I mean, the Knicks did almost the same thing to Philly in game 2. Philly just yoinked one right back on them.
Fun series. I think it'd be tied up if Embiid was healthy.
Fun series. I think it'd be tied up if Embiid was healthy.
2024 Playoffs Eastern Conference First Round: (2) New York Knicks vs (7) Philadelphia 76ers - The Danse Macabre
- Thread starter InstaFace
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Wouldn't combinatorics fit the joke better than number theory?
How do you feel about game 6?
DiVincenzo and Hart and McBride and Anunoby combined for 6-25 from 3 point range, I'd think that would likely improve and NY would be able to finish this, but both teams are having to dig deep, so who knows. For instance, Anunoby played the most in any game in his career in game 4 with 46 minutes, then he topped that with 50 minutes in this one.
And there’s got to be some serious mental recovery for the Knicks. Hard to get off the mat after that.
Dunno, Philly played their best game of the series after the same thing happened to them in game 2.
lol i’m dense and it’s late. there is the theory of the field of one element though where this could make sense maybe? it’s like a mythical thing where galois theory reduces to combinatorics or something. i think 2=3 in such a place
Potential Hot Take: As a Celtics fan, I'm not worried about the Knicks at all. They really, really struggle to score the ball outside of Brunson, have a lot of bricklayers on offense and are struggling to put away a soft Philly team with a zombie-version of Embiid. They play hard, they defend well and crash the glass very well, but I can't imagine them pushing a Celtics team, even without Porzingis, that much in a playoff series. I kind of think Cleveland would be a harder matchup.
Can’t you say the same about Cleveland’s offense outside of Mitchell, who is banged up? Their greatest random threat is a 3-pt shooter going nuclear and the only one getting minutes is Strus who is struggling and easy to deny shots even if he goes on a heater. It would seem to take a lot for us not to be in The Finals which will be a big step up in comp no matter who gets through.
One thing that was kind of obvious last night is the game at points was too fast for Thibs. He was really slow a couple of times and screwed up not fouling at the end of regulation.
Understand your view but I'm a little more worried. Physical, handsy teams that can offensive rebound have given the Cs problems in the past. But at the end, it will all come down to Brunson. I mean I'm being Capt. Obvious here, but in the last game, he did a great job of breaking down BOS's defense and opening up offensive rebounding possibilities - though I understand that BOS was not playing with playoff intensity. But if Brunson has another level, BOS is going to have a dogfight.
Of course, if Brunson is worn out from having to carry NYK through (hopefully) two tough series, your analysis is likely spot on.
This isn't wrong, and it's a common take on the Knicks weakness. It is exaggerated in this series though, as DiVincenzo specifically has laid a lot of eggs and Hart has not contributed much offensively. They have to adjust to playoff defense better and I think they can do that.
Yeah, physicality on KP (assuming he’d be healthy) and OG’s ability to neutralize Tatum in man, combined with the Knicks getting numerous extra possessions crashing the glass is a concerning combination to me. But if the matchup R2 is Knicks/Bucks, I’m not sure the winner comes out of that unscathed. It will be just as physical as this.
I think "worn-out" could encompass "poked-out" (or "landed on") but YMMV (small sample size and all).
Has OG historically been able to neutralize Tatum in man? I don't remember him being uniquely effective in that role during his Toronto days. He's certainly playing some of the best D of his career right now, and in a new system with Thibs, but I have my doubts. I think Tatum eats if they don't send help.
This primal fact deserves more fanfare --- when was the last time a series featured a "blow a 5+ lead in 30 seconds" ending.
Isaiah Thomas 1984 game 5 against the Knicks (https://www.freep.com/story/sports/nba/pistons/2020/04/27/detroit-pistons-isiah-thomas-game-5-1984-nba-playoffs-knicks/3023410001/) ?
And from that subset find a series which has two of them! Extra credit if it was within 5 games!!
The gods seem to be enjoying dispensing heartbreak in an evenhanded fashion..
The not fouling at the end of regulation was on the team, Maxey made it hard by shooting early and from very far away but Thibs had instructed them to foul, they just weren't able to execute.
But I agree that it was a mistake to leave Robinson in down the stretch when he struggles guarding the perimeter. Embiid was largely a decoy by that point anyway, put in Hartenstein or Achiuwa and make it harder for Maxey to get space on the switch.
I read somewhere that it only happened three times in NBA playoff history before this series, twice more in this one.
This is like last year when I slammed my computer shut after Marcus Smart missed a game-ending 3 in game 6 of the ECF.
I can think of the Reggie Miller game and Ray Allen in Game 6 of the 2013 Finals. Not sure on the 3rd.
The most Sixers-Embiid thing ever would be him completely dominating G6 but picking up a flagrant and missing G7 where Philly gets handily eliminated. "Most Sixers-Embiid thing ever" in the sense of leaving franchise and fans in an endless purgatory of dueling glass-half-empty vs glass-half-full narratives.
I thought the most Sixers-Embiid thing ever would be leading closeout G6 at home with five minutes left and then Embiid gets out-scored by Tatum 63-15 the rest of the series.
But yours is good.
Nah, see the thing with Embiid is .... he needs to lose while playing, but have an excuse. Missing a game doesn't really fit.
The most Embiid thing ever would be him playing well tonight, then passing up a late shot to give a grenade to Tobias Harris who misses a rushed 3. Then it's "see Embiid was let down by that bum Harris... also he was hurt!"
It would be very on Process if PHI was up 25 with 5 minutes left and Embiid was doing something like going for a triple double and then he picked up his flagrant trying to bull his way to the basket.
I think the officials are going to be VERY well prepped on this. It's like a star player picking up a technical foul in the 1st quarter of a playoff game, it gives them free rein to be a total jackass the rest of the night because they know the officials won't toss them out. Ain't no way Embiid picks up his 3rd flagrant foul when the ball is in his hands, he's gonna have to do some real Draymond assault level shit in order to pick up a suspension triggering flagrant foul.
Refs got a few calls wr8ng at the end of this game - I guess this just balances things out: https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/40065721/officials-missed-tyrese-maxey-travel-final-moments
Yeah, even as a Knicks fan, if they called that Maxey 4 point play a travel in real time, that would be the first time in league history. They are never calling a travel on that play in that situation
They just blew the game (to me the most avoidable mistake was having Mitch in on that possession at all when they just needed to guard the perimeter) and Maxey made 2 very difficult shots.
What annoys me about replay and challenges are the ones where a guy in NY (or wherever NBA headquarters are) can see is incorrect in about .3 seconds. Not talking fouls, but simple ball out of bounds, player out of bounds, shot clock violations, etc. I can't see too closely but NBA admits they got the Hart out of bounds call wrong here
They gotta find ways to get those correctly called in like 10 seconds and before the next play starts
They gotta find ways to get those correctly called in like 10 seconds and before the next play starts
Isn’t he known as the extender because how often series get extended when he’s been the ref?
Home teams have won 66.1% of games officiated by Scott Foster this season while covering in 39 of those games (57.4 percent) and winning by an average of 7.3 points.
https://www.covers.com/sport/basketball/nba/referees/2023-2024/12143
edited for more information.
https://www.covers.com/sport/basketball/nba/referees/2023-2024/12143
edited for more information.
As of 2021, apparently it was 62%. COVID reduced that by a lot.
https://www.nba.com/news/nba-home-court-win-percentage-this-season-will-be-worst-ever
I had the same thought and quickly checked the standings. Looks more like 55-58%, I think off the top of my head.
Still, I've never had much of a problem with Foster reffing an important Celtics game. I think he's among the best.
I love all the attempts to frame it as a philanthropic effort.
Embiid shamed him, and this is the reaction. Id guess it's mostly a last ditch attempt to keep Joel from demanding a trade.