All eyes are on Tom Thibodeau ahead of the Knicks’ Game 3 against the Pistons, Stefan Bondy of the New York Post writes in a subscriber-only story.
New York should theoretically have an advantage as a team that went all-in on its roster last offseason against a less experienced Detroit squad. At the time of writing, the Knicks went on a quick early run to get ahead of Detroit. The series is tied at 1-1 entering Thursday’s game, though the Knicks were a late Mikal Bridges three-point attempt away from tying Game 2.
“If that [Bridges] shot goes in, we’re probably not talking about the other stuff. But that’s playoff basketball,” Thibodeau said. “And then, what do you learn from the game, and how do you reset and get ready for the next one. And I think all that stuff is important. Each game, take what happened in the previous game, study and get ready for the next one.”
As Bondy writes, the Pistons were able to exploit the Knicks with hard screens and box outs in Game 2, and so the onus is on Thibodeau to counter those moves. One suggestion Bondy adds is for Thibodeau to turn to the big pairing of Karl-Anthony Towns and Mitchell Robinson more often. Pistons center Isaiah Stewart is out for Game 3, per The Athletic’s Hunter Patterson (Twitter link), and so going big could help counter Detroit.
We have more from the Knicks:
- The Pistons’ run to the playoffs after being the worst team in the league last year is a testament to their grit and strength, Jared Schwartz of the New York Post opines. So far in their first-round series against the Knicks, they’ve out-muscled New York. Detroit’s Tobias Harris implied that the difference in the two teams’ physicality is a core tenet of the team’s playoff game plan, and the Knicks will need to respond appropriately in Game 3.
- Josh Hart took accountability for part of what went wrong for the Knicks in Game 2, Bondy tweets. Hart said he needed to stop complaining to the refs as often due to it distracting from the game. “It definitely takes you off your game,” Hart said. “I think controlling it that just comes from within, kind of focusing on controlling what you can control. We can’t control what they’re calling. … We can just control how we respond to it. Last game I responded terribly. I have to make sure I fix that, [Towns] fixes that, and move on from it.“
- Star guard Jalen Brunson won the Clutch Player of the Year award on Wednesday after averaging the most clutch points in the league. He spoke on the honor to SNY’s Ian Begley (Twitter link). “It means a lot,” Brunson said. “It’s a credit to us winning close games and my teammates and coaches having my back.”
This Pistons team is young and scrappy…
Should make for a good series…
I just pray Brunson doesn’t let this award go to his head. He might think he’s the most clutch…but this is the playoffs. You can’t just take your foot off the gas because you won an award. Cade Cunningham is good too…
Thibs gotta wake up man. Cade has to get Knicks attention. Bridges, OG, Hart all have to take turns on him. You can’t let him go off. Like to see Brunson look for Towns and Bridges more. Both Towns and Bridges have to step up. Enough already. Thibs too has to stop his tunnel vision. And put Precious in there. He will show Pistons what physical is.
Team game means team win. All about one game. NYK ……
Knicks bench plays 37:33 mins — scores total of
9 pts…..
Knick starters play Hart 40:46, OG 42:49, Bridges 38:48, Towns 41:12, Brunson 38:42 ….
Pistons bench plays 61:44 mins — scores total of
40 pts …..
Pistons starters play —- only Cade played iver 42 mins.
Knicks win 118 — 116 . Shouldn’t have been this close. Knicks don’t play D to close it out. If you watched this gn. You saw why Brunson is Captain Clutch …. Towns Bridges woke up. I seriously think MSG scares them. They play much better away from home.
Thibs doesn’t evennuse his bench. Cause he wanted to make sure he won. So I ask ???? I ask again ???? Whats the big deal of having TJ on the bench. Guy can probably score better than anyone on the bench now. Why not hust have him sit and watch like Precious …..
NYK, as an organization, need to get an answer as to why the clock (at 0.5 secs) started too soon on the intentionally missed FT. That “mistake” effectively gave DET a chance to win a game that was otherwise mathematically over. The broadcasters said the clock is run by “neutrals” (not the home team’s employees). Good practice, but even so, it was deliberate or ineptness.
I thought the NYK did a pretty good job on CC tonight. OG was great on him, but it was a team focus as well. Also, overall, the initial half court defense was decent. DET got most of its wide open looks off of offensive rebounds (which remain a problem area).
They might be neutral. Don’t mean they don’t gamble lol. Terrible, Knicks didn’t play D last 2 mins.
Wissed me off.
NYK played with the head up their a$$’s on both ends in the last 2 mins. Particularly the last 8.1 seconds. That’s when Bridges secured a rebound with us up by 6, which I assumed was the last possession of the game. Somehow, there were 6 subsequent possessions in that time (3 by each team). The clock operator should be checked, but he had lots of help from Bridges. Maybe he gambles too.
Brunson wins Most Likely to get Punched in the Face award.