New York Knicks’s season is over, but a separatist investigation has just begun | New York Knicks

AImmediately after the end of Knicks’ playoff run at Indianapolis on Saturday night, the fan discourse in New York began to resemble American politics: Hyperbolic, double and nuance allergy. However, the real – and Tom Thibodeau’s coaching – lies in a scattered middle.

Knicks outside. He was eliminated by Indiana Pacers for the second flat campaign, and instead of the seven matches in Eastern Semis last year, they left the Eastern Conference Finals in six matches. When the best season of franchise in a generation ends, Knicks is trying to understand how to feel.

Knicks fandom is a place of hell. Like the US political scene, it allows only two positions: praise or condemnation. Rational analysis rarely gains traction. Exaggeration reigns. Two sides of the same rotten coin.

This season was not a referendum on Thibodeau’s genius or incompetence. It was more complex: a year of real progress, missed the chance and increased expectations.

A faction of sin goat, without fully understanding his criticism Thibodeau. Some want him to be expelled and replaced him with the newly fired Queens to replace it with local Michael Malone. Others float assistants like Chris Quinn, but cannot express their philosophy beyond terms. Often, these arguments mask the lack of understanding more than a consistent vision.

Meanwhile, another camp defends every movement of Thibodeau and refuses to question substitute patterns, solid rotations, or relying on the harsh region. Terms such as ısı The scope of quit ”and“ schemes ”became lazy stenography for tribal views.

But just like the middle ground that is lost in national discourse, it lies somewhere in the real.

This was Knicks’s first trip to the Eastern Conference Finals in 25 years. This progress was only because ownership was finally withdrawn. James Dolan gave a former agent Leon Rose to hire and to operate, and the team’s smart felt from the star chase returned to financially disciplined and cultural construction.

Rose hired his former client Thibodeau to instill a ready -made mentality, and then brought Jalen Brunson, who appeared as a legitimate MVP candidate. Last summer, Villanova earned money at the draft capital and depth to re-unite his teammate Mikal Bridges and Brunson and to add Karl-Anthony Towns, Og ​​Anunoby and Josh Hart.

This core won 51 and the fifth in the aggressive rating of New York (117.3) and the eighth (4.0) in net rating. They won the first round against Detroit, then the best seed Boston stunned six behind a fatal Brunson-Towns Pick-Ang Roll, and a defense that played gaps and changes more aggressively than any point of the normal season.

But he stopped acceleration against Indiana. Pacers drowned New York Rotation of 10 people for 10 people. Andrew Nembhard returned to the best defense series of his career. After this epic collapse in the serial opener, Thibodeau had already shortened the return to Seven for Game 2. Brunson and Mitchell Robinson and Deuce McBride brought Mitchell Robinson and Deuce McBride to support the Pick-Ang Roll defense, the most vulnerable of the towns.

Thibodeau improvisation in the game 3, progressing at nine depths. In the fourth quarter, Towns deleted 20 points of 24 points. Delon Wright and Landry Shamet were very important at the end of the defense. However, in the game 4, neither Wright nor Shamet played in the third quarter of Indiana’s control. They came back in the fourth place, but Thibodeau closed with its usual beginnings, a group of minus 20 in the series and minus 41 in playoffs. Although the game was Plus-8 in the game 3, McBride, Wright and Shamet Game 4 never shared together. Thibodeau’s most damaging choice may be closing with Hart over McBride, which barely protects Tyrese Haliburton.

Ironically, Thibodeau made the same decisions in the game 5, but Knicks won, and critics became silent. Wright and Shamet sat in the third quarter again. Robinson did not close again. Thibs’s hypocrisy is the boundaries on the execution.

Knicks played from behind in almost every Playoff game except Game 5. Critics use it as a reason to call Thibodeau’s dismissal. However, in the 4th and 6th games, 17 turnover – not the product of coaching – it was determinant. The team’s 19.5 assistant per game in the series was not in Thibodeau. He performed a wide variety of actions-like sets, Pin-Downs, DHO, High Pick-And Roll-Ancak Indiana, forced the secondary options, Brunson and his towns for forced the ISO-painful, low-fertile appearances.

Brunson recorded only five assists to towns throughout the series. This lack of connection was in the hands of Rick Carlisle. Game Plan – Mixing on switches, bridges from Hart and strip – clinic. Carlisle supported Thibodeau. But there’s no shame. Carlisle is a champion and one of the sharpest minds in the game.

Knicks had a deadly flaw of each player in the main seven -seven rotation: Bridges’ SAP, Anunoby’s rebound, Hart’s Shooting, Robinson’s durability, McBride’s play -making.

Thibodeau is not a fraud or not even. He gave fans what they wanted: deeper rotations, experimental series, Towns-Robinsonon Long minutes for Twin Tower match. It was still not enough. Pacers were better.

Now at Rose to retool the squad. This probably begins to keep Robinson as the initial center and rethink the role of Hart. The lack of attraction limits the five output range and the defense, once a call card, declined. He fought consistently on the switches and detonated the switch rotations.

Brunson and towns remain aggressively distinguished, but both are obligations at the transition and ball screen coverage. Knicks’ normal season defense was 2.8 points better per 100 goods. In the playoffs, this gap narrowed – but the problems remained. Thibodeau tried everything: starting Robinson, pre -switching with Anunoby, don’t wear Hart. When the towns fell, Indiana hit the Jumpers. When they were replaced, they beat him from the saliva. According to the game 6, there was a degree of defense in the initial unit. Poor communication disturbed them all season.

This was not a collapse. It was a ceiling.

Knicks is no longer a punch line. They are a real team with real bets and real expectations. Every game in this series could be won. They were ashamed, but they were over -played.

However, visibility brings volume. The higher the bets, the higher the more. Knicks Fandom now works like a two -party system. The future may depend on that the fan and the franchise can embrace and embrace complexity instead of passing each other and shouting.