thelesterlee
The Knicks lost 106-112 in overtime to the Philadelphia 76ers. What do you want me to say here? New York was up 6 points with 28.2 seconds left. They lost by 6. I’m disgusted. I barely slept last night.
But let’s talk about what happened Tuesday night.
1. Tyrese Maxey wants to keep playing basketball
Let’s quickly look at how Tyrese Maxey’s performance in a must-win elimination game compares to the Sixers two previous point guards:
Ben Simmons 2021 2nd round Game 7 against the Atlanta Hawks:
- 5 points
James Harden 2023 2nd round Game 7 against the Boston Celtics:
- 9 points
Tyrese Maxey 1st round Game 5 against the New York Knicks:
- 46 points.
I’m pissed the Raptors and Hawks and Celtics and Heat spent all those years beating up on those Sixers teams and the Knicks have to deal with THIS version of Tyrese Maxey—whose brain can perfectly calculate the exact angle the ball needs to hit the backboard when it leaves his fingertips for a layup.
Maxey can leap into the air, solely focused on finishing the layup—sacrificing his body knowing it will inevitably be bouncing off Isaiah Hartenstein or Mitchell Robinson attempting (and almost always failing) to block his layups—landing flat, prone on the hardwood only to jump back onto his feet, yelling where his teammates should be on defense as if he didn’t just get powerbombed into the front row.
I would’ve loved to play against Ben Simmons. That man would NEVER consider taking that logo 3 to tie the game. NEVER.
2. Jalen Brunson tunnel vision
I love Jalen Brunson best basketball player I’ve ever seen in a Knicks jersey. No offense to Ron Baker, of course. But the ending of this Knicks Sixers Game 5 was 1000% in his hands, and Brunson made some strange decisions.
Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart are the only Knicks who took a shot in overtime. Maybe the team was exhausted. OG Anunoby, Josh Hart, Jalen Brunson—having played 50 minutes of intense playoff basketball—may not have had enough energy to run any plays. Because every time down the court, Brunson dribbled through the floor into Penn Station, leading to one of the WORST decisions of the game.
With 28 seconds left in OT and the Knicks down only 2 points, Jalen Brunson thought it would be a good idea to chuck up a contested 3, but upon realizing his shot attempt wasn’t just contested and moreso soon-to-be-blocked into Ben Stiller’s face, he throws a terrible last-second pass to Isaiah Hartenstein who rushed towards the basket because he knew he had to catch the shot we all know Brunson was going to miss.
Jalen Brunson costly turnover 💔💔pic.twitter.com/x2eAix4Rfi
— SM 🫡 (@SMHighlights1) May 1, 2024
I still love Brunson. He had 40 points and 3 steals. However, when Jalen loses faith in his teammates, convincing himself the best shot the Knicks can take is HIS shot, he bails out opposing defenses and forces 4 of his teammates to stand around with their hands in their pockets, getting annoyed like their older brother keeps saying “you can play Crash Bandicoot after I die” and then when he dies in Crash Bandicoot, he doesn’t let them play.
Let them play Crash Bandicoot, Jalen.
3. Knicks in 6
Okay, the Knicks lost Game 5. Fuck it. We move. I still firmly believe the Knicks are better at the 3 things you need to be better at in order to win a playoff series: 1. Decision-making, 2. Effort, 3. Execution.
Joel Embiid had 9 turnovers in Game 5. I’ve seen enough Tobias Harris and Kelly Oubre minutes. The Knicks are astronomically better at decision-making than the Sixers who consistently throw passes out of bounds at the slimmest sense of pressure.
The Knicks won 50 games this season almost exclusively due to their nightly effort.
The only advantage the 76ers might have is Nick Nurse. The final play of regulation shows that. Thibs was screaming at Miles McBride to foul Tyrese Maxey before he hit the game-tying 3 but Nurse set the play up perfectly to make it almost impossible for that to happen. Nurse won the Game 5 chess match.
Fuck. It. Knicks in 6.
What are your thoughts on Knicks Sixers Game 5? Leave a comment below. Respond on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram. Or shoot me an email at Deadseriousmailbag@gmail.com. Let’s chat, bay-beeeee. Let me know if you think Tyrese Maxey is HIM.
