What I'll be keeping an eye on tonight: 1. Stay close early. You figure the crowd will be pumped and the Pacers will come out with emotion. Don't get blown off the court in the first 10 minutes. Stay within range and it could bode well for the Knicks. 2. The Pacers were 5-25, 20%, from 3P range in game 3. You have to think they'll shoot a much better 3P% than that in game 4. Can the Knicks keep them somewhat in check to keep the game tight. 3. How does Tibs utilize the bench, he must give the starters some rest, and the bench some minutes. Going with # 2, I'd like to see Wright get 10 minutes +/- again since he is very solid on D. I think the Knicks will need some of his defensive tenacity in this game. You have to give the Pacers a little edge going into the game you'd think, but if the Knicks can keep it tight, especially early, they can win it late. It's a winnable game if the Knicks play the right way, and Tibs coaches the right way, using his bench again. This is the game that very well may decide the series (must win for the Knicks).
Yeah, Knicks D was non-existent tonight. The real killer were the turnovers though; you cannot have 17 TO's on the road in a must win game. If you go number by number, the only big difference was TO's, 17 for the Knicks to 11 by the Pacers. Despite the Knicks out rebounding the Pacers 44 to 33, the Pacers still attempted 6 more shots than the Knicks, that's the difference right there and why the Knicks lost. There is almost no way to argue the Knicks lost this game due to sloppiness and mistakes (signs of a poorly coached team IMO). When you look back at this series, the difference was the epic all-time collapse in game 1, if that doesn't happen, we are looking at a 2-2 series that either team can win. The way the Knicks lost game 1 was essentially the end of the series, as I unfortunately thought was the case at the time. Looking forward, it's going to take every ounce of foresight and courage for Rose to fire Tibs off an ECF trip, but it really does have to happen. Can anyone say the Knicks as a team play up to their individual talent level, I think that's a huge NO. My best guess is Tibs does not get fired because most Pres/GM's don't fire coaches after Conference Finals trips, but if Rose is brave, and sees big picture, he will absolutely fire Tibs (which I said he should have done after last season). This team has gone as far as it can go with this coach, and his career track record tells you that as well. Please Rose don't be afraid to make the bold move needed at coach. The other issue as I see it is Bridges; it really is the one big mistake Rose has made putting this team together. He traded FIVE first round picks for Bridges, FIVE. Can you imagine if the Knicks had those picks now, you could put Giannis in a Knicks uniform now and not even waste time waiting until July. BUT, dealing all those picks for a good to very good player in Bridges really puts the Knicks in a tough spot. They lack assets to improve, but they need another very good player to be a legit title contender. Not sure how Rose pulls a rabbit out of his hat here, but he needs to otherwise the Knicks are stuck in limbo of being a very good team, but not a championship team, and they have no picks to improve, the worst place to be. A new coach will help the team improve, but not enough to win a title, they need another very good player added to do that. I fear the Bridges trade will go down as the move that torpedoed the chances for this version of the Knicks to win a title. Turned out to be a very poor trade, good to very good Bridges, who is not even a great player let alone a star player, is not worth the star package Rose traded for him. Anyway, it will be a very interesting 6 weeks +/- for the Knicks and Rangers. Rose and Drury are both in a position where big bold moves are needed, the Knicks at coach and adding another very good player, and the Rangers need major core changes. We'll see what these guys can do for either team to improve to legit title contenders next season.
If that rose guy traded five picks for Bridges then he is a fucking moron who should never be trusted again to make a trade. lol If they knicks actually knew how to build through the draft then they would at least build a deeper team.
No wonder MSG teams have 1 championship combined in 50 years. God forbid, they would build the team the right way through the DRAFT.
It's not an if, it's a fact. Rose had been extremely patient building this team from the ground up, but he got antsy and lost his patience last summer, so he pulled the trigger on the Bridges trade, and it has turned out to be a really crushing mistake. If Rose didn't panic and make the Bridges trade, sure the Knicks wouldn't have made the ECF this season, but they would have those picks right now to trade for Giannis, who wants to play in NY, but the Knicks have no assets to trade for him. It really is not an ideal situation unfortunately. I agree, common threads of these NY teams are lack of patience, go after big names, never build their teams the right way. It's a shame really. The Rangers started to do it and then jumped ship a year or two early. And unfortunately, Rose ran out of patience one year too early for the Knicks.
They could take Bridges, but my guess is the Bucks will want a future looking package with a lot of first round picks, that's sort of the way the NBA works now. BUT that's why I say unless Rose can pull a rabbit out of his hat. Maybe Rose can convince the Bucks to take everyone not named Brunson in a package OR maybe Rose can move Bridges or OG or even Towns for a boatload of picks then flip those to Milwaukee for Giannis OR maybe Rose can somehow get Durant or another very good player here while keeping the main core intact, Brunson, Towns, and OG (my guess is Bridges will have to go to add another very good player). Not sure what he can do, but I will say I have WAY WAY WAY more confidence in Rose to get things done than I do Drury, so there's that. From there we'll see.
This is what decided the game (20-9 scoring edge off turnovers): The Pacers had a huge 22-9 advantage in fast break points. They also converted the Knicks’ 17 turnovers into 20 points. Indiana only committed 11 turnovers, and the Knicks had just nine points off them. Meanwhile, Haliburton had 15 assists and 0 turnovers. Overall, in the series Brunson is a -26 and Bridges is a whopping -33, by far the two worst on the team. Just awful.
Here are the details of the picks Rose traded to the Nets for Bridges. Five first round picks AND a pick swap in 2028. Clearly a star package for a good to very good player, not good value: unprotected 1st-round pick in 2025 unprotected 1st-round pick in 2027 unprotected 1st-round pick in 2029 unprotected 1st-round pick in 2031 unprotected pick swap in 2028 top four protected 2025 1st-round pick via Bucks 2nd round pick in 2025 I understand the mindset of eventually you have to shoot your shot; I also understand the clock was ticking on the team, and on the picks (two of the first-round picks are in the upcoming 2025 draft). So, Rose was in a tight spot, and I do get his overall thinking, it was just the wrong player who is not truly worthy of the star package return. Being patient and waiting for a better player was the smarter play rather than forcing a trade for a good to very good player, which is what Bridges is.
Theory is those picks are all going to be at the tail end of the first round...Milwaukee isn't going to want that
If I was Milwaukee, I would want Townes and Bridges plus Kolek. Giannis is going to dictate where he wants to go and he’s not gonna wanna go to Brooklyn. He wants to come to the Garden from what they’re saying. The Bucks are gonna try to put out a competitive team next year and with Bridges and Townes they can do that. I like Kolek a lot but the coach was a moron and didn’t even try to play them this year. They then have the option of trading those players later at the draft this year or next year and know exactly what pick they’re getting.
