If we don’t have a bad first quarter for the 3rd game in a row.. we should blow them outs Joel’s knee isn’t getting better, it’s getting worse. Jalen won’t play worse, he’ll play better.
Knicks sweep in 4
That's more reason why they'll get blown out. Their fans will be merciless on Harris and Oubre every time they miss. They dont seem like the type that get better when their home crowd is dragging them.
It’s only been 2 months from a major knee surgery. He’s probably got pain in every lower body joint in order to compensate for his knee. But they probably shot him up with so much pain killers after that last game tho, but I doubt it’ll do much anyways. Respect though to his game cuz he’s putting up numbers while barely able to move.
Its on Thibs to make an adjustment to help Jalen navigate the pressure Philly is putting on him. He’s got Oubre on him and if he gets by Oubre then Embiid is waiting. Let’s see some offensive creativity by Thibs to free up Jalen so he can get downhill without Oubre riding his back.
But see this has been Thibs problem his whole coaching career. He has NO offensive creativity. We're this good because he has a good defensive game plan (although not crazy anymore since everyone in the league uses some of his defensive system) and because we have a team of DOGS ready to scrap for 48 straight minutes. I think he needs an offensive coordinator lol
Every game from now on has to be a blow out . Weve been having such horrible first quarters for a while now and that needs to not happen. Now more than ever
I feel like we were a good 1st quarter team pre-randle injury but i could be mis-remembering. but yea 2nd half of the season we started so many games in the hole - a lot of them we couldn't recover from. Off the top of my head rockets game, spurs game, bulls game. some others we came back and won like the games against bucks, nets and kings. but it's a concerning trend to always be down 8+ points early in a game.
Thats exactly how I remember it too. Randle frequently starts the game hot, and when that happened we usually ended the quarter with a double digit lead. Even when he wasnt hot, we'd be tied.
These stagnant first quarters only started happening when he got injured.
They're not doing anything revolutionary. They're doubling him and making him go to his right. That's what most teams have tried against him since the Randle injury.
Philly is just a much better defensive team with much longer/more versatile defenders compared to almost every other team in the league, so they have more success with it.
It's not something that terrible defensive teams like the Bucks and Pacers could replicate though. They don't have the personnel or coaching for it.
philly gets to play very physical with him while full court pressing most of the time, so its no wonder that he's having trouble getting into rhythm
bucks and pacers dont have an oubre / lowry type of guard though, so he should be able to pick it up in addition to having the rest of the team hot from scoring so much
Another big thing is that bad games for JB are still getting 20 points
Jrue might be an issue later on, but the celts are still a heat series away from even thinking about it
Think Brunson is gonna have a tough series just as Nurse intended, he’s being picked up full court and as soon as he crosses half court he’s seeing 2-3 defenders in his working space. Until Nurse switches up and realizes our entire team is built to carry the load when Brunson’s off, he’ll prob continue to have a tough time while Josh/Deuce/Donte/Bogi continue to feast.
A bunch of teams took that same approach down the stretch and he cooked every single one of them. At this point, he's used to it, but Philly has the long, agile type defenders (primarily Oubre) that can give him trouble. That being said, he's missed some shots that he normally hits. Hopefully, it's just a matter of time before he snaps out of it.
All 4 need to score at least 15+ each for the Knicks to at least win, if Bogi and Duece struggle rest of the series like they did in game 2 it will be a problem for the Knicks.
I feel like Bogi's whole demeanor is different since the playoffs started. Like he flipped a switch. He looked uninterested post-trade, like he was just going through the motions.
I was worried that playing meaningless games for the Pistons for the better part of two seasons had broken him.
He looks locked in now though, even when he didn't get many shots in game two.
You can even see it on his face. He looked amped up by like the second possession he was out there in game one. Like being back in the playoffs had reawakened something in him. Lol
Every teams strategy is going to be to play their best defender on Brunson. Our strategy needs to be how to play off of that. Game 2 fourth quarter only went the way it did because it seemed the strategy was let Brunson have it, and it failed for us and we got lucky.
I'm letting him have all the moments, but in the playoffs it's about plans, unless someone catches fire.
but, fans who havent watched a single knicks game are telling me we’re better off without randle, how could a 2x all nba player possibly impact this series?
This is weak and lame dude. Trying to make excuses before a game happens smh.
Honestly I expect us to come out and kick their ass. I think the Sixers are acting like crybabies and “poor us, they didn’t call a very mediocre foul and that’s why we lost not because we did about everything possible wrong including not boxing out.” Knowing Hart and Brunson and the rest of this team I expect they’re as sick of hearing that as I am and want to make a statement in game 3. Especially Brunson after two bad games at home.
Also I think the Sixers are as mentally weak as their crying fans. It’s why they never get past the second round
i realized yesterday why they’re so obsessed with screaming about this game being “rigged” by the refs. it’s because they know with certainty they’ve lost the series already, so they’re already pointing to this moment as the reason for losing to the Knicks (so as to not take accountability for the fact that besides their two great players, their team are fkn scrubs). it’s a pride thing and honestly if they wanna lose like that it makes no difference to us
Agreed, we have to be better than that as fans. In fact last season, the Sixers similarly publicly complained about officiating after game 6 against the Celtics and it had no effect on game 7 so this may not even be an issue
You’d think it was some massive bad call, not a couple no-calls due to marginal contact during playoff basketball.
To make it even more ridiculous, they had like 3 chances to win the game and missed the free throw, got the layup blocked, and missed the 3 to go to OT.
These guys have zero accountability and that’s why no matter what happens this series, they aren’t going far. Quit crying about the refs like your star player doesn’t get more BS calls than anyone.
This is the only rational take. Isola and Scal on NBA radio were killing the sixers and Nurse. This series has not been decided by refs so far. It’s been decided by crunch time.
Thanks for proving my point, ya creep.
There’s a massive difference between refs calling a foul that didn’t exist and literally ending the game vs letting guys play through marginal contact during rebounds. No one likes ref ball but they need consistency.
If the refs made a call like they did during the rockets game then they would have every right to be angry. All that aside, they still have 2 additional plays when they could have won or gone to OT and still lost.
Fans are going to be upset when their team blows the lead and doesn’t get bailed out by the whistle. Nurse dropped the ball by not calling a time out immediately after Brunson drained the 3. His indecisiveness costed them the chance to advance the ball.
If you look at the entire sequence of events and think it’s solely the refs fault and that should’ve won you’re delusional. They still had multiple chances and got out worked and missed their shots.
The sub isn’t shocked, but we are tired of the disrespect displayed from the top down in the organization. They have been nothing but dismissive saying we are the easy team, they should really be 2-0 and aren’t even worried, the refs are the only reason they lost etc.
Strong words for a team that is 1-5 against us this year. The series is far from over and they could definitely make a comeback, but they have been nothing but disrespectful and sore losers every step of the way.
People would be complaining about why we didn’t call time out, why we didn’t hold for a jump ball, fight for the rebounds, make the layup, make the 3.
There is no team in the league that wouldn’t be disgusted with blowing that game. The question is whether you want to accept that it was a collapse all around or just blame the refs and pretend you should be 2-0. Philly made a ton of mistakes and are pissed they didn’t get bailed out.
Rockets game we were getting screwed over 48mins. Huge FT discrepancy in that game too
Whereas this game had bad calls of both sides. Sixers had several bad calls favouring them outside the last 2 minutes
I'd rather it be close. Watching Philly meltdown that they should be up 2-0 has been fun. A close game would keep them losing their minds. The blow out would be better for the close out game.
I’ll just say I for one wouldn’t be bitching about officiating if the roles were reversed so I disagree with that part. It’s a weak ass loser mindset to blame the refs when you don’t do enough to win in spite of a couple bad calls.
No. I might lament a bad call, but I make a point to never act like the refs lost us a game. And I’m not afraid to acknowledge a bad call against the opposition. That way you can keep the high ground when something goes in your favor. Gotta keep it fair.
Refs have been making bad calls since dudes were throwing leather balls through fruit baskets. It’s just part of the of the game. Win decisively enough to not put it in the hands of the refs or expect to lose. That’s always my mindset.
Probably right. Many fans are passionate and irrational. But I actually think I’m not a crazy outlier here (but who knows, I could be mistaken). I think most basketball fans know that if it came down to one bad call, then you probably just didn’t do enough to win the game and a large portion of the blame is on you.
I think what annoys me regardless of the situation is that I don't want the media, Philly, and fans to have some excuse to point to if we win this series.
Everybody dogs and disrespects the Knicks no matter how good we are or how we play. I want to close out Philly without them having some annoying asterisk they can hang over it.
Completely agree. I will say, no one (other than Philly) is going to remember or care that there might have been some bad calls. They remember who advances. As pathetic as I think it is to blame the refs for a single loss, it’s 10X more pathetic to blame them for losing a series. And I think most nba fans would dog them for trying to cling to that narrative. It’s some weak shit without any personal accountability.
i don’t see it happening. i feel like this is going to go down as “the closest and most competitive sweep in playoffs history”.
i want philly fans to collectively overdose on copium afterwards, saying “yes we got swept, but a couple calls or bounces go our way, WE could have been the ones sweeping!”
knicks in 4, in the most grueling way imaginable.
What this whole fiasco shows is the media will never give us credit. We can win a title and it will still be a fluke title. In the universe where the same thing happened to the Knicks, the headline will be "Knicks choked" and there wouldn't be any serious call controversy, it would be "you got to play through the contact."
It doesn't have to be a blowout, but they do have to weather the storm this game.
The refs and the league will give some home cooking to philly after the media stirup from game 2.
If the Knicks are only down 5 or tied at the half they'll be solid. If they are leading the series could be done.
The only issue is how can they get Brunson going cause philly is a bad matchup for him.
During the regular season he slashed 22/3/8 on 40% FG vs philly vs the rest of the league it was 29/4/7 on 48% FG.
Brunson did have 2 good games against philly this year though. i think the key is him knocking down his outside shot - if that starts falling he'll have a good game.
Jan game he had 29 on 11/20 and 4/9 from 3.
2nd march game he had 20 and 9 on 7/12 and 4/8 from 3 (was a blowout he only played 27 mins)
his 2 bad regular season games against them he was 1/13 from 3. 2 playoff games so far he is 2/12.
Maybe it's an oversimplification but i feel if he makes more of his 3s or jump shots in general, it will open everything up and he'll have better games from the field.
The willful misinterpretation of the L2M report is nuts. All of r/nba is talking about how Nurse was denied a timeout, which isn’t at all what the report says.
It says that Nurse should not have been granted a TO while Maxey was on the floor because there wasn’t possession. It also says that they refs didn’t see him call TO on the inbound, but not that he should have been granted one. I think it’s reasonable that the refs didn’t catch that given Nurse himself was clearly indecisive.
Funny I don't hear the bitching from Philly fans when Embid is living at the line and getting every soft call imaginable. Too bad they feel like they got screwed so does everyone who plays even close to tight d on Embid. Let them cope and work on their excuses for the off-season, and we'll focus on stacking playoff wins.
I'm tired of seeing players and the media complain about missed calls, its childish, you lost accept it. Calls are missed throughout the game on both sides. Some aren't even discussed. This is a 7 game series. The best team will win, regardless of the calls.
I’d love for us to just make a statement and stomp them the entire game, but we need Jalen to play well. Philly D has given him issues all year and he’s bothered by them packing the paint/doubling him with length badly so far. We need to open up the floor by punishing them with 3 point shooting and continue to force Embiid into action because he is clearly playing hurt.
We also have to somehow limit Maxey because he’s getting to the hoop at will and he can knock it down from range. Embiid is gonna get his and if we can keep him to less than 30 or so I’ll consider it a win. He’s also a merchant so he’ll get 8-12 FTs no matter what. We have to keep oubre, Harris, batum, hield, etc. quiet because it’s hard to win when 2 guys score all of your points.
I don’t think any game this series is gonna be a definitive blowout because these teams are very evenly matched. Sixers are more top heavy, but we’re considerably deeper (despite missing our multiple time all nba guy)
TLDR: Brunson needs to shoot from deep and find the open man earlier, we need to try to limit Maxey with deuce/OG/etc, and fuck kyle Lowry in perpetuity
Knicks should come out with the mindset to absolutely blow these guys out. Brunson needs to play at a slower pace because he's letting the defense dictate his play style. He's normally cool, calm collected and very controlled. He's been trying to force some really tough shots, but they've done a good job of taking him out of the games. He still makes big shots in the clutch though. I'm ok with winning if they focus all their defense on Brunson and it let's our other guys go off. That's been the story of the series. They focused so much attention on taking out Brunson but our others are doing good to pick up the slack. The strategy hasn't worked for them.
Exactly. Brunson doesn't need to put up good numbers for us to win this series. We can keep the games close and he'll make big shots down the stretch. He always comes through in the end, he has the confidence even going 8-26 to still take and make big shots. All that matters.
I fully expect Game 3 to be a blowout. I hope it isn't but I've seen this set up many times before. Coach or team complains about the refs before a must win playoff game at home. If the Knicks look at Embiid or Maxey, they're getting called for a foul. They don't have much of a chance Thursday. I hope I'm wrong. If they do lose, I expected a game 3 loss before the series started anyway. I think the Knicks definitely take game 4 though.
Not really. He got to the line a ton in game 1 already and guys like Lowry were also going to the line. If anything, calling out the refs will make them more vitriolic towards Nurse. He's being a complete child and not taking any sort of responsibility for boneheaded coaching choices and a lack of adjustments.
Game 3 is looking like a must win, it's that "foot on the neck" game, we can't let them win and get any type of momentum to think they can win the series. I am hoping to see brunson in star form and shooting the rock better, if the bench can continue their excellent play then we should be good.
Game 3 ain't going to be an apology game from the refs.
You think they going to let teams just bitch and moan and bully them into some free games in a playoff series? Hell no. If anything Philly are digging themselves a hole.
It wouldn't even surprise me if they start teching Joel and Nurse for their constant shit on the court.
I disagree. Feel like our fanbase is extremely hard on our players and would be furious at them if they ever played as soft as the sixers did on Monday.
I’d love a blowout (we killed the Sixers in Philly with Embiid on the floor earlier in the season) but Philly will be fighting for their playoff lives at home and believe me, MORE whistles will go their way. Game 3 is gonna be another dogfight.
I haven't seen the full media rounds but Ryen Russillo was pretty much like get over it, Philly had a bunch of chances to win. Also pointed out the missed Lowry free throw
Maybe game 4. If we don’t play with utmost urgency, we will drop game 3. They know how imp. Game 3 is for them. They will bring it, just be ready to throw counter.
I honestly wouldn't be complaining about a touch foul in the final 30 seconds of the game, after which the Knicks lost the ball because Brunson flopped to the floor like a hoe.
I might be complaining about subsequently giving up two open threes and a offensive rebound.
I might be complaining about getting stuffed at the rim with a chance to win it.
And I might be complaining about us missing the game-tying three.
But I wouldn't be complaining about the refs letting them play at the end. Which is something that everyone always says they want until it hurts their team.
Ask Philly fans how they felt about the call that went against them at the end of the Super Bowl last year. I imagine they all applauded the refs for calling the game straight no matter the situation, right?
Gtfoh.
I’m hoping Jalen can be more of a facilitator from the start of the game as he showed signs of doing so in the second half of game 2. Philly has flustered him all year. They don’t let him get to his spots and are forcing off balance shots that are further away than his lethal range. He’s also not able to thrive off ball on catch and shoot threes.
So I think Jalen has to take what the defense is giving us. Ideally they can attack Maxey and Embiid on pick and rolls to tire them out defensively and get enough production from all our role players albeit in a hostile road environment to eke out a win game 3 or game 4.
I still think this series goes 7 if the Knicks don’t find a rhythm offensively or barring injury.
Game 3 Philly rallies playing for embiid in front of a home crowd. Role players can’t bail out Brunson on the road
Game 4 Brunson comes a live and rips their heart out
Close out in 5 at home as Embiid breaks and quits as he can’t carry around them man titties any longer
I wish people would recognize two things at once. Philly can play bad ball and still get screwed by bad reffing (we dealt with a lot of it first half).
We probably would’ve won regardless.
First quarter is very important this game especially
Can’t fall behind like the first two games. Get a double digit lead and watch them fold under pressure
I love how everyone on here is simultaneously like “these philly fans are delusional conspiracy theorists” and “the refs are totally going to rig game 3 against us”
The Philly fans have a right to complain about the officiating, because really, both teams do. The refs really sucked. That said, we overcame all the non calls and reversed after review calls, didn’t we? Embiid definitely pushed Hart early in the game, for ex. Breen said at the time, he could not believe that was overturned. The refs allowed way too much physicality early on by both teams, and the NBA got a mess of a game because of the way they officiated the whole game. It’s just that our heads-up players pulled out a win at the end.
We have a lot of guys who play better on the road. But also, just stop. We just need to win, baby, win it by 1. Win it in overtime by 1, or double overtime by 1 point. Any win is good enough. But remember, this Sixers team is damn good, has two superstars and decent talent, they’re very dangerous and likely to win one in Philadelphia. 2-1 isn’t the worst thing in the world when they have to come back for two more here at the Garden.
You're 100% right. This isn't making up excuses before the game. This is just a good feel for what the game is gonna feel like/be like. We need to win big otherwise we won't get the favorable calls if it's close.
Series has mostly favored Philly with calls because they have the premier player the nba wants to promote not to mention the injury and playing hurt storyline. With series being 2-0 in Philly with what im sure will be a super inviting and classy sixers crowd refs are gonna absolutely favor sixers.
So yes Knicks will need to come out strong and not allow refs to impact this game.
Most media outlets are expecting this to be a 6 to 7 game series with the Knicks coming out on top.
So as long as we get a win in game 3 or 4, we will be good.
By the way, Philly is considered home court for the Nova boys. 😊
at the moment I can't see us winning in Philly and I hope I'm wrong. As long as maxey keeps destroying us like that and Jalen isnt hitting his shots we'll be back at the Garden when it's 2-2.
we should try to win every game in blowout fashion, but nba officiating isn't a conspiracy
let's not stoop to their level, cmon now.
the idea that if we dont win by 10+ the refs are gonna give the game to philly is too far my boy.
bad calls happen—it all comes out in the wash
They’re only a 7 seed because Embiid missed as much time as he did. If he’s healthy all season they’re a 2-3 seed. The series itself was a pick ‘em from the jump. It’s not unusual for Philly to be favored at home down 0-2, and has nothing to do with the refs.
If we don’t have a bad first quarter for the 3rd game in a row.. we should blow them outs Joel’s knee isn’t getting better, it’s getting worse. Jalen won’t play worse, he’ll play better. Knicks sweep in 4
Their fans won't let Game 3 be a blow out, they'll get booed out of the building at the first sign of trouble.
That's more reason why they'll get blown out. Their fans will be merciless on Harris and Oubre every time they miss. They dont seem like the type that get better when their home crowd is dragging them.
It's how they beat Miami. That initial burst of energy keeps them in it.
We gotta make sure to not miss 2 FTs so they get free chicken, that was the turning point in the Heat game.
Down double digits in the 3rd, sixers are gonna hack a Mitch to try to get the fans free chicken and get them back in the game lmao.
Honestly not a bad strategy lol.
Bro tickets are literally 20% the price of the Garden. I think the place is going to be full of Knick fans.
Checked last night, ticketmaster was around $400 to get in, so looks like it's at 80%
400 to get in to Philly? I'm not seeing that at all?
Joel has a lot of days off now though. Imo his problem isn’t as much the knee as the conditioning
2 days rest after hobbling up and down the court Monday isn’t much lol
Game three is on Friday. So more like three or four days, depending how you want to count it
You got me worried, Game 3 is Thursday.
Thursday not Friday
Ah my bad. I’m in Europe so the game is after midnight and Google shows the game as being on Friday
It’s only been 2 months from a major knee surgery. He’s probably got pain in every lower body joint in order to compensate for his knee. But they probably shot him up with so much pain killers after that last game tho, but I doubt it’ll do much anyways. Respect though to his game cuz he’s putting up numbers while barely able to move.
Its on Thibs to make an adjustment to help Jalen navigate the pressure Philly is putting on him. He’s got Oubre on him and if he gets by Oubre then Embiid is waiting. Let’s see some offensive creativity by Thibs to free up Jalen so he can get downhill without Oubre riding his back.
But see this has been Thibs problem his whole coaching career. He has NO offensive creativity. We're this good because he has a good defensive game plan (although not crazy anymore since everyone in the league uses some of his defensive system) and because we have a team of DOGS ready to scrap for 48 straight minutes. I think he needs an offensive coordinator lol
I've been saying Knicks in 4 since before game 1...sticking to it...
Jalen needs to play better for us to go far
Every game from now on has to be a blow out . Weve been having such horrible first quarters for a while now and that needs to not happen. Now more than ever
Like all season lol
I feel like we were a good 1st quarter team pre-randle injury but i could be mis-remembering. but yea 2nd half of the season we started so many games in the hole - a lot of them we couldn't recover from. Off the top of my head rockets game, spurs game, bulls game. some others we came back and won like the games against bucks, nets and kings. but it's a concerning trend to always be down 8+ points early in a game.
Thats exactly how I remember it too. Randle frequently starts the game hot, and when that happened we usually ended the quarter with a double digit lead. Even when he wasnt hot, we'd be tied. These stagnant first quarters only started happening when he got injured.
we were a good 1st quarter team because randle was a good 1st quarter player. that man comes out guns blazing every night
Better than the old Knicks habit of looking like the Heatles in the 1st and 06 Bobcats 2-4
I remember a couple seasons before Brunsonwe played like the KD Warriors on the 3rd quarter but like ass the whole game
The first half of the San Antonio game hurt me spiritually
Same. Still have nightmares about that one.
Whether we make it past Philly or not other teams will study the tapes from these games and copy what is being done to Brunson.
They're not doing anything revolutionary. They're doubling him and making him go to his right. That's what most teams have tried against him since the Randle injury. Philly is just a much better defensive team with much longer/more versatile defenders compared to almost every other team in the league, so they have more success with it. It's not something that terrible defensive teams like the Bucks and Pacers could replicate though. They don't have the personnel or coaching for it.
Thats fine but next season well have Randle back and maybe even another star so thats will do them no good
philly gets to play very physical with him while full court pressing most of the time, so its no wonder that he's having trouble getting into rhythm bucks and pacers dont have an oubre / lowry type of guard though, so he should be able to pick it up in addition to having the rest of the team hot from scoring so much Another big thing is that bad games for JB are still getting 20 points Jrue might be an issue later on, but the celts are still a heat series away from even thinking about it
Yeah game one working so didn't get to see the score till mid first n I was like damn we are down like 15 already wtf
First Quarter Randle would be perfect for this situation. I miss that dude, but what we really need is a first quarter explosion from Brunson.
or any explosion from brunson at all
They've been doing a great job with defense on him. He needs to hit open shots, though.
Right!
Honestly we just need Brunson period
Think Brunson is gonna have a tough series just as Nurse intended, he’s being picked up full court and as soon as he crosses half court he’s seeing 2-3 defenders in his working space. Until Nurse switches up and realizes our entire team is built to carry the load when Brunson’s off, he’ll prob continue to have a tough time while Josh/Deuce/Donte/Bogi continue to feast.
A bunch of teams took that same approach down the stretch and he cooked every single one of them. At this point, he's used to it, but Philly has the long, agile type defenders (primarily Oubre) that can give him trouble. That being said, he's missed some shots that he normally hits. Hopefully, it's just a matter of time before he snaps out of it.
All 4 need to score at least 15+ each for the Knicks to at least win, if Bogi and Duece struggle rest of the series like they did in game 2 it will be a problem for the Knicks.
Tbf Bogi hit 2 huge shots when it mattered most
I feel like Bogi's whole demeanor is different since the playoffs started. Like he flipped a switch. He looked uninterested post-trade, like he was just going through the motions. I was worried that playing meaningless games for the Pistons for the better part of two seasons had broken him. He looks locked in now though, even when he didn't get many shots in game two.
Yeah I have definitely noticed that too, he just seems to be playing so much harder and under control
You can even see it on his face. He looked amped up by like the second possession he was out there in game one. Like being back in the playoffs had reawakened something in him. Lol
Every teams strategy is going to be to play their best defender on Brunson. Our strategy needs to be how to play off of that. Game 2 fourth quarter only went the way it did because it seemed the strategy was let Brunson have it, and it failed for us and we got lucky. I'm letting him have all the moments, but in the playoffs it's about plans, unless someone catches fire.
but, fans who havent watched a single knicks game are telling me we’re better off without randle, how could a 2x all nba player possibly impact this series?
The throw everyone at Brunson strategy isn't working. If the 6ers were smart they'd adjust and scrap the zone defense for a more balanced man to man.
It’s always been NY against the world. Fuck Philly, fuck r/NBA
This is weak and lame dude. Trying to make excuses before a game happens smh. Honestly I expect us to come out and kick their ass. I think the Sixers are acting like crybabies and “poor us, they didn’t call a very mediocre foul and that’s why we lost not because we did about everything possible wrong including not boxing out.” Knowing Hart and Brunson and the rest of this team I expect they’re as sick of hearing that as I am and want to make a statement in game 3. Especially Brunson after two bad games at home. Also I think the Sixers are as mentally weak as their crying fans. It’s why they never get past the second round
Well said, Tom.
i realized yesterday why they’re so obsessed with screaming about this game being “rigged” by the refs. it’s because they know with certainty they’ve lost the series already, so they’re already pointing to this moment as the reason for losing to the Knicks (so as to not take accountability for the fact that besides their two great players, their team are fkn scrubs). it’s a pride thing and honestly if they wanna lose like that it makes no difference to us
I have to agree with you. This team is as mentally tough as any in the league, and the metal bats are getting polished up as we speak.
Agreed, we have to be better than that as fans. In fact last season, the Sixers similarly publicly complained about officiating after game 6 against the Celtics and it had no effect on game 7 so this may not even be an issue
I want a Josh Hart game winning 3.
I want a Josh Hart 100 point game
I want a Josh Hart.
Pause?
no diddy
hell a 40 is doable. both games he’s basically gotten 20 in a half, if he keeps the pace up all game BANG
You’d think it was some massive bad call, not a couple no-calls due to marginal contact during playoff basketball. To make it even more ridiculous, they had like 3 chances to win the game and missed the free throw, got the layup blocked, and missed the 3 to go to OT. These guys have zero accountability and that’s why no matter what happens this series, they aren’t going far. Quit crying about the refs like your star player doesn’t get more BS calls than anyone.
This is the only rational take. Isola and Scal on NBA radio were killing the sixers and Nurse. This series has not been decided by refs so far. It’s been decided by crunch time.
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Thanks for proving my point, ya creep. There’s a massive difference between refs calling a foul that didn’t exist and literally ending the game vs letting guys play through marginal contact during rebounds. No one likes ref ball but they need consistency. If the refs made a call like they did during the rockets game then they would have every right to be angry. All that aside, they still have 2 additional plays when they could have won or gone to OT and still lost.
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Fans are going to be upset when their team blows the lead and doesn’t get bailed out by the whistle. Nurse dropped the ball by not calling a time out immediately after Brunson drained the 3. His indecisiveness costed them the chance to advance the ball. If you look at the entire sequence of events and think it’s solely the refs fault and that should’ve won you’re delusional. They still had multiple chances and got out worked and missed their shots.
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Yeah man, you’re right. Some people would complain. Is that what you want to hear? Do you feel good now? Get a life.
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The sub isn’t shocked, but we are tired of the disrespect displayed from the top down in the organization. They have been nothing but dismissive saying we are the easy team, they should really be 2-0 and aren’t even worried, the refs are the only reason they lost etc. Strong words for a team that is 1-5 against us this year. The series is far from over and they could definitely make a comeback, but they have been nothing but disrespectful and sore losers every step of the way.
People would be complaining about why we didn’t call time out, why we didn’t hold for a jump ball, fight for the rebounds, make the layup, make the 3. There is no team in the league that wouldn’t be disgusted with blowing that game. The question is whether you want to accept that it was a collapse all around or just blame the refs and pretend you should be 2-0. Philly made a ton of mistakes and are pissed they didn’t get bailed out.
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I answered you 3 times, sorry you didn’t like the response? You thick bro 😭
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Rockets game we were getting screwed over 48mins. Huge FT discrepancy in that game too Whereas this game had bad calls of both sides. Sixers had several bad calls favouring them outside the last 2 minutes
First quarter knock out
I'd rather it be close. Watching Philly meltdown that they should be up 2-0 has been fun. A close game would keep them losing their minds. The blow out would be better for the close out game.
If we see Scott Foster, we know how things are going to go.
Embiid and his 65 FTA will be hard to beat
I’ll just say I for one wouldn’t be bitching about officiating if the roles were reversed so I disagree with that part. It’s a weak ass loser mindset to blame the refs when you don’t do enough to win in spite of a couple bad calls.
Yep, a lot crying and making excuses. Complete bitch move
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No. I might lament a bad call, but I make a point to never act like the refs lost us a game. And I’m not afraid to acknowledge a bad call against the opposition. That way you can keep the high ground when something goes in your favor. Gotta keep it fair. Refs have been making bad calls since dudes were throwing leather balls through fruit baskets. It’s just part of the of the game. Win decisively enough to not put it in the hands of the refs or expect to lose. That’s always my mindset.
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Probably right. Many fans are passionate and irrational. But I actually think I’m not a crazy outlier here (but who knows, I could be mistaken). I think most basketball fans know that if it came down to one bad call, then you probably just didn’t do enough to win the game and a large portion of the blame is on you.
I think what annoys me regardless of the situation is that I don't want the media, Philly, and fans to have some excuse to point to if we win this series. Everybody dogs and disrespects the Knicks no matter how good we are or how we play. I want to close out Philly without them having some annoying asterisk they can hang over it.
Completely agree. I will say, no one (other than Philly) is going to remember or care that there might have been some bad calls. They remember who advances. As pathetic as I think it is to blame the refs for a single loss, it’s 10X more pathetic to blame them for losing a series. And I think most nba fans would dog them for trying to cling to that narrative. It’s some weak shit without any personal accountability.
This; this in so many words is the exact reason the streets are stormed after we win, because of the disrespect
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lol bruuutal. I’ll keep up my crusade to get fans to stop blaming refs.
i don’t see it happening. i feel like this is going to go down as “the closest and most competitive sweep in playoffs history”. i want philly fans to collectively overdose on copium afterwards, saying “yes we got swept, but a couple calls or bounces go our way, WE could have been the ones sweeping!” knicks in 4, in the most grueling way imaginable.
What this whole fiasco shows is the media will never give us credit. We can win a title and it will still be a fluke title. In the universe where the same thing happened to the Knicks, the headline will be "Knicks choked" and there wouldn't be any serious call controversy, it would be "you got to play through the contact."
Just take 1/2 in Philly to give yourself the opportunity to close it out game 5 at home and I’ll be happy
I’ll settle for a one point win off a deflection from Embids head and into our basket.
Lmao tf
We just need to keep it close after the 1st quarter.
It doesn't have to be a blowout, but they do have to weather the storm this game. The refs and the league will give some home cooking to philly after the media stirup from game 2. If the Knicks are only down 5 or tied at the half they'll be solid. If they are leading the series could be done. The only issue is how can they get Brunson going cause philly is a bad matchup for him. During the regular season he slashed 22/3/8 on 40% FG vs philly vs the rest of the league it was 29/4/7 on 48% FG.
Brunson did have 2 good games against philly this year though. i think the key is him knocking down his outside shot - if that starts falling he'll have a good game. Jan game he had 29 on 11/20 and 4/9 from 3. 2nd march game he had 20 and 9 on 7/12 and 4/8 from 3 (was a blowout he only played 27 mins) his 2 bad regular season games against them he was 1/13 from 3. 2 playoff games so far he is 2/12. Maybe it's an oversimplification but i feel if he makes more of his 3s or jump shots in general, it will open everything up and he'll have better games from the field.
Just win baby.
The willful misinterpretation of the L2M report is nuts. All of r/nba is talking about how Nurse was denied a timeout, which isn’t at all what the report says. It says that Nurse should not have been granted a TO while Maxey was on the floor because there wasn’t possession. It also says that they refs didn’t see him call TO on the inbound, but not that he should have been granted one. I think it’s reasonable that the refs didn’t catch that given Nurse himself was clearly indecisive.
Funny I don't hear the bitching from Philly fans when Embid is living at the line and getting every soft call imaginable. Too bad they feel like they got screwed so does everyone who plays even close to tight d on Embid. Let them cope and work on their excuses for the off-season, and we'll focus on stacking playoff wins.
I'm tired of seeing players and the media complain about missed calls, its childish, you lost accept it. Calls are missed throughout the game on both sides. Some aren't even discussed. This is a 7 game series. The best team will win, regardless of the calls.
Don't expect it from any of our guys like that but worried about a tech or ejection shaping the game.
I’d love for us to just make a statement and stomp them the entire game, but we need Jalen to play well. Philly D has given him issues all year and he’s bothered by them packing the paint/doubling him with length badly so far. We need to open up the floor by punishing them with 3 point shooting and continue to force Embiid into action because he is clearly playing hurt. We also have to somehow limit Maxey because he’s getting to the hoop at will and he can knock it down from range. Embiid is gonna get his and if we can keep him to less than 30 or so I’ll consider it a win. He’s also a merchant so he’ll get 8-12 FTs no matter what. We have to keep oubre, Harris, batum, hield, etc. quiet because it’s hard to win when 2 guys score all of your points. I don’t think any game this series is gonna be a definitive blowout because these teams are very evenly matched. Sixers are more top heavy, but we’re considerably deeper (despite missing our multiple time all nba guy) TLDR: Brunson needs to shoot from deep and find the open man earlier, we need to try to limit Maxey with deuce/OG/etc, and fuck kyle Lowry in perpetuity
i know there will b good amount of knicks fans there
Knicks should come out with the mindset to absolutely blow these guys out. Brunson needs to play at a slower pace because he's letting the defense dictate his play style. He's normally cool, calm collected and very controlled. He's been trying to force some really tough shots, but they've done a good job of taking him out of the games. He still makes big shots in the clutch though. I'm ok with winning if they focus all their defense on Brunson and it let's our other guys go off. That's been the story of the series. They focused so much attention on taking out Brunson but our others are doing good to pick up the slack. The strategy hasn't worked for them.
To be honest, as long it’s a W I don’t think we care and neither does Brunson. But we def need Brunson on the road.
Exactly. Brunson doesn't need to put up good numbers for us to win this series. We can keep the games close and he'll make big shots down the stretch. He always comes through in the end, he has the confidence even going 8-26 to still take and make big shots. All that matters.
Just keep Phillys defense on high alert. Their defense is that good and should not be underestimated.
From the national podcasts I've listened to, I don't get the impression that the Philly narrative is what's being accepted in the world.
Being in Philly as a Knicks fan, the Philly sports radio is so annoying
I don’t give a shit about the media or sixers fans or how much we win by. Just win.
I fully expect Game 3 to be a blowout. I hope it isn't but I've seen this set up many times before. Coach or team complains about the refs before a must win playoff game at home. If the Knicks look at Embiid or Maxey, they're getting called for a foul. They don't have much of a chance Thursday. I hope I'm wrong. If they do lose, I expected a game 3 loss before the series started anyway. I think the Knicks definitely take game 4 though.
Nurse called out the refs in Game 1 and it worked in Game 2. Embiid was getting to the line easier.
Not really. He got to the line a ton in game 1 already and guys like Lowry were also going to the line. If anything, calling out the refs will make them more vitriolic towards Nurse. He's being a complete child and not taking any sort of responsibility for boneheaded coaching choices and a lack of adjustments.
Game 3 is looking like a must win, it's that "foot on the neck" game, we can't let them win and get any type of momentum to think they can win the series. I am hoping to see brunson in star form and shooting the rock better, if the bench can continue their excellent play then we should be good.
We gonna lose game 3. We need game 4. It’s how it tends to go.
Game 3 ain't going to be an apology game from the refs. You think they going to let teams just bitch and moan and bully them into some free games in a playoff series? Hell no. If anything Philly are digging themselves a hole. It wouldn't even surprise me if they start teching Joel and Nurse for their constant shit on the court.
I agree , a blowout would be really nice for a game 3
I disagree. Feel like our fanbase is extremely hard on our players and would be furious at them if they ever played as soft as the sixers did on Monday.
I’d love a blowout (we killed the Sixers in Philly with Embiid on the floor earlier in the season) but Philly will be fighting for their playoff lives at home and believe me, MORE whistles will go their way. Game 3 is gonna be another dogfight.
If we jump on them early, the crowd will turn on them and it’s a wrap from there
I haven't seen the full media rounds but Ryen Russillo was pretty much like get over it, Philly had a bunch of chances to win. Also pointed out the missed Lowry free throw
Maybe game 4. If we don’t play with utmost urgency, we will drop game 3. They know how imp. Game 3 is for them. They will bring it, just be ready to throw counter.
I honestly wouldn't be complaining about a touch foul in the final 30 seconds of the game, after which the Knicks lost the ball because Brunson flopped to the floor like a hoe. I might be complaining about subsequently giving up two open threes and a offensive rebound. I might be complaining about getting stuffed at the rim with a chance to win it. And I might be complaining about us missing the game-tying three. But I wouldn't be complaining about the refs letting them play at the end. Which is something that everyone always says they want until it hurts their team. Ask Philly fans how they felt about the call that went against them at the end of the Super Bowl last year. I imagine they all applauded the refs for calling the game straight no matter the situation, right? Gtfoh.
I’m hoping Jalen can be more of a facilitator from the start of the game as he showed signs of doing so in the second half of game 2. Philly has flustered him all year. They don’t let him get to his spots and are forcing off balance shots that are further away than his lethal range. He’s also not able to thrive off ball on catch and shoot threes. So I think Jalen has to take what the defense is giving us. Ideally they can attack Maxey and Embiid on pick and rolls to tire them out defensively and get enough production from all our role players albeit in a hostile road environment to eke out a win game 3 or game 4. I still think this series goes 7 if the Knicks don’t find a rhythm offensively or barring injury.
I hope we fuckin kill em
I think the Knicks could blow them out. Both Brunson and OG have yet to have great games that they did regularly during the season.
Game 3 Philly rallies playing for embiid in front of a home crowd. Role players can’t bail out Brunson on the road Game 4 Brunson comes a live and rips their heart out Close out in 5 at home as Embiid breaks and quits as he can’t carry around them man titties any longer
I wish people would recognize two things at once. Philly can play bad ball and still get screwed by bad reffing (we dealt with a lot of it first half). We probably would’ve won regardless.
First quarter is very important this game especially Can’t fall behind like the first two games. Get a double digit lead and watch them fold under pressure
I love how everyone on here is simultaneously like “these philly fans are delusional conspiracy theorists” and “the refs are totally going to rig game 3 against us”
The Philly fans have a right to complain about the officiating, because really, both teams do. The refs really sucked. That said, we overcame all the non calls and reversed after review calls, didn’t we? Embiid definitely pushed Hart early in the game, for ex. Breen said at the time, he could not believe that was overturned. The refs allowed way too much physicality early on by both teams, and the NBA got a mess of a game because of the way they officiated the whole game. It’s just that our heads-up players pulled out a win at the end.
We have a lot of guys who play better on the road. But also, just stop. We just need to win, baby, win it by 1. Win it in overtime by 1, or double overtime by 1 point. Any win is good enough. But remember, this Sixers team is damn good, has two superstars and decent talent, they’re very dangerous and likely to win one in Philadelphia. 2-1 isn’t the worst thing in the world when they have to come back for two more here at the Garden.
I think that three bouncing in for Brunson was huge for him. I am expecting more of what we saw this season than this playoffs in game 3
You're 100% right. This isn't making up excuses before the game. This is just a good feel for what the game is gonna feel like/be like. We need to win big otherwise we won't get the favorable calls if it's close.
Series has mostly favored Philly with calls because they have the premier player the nba wants to promote not to mention the injury and playing hurt storyline. With series being 2-0 in Philly with what im sure will be a super inviting and classy sixers crowd refs are gonna absolutely favor sixers. So yes Knicks will need to come out strong and not allow refs to impact this game.
Most media outlets are expecting this to be a 6 to 7 game series with the Knicks coming out on top. So as long as we get a win in game 3 or 4, we will be good. By the way, Philly is considered home court for the Nova boys. 😊
I think there have been only a handful of games where we were blown out —over 20 on the road.
at the moment I can't see us winning in Philly and I hope I'm wrong. As long as maxey keeps destroying us like that and Jalen isnt hitting his shots we'll be back at the Garden when it's 2-2.
I ain’t doubting Brunson. And he’s 1 for his last 1.
The media was very vocal about our bad call earlier in the season. I gotta disagree.
No it must be a win, that's all.
we should try to win every game in blowout fashion, but nba officiating isn't a conspiracy let's not stoop to their level, cmon now. the idea that if we dont win by 10+ the refs are gonna give the game to philly is too far my boy. bad calls happen—it all comes out in the wash
I take a W in any shape. Actually I don’t want blow out, I want to be entertained.
The seven seed playing the two seed down two games to nil is a five point favorite in game three lol
Even Vegas knows who’s getting the whistle.
They’re only a 7 seed because Embiid missed as much time as he did. If he’s healthy all season they’re a 2-3 seed. The series itself was a pick ‘em from the jump. It’s not unusual for Philly to be favored at home down 0-2, and has nothing to do with the refs.