Mike Brown: “It’s no secret, we were attacking Harden”
Can’t believe Kenny just didn’t take him off the floor. They were up double digits and could milk the clock a bit and make it harder on JB. We stole one.
Because Harden is a threat offensively if Kenny took him out we would’ve just went crazy on D-Mitch.
They still had Wade.
The issue was harden wasn’t giving you anything on offense that entire stretch (he was legit shooting bricks for 6+ minutes) and and put up less resistance than a leaf in the wind on defense.
You had to get Harden out of there he was legit unplayable to where it might as well be 5 on 4.
I would have sat Harden for the offense alone not even factoring the defense lol
not me. i would have put in 4 more Hardens. guys a winner. but I guess that why I am going to be the Trailblazers new head coach.
sorry dont mean to brag its just I am very excited I have never made minimum wage before.
This is the problem, take Harden out and the Knicks will just use whoever Mitchell is guarding to set the screen and Brunson will take Mitchell one-on-one.
Mitchell is a far better player then Harden defensively but do you really want your best offensive weapon getting hunted on defense?
Mitchell will then have no energy left on offense.
Let’s be honest, if Dyson Daniel’s tried his darndest and it was ultimately futile at the end of games, Mitchell and everyone on the Cavaliers have no shot.
The best defender they have that would work is Ellis but Brunson fileted him too when he was on Sacramento because he’s too small.
You need a big, agile forward with high defensive IQ like a Jaden McDaniels, Herb Jones, LeBron, or Giannis to guard Brunson.
Right but you don’t do nothing. They were up 20 and they started doing the same thing over and over again. And hardens defense was embarrassingly bad.
Who cares if they’re gonna hunt Mitchell, harden can stay in front of anyone. And even if they do, you’ll at least have 4 decent defenders in help behind him. This was an embarrassing coaching and individual playing by Atkinson and harden. I would LOVE to see what that locker room is like and what film session will be like
I said it already but I guess not here but yes, the answer is to bench Harden even if he quiet quits in future games and Atkinson is forced to take him out of the rotation.
That’s fine, just play Schroeder, Strus, and Ellis more.
I like Tyson but he’s too inexperienced on defense to guard Brunson and will be hunted too.
The Cavaliers need to just start changing up the bodies on Brunson and go max effort with every single player that is the primary defender on Brunson.
Merill is too valuable a shooter so it’s got to be a combination of Ellis, Schroeder, and Strus playing two minute stretches of going max effort on hounding Brunson.
The Cavaliers’ only shot is to move on from Harden.
I mean, Harden can play in spots, but if there’s an open wound you need to put a bandaid on it. it was obvious for the whole quarter what was happening. wild.
& you’re right, the Cavs have a deep enough team to withstand a poor playoff performance from Harden. they can throw different looks at brunson and make him work.
but it’s a moot point now, they’re not coming back from that collapse. NY was rusty, Cavs were in rhythm. Can’t lose that game.
At this point in his career, if Harden is to be removed at the end of games because his defense is a liability, he’s not going to be motivated to play any further.
Atkinson did not take out Harden because he had too much respect for Harden as an individual and not enough respect for the team as a whole.
Yes, Harden was crucial in them beating the Pistons, but you have to make the adjustment and the right move was to bench Harden.
Now if Harden does quit on them, then deal with that when the time comes.
But he really needed to do the right thing and bench Harden long before the lead got anywhere near single digits.
Once the lead was cut to under 15, he needed to call a full timeout and reorganize his troops.
He tried the veteran maneuver of letting his team figure it out themselves but that was the wrong call.
This team is prone to surrendering big leads as evidenced by their series against Indiana and even though this is a different squad with Harden, the bare bones of the squad are still the same.
It was vital that he call a timeout.
Atkinson straight up threw the game.
But what’s funny was they hardly gave Mitchell the ball to run offense. It was still ball in harden’s hand end of game!
Watching the end of the game again, they did give the ball to Mitchell a few times but Shamet put him in lockdown and the offense stalled out.
That doesn’t matter, they need to keep feeding Mitchell and if he’s tired, waste a timeout to get him and the team a breather.
They needed to let Mitchell work isolation one-on-one and just try to score.
Clear out one side of the floor and let Mitchell take Shamet and get a bucket.
They didn’t do that enough.
You’re up 20, you don’t need offense. Tire out your defenders all you want, tire out Mitchell, then get the ball even if it’s a shot clock violation, you killed a minute off the clock if you played decent defense, and there was 8 minutes left.
Let’s say the Knicks scored 4 times on 10 possessions, all threes, and the cavs didn’t on 10 possessions but managed to kill 20 seconds off the clock
It’s game over.
i mean it doesnt really matter. if you eat up all or most of the clock and the knicks average 10-15s on their possessions theres only 13 or 14 left in the game. youre up 20, so if you make like 4 baskets in 14 possessions its almost a guaranteed win.
or what if they just lose instead?
an offensive threat when ?
He did hit a couple big shots at the end but he just got cooked on defense, even when everyone saw the iso coming
it’s not even taking him off the floor. they could have trapped JB early, to get him off the ball. they could have sent doubles or shit. they could have not conceded the switch so damn easily. but no, absolutely no adjustment. it was crazy. I felt bad for Harden because he was actually trying, his team was just letting him die on the island.
The Wolves attacked Jokic and he wasn’t taken out either
The saddest part is that he really is the Cavs best ballhandler… Everyone struggled to get the ball moving without turning it over last night.
The real problem was the shot selection during that run. When I finally turned it off was when harded had to ISO with 10 seconds left at 13-1 run and airballed horribly
During the 18-1 stretch he didn’t even take a single timeout. They were rushing the plays shooting 3s even though they had a significant lead. Might be very early but i think Kenny will be fired unless he miraculously brings them to Finals and they’re competitive
And Kenneth Neil Atkinson watched that happen with a smile on his face
Well he was very proud with how his guys played tonight after all.
I’d be so angry as a Cavs fan hearing him say that
Fire that mother fucker into the sun. We get swept by anyone coaching not named JB last series. I want Jason Kidd.
Leave me alone. I am emotional. However still fire that mother fucker into the sun!
you do not want Jason Kidd
Everyone wants Jason Kidd until it’s time to have Jason Kidd
Everyone wants Jason’s Kidd until it’s time to have Jason’s Kidd
Everyone likes the idea of Jason Kidd more than Jason Kidd
lol. Ya man. J-kid may just vote to ship out the only talent you have for peanuts . You’ll arrive home from a long day at work excited to check in on your squad and stats, only to be greeted with news that your all star guard was traded away for Chris Paul and some bench scrubs - all because he’s chunky. Plus, he beats his wife.
Didn’t Nico Harrison confirm at the first presser after the trade that he didn’t even tell J-Kid about it until it was done? He said something like “we did it quietly, I didn’t even speak to J-kid, but I know what he wants, and I know the kind of players he wants to coach” and the whole time J-Kid is in the background of the press conference looking like he just found out his family died.
Kidd also struck me as someone that bitched about Luka’s lack of effort in conditioning and on the defensive end but I don’t think he actually thought that Nico Harrison would trade him a away for a piss poor package.
You can look at his body language is the press conference it’s pure shock, horror, WTF did my GM just do
This only happens if they make the finals so they’re probably safe
Haha. Touché.
Yeah this dude is fucking tripping. The only recently available coaches I can think of that I’d want less than Kidd are Chauncey and Doc.
Be careful what you wish for
Whoa, kimosabe. I’m all for the sun launch, but Kidd? Gonna bid you adieu right there.
my brother or sister in christ I would not wish coach Jason Kidd on my worst enemies
Yeah you don’t want Kidd, trust.
You do not want Jason Kidd.
Outside of Harden, several of their best guys did play well but still a wild thing to say after a massive chokejob.
what’s more frustrating, that or Doc Rivers throwing his players under the bus? “Google me”
Kenny “Little Unlucky” Atkinson
what makes me sad about this performance is that i thought Evan and Jarrett played really well. they came into this series with a reputation of being soft but I thought they were genuinely really good tonight. outplayed Mitch and KAT but that’s going to be overshadowed by Kenny and Harden failing the team
Or overshadowed by the Brunson Burn
don’t get me wrong, New York earned that comeback and Brunson was basically flawless down the stretch.
if Kenny Atkinson had a pulse though, there’s 0 situation it even gets to the point where Brunson can do that to the Cavs with that little time left. unfortunately Kenny has neither a pulse or a brain, he just stands there looking like “😲”
All my homies hate Kenny Atkinson.
…Would you like to be homies?
what’s good, LaMelonBallz
because Kenny Atkinson sure isn’t
Saying that with a straight face when he made no adjustments for the longest to protect Harden or even replace him with a better defender…if I was a Cav’s fan I’d be LIVID.
Yeah i can’t but feel angry for Cavs fan watching a coach make close to 0 adjustments when the average fan like me can even tell they needed a fucking time out or a change of scheme.
My wife and I were in shock. She’s a Cavs’ fan and it was brutal to see them do nothing.
Try double teaming Brunson more. Hell, bench Hardin for a better defender and hope you can find his offense somewhere else. Call a timeout. DO SOMETHING! Even if those things failed it would be better than just leaving Hardin out there to get roasted by Brunson time after time after time.
Don’t let the other team’s best player beat you. Make the other’s do it.
Watched an 18-1 run with his hands in his pockets like Darvin Ham.
Gotta save those timeouts for game 2 man
Thats the thing.
This is the playoffs and teams will relentlessley target your weakness to win the game.
I’m legit not trying to sound bad on the Knicks they won but the Cavs legit just let a giant score on sign leaving Harden out there when he had no business being out there and Atkinson let it happen.
Cavs just choked on there own dicks
He sees it and goes, “hmm, we played well though”
In situations like this idk why the coach is so reluctant to bench the star. Guy isn’t even competing out there
“I like to hold my timeouts.”
If you still have them at the end the local sub joint lets you trade them for a free 6”. So understandable from Kenny to be honest.
Till when? After the fucking game??
Let say Kenny is somehow blind and deaf… doesn’t he have like 8 assistant coaches to tell him let’s try something different
People still talk about Kevin Love vs CJ Miles 8 years later, and rightfully so. That was what, like 5 possessions? This was 12 minutes straight of no adjustments.
Just unlucky, nothing more
The funniest part is that the Cavs did eventually try to fight the switch then send a second defender, but it was toward the end of OT. They let the Knicks run the same play for the last 8 minutes of the 4th quarter and the first 3 minutes of OT before they decided to finally try something different.
Then they just let OG drive straight to the rim every time.
The Knicks, when each player is energetic, are the hardest team in the league to run double teams on.
Everyone in the starting 5 can shoot, cut and drive to the rim, and aside from Brunson’s occasional bad days, everyone is a willing passer. It’s a very pretty offensive game to watch when it’s working as intended.
The really key lies in OG and Mikal being able to take turns as no. 3 on the squad.
Double KAT, Brunson is open. Double Brunson, OG can drive from the elbow. Send help to stop OG and Mikal is waiting in the corner. Rotate onto Mikal and OG is in the other corner, KAT is running the high screen and Brunson hits the curl to get set for a triple behind the arc.
The Knicks are very good at getting to their spots.
OG looked really hesitant today and clearly didn’t feel confident in his 3 pt shot. I suspect that’s just from the long layoff
Get Anne Hathaway courtside next game, stat!
Anne and suni gotta take turns visiting the garden
Deadass
also just recovering from the hammy. he’ll be fine he usually is cold coming back from injury
He’ll knock the rust off. He definitely was hesitant tonight. Gotta shoot till it feels good. Luckily we won tonight so we have a little more wiggle room for him to shoot his shot til it falls. Need to keep him healthy and get him going by the end of this series and roll that momentum into the next one. Said Knicks in 6 before this game. Now I feel like maybe Knicks in 5
he started looking like himself a bit in OT, at least on the drive. im sure he’ll be much better thursday
Its why i never understood the decision by the hawks and sixers to allow them to run optimal spacing even w hart out there. I atleast credit the cavs for at least using their personnel to effectively neutralize them, but the knicks countered and it was over after that.
It’s not just the starting 5, they can be a better shooting/spacing team if they decide to replace Hart with better sharpshooters. This is why I don’t agree with people saying that whoever comes out the west is winning the trophy. If there is a team that counters our defense and the Spurs defense, it’s the Knicks and their shooting/spacing.
I feel like just a few weeks ago there was a lot of hate on the Mikal Bridges trade. You give me whiplash r/nba, you give me whiplash
OG kept reflexively doing his shot fake above the arc but there wasn’t even anyone close to him to fake out
He really did not want to just take that 3 either. Then when he did, you realized why. Haha. He airballed it like 3 feet to the right.
He’s like Shamet at the start of the playoffs, still trying to get his body in rhythm.
He’ll get there.
you say that but the cavs were going out of their way to jump at the fakes anyway. then he finally shoots one and it’s an airball.
obviously he can make those shots but you can’t keep giving the knicks a 5-on-4.
When u cant leave a rim protector at the rim thats what happens. Thats why kat and og were so dominant against the hawks and sixers.
Yeah.
Late in OT, the Cavs finally sent Strus in to fight over screens. Strus did this well and it immediately brought Brunson back to earth. But too little too late…
And Harden was still sending “help” even though Strus had zero problems fighting over screens to stay on Brunson. It was like Harden wanted to keep taking the switch. Instead of doubling or getting back to his guy, Harden was just letting himself get stuck in nomansland and leaving his new assignment open on the perimeter.
Truly awful defense. He needed to be benched with 5 left in the 4th.
It didn’t really work at all though. Towards the end of OT OG was wide open with a lane to drive or take a 3 basically every play
Yeah, but that was because Harden was still trying to switch onto Brunson/help Strus even though Strus was perfectly fine. And he wasn’t even getting close enough to Brunson to be an effective help defender.
Harden managed to fuck up the defensive asignments anyway. He needed to be benched. He was actually that bad.
OG also just blew by Harden. It didn’t matter where he was, that’s where the Knicks sent the ball
Harden allowed some very soft switches. They have to have a better understanding of what they are trying to accomplish defensively. Low BBIQ
Every time Brunson squared up against Harden I was like no way they’re doing this again??
U cannot send help at a five out knicks offense. Ur just going to get killed. If u send a double at JB then hes gonna get the ball to either OG, mikal, KAT, or shamet. Like ur just going to get annihilated.
Either cleveland did not anticipate the knicks actually countering (which is fair, knicks fans have also conceded that they would never pull josh for whatever reason) or they do not have an answer for it.
Cavs could’ve at least tried to fight the switch. They were just giving it up like they wanted Harden to guard Brunson. Seeing if they can get away with that a few times makes sense with the lead they had but they kept letting the switch happen even after it was clear that Harden had no chance against Brunon 1v1.
Then the next move would’ve been to pull Harden. But Atkinson said in the postgame that that wasn’t even an option.
also the way they did it was just letting OG attack sloppy closeouts and make easy reads. their initial strategy on Brunson was to switch and send help from Hart, so Brown put in Shamet for Hart. Surely this was a predictable counter, bizarre Atkinson didn’t have a gameplan to counter this
Well, if they didn’t have a gameplan for Landry Shamet before, I’m sure they’ll have one now. But dude, imagine blowing a game where you had a 22pt lead with less than 8 minutes to go because you weren’t prepared for Landry Shamet.
absolutely criminal. also, Shamet was clamping Donovan Mitchell down the stretch which was insane
Most hilariously disrespectful mid game adjustment
Harden is disrespectful to the game of basketball.
it was literally like watching someone spam the exact same play in 2k because the defense doesn’t know how to adjust
watching someone spam the exact same play in 2k because the defense doesn’t know how to adjust
Or in my case, spamming pick and roll because it’s the only thing I know how to call in 2k
He might play a few more years, but tonight was effectively the end of James Harden’s career.
You people have been saying that every May for 15 years
And his job ends in May every year for this reason
They deadass dropped 20 points straight on Harden. How he didn’t get subbed out for defense is beyond me
Couldn’t afford to take his also-awful offense off the floor.
Going into this game Harden had the best on-off in the nba during the playoffs this year. His on-off was +17.6. Second is Wemby who’s is +16.3. It was a bad game by harden, but he’ll definitely have a bounce back game
No tf he won’t
I guess if anyone knows awful offense, it’s a Twolves fan.
Did a fucking Wizards fan just come off the top rope on this?!?!
Totally unnecessary lmao
What getting the #1 pick will do to a fanbase
It worked for us!
…the third time
what a time to be alive
Punching above the weight there buddy.
at that point you gotta sub yourself out for the sake of the team
I was fully expecting him to foul himself out ngl
😮 - Kenny Atkinson
That dumb motherfucker just doesn’t get it. He was getting glazed by the announcers against Detroit for “letting his guys make mistakes” though.
I thought it was more like “😬”
The whole world except our coach knew. Kenny Atkinson was banking on statistics and law of averages.
“Brunson’s made 13 times in a row surely he would miss this time”
The laws of averages suggested a Knicks heater cuz they were shooting like shit
Idk if you guys are just messing around, but that’s not how statistics work
Many NBA fans really believe that lol
The risk I took was calculated but boy am I bad at math
lmao that’s basically analytics brain rot. “The numbers say he’ll miss eventually” meanwhile the man’s shooting like he’s in a MyCareer game with the sliders maxed ��
“This game has a heartbeat, it isn’t played on computers, it’s played with human beings.”
-Bob Costas
Finally gotta hand it to potato head ngl
We were looking good until y’all completely changed your offensive game plan then we were burnt chicken. He’s made the right moves so far
It was an open lane, anyone could.
Ben Stiller could have done a lay up on Harden.
Clyde Frazier coming from the front row could.
Yall kicking the horse while it’s down
It’s really fun when it’s Harden
You ain’t lying
Spike Lee could’ve hit a sick step back against him
Brunson was dancing on his ass every play only for him to throw up some bullshit on the other end in retaliation shit was hilarious in real time lol
Nah man, it wasn’t even a dance bro. Brunson made 1 move each time and was past Harden. Dude studied a cone for defense and damn did he do a great job
It frustrates me to no end watching professional athletes not try on defense.
Yes, my guy included
You honestly think harden was just simply not trying? Some people just aren’t good at things, it’s that simple lol. Plus he’s old.
These guys are trying, but they just aren’t good.
Harden was never a great defender, and he is past his prime now going up against one of the hardest to defend players in the league at his absolute apex.
Apex, so far
Bruh he’s 37 he was contesting when he could
It’s not like Harden was letting Brunson blow by him every time. Brunson made several extremely difficult shots over decent contests. Dude was on a heater, it’s on the coaches to see that and adjust instead of just leaving Harden on an island to fend for himself. Effort wasn’t the issue
This is legit a huge mistake by Mike Brown.
I think Atkinson legit didn’t know.
Edit: I thought I did not need to spell this out, but this is a joke.
They watch film and hear the noise. If they didn’t know it at the time, they would’ve figured it out before the next game. If my fat ass could see it from my couch, they definitely saw that shit.
Honestly the worst coaching I’ve seen in a game, ever. Atkinson showed no passion , the lack of care and his stupid semi smiling face made me fume. I’m not even a Cavs fan!
Yeah, it was crazy seeing a coach let his star player get repeatedly cooked like that. It’s like he enjoyed watching Harden suffer
Jeez I wonder why
Literally the best playoff strategy for a decade now.
Yeah no fucking shit. Kenny is slow as fuck.
Turns out Kyrie and KD were right?
I mean he got further in the East this year than those two ever did (together)
no but also yes somehow
To be honest, while working on Brunson highlights, I noticed had some good defensive possessions, and Brunson did make some tough shots (he even blocked Brunson in the 4th).
But the rotation once Brunson manages to get past him… what are the Cavs bigs doing?
The Cavs used Harden.
It’s not very effective.
He’s effective. Knicks used him super effectively.
It’s no secret? I think it was a big secret for Kenny Atkinson who made no effort to address it. No JH sub, no attacking Brunson who was in foul trouble, not even trying to hide or switch Harden away from Brunson. That JH defense and Kenny Atkinson coaching were inexcusable.
Wade would never be the target of another teams offense, EVER. Comparisons over
Prime Wade was the best defensive guard in the league. Washed Bulls Wade was still destroying the Celtics offensive flow in the playoffs.
Wade is better but that’s not really a fair comparison
That’s like saying that when people hunt Steph lol
That’s how good Steph is. He was hunted all the time due to his frame, but he was still able to hold his own and not be detrimental, still produced well offensively, and was able to win 4 rings despite limitations.
Facts
I mean like it or not, that does factor in when comparing Steph, whose an offensive god, against some of the other legends.
Bro is the worst defender ive seen this playoffs. There was no effort. Im surprised with the sentiment last series that he was somehow “good” but what i saw was some dude who try to hold his ground but dont want to move his feet.
He looked worse than embiid with one working tendon.
They’re all bad defenders ahh
I think bro gave up damn near 40 points + didn’t attack Brunson on 5 fouls, just did step back threes lmao
Love you harden, but wtf bro
He popping shit because he know Harden aint finna do shit to get back at him
Sensational
I like how these playoffs players and coaches have made a point about attacking traffic cones defensively. McDaniels with Jokic, now Brown with Harden… It’s about time we start evaluating elite offensive stars properly.
Lmaooooooo
Ah yes, the Jaden McDaniels approach. As a Timberwolves fan, I appreciate it.
Even if it didn’t work to come all the way back it was a great strategy to continue to wear Harden down for the rest of the series. 36 years old and two playoff series that have gone the full 7 games and now this. I don’t see how he can not be getting very, very gassed.
I saw that with my deep basketball knowledge
Kenny atinkson is gonna have to have uncomfortable conversations with Harden after this game. they may have to bench him in the forth quarter because he KILLED all their flow
I am still confused and don’t understand why Dean Wade refused to fight over a damn screen.
All the Knicks were doing was screening Dean wade to get him off brunson, and dean Wade refused to fight over a damn screen. And why didn’t Atkinson if he was upset with Dean Wade not fighting over a screen, not go back to Max strus who would have definitely fought over the screen, to keep harden from being forced to guard brunson. Dean Wade really sold James harden out.
How do you know Kenny didn’t want them switching the screens neph
i mean he clearly did, wade didnt even make a token effort to fight past the screen
I am guessing he wouldn’t want to take his best perimeter defender off of Jalen brunson. The reason why Dean Wade is out there is to guard the toughest perimeter player, in these playoffs Dean Wade was the guy that was guarding Brandon Ingram and he guarded Cade Cunningham a lot vs Detroit, and when he is not out there they usually have Max strus take the best offensive perimeter players assignment.
Watching James harden get cooked I thought they just set James harden up to fail. And I am assuming Kenny Atkinson is not stupid enough to say hey Lets leave James harden on the island with one of the best iso players in the league.
Everybody watching knew that
Giving “attack Jamal, attack Jokic. They bad defenders” vibes lol
Wolves would just attack Murray/Jokic over and over to get the comeback and it was the same thing here
Cavs coaching (or lack thereof) was inexcusable in 4th and OT.
Yeah Harden being cooked in the playoffs. What’s new.
I ain’t gone lie man if I were James harden I’d deadass harm myself because what do you mean the opponent’s strategy (that won them a COMEBACK GAME) was just to keep attacking me lmaooo
I’ve been hearing a lot of Cleveland fans who hate Bickerstaff but surely this isn’t much better? Just… What.
Morey deserved to be fired from the Sixers, but he was 100% justified in not giving Harden a max deal
Very unlucky for the Cavs.
As the old saying goes there’s a yearly chart for when Harden comparisons to other legends drop into the pits. It starts at the beginning of the playoffs.
They said he was better than DWade while being a devastating weakness on the other end
James Soften
I still can’t believe it was a thing the past couple of months on social media to compare Harden and Dwyane Wade and for some to say that Harden was clearly superior. Nephew ass take
does harden do a post game?? i gotta see that man
This is the way.
Investigate Kenny at this point
Why wouldn’t you target your opponent’s Achilles heel
And he was absolutely cooked.
Mike Brown suddenly became Red Auerbach.
I can see Knicks going up 3-0 before cavs steal a home game and the series closes out in NY.
If cavs were going to have a shot it was this game with knicks being rusty, and OG being a little off his 3 ball. But they collapsed. It felt like they werent really fighting to stay in it, as much as the Knicks were fighting their ass off.
Shout out Brown for all the adjustments he’s made in the post season. Bridges, Shamet were great. OG was playing winning ball even though his 3 was off. Brunson did Brunson stuff. And all this is with Kat being out due to being in foul trouble.
I don’t know what the Cavs are going to do.
I am a Redditor and even I know they were targeting Harden. It was so obvious and it was coaching malpractice that Atkinson offered NO adjustment for that.
possession after possession
Brown was with the warriors during the playoff series against the Rockets. Man is very familiar with Hardens game.
Sweeeeeeeeep
Geez surely hope this doesn’t happen again in Game 2
Shamet’s impact too.