Apr 24, 2026 · 46 min
Maller blames Knicks as playoff collapses pile up
Hour 2 - Knicks and Bricks
The hour turns three lopsided playoff narratives into a debate over late-game execution, coaching accountability, and competitive effort.
- 1Maller assigns the Knicks’ narrow loss to Atlanta across Jalen Brunson, Mike Brown, Karl-Anthony Towns, and Mikal Bridges.
- 2James Harden’s fourth-quarter struggles and turnovers become the focal point of Cleveland’s collapse against Toronto.
- 3Denver’s poor shooting and lack of competitiveness against Minnesota prompt a broader indictment of the Nuggets’ playoff performance.
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The Knicks blame game peaks when Maller connects Mikal Bridges’ disastrous plus-minus to the question of whether New York needs a coaching change.
The brief
Maller opens by framing Atlanta’s one-point win over New York as a shared Knicks failure, with late-game execution, coaching, and disappearing stars all under scrutiny.
Jalen Brunson’s closing decisions, Mike Brown’s coaching, Karl-Anthony Towns’ quiet fourth quarter, and Mikal Bridges’ disastrous plus-minus give the Knicks debate several targets.
Cleveland’s loss to Toronto shifts the focus to James Harden, whose fourth-quarter struggles and turnovers become central to the Cavaliers’ collapse.
Minnesota’s dominant win over Denver produces the hour’s harshest verdict: poor shooting, weak competitiveness, and an ineffective Jamal Murray leave the Nuggets exposed.
The conversation widens to a possible A.J. Brown trade, the Newport meet-and-greet, Livvy Dunne and Paul Skenes, then ends with trivia and a Knicks coaching debate.
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