Playoff Mailbag 2.0

Plus, a key injured Sixers may make his return in Game 3.

Good morning! I don’t know that I’m emotionally prepared for this series to continue, but here goes nothing…

Game Night

TONIGHT: Knicks at Sixers, 7:30 pm, TNT

Injury Report: It’s again all clear for the Knicks, but there is a significant development for Philly. De’Anthony Melton, who has missed almost all of the second half of the season, practiced yesterday and may try to give it a go in Game 3. Melton is a key two-way role player for the Sixers, and should make New York’s life more difficult on both ends if he can play.

Halftime: I’m back! Here’s the link.

What to watch for: A lot. Keep reading…

Playoff Mailbag 2.0

Buckle up for a 10-question mailbag! Today we go deep on a few key topics, including Jalen Brunson’s shot diet and OG Anunoby’s offense, but we start out with a question about New York’s defense on a particularly tough cover in Philly…

Ben J asks… Is there anything else you think they could be doing to slow down Maxey?

It’s a great question that I’ve gotten in different forms from different people, many of whom are wondering whether the Knicks should continue to use OG Anunoby as one of the primary defenders on Maxey. No doubt plays like this stand out as evidence to switch up that matchup:

This sure looks like a good old “ole” if I’ve ever seen one.

Except when I went back and watched all the film from Maxey’s made buckets, Anunoby wasn’t the only guy getting blown by. Quite the opposite, in fact.

Between games one and two, I counted 15 made field goals for Maxey off drives, either from a shot at (or very close to) the restricted area or from close floater range. Of those, Anunoby was the primary defender on three makes, one of which came when he got back-cut, and one additional made shot after OG switched off and a center switched onto Tyrese instead. Deuce McBride, who has been a popular option to get more time on Philly’s All-Star guard, has been scored on seven times, plus two more when he got switched off and a center got switched on. Notably, I didn’t see a single instance where either player’s defense directly led to a Maxey miss on a drive where he got a full head of steam.

Here’s the data I compiled in full, with the names in italics representing the times where a switch occurred, and the name of the player who switched off Maxey in parentheses:

Defenders for G1 field goals at rim: OG, Hart, OG, I-Hart (OG), Mitch (Deuce), Deuce, Deuce, Mitch (Deuce)

Defenders for G1 floater makes: Deuce

Defenders for G2 field goals at rim: OG (backcut), Deuce, Deuce

Defenders for G2 floater makes: Deuce, Deuce, DiVincenzo

The thing I was struck by was how many additional plays there were involving Deuce that resembled Maxey blowing by Anunoby on the play above:

The conclusion I reached is that New York is, to some extent, game planning for the help defender (either the guy defending the screener, the low man, or both) to make a play on Maxey at the rim.

That plan proved to be successful on two plays late in the first half of Game 1:

Maxey had two additional unsuccessful drives in Game 1 - one in transition and one in the halfcourt - with Mitchell Robinson as the defender who most directly impacted both plays. And then in the biggest defensive play of Game 2, I-Hart hung with Maxey stride for stride and came up with the biggest block of his career.

The problem comes when Embiid is in the game, and New York’s center (assuming Embiid doesn’t screen and they don’t switch the action) has to pay close attention to the big guy, who is enough of a threat from deep to keep them honest. When someone else is low, Maxey treats them like a hot knife to butter:

The reality is that Maxey has been so good in this series that even good defense hasn’t been able to stop him. He started Game 2 like Steph Curry, flying around screens and firing away from downtown.

That propensity from deep opens up his drive game even further, like on this play, when he got a bucket despite only four Philadelphia players being in the halfcourt:

This isn’t bad defense by Deuce; it’s just better offense from Maxey. James C asked yesterday about the benefits of having a quicker defender on Maxey, but the sad truth is that Tyrese is too fast for just about any defender in the league. So what’s the solution?