Big Blue Huddle

Choke job by the coach..who could have called time out..Mitch Robinson for defending a 3..and foul shooting. They Appled up.

That was disastrous last night. One gaffe after another. The worst for me was not fouling the Sixers when we were up by three with about 10 seconds left. Foul Maxey, put him on the line, and then get fouled yourself on the inbound and take two shots with a chance to be up by a minimum of four points with just a few seconds left on the clock. I can't fathom how you can allow a three point attempt in that situation.

And to add insult to injury the nba just announced with their 2 minute report that maxey's 4 point play should not have counted as he walked before the foul and shot. What a collossal screw up by the refs!!    Where do the Knicks go to get their win they got robbed out of back?

I'm not sure my heart can take anymore of these games...afraid I'll stroke out or my heart gives out. Regardless, they won again in the last few seconds of chaos and craziness   

Sick game. I need a cardiologist appointment after that one. Every game is like this.

It is so good to see MSG electric and loud again.  Brunson scored but all contributed a lot.  O with his two steals toward the end.  Di with his last three.

That offensive foul call at the end was pretty terrible. You have aggressive playoff basketball being played for 47 minutes+, all for the refs to decide the game at the end.

It was such a great back and forth battle and great game. Just wish the players could have determined the outcome.

Quote from: Stringer Bell on May 07, 2024, 11:41:33 AMThat offensive foul call at the end was pretty terrible. You have aggressive playoff basketball being played for 47 minutes+, all for the refs to decide the game at the end.

It was such a great back and forth battle and great game. Just wish the players could have determined the outcome.

The call stood up to the challenge. Refs make mistakes all the time in real time, but it's hard to believe an NBA playoff ref didn't understand the NBA rule book when he was watching the play frame-by-frame on a close up replay. If an infraction was not committed there, it seems extremely likely the ref would have seen that in the replay and overturned it.

As for willfully allowing a clear infraction just because it's the final minute or two of a close game, that's a matter of fan opinion and a controversial subject. I understand the spirit of that argument, but it's a slippery slope if you just start allowing anything to happen just because it's late. Which rules should get enforced and which shouldn't?

Quote from: DaveBrown74 on May 07, 2024, 07:37:11 PMThe call stood up to the challenge. Refs make mistakes all the time in real time, but it's hard to believe an NBA playoff ref didn't understand the NBA rule book when he was watching the play frame-by-frame on a close up replay. If an infraction was not committed there, it seems extremely likely the ref would have seen that in the replay and overturned it.

As for willfully allowing a clear infraction just because it's the final minute or two of a close game, that's a matter of fan opinion and a controversial subject. I understand the spirit of that argument, but it's a slippery slope if you just start allowing anything to happen just because it's late. Which rules should get enforced and which shouldn't?

None of that makes it a good call in the final seconds of a playoff basketball game that had been officiated pretty loosely up until that point - as playoffs games should be.

Who knows if the Pacers would have made a shot or won the game had that call not been made. But that's the point. We'll never know, because the refs took that away from the teams and the fans.
It was a ticky tack call, and those types of calls shouldn't be how playoff games end. Let the players decide it.

Tough loss last night, but I thought it was a great effort. A lot of people out there thought the Knicks would get blown out last night, possibly resting players and saving themselves for game four.

Instead, they were not only in the game late, but they were leading fairly late in the game, and they managed this without OG plus all their other injuries. Basically, the Nova three led the team again, and it feels like as long as these three games are playing you always have a shot.

To be fair, I am worried about OG, because I think they may still need him to win this series, and if they were to advance, they will certainly need him to have any sort of shot of even being competitive against the Celtics (assuming the Celtics advance). I worry about OG because hamstrings are usually not a "day to day" thing, as the Knicks are publicly characterizing this injury. They tend to take a while to heal, so I worry he could be done. I hope that's not the case.

All in all though, a good effort last night despite the final result. This team has a ton of heart and grit. Hopefully they can get it done tomorrow.

OG is a tough break with how well him and the team were playing.  They can still beat Indiana but a depleted team will get horse whipped in the Conference Finals.  Good things are happening though.  Unfortunately, the injuries bit them this year.  With Randle and OG that's a team that can be in the conversation of getting to the Finals. 

Quote from: Messiah717 on May 11, 2024, 10:36:14 AMOG is a tough break with how well him and the team were playing.  They can still beat Indiana but a depleted team will get horse whipped in the Conference Finals.  Good things are happening though.  Unfortunately, the injuries bit them this year.  With Randle and OG that's a team that can be in the conversation of getting to the Finals. 

I'm with you across the board.

If I'm Rose, I'm looking at ways to move on from Randle and Mitch after this season. Mitch is additive when healthy, but he has multi-month absences, and then the moment he comes back he's clutching his ankle and grimacing the first time he lands on it, and the cycle starts again. I just don't see how they can keep doing this. Plus Hartenstein is going to command a lot more money moving forward, and I don't want to lose him.

With Randle it's a combination of erratic and often sloppy play, injuries, and a sometimes toxic attitude. I understand that when he's on, he can be dominant, but you pay a big price for all of that (on top of the financial price, which is also very big).

The heart of this team is the Nova-3 and OG now, IMO, with nice contributions from a few other guys like Deuce and Hartenstein. They definitely need one more player after that, but they have the assets to make a move when the opportunity is right.

Quote from: DaveBrown74 on May 11, 2024, 10:45:56 AMI'm with you across the board.

If I'm Rose, I'm looking at ways to move on from Randle and Mitch after this season. Mitch is additive when healthy, but he has multi-month absences, and then the moment he comes back he's clutching his ankle and grimacing the first time he lands on it, and the cycle starts again. I just don't see how they can keep doing this. Plus Hartenstein is going to command a lot more money moving forward, and I don't want to lose him.

With Randle it's a combination of erratic and often sloppy play, injuries, and a sometimes toxic attitude. I understand that when he's on, he can be dominant, but you pay a big price for all of that (on top of the financial price, which is also very big).

The heart of this team is the Nova-3 and OG now, IMO, with nice contributions from a few other guys like Deuce and Hartenstein. They definitely need one more player after that, but they have the assets to make a move when the opportunity is right.

So true Dave.  Nova 3 and Ono.

For Brunson to struggle yet team be so competitive in a game speaks volumes abiut the team.

Here's my question now.  Are they really better with Randle?  I am not sure.

Quote from: Philosophers on May 11, 2024, 11:10:58 AMSo true Dave.  Nova 3 and Ono.

For Brunson to struggle yet team be so competitive in a game speaks volumes abiut the team.

Here's my question now.  Are they really better with Randle?  I am not sure.

I'm not sure either Phil. As I said above, with Randle you get sometimes great play, but you pay a very big overall price for it. He's often very unreliable handling the ball and can be very poor with shot selection. When you net it all out I'm not sure if he's a net value-add, especially factoring in price. We know that other teams aren't interested in taking on his contract, so that tells you something right there. I'd also add that the Knicks were without him for a long time this year and seemed to do just fine.

Quote from: DaveBrown74 on May 11, 2024, 11:46:05 AMI'm not sure either Phil. As I said above, with Randle you get sometimes great play, but you pay a very big overall price for it. He's often very unreliable handling the ball and can be very poor with shot selection. When you net it all out I'm not sure if he's a net value-add, especially factoring in price. We know that other teams aren't interested in taking on his contract, so that tells you something right there. I'd also add that the Knicks were without him for a long time this year and seemed to do just fine.

I think the one thing this team has that makes them special, is none of them think of themselves as "superstars" and act as if they are role players. Mitch, and especially Randle don't think that way. Brunson is a superstar, but he is running the team and has a gift for knowing which of the role players need touches and when...not to mention, reads defenses with an inate ability to know when they've made a mistake and exploit it himself. If the Knicks were to work a trade, the package of pick assets/Mitch and/or Randle could bring a real haul. Truth is, they are where they are right now without Mitch and Randle. Personally, I think I'd keep Mitch as a platoon guy with Hartenstein as they compliment each other. But I'd give more play time to I-Hart than Mitch, as he can at least make a free throw instead of throwing the ball at the basket with no arch, LOL. I think Randle is quite expendable, but I don't know what the front office knows...so, I could be completely out to lunch  What I do know is that I love this team like no team I can remember playing at the Garden. They seem to be able to overcome a slew of major injuries which is something I've never seen in my lifetime