+ scrambling in Game 3 (which happened to work)
You’re reading too deep into it.
Delon nor Shamet have much time left in the league.
Those guys were effective as spot players with fresh legs in those moments and it’s not like they were heavy lifting on offense. They just plugged holes. The series showed the Pacers had far superior depth.
Had they been playing regularly they had been exploited especially Shamet with his lack of foot speed, physicality, and shooting consistency.
Delon is a smart floor general big guard and can defend you can live with him in spurts but at the end of the day he’s not going to make shots this is a guy that’s shot under 40% over the last two seasons from the floor.
The Knicks also only won that game because KAT started making circus shots after a horrendous first 3 quarters on both ends.
Knicks are scrambling at the moment and trying to skip steps in the process.
Imagine being Jalen Brunson you take a steep pay cut and they fire your coach and now there’s rumblings about your pops. Instead of celebration and admiration after leading this franchise to their best season in 25 years it’s a cloud of negativity and uncertainty.