Thibodeau Must Make Adjustments After Knicks’ Game 2 Blunders

Some of the blame could be attributed to Towns for not driving more often. He is making the right reads on double teams, but sometimes he would have Tim Hardaway Jr. or Malik Beasley on him and not make the most of the mismatch. Tobias Harris and Jalen Duren have been the primary defenders on Towns this series, and it is understandable why the Knicks would prefer isolation against Harris

But the game plan needs to include more three-pointers— he has only shot five in two games.

Hart and Brunson’s issues on offense

It is not uncommon to see Josh Hart playing a heavy amount of minutes in these playoffs so far.

However, Hart is not making any impact on the game besides his rebounding and defense. He has become a liability on the offensive end, and the Pistons do not see him as a threat when he is on the court because he cannot shoot. This results in the fast and physical Pistons’ defenders almost always doubling Towns or Brunson in isolations.

Speaking of Jalen Brunson, it is hard to criticize him because sometimes he is the only one contributing offensively, but that is his main problem.

Brunson’s tunnel vision and foul-baiting (yes, Knicks fans can admit Brunson does foul-bait) are hurting the Knicks’ offense, and they lose valuable possessions. He does not pass enough, he dribbles out the 24-second shot clock too often, and when he does drive, he is more concerned with drawing a foul than scoring. Brunson is the least of the Knicks’ worries, but for an offense that looks messy under a coach who struggles to adjust, it does matter.

The Bench and moving forward to Game 3

There is little variety with this Knicks roster, but Thibs still has shooters on the bench.

Replace Josh Hart with Landry Shamet or Cameron Payne for longer stints in the game. Thibs barely played Shamet and Payne, and the offense became tired and predictable as the game moved on. Cameron Payne had a great Game 1 with 14 points off the bench, but he only saw four minutes in Game 2. It makes no sense, even though Payne is only a role player.

New York should thank Detroit for allowing them to come back in the fourth quarter of Game 2— the Pistons made some awful decisions and committed stupid fouls. Without those mistakes from Detroit, this game felt more like a blowout than a six-point loss.

Hopefully, this game was a wake-up call, but it is hard to have faith in this team, which has shown little consistency, mainly because of Tom Thibodeau.