Clearer look at KAT tipping the inbound pass
If you pay attention to the back side Castle seems to have a full step on whomever is guarding him
It appears this tip literally saved the game
Yea the play call was actually pretty good. Wemby was a decoy to make sure Mitch was pulled away from the basket and then they tried to do a backdoor alleyoop with Castle. When I saw Castle had a step on Hart, I thought it was over.
More like 2 steps, seems like Hart trip or something.
I’m glad Hart gave OG his flowers in the post game presser. Because he had 3 disastrous plays in crunch time. Wide open missed layup, bad foul on Castle, and this play….
Also ball watching and giving up the offensive rebound
Hard to really blame him on this play. Wemby is true threat for lob and top locking castle seem like a good idea just in case he flares out to the 3 point line or discourage a pass to Wemby.
Castle created the separation with that slight push to the chest but hart recovered pretty well and then went vertical to not draw the foul. Hart made two bad plays earlier, he got beat here, and still didn’t panic in the moment and played textbook defense even after the initial slip.
That’s this Knick team in a nutshell. They gonna fuck up a lot, but they always get themselves together before shit gets worse.
He also forced the out of bounds turnover on Castle at 1 min left.
I still wouldn’t blame Hart entirely if they lost, because going down 29pts at home is everybody’s fault. They had to spend all that energy just to close the deficit.
Yes, Hart missed that layup. But Brunson and others missed 8 FTs.
First half their 3PT percentage was pathetic and lost points right there. There were 13 team TOs (Knicks always seem to lead Spurs there on this stat).
I know crunch time wins games, but crunch time wouldn’t be this dangerous if the Knicks created a better buffer of points for once in this series. Every game has been down to the line, unlike the Cavs series. This means they are struggling somewhere (or many places) and still need to address this for Game 5.
Yeah, Hart dun goofed, but that’s only because every move is amplified in the last 3-4 minutes. There was Knick dun goofing all game long until the late 3rd/4th quarter.
Hard to get around a 7’6 guy setting a back screen
Especially when the 7’6” guy is using his hands on the screen
Yeah “screen” which is just getting pushed in the back lol
He really is very mediocre at setting them. Probably just too high of a center of gravity to be as effective as a traditional big.
Hart saved again
So they drew good play only in last second not when they were up by 29 and couldnt score at all ha
Baffling, isn’t it
Refs missed that too. Clock should have started the minute KAT touched it. Meaning by the time the ball got there time would have expired.
Didn’t think about that. MSG would’ve erupted if Castle somehow scored and then it was overturned
Anyone know if that can even be challenged? There’s no actual call to challenge
That’s actually hilarious. I wonder if that’s reviewable.
It is!
The dumbest thing about it is that they just call off the basket and end the quarter/game. Any other timing mistake, they’ll just reset the clock and do the play over. But nope. For this specific situation, they end it.
that’s not dumb.. they fixed the call. no reason why spurs would deserve a retry if they simply ran out of time and they didn’t start the clock correctly
true but it still feels crazy that players are responsible to look for tips and then use an internal clock since the shotclock is now invalid
And Castle still got to it… imagine if he catches it cleanly and gets a shot up in time, only for it to be overturned upon review seeing that KAT tipped it (if they even can overturn it).
If they wouldn’t be able to, it would be up there of monumental sports fuckups like Armando Galaraga’s perfect game.
Still so crazy that they never credited Galaraga for that. But, are there actually any more memorable perfect games? The infamy at least makes it unique and we all recognize he threw a perfect game even if unofficial.
They’ll review it if ever castle found a way to make the basket
How does that work? Would they use a replay to figure out when the clock should have started and then use video analysis to subtract the time and see if he got it off in time? That seems like the fair way to do it but I couldn’t see them actually doing that in a in-game scenario.
They would 100% do that
Yes exactly. Except it would be super clear in this case because the clock should have started as soon as KAT touched the ball. Time would have expired before Castle even caught the ball.
Good point; in this case it probably wouldn’t have been much of a close call.
Yep, not being talked about enough. If KAT doesn’t tip this I think he would’ve had a wide open layup or dunk
This is the exact play that SA ran in game 1 against OKC at the end of the first overtime. Castle again was wide open and it took Caruso flying in to tip the ball away to prevent a wide open layup.
Both times they’ve run it they’ve gotten Castle wide open under the hoop. Both times the opponent made a great defensive play to blow it up
Josh Hart again
He did a great job facing up on defense immediately after, though, to make the attempt difficult for Castle. I’ll never speak a negative word about Hart. He makes major defensive plays in almost every game that don’t show up on highlight reels & in box scores.
Like the turnover when he forced Castle to go out of bounds with 1 min left.
I think this is the only correct outlook honestly. Your starter minutes guys are the only reason you’re in this position, can’t start crucifying someone for a couple of mistakes (no matter how insane) when they’re doing basically all of the lifting.
We love Josh Hart, flaws and all
He’s being held by Wemby on the screen
No LITERALLY. If not for that tip, that is an easy alley for castle.
TBH the clock should’ve started at the tip and ran out before it even got to castle. But it still worked out
I’m sure they would have reviewed it at the tip of Castle had made a shot after
Josh hart was saved again from generational slander
He even said in the post game that OG bailed him out from a lifetime of regret.
Yep either he dunks it or the refs have to call a foul. I couldn’t understand how the ball was thrown so short. Good clean play by Kat to tip the pass
I thought Castle was scoring until he fumbled the ball
Everyone is talking about OG… and when they talk about KAT, it’s like he had a bad game. Meanwhile, KAT led the team in plus-minus, playing directly against Wemby… who disappeared in the 4th quarter because of KAT’s defense. I think that when the dust settles, people will look back at this game and realize that KAT is still the most important player for the Knicks in this series.
KAT currently has the highest plus-minus in a playoff run in nba history
https://www.statmuse.com/nba/ask/plus-minus-leaders-in-nba-playoffs-each-year
brings a tear to my eye to see knicks fans and wolves fans getting together to appreciate Kat lmao
Rooting for y’all (and my boy) is so easy. Wrap this shit up in San Antonio now. I don’t want Silver to get his 7 games.
We gotta do it for Naz Reid’s neck !
Ridiculous that KAT got 2 foul calls so early in the first quarter!
Proof that in the eyes of the refs, once a wolf always a wolf.
I love that guy so much man
It’s great seeing him shine like this after everything he’s been through
I’ll never forget when the trade hit and he had like a day or two to get to New York, he stopped and went to the kid of a staff member’s rec league game because he had already told the kid he would.
Such a small moment but tells you a lot about him.
Yes, absolutely. That is KAT as a person summarized perfectly in a single story. He still runs all of his same charity and community outreach organizations in Minneapolis today.
Dude is just a damn good person with a big fucking heart who has experienced way more trauma and loss than most by his age. Incredible person.
Imagine it would be amazing. Wolves and Knicks holding arms and jumping with the trophy
(This is a soccer copypasta)
Gonna hang the KAT Knicks banner next to the KG Celtics banner at target center.
Don’t forget the K-Love Cavs banner!
KAT deserves it all. I’m sad he’s not with Minnesota but seeing him happy with all this success is so much fucking fun for us.
KAT is a fucking dog. God I miss him, but he deserves this so fucking much….
Brunson at #4 says a lot about the generational hot streak the Knicks are on right now.
Especially since the next closest overall team comparisons are the 2017 Warriors Superteam with Steph and Draymond at 2 and 3.
Not only that, but also Bridges at #16 and Hart at #19
How far back do the +/- stats go? There are a few early 2000s in the top 25 there but I don’t think it was officially tracked more than 20 years ago.
For sure. The entire reason we fell into such a big hole early was the 2 immediate weak fouls on KAT. It snowballed from there, getting him back in the 4th quarter was huge
As they fell further and further behind I became more and more confused as to why they kept him out so long even with the fouls. The team needs KAT to function against the Spurs. Is there a rule that 2 fouls means you have to sit?
KAT also neutralizes Wemby’s defense
anti-wembanyama
KAT still has a good chance at FMVP solely for guarding Wemby, and his all around performance in the first 2 games is helping a lot. I think whoever has the best performance between him Jalen and OG in the closeout will win it
thats the thing about this team, every single person is so important, the FMVP could be given to OG, Kat or JB right now and it’d make perfect sense
This team truly reminds me of the team of the 70s. I was not alive lol, but from the documentaries I’ve watched theres a lot of similarities. 2 teams with a very strong and balanced starting lineup, yes Willis and Clyde were the stars like Brunson and KAT are now, but the true strength of this team is how cohesive and unselfish they are.
It’s basically gonna go to whoever of that 3 has the biggest impact in a closeout game at this point.
It’s a team game. Knicks needed every ounce they could get from each and every player, from sochan to Alvarado to Mitch to Kat to Brunson etc imo, there is no point trying to benchmark importance. It always takes everyone
KAT gives his team the spacing they need to score. The knicks just score more with him on the floor period. Even when he’s not taking shots. If he was allowed to play full mins, this series would be a wrap right now.
This pretty much seals KAT’s legacy, removing his ‘soft’ label (a stupid label in the first place).
people just look at points and determine who had a good game by this lol
Incredible timing by KAT on the inbound tip and Hart for being in position, standing vertically still to ensure that when Castle comes back up that he’ll bump a firmly planted person and be thrown off.
longest 1.2 sec in history of the NBA.
Only other time I felt like that as a Knicks/NYC fan, was the 2008 Super Bowl when Brady got the ball back after Giants went ahead. Every deep pass felt like it was in the air for several minutes and a part of me expected Moss to catch it.
Jay Alford absolutely spearing Brady on that drive was amazing.
2011 SB I thought Gronk was going to catch it.
Yeah, I was way more nervous at the end of the second Super Bowl than the first.
8 year old me was certain Randy was catching that one deep pass at the end
The one deep throw to Moss that looked close (3rd down I think?), Moss actually torched his coverage. Problem was it was like a 70 yard throw and Brady couldn’t hit him that far without him slowing down. When Brady launched it though, I was ready for the all time highlight play
Omg yes 😂😂😂😂 every second feels long with the Giants for sure
Clock should’ve started on the tip. Game should’ve been over before Castle even touched the ball
wouldve been another entertaining twist to the story book ending to watch the review if castle made a bucket on a tipped pass
bucket review call overturned
That’s an awesome angle. Kat had a terrible game due to foul issues but still came in clutch
Mike Brown made some killer adjustments to the game making KAT’s role to be less physical abrasive but at the same time not lose his impact to the team.
KAT was +17 in a 1 point win which was nuts too.. obviously don’t want to overstate +/-
It’s mostly because it was a game of two halves and KAT barely played in the first half when Spurs were shooting lights out from 3
Part of them being lights out from 3 is because they have to overhelp on Wemby with KAT not in the game lol. They got a bunch of wiiiiiiiiiiiide open shots.
They got a bunch of wide open shots in game 3 as well but they missed. This was Knicks strategy for the most part, and it’s not based on KAT being in the game.
Yea, The Knicks look so much better on defense when Kat is the one on wemby. Kat has been playing great defense this series.
Sure but another way to think about it is that they dominated the half that KAT played
Definitely not denying KAT’s impact, just that it takes a lot of things to have a 29 point comeback. KAT factor is part of it, but I can’t say it’s the most critical thing here when OG and Brunson had the half of their lives.
Brunson’s 2nd half +/- was +30 lol
But when he was on the court he was actually effective — especially if you discount the period in the second quarter where they had him in but guarding the perimeter, his defense on wemby has been absolutely killing the spurs this series.
If you consider his overall value, he’s been giving you all defense level defense on wemby, his presence behind the arc spaces the floor, and when they actually get him the ball he’s still averaging 16 on 55/40/100 splits. Also nearly 11 boards + nearly 3 assists, with a lot of good quick decision passes that have indirectly lead to points through the Knicks ball movement.
OG now is the front runner for FMVP and deservedly so but I think the actual impact KAT has had is being slept on.
I don’t always love plus minus as a stat, but KAT is +12 per game, next closest is Hart at +7.8. (Obviously don’t trust the stat too much because OG is actually a negative in plus minus and third worst on the team)
He also was aggressive when he was playing and forced Wemby to play up on him which opened up spacing.
Looking back and knowing the Knicks needed every single play, that 3 in the corner he hit over Keldon looks pretty nutty.
KAT was great when he was on court. The problem was keeping him on court.
interestingly KAT was +17 and OG was -1
OG played like 90% of the game
The foul issues might have helped because he was fairly fresh going into thr 4th.
They wouldnt be down 29 at alf if he wasnt in foul trouble
What would’ve happened if Castle caught and made a shot but they didn’t start the clock on time. Do they review and then nullify it?
They would review it
Yep. Or at least, I hope they would. I remember a game against Atlanta(?) where Kyle was inbounding and lobbed it up to Demar(?) for a game winning dunk. They reviewed it and claimed that the inbounds defender actually managed to brush the ball which started the clock and meant that by the time Demar got his hands on it for the dunk, official time had already expired and so they waved off the shot and Atlanta won
Edit: looks like I got all the details wrong lol
They definitely review, not sure they can just manually time 1.2 seconds from KAT’s tip and take away a good basket though.
Thank God we don’t have that shit show to deal with.
They definitely could, pretty easy. Rewatch in exactly half speed, time to score in that is 2.4. Start the 2.4 clock when it touches KAT, if the balls not out of Castles hands by 2.4 ends it doesn’t count
This would definitely work, but I’m not sure if they actually do that kind of thing.
They’ve done it before: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVkL0nCErKs
Imagine the crowd reaction after the overturned call. Even more drama. The New York way. Hope SA wins the next. Would be cool to see the home crowd for a title win. My guess is A Timothy and Taylor get wild….. /S
Yes.
From the NBA rulebook -
Instant replay will be triggered in the following situations: A field goal made with no time remaining on the clock (0:00) at the end of any period. A play concludes (i) with no time remaining on the clock (0:00) at the end of any period or (ii) at a point when the game officials believe that actual time may have expired in any period; and the officials are reasonably certain that the game clock malfunctioned during the play.
The Replay Center Official and on-court official(s) would review the video to determine the following issues: The proper time (if any) on the game clock following the clock malfunction by determining how much time on the game clock actually expired. “
Had the same question. Commenting so I can come back for the answer.
Fuck Kanye but “I guess we’ll never know” is timeless
The same thing happen with kings and raptors like 8 years ago. DeMarcus cousins tipped the ball, then someone on the raptors shot a 3 for the tie and made it right before the buzzer but the refs didn’t count it and the Kings win the game. Everyone in the raptors was pissed
Lol Lmao even
Amazing angle, also good angle of hart making the right play not going for the ball and obstructing the shot
Hart got beat badly, KAT saved him. If somehow they didn’t see the tip and Castle didn’t fumble the ball that hit him right in his hands it’s a winner.
I think they’d have reviewed it to get the time right on the tip. At least I think they’ve done that in the past, who knows with the reffing in this series.
He didn’t get beat, he got shoved backwards by Castle then shoved in the back by Wemby right after so it made him lose his balance.
they’d review entire play on an expired fg make
Honestly a bit lucky there wasn’t a foul call. He does move his arms down slightly and it would totally be like the refs last night to call that
My intuition as well but Castle shouldered him a bit and Hart’s slight arm movement is into the space/cylinder he was originally in. Never seems to be called in last second scrambles anyhow.
Wouldn’t have mattered. Even if Castle finds a way to make the shot it gets reviewed and the clock starts at the time KAT tips it.
Scorer’s table missed not starting the clock on KAT’s clutch deflection
Brunson clutch buckets, GTA 3, OG tip in, OG block, KAT inbounds tip. This team is magical
That’s the best part.
It’s a TEAM effort. This game and this team isn’t all about 1 player dominating everyone else
OG also 5 straight made 3s to claw out of that deficit too.
Wow I can’t believe he actually did it. I thought it was so weird that the ba just sorta died and initial thoughts were a weak or slippery hand lob.
I love slippery hand lobs
Castle sold hard like he got fouled but he never had true possession of the ball.
I think he knew it was his only out and he felt Hart right on him.
I’ll be honest when I saw him flail my initial thought was that Hart must have hit his arm on what would have been an even dumber play than Fox’s. Glad I’m not an official!
I think Hart did the best thing by staying as vertical as possible when defending which I think would make almost any contact incidental.
Yeah, Hart had plenty of mistakes on the evening but did everything right here.
i was going to say - if that was SGA, this would be the top voted post on the sub, and the takeaway would not be KAT’s defense but Castle’s attempt at selling.
i can’t hate though - i appreciate that castle admitted he does it - THEY ALL DO IT. brunson, sga, jaylen brown, lebron, curry, your favorite player - ALL OF THEM.
I honestly can’t tell if Robinson fouled him by reaching in on his left arm as he goes up.
Not that they’d ever call that in that situation but we need another angle to see for sure
Shouldn’t the clock start once it was tipped?
If the league wasn’t desperately trying to gift the Spurs, then yeah that’s what happens.
The play would’ve been reviewed anyways and they’d take away the basket. The same thing happened to the Raptors a while back, they took away Terrence Ross’s game winner.
It was difficult to notice it was tipped in the moment (and not in slow motion). So they could have missed it.
The single most overlooked part of the game. I’m glad we have this angle cause you couldn’t really tell on the broadcast angle.
They never even showed any replays of it during the broadcast either. It was all OG’s tip and all the celebs celebrating
amazing how KAT has grown as a defender man. I wish he got more touches in the fourth so that fmvp would be his but we move
In my eyes it’s still up in the air. Depends on performances in the final game. If Brunson gets 30 and shoots close to 50% I think he’s got it just on points alone. If OG gets 20+ and gets some more clutch stops maybe him. If KAT has another great game on wemby and scores decently in the closeout I think he’s could still have it
Great angle. Both the block and Castle’s lack of control of the ball.
Did Mitch make contact with the ball causing Castle’s lack of control? Hard to tell here
At first I thought Castle at least could’ve gotten a shot off but you can see here he never really had control.
I think the moment he starts to establish it Mitch is already on him and touches it away from his grasp, by the time he’s coming up the ball is already going away from his hands
He looks fully in control of his flopping skills. Mastery
Question cause I’m a dummy. Say he catches and somehow hits it. Could they review about the clock starting at the KAT tip. Should the clock start at first touch?
They would have to review that I believe yes
Castle flopping and caught in slomo lmao
Knicks deserved this win that’s all there is to it
I hate that I actually like this Knicks team. I like the Spurs though, willingly.
KAT’s mama watching over him
KAT or OG for Finals MVP? 🤔
Careful, series isn’t over yet!
Not even close
I think it’s a dead heat and it depends on what happens in the last game.
I also think that there’s a tendency to just give it to the teams best player that’s hard for people to get past, so I think if Brunson has a classic Brunson performance in the clinching win he is still the odds on favorite to get it even if he hasn’t had his best series.
Given the load brunson takes in terms of defensive focus, if he goes off in game 5⁄6 for a win, I wouldn’t hate him taking it. But I feel like Kat probably has been it so far
Everyone deserves the FMVP. Players have been stepping up when others haven’t, everyone has been filling their roles to a tee. Everyone is in sync rn and that’s the reason we are in the position we are in now.
KAT
Probably OG but im not mad with Kat getting it either
I’m a KAT stan here but OG is in the lead right now. The tip-in could end up being one of the most iconic plays in NBA history and his block on Fox was the most pivotal play of the game before that.
I think it’s OG and Jalen now tbh. KAT close to Jalen in 3rd but a little off due to foul trouble
Mvp
So many little things where an inch or two difference changes the game.
What a thriller. Might be the best game I’ve watched for a while if not ever. That 2nd half energy in MSG when the comeback started gave me chills through the TV
Knicks taught the Spurs to have someone guard the inbounder
And that means even if Castle made the shot, it wouldn’t have counted.
Game saving play.
I can’t tell if Mitch knocked the ball out of Castle’s hand or if he just let it slip but I’m going with Mitch knocked the ball out of Castle’s hand because why not
In another universe Stephon Castle has a game winning alley pop dunk in the finals. Crazy clutch tip by KAT the spurs had the look they needed.
Castle was wide open and would have likely scored. Great play by KAR to seal the game
Shocked the refs didn’t hand two free throws to castle
Castle was WIDE open for the lob. It looked like it was gonna be an easy lay, heartbreaker for NYC. Huge play by KAT. They didnt even show this, thought it was just a shotty pass from Harper
I want KAT to win this so fucking badly.
Gotta ball fake kids
He did not have to lob that shit over A 7 footer
lol castle wanted those game winning ft so bad he flopped before he should’ve. True art
Hard fake to the center would have gotten an easier angle !!! Fake a pass to make a pass on tough spots !!!
Yep, huge play by KAT.
Totally missed it and wondered how the hell the lob ended up so short
As a spurs fan, yeah it’s an epic choke job, but god damn Knicks deserve all those successes. Hard to be mad at it.
I think I need to call a doctor, erection has lasted for over 12 hours
Wow kat really saved the game, didn’t he? He tipped it just enough to throw castle off track. Incredible.
so it could be a good idea to guard the inbounder hmmmmmmmmmmm
Worst loss in Spurs history? Fisher game winner and Ray Allen tying shot are up there too.
lucky he tipped it because Castle got wide open for the alley oop. Great play call, but even greater play by KAT to tip it.
Happy KAT is getting recognition here because Castle was WIDE open. Hart got absolutely buried by the screen and the top gave him just enough time and space to recover.
What foul is Castle looking for there lol
Clutch
[deleted]
You are thinking of soccer
On a spot throw you can leave your feet but if you come back down it could be called a travel. They’d never call that in this situation
No wayyy, if KAT didn’t tap it, Stephon would’ve definetley caught the long pass and made the lay.
Even clearer look at Castle flopping.
KAT & OG love just the tip
They needed the perfect execution which includes timing Kat’s jumping as well
And the Knicks got fucked yet again because they didn’t start the clock when KAT tipped it.
One of the most shameless series in NBA history and the Knicks are still up 3-1. I know Silver’s pathetic ass is sick.