Trap game: How the Knicks are trying to unplug the electric Tyrese Maxey
By putting two defenders in the All-Star's path, the Knicks aim to make him make a decision: Either try to navigate heavy traffic, or get rid of the ball.
Tyrese Maxey saw it coming. Less than four minutes into Game 2, he’d just rebounded a missed corner 3 by Josh Hart and turned upcourt. With his Philadelphia 76ers trailing by one — in both the game and the series — he knew he needed to make something happen.
And he knew the New York Knicks weren’t particularly keen on letting him do that. As he crossed half-court, Maxey was greeted by the placid countenance and exceedingly long arms of Mikal Bridges, his primary matchup for nearly all of the first two games of the Eastern Conference semifinals. They faced off as Maxey dribbled on the right wing, about 35 feet away from the basket, and called for a ball screen.
Andre Drummond ambled up to set it. That’s important, because while Andre Drummond is a great many things — a historically excellent rebounder, a person nicknamed “Big Penguin” for reasons even he doesn’t understand , someone who became a shockingly good corner 3-point shooter 14 years into his career , etc. — he is not Joel Embiid.
Embiid, even in his injury-ravaged form, remains one of the most lethally efficient scorers in the world — someone you’d have to worry about torching your defense if you left him alone. Drummond, corner triples and tip-toe tip-ins aside, is not. But Embiid wasn’t available in Game 2 , so, here comes Andre.
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