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The Good, The Bad and The Ugly: Western and Eastern Conference Game 1’s

From OKC’s defense strangling the life out of Minnesota to SGA foul baiting to, uh, whatever happened at the end of that Knicks game…

eastern conference finals

This was supposed to be an article praising the New York Knicks on their Game 1 victory over the Indiana Pacers but then I remember good things do not happen to me. As a child I was was given the curse of being born. I didn’t ask for this.

So to avoid depression-typing 1,000 words about how much I hate the Pacers, let’s expand this thing and talk about both the Western and Eastern Conference Finals Game 1’s. Let’s look at the good, the bad and of course, the ugly.

Let’s start with the good.

The Good

Julius Randle Redemption Arc

eastern conference finals

In 2021, Julius Randle shot 28-for-97 (28%) in the first round of the Knicks loss to Trae Young and the Atlanta Hawks.

In Game 3 of that series, he shot 2-for-15 and 0-for-8 from 3. In the elimination game, Randle had 8 turnovers.

In 2023, the Knicks beat the Cavs in the first round before losing to the Miami Heat in round 2. Randle shot 55-for-147 (37%). Good for him. He improved. Kinda.

In that Game 5 elimination game against Miami, Randle shot 3-for-14 and 1-for-7 from 3.

Prior to landing in Minnesota, when the playoffs started, Julius Randle turned into an Orange Julius mall kiosk.

My man just dropped 28 points on 9-for-13 shooting.

Throughout the postseason, Randle has been the ideal no. 2 scoring option, able to score from anywhere on the court and make plays while Edwards chills next to his defender to catch his breath.

Aaron Nesmith god mode

eastern confernce finals

People will not stop telling me the Knicks suffered the biggest playoff collapse ever.

But I refuse to call what happened at the end of that 4th quarter anything close to a “collapse“.

Aaron Nesmith TOOK that game.

This wasn’t the Knicks choking or being frightened on the big stage.

Aaron Nesmith hit SIX STRAIGHT 3s.

Go back and watch the end of that 4th quarter. It’s not as if the Knicks defense crumbled.


All of those shots were contested. We just witnessed god-level shot-making.

Aaron Nesmith deserves his flowers.

The Knicks didn’t fumble the game away, Nesmith went Avatar mode—levitating above the court and air-bending the ball into the hoop.

There was nothing the Knicks could’ve done to stop or even predict he was capable of this.

Nesmith went 1-for-7 from 3 in Indiana’s close-out game against the Cavs.

A spirit took over this man’s body at the end of Game 1.

Good for him.

Knicks in 5.

The Thunder Defense

eastern conference finals

We all witnessed the Oklahoma City Thunder defense lock the Denver Nuggets in a cage in their Game 7 but they came right back with 13 steals in Game 1 against Minnesota—holding them to 88 points on 34% shooting.

A lot of Minnesota’s misses came off open shots. They had an odd night. But SGA, Jalen Williams and Lu Dort had them boys in hell.

I still think OKC’s halfcourt offense can get real Houston Rockets-esque—easily crippled by any sort of defensive resistance with the final shot always taken by the least talented player on the floor—BUT—none of that matters if they keep hitting ball handlers like Khalil Mack knocking a fumble out of a QBs arms, leading to a fumble recovery touchdown.

Karl-Anthony Towns Grown Man Ball

2025 nba playoffs

Karl-Anthony Towns is having a strange postseason.

He’s getting his 20 points a game but it feels like he’s hardly making an impact. Towns has spent most games in foul trouble—committing some of the most atrocious penalties and lying as he pleads his innocence to the refs, not realizing the refs saw the kitchen chair set up in front of the fridge and below the now, suddenly, empty jar of cookies.

Jalen Duren kept Towns under 10 rebounds in 3 of their 6 games with the Pistons—eliminating a key component of Towns’s games.

I know it’s funny to mock rebounds as an important stat but for a guy like Towns—who isn’t used to seeing a ton of defensive stops when he’s on the court—grabbing defensive rebounds allows Karl to feel like he was apart of the defensive stand, confidence he’ll later excert on the other end hitting catch-and-shoot 3’s and wrestling the opposing center to the paint as he FEE-FI-FO-FOM’s— stomping his big ass to the hoop for hell or highwater.

Against Boston, the Celtics didn’t even grant Karl-Anthony the consent to participate most possessions. He shot 3-for-19 from the three-point line, Boston jumped him.

Karl-Anthony dogwalked Indiana.

Here’s what KAT did to the widdy-biddy Pacers:

  • 35 points
  • 11-for-17 shooting
  • 4-for-8 from 3
  • 9-for-11 from the free throw line
  • 12 rebounds
  • 1 steal
  • 1 block

Again, shout out to Aaron Nesmith. You are an Indiana legend for life. A generation of Aarons will sprout throughout Indianapolis in the next 9-15 months.

But I don’t know who is slowing down Karl-Anthony Towns in this series.

The Bad

OG Anunoby No-Show

eastern conference finals

OG Anunoby’s offense already looks like a varsity football player ruining gym class but when his shot isn’t going in and he has to put the ball on the floor, he looks like he’s never dribbled a basketball before—shocked by how bouncy it is.

OG blew an easy layup on a fastbreak (the pass kinda sucked but still, it’s the Eastern Conference Finals, lock the fuck in) and smoked a free throw that would’ve ended the game—Aaron Nesmith willing.

Anunoby was still a force on defense with 3 steals and 3 blocks—but he looked like a kid camper surrounded by teenager counselors at the end of the summer camp basketball game.

Giving Up on Rudy Gobert

eastern conference finals

Julius Randle checked in for Rudy Gobert at the beginning of the 4th and Gobert never saw the court again.

Chet Holmgren had two straight dunks and a tip-in to start the 4th quarter. He scored 9 points.

I understand Rudy Gobert sometimes makes an offense play 4-on-5—especially Minnesota’s offense where Anthony Edwards takes several possessions in the corner, with his hands on his knees, catching his breath so he can battle on the defensive end—which by the way, is the most out of character move for a star player in the modern NBA.

Caring more about defense?? Ew.

But Julius Randle and Naz Reid cannot protect the rim against Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein.

It’s only Game 1 and I trust Minnesota’s ability to bounce back but Chris Finch has to trust Gobert’s defensive prowess to outweigh his offensive impudence.

Jalen Brunson foul trouble

jalen brunson ankle

Jalen Brunson and Tom Thibodeau treat 3rd quarters like meaningless practice scrimmages, where fouls don’t matter and timeouts don’t exist.

For the second time in 3 games, Jalen Brunson spent the 3rd quarter hacking and slapping and punching and kicking.

Brunson’s decision-making is what makes the Knicks special. He is the steady hand keeping the ship afloat. That steady hand needs to be on the court and need holding a towel on the bench because the moment he gets 3 fouls in the 3rd quarter, a voice in the back of his head tells him to hack the shit out of the next player you can.

Thankfully, Brunson seems like a hyper-self-critial sociopath and I don’t expect he’ll commit another foul for the rest of his life.

Naz Reid disappearing act

Honestly, you can give up on Rudy Gobert in the 4th quarter, IF, and only if, Naz Reid is good.

Naz Reid was 1-for-11 and 0-for-7 from 3. Putrid. You shoot like that at the local YMCA and you’re never getting picked on a team again.

You have to change gyms.

Naz Reid sucked.

The Ugly

Donte DiVincenzo’s 3-point shooting

It wasn’t just Naz Reid. Donte DiVincenzo also sucked.

Donte went 3-for-14 from the field and 3-for-12 from 3.

The Timberwolves cannot make the NBA Finals when Donte clunks every wide-open 3.

Have I mentioned Donte DiVincenzo sucked?

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander discourse

If you haven’t heard yet, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander goes to the free throw line, often.

SGA was 11-for-14 from the free throw line.

I’m not about to stand on my soapbox and explain how I understand the game more than you people and how stupid you are for not being able to wrap your teeny tiny minds around the nuances and complexities of the game of basketball.

Shai gets some questionable whistles, especially in a postseason that we expect to allow for more contact.

But I refuse to watch basketball, searching and looking for a referee mistake. Every football sunday, those news/clips aggregators know they get the most engagement asking “was this a penalty?!?!” and it feels like the absolute lamest way to consume sports.

I’m human. I get pissed seeing 9-foot 600-LB Joel Embiid diving to the floor to get a whistle on an elbow jumper. I understand hating when a guy is so dependent on the refs that it no longer looks like they’re playing basketball.

I just don’t have the energy to care about the guy constantly driving to the rim, getting foul calls when guys foul him when he drives to the rim. If anything, we’re complaining about the refs doing their job too much and I don’t even know if I’ll get this article out in time before the Game 2’s start. I am the last person who should be confidently telling anyone to do their job.

Reggie Miller memes

eastern conference finals

I meant every word I said about Aaron Nesmith. Truly, hat tip to him. Unbelievable night.

However…

Fuck this.

In a world where everything that happens in real time is the most or best or worst thing ever, for some fucking reason, we refuse to let go of this Reggie Miller choking shit.

I’m not mad, you are.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Written by thelesterlee

Creator of Deadseriousness. Diehard Knicks, Yankees and Giants fan who wants to create a sports and pop culture space that isn't the same copy and pasted AI content you see everywhere else.

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