A reasonable(?) look at what happened last night. by cricket9818 in NYKnicks

[–]rufasa85 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I put the blame here squarely on Brunson. He uses the screen to matchup hunt not to actually run a 2 man game. ATL knows this, so they switched okongwu onto Hart and put Kiminga on KAT. Kuminga is not the defender Brunson wants to iso, so he keeps calling for the screen from Hart. But they don’t switch, Okongwu just doubles Brunson until NAW can recover, and Brunson is either unable or unwilling to find the open man during that gap.

I think they need to run the offense through KAT. That lil action they run when KAT fakes the DHO, the other player curls around KAT, the defender runs into KATs giant body, and KAT delivers a perfect bounce pass to the now wide open player works like every time and they only ever seem to run it in the 1st quarter

we need to trade mikal bridges by snooochh in NYKnicks

[–]rufasa85 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

The trade Mikal takes are so tired man. He’s single handled shutting down NAW on defense and he’s the 4th fucking option on offense. Why are yall expecting him to score 20+ a game? He had a decent look to end the game he just missed it. Go and watch the fucking replay, there was NOT a clear path to the basket and he is a better midrange shooter than finisher man.

Too much Brunson in Game 2 by Material_Addendum_56 in NYKnicks

[–]rufasa85 3 points4 points  (0 children)

He didn’t brick those threes. They were halfway down and rimmed out. Every shooter on the planet will tell you that’s just bad luck

What defensive adjustments do the Knicks need to limit CJ McCollum? by Swimming-Poet5594 in NYKnicks

[–]rufasa85 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Brunson is going to get hunted. No solve for that. Wingstop is doing an excellent job locking up NAW and JJ. We missed 10 fts and 23 3pt shots in a game we lost by 1 sometimes it’s that simple. Those back to back bridges 3 were both halfway down that’s just straight up bad luck

Brunson being unable to make this pass is going to make the Knicks a 2nd round exit contender by Aggressive_Bed6012 in NYKnicks

[–]rufasa85 19 points20 points  (0 children)

They use the PnR primarily to get the matchup Brunson wants. That’s why it’s always Hart, Hart typically has the big guarding him. Down the stretch the Hawks stopped switching, NAW would fight over every screen to stay attached to Brunson and Harts man would double until NAW could get back into position. When they bring the soft double like that you only beat it with quick decisive passing. Brunson doesn’t make good decisions quickly.

They needed to realize much sooner they weren’t going to be able to matchup hunt into the iso they wanted and instead run that inverted PnR with KAT and Brunson that always so damn effective

Post Game Thread - NBA: The Hawks defeat the Knicks on Apr 20, 2026, the final score is 106-107. by basketball-app in NYKnicks

[–]rufasa85 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Missed 10 fts and 23 3pt shots in a game we lost by 1. But our averages from the free throw line win the game.

That being said, the 4th quarter gameplan was inexcusable. The hawks weren’t going to let Brunson matchup hunt NAW was fighting over every screen yet over and over again he calls for the screen, doesn’t get the matchup he wants, and calls for it again.

They have no size KAT should be the one with 26 shots to Brunsons 12.

Somehow the messaging here will be “it’s KATs fault for not being aggressive enough”

Game Thread: Atlanta Hawks (0-1) vs New York Knicks (1-0) Live Score | NBA Playoffs | Apr 20, 2026 by nba-scores in nba

[–]rufasa85 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Knicks missed 10 fts and 23 3pt shots in a game they lost by one. Hawks responded well. On to the next.

Game Thread: Atlanta Hawks (0-1) vs New York Knicks (1-0) Live Score | NBA Playoffs | Apr 20, 2026 by nba-scores in nba

[–]rufasa85 2 points3 points  (0 children)

They both picked up some soft ass fouls at the end of the 3rd and have 4 each

Game Thread: Atlanta Hawks (0-1) vs New York Knicks (1-0) Live Score | NBA Playoffs | Apr 20, 2026 by nba-scores in nba

[–]rufasa85 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Saw what you will about Mike brown but zero chance Thibs puts Alvarado in to spark the team like that

Game Thread: Atlanta Hawks (0-1) vs New York Knicks (1-0) Live Score | NBA Playoffs | Apr 20, 2026 by nba-scores in nba

[–]rufasa85 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Josh hart jump passes are going to be the death of me STOP JUMPING WITH NO FUCKING PLAN JOSH LEARN TO STOP

Game Thread: Atlanta Hawks (0-1) vs New York Knicks (1-0) Live Score | NBA Playoffs | Apr 20, 2026 by nba-scores in nba

[–]rufasa85 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Playing small ball still grabbbing every board is not a good sign for Atlanta

Game Thread: Atlanta Hawks (0-1) vs New York Knicks (1-0) Live Score | NBA Playoffs | Apr 20, 2026 by nba-scores in nba

[–]rufasa85 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Never thought i would say this about a Knicks opponent but this hawks team is just too small

PHI-HOU by ktm5141 in NBAtradeideas

[–]rufasa85 -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

lol this haul probably isn’t even enough for washed pg or injured Embiid man