I was at the game last night. It was absolutely brutal and the commute home was even worse. It's hard to come back from a loss like that, but if any team can, it's the Knicks. They seem to play well in games they have to have. Other than the last 2 mins, I thought the Knicks got whatever they wanted offensively all night. Indiana has no answer for Brunson or KAT. The Knicks are able to score in the paint against Indy who really doen't have many shot blocking threats. I actually think the Knicks are a really bad matchup for Indiana and if Thibs plays Mitch and Deuce more, the Knicks can still win this series. You cannot give away playoff games so that's the biggest concern, but I wouldn't count out the Knicks just yet.
Once again a team makes a run and our coach makes zero adjustments. Duece was having a great game on both sides i get pulling him for Brunson but he could have played offense defense the last 3 minutes . Every victory is precious just an all time choke job . Love JB but he needs to stop hunting fouls end of game . Yes they beat him up at end of game but refs were not calling it move on and run the damn offense .
I understand the the thibs challenge thing, but there were really no other plays to challenge for us. It didn’t really cost us anything besides a timeout… and would love to know what OG and Brunson were yelling at KAT about. Presumably his drop defense. Love that they hold him accountable
If Thibs hadn't challenged Brunson's offensive foul in the 3rd quarter, he could have challenged Brunson's 5th foul in the 4th (when Haliburton clearly kicked his leg out)... also - don't know when you might need it
We shot 51% from the field and our stars had a fab shooting night . I feel like we hit our peak in game 6 against Celtics . This one got away because of errors . We won’t let it happen again .
Even though we lost I remain optimistic because 1) we played well , our field goal percentage was high in most of game 2) our stars (Towns and Brunson) were monsters 3) we missed free throws and that was the margin of error .
I believe the Knicks will play with better defense down the stretch make adjustments and make their free throws and we will have it .
I hated how haliburton did Reggie’s gesture - we need to throw him out of the garden or taunt him better . Sad that my bro also texted me that because he’s a troll.
That 994-0 stat insane. That loss was hard to swallow. Will be interesting to see how they respond. They’re probably exhausted. Great article as always.
I’ve been a fan since the first title and I’ve been a season ticket holder since 1986. This was the worst loss of my “Knicks fan career.” Yes worse than the Reggie game. Worse than Stark’s shooting the Knicks out of a championship. Worse than the Charles Smith game.
I don’t think teams come back from this. Not only do I believe the series is over (oh the Knicks might win a game or two) but I think this roster needs to be upended and this coach has to go.
A little over reaction? Let’s put this into perspective. Do you really expect Nesmith to shoot like that the rest of the series? Do you expect miracle shots, like Halliburton’s to drop every game? Do you think OG’s play will improve? It’s one game and I truly believe that Haliburton put the curse on them by doing the choke gesture, especially since it was only a tying shot. Karma is a cold-hearted bitch and the Pacers have theirs coming, believe me.
I’ve seen the movie JLish and I know how it ends. I watched John Starks keep shooting; shooting us right out of a championship. I watched Reggie score 8 points in 9 seconds in another game 1 at MSG. The Knicks went on to lose in six. I watched Charles Smith go up for a layup, not once. Not twice. Not three times. Four times Smith missed a layup. If he hit that simple layup the Knicks would have gone up 3-2 in a series against the Bulls. The Knicks lost that series too.
The Knick franchise is cursed.
Oh, and when a team loses the first game, in a seven game series, with the first game at home, that teams winning percentage falls to 36%. Not impossible. But not happening here.
I was at the game last night. It was absolutely brutal and the commute home was even worse. It's hard to come back from a loss like that, but if any team can, it's the Knicks. They seem to play well in games they have to have. Other than the last 2 mins, I thought the Knicks got whatever they wanted offensively all night. Indiana has no answer for Brunson or KAT. The Knicks are able to score in the paint against Indy who really doen't have many shot blocking threats. I actually think the Knicks are a really bad matchup for Indiana and if Thibs plays Mitch and Deuce more, the Knicks can still win this series. You cannot give away playoff games so that's the biggest concern, but I wouldn't count out the Knicks just yet.
Same - was my daughter's first-ever playoff game!
Agreed, lots of positives to take away from Game 1 over first 44 mins.
Once again a team makes a run and our coach makes zero adjustments. Duece was having a great game on both sides i get pulling him for Brunson but he could have played offense defense the last 3 minutes . Every victory is precious just an all time choke job . Love JB but he needs to stop hunting fouls end of game . Yes they beat him up at end of game but refs were not calling it move on and run the damn offense .
fair points, all
I understand the the thibs challenge thing, but there were really no other plays to challenge for us. It didn’t really cost us anything besides a timeout… and would love to know what OG and Brunson were yelling at KAT about. Presumably his drop defense. Love that they hold him accountable
If Thibs hadn't challenged Brunson's offensive foul in the 3rd quarter, he could have challenged Brunson's 5th foul in the 4th (when Haliburton clearly kicked his leg out)... also - don't know when you might need it
Good point
We shot 51% from the field and our stars had a fab shooting night . I feel like we hit our peak in game 6 against Celtics . This one got away because of errors . We won’t let it happen again .
Even though we lost I remain optimistic because 1) we played well , our field goal percentage was high in most of game 2) our stars (Towns and Brunson) were monsters 3) we missed free throws and that was the margin of error .
I believe the Knicks will play with better defense down the stretch make adjustments and make their free throws and we will have it .
I hated how haliburton did Reggie’s gesture - we need to throw him out of the garden or taunt him better . Sad that my bro also texted me that because he’s a troll.
Great recap !!!
That 994-0 stat insane. That loss was hard to swallow. Will be interesting to see how they respond. They’re probably exhausted. Great article as always.
Much appreciated Matt
I’ve been a fan since the first title and I’ve been a season ticket holder since 1986. This was the worst loss of my “Knicks fan career.” Yes worse than the Reggie game. Worse than Stark’s shooting the Knicks out of a championship. Worse than the Charles Smith game.
I don’t think teams come back from this. Not only do I believe the series is over (oh the Knicks might win a game or two) but I think this roster needs to be upended and this coach has to go.
A little over reaction? Let’s put this into perspective. Do you really expect Nesmith to shoot like that the rest of the series? Do you expect miracle shots, like Halliburton’s to drop every game? Do you think OG’s play will improve? It’s one game and I truly believe that Haliburton put the curse on them by doing the choke gesture, especially since it was only a tying shot. Karma is a cold-hearted bitch and the Pacers have theirs coming, believe me.
Yes we will be even more motivated next game because Nesmith and the pacers can’t keep shooting those threes and not miss. Knicks will adjust
I’ve seen the movie JLish and I know how it ends. I watched John Starks keep shooting; shooting us right out of a championship. I watched Reggie score 8 points in 9 seconds in another game 1 at MSG. The Knicks went on to lose in six. I watched Charles Smith go up for a layup, not once. Not twice. Not three times. Four times Smith missed a layup. If he hit that simple layup the Knicks would have gone up 3-2 in a series against the Bulls. The Knicks lost that series too.
The Knick franchise is cursed.
Oh, and when a team loses the first game, in a seven game series, with the first game at home, that teams winning percentage falls to 36%. Not impossible. But not happening here.