Suns, with very different teams, get blown out in game six at home two years in a row. The new owner is smart enough to understand the common thread as, Monty, just as in his previous job, can only be effective for a very short period of time with his "God will lead us strategy." Just hoping Isiah Thomas is not in the mix for any role in the team although I think that is what is going to happen.
That Miami line is big.
My knicks are in trouble.
Good luck
My knicks are in trouble.
Good luck
Brunson doing his thing again.
Comes to play every game.
Comes to play every game.
Heat by 1 at the half
Congrats to the Heat
E.C.F. bound
E.C.F. bound
The New York Knicks have been eliminated from the NBA playoffs in the second round, falling to the Miami Heat in six games. Despite this setback, New York’s season can be considered a resounding success considering where many thought the franchise was headed entering the year. Here’s a look back at New York’s season and how the team shapes up heading into the summer.
All in all, the Knicks accomplished their basic goal this season to get the franchise back on the map. They likely don’t have their A-list superstar in the fold yet, but they have a handful of competent players who are building something together. That’s going to be attractive to any prospective free agent.
2022-23 season recap
The Knicks had some struggles out of the game, but Jalen Brunson and Julius Randle showed they were capable of carrying this team. New York was able to lean on a strong defense for much of the season, and a handful of young players stepped into bigger roles over the course of the year. Winning a playoff series for the first time in a decade is a great start for this core, but the Knicks do have some room to adjust things around the fringes.2023 offseason priorities
Brunson, Randle and R.J. Barrett are locked into the team for a while. New York has filler salaries in the trade market in Evan Fournier, Derrick Rose and Mitchell Robinson. Robinson’s ability as a rim protector is second to none, but the Knicks may want to try to get a better offensive big man. The young guys Immanuel Quickley, Obi Toppin and Quentin Grimes all showed promise, and New York has a handful of strong draft assets to make additions through that avenue too.All in all, the Knicks accomplished their basic goal this season to get the franchise back on the map. They likely don’t have their A-list superstar in the fold yet, but they have a handful of competent players who are building something together. That’s going to be attractive to any prospective free agent.
Dynamic duo of Butler and Adebayo move Heat 'step closer' to title shot.
MIAMI -- Four weeks ago, the Miami Heat found themselves trailing the Chicago Bulls in the final Eastern Conference play-in game, just minutes away from not having a chance to play in the postseason at all.Now, on the backs of star players Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo, the Heat are headed to the second straight conference finals. Butler and Adebayo combined for 47 points on Friday night as the eighth-seeded Heat took down the New York Knicks, 96-92, to win their conference semifinals series 4-2.
We're one step closer to our goal," Butler said sitting at the podium following the game. "We already knew what we were capable of from the jump, I'm talking about the beginning of the season. We got eight more to get. I always say we're always going to be in this thing together. So proud of all of my guys for playing as hard as we did today and like I said, we got eight more."
The Heat became just the second No. 8 seed to reach a conference finals following the 1998-99 Knicks who went on to represent the East in the NBA Finals.
Butler finished with 24 points and helped put the game away with a pair of free throws with 14.4 remaining. Adebayo had 23 points and nine rebounds and continued to respond after he called himself out for what he felt was a poor performance in Game 2, a Knicks' win.
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said it felt like Adebayo had 17 rebounds on the night with the way he played and said it was "as hard as you could play." Butler said that's just an everyday thing with Adebayo.
"But he grabbed every single big rebound," Butler added. "He had some huge buckets down the stretch. Like I've said, all year long he's, he's been the anchor for us on the defensive side of the ball. But my goodness, when he's attacking you and making shots and getting to the free-throw line on the offensive side of it, he looks unguardable."
After averaging 35.5 points in his first six playoff games, Butler cooled down some after having to miss Game 2 against the Knicks with a right ankle sprain. In the last four games, Butler's average dropped to 24.5 points, and the last two games were the only games he was held under 25 points in the entire playoffs.
Much of the Knicks' game plan became focused on sending multiple defenders at Butler, but Spoelstra said Butler was making the right decisions despite possibly still being limited by the ankle.
"I'm not making any excuses for him -- he'd scream at me and yell at me if I did that -- but it's clear he wasn't physically the way he was in the Milwaukee series," Spoelstra said. "But he still commands so much respect and attention that we just played out double teams basically in the second half.
Butler credited his teammates with being in the right spots whenever a double team was sent his way.
"If you're going to double anybody on our team, the ball's going to move," Butler said. "We got guys that can shoot the ball incredibly well, attack and finish at the rim incredibly well. So I'm glad that that portion of it is over. We got to look forward to whoever that we have next, and if that's the game plan on whoever, we going to swing that ball down again."
The Heat await the winner of Sunday's Game 7 between the Philadelphia 76ers and the Boston Celtics.
But part of Friday night's victory was recognizing that they may not have been here at all if it wasn't for a comeback against the Bulls four weeks ago.
At 44-38, Miami entered the play-in tournament as the No. 7 seed but dropped the opening game to the Atlanta Hawks, who became the seventh seed and went on to face the Celtics.
It was after that game that Spoelstra knew his team was going to bounce back strong.
"I knew how badly as soon as I walked into the film session the next day, I knew how badly our team wanted to keep this thing going," Spoelstra said. "And that's a spirit that you always hope you can cultivate in your team and it doesn't always happen and that's why you're just grateful for this opportunity to represent the Eastern Conference in Eastern Conference finals."
He added the adversity of the situation brought the team closer together, and it allowed Miami to hit its stride at the right time.
"I feel like we took the first one for granted," Adebayo said. "I feel like we thought we were going to come in and just win. And knowing that other people are desperate enough to try and get to the playoffs, just like us, it put us in that position. The next game, we had to be better and we had to figure out how we were going to get to the playoffs."
Once they got into the playoffs, they figured everything else out from there.
"I remember just walking away from that meeting and telling my staff with the look in their eyes and everything about that meeting, we got a chance," Spoelstra said. "I know a lot that I don't know, but I know when a team wants to keep a season going. And they wanted to keep the season going."
Lakers eliminate Warriors in 6 games, advance to West finals.
LOS ANGELES -- The Lakers started the season eight games under .500. Now they are four wins away from the NBA Finals.Los Angeles took down the defending champion Golden State Warriors 122-101 in Game 6 on Friday to advance to the Western Conference finals. The No. 7-seeded Lakers will go on the road to play the West's top seed, the Denver Nuggets, in Game 1 on Tuesday.
The Lakers started the season 2-10 under first-year coach Darvin Ham and completely overhauled the roster midway through the year thanks to a flurry of trades by vice president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka. They became just the fourth team in NBA history to be that many games below .500 and reach the conference finals since conferences were instated in the 1970-71 season, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
"I felt like if we ever had an opportunity to upgrade our roster and put some more balance around myself and [Anthony Davis], I felt like we could make a run," LeBron James said, looking back at Los Angeles' rocky start.
Their run continued Friday with a vintage performance from James.
James had 30 points on 10-for-14 shooting, 9 rebounds and 9 assists as he snapped a personal streak of 18 straight playoff games scoring under 30 points.
With Kareem Abdul-Jabbar -- the man James passed as the league's all-time leading scorer in February -- sitting in the second row at Crypto.com Arena, James joined Abdul-Jabbar as the only other player age 38 or older to put up at least 30 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists in a playoff game.
"I just wanted to come in and make some plays and be efficient and defend at a high level and help [Davis] rebound," James said. "Help our team make winning plays. And I was able to make a few of them."
As the Lakers have done all postseason, Friday night was a strong performance coming on the heels of a disappointing loss.
The Lakers jumped out to a 27-10 lead with Ham's starting lineup shift -- Dennis Schroder replacing Jarred Vanderbilt -- sparking the offensive jolt. Davis, who left Game 5 early after taking an inadvertent shot to the side of the head, was locked in from the start, with nine of his 17 points and 10 of his 20 rebounds coming in the opening frame.
But the Warriors, behind reigning Finals MVP Stephen Curry, cut it to five by the start of the second quarter. Curry scored 12 of his game-high 32 points in the opening frame, while his team struggled to find its rhythm against the Lakers' defense (3-for-14 from 3).
The Lakers doubled the lead to 10 by halftime, 56-46, with Austin Reaves' half-court heave falling through the net to beat the second-quarter buzzer. Reaves would finish with 23 points, 6 assists and 5 rebounds -- one of five Lakers in double figures.
"It felt good," Reaves said of his 54-foot make to end the half. "You don't make many of those, but it did feel good when I shot it."
Los Angeles kept up the pressure to start the third and quickly pushed its cushion to 19 with 7:35 remaining in the quarter -- the Lakers' largest lead yet.
Schroder picked up his second technical foul and was ejected after a confrontation with Draymond Green, opening the door for more playing time for Game 4 hero Lonnie Walker IV, who scored 8 of his 13 points in the third.
Los Angeles took a 14-point lead into the fourth quarter, and the Warriors cut it to 11 before the Lakers responded with an 11-0 run to double their edge. Ham emptied his bench in the final minutes as the Lakers crowd got to celebrate the 42nd conference finals berth in team history.
The Lakers are only the second No. 7 seed to reach the conference finals since seeding began in 1984, joining the 1987 Seattle SuperSonics.
"A challenging year to say the least, but at the end of the day, we kept powering through, our vibes stayed positive, once we righted the ship and switched out some pieces, we came together, and I'm just happy and thankful that I get to sit in this seat and enjoy the ride," Ham said.
The Lakers are 7-0 at home this postseason, counting the play-in tournament. They snapped the Warriors' streak of 28 straight playoff series with at least one road win.
It will be James' 12th conference finals appearance. His teams are 10-1 so far, his only loss coming with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2009, when they lost to the Orlando Magic in six games.
The win secured James his 41st postseason series win of his 20-year career, breaking a tie with Derek Fisher for the most all time.
Los Angeles' leaders sound like they aren't done yet either. Asked if he felt like the Lakers were now playing with house money, making it this far after such a difficult beginning, James balked at the idea.
"We're trying to win every hand," James said.
Davis, sitting next to James as he has all postseason, doubled down.
"That's y'all expectation," Davis said. "Our expectations inside [the team] are way higher than showing up to the Western Conference finals."
Good call
