How the Knicks held Tyrese Maxey down in the East Semifinals
The defensive scheme, possession by possession, and what it did to Maxey's shot profile across the series.
How the Knicks are smothering Tyrese Maxey. Across 4 games in the Conference Semifinals, Maxey is averaging 18.3 points on 15.8% from three. He averaged 28.3 PPG on 36.7% from deep in the regular season. New York has cut his three-point volume nearly in half (8.6 attempts per game in the regular season, just 4.8 now), forced 3.5 turnovers per game (up from 2.4), and built a point-of-attack rotation around Miles McBride and Mikal Bridges.
Reg Season → Series · 28.3 → 18.3 PPG · 3PT 36.7% → 15.8% · 3PA 8.6 → 4.8 · +/− +1.6 → -18.5
By the Numbers
Maxey's personal box score has collapsed in nearly every category that matters. Volume is down, the three-point shot has been taken away, turnovers are up. The plus-minus shows what that has done to the scoreboard.
| Stat | Reg Season (70g) | vs NYK (4g) | Δ |
|---|---|---|---|
| PTS / G | 28.3 | 18.3 | -10.0 |
| AST / G | 6.6 | 4.8 | -1.8 |
| TOV / G | 2.4 | 3.5 | +1.1 |
| FG% | 46.2% | 43.3% | -2.9% |
| 3PT% | 36.7% | 15.8% | -20.9% |
| FGA / G | 21.4 | 15.0 | -6.4 |
| 3PA / G | 8.6 | 4.8 | -3.8 |
| FTA / G | 5.9 | 5.5 | -0.4 |
| +/− / G | 1.6 | -18.5 | -20.1 |
Δ colors are from the Knicks' perspective. Green means the change helps NYK, red means it hurts them.
Who Guarded Him
Direct matchup minutes from box_scores_matchups, for every defender who spent at least half a minute on Maxey across the 4 games. This shows the assignment, who New York put on him and for how long. It does not measure how well each defender played: the per-defender attempt counts in a four-game series are far too small to support that, so they are not shown.
| Defender | Min | Poss | Share of matchup min |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles McBride | 18.1 | 78 | 30% |
| Mikal Bridges | 16.3 | 79 | 27% |
| Landry Shamet | 9.3 | 41 | 15% |
| Josh Hart | 5.6 | 31 | 9% |
| Jordan Clarkson | 3.2 | 15 | 5% |
| Jalen Brunson | 3.2 | 15 | 5% |
| OG Anunoby | 1.7 | 8 | 3% |
| Karl-Anthony Towns | 1.6 | 8 | 3% |
| Mitchell Robinson | 1.1 | 7 | 2% |
| Jose Alvarado | 0.8 | 6 | 1% |
Miles McBride and Mikal Bridges combined for 34.4 minutes on Maxey, more than any other defender. New York also let Brunson and Towns pick him up on switches.
Sample
Four games, two of them decided by thirty or more. Matchup data covers 34 of Maxey's 60 attempts and 56 of his 73 points, since it assigns one closest defender per possession.
The Shot Diet Shift
The Knicks have prioritized one thing above all else. Run Maxey off the three-point line. The share column tells the story. His three-point share has dropped from 40.0% of his attempts in the regular season to 31.7% in this series, and the few he gets up are falling at 15.8%.
| Zone | RS FG% | vs NYK FG% | Δ | RS Share | vs NYK Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paint | 54.7% | 64.5% | +9.8 | 48.0% | 51.7% |
| Mid-Range | 43.6% | 30.0% | -13.6 | 12.1% | 16.7% |
| Three | 36.8% | 15.8% | -21.0 | 40.0% | 31.7% |
Tracking confirms the pressure on every contest. Maxey is averaging 3.0 contested attempts per game in the series at just 66.7%, compared to 6.2 attempts at 46.5% in the regular season.
What NYK Is Taking Away
Zones tell you where the shots come from. Shot types tell you how they get created. The clearest example is the pull-up jumper, Maxey's signature shot. He took 261 pull-ups in the regular season and shot 38.7% on them. In 4 games against the Knicks he is 0 of 7 (0%). What replaced them are fadeaways and turnarounds, among the lowest-value attempts in the modern game.
| Shot Type | RS Share | vs NYK Share | RS FG% | vs NYK FG% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pull-Up Jumpers | 17.4% | 11.7% | 38.7% | 0/7 (0%) |
| Step Backs | 13.8% | 6.7% | 32.4% | 2/4 (50%) |
| Catch-and-Shoot Jumpers | 14.1% | 15.0% | 41.7% | 3/9 (33%) |
| Drives to the Rim | 31.2% | 35.0% | 58.5% | 15/21 (71%) |
| Floaters | 12.1% | 15.0% | 44.0% | 3/9 (33%) |
| Fadeaways / Turnarounds | 7.3% | 13.3% | 39.4% | 2/8 (25%) |
Red share means NYK pushed Maxey toward this type of attempt. Green means they took it away.
When the Lockdown Hits
Quarter-by-quarter scoring derived from play-by-play. The clearest pattern is that NYK locks Maxey down to start Q1 and Q3, the two quarters where their defensive scheme is freshest off a timeout or halftime adjustment. The only window he finds any rhythm is Q2, when bench rotations open up matchups he can attack.
| Quarter | Reg Season PPG | vs NYK PPG | Δ |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Quarter | 8.0 | 4.5 | -3.5 |
| 2nd Quarter | 6.6 | 8.0 | +1.4 |
| 3rd Quarter | 7.4 | 3.3 | -4.1 |
| 4th Quarter | 7.0 | 5.0 | -2.0 |
Δ colors are from NYK's perspective. Green means Maxey scored less than his regular-season average in that quarter.
Same Player, Different Defense
Maxey's Round 1 numbers against Boston are the closest thing this postseason has to a controlled experiment. Same player, same legs, two of the league's best defenses in back-to-back series. Boston could not take away his three. New York has.
| Stat | Reg Season (70g) | vs BOS R1 (7g) | vs NYK R2 (4g) |
|---|---|---|---|
| PTS / G | 28.3 | 26.9 | 18.3 |
| FG% | 46.2% | 46.4% | 43.3% |
| 3PT% | 36.7% | 41.8% | 15.8% |
| 3PA / G | 8.6 | 7.9 | 4.8 |
| AST / G | 6.6 | 6.6 | 4.8 |
| TOV / G | 2.4 | 1.3 | 3.5 |
| +/− / G | 1.6 | -1.7 | -18.5 |
Against Boston, Maxey shot 41.8% from three on 7.9 attempts per game. Against the Knicks, he is at 15.8% on 4.8 attempts. That is a 26.0-point drop in efficiency on roughly half the volume, and Boston is not a soft defense.
It's Not Just Maxey
The Knicks defense is not a one-man job. The entire 76ers offense has cratered against this scheme. Philadelphia averaged 115.9 PPG with a near-even net rating in the regular season. They are losing by 22.3 per game in this series. The numbers below show where the offense is failing. Efficiency is down, three-point volume is down, assists are way down. The action is not generating clean looks anywhere on the floor.
| PHI Team Stat | Reg Season | vs NYK | Δ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Points per game | 115.9 | 102.0 | -13.9 |
| Opponent PPG (NYK) | 116.1 | 124.3 | +8.2 |
| Net per game | -0.2 | -22.3 | -22.1 |
| FG% | 46.2% | 45.0% | -1.2% |
| 3PT% | 34.9% | 31.3% | -3.6% |
| 3PA / G | 35.3 | 32.8 | -2.5 |
| TOV / G | 13.0 | 14.3 | +1.3 |
| AST / G | 24.6 | 20.5 | -4.1 |
Embiid is going through the same thing. Joel Embiid averaged 26.2 PPG on 48.9% shooting across 38 regular-season games. In this series he is averaging 18.7 on 50.0% across 3 games. When the two centerpieces of an offense both lose roughly 10 points and 10 percentage points of efficiency in the same series at the same time, the cause is scheme, not a slump.
Red means the number is worse for PHI. Green means it is better.
Game by Game
The Knicks have led the series in every game. Maxey's lines tell the story of a star scorer being forced into low-efficiency volume, low-volume efficiency, or both.
What the Knicks Are Doing
Miles McBride takes the primary assignment. Across the series he logged 18.1 minutes of direct matchup time on Maxey, more than any other defender.
Mikal Bridges is the second assignment. The two combined for 34.4 minutes directly on Maxey across 4 games.
New York switches without panic. Even Brunson and KAT have logged real possessions on Maxey, so New York was willing to switch rather than fight over every screen.
Take away the three, live with the two. That is the single biggest tactical decision in the series. NYK is treating every Maxey three-point attempt as a top-priority contest. His three-point volume has been cut from 8.6 to 4.8 attempts per game, and the few he gets are falling at 15.8%. The Knicks are comfortable letting him take mid-range pull-ups, the lowest-value shot in basketball, and finish at the rim against length. Both outcomes are still better for the defense than letting him have his open three.
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