It was an absolute “no-show” of Knicks : victorious with the manner in Game 1, the players of New York completely forgot to play Game 2, and consequently took a big slap against Cavaliers much more concentrated, because already in the urgency to react, under penalty of back to the wall.
After the debacle, the reactions of New Yorkers were therefore unsurprisingly unanimous: the defeat is in the absolute not dramatic given that they had won the first round, but now settles on the horizon the obligation to react and put on a much better face Friday at Madison Square Garden for Game 3.
” It’s simple, we must respond better when we take blows » thus judged RJ Barrett, when Immanuel Quickley added that the Cleveland players simply imitated the Knicks’ method in the first game. ” They got into us from the kick-off. They made their presence felt, and we never adapted. We’ll have to be better than that in Game 3. »
Knicks buried even before halftime
In the game timeline, it is indeed very clear: the Knicks lost control of this Game 2 in the second quarter, during which they scored only 17 points against a stifling defense, while committing 9 ball losses and conceding 34 points (17 ball losses in total), including 15 points from Darius Garland alone, the primary cause of the suffering of the Knicks in defense during this match.
A terrible off-topic, which increased the gap to +20 at the break, and especially regrettable since Tom Thibodeau’s men gave the stick more to be beaten than really suffered the offensive game plan of the Cavaliers in the second quarter -time (26 points conceded on the losses of ball in first half, in particular!), whereas they were rather well in their match at the end of the first act.
” Yes, we took a lot, hard to say otherwise. It was complicated afterwards to recover. When they are in a ‘run’, we must stop them more quickly “launched RJ Barrett.
In short, the Knicks have certainly been engulfed by the intensity and activity of the Cavaliers, but they have also more simply, and this is the most worrying, cruelly lacking in control and confidence.
” We knew that the biggest challenge in this match would be the physical intensity, and our ability to respond to it. » recalled Tom Thibodeaubefore emphasizing that it is the attitude, not necessarily the method, which must change in Game 3. A similar observation to that drawn up by the Cavaliers, after Game 1…
” Nothing changes on the preparation of the match, in reality. It’s the reaction that counts, and I hope we can react like we did during the regular season. concludes Thibs. ” We will watch video, make some adjustments, but we will simply have to be better prepared for the next game.”
