ToddTT wrote:Wish we knew more about Julius’ ankle.
I hope it’s not true but is he done for the playoffs or just this playoff series?
Without Randle, we are rolling the dice. We don’t know how far Obi can take this team as the PF. Or if small ball will work with RJ and Hart as your two forwards.
Definitely need grimes back but giving IQ more time I think is a bonus. He can singlehandedly win games.
blkexec wrote:ToddTT wrote:Wish we knew more about Julius’ ankle.
I hope it’s not true but is he done for the playoffs or just this playoff series?
Without Randle, we are rolling the dice. We don’t know how far Obi can take this team as the PF. Or if small ball will work with RJ and Hart as your two forwards.
Definitely need grimes back but giving IQ more time I think is a bonus. He can singlehandedly win games.
It sound like the sprain isn't as bad as the one late in the season.
Honestly, I have no idea how to call this series. This Heat team just demolished the 1 seed, and we have two injured starters. It's going to be a battle! Great drama in the second round!
Our shooting is going to have to improve to win this series. I don't think we get away with shooting 25% from 3pt two series in a row.
Panos wrote:Honestly, I have no idea how to call this series. This Heat team just demolished the 1 seed, and we have two injured starters. It's going to be a battle! Great drama in the second round!
Our shooting is going to have to improve to win this series. I don't think we get away with shooting 25% from 3pt two series in a row.
The Heat lost Herro to a broken hand - the early report said 4-6 recovery, so optimistically (for him and the Heat) at least 2 weeks away. Oladipo is also done (torn patellar tendon) for 6+ months, maybe his career as a useful player?
(Lowry has been hobbled all season and apparently Bam is nursing a hamstring issue)
The Heat basically have 1 path to victory: small ball and hitting lots of 3s.
The Knicks can win a number of ways, but it all starts with containing Jimmy Butler - and that also means finding a way to defend him without fouling him. His main weapon is drawing fouls - he averaged 8.7FTA/game during the regular season, and a whopping 18 in game 4.
Worth noting: Butler made 36 total 3pters in 64 regular season games. That's .5/game. In 5 games vs the Bucks, he hit 12 - 2.4/game. It stands to reason that the Bucks were unprepared for this shift in his game. Maybe one game. But he killed them throughout the series.
I think we've seen every trick out of Butler's game already in the 1st round, so hopefully we (with the help of two guys familiar with him - Thibs and Rose - we can contain him and still have enough resources to slow down the rest of the team).
phuck yeah on Grimes. We need him starting on Butler. We know its going to be a lot of Hart but who knows.
This is going to be a tough series. I don’t expect any blowout wins. Gonna ba a dogfight. Knicks in 6. Close it out at MSG South
For reference: Recap of Miami vs Celtics in last year's ECF.
https://www.nba.com/playoffs/2022/east-f...The Heat were up 1-0, and 2-1 in the series before losing in 7 games.
4/5 of the starting lineup are back: Butler, Bam, Strauss and Vincent are returning in their roles again. I didn't realize that Straus and Vincent were starting in the playoffs.
Herro was used as a 6th man last year. There were playoff games where Oladipo was more impactful and played more than Herro. Both are out this year. Along with starter PJ Tucker (now a Sixer) they're missing 3 players from last year's ECF team.
What is the over under on total Techs between Crazy Jimmy Butler and Juju?
What are the odds of them NOT getting into a shoving match?
Panos wrote:What is the over under on total Techs between Crazy Jimmy Butler and Juju?
What are the odds of them NOT getting into a shoving match?
Who wants that? I want Jimbo and JuJu to go at it like rabid dogs? If they both get tossed, I say we still get the better end of that deal. Jules would be a huge loss, but we have JB, RJ and IQ to fill in. Who does Miami have? A dribbling medicine ball at point, a washed Kevin Love and Max Strus? Oh, I did forget Gabe Vincent plays like prime JR Smith against us, but it still won't be enough.
It will be " Grimes Time " and IQ will be like Tyler Herro off the bench, and those two things push the Knicks past the Heat. IQ, Hart, Heart, Obi too much for the Heat.
fishmike wrote:VDesai wrote:Defending Jimmy Butler is not the same as defending Donavan Mitchell, but with Hart, Grimes and Quickley to throw at him, I think we have guys who won't back down and will make it hard for him. They only had two other players that could create their own offense- Herro and a lesser extent Oladipo. And those guys are both out. The difference between this series and the Cavs series is the Heat have many, many shooters. Strus, Robinson, Love, Vincent, Martin - these guys will all make 3s if you leave em open, whereas Oladipo, Levert and Osman couldn't hurt us consistently. Adebayo has more dimensions to his game Mobley at this point - but I have 100% confidence in Mitch/Hartenstein.
great analysis. I was looking at how they beat the Bucks (its almost perplexing) and you nailed it. Miami shot 45% from 3. There's no way Thibs see's that and lets them fire away.Its going to be really interesting. I dont want to underestimate the Heat, but I dont see how they can hang with us. Bam is a monster, but after that they are leaning heavily on Love (he's played well) and guys like Caleb Martin who are their versions of our Josh Hart.
I see another big rebounding advantage. I just dont think Miami's shooting is sustainable. Even with Giannis being banged up I dont know how Miami shot .519 and .450 from 3 FOR THE SERIES. Are they expecting to repeat that?
Agreed. Biggest worry for me is Butler, of course but moreso guarding the three point stripe. Which has been out weakness at times throughout the season. Do feel good about the fact that , when given time, Thibs has been able to correct cracks in the armor.
Hoping for Knicks in six but think we are destined for a 7 game series.
Will add however, that IF the Knicks can stop Jimmy Buckets, it will be a quick series.
I'm cautiously optimistic. OK I'm lying, I'm very anxious! This will not be an easy series! I see it 50/50 close. These next two weeks are going to be really stressful! And exiting at the same time! It will definitely bring us back to the 90s! And what a time that was! Sending these bastards home three straight years on their homecourt and watching Riley, BoZo and Tiny Tim cry is one the best memories of my childhood!
There is no other franchise in sports that I hate more then Miami but at the same time, I respect them. That's a winning organization. They are in it most years. They just seem to make all the right decisions and have had incredible luck too (ie. Wade, LeBron, Butler). All credit goes to Pat the Rat.
This current cHeat team is not to be taken lightly. They just sent the number seed home as the eight seed! Beating Giannis and the Bucks is one of the toughest tasks in the modern NBA and the cHeat completely destroyed them. The cHeat don't have the big names except for Butler and Bam but we cannot sleep on their supporting cast. Guys like Straus, Vincent, Robinson, Martin and Love can kill us from three and they also play zone which has given us problems this season. Spoelstra is the best coach in the entire league and will always come up with a gameplan to give his team the best chance to win. So we should not walk into this series and except to bully and walk all over them like with Cleveland. The cHeat will not be scared of playing at MSG. In fact, they are the type of team that looks forward to it! Butler especially has everything needed to be the next great MSG villain.
That being said, I think we can win this series. We have homecourt (VERY IMPORTANT!) and the deeper and better overall team. A lot of these games will be close late in the game and it will come to who can make those clutch shots and plays between Brunson and Butler. I like our chances.
KNICKS IN 7!
SergioNYK wrote:I'm cautiously optimistic. OK I'm lying, I'm very anxious! This will not be an easy series! I see it 50/50 close. These next two weeks are going to be really stressful! And exiting at the same time! It will definitely bring us back to the 90s! And what a time that was! Sending these bastards home three straight years on their homecourt and watching Riley, BoZo and Tiny Tim cry is one the best memories of my childhood! There is no other franchise in sports that I hate more then Miami but at the same time, I respect them. That's a winning organization. They are in it most years. They just seem to make all the right decisions and have had incredible luck too (ie. Wade, LeBron, Butler). All credit goes to Pat the Rat.
This current cHeat team is not to be taken lightly. They just sent the number seed home as the eight seed! Beating Giannis and the Bucks is one of the toughest tasks in the modern NBA and the cHeat completely destroyed them. The cHeat don't have the big names except for Butler and Bam but we cannot sleep on their supporting cast. Guys like Straus, Vincent, Robinson, Martin and Love can kill us from three and they also play zone which has given us problems this season. Spoelstra is the best coach in the entire league and will always come up with a gameplan to give his team the best chance to win. So we should not walk into this series and except to bully and walk all over them like with Cleveland. The cHeat will not be scared of playing at MSG. In fact, they are the type of team that looks forward to it! Butler especially has everything needed to be the next great MSG villain.
That being said, I think we can win this series. We have homecourt (VERY IMPORTANT!) and the deeper and better overall team. A lot of these games will be close late in the game and it will come to who can make those clutch shots and plays between Brunson and Butler. I like our chances.
KNICKS IN 7!
Darth Fucking Riley did well here and was a paranoid dick at the same time.
“Blood in the Garden of eden” book is must read for all of you. It respects the job he did but paints him as a dick.
I want knicks to win. Not a fan of the Heat either, but last season this was a top seed and nearly made the finals.
So im not celebrating this until they are dead and gone.
Predictions? Im passing on this one. Too much respect for the Evil Empire despite my distain for them.
The team that wins the next game will win the series.
The Heat so far have decided to play the 3 point shooting casino. Taking quite a few bad shots from long range, with a number of them actually going in. Plus, so far they are showing more energy and hustle. But, given the advanced age of some of their key players, I wonder for how long they can sustain this against our younger legs? The upcoming long pause clearly playing in their favor.
For the Knicks to have a chance, the following must happen:
1) Step up the energy and hustle level
2) Either Grimes or IQ must rediscover their 3 point stroke
3) No more bonehead JRRJ TOs (yeah, right!)
Injuries so far a balanced factor.
If things stay the way they are, the series will go 4-2 to the Heat.
Heat play a system and get players for it. Either vets, free agents, etc. Its how Starks and Mase came to be. Riles has done this for 30 years now and its gold. They don’t freak out if they suck for a season. They don’t fire their coach when things are not going well. They play thru it and retool. Not rebuild. Remember when Lebron wanted Riles to come back? They told him no. The team is more important than one.
This is why they defy fans “on paper” look.
And, its the proper home for Jimmy. He was repulsed by the soft Timberwolves and was traded to Philly, were he left via free agency. They were contenders with him!!!!
You can hate them. I do. They don’t play pretty. They don’t have dynasty’s anymore. But, this team since 1996 has had an identity and a culture. Y’all can hate them and dance when they fall. But this knick fan boy learned to respect them as they don’t quit on the court, they don’t quit on their coach, and they will scratch and claw with defense. If I was not a knick fan I’d be hard pressed to not root for them. But I am, I respect, but don’t like Riley. In the end he landed in a place where he did not have to answer to anyone and his owner really got it. It was more than just dolan, Riley was a paranoid dick and the knicks corp structure was never going to be for him.
