Game 1 for the New York Knicks was supposed to have the storybook ending to a season that has basically felt like a fever dream.

Even the most rabid of New Yorkers aren't expecting a title run from their squad this season. The Knicks are as lovable as they are flawed. So, creating some iconic playoff moments for a Knicks franchise that has been devoid of them for more than two decades (Sorry, Melo) was the true barometer for success in their first postseason appearance since 2013.

But then Trae Young decided he wanted to break 15,000 hearts in Madison Square Garden that night.

To Knicks fans everywhere, I'm sorry you had to relive that again.

Trae Young's actual shot itself wasn't all that difficult. At least as far as game-winners go, Young didn't have to do anything he hasn't practiced over and over again behind the scenes. He drove into the lane and was wide open for a split-second, relying on his trusted floater that he has made hundreds of times in actual NBA games.

Watching the play a number of times, you can't help but notice who was hounding him on this possession. Tom Thibodeau deployed Frank Ntilikina to bother Young for these final 9.8 seconds. Obviously on its face, that's not really a horrible decision. Frankie Smokes is widely celebrated as an elite guard defender.

But it's the situational use of Ntilikina on Young that's truly questionable. Those 9.8 seconds were in fact the only ticks that Frank Ntilikina was on the floor in the entire second half. He played a total of 31 seconds for the whole game, spelling Derrick Rose for a single possession to end the first half.

In a vacuum, it makes sense. Sub in your best defensive guy to stop the opposing team's star player. But in reality, putting in a player cold in that situation to make such a critical stop, with the stakes as high as they were, is absolutely dumbfounding.

This isn't to say that Ntilikina didn't put in his best effort in guarding Young. On the contrary, it's that he tried so hard that doomed him and New York. Given the fact that his sole purpose in entering this game was to play one, solitary possession of perfect defense, he clearly overcompensated by turning the defensive pressure up to 11. That's what burned the Knicks.

When you're guarding a guy as quick and shifty as Young, pressuring him from 40 feet out with five seconds left was not the best move. It made sense defending him on the inbound and making him feel you from backcourt. But once Young crossed the half-court line, Ntilikina needed to back up just a bit and anticipate a drive. If he wanted to pull up from that distance, you've done your job. The last thing you wanted was Young going downhill with a full head of steam.

But at the end of the day, it was Tom Thibodeau's call. Coach Thibs knows Frank Ntilikina's value as a defender you can throw at Trae Young, but the game isn't as black and white as his decision made it appear. Maximizing a player's value takes the right amount of game management. That's exactly why coaches cut their rotation to eight or nine guys in the playoffs, so that each one gets enough burn on the court to make a proper impact during their stint out there.

If he wants to utilize Frank Ntilikina for these key situations, find minutes for him to get within the flow of the game. If he doesn't, then use somebody else in that spot. Otherwise, he'd be foaming at the mouth like he was in his only seconds of playoff action.