Around the NBA:2025-6

[AbeVigodaLive]

Oh my what a collapse by the Cavs! I was on a phone call much of the 4th quarter and had the TV sound off, but I did see them up 22 with about 7 minutes to go. I saw the Knicks chipping away but didn't really take it seriously. Until I saw Shamet tie the game with a 3-pointer. I don't really have a horse in this race, but was kind of pulling for the underdog. It's going to be tough for the Cavs to bounce back from this disaster.

I watched the last 20+ minutes of this game.

- For a long spell, Cleveland did everything right... including intentionally fouling Mitchell Robinson when they were up double digits. Robinson was 2 - 8 from the line and was a team-worst -8 in only 14 minutes.

- There was a vibe watching this game. It's hard to explain, but something kept me watching this game even though it was a 22 point game with only 7 minutes left. Getting it down to 15 points felt like a real thing. When it got to 8... it was on. It's one of those weird sports things that we've all experienced and illustrates why we're invested.

- And ALL of it was because the Knicks targeted James Harden defensively over and over and over again. I saw a stat where they isolated him 19 times down the stretch... and averaged 1.9 points against him. If you get a chance to see highlights, just look at the defender EVERY time.

- Our Karl Anthony Towns will never change. I believe he had 3 offensive fouls (TOs) in this one, including a really bad one late when the Knicks were down only 4. Anunoby was driving, only one man to beat. And yet, Towns felt obligated to blatantly hold the defenders arm.

- Games like that are amazing because of all the different things that have to go just right. For example, Brunson hit 5(?) bank shots down the stretch. They came from all sorts of angles, both awkward and majestic. A couple hit high above the square. But the biggest shot was when the Knicks were down 6 or 7. The Knicks offense was stuck, oft-maligned Mikal Bridges roamed around with the ball a bit before darting behind the three point line to take a heavily contested three as the shot clock expired. Horrible shot. Swish.

And then there was the Landry Shamet shot to tie it. It immediately reminded me of Kawhi Leonard's rim-hanging shot to beat the 76ers. The shot seemed off, Breen started his call, but then the ball bounced off the rim in an unexpected way, hit the board and went in.

Then a couple of possessions later, Merrill has a three pointer to win it... and Breen starts his BANG! call, only to see the ball inexplicably rim out.

- I always thought Madison Square Garden was overrated. And then I saw it in person for an OT game vs. the Celtics last year. The aura is legit and now it makes even watching games like yesterday in that building just that much cooler.

[Q-is-here]

Oh my what a collapse by the Cavs! I was on a phone call much of the 4th quarter and had the TV sound off, but I did see them up 22 with about 7 minutes to go. I saw the Knicks chipping away but didn't really take it seriously. Until I saw Shamet tie the game with a 3-pointer. I don't really have a horse in this race, but was kind of pulling for the underdog. It's going to be tough for the Cavs to bounce back from this disaster.

I watched the last 20+ minutes of this game.

- For a long spell, Cleveland did everything right... including intentionally fouling Mitchell Robinson when they were up double digits. Robinson was 2 - 8 from the line and was a team-worst -8 in only 14 minutes.

- There was a vibe watching this game. It's hard to explain, but something kept me watching this game even though it was a 22 point game with only 7 minutes left. Getting it down to 15 points felt like a real thing. When it got to 8... it was on. It's one of those weird sports things that we've all experienced and illustrates why we're invested.

- And ALL of it was because the Knicks targeted James Harden defensively over and over and over again. I saw a stat where they isolated him 19 times down the stretch... and averaged 1.9 points against him. If you get a chance to see highlights, just look at the defender EVERY time.

- Our Karl Anthony Towns will never change. I believe he had 3 offensive fouls (TOs) in this one, including a really bad one late when the Knicks were down only 4. Anunoby was driving, only one man to beat. And yet, Towns felt obligated to blatantly hold the defenders arm.

- Games like that are amazing because of all the different things that have to go just right. For example, Brunson hit 5(?) bank shots down the stretch. They came from all sorts of angles, both awkward and majestic. A couple hit high above the square. But the biggest shot was when the Knicks were down 6 or 7. The Knicks offense was stuck, oft-maligned Mikal Bridges roamed around with the ball a bit before darting behind the three point line to take a heavily contested three as the shot clock expired. Horrible shot. Swish.

And then there was the Landry Shamet shot to tie it. It immediately reminded me of Kawhi Leonard's rim-hanging shot to beat the 76ers. The shot seemed off, Breen started his call, but then the ball bounced off the rim in an unexpected way, hit the board and went in.

Then a couple of possessions later, Merrill has a three pointer to win it... and Breen starts his BANG! call, only to see the ball inexplicably rim out.

- I always thought Madison Square Garden was overrated. And then I saw it in person for an OT game vs. the Celtics last year. The aura is legit and now it makes even watching games like yesterday in that building just that much cooler.

Yeah, the place was going nuts last night. Feels like a more authentic atmosphere than the Forum or whatever it's called these days. And unlike the Lakers, Knicks fans don't have that feeling of entitlement, having been humbled for so many years despite their big market bona fides and franchise pedigree.

BTW, the Knicks and Cleveland were both built mostly inorganically - through trades and free agency - and one of them is going to be in the Finals. What the Spurs and OKC have done in the draft is remarkable and generally the preferred path to build a team, but it isn't the only way.

[FNG]

Oh my what a collapse by the Cavs! I was on a phone call much of the 4th quarter and had the TV sound off, but I did see them up 22 with about 7 minutes to go. I saw the Knicks chipping away but didn't really take it seriously. Until I saw Shamet tie the game with a 3-pointer. I don't really have a horse in this race, but was kind of pulling for the underdog. It's going to be tough for the Cavs to bounce back from this disaster.

I watched the last 20+ minutes of this game.

- For a long spell, Cleveland did everything right... including intentionally fouling Mitchell Robinson when they were up double digits. Robinson was 2 - 8 from the line and was a team-worst -8 in only 14 minutes.

- There was a vibe watching this game. It's hard to explain, but something kept me watching this game even though it was a 22 point game with only 7 minutes left. Getting it down to 15 points felt like a real thing. When it got to 8... it was on. It's one of those weird sports things that we've all experienced and illustrates why we're invested.

- And ALL of it was because the Knicks targeted James Harden defensively over and over and over again. I saw a stat where they isolated him 19 times down the stretch... and averaged 1.9 points against him. If you get a chance to see highlights, just look at the defender EVERY time.

- Our Karl Anthony Towns will never change. I believe he had 3 offensive fouls (TOs) in this one, including a really bad one late when the Knicks were down only 4. Anunoby was driving, only one man to beat. And yet, Towns felt obligated to blatantly hold the defenders arm.

- Games like that are amazing because of all the different things that have to go just right. For example, Brunson hit 5(?) bank shots down the stretch. They came from all sorts of angles, both awkward and majestic. A couple hit high above the square. But the biggest shot was when the Knicks were down 6 or 7. The Knicks offense was stuck, oft-maligned Mikal Bridges roamed around with the ball a bit before darting behind the three point line to take a heavily contested three as the shot clock expired. Horrible shot. Swish.

And then there was the Landry Shamet shot to tie it. It immediately reminded me of Kawhi Leonard's rim-hanging shot to beat the 76ers. The shot seemed off, Breen started his call, but then the ball bounced off the rim in an unexpected way, hit the board and went in.

Then a couple of possessions later, Merrill has a three pointer to win it... and Breen starts his BANG! call, only to see the ball inexplicably rim out.

- I always thought Madison Square Garden was overrated. And then I saw it in person for an OT game vs. the Celtics last year. The aura is legit and now it makes even watching games like yesterday in that building just that much cooler.

As I said, I wasn't watching closely as the Knicks made their comeback, but NBA Radio today was all about the Harden targeting. Apparently they were "soft switching" every time, even if there wasn't a particularly effective pick, and that resulted in what you said...Harden on Brunson every possession. Harden wasn't very good on offense either, so you have to wonder why he was still out there as the game got into single digits. Anyway, hats off to Mike Brown and Brunson.

[AbeVigodaLive]

Oh my what a collapse by the Cavs! I was on a phone call much of the 4th quarter and had the TV sound off, but I did see them up 22 with about 7 minutes to go. I saw the Knicks chipping away but didn't really take it seriously. Until I saw Shamet tie the game with a 3-pointer. I don't really have a horse in this race, but was kind of pulling for the underdog. It's going to be tough for the Cavs to bounce back from this disaster.

I watched the last 20+ minutes of this game.

- For a long spell, Cleveland did everything right... including intentionally fouling Mitchell Robinson when they were up double digits. Robinson was 2 - 8 from the line and was a team-worst -8 in only 14 minutes.

- There was a vibe watching this game. It's hard to explain, but something kept me watching this game even though it was a 22 point game with only 7 minutes left. Getting it down to 15 points felt like a real thing. When it got to 8... it was on. It's one of those weird sports things that we've all experienced and illustrates why we're invested.

- And ALL of it was because the Knicks targeted James Harden defensively over and over and over again. I saw a stat where they isolated him 19 times down the stretch... and averaged 1.9 points against him. If you get a chance to see highlights, just look at the defender EVERY time.

- Our Karl Anthony Towns will never change. I believe he had 3 offensive fouls (TOs) in this one, including a really bad one late when the Knicks were down only 4. Anunoby was driving, only one man to beat. And yet, Towns felt obligated to blatantly hold the defenders arm.

- Games like that are amazing because of all the different things that have to go just right. For example, Brunson hit 5(?) bank shots down the stretch. They came from all sorts of angles, both awkward and majestic. A couple hit high above the square. But the biggest shot was when the Knicks were down 6 or 7. The Knicks offense was stuck, oft-maligned Mikal Bridges roamed around with the ball a bit before darting behind the three point line to take a heavily contested three as the shot clock expired. Horrible shot. Swish.

And then there was the Landry Shamet shot to tie it. It immediately reminded me of Kawhi Leonard's rim-hanging shot to beat the 76ers. The shot seemed off, Breen started his call, but then the ball bounced off the rim in an unexpected way, hit the board and went in.

Then a couple of possessions later, Merrill has a three pointer to win it... and Breen starts his BANG! call, only to see the ball inexplicably rim out.

- I always thought Madison Square Garden was overrated. And then I saw it in person for an OT game vs. the Celtics last year. The aura is legit and now it makes even watching games like yesterday in that building just that much cooler.

As I said, I wasn't watching closely as the Knicks made their comeback, but NBA Radio today was all about the Harden targeting. Apparently they were "soft switching" every time, even if there wasn't a particularly effective pick, and that resulted in what you said...Harden on Brunson every possession. Harden wasn't very good on offense either, so you have to wonder why he was still out there as the game got into single digits. Anyway, hats off to Mike Brown and Brunson.

Not only that... but Mitchell (who was having a very good game) seemed to deliberately take a backseat to Harden as the lead collapsed. Heck, even though it led to the Merrill three... I was shocked when Mitchell gave the ball to Harden to be the creator with 10 seconds left in a tie game.

[rapsuperstar31]

[Melnick] “Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has a -35.6 net on-off rating in this year’s playoffs,” which “is the lowest mark of any qualified player still remaining in the postseason.”

Take away his trophy, these advance stats are important.

[Coolbreeze44]

[Melnick] “Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has a -35.6 net on-off rating in this year’s playoffs,” which “is the lowest mark of any qualified player still remaining in the postseason.”

Take away his trophy, these advance stats are important.

I agree Rap, there is only one player deserving of that award. He combines the best of all traits: Unmatched performance, unreal attention to detail, unselfish almost to a fault, triple double machine, the only Wimbledon and Masters champ, Humanitarian, Statesman, role model, Father of the year, Rhodes Scholar, once through a no hitter and bowled a 300 game on the same day, and displays uncommon versatility for a player in today's game.


It's Ant of course.

[Phenom]

[Melnick] “Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has a -35.6 net on-off rating in this year’s playoffs,” which “is the lowest mark of any qualified player still remaining in the postseason.”

Take away his trophy, these advance stats are important.

I agree Rap, there is only one player deserving of that award. He combines the best of all traits: Unmatched performance, unreal attention to detail, unselfish almost to a fault, triple double machine, the only Wimbledon and Masters champ, Humanitarian, Statesman, role model, Father of the year, Rhodes Scholar, once through a no hitter and bowled a 300 game on the same day, and displays uncommon versatility for a player in today's game.


It's Ant of course.

I thought you were going to say Dion Waiters.

[Coolbreeze44]

[Melnick] “Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has a -35.6 net on-off rating in this year’s playoffs,” which “is the lowest mark of any qualified player still remaining in the postseason.”

Take away his trophy, these advance stats are important.

I agree Rap, there is only one player deserving of that award. He combines the best of all traits: Unmatched performance, unreal attention to detail, unselfish almost to a fault, triple double machine, the only Wimbledon and Masters champ, Humanitarian, Statesman, role model, Father of the year, Rhodes Scholar, once through a no hitter and bowled a 300 game on the same day, and displays uncommon versatility for a player in today's game.


It's Ant of course.

I thought you were going to say Dion Waiters.

He was a very close 2nd. He just didn't have the Wimbledon-Masters combo.

[AussieWolf3]

[Melnick] “Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has a -35.6 net on-off rating in this year’s playoffs,” which “is the lowest mark of any qualified player still remaining in the postseason.”

Take away his trophy, these advance stats are important.

I agree Rap, there is only one player deserving of that award. He combines the best of all traits: Unmatched performance, unreal attention to detail, unselfish almost to a fault, triple double machine, the only Wimbledon and Masters champ, Humanitarian, Statesman, role model, Father of the year, Rhodes Scholar, once through a no hitter and bowled a 300 game on the same day, and displays uncommon versatility for a player in today's game.


It's Ant of course.

Apparently he's not even old enough to vote either! Truly prodigious

[Q-is-here]

Watching Cleveland vs. NY and OKC vs. Spurs is quite the contrast in terms of point-of-attack defense and overall physicality. It's like watching hand-to-hand combat with shivs and brass knuckles on the one side versus a teenage girl pillowfight on the other.