Knicks vs Thunder Reaction: Knicks Fold In 4th Quarter Collapse!

[@dantebartholomew7491]

As an OKC fan I wanted to say GGs to you guys. This has definitely been one of the best games I’ve seen this season entertainment wise. I thought yall had us but it’s easy to tell y’all’s starters are playing too many minutes and were gassed by the end. Can’t wait for the matchup at MSG with yall! Much love.

[@mcncheese69]

I think ur experience playing together won u the game. I don't think players being tried they haven't figured out how get good shots in a half court when the defense tighten up

[@KnicksFanTV]

@@dantebartholomew7491 GG!

[@knickerbocker4575]

​@@mcncheese69 No, he's absolutely right. The players were gassed. This happens every season with Tom Thibodeau. We play better than them for three and a half quarters. Thibs has got to use the bench more and understand that KAT and Mikal have experience being the number one guy on other teams. They are clutch players. They need to get the ball more down the stretch.

[@Gilbert-hf7pl]

@@knickerbocker4575 Trying to develop your bench in a long 82 game season is very important and you may find a diamond in the ruff but under Thibs you only find out if bench guys can play when others get injured. Other than that is 7 play only and the 8th player may get 7 minutes. Does the Wizards , Charlotte, Utah and the worst teams in the league have a better bench? Our guys can't get 5-10 minutes vs them. Even if we up 20. Makes no sense

[@FloydPhillipsII]

Knicks have a coaching problem. Running players into the ground on the front end of a back to back is insane. #1 seed Cavs play 10 guys nightly and no player (including starters) runs more than 30 minutes per game...

[@kevinmcclainsr.2706]

The Knicks aren’t going anywhere. Coaching not good enough. It’s not the bench. It’s the coach.

[@ParrishHarris-ju7xo]

I definitely agree with you

[@regice5650]

I agree with dude thibs gotta work the bench in during the game. In the 4th he’s killing the starters. He can’t have them playing 12-14 straight minutes. In the 1st quarter that’s crazy. All starters playing 40 plus is crazy. Thibs must get it together

[@seedking40]

@@regice5650 yeah, OKC have SGA play the entire 1st quarter and exits JDub at around the 6 min mark of the 1st so he can give SGA a half quarter break into the 2nd quarter. They concentrate the bulk of SGA time into the 2nd half because they can come back from most deficits if they were trailing.

[@ryankwoods]

OKC fan here just want to clear up something the caller said. Everyone OKC played tonight is in their normal night-to-night rotation, including the rookie Ajay Mitchell who’s played in every game this season. The thunder can go 10 deep even with injuries to Caruso and Chet. An embarrassment of riches. Ggs to the knicks. Excited for the next matchup.

[@KnicksFanTV]

GG

[@Gilbert-hf7pl]

It's sad. As a die hard Knicks fan and with our best team in years. To see Thibs burn these guys out. It's unsustainable to play guys 40 plus minutes every game. No matter if we up by 30 vs Denver or down by 20 or on back to backs this is playing the starters 38 to 40 plus Minutes every game is ludicrous. Some say we don't have a bench. He did the same when we had Obi and Quickly. Hartenstein only started to get sufficient minutes when Robinson got injured and Divencio did not play much until quickly got traded. All serviceable on other teams. Hurporti , Kolek and others can't even get in during blowouts until 2 minutes or so is left. That happens even when the other teams have surrendered and emptied their bench. Brunson just back from injury and 42 minutes for him. It's not 1990. The big picture is to be healthy for the playoffs. At this rate it won't happen. Thibs is a 7 rotation 1990's guy. Thibs brings professionalism, respect and organization but player in game minutes management/adjustments is horrendous.

[@angeldelgado901]

So true my brother!!! This dude tibs is running them to ground and it's only January 😑😕🤦‍♂️

[@ParrishHarris-ju7xo]

I totally agree with everything you just stated dude and after N.Y. Thibs will NEVER be a head coach again.

[@Gilbert-hf7pl]

@@ParrishHarris-ju7xo Also look at the games during blowouts during the end of the game. and u will notice coach Brunson get off the bench whisper in Thibs head he needs to make substitutions. sometimes he will listens and you will immediately see a bench player like Kolek or others jump up but most times he does not. Coach Brunson be like you killing my son and others. lmao

[@KingLoneWolf44]

I agree. I am over Thibbs. We not going to go far if Thibbs keep coaching like this. His coaching style is dated. We should hire Ric Brunson and move on from Thibbs.

[@Gilbert-hf7pl]

@@KingLoneWolf44 I agree 100. Today vs Chicago the same story and guys are gassed. Hart has no legs but Thibs playing him 40 plus. smh

[@anthaman7561]

That was a great call and great back and forth. Very good points being made

[@KnicksFanTV]

Much appreciated fam!

[@Neldsr]

Our bench is the Achilles heel, only 5 points vs 44 from the OKC bench. It’s that simple

[@omegaepsilon7]

@@Neldsr Facts!!!!

[@706pudu]

Bench don't get enough playing time to be consistent. The starter always be sluggish in the 4th quarter. Thibodeau got to change his mind set

[@bigcitydreamz4444]

Glad someone said it also Thibbs doesn't make in game adjustment to stop runs.

[@CheeseburgerChester69]

@@Neldsr Yup that’s our coaches fault. Thibs refuses to play a bench. Last night was all on him.

[@Neldsr]

@ The bench is weak, if they would have stayed in we would’ve lost by 30.

[@STUYBOY.BK1972]

They stopped going to Kat and also drained too much time off the clock in their last possessions, just to take questionable shots. Brunson has to realize that the Big man needs to touch the ball instead of him dribbling the clock away in crunch time 🤦🏻‍♂️

[@anthonyriche552]

They could have went with KAT and Bridges in the fourth. Thibs couldn't see that Brunson didn't have it? He did the same with Randle- willing to live and die with "his guy" rather than adjusting. Most coaches would have kept feeding Bridges and KAT to get him going.

[@nydibs]

Yeah, SGA should have had at least 3 fouls in the 1st quarter. He couldn’t guard Mikal and was getting posted up easy. I don’t get why the Knicks went away from it

[@iamunstoppable2886]

I don’t know what Kat did but the refs do not show him any kind of respect! For whatever reason they will not give him any calls 🤷🏾‍♂️

[@706pudu]

It's just that he plays for the Knicks. They don't never get a fair call game

[@DankTanks]

He cries when he gets a call too lol

[@FreeBandz658]

@@iamunstoppable2886 tbf he got wacked a couple times but he was also too weak and slow to react.

[@vinnygee3393]

I totally agree, others get touch fouls, but KAT will get clubbed and held and rarely gets calls 😡

[@nydibs]

He gets way more calls now than he did in Minnesota

[@tonik9554]

ok Shamet and Payne got 10 minutes each and didn't play well. But these games happen. Coach has to believe in them and let them play , at least so that the main players don't fall down from fatigue in the last quarter. And tall players like Toppin and Hukpori don't get a chance to play at all . And they have to be prepared for these situations.

[@Fresh2494_]

One guy is telling you guys legitimate issues about thibs and the other guys are just laughing it off lol

[@joshsmooth9129]

Put them back in the beginning exactly so the players can rest mix it up

[@EternallyHeru]

Coach in a tough spot because he’s stubborn. Agree with the last caller wholeheartedly. You can’t develop if you don’t allow the younger players, the opportunity to be in those situations to know what to do and not to do. Why do they say the experience for a team going to the playoffs for the first time and loses it good? It’s the experience. Them sitting on the bench the whole entire time does not help them. In this one particular game, I understand why the starters played so much but this wasn’t an issue that started today. Storage should not be playing 40+ minutes every single night so early in the season. But us rambling about is not gonna change anything because we’ll stand by our knicks

[@paradiselost9009]

Starters were tired . This loss is on Thibs for playing them 40 minutes plus

[@edwinj.adoptante8323]

It's Tibs, not adjusting to his coaching. Through out the years Tibs is glued to 'a very2 short rotation ' that's why they're tired 4th quarter.

[@KBilliez]

GG to yall, it was a fun game and I know your guys will be out for blood in MSG when they meet again! I guess to chime into the convo of starters minutes, idk what it was to make the game end how it did, and you could also argue that they just let it slip away. But if you look at the two organizations and how they run their lineups, it’s almost opposite. Mark has been playing that rookie (Ajay Mitchell) all year, so he was at least a little prepared for the bright lights, and he’s grown in confidence as well, especially his finishing around the rim. Those things might not have developed that way if Mark didn’t play him early and often. Mark also is pretty rigid in his minutes for his starters. They all go in and come out of the game at the same time of every game. And we saw that discipline tonight even when down and NY had their starters out while SGA sat. Both teams have different philosophy and both are still having success. Also shout out to OKC Blue, they’re a great G League team that develops young players very well, it’s really been a huge boost to OKC’s role players

[@KnicksFanTV]

Good points. Thanks for tapping in!

[@elijahsowards263]

The Thunder were on the second night of a back to back, don't make excuses.

[@knickerbocker4575]

KATs issue with Thibs during the Timberwolves run was that he used to run players into the ground. KAT is saying nice things now but thats because he is more mature. I'm sure he still feels the same way because Thibs is still doing the same thing.

[@leostoute1176]

Im definitely upset about this game we had it

[@TheMORTsterTTV]

OKC doing so well with out the arguably 2nd best player healthy is kinda scary . That was a great game

[@johnnelson3665]

OKC also tires you out more than most teams because of their tenacity.

[@iamunstoppable2886]

Thibs wasn’t playing his bench in preseason 🤦🏾‍♂️🤣

[@reginaldgreene5156]

Facts 💯

[@Gilbert-hf7pl]

Exactly. No matter the talent level. Thibs is only playing 7 and 4-5 getting 38 to 40 plus minutes

[@ParrishHarris-ju7xo]

True indeed

[@petd3321]

KAT should be focal point of offense in crunch time. Doesn't mean no one else will get touches because he's a very willing passer. Brunson ISO's late in games are not as effective as PnR's with him. Or just go to KAT more who gets double teamed regularly leaving guys open.

[@anthonyriche552]

I agree they should run through KAT. At least with KAT if he's got the ball and someone's cutting, he'll hit them. Brunson has to work to beat his man then try and make the shot but that's Thibs for you. Even with Curry they'll run plays to get him the ball in the right spots so he doesn't have to work so hard to get a good shot off.

[@nydibs]

As a wolves fan, I would say be careful what you wish for bc KAT got the soft label for a reason. He’s not that guy in clutch games

[@Imsohighrightnow2]

Not being doom and gloom brigade, but I think we need to get bench help. Whether that's via buyouts or trade, thunders depth killed us

[@patrickh.1400]

@@Imsohighrightnow2 ...and I don't think it's been mentioned that OKC was on the 2nd night of a back-to-back.

[@nydibs]

And okc was without Chet and Caruso

[@Somerchosen]

They should've trapped SGA in 4th quarter and made someone else beat you and Hart shouldn't be the man receiving ball from Brunson on trap it should be bridges receiving pass when Brunson is trapped. It had to be someone capable and confidence in scoring from everywhere

[@nydibs]

Wiggins scored 15 points in the 4th quarter didn’t he?

[@TheAlevelfilmz]

Our starting 5 collectively outplayed their starting 5. There are some considerable coaching and bench concerns to address if we’re going to compete against the elite teams.

[@CanchuQueen]

@@TheAlevelfilmz i agree this starting 5 probably one of the best in the league. that being said, no championship teams only have 5man rotationa

[@TheAlevelfilmz]

The bench lost this game for the Knicks 44pts to 5pts…numbers don’t lie

[@nydibs]

The bench didn’t lose the game bc the bench didn’t even play. The starters have great stats bc they play a lot of minutes, can’t have it both ways

[@iec7587]

@@nydibs when they were in they sucked

[@brooklynfoster4862]

Defense didn’t lose it for the Knicks, they just got taken by an insanely good OKC team. Those guys are no chumps and the win differential proves it. The Knicks lost because of depth. They didn’t use it and OKC did use depth. Come 4Q the Knicks were gassed and OKC had energy and legs.

[@blacxice]

Great loss!!! A wake up call we were getting too comfortable this is a great reminder to turn up we still good no deuce no Mitch and we were smoking this team until the end

[@DLiMiT973]

What you saw in the 4th quarter by this team with not getting bridges involved KAT quiet in a 7 game series against a powerhouse team like the Celtics this team will get bounced

[@ParrishHarris-ju7xo]

CP The Franchise Works for MSG that's why HE NEVER has anything negative too say about Thibs - FACTS cuh lmao.

[@KnicksFanTV]

lollll you got me red handed fooo

[@tomsaunders8861]

Refs alot of calls against the knicks that didn't look like fouls and knicks didnt get calls on themin my opinion

[@joshsmooth9129]

Cam Payne and Landry just came off injury let the UN injured play rest your players

[@arcyhicks8335]

This shouldn't be a surprise to anyone who pays attention to the NBA in general. Thunder been doing this all season. With more than 10 minutes to go, no lead is safe against these guys.

[@dinbo7878]

Mikal/OG great start, where were they in the 4th?

[@cwight27]

Brunson went hero ball and ruined it .. missed every three

[@sgjones7212]

Starter minutes and no bench. Thunder a more complete team.

[@theovrionides7666]

No bench to starters to many minutes

[@reginaldgreene5156]

That was a great call. These guys are playing way too many minutes during the game. We can't win this way

[@davidbarham2295]

Guys the bench is an issue but they need to play the bench earlier to give the starters a rest even if its just one or two starters out with 2 bench players playing with the starters

[@liferealgood]

I hate to Monday Morning QB this one but I think the caller is right about minutes. The Washington game Mikal could’ve sat more if he really did play 46 minutes. Like buy minutes where you can to save this team from being worn down in the 4th. Not just any individual game but find minutes throughout the season.

[@Flamerunner451]

As a Thunder fan I gotta say the guy on the phone call was completely wrong about the guys we played off the bench this game. Mark has almost the opposite philosophy as Thibs where guys can earn minutes in practice and they’ll be rewarded in the games. The guy we played this game have been playing all season, like even though Ajay Mitchell is a 2nd round rookie he’s been giving solid minutes all season long. We weren’t really scraping the bottom of the barrel like he’s suggesting, Presti has just done an amazing job making sure we have depth

[@ryankwoods]

@@Flamerunner451 🛎️ 🛎️

[@lnu9068]

Knicks will win next Friday. They know what they need to do and hopefully our bench can produce

[@jimmyucla]

Mikal never missing a game streak will end under Thibs GUARANTEED!

[@FloydPhillipsII]

For sure...

[@jsofly718]

That lost is all on Thibs. Dude refuse to use his bench. All starters playing over 40+ minutes is unacceptable. He's going to run the team in the ground

[@agentsuperargo5023]

Brunson got away from looking for his teammates and went into failing hero mode

[@EDDIE-c7f8y]

Brunson wasn't the problem . Do you realize how many games Brunson himself single handedly won for us this year in the fourth quarter ? Why don't Knicks fans complain after Brunson single handedly wins games for us , they only complain when his shots don't fall . Brunson will remain the go to guy in the fourth quarter because he has the best chance at scoring over everybody else but sometimes the shots he makes 99.9% of the time don't fall . If there's a teammate who is in a better position to score than Brunson than Brunson will pass but there wasn't everybody was being smothered by OKC's defense so Brunson shoots and the majority of the time he scores but sometimes they don't fall . Don't dis the captain, the Knicks owe him everything .

[@xlkelitesgaming767]

don't get me started on all the bodega slippery cat missing layup and taking random one legged 3, we give this game away plain and simple also we didn't feed cat enough in the paint.

[@petd3321]

Starters play too many minutes. Ideally they shouldn't lead the league in minutes per game. Could impact them later in the season and playoffs.

[@cee8876]

Thibs stubbornly gives our starters too much minutes. They end up gassed in April.

[@food4thoughttopenureyez172]

Once og almost got hurt it all changed from there

[@STOICJAY747]

W caller

[@61Wolves]

OKC will sweep them this year or have they already 😅

[@djphifty5045]

Jalen the capt Brunson was still hurt trying to play thru his injury he wasn’t 100% I’ll say 60% at best we woulda won this game but thibbs gotta play the bench more man no Deuce either

[@ogstuart8693]

At 1 point a time in the fourth quarter. The next just talking, it wasn't really plain how deep in the manual. I'm hoping to let my band go around. When Bronson was filed on that last pass, he threw away the rest of the even call live. I mean, they call the technical foul on a hot which. I don't think it was a technical file. You know. Come on now. These rest control this game much as possible.

[@Brose_Canseco]

English has left the chat

[@BrandoBanderas]

Choking is in our DNA I don’t get it

[@iec7587]

They lost to the best team in the league on the home court and we only have t play them 1 more time until June 7th

[@Masgrandejefe]

Thibs has coached this way every where he went… never develops a bench lol this is who he is

[@BrandoBanderas]

Too much hero ball from Brunson… time to give it up brah… you’re hurting your team trying to please yourself

[@bigmandiesman5044]

Relax …. OKC is better, healthier, and deeper. Jalen is hurt but played, missing Duce and Mitch

[@BrandoBanderas]

Not one 3point attempt from Towns…..Crazy! With smaller defenders on him too smfh that’s some soft shit

[@patrickh.1400]

OKC fan here: It's J-Dub. He has the same height as Michael Jordan, but the deception enters with the fact that each of his arms are 3 inches longer than Jordan's. So, he has the jumps, quickness, and speed of a 6'6" guy, but the reach of a smaller big. He's way better than most people know, because as a team-first guy, he exerts full energy on defense. He gets his moments to shine on offense at the beginning of 4th quarters while Shai is resting on the bench for the Grand Finales.

[@nydibs]

I think JDub is the most important player for OKC tbh

[@sharkboy3561]

Kat shot 0 threes for what?

[@mcncheese69]

How about okc just made shots n there at home !! 😂😂😂😂 People complain about load management now there complaining about to many minute's.

[@lovellthagoat9936]

Fire Thibs Button 👇

[@bernardthompson777]

5starters 40min plus exhausted let the bench play consistent minutes