“Now, the real stuff starts” - John Tortorella, Head Man of the Vegas Golden Knights, punching their ticket to Lord Stanley’s Cup
🎙️ Leading Off
I have Two Brains for the Knicks:
The Eastern Conference (down bad) played out perfectly and expectedly for NY to head to their first Finals since 1999. No Indiana defending their Eastern Crown (no Haliburton). Boston melted into a pile of garbage and Tatum missed Game 7 against Philly. The Sixers, on the back of Joel Embiid’s noodle knees, rolled over against NY in 4. Technically, these Cavs were deep, fronted by Donovan Mitchell, and experienced as a group. How they trotted out 37 year old James Harden to guard Brunson is beyond me, and it’s been beaten into the ground. Cleveland embarrassed themselves. A fireable offense for President Koby Altman. Altman has been in charge since 2018, presided over the first Kyrie trade, the Mitchell trade, and drafted Evan Mobley. Pushing his chips in with Harden should be his ticket out of town. Ya gone bust, buddy! It’s very possible the Knicks are where they are because the East cratered at exactly the right time for them. Or…
What more can you ask from a basketball team? Dominant. Deep. Engaged. Bought-in. Stars. Health. Shooting. Defense. Rebounding. What are the Knicks missing? I’m never sure who it will be, but a second option shows up every night. One of Towns, Bridges, or Anunoby produces offensively. McBride or Shamet pour in 3 threes of the bench. Hart or Mitchell Robinson show up to clean the glass. The Ringer published an article today about how the rest of the league should respond to OKC and San Antonio’s youth, dominance, and future prospects, but that article was written entirely too soon. Disrespectful to what NY can do in a seven game series. I get it. I trumped up Wemby vs SGA, and while the series has had its moments, I’ve been radically disappointed in the shot selection and execution from both teams. Carry that forward into MSG and either team could get run out the City.
(Ethan Miller/GettyImages)
Gotta talk about shot selection. GOTTA DO IT. Here’s a snippet of the Spurs’ 4th quarter:
11:07 - Wemby missed three
10:00 - Champagnie missed three (brick)
9:31 - Vassell missed three
9:07 - Cason Wallace blocks a Keldon Johnson three
What the hell is that? Down ten and opening the quarter laying bricks with plenty of time left on the shot clock. That’s youth. In the same stretch, Stephon Castle picked up his 5th foul, the Spurs turned the ball over twice, and Wembenyama blew a transition lob attempt. With SGA on the bench, San Antonio had a window to cut into the Thunder’s 10pt lead. That window didn’t even slam shut on account of OKC equally listless possessions. HOWEVER, these two teams have each displayed an inability to slow down and execute within structure. I’m tellin y’all it doesn’t have to be this way. Opening a 4th quarter playing at break neck speed is exactly what NY has feasted on. For two years, they’ve owned any challenger who attempts to push away in the final quarter. Last year it was Boston. This year it was Cleveland. And whoever emerges from the West will have a week to learn how to squeeze the air out of the ball and get good shots. Here’s to hoping this piece finds its way to Stan Van Gundy. And if either organization needs me to cut some tape, I’m free till Saturday. Then I’ll be watching game 7 from the casa.
📻 Over The Air
📡 JumboTron: Wednesday’s Must Watch
All times PST
Rays vs Orioles, 3:35pm TBS
Yankees vs Royals, 4:40pm Prime
Hurricanes vs Canadiens, 5:00pm TNT, the Canadiens are owned by the descendants of the Molson brewing family and Quebec could really use a W
☎️ The Phone Line
Best thing on the timeline today:
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Walkup Song
Walkup Song
Cody Johnson
For if you think the Knicks have a shot:
Spotify