Knicks · [Game Thread 4/23/23] Game 4 vs Cavs 1PM, ABC (page 17)

VDesai @ 4/24/2023 9:45 AM
Garden was rocking yest, but hilarious thing was an usher asked me to sit down like 3 times. I never thought I'd be asked to sit down during a home playoff game!
SergioNYK @ 4/24/2023 10:16 AM
Panos wrote:
SergioNYK wrote:This was by far the best Knicks weekend I've had as an adult! It almost doesn't feel real! So proud of this team for protecting homecourt and putting Cleveland on the ropes!

So many heroes! Got to start with Brunson! Another amazing game with 29 points and hit all the timely shots! The three at the end of the third was huge! The game feels different if we go into the fourth down. Cleveland just doesn't have an answer! Brunson just cooks and stirs anyone they put on him! By far the best player in the series so far.

Beyond proud of RJ! I did not see this coming at all but I'm happy to chew and eat the crow! He's shown so much resiliency and heart! Kudos to Thibs for adjusting the gameplan and getting RJ the ball in attach mode. RJ isn't just driving into the paint without a plan. He's driving throw body contact and taking good shots! And hitting the threes has opened up his game. That pull up at the end of the game was so sick!

Josh freaking Hart! Best Knicks midseason trade since Derek Harper in 1994. He's changed this team. Can't teach his hustle and IQ. Just makes all the right plays! Energizes the entire team! Huge game starting and outplayed Spida. That idiot Scott Foster robbed him of some points at the line too. The coast to coast layup over Allen had my screaming and jumping out of my seat!

Sorry but Playoff Mitch is a thing! Rob has been outstanding! Outplaying Allen! He's bullying and pushing him around and grabbing every rebound in sight and finishing over him too! And he's protecting the paint at an elite level! Spida and Garland are thinking twice about driving at him! Add Hartenstein too! Both are doing an amazing job! Props to Obi! Did a great job finishing the game! That driving layup was so nice!

Not going to let anything ruin my good mood today so I won't say much about Randle. I'm choosing to believe Thibs even though my eyes see it differently in Randle playing hurt. Hopefully Randle snaps out of it cause we will need him to end these fools! But kudos to Thibs! He's completely outcoaching JBB. Made all the right adjustments and subs! I never in a million years thought he would completely bench Randle but he did it right it was the right move!

Series is NOT over! Cannot take the foot off their throat!

Yes, RJ played better the last 2 games. But I don't understand your statement bolded above. He was 0 for 6 from 3pt yesterday, and several of them open. He shouldn't be taking that many 3's.

iHart, has been huge, and Knicks not losing a step when he subs in for MitchRob. So awesome to have a strong bench that doesn't have a drop off.

We are going to need both IQ and Randle to regain some of their regular season form for the next round. I really expected to see something more from IQ this series.

You're right, RJ was 0/6 although he did hit one but Hart was called for traveling. It's more about RJ getting the ball on the move and finishing through contact. He isn't stopping as much or forcing it over double and triple teams. Hopefully he can keep it up in Cleveland! We'll need him!

gradyandrew @ 4/24/2023 10:24 AM
RJ has just been willing the ball into the basket. High degree of difficulty on most of his drives.
martin @ 4/24/2023 10:32 AM
Panos wrote:
ToddTT wrote:
Panos wrote:
martin wrote:Man, Deuce showing us why even a couple of minutes of play can impact a game.

Tack on his one 3point shot and it’s a solid 5 minutes of playoff basketball a 10th man on team can have.

I think it is safe to say Deuce is the most impactful 3rd string PG we've ever had.

Rick Brunson has had a pretty big impact as well.

His sperm did.

He meant tampering-wise!!

BigDaddyG @ 4/24/2023 10:37 AM
From Cavs Reddit. I would gloat, but I still remember feeling like this after the Hawks series.
BigDaddyG @ 4/24/2023 10:47 AM
Also this:
https://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/...
Cleveland comes in at No.5 on 24/7 Wall St.'s 2018 list of the "Worst Cities to Live In." The list is based on "quality of life" factors such as home value, air quality, infrastructure, poverty rate, education, crime and other things. Cleveland ranks behind only Memphis, St. Louis, Flint, Mich. and Detroit.
VDesai @ 4/24/2023 11:34 AM
martin wrote:
Panos wrote:
ToddTT wrote:
Panos wrote:
martin wrote:Man, Deuce showing us why even a couple of minutes of play can impact a game.

Tack on his one 3point shot and it’s a solid 5 minutes of playoff basketball a 10th man on team can have.

I think it is safe to say Deuce is the most impactful 3rd string PG we've ever had.

Rick Brunson has had a pretty big impact as well.

His sperm did.

He meant tampering-wise!!


Rick was a scrappy defender as a 12th man, but behind Childs/Ward who offered no playmaking at all, it was a wonder for 14 yr old me why we didn't have a better prospect sitting the bench behind them. Little did I know we were playing a 25 yr long game on this....

VDesai @ 4/24/2023 11:40 AM
We are dead last in the playoffs in 3pt shooting percentage (27.5% - 16th), dead last in 3pt Made (8.2 per game, 16th) and 2nd to last in FG% (42.8%- 15th). But despite our offensive struggles, we're no.1 in offensive rebounding, no.1 in steals and no.1 in creating opponents turnovers. All the created chances/2nd chances are why we are winning ballgames.
Panos @ 4/24/2023 11:48 AM
martin wrote:
Panos wrote:
ToddTT wrote:
Panos wrote:
martin wrote:Man, Deuce showing us why even a couple of minutes of play can impact a game.

Tack on his one 3point shot and it’s a solid 5 minutes of playoff basketball a 10th man on team can have.

I think it is safe to say Deuce is the most impactful 3rd string PG we've ever had.

Rick Brunson has had a pretty big impact as well.

His sperm did.

He meant tampering-wise!!

Todd Tampering with the condom? Now that's mess up!

LivingLegend @ 4/24/2023 12:46 PM
martin wrote:
Clean wrote:
Look at all of those layups in traffic. What flipped the switch?

RJ has us all on a string, he was just getting ALL of his misses out of the way during games 1 & 2.

This is NOT a knock on RJ —- thought he was HUGE but he was still 0-6 from 3 and he missed 5 free throws.

He was basically 9-12 from 2 with I think 2 of those being short-range pull ups.

So his shooting issues haven’t gone away but I think he’s been more decisive, taking advantage of Cavs scrambling off the Brunson action and certainly he’s made good decisions past 2 games.

LivingLegend @ 4/24/2023 12:48 PM
blkexec wrote:
martin wrote:Man, Deuce showing us why even a couple of minutes of play can impact a game.

Tack on his one 3point shot and it’s a solid 5 minutes of playoff basketball a 10th man on team can have.

I love my shut down guard defenders. An under appreciated skill and lost ark in basketball these days. I wish Deuce could get 30 plus minutes of game because his defensive energy is infectious. When Deuce is paired with Brunson in the back court, we are giving teams the business on both ends of the floor. And Deuce is a 10th man shutting down someone who once scored 71, and we calling him a borderline superstar. 10th man?

Thibs is currently in his bag as a coach. Thibs has made adjustments this game. You can see the Synergy growing.

Sometimes it's better to see from the sideline. I see Randle coming out strong next game to close this baby out.

Agree in general with both you guys — I think Deuce is going to be getting more minutes next year. In place of who - not sure yet.

martin @ 4/24/2023 12:49 PM
More Deuce!!!

LivingLegend @ 4/24/2023 12:51 PM
martin wrote:

Hart has been relentless defending him - constantly reaching in to keep Mitch on his toes, fighting over screens, denying the ball and fighting for any loose possessions - amazing his impact and he still has energy to grab rebound, run the floor and hit the floor about 5-6 times a game.

Clean @ 4/24/2023 1:49 PM

I still hate a constant diet of ISOs, but if you are going to do it then do it with the best.
martin @ 4/24/2023 1:56 PM
LivingLegend wrote:
martin wrote:

Hart has been relentless defending him - constantly reaching in to keep Mitch on his toes, fighting over screens, denying the ball and fighting for any loose possessions - amazing his impact and he still has energy to grab rebound, run the floor and hit the floor about 5-6 times a game.

Yeah, Hart/Grimes have been much better on Mitchell than Okoro/Osman/LeVert have been on Brunson.

martin @ 4/24/2023 1:57 PM
Clean wrote:
I still hate a constant diet of ISOs, but if you are going to do it then do it with the best.

Wild stat right there.

Chandler @ 4/24/2023 2:03 PM
^^ love the stats, but the reality is there are often 2 guys on Donovan and he hasn't figured out how to get to the rim effectively, and when he has Mitch and I.Hart have been active.

a lot of yesterday's game plan was to let Okoro beat them (which i think is smart). Okoro's guy was sagging off of him like 15 feet at least threatening to double or triple drives by DM or Darius.

I will say this. Bickerstaff is doing a good job (not as good as Thibs IMO but good). I fully expect some new wrinkles from them, especially with their back against the wall. Also Darius is playing with some heart

VDesai @ 4/24/2023 3:04 PM
Knicks can live with Okoro and LeVert shooting 3s. Cedi Osman has only shot 4/16 from 3 and he is probably their best shooter. Okoro is 2/10 from 3 and Levert is 9/29. Cavs have done us a favor leaving Dean Wade on the bench.
Clean @ 4/24/2023 4:33 PM
VDesai wrote:Knicks can live with Okoro and LeVert shooting 3s. Cedi Osman has only shot 4/16 from 3 and he is probably their best shooter. Okoro is 2/10 from 3 and Levert is 9/29. Cavs have done us a favor leaving Dean Wade on the bench.

The real favor was letting Kevin Love leave. He usually kills us.

ToddTT @ 4/24/2023 5:23 PM
BigDaddyG @ 4/24/2023 5:40 PM
https://www.theringer.com/2023/4/24/2369...

The Secret to the Knicks’ Success? They’re Winging It.
New York has seized a 3-1 lead on Cleveland by thinking small and unveiling a new offensive wrinkle that’s giving the Cavaliers fits

Knicks Screening for Jalen Brunson

Mitchell Robinson
Season:15.6
Playoffs:7.8

Julius Randle
Season:8.5
Playoffs:4.8

Isaiah Hartenstein
Season:7.2
Playoffs:4.8

Josh Hart
Season:2.1
Playoffs:7.8

Immanuel Quickley
Season:1.2
Playoffs:4

RJ Barrett
Season:1
Playoffs:5.5

The Knicks have adopted this strategy because it directly takes Cleveland’s two best defenders, Allen and Evan Mobley, out of the action. And when the Cavs pressure Brunson, the defense is forced to scramble and rotate late, creating advantages or offensive rebounding opportunities.


With the Cavs sending two at Brunson in the play above, Hart short rolled to the basket and drew the attention of three Cavaliers defenders. He had options: throw a lob to Robinson at the rim, kick out to Obi Toppin in the corner, or hit a wide-open Barrett. Hart chose the simple pass to Barrett, who missed. But with the defense out of position, Hart was in a good spot to grab the board and find Brunson, who made a dagger 3-pointer.

Assuming the Knicks continue this strategy, the Cavs will either need to make sounder rotations on the back end to prevent open shots or switch the on-ball screen and risk Brunson (who scored a game-high 29 points in Game 4) exploiting a weaker defender one-on-one. The latter is what happened earlier in the series, when the Knicks were using Brunson to target Cedi Osman.

Cleveland is allowing only 98 points per game this series, so it’s not as if New York is shredding its defense. But this is a grind-it-out series, and the Knicks are regularly creating better looks that expose their opponent’s weaknesses.

Tom Thibodeau’s coaching staff has been able to find more answers than J.B. Bickerstaff’s so far. Down 3-1 in the series, the Cavs look like a team running out of options.

The Knicks haven’t even really leaned on Robinson or Randle screening for Brunson yet, like they did all year. For now, the Knicks will continue with something new. After all, it’s working.

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