O Knicks have a chance Wednesday to take the series lead against Indiana. Ninety-three percent of the 554 teams with a 2-0 series lead in NBA history have won that series. The Knicks played a busy game on Monday night in the series opener.
Below, brendan brown – who spent three decades in the NBA as a scout, coach and television analyst – breaks down the complexities of Game 1 and how they apply to Game 2.
JALEN BRUNSON…AGAIN…
BROWN: “So the Knicks are playing a new team, different one-on-one matchups for Brunson, and he scores 10 quick points early in the game. From there, he’s held in check until the start of the fourth quarter by (Andrew) Nembhard(Aaron) Nesmith It is (T.J.) McConnell. As a group, their grandees come across as tough or even deceitful at times, and this is quite effective… but that is Rick CarlisleBrunson’s first shot at a playoff in the fourth quarter.
In the pick and roll, they played him more at screen level – it’s called ‘string’ – but he can keep his dribble alive against that. Just like in Game 4 of the Sixers series, he could look good in the fourth quarter. The Knicks also made a lot of guard picks late in the quarter to promote some turnovers. That gives Brunson space and Indiana didn’t lock him up. The difference from last night is that Brunson shot 14 of 14 from the line, whereas he shot just 77 percent in the Sixers series. Every point counts here.
So after last night, Brunson is now averaging 11 free throw attempts and shooting 81 percent. That’s important ‘A’ player stuff under pressure. For the game, he shot 14 of 26 (53.8 percent), was 1 of 4 from three and 14 of 14 from the free throw line. Six assists in four turnovers and 12 more in 44 minutes.”
THE KEY GAME: EVEN AT 115- FOURTH QUARTER…
BROWN: “If you’re going to commit to Brunson with a double team, you have to attack him hard into a trap. Nesmith kind of went halfway up – slowly sliding to the halfway point – and never got there. Brunson could see the entire development of the play It was an easy pass – perhaps not so easy if there had been more pressure applied on a trap ().Tyrese) Haliburton it was the next rotation above the baseline – but it’s generally a difficult rotation to make – even more difficult against a clean pass. So that leaves (Donte) DiVincenzo with his favorite arc three – and he’s already making excellent time. Just an Indiana disaster in an important situation. And Brunson is getting a better feel for doubles with each playoff game.
Moving forward, does Indiana approach the fourth minute and decisive moment differently? Every Knicks starter scored in double figures – not one guy was having a weak offensive game. OG (Anunoby) Could shoot a little better. But it wasn’t like you were coming out of a shooter cold. In the end, the Pacers let Brunson score 21 points in the fourth to beat them. He made some tough plays – he was covered with a timely three-pointer – but are you going to let him play one-on-one and beat you? It will be interesting to see how this plays out…
From Game 4 onward against the Sixers, I felt like Brunson would have a cleaner look than (Tyrese) Maxey It is (Joel) Embiid in the end and they won all those games. But you cannot allow him to roam at any cost; both last night and against the Sixers, he made three key transitions to get to the fourth. If you lose it there, you deserve to lose.”
JOSH HART
Hart’s Monday Night Stat Line: 24 points on 9-of-13 shooting (69%), 1-of-1 from three, 5-of-8 from the free throw line; 13 rebounds (4 offensive), eight assists, five turnovers, three steals and one block in 48 minutes
BROWN: “Well, that’s called filling out the stat sheet. After seven playoff games, Hart is now averaging 46.6 minutes per game. When you play 40, 41, 42… that’s considered important in NBA terms. The other big part of what he’s doing? He gets to the line 5.4 times per game (68% on FTs). And no other Knick is doing it – outside of Brunson – in this category. Offensive rebounds and free throw attempts go hand in hand; your defender is out of position.
Hart’s strategy was different [Monday] night in attack; he only attempted one three – far fewer than he attempted in the Sixers series. Indiana blocked shots, but Hart made several good attacks against weak-side closers. You know he’s going to do it on the counterattack, but now more in the middle of the court. In the playoffs, Indiana’s defense has been better, more real. But they will still give up an easy basket or two per quarter and Hart is the guy who can generate those types of plays while driving, cutting or getting up on the glass.
THE BANKS: INDIANA WINS BY 46 TO 3 MARGIN…
BROWN: “In the regular season, the Pacers had the second-highest pace number. If you followed them closely, Carlisle would face 10 or even 11 guys in the regular rotation. Last night, when the Pacers missed several open threes and struggled early, Carlisle subbed in generously. And McConnell, (Obi) Top It is (Isaiah) Jackson it provided good energy right away. That’s how they work; they believe in the nine guys they’re going to play in this series.
There is no hesitation in going to the bank. No way. McConnell and Haliburton are a good combination that they use in different parts of the game; they can get into the paint. Here’s the worrying part about last night: Indiana’s bench shot 21 of 34 (61.7 percent), 4 of 8 from three and 0 of 1 on free throws in the game. Yes, they are scoring, but sometimes they score easily. So unless the Knicks bench starts — it’s like five-on-nine — and that could be very difficult to contend with when the series moves to Indiana. The Knicks must win at home.”
TYRESE HALIBURTON IS NOT INVOLVED IN SCORING
BROWN: “Watching the latter stages of the Bucks series, it seems like Haliburton is either avoiding shooting the ball, or looking for it. In the playoffs, he takes 13 shots per game — but eight of them are threes. In the last five playoff games, he has made 74 shots – 49 of which were threes. But the big point is that he’s only taken five free throws in the last 5 games – that’s important.
They say he has a back injury. He hasn’t played the same way since he recovered from a hamstring injury. He was dominant before the injury in that first third of the season. In fact, he was better than Brunson during that period. But that’s not the case now – not by a long shot. A lot of Pacers had good games last night, but Haliburton’s aversion to shooting hurt. If you’re a Knicks fan, you might say, ‘We shut him down.’ No, he’s closing himself off.
Ninety percent of the Pacers’ half-court offense is pick-and-roll sets; two other pieces are for (Pascal) Siakam. If Haliburton doesn’t try to score, the Knicks can rotate again after the one count after he passes the ball. If this continues, the Knicks will win the series.
ISAIAH HARTENSTEINIT’S HIGH AND MAKES THREE POINTS…
BROWN: “I’ve worked on the basketball side of this league for 12 seasons and I’ve never heard a player say ‘I’m not going to shoot at the end of the quarter to protect my stats and my shooting percentage.’ Not once… ever. I was with two teams where the topic was addressed and the concept was: if you have a clear path, let it fly. If not, don’t shoot. Now, of course, it’s the playoffs, so you shoot every time – it was three big points in a four-point win. And the Pacers had momentum, but the lead was just six points at halftime.
Over the years, this has become a major narrative in the media; you’re a selfish NBA player if you don’t make that shot at the end of the quarter. I know coaches who think about this. For example: Hart is a loose ball guy – he could hit one of those shots once every 10 games. So there would be eight missed attempts. His shooting percentage would go from 43.4 to 42.2 when hitting. His three-point percentage would go from 31% to 30.3% when shooting prayers.
Josh Hart He has a great contract now and plays a lot. I don’t think at this point he was worried about some prayers in the regular season. No way…bigger fish to fry…one of the dumbest basketball concepts ever.
