playoff game? You want both of those guys out there for 38 minutes for offense, which doesn’t give you a lot of time to stagger.
In a one point game, they played 34-35 minutes, so that’s 13-14 minutes the coach can stagger, a whole quarter+ so it’s doable.
There’s a p meaningful sample(1700 min past 2 yrs playoffs included total) of the Knicks starting 5 just being shockingly ineffective. Hart/OG/Mikal/KAT/Brunson -0.2 net rating right now 1689 min. There plenty of mid teams for whom when you put their 5 main players on the court will have a p positive net rating. For a 50+ win team, espec one thats not known for its depth, thats wild. It’s not new and it hasnt improved over the 2 yrs.
And at the end of the day while you can critique the fit of Josh Hart in that lineup amongst other things, it just traces back to the KAT/Brunson fit. You saw how hard it was last yr vs Indy for them to be able to play both together defensively and tbh even offensively the fit has never been as natural as youd hope.
Finals? Just think about Brown/Tatum or Harden/Mitchell
Just think about mccollum/mccollum
In the immortal words of Shaq, “Barbecue chicken alert, barbecue chicken alert!”
Hell even Cade destroyed the Knicks this year.
What happened to brown and Tatum last year ?
Thibs knew how to scheme defensively and he did a terrific job of aggressively forcing switches to avoid this problem. Which was risky but it paid off because Celtics shot so cold from deep.
Mike Brown isn’t going to get creative like that.
Brown had a torn meniscus and Tatum had a fucked wrist into an Achilles. No coincidence they swept them in the regular season and lost when those two plus KP were hurt in the playoffs.
So excuses, got it
You literally asked what happened and he told you.
Honestly KP being on the court was the main problem, the man was in no shape to play playoff basketball and was a huge negative. That plus Mitchell Robinson who is always a big problem for the Cs.
You lost last year you can lose this year is my point. Knicks have a different matchup.
injuries
They were basically down 3-1 before Tatum even got hurt
jaylen brown was injured the whole time
Everyone is playing hurt. Tatum is legit coming off an Achilles tear right now
some more hurt than others
Ok, and you’ll have the same excuses if Boston loses this year. You’re just insane if you think Knicks can’t do it again when they legit did it last year.
I mean they ripped the Celtics apart last yr
-Tatum: already missed the first playoff game of his entire career because the Magic are dirty af, and then his leg fell off -Brown: had knee surgery immediately after this series -KP: had the plague -Jrue: so injured the Blazers nearly voided our trade with them in the offseason because he couldn’t pass the physical
None of this was really public because the Celtics don’t have leaks, so I guess it’s not common knowledge just how injured they were. Also, a 6 game series is not “ripped apart.”
Amazing coincidence that the Celts either win the ship or have all of their players simultaneously needing serious medical attention. Maybe you guys just got whooped by a team that played better?
Why is it a coincidence? That Celtics team went on a deep playoff run and won the finals, then their best players immediately went to the Olympics and had no offseason, then they won another 61 games.
Yes, after playing basketball for 2 years straight, the wheels started to fall off. What a coincidence.
I personally think it is possible for the Celtics to lose in a series straight up, like last year. I get you have a bias tho
Both the Jays had surgeries immediately after the series and KP has been suffering this whole year with the same illness. Idk why you’re trying to deny they had injuries. No one has surgery for fun.
Was Tatum planning the surgery when they were already done for in game 6, before his injury? Why didn’t he switch onto Brunson every possession and win the series in 4
Tatum got injured in game 4 so you don’t seem to know what you’re talking about rn (and also Tatum had 42 points and counting when he went down so I’m not even sure what your argument is).
To be clear, I am not trying to discount the Knicks last year. You can only play the team you’re playing, and it’s a credit to them that they consistently dug themselves out of 20+ point deficits and won the series. They played extremely well. The Celtics have certainly benefited from playing injured opponents in the playoffs, but you still have to actually go out there and win and the Knicks did. Credit to them.
But I just keep seeing Knicks fans saying over and over and over that they “beat a better team last year” so therefore they should beat us this year. I even saw multiple comments this week insisting they “beat a fully healthy Celtics team” and it’s just nonsense and incomplete analysis for anyone actually interested in the matchup.
If you’re not trying discredit the Knicks, you should try harder. Or just be honest that you are trying to discredit them lol. I am neither a Knicks or Celts fan, but every single team has loads if injuries by June every year. Pretending like Tatums injury had any impact on the effect of the series is just as absurd, they were down 3-2 and getting blown out in G6
You are revealing yourself to be a box score watcher because once again, Tatum got injured in game 4 and he was absolutely cooking.
It’s sooooo funny watching Knicks fans go from “reeeeeee losing to the Pacers doesn’t count bc we were injured reeeeee” to arguing about the sanctity and purity of their series win against a team where 3 out 5 starters got surgery as soon as the season was over…
Yeah bro everyone knows tatum faked his injury and brown just loves getting unnecessary surgery. Oh and we all saw how kp and jrue absolutely tore up the league this year
Everyone else on every other team in the league was totally healthy, the celtics were the only team who had to suffer the tragedy of their 4th option having the flu. The series was already over when Tatum got hurt
With this logic, did the Pacers beat the Knicks straight up in 2024? Every team is banged up in the playoffs so injures are just an excuse. Brunson sat the 4th of that game 7 with his hand injury just because they were already losing and the Pacers were just the better team that year (This is sarcasm and a ridiculous way to assess what actually happened).
Maybe if you just tuned in for the Celtics vs Knicks series last year that’s how it looked, but their guys were already injured prior to that series. Tatum missed a game against Orlando, Jrue hamstring against Orlando, Porzingis was also a dud in that Orlando series, and Celtics fans knew Brown wasn’t right during the regular season. We just learned all the details later.
Why would the Celtics come pre-loaded with excuses before the playoffs even began after being defending champs, a 61 win season, the co-favorites to come out of the East with the Cavs, and a team they beat 4-0 during the regular season in their path?
They were injured. Health plays a huge part in playoff success. The Thunder got past the Nuggets last year because of all the Nuggets injuries. MPJ had 1 arm and Gordon was running around with his hamstring injury and it went 7. Celtics benefitted from being generally healthier than their opponents in 2024. The Bucks benefitted from being healthier than the Nets in 2021. The Celtics got to the finals in 2022 in part because Middleton was out in the Milwaukee series. It happens.
The difference with the Knicks last year was they were 0-10 against the 60-win teams during the regular season, they struggled against an inexperienced Pistons team and got bailed out from a no call that would have swung game 3 (or was it 4?) into a 7 game series, went down 20+ four times against the Celtics, and then got ran out of the gym by the Pacers. They didn’t really earn their “they were just the better team” benefit of the doubt with the context around how they got to and performed in the ECF, whereas a team like the Celtics in 2024 who was fortunate to be on the other side of an easy path had the best record in the league, and didn’t let a series go more than 5 games. They dominated with their opportunity.
The Knicks have not earned their “they were the better team” especially considering they loaded up on depth, the Celtics let guys go or had Tatum out 80% of the year, and the Celtics still won more games this season.
I think it’s fair to question the results with the surrounding context, rather than just say “it was 3-1 it was over!” and ignore the way the Knicks brilliantly schemed to let the injured and fatigued Celtics shoot open 3’s to climb back from those 20 point deficits. The Celtics took the bait and beat themselves.
You can obviously disagree, but this is why I don’t believe the Knicks were the better team despite the results. Maybe you can say they played better closing games and Thibs out-coached Mazzulla in the series, but on the whole I don’t think the Knicks were better than the Celtics if both teams were at full strength.
With Thibs coaching.
This time last year this sub told me Thibs was a complete terrorist who wants to physically hurt his own players
I don’t the Knicks even get past you guys let alone a finals series. Brown Tatum are going to do the same thing. Payton Pritchard as well. If Knicks were to get pass that the cavs with Mitchell and harden or pistons with cade would do the same thing
How’s they beat brown and Tatum last year ?
Brown had knee surgery immediately after the series and Tatum had just missed the first playoff game of his career because the Magic ripped his arm off in the first round.
That Celtics team got huge leads that they couldn’t hold onto because they were too injured to play for a full 42 minutes.
So tarum this year is legit coming off an Achilles injury
That remains to be seen! It’s def an open question. I just don’t think it’s quite accurate to say that just because last year’s team was better on paper that this Knicks would obviously win/be favored over this Celtics team. Frankly it seems like the clearest 50⁄50 matchup in the playoffs. I have no idea who would win.
I’m just saying everyone saying they have no chance they beat them last year. Any excuse they had last year will also apply this year, arguably worse since Tatum is still recovering
Other than Tatum, the Celtics have been extremely health all year (knocking on so much wood rn). There’s a big difference between one guy working his way back/playing thru injury and an entire starting 5 doing it.
Sure. If you lose this year you’ll have another set of excuses. The point is the Celtics were legit MASSIVE favorites last year and lost. It can happen again this year.
Which brings us all the way back to the beginning of this conversation: using the results of the previous series, featuring an almost entirely different team of far more injured players, is extremely stupid analysis.
You do not know ball.
although they aren’t as good on paper, I think this year’s team is better suited for playoff basketball (injuries aside). They have a grit and tenacity they were lacking last year. That’s not to say we easily make it past the Knicks…Mikal Bridges still haunts my dreams, but we ain’t going down 3-1 again.
SGA would ruin us. Thankfully Wemby will stop him then we can just play the Spurs .
Relax buddy. You still haven’t even gotten out of the first round.
I don’t think there’s a team in the playoffs that wouldn’t take this Knicks team to at least a 6 game series
Raptors… we would get swept because our coach doesn’t do this.
Knicks won’t even get to the finals, even if they get past the Hawks in the next round the Celtics with Tatum and Brown can easily do the same thing to Brunson.
Damn the ones he missed were all great shots too 🤣 he had brunson in the infinite tsukiyomi doing the pnr drill 🤣
That’s the most damning thing. You can say maybe 1 of the makes was contested but the 3 misses were all wide open looks. So 8⁄9 shots here CJ gets an easy look at it.
Also, the first shot has me cracking up. Brunson and KAT look completely lost
Every look is a good look against a small pg. Like yall just figuring this out. Brunson cant contest any shot in a 1v1. If they dont get the swipe down on the pull up without fouling there’s nothing a really small guard can do against anyone thats even average height.
That’s my point. There is no swipe down when your man has created 6 feet of space already. These look like warmup jumpers with how far out of the play Brunson is by the time CJ is rising to shoot. Everyone can shoot over him but they don’t even need to do that because he’s about as effective at staying in front as a cone
Was so satisfying last night for us to finally be the team relentlessly cooking the other point guard’s shitty defense over and over and over again.
LMAO NOT THE INFINITE TSUKIYOMI
Well done
That last drive by McCollum was embarrassing defense
“Captain”
Hes trying his best. Relying on a small guy to be your main guy is almost impossible in the NBA.
Some of these you can write off as height or lateral quickness or whatever. The last drive is Brunson literally letting him by like “not my job, KAT will handle it.” When Luka plays defense like that it’s a national emergency.
Luka is 6’7 and weighs well over 250, it should be a national emergency lol
International emergency
Damn near broke both ankles tryna recover lmao
CJ went 6-13 vs the rest of the Knicks btw
Last play looks like they chose a random redditor to try defending an NBA player.
Yeah that one was so bad lol
Small guard on small guard crime.
Brunson sent McCollum back to his prime
This is why Paul Pierce said the Knicks weren’t winning it all
They were trying to slander Becky’s name
Shes just not afraid to say the truth outloud. The rest of the media hyping bruson to get the Knicks hyped which equals more money for the nba. Turns out he’s not all that different from trae. Knicks fans will turn on him soon if they dont win something and he’s consistently getting cooked in end of game playoff games who hero balling on offense.
Jalen “Cone” Brunson.
Cone-son
Lol the way he refuses Okongwu’s screen tells everything
Darko, take some notes. Maybe take advantage of the Cavs bad defenders instead of relying on motion with a Brandon Ingram midrange fade.
We don’t really have any guys that can be taken advantage off like this tbh
I don’t know why u were downvoted for this it’s true.
Harden is still a better defender than Brunson on size alone. He had 5 steals last night. Anyone else u could name is waay better defensively than Brunson.
Our bench is full of dogs too (Ellis, Strus, Schroeder etc)
This is classic playoff chess. Teams will hunt the weakest on-ball matchup every trip until the coverage changes, so the counter-adjustment matters as much as the initial game plan.
Nice
hunting for jb is free eats, why wouldnt you. kat at the help just makes it even worse
30 shots can’t play a lick of defense. Brunson is ass idc what anyone says.
I feel like Brunson has too much on his plate offensively which hurts his already bad defense
As a longtime CJ defender, last night was a good night.
Shot making from CJ was excellent tho
How did the Hawks win this? Just a masterful choke here, and crazy play down the stretch. Both teams gave that their all, in different directions.
Great game from CJ, but the reason the Knicks lost was the ft line choke (17-27).
Cj is a hooper. Great game from him
Knicks in 5
if only the knicks had a rim defender
Brunson is offering almost 0 resistance on these
Im sorry but Brunson’s defense is simply not the reason we lost last night - it was his offense. I get it, he’s terrible at defense yes, but this has been known for years and has always been an issue that has been masked and dont think I remember a series loss caused by his defense specifically. Yet despite that we only lost by 1 point in a game where we were easily scoring until the 4th quarter where we trotted out a shitty bench lineup and then Brunson decided to ice out KAT and dribble the air out of the ball. If our offense doesn’t go stagnant or if Brunson shoots a little bit better, we win that game in spite of his horrid defense.
Literally the trae young experience. If bruson isn’t absolutely dominating on the offensive end he’s a liability. The small guards have to be going crazy on offense just to be a neutral player. Its fun to watch when they are on but its god awful experience to watch when they are getting isoed endlessly on defense then putting up hero ball bricks on the other end.
The thing is he doesnt need to be dominating on offense all the time, especially not last night. We have enough talent like OG and KAT to make it work if he just passes them the ball. It’s not like we got blown out or anything, it was a 1 point loss.
If he’s not dominating tho. Then what’s the point of maxing a dude like that. A decent pg that can defend is net neutral without the expense. Better of spending the money on wings. They sell tickets but dont win championships. Same thing knicks fans when saying about trae then Knicks got their own version and won’t admit tbe same flaws trae had
You guys are acting like we’re first round exits every year. Brunson dominates in the playoffs and in the clutch 90% of the time. Im literally explaining his flaws, what do you mean “won’t admit”. We all know Brunson is a terrible defender but at this point it cant really be fixed. What can be fixed is him ball hogging and the lack of creativity down the stretch on the rare off nights for Brunson, but its still happening despite it being problematic last year. Which is why I’m saying thats a bigger concern than his defense.
This doesn’t really look like hunting. This is just his matchup. He often gets a pick to get Brunson off of him. Not really hunting when it’s your matchup and you’re using a pick to get your man off of you
He rejected screens twice to keep Brunson on him. And when he did use a screen it wasn’t to switch, it was because Brunson is terrible at recovering from the screen.