Latest news with #MichaelMalone
The Guardian
2 days ago
- Business
- The Guardian
The New York Knicks' season is over, but a divisive inquest has only just begun
Almost immediately after the Knicks' playoff run ended on Saturday night in Indianapolis, the fan discourse in New York began to closely resemble American politics: hyperbolic, binary and allergic to nuance. But the truth about this team – and Tom Thibodeau's coaching – lies somewhere in the messy middle. The Knicks are out. They were eliminated by the Indiana Pacers for the second straight, bowing out from the Eastern Conference finals in six games instead of last year's seven-game loss in the East semis. As the franchise's best season in a generation comes to a close, New York are trying to figure out how to feel. Knicks fandom is a hell of a place. Like the US political scene, it allows only two positions: praise or condemnation. Rational analysis rarely gains traction. Hyperbole prevails. It's two sides of the same rotten coin. This season wasn't a referendum on Thibodeau's genius or ineptitude. It was something more complicated: a year of real progress, missed chances and rising expectations. One faction scapegoats Thibodeau without fully understanding their critiques. Some want him fired and replaced by Queens native Michael Malone – who was just fired himself. Others float assistants like Chris Quinn, but can't articulate his philosophy beyond buzzwords. Often, these arguments mask a lack of understanding more than a coherent vision. Meanwhile, another camp defends Thibodeau's every move, refusing to question his substitution patterns, rigid rotations or reliance on hard zone. Terms like 'drop coverage' and 'schemes' have become lazy shorthand for tribalized opinions. But just like the disappearing middle ground in national discourse, the truth lies somewhere in between. This was the Knicks' first trip to the Eastern Conference finals in 25 years. That progress only happened because ownership finally stepped aside. Once James Dolan hired former agent Leon Rose and gave him room to operate, the team pivoted from star-chasing to smart-drafting, financially-disciplined and culture-building. Rose hired Thibodeau, his former client, to instill a ready-to-work mentality, then brought in Jalen Brunson, who emerged as a legitimate MVP candidate. Last summer Rose doubled down, cashing in draft capital and depth to reunite Brunson with Villanova teammate Mikal Bridges and adding Karl-Anthony Towns, OG Anunoby and Josh Hart. That core delivered 51 wins and propelled New York to fifth in offensive rating (117.3) and eighth in net rating (4.0). They gutted out a first-round win over Detroit, then stunned top-seeded Boston in six behind a lethal Brunson-Towns pick-and-roll and a defense that played the gaps and switched more aggressively than at any point in the regular season. But against Indiana, their momentum stalled. The Pacers' fast-paced 10-man rotation overwhelmed New York. They sent waves of defenders at Brunson, while Andrew Nembhard turned in the best defensive series of his career. After that epic collapse in the series opener, Thibodeau had already shortened the rotation to seven for Game 2. He brought in Mitchell Robinson and Deuce McBride to shore up the pick-and-roll defense, where Brunson and Towns are most vulnerable. In Game 3, Thibodeau improvised, going nine-deep. Towns scored 20 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter to erase a 20-point deficit. Delon Wright and Landry Shamet were crucial on the defensive end. But in Game 4, neither Wright nor Shamet played in the third quarter, when Indiana seized control. They returned in the fourth, but Thibodeau closed with his usual starters, a group that was minus-20 in the series and minus-41 across the playoffs. Despite being plus-8 in Game 3, McBride, Wright and Shamet never shared the floor together in Game 4. Thibodeau's most damaging choice may have been closing with Hart over McBride, who had barely guarded Tyrese Haliburton. Ironically, Thibodeau made the same decisions in Game 5, but the Knicks won and critics went quiet. Wright and Shamet again sat the third quarter. Robinson again didn't close. The hypocrisy of Thibs detractors borders on performative. The Knicks played from behind in nearly every playoff game except Game 5. Critics use this as justification to call for Thibodeau's dismissal. But 17 turnovers in Games 4 and 6 – not a product of coaching – were decisive. The team's 19.5 assists per game in the series weren't on Thibodeau either. He ran a wide array of actions – horn sets, pin-downs, DHO, high pick-and-roll – but Indiana smothered secondary options, forcing Brunson and Towns into iso-heavy, low-efficiency looks. Brunson recorded just five assists to Towns across the entire series. That lack of connection played right into Rick Carlisle's hands. His game plan –blitzing on switches, walling off Hart and Bridges in the lane – was clinical. Carlisle outcoached Thibodeau. But there's no shame in that. Carlisle is a champion and one of the sharpest minds in the game. Every player in the Knicks' main seven-man rotation had a fatal flaw: Bridges' handle, Anunoby's rebounding, Hart's shooting, Robinson's durability, McBride's playmaking. Thibodeau isn't a fraud or a genius. He gave fans what they asked for: deeper rotations, experimental lineups, extended minutes for the Towns-Robinson twin tower pairing. It still wasn't enough. The Pacers were simply better. Now it's on Rose to retool the roster. That likely starts with keeping Robinson as the starting center and reconsidering Hart's role. His lack of shooting limits five-out spacing and his defense, once a calling card, has regressed. He struggled consistenly on switches and blew key rotations. Brunson and Towns remain elite offensively, but both are liabilities in transition and in ball-screen coverage. The Knicks' regular-season defense was 2.8 points per 100 possessions better with Towns off the floor. In the playoffs, that gap narrowed –but problems remained. Thibodeau tried everything: starting Robinson, pre-switching with Anunoby, plugging in Hart. When Towns dropped, Indiana hit jumpers. When he switched, they beat him off the dribble. By Game 6, the starting unit had a minus-33 defensive rating. Poor communication plagued them all season. This wasn't a collapse. It was a ceiling. The Knicks are no longer a punchline. They're a real team with real stakes and real expectations. Every game in this series was winnable. They weren't embarrassed, but they were outplayed. Visibility brings volume, however. The higher the stakes, the louder the takes. Knicks fandom now operates like a two-party system. Its future may depend on whether fan – and the franchise – can embrace complexity instead of shouting past each other.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
David Adelman is the new head coach of the Denver Nuggets, and the players are the reason why
What's next for the Denver Nuggets after falling to Oklahoma City in second round? | The Kevin O'Connor Show Kevin O'Connor & Dane Moore react to the Denver Nuggets falling in seven games to the Oklahoma City Thunder in the second round of the 2025 NBA Playoffs. After a tumultuous season which saw head coach Michael Malone fired with only weeks to go in the regular season and a shallow roster beyond stars Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray -- what moves should Denver make to not repeat the same mistakes of 2025? Hear the full conversation on 'The Kevin O'Connor Show' and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you listen. 3:10 Now Playing Paused Ad Playing
BBC News
5 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Business Matters Nvidia earnings boom to 70% despite tariffs
Nvidia, a huge success in the tech world, reported its latest quarterly earnings. The chipmaker, vying with Apple for the position of the world's richest company, beat expectations despite export controls. Elon Musk, , the billionaire and co-founder and CEO of Tesla, has criticised one of the signature policies of President Donald Trump, marking a break from the US president who he helped to win re-election in 2024. And the meat of brown bears, a protected species in the EU, could soon be available to eat in Slovakia after the populist government approved plans for sale. Roger hears from a food tour guide who tested the meat before. Throughout the programme, we will be joined by two guests on opposite sides of the world: Michael Malone, a veteran Silicon Valley journalist and host of the Silicon Insider podcast in the US, and Zyma Islam, senior reporter for The Daily Star in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Associated Press
5 days ago
- Business
- Associated Press
New Nuggets coach David Adelman wants his team in tip-top condition and open to ideas
Updated [hour]:[minute] [AMPM] [timezone], [monthFull] [day], [year] DENVER (AP) — Jamal Murray was located in the back of the room and so he heard the message first-hand from new Denver Nuggets coach David Adelman . Same with Julian Strawther, who took a seat in the front row. For the players not in attendance at Adelman's introductory news conference Wednesday, a quick recap: Adelman wants everyone in even better condition and open to new ideas come training camp. Because the Western Conference won't be getting any easier, Adelman insisted. It's up to the Nuggets to adjust behind a roster that revolves around three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic. Adelman wants his players to have a big voice, too, just like they did after he took over following the firing of coach Michael Malone and general manager Calvin Booth with three games left in the regular season. 'New ideas are good ideas,' Adelman said. 'I have to give them something to come back to that excites them.' Adelman earned the promotion from interim to full-time head coach after a postseason run that saw the Nuggets get to a Game 7 against Oklahoma City in the second round before being knocked out of the playoffs. This with a thin bench and an injury-hampered starting five. Now, the work begins to put his own stamp on directing the Nuggets. He's gathered a wealth of knowledge through an array of NBA coaching mentors such as his father Rick Adelman, Sam Mitchell, Frank Vogel, the late Flip Saunders and, of course, Malone. 'Very prepared,' Adelman said of his level of readiness. 'When you're around those people and you see how they run their business and their process, it's kind of a cheat code.' Fitness, Adelman maintained, will be a key to a fast start — and health come playoff time. 'Teams that get off to great starts usually at the end of the year have the best chance of being healthy in these big games,' explained Adelman, who's working on rounding out his coaching staff. 'But, yeah, that will be the expectation to come back in much better shape.' One of the areas the Nuggets aim to address in the offseason is depth. The Nuggets ran out of steam in the Thunder series after beating the Los Angeles Clippers in seven games to advance out of the first round. 'Can they achieve that (championship goal) as currently constructed? I think the answer, as (Jokic) said after the playoffs, and it was obviously no,' Kroenke Sports & Entertainment vice chairman Josh Kroenke said. 'So we need to take a hard look at how we can raise our ceiling going forward, whether that's internally or externally. 'If you look at the teams still playing ... with a little bit of help, maybe a little bit of luck, maybe it could be us. But it's not. We're very conscious of that and how we need to go about improving.' Kroenke shocked the league last month when he fired Malone, the winningest coach in franchise history, and Booth after they helped bring home the franchise's first NBA title in 2023. It was Kroenke's way to rejuvenate the team's energy heading into the postseason. Next up for Kroenke, hiring a new GM. For now, Ben Tenzer is overseeing the role on an interim basis. The plan, Kroenke said, is to bring bring Adelman into the GM process at some point. 'The input will be relatively minimal,' Kroenke said, 'because what I'll be looking for is cohesion between those two.' Added Adelman of the GM: 'This business is about cohesion. It's all about just moving forward and winning. That's it. It's not about finding your best friend.' The Nuggets don't have a pick in the upcoming NBA draft. It may prove challenging to add depth without breaking up the core of Jokic, Murray, Aaron Gordon, Michael Porter Jr. and Christian Braun. That's where Denver's youth factors in and improvement from the likes of Strawther, Peyton Watson, Jalen Pickett and DaRon Holmes II, a first-round selection last year who tore an Achilles tendon in NBA Summer League. 'We're hungry to get better,' Strawther said. 'It's all fuel to the fire.' As for the style of play, Adelman will add some wrinkles but defense will always be an important principle. 'We have to get back to being an execution-based team,' Adelman said. 'If that takes away some of our pace numbers, or whatever the analytics want to say, I think that's OK if it wins you a game in May, as opposed to playing a game in December. 'The majority of the time, if you want to win big, you've got to play slow. You've got to be efficient. You've got to be clean. So that will be things we'll talk about throughout the summer, going to training camp.' ___ AP NBA:
USA Today
23-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Former Nuggets coach Michael Malone clarified he would have voted for Nikola Jokić as MVP
Former Nuggets coach Michael Malone clarified he would have voted for Nikola Jokić as MVP "Nikola [Jokic] won the first of his three MVPs and I did vote for him again this year if I had a vote. Want to make sure the people in Denver know that because right now, I'm getting a lot of heat back home." Former Nuggets coach Michael Malone 😅 — ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) May 23, 2025 Former Denver Nuggets coach Michael Malone used some of his ESPN airtime on Thursday night to clarify his 2025 NBA MVP sentiment about his former player, Nikola Jokić. During NBA playoff pregame coverage in Oklahoma City, Malone clarified, if he had a MVP vote, he would have voted for Jokić over eventual MVP winner Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder. "Nikola [Jokić] won the first of his three MVPs, and I did vote for him again this year if I had a vote," Malone shared his comments. "Want to make sure the people in Denver know that because right now, I'm getting a lot of heat back home." Malone seemed to get his words twisted a bit recently while speaking about Gilgeous-Alexander being the consensus MVP, but he's clearly covering his bases to make sure Denver fans now he's still riding with Jokić. Maybe this will clear it all up?
