NHL Playoff Thread

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While I thought Colorado would win, I am not shocked Vegas beat them as they have a lot of talent and are a deep team, but I never would have thought Vegas would sweep Colorado, wow. Whether it's Carolina (most likely), or Montreal, Vegas has a great chance to win the Cup and give Torts his 2nd title. Good for them.

Vegas is an expansion franchise that has done it the right way from day one pretty much, this would be their second Cup in their short existence, impressive.
 
In this series, sure, for his career, we'll see. Wemby is all of 22 years old. Yes, he has been inconsistent through two games against the Knicks, but he's a baby still in NBA terms. The old adage in the NBA is you have to lose first before you can win.

Shaq, one of the all-time greats, got swept in his first Finals appearance. Same as the Spurs, the Magic had homecourt and lost the first two games at home, before the Rockets won games 3 and 4 back in Houston for the sweep. Point is, this happens to young kids in the NBA who still need to grow and learn, the Finals are a different beast. We'll see what he can do in NY, I know MSG will be rocking like never before.

I wish the Rangers had their Leon Rose as I have said many times before. Steal signing for Brunson, steal trade for KAT, steal trade for Anunoby, steal trade for Hart, I thought overpay for Bridges with all the picks Rose gave up, but he's been huge during this run and is two wins away from making Rose look very smart, Rose also had the balls, and VERY RIGHTFULLY SO, to fire Thibs after last season, very few executives would have done that after an ECF trip (I said Thibs had to go).

The Knicks need to win two more games or none of this matters, but they are so close. If they stay laser focused and continue to play every game with a do or die 0-0 mindset, I think they have a strong chance to win this series. We'll see. I wish I was going to MSG for game 3, I was at many Ranger playoff games through the years, including the MSL winning goal game against Montreal in the ECF, which gave the Rangers a 3-1 series lead, but this will be next level never seen or heard before IMO. Should be an awesome environment, let's hope it doesn't get the Knicks too amped up and off their steady laser focused game.
 
Brown is really good at using the bench unlike thibs. They also have a deeper bench than in the past. Shamet was a huge steal.
 
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Agree 100%. The depth of the Knicks is insane. You have 9 guys that can put up at least 12-15 points in any given game. And that Brown understands this and gives his starters breaks is crucial. That team is the definition of Champion caliber.
 
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Don't forget the Knicks had those same players and depth last season, outside of Alvarado, and Thibs simply refused to play them. McBride, Shamet, and Robinson were all on the team under Thibs. The Knicks starters were all near the top of the league in minutes played last season, that's who Thibs is and has been his whole entire career, the guy always refuses to play the bench no matter where he has coached. It is the main reason I was adamant Thibs had to go after last season, and I was 100% correct (the other reason was his utter lack of creativity on O).

BTW, playing the bench more not only keeps the starters fresher and hopefully healthier, but it also gives the bench guys confidence and belief so when they are called on to step up in big spots, they are ready physically and mentally.

As I said though, this is all great and exciting but means very little if they don't finish the job with two more wins. Like all the players have been saying, the series is 0-0 tonight, need to be desperate. Tonight adds another potential challenge, not getting too amped up with the crowd going to be crazy nuts. Need to stay grounded and focused, and it won't be easy with all the energy. They must continue to stay the course focused and desperate.
 
They were bound to lose a game but getting completely jobbed by the officials on your home court is laughable.
 
What an epic win. I don't care who you are, there is no way any realistic person thought the Knicks had a shot in hell to come back from down 29 points. No doubt the Spurs played a huge role in allowing the Knicks to come back, but full credit to the Knicks, especially OG, Brunson, and Alvarado, for continuing to battle and refusing to accept the game was over.

BTW - another tip of the cap to Rose for getting OG from the Raptors for Barrett and Quickley. Barrett and Quickley are both solid to very solid players in Barrett's case, but OG is the exact type of player on BOTH ends of the court, winning teams need. That was a great trade by Rose, as was KAT, and Alvarado, and Hart, adding Brunson, and the Bridges trade will also be a big win if the Knicks win the championship. Amazing stuff from Rose. If only the Rangers had similar competent leadership.

Now they head to SA with a chance to win their first title since 1973, before most of us were even born. You have to think the Knicks will find a way to win one more after a total collapse by the young Spurs, combined with the emotional high the Knicks have to be on, but it's not over until it's over as we have seen very clearly. Teams with a 3-1 lead in the Finals are 37-1, only the Cavs with LeBron against the Warriors have come back from down 3-1.
 
Speaking of the Spurs, wow their inexperience is showing big time, with the coach also. They kept chucking up 3 after 3, ran no clock. Wemby disappeared and bricked two FT's. Fox with maybe the worst play ever, how does he not hold the ball there, get fouled, and it's pretty much game over.

That was some of the worst basketball mentally in Finals history, maybe the worst ever. I have heard people say all the Spurs had to do was the equivalent of taking a knee in football, run clock and move on, and I think that's pretty much correct. Hard to see how the Spurs mentally come back from that. Unreal all-time epic collapse with so many terrible mental mistakes it's difficult to keep track.
 
Greyvtrayn said:
No quit in NY....except for Step.
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Please bro. lol the way the game was going you also probably thought they’d lose lol anyway what a fucking comeback. OG and Alvarado saved them. Brown is so good at adjusting. Spurs being inexperienced helps as well
 
You're not wrong...at one point i thought the Knicks might lose by 60 but I didn't proclaim it.
 
What I said about ny teams in general choking in the big moments is 100% true. Last night win does not change that. lol
 
How many championships have we seen in the last 50 years? The giants and the Yankees are the exception and even these two teams haven’t won shit lately
 
I thought Fox would've pulled it back out too, but rewatching it he had some momentum going to the basket too so it's a tough call.
 
Being a NY sports fan is excruciatingly painful:

Rangers - one SC win since 1940, way back in 1994. One SCF's appearance since.
Knicks - no titles since 1973, 53 long years ago. Up until this season, 2 NBA Finals appearances since.
Mets - won the WS way back in 1986, have been mostly a mess since then. Two WS appearances since.
Giants - my one saving grace, 4 SB titles since 1986, including my last team to win a title in February of 2012. Even still, since 2011-2012, the Giants have been one of the worst teams in the entire NFL.

Add it up, since the mid 70's, 6 championships, 4 of which were from the Giants. Since 1994, two championships, both from the Giants.

It isn't easy being a NY sports fan, double so when you are not a Yankees fan. Even the Yankees haven't won since 2009, but at least they won 4 WS in 5 years from 1996 through 2000 (of course beating the Mets in 2000).

Add it all up, GO KNICKS GO!!!
 
As for Fox, I hear you, but he's got to be aware of the situation. If he slows down and gets fouled, he runs maybe 2 more seconds off the clock, bringing it down to 10 seconds remaining, and can put them up 3 by making his FT's, which would be difficult to come back from since I'm sure the Spurs would foul and not allow the Knicks to take a 3 to tie.

This may go together with the Spurs inexperience showing up and costing them greatly, but one of the biggest issues I see is no one seems to be running the show for them on the court. They have no leader who takes charge and says okay, stay calm, run some clock, don't just hoist up 3's over and over again, etc. They greatly lack situational awareness, and it has cost them a few times in 4 games. The Knicks are the exact opposite led by Brunson, they have great situational awareness, and almost always make the right decisions as a team late in games and in big spots. It's a huge difference, and Brown has way outcoached Johnson to this point as well.
 
You forgot to mention the Jets and the isles. lol the jets is a horrendous franchise. The isles won their cups in 80s and being awful since then.
 
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Pretty comical and ironic that a Knick title would be one year less time than the Rangers between championships.
 
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Stepupstepan said:
You forgot to mention the Jets and the isles. lol the jets is a horrendous franchise. The isles won their cups in 80s and being awful since then.
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For sure, I was just mentioning the teams I am a fan of and root for in the major sports. The Jets, Isles, and Nets all haven't won titles in a LONG time (or ever in the Nets case). Generally speaking, NY sports teams are not good.
 
Interesting historical overlap....the last time the US hosted the World Cup the Knicks were also in the NBA finals. Hopefully no former NFL all-time great player murders their ex-wife and a complete stranger and then go on a low-speed televised police chase this time around.
 
Wemby needs to cut the dirty crap and play basketball, every team has a guy or two at the end of the bench that would have no problem taking him out, poster boy or not. JB gets no respect from the officials despite his star play. On a more serious note the NHL has had great ratings for the Cup this year.
 
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