I've been working a lot and was lost. Haven't been following. It's bit upsetting that the best team could of been avoided another series.
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2023-2024 Playoffs: March Toward _______?
- Thread starter wuck
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I do agree with this. Some competitive games between the two.
Pierre Pan
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HenryMuto
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CBS take
Case in point: The New York Knicks are the Eastern Conference's No. 2 seed after defeating the Chicago Bulls in overtime on Sunday, which means a first-round matchup with either the Philadelphia 76ers or Miami Heat. Had New York, shall we say, allowed the Chicago game slip through its fingers down the stretch, it would have been the No. 3 seed and set to play the Pacers in the first round.
Again, perhaps it's disrespectful to the Pacers to suggest they represent an easier series than the Sixers or Heat, but a case surely can be made. That is even with plenty of people suggesting they have a real shot to upset Milwaukee in the No. 3 vs. No. 6 series. The Sixers with Joel Embiid were a top-shelf contender, and he has hit the ground running in his return. The Heat are, well, the Heat. If you want any part of them in a playoff series, you're a masochist.
The league tries to avoid this sort of seed manipulation by scheduling all these games at the same time on the final day of the season. But midway through the fourth quarter, the Knicks knew that Cleveland and the Bucks had both lost and Orlando had won, which secured the Cavs into No. 4 and the Magic into No. 5. The only thing left to be determined was Nos. 2 and 3, and it rode entirely on New York's outcome.
So, again, they could've, you know, missed a few shots they might've ordinarily made (though I'm not sure Donte DiVincenzo could miss if he tried, to be fair), or even played a little more relaxed defense on DeMar DeRozan on potential game-winners at the end of regulation and overtime.
But that's not how Tom Thibodeau and these Knicks roll.
"Competitors compete. It doesn't matter if it's a game, if it's 1 on 1, if it's a shooting game, if it's dominoes, if it's some crazy podcast... they compete," Thibodeau said. "You don't have to wind these guys up. And that's what I love about them. We're not going to be perfect, but they're going to compete."
What's interesting is the Cleveland Cavaliers were in a similar position. They entered the fourth quarter of their game against the Hornets with an eight-point lead, and J.B. Bickerstaff chose to keep his starters on the bench for the entire fourth quarter.
They lost the fourth quarter by 16 points, and the game by 10, and they now will play the Magic in the No. 4 vs. No. 5 matchup when a victory, knowing Milwaukee had lost, would've put them at No. 3 for a first-round series with Indiana.
2024 NBA playoffs: Knicks, Tom Thibodeau pass on tanking for easier first-round matchup
This is going to come off as disrespectful to the Indiana Pacers, and perhaps it is, but the simple fact is that a higher seed in the NBA playoffs is not always a good thing.Case in point: The New York Knicks are the Eastern Conference's No. 2 seed after defeating the Chicago Bulls in overtime on Sunday, which means a first-round matchup with either the Philadelphia 76ers or Miami Heat. Had New York, shall we say, allowed the Chicago game slip through its fingers down the stretch, it would have been the No. 3 seed and set to play the Pacers in the first round.
Again, perhaps it's disrespectful to the Pacers to suggest they represent an easier series than the Sixers or Heat, but a case surely can be made. That is even with plenty of people suggesting they have a real shot to upset Milwaukee in the No. 3 vs. No. 6 series. The Sixers with Joel Embiid were a top-shelf contender, and he has hit the ground running in his return. The Heat are, well, the Heat. If you want any part of them in a playoff series, you're a masochist.
The league tries to avoid this sort of seed manipulation by scheduling all these games at the same time on the final day of the season. But midway through the fourth quarter, the Knicks knew that Cleveland and the Bucks had both lost and Orlando had won, which secured the Cavs into No. 4 and the Magic into No. 5. The only thing left to be determined was Nos. 2 and 3, and it rode entirely on New York's outcome.
So, again, they could've, you know, missed a few shots they might've ordinarily made (though I'm not sure Donte DiVincenzo could miss if he tried, to be fair), or even played a little more relaxed defense on DeMar DeRozan on potential game-winners at the end of regulation and overtime.
But that's not how Tom Thibodeau and these Knicks roll.
"Competitors compete. It doesn't matter if it's a game, if it's 1 on 1, if it's a shooting game, if it's dominoes, if it's some crazy podcast... they compete," Thibodeau said. "You don't have to wind these guys up. And that's what I love about them. We're not going to be perfect, but they're going to compete."
What's interesting is the Cleveland Cavaliers were in a similar position. They entered the fourth quarter of their game against the Hornets with an eight-point lead, and J.B. Bickerstaff chose to keep his starters on the bench for the entire fourth quarter.
They lost the fourth quarter by 16 points, and the game by 10, and they now will play the Magic in the No. 4 vs. No. 5 matchup when a victory, knowing Milwaukee had lost, would've put them at No. 3 for a first-round series with Indiana.
bushwick_bill
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Playoffs are often about who has the best player. We have the best player (assuming he is healthy enough). I think Donovan will lead us to a series win. With all of Orlando’s size, it sure would be helpful if we could get some quality minutes from Dean. Another full week of healing for our guys may really help us
bushwick_bill
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Don-no-vann!
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They put in the G-League team in the last quarter. Do you really think they were trying to win?
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They weren't trying to win or lose -- they were content with whatever outcome so long as they didn't sustain a serious injury..
As soon as they decided to sit Mitchell, LeVert and Garland, it should have told you all you needed to know about how they felt about this game..
They were content with the 4-seed, and ensuring everyone made it as healthy as they could be to the next round..
CPJ's injury in the first quarter is exactly what they were trying to avoid... If that happens to Allen or Mobley, what type of discussion are we having right now?
bushwick_bill
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Right, imagine JA,Mobley, Strus or Okoro getting hurt in the 4th because JBB played a starter that late in the game... This place would burn down to the ground. The takes on X Formerly known as Twitter are absurd as well...
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The guy hasn't played in a month and a half. Even if he's healthy given that much time off they'd be unlikely to play him, but that doesn't even matter since they should just stopping getting players with the initials DW.
Lee
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If he makes the finals he keeps his job, anything less i think he isgone
There's no way in hell they fire him if he makes the conference finals, they'd be the laughing stock of the NBA as no one thinks this is the 2nd best team in the East and there won't be a single person outside of Cleveland picking them against Boston.
I think he's probably safe as long as they get past this round. Again, few expect us to even be competitive with the Celtics,