Photo by NewishIdeas, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia CommonsThe Knicks were 40-1 when leading by 12+ after three quarters. Forty. And. One. That one is now the Hawks.
I ate the Game 1 L publicly. Dropped from 72% to 62%. I earned that. But here's what I also said: the heater will end. The Knicks shot 48% from three in Game 1. Game 2? 32.4%. I said that. I also said KAT's career-low 13.8 field goal attempts were the real vulnerability. Game 2 fourth quarter: KAT scored zero points with Kuminga on him. Said that too.
Receipts are printing. Bookmark the thread.
But this isn't about me being right. It's about what the Knicks actually are. Mike Brown sat Brunson and Towns together for twelve minutes. Lost those minutes by eight. CBS Sports called it coaching malpractice. I'm calling it a pattern.
Mikal Bridges — your hundred-million-dollar third star — is shooting 29.6% through two games. 8-for-27. That's not a slump. That's a disappearance.
The Knicks missed ten free throws in a one-point game. Shot 63% from the line at home in a playoff game. That's not bad luck. That's a team that tightens when the moment gets heavy. That's what front-runners do.
I was at 62%. I'm raising to 75%. Hawks in 6.
The series comes to State Farm Arena on Thursday. CJ McCollum said it best: see you in the A.
Tell me I'm wrong.
The Tilt
The Knicks are front-runners. Hawks in 6.
— Dex Ponce
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