KAT Sends a Message

Karl-Anthony Towns is fully aware of what the stakes are. He knows he's eligible for a contract extension this season; he knows he can become a free agent after the season; and his GM Leon Rose has publicly said he's done negotiating. The offer of $200 million is the one on the table.

And in the midst of all that, his team - the one that won its first championship in 53 years - had started the season 0-3. Already whispers of "one and done" and "overrated" were beginning to pick up steam. Something needed to be done.

With the Detroit Pistons in town, KAT decided it was time to send a message. And, boy, did he ever. The big man had 27 points on 12-21 shooting and grabbed 20 rebounds in leading the Knicks to a 111-97 drubbing of the Pistons. He also got into a scrum with Paul Reed in the third quarter to the delight of the Garden faithful. That the win came against the Pistons made it all that much sweeter. 

Message received. To paraphrase the great Mark Twain: reports of the Knicks demise have been greatly exaggerated.

While I never doubted this team, it was becoming obvious that they didn't have the same intensity they had last season. It's one thing to lose to the Philadelphia 76ers and Boston Celtics; it's quite another to blow a ten point lead in the last nine minutes to an Orlando Magics team that was missing its best player Paolo Banchero.

While Towns may not be the best player on this team, he is, nonetheless, an indispensable member of it. Without him, the Knicks don't win games one and two against the San Antonio Spurs. And without those wins, the Spurs might very well have won the series.

To be clear, the issue with Towns has never been about his talent. He's one of the top two centers in the NBA; the other is Nikola Jokic. But there are times when he doesn't play up to his ability; when he looks like he's sleepwalking through the game. We've all seen it. His coach Mike Brown has seen it, which is why he challenged his center at halftime.

And like the champion he is, KAT responded. He let everyone in that arena know - including Reed and the rest of his punk-ass bullies - that he wasn't gonna take any shit from anybody. The Pistons walked all over the Knicks last season, going 3-0. Two of those wins were not remotely competitive. Last night, the roles were reversed. New York led by as many as 27 points in the second half. Take that J.B. Bickerstaff.

With the Chicago Bulls coming up tonight, and Sixers Friday night, the Knicks have a chance to put together a mini win streak.

2026-27 Knicks Preview

When I started this blog back in 2012, it was always my wish that one day I would write a preview for a team of mine that had won a title. I came close twice: the 2014 Rangers lost to the L.A. Kings in the Stanley Cup finals, and the 2015 Mets lost to the Kansas City Royals in the World Series. That's it. two close shaves in 14 years. 

Well my wish has finally come true. For the first time since 1973-74, the New York Knicks begin the season as the reigning NBA champions, and I will be writing their 2026-27 preview.

A part of me still can't believe it happened, but happen it did. The patience and devotion of this fanbase was finally rewarded, and over a million of them poured into the Canyon of Heroes to show their appreciation, and to celebrate a moment most of them thought they'd never live to see.

As for the players, far from being a burden, the expectations that were put on them last year helped propel them to one of the most impressive playoff runs in modern history. The Knicks went 16-3 in the postseason; only the 2017 Golden State Warriors (16-1) and the 2001 L.A. Lakers (15-1) were more dominant. In the end, the team most prognosticators thought would never make it out of their own conference, had the last laugh. 

But as the Monkees once sang, "That was then, this is now." In the NBA, the only thing harder than winning a championship is repeating. The 2018 Warriors were the last team to win back-to-back titles. Since then, the Toronto Raptors, L.A. Lakers, Milwaukee Bucks, Warriors, Denver Nuggets, Boston Celtics, Oklahoma City Thunder and Knicks have all hoisted the Larry O'Brien Trophy. Will the Knicks break the curse or will they follow in the footsteps of the previous seven winners? 

I wrote last year that I was bullish on the 2025-26 Knicks. Well, guess what? I'm just as bullish on the 2026-27 Knicks. And not just because I'm a fan, but because, despite losing Mitchell Robinson in the offseason, New York has the best starting five and the deepest bench in the league, and that's with most of the Eastern Conference getting better. 

Leon Rose re-signed Mohammed Diawara, Landry Shamet and Jose Alvarado to multi-year contracts, brought back Jordan Clarkson on a one-year deal and signed Andre Drummond to replace Robinson. While Karl-Anthony Towns, Josh Hart and Miles (Deuce) McBride are extension eligible, all but McBride have options past this season. 

I expect Mike Brown to run more of the offense through Towns this season. It worked very well in the playoffs last year; there's no reason it shouldn't work well this year. And while the Knicks have never been a load-management team, I would expect Brown to give some of his starters, such as Jalen Brunson and OG Anunoby, an occasionally day off to keep them fresh for the playoffs. Barring a trade, which I don't anticipate, there should be no issues with this group.

So what could prevent the Knicks from repeating? Three things.

Tougher competition: As I mentioned above, several teams in the East made significant improvements to their rosters. Chief among them were the Philadelphia 76ers, who acquired Jaylen Brown from the Boston Celtics for Paul George, and then signed LeBron James to a two-year deal. The Raptors reacquired Kawhi Leonard, who was integral in their championship run in 2019. The Detroit Pistons lost some of their toughness in Isaiah Stewart but gained some offensive skill in John Collins. But the biggest threat comes from a familiar foe. The Indiana Pacers were devastated by injuries last season and failed to make the playoffs. They are healthy going into this season and would love nothing better than to knock off the champs.

Injuries: Let's be honest, the Knicks have been very fortunate over the last two seasons that they didn't suffer any major injuries. Given Anunoby's history, that's no small feat. There's also Josh Hart's dislocated right ring finger that he played through last season and will have to deal with for the rest of his career. A major injury, especially to the starters, could derail any hopes of a repeat. 

Distractions: It goes without saying that the ongoing impasse between Rose and Towns over a contract extension dominated the headlines over the summer and into the fall. The hope was that both sides would reach an agreement before the start of the season. That now appears doubtful. The question is will this become a distraction? We know that KAT can be very emotional at times, and based on his comments over the last couple of weeks, he doesn't appear to be taking the lack of progress well.

If I had to pick just one, it would be the injury concern. Even with the East getting better, the Knicks are still, overall, the best team in the conference. I also don't think the contract situation will prove to be a big deal. These players are professionals, and there's more than enough leadership in that locker room to overcome any potential distractions.

As for where the Knicks will finish, last year, I picked them to finish first in the East; this year, I'm picking them again to finish first. Last season, there was a new coach and a new system. This season, there's no such transition period. I expect this team to get off to a good start and be more consistent. Yes, everyone will be gunning for them, but that's to be expected. The over / under for the Knicks win total this season is 52.5. I'm picking the over.

Below are my predictions for where the top 10 teams in each conference will finish. One caveat: While I'm picking the Sixers to finish second in the East, that's dependent on whether Joel Embiid can stay relatively healthy. If he can't, I can see them falling to fourth or even fifth. Also, the top five teams in the East are likely to be separated by five or six games.

Eastern Conference:

Knicks
Sixers

Celtics

Raptors

Pistons
Pacers

Cavaliers

Heat

Hawks

Magic

Western Conference:

Thunder

Timberwolves

Spurs

Nuggets

Rockets

Lakers

Warriors

Mavericks

Trail Blazers

Grizzlies

Eastern Conference Finals:

Knicks over Celtics 4-2

Western Conference Finals:

Timberwolves over Thunder 4-3

NBA Finals:

Knicks over Timberwolves 4-3

 

Leon Lays Down the Law

There's one rule that supersedes all others when it comes to sales: you never negotiate against yourself. Case in point: a customer walks into a store to buy something but thinks the price is too high - What else is new? 

I'm going to lay out two scenarios for you.

Scenario one:

Customer: "What can you do for me on that price?"

Salesman: "I can save you twenty bucks."

Customer: "Still too much."

Salesman: "How about forty?"

Customer: "Sorry, still too much."

Salesman: "Well, how about sixty? That's a pretty good discount."

Customer: "Can I speak to your manager? Maybe he can give me a better price."

Scenario two:

Customer: "What can you do for me on that price?"

Salesman: "What do you mean? That's a great price."

Customer: "Too high."

Salesman: "Well, what are you looking to spend?"

Customer: "Less than what you're charging."

Salesman: "And that is?"

Customer: "Not sayin'."

Salesman: "Did you see it for less somewhere else? I'll match any legitimate price."

Customer: "No, I just know I can get it for cheaper."

Salesman: "Well, I really can't do anything on the price without knowing what you're willing to spend."

Now you may be thinking, what the fuck does this have to do with the negotiations between the Knicks and Karl-Anthony Towns? Everything.

That first scenario is basically a salesman negotiating against himself. Without any proof that the item was in fact cheaper elsewhere, he lowered the price, not once, not twice, but three times. And he still didn't get the sale. All that work, and in the end, his manager had to get involved to clean up the mess.

In the second scenario, we see a salesman who knows he made a fair offer, but is still willing to negotiate the price if the customer gives him proof that it's cheaper elsewhere. When the customer doesn't comply, the salesman ends the negotiation by putting the onus back on the customer where it belongs. 

Guess which salesman Leon Rose is? Granted, in this case Towns is not looking for a discount but rather an increase over the offer he received from Rose. But other than that, it's pretty much the same thing.

Towns is eligible for a max deal of $276 million; the Knicks offered him $185 million. They then up'd that offer to $200 million. The reason we know that is because the agency representing Towns leaked both offers. How do we know they leaked them? Because the one thing the Knicks and Rangers both have in common is that neither franchise airs its linen in public. If you know anything about James Dolan, he treats public statements from his employees the same way the Pentagon treats classified leaks. It's frowned upon. Indeed, the only time we ever see Rose and Chris Drury make public statements is when someone is hired or fired. Other than that, you never hear a peep out of them.

We also know that the leaks were from Towns' agent because we still don't know what they're looking for. All we keep hearing is that KAT is willing to take a discount from the $276 million he's eligible for, but like that customer in scenario one, we don't know how much of a discount.

And therein lies the problem. Ten days from the start of the regular season, Rose found himself at an impasse. His initial offer was rejected; he increased it and it was still rejected. How much higher does he have to go to get a yes? Ten million? Twenty million? You see the dilemma, right?

Only a lousy salesman would continue to negotiate against himself. And Rose is hardly a lousy salesman. Prior to becoming President of the Knicks, he was co-partner at CAA Sports, the very agency currently representing Towns. Indeed, Rose once repped Towns, along with other notable players like LeBron James. And Jessica Holtz, Towns' current agent, once worked for Rose. You think he doesn't know how this game is played? There isn't an I he hasn't dotted or a T he hasn't crossed in his career.  As I wrote in an earlier piece, he's forgotten more than most GMs - or agents for that matter - know. 

That's why I'm not that concerned that the Knicks have decided to "table" all contract extension talks until later in the season. That's Rose's way of letting Holtz know that he's not playing her game. If she isn't willing to let him know what number Towns is looking for, he's not going to guess what it might be. The offer is $200 million. Take it or leave it.

Holtz knows all this. She's not stupid. She's up against her former boss; the man who taught her everything she knows; the man who, despite what the numb nuts on social media keep saying, knows full well what he's doing. She no more wants to see Towns leave the Knicks than Rose does. Playing poker with a man who owns the deck is not a winning strategy. In fact, it can backfire badly.

That's why I still think this gets resolved by October 19, and for a number around $228 million. That comes out to $57 million per season; the exact salary Towns is making this season. And if it doesn't get resolved by then; if it ends up dragging into next summer and Towns insists on becoming the highest paid player in the NBA - Steph Curry currently holds that distinction at $62.5 million - then he can go play for the Brooklyn Nets next season. I'm sure Julius Randle would love that.

Wouldn't that be a hoot? The two players who were traded for one another landing on the same team.

Since the second apron was fully implemented by the NBA in the summer of 2024, only five teams have gone over it: the Boston Celtics (2024-25); the Cleveland Cavaliers (2025-26); the Denver Nuggets (2026-27); the Minnesota Timberwolves (2025-26); and the Phoenix Suns (2024-25 & 2025-26). Of those teams, only the Celtics have a championship to show for it. They subsequently unloaded several key players from their core. They are now $22.9 million under the second apron.

Leon Rose is trying to thread a needle. He would like nothing more than to keep his core together for another three years, but in order to do that - and still stay under the second apron - he has to stick to his budget. Karl-Anthony Towns wants to get paid what he thinks he's worth. There's nothing wrong with that. But if paying him what he wants means Rose would have to trade a Mikal Bridges, that doesn't make any sense. KAT may not want to hear that, but it doesn't make it any less true. 

The fact is the Knicks won the title last season because they had the best five-man starting rotation in the league. The only way they will win another is by keeping it intact.

Either they win together or they lose apart. It's that simple.

Making Sense of the KAT, Hart Negotiations

With the start of the 2026-27 NBA season just two weeks away, the big story swirling around Madison Square Garden isn't whether the Knicks will repeat as champions, but whether they will be able to re-sign Karl-Anthony Towns and Josh Hart to extensions. Both players, it should be pointed out, are currently under contract this season. To hear some people put it, the sky is falling.

At the risk of throwing cold water on the hypochondriacs out there, some of whom should know better, this is much ado about nothing. Don't get me wrong: Towns and Hart are essential to this team, and the Knicks should make every effort to re-sign both, if possible. No doubt Towns was not thrilled with the initial offer he received from Leon Rose. You gotta admit, $180 million over four years is pretty low. But as someone who spent a quarter century in sales, you never start out a negotiation with your best offer. Typically, both sides have their preferred number and eventually will meet somewhere in the middle. Remember, we don't know what Towns is looking for; all we know is that after this season, he has a $61 million player option. He can either opt in or opt out. It's his choice.

Here's what we know so far:

The Knicks have no intention of going over the second apron, and at the risk of repeating myself, it has nothing to do with the money. To sum up what I wrote back in June, there are profound consequences for teams that go over the second apron; consequences that Rose wants no part of. So if you still think that this is about James Dolan being stingy, don't. The fact is if Dolan went into Rose's office tomorrow and gave him permission to go $20 million over the second apron, Rose would still refuse. The man built a championship roster, for God's sake. He has forgotten more than most GMs will ever know about contract negotiations. Why on Earth would he paint himself into a corner?

KAT is eligible for a four-year max extension of $276 million, which comes out to $69 million per season. Hart is eligible for a four-year max extension of $132 million, which comes out to $33 million per season. The chances of either of them getting that max deal from the Knicks is nil.

As I mentioned above, both players are under contract this season. KAT has a player option for 2027-28; the Knicks hold a team option on Hart for the same season. So you can forget about either one of them getting traded during the season. Barring something extraordinary, the Knicks will defend their title with the same starting lineup and bench, sans Mitchell Robinson, that they had last season.

But this is where things get tricky. It isn't whether Towns and Hart re-sign, but when and for how much. In the case of Towns, Fred Katz wrote an excellent piece in The Athletic about this which is required reading. To sum up, the best-case scenario for the Knicks would be for a deal to get done by October 19, the day before the start of the season. That would allow Towns to opt in to his $61 million player option while simultaneously allowing the Knicks to structure the remaining three years at a lower AAV.

Why is that important? Because the real problem for the Knicks isn't the next two seasons, it's what comes next. You see that's when Jalen Brunson will be eligible for an extension. In a nutshell, he's looking at a max contract of somewhere between $290 to $323 million, or $72.5 to $80.75 million per season. If you think he's leaving money on the table like he did the last time, you're on crack. If ever there was a player who's earned the right to get paid what he's worth, it's Captain Clutch. The issue isn't whether he'll get paid, but whether Rose will have enough money left over to construct a roster around him. 

And that's why these next couple of weeks are so important. What happens with the Towns extension, and to a lesser extent Hart's, will determine whether the core Rose assembled over the last two years can stay together or whether it'll have to be broken up. In short, if Towns sticks to his guns and demands the Knicks pay him his max deal, Rose will have no choice but to trade one of his starting players; if he's willing to follow in Brunson's footsteps and "leave some money on the table," than the core stays intact. 

Towns has indicated he's amenable to taking less than the max, which is good. The question is how much less? Let's assume that the initial offer from Rose of $180 million was just a bargaining ploy. If both sides can meet halfway, that comes out to $228 million, or $57 million per year. That's about what he's making this season, and roughly $4 million less than his player option next season. And if the deal gets done before October 20, and Towns opts into his player option - absolutely essential - Rose can incorporate that player option into the overall contract, thus lower the remaining three years, perhaps enough to avoid having to shed salary in another two years.

If Towns elects not to sign an extension and opts out of his player option next summer, believing he can get a better deal elsewhere, there is currently only one team that would be able to accommodate his demands without having to get rid of a player: the Brooklyn Nets. The Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Clippers will have $56m and $54m respectively, meaning they would still need to shed salary in order to sign him. All three teams are not considered contenders. Translation: KAT doesn't have the leverage he thinks he does. He can pout all he wants, but if he wants to play for a contender, the Knicks are his best and only choice.

As for Hart, I'm less worried about him. The Knicks can always pick up his team option of $22.3 million next season and kick the can down the road until 2028. They'd be taking a chance that Hart doesn't bolt, but given how tight he and Brunson are, it's a chance worth taking. Besides, with that finger the way it is, there's no guarantee that Hart will be playing basketball in another three years. Signing him to a multiyear extension would not be a wise business decision. And if we know anything about Leon Rose, it's that he makes excellent business decisions.

How concerned should Knicks fans be? On a scale of 1 to 10, I'd say about a 4. The closer we get to October 20, the more that number climbs. But even if we get to the 20th and no deal is done, that doesn't mean a deal can't happen later; it just makes it harder for the numbers to work.

My point is this: the Knicks won the NBA championship last season. The man responsible for assembling that roster has earned the benefit of the doubt. Don't panic; avoid the naysayers who feel the need to stir the pot. They don't know as much as they say they do.

To quote the late, great Bob Marley, "Don't worry about a thing. Cos every little thing gonna be alright."

Hold the Parade

"With the 5th pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, the New York Giants select Arvell Reese, linebacker, Ohio State."  - April 23, 2026.

It's hard to believe that the last time the New York Knicks lost a playoff game, John Harbaugh and Joe Schoen were high-fiving each other because the player they had at the top of their board fell into their laps at five. That was six and a half weeks ago.

God when you say it like that, it almost seems surreal.

Through the first half of game three, things were going pretty much according to script. The Spurs jumped out to an early double-digit lead, only to have the Knicks either close the gap or take the lead outright. At halftime, New York led 64-57, outscoring San Antonio 42-24 in the second quarter on 73.7 percent shooting. It was the most points ever scored by a Knicks team in a quarter in a finals game. The Garden faithful had visions of a four-game sweep; some, I suppose, were even planning where they would camp out on the parade route. 

But then the script flipped in the second half. The Spurs, aided by what seemed like an avalanche of calls in their favor, went to the free throw line 24 times to the Knicks 8. That discrepancy allowed them to regain the lead by the end of the third quarter; a lead they would never relinquish. The final score was 115-111. 

So much for a sweep. We now have a series on our hands; one in which the Knicks are still the favorites, but barely. 

So how did the Spurs end the Knicks 13 game win streak?

It wasn't so much what the Spurs did but what the Knicks didn't do. I wrote after game two that to win this series, New York was going to have to do three things: 1. Stop falling behind; 2. Get Jalen Brunson off the ball; and 3. Run the offense through Karl-Anthony Towns. They were 0-3.

It's one thing to know you're capable of coming from behind - and, let's face it, over the last two postseasons, the Knicks have become experts at it - it's quite another to a make a habit out of it. Teams that trail that much end up expending far too much energy chasing the game. As anyone who's ever watched a basketball or hockey game will tell you, it's easier to play with the lead than it is to play from behind. The Knicks have got to stop making it hard on themselves.

It was obvious from the start of the finals that San Antonio was going to target Brunson. That isn't James Harden out there. The Spurs guards know how to defend, and they've been on Brunson like white on rice. But rather than give up the ball, Captain Clutch has been forcing up difficult shots, many of which have not gone in. For the series, Brunson is 30-81 (37%). He's averaging 27 shots per game. According to StatMuse, the Knicks were 33-8 during the regular season when Brunson took 20 shots or fewer per game. By going ISO as much as he has, Brunson has unintentionally made his team easier to guard. It's no coincidence that the Knicks only had 18 assists in the game. During the regular season, they were 43-11 when they had 25 or more assists. The low assist total might account for why Mikal Bridges only had two points, his lowest point total since game three of the Atlanta series. 

Over the first two games, Towns played an integral role in the Knicks offense. So effective was he in distributing the ball and driving to the net that he was the front runner for finals MVP. Last night, he went 4-10 - 0-2 from three - for 11 points and had only 8 rebounds. Worse, he has not scored a single point in the fourth quarter in these finals. That is simply inexcusable. KAT owned Victor Wembanyama over the first two games. By not getting him the ball, Wemby went wild in game three, scoring a series high 32 points. The Knicks need to get back to what worked so well for them in the previous three rounds.

The good news? Even with the disparity on foul shots (84-61 in the series), the low assists total and Brunson's ball hogging, the Knicks lost by only four points. Overall, the shooting percentages of both teams were about equal. New York even had a slight edge in scoring in the paint and rebounds. In what was a must win for the Spurs, they hardly dominated.

The bad news? The Knicks may come away from this loss believing that all they have to do is tweak a few things and they'll be all right. That would be disastrous. What last night's loss revealed was that the Knicks have fallen back into some old habits; old habits that led to them trailing the Hawks 2-1 in the first round. They did not sweep the Sixers and the Cavs playing like this and they will most certainly not beat the Spurs playing this way. They need to snap out of it, and fast, or this series will be tied Wednesday night.

And if that happens, it is unlikely that the Spurs will lose three games in a row in their building. Meaning the Knicks could well be facing elimination in game six. If you think the mood at the Garden was sullen after last night's loss, just think what'll be like if the Knicks become the first team in NBA history to blow a finals after taking the first two games on the road.

That cannot be allowed to happen, and it won't happen as long as the proper adjustments are made. I said at the beginning of the series that the Knicks are the better team. I still believe that's true, but that presupposes that they play up to their potential. Apart from the second quarter, they did not do that last night. They must do it Wednesday night, and for a full 48 minutes.

There will be no excuses if they don't.

A Bakers Dozen

Admit it: When you saw Victor Wembanyama take that shot with 2 seconds left you had flashbacks of Tyrese Haliburton's game-tying shot from last year's Eastern Conference finals. Being a Knicks fan means learning how to deal with PTSD. It doesn't take much to ruin our day or night. And just so we're clear, even with Mitchell Robinson guarding him, Wemby probably makes that shot 9 out of 10 times. 

But there's something different about these Knicks. After blowing a 97-83 lead with 6:04 remaining in the fourth quarter, and trailing 104-102 with 57 seconds left, they found a way to win. Jalen Brunson, the hero of game one, once again came to the rescue. He scored the game's final three points, the last one a free throw after he stole a bad pass from Wemby and was fouled with 9.5 seconds to go. 

The Knicks have now won 13 playoff games in a row; two shy of the record set by the Golden State Warriors in 2017. They are, as Brian Windhorst said after the game, "a freakin' winning machine." I've heard of resiliency, but this is ridiculous.

Despite the final score, though, this was a game in which the Knicks pretty much dominated from the second quarter on. After trailing 34-25 at the end of the first quarter, New York took a 56-52 lead into the locker room at half time. They expanded that lead to 84-75 after three. And they were cruising to yet another double-digit road win before the Spurs went on their run.

But while Brunson may have dragged his team across the finish line, he was not the star of the game. That distinction belonged to Karl-Anthony Towns, who in these first two games, has thoroughly outplayed Wembanyama. KAT scored 21 points and grabbed 13 rebounds. As of right now, he has the inside track to be finals MVP. 

Mikal Bridges also had an impressive game. After being held to 9 points in game one, he scored 20 in game two. OG Anunoby and Landry Shamet had 17 and 13 points respectively. The only starter that did not have a good game was Josh Hart. After impressive game one, he got into early foul trouble in game two, was limited to only 18 minutes and was a minus 3.

So now the Knicks return home to Madison Square Garden up 2-0; the first time in franchise history that they've won the first two games of a finals. No team in NBA history has successfully come back to win the championship after dropping the first two games at home, and the way this Knicks team is playing, I doubt the Spurs are going to be the first team to do it.

It's not that the Spurs are a bad team; far from it. They are the best team New York has faced in these playoffs. They led the Knicks late in the fourth quarter of both games. The case could easily be made that San Antonio could be up 2-0 instead of down 0-2.

But the fact remains that they are down 0-2, and it is up to the Knicks to make sure it becomes 0-3 and not 1-2 Monday night. This is not the time to take the foot off the gas, not with a chance to close out the series in their building.

So what is the best way to insure that? 

Well, for starters, it would behoove New York to get off to a faster start. They trailed after the first quarter in games one and two. The Knicks are playing with fire if they think they can continually come from behind in this series. Sooner or later, it will catch up with them.

Next, it is all too apparent that the Spurs are targeting Brunson in this series. In the first two games, he shot a collective 19-56 from the field. The only thing that has saved the Knicks is their depth. Mike Brown simply has more players on his bench that he can turn to than Mitch Johnson. But Brunson has to realize that when he gets double teamed, he needs to give up the ball. Earlier in the playoffs, the Knicks were very successful running their offense through KAT. It's time to go back to that formula.

And speaking of KAT, he needs to continue dominating Wemby, both at the perimeter and in the post. Aside from the fourth quarter in game two, the "Alien" has looked lost in this series. Towns has to make sure it stays that way. 

Throughout this postseason, the Knicks have been a marvel to behold. Their talent, poise and maturity have led them this far. They need two more wins to secure their first title since 1973. 

This is their moment; they need to grab it. 

Captain Clutch Answers the Bell

What do Willis Reed and Jalen Brunson both have in common? Aside from wearing the same jersey and being captain of the team, they're the only Knicks to score 30 or more points in game one of the NBA finals. Reed scored 37 points on 16-30 shooting against the Los Angeles Lakers in 1970 while Brunson scored 30 on 12-31 shooting against the San Antonio Spurs. But it was what Brunson did in the fourth quarter that mattered the most.

Trailing 65-51 with 6:31 remaining in the third quarter, New York went on a 25-11 run to tie the score at 76 going into the fourth. That was when Captain Clutch took control. The Brunson Burner scored 13 points on 5-9 shooting, 1-1 from three, to lead the Knicks to a 105-95 win and a 1-0 lead in the series.

We've seen this movie so many times before it's almost become routine. Whenever the Knicks have needed someone to step up and lead them to victory, Brunson has always answered the bell. His fourth-quarter playoff heroics since becoming a Knick are legendary. But this postseason, they have risen to unheard of heights. Compare the two slash lines below:

Brunson's career fourth-quarter playoff stats:
57 GP / 8.8 Pts / 49.5 FG% / 43.0 3P% / 84.6 FT% / +147

Brunson's 2026 fourth-quarter playoff stats:
15 GP / 9.8 Pts / 59.0 FG% / 61.5 3P% / 92.6 FT% / +58

Now check out the 2026 fourth-quarter playoff stats for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander:

15 GP / 6.3 Pts / 41.7 FG% / 25.0 3P% / 94.3 FT% / +37

Be honest. Which player would you rather have in the fourth quarter of a playoff game? Need more convincing? Since 2023, Brunson has more clutch points in the playoffs (144) than Gilgeous-Alexander (84). If you still prefer SGA, I seriously doubt your basketball acumen.

But lest we think Brunson was flying solo, he did have some help. Karl-Anthony Towns had probably his best playoff game as a Knick, The 7-0 center outplayed his 7-4 counterpart Victor Wembanyama, scoring 18 points and recording his 10th double-double of the postseason. And Josh Hart - everybody's favorite Swiss Army knife - grabbed a game-high 15 rebounds, had six steals and led all players with a plus 22. 

The Knicks held the Spurs to 40 points in the second half - 19 in the fourth quarter - and under 100 for the game. The last time San Antonio was held to under 100 points was, ironically enough, against this very same Knicks team at the Garden on March 1.

The win was New York's 12th in a row and improved their road record to 7-1, with all seven wins coming by double digits. Their point differential this postseason is an NBA record plus 281. To put that into perspective, the 2017 Golden State Warriors and the 2001 Lakers - generally acknowledged to be the two most dominant playoff teams of the last 50 years - are a plus 230 and 204 respectively.

We are witnessing something truly rare in sports; so rare, in fact, it's almost inconceivable, even for a fanbase that's old enough to remember the last time they saw their team win a title. For those not old enough, there's simply no reference point here.

The most remarkable thing about this run is how yeoman-like the Knicks have been throughout it. Not once have they gloated, pounded their chests or prematurely celebrated. They refuse to look past the next game. They are singularly focused on one thing: bringing a championship to New York. To that end, everyone is committed, from Brunson to Towns to Mikal Bridges to OG Anunoby, who had 19 points - 12 in the fourth quarter - to Landry Shamet and Jose Alvarado, who had 13 and 7 points respectively. There are no small parts or insignificant contributions. Even Mitchell Robinson, who broke his right pinky finger a week ago and was listed as questionable before the game, had six rebounds and forced Wemby into a costly turnover in the closing minutes.

The Knicks poise is matched only by their sense of professionalism. As they left the court Wednesday night, you were hard-pressed to detect a modicum of self satisfaction in their faces. Indeed, their whole demeanor in the postgame presser was that of a team that knows it will need to improve their level of play in game two if they want to extend their winning streak to 13. When asked the following day if he was looking forward to going up 2-0 in the series, KAT simply replied it was 0-0 as far as he and his teammates were concerned. How typical.

Compare and contrast that to what we heard come out of the Spurs locker room. To a man they seemed genuinely surprised they had lost the game. Many of the comments made in their postgame presser were eerily similar to those made by the Cavs and Sixers in their postgame pressers. It’s almost as if they’ve bought into the false narrative that this team is not legit. Gee, I wonder where they could've gotten that from.

The Hawks were supposed to give the Knicks a hard time; the Sixers were going to represent the East; the Cavs analytically won. For six weeks now we've heard every possible rationalization from the so-called experts that what we're seeing with our very own eyes isn't real; that it's only a mirage. Just wait until the Knicks face a real opponent from the West; then they'll come back down to Earth. There's been an astonishing lack of respect for what this team has accomplished so far during these playoffs.

Nowhere is that lack of respect more apparent than in the way Brunson has been treated. Despite the above stats, he didn't get a single first place vote for MVP this year. All this guy does is find ways to help his team win. And yet his detractors remain unconvinced. He's too small; he not a dude; he's not a 1A. It's worth noting that every player who finished ahead of him in the MVP voting, except for one, is watching the finals at home. Think about that.

The reality is that this Knicks team is not only legit; it's three wins away from winning its first NBA title since 1973. When that happens, the sight of Jalen Brunson hoisting the Larry O'Brien trophy as Finals MVP will be the ultimate comeuppance for every self-anointed genius who questioned his bonafides.

I can hardly wait.

Knicks Playoff Preview (NBA Finals)

"As long as we're here, we might as well win. There's no guarantee we're going to be back."

 - Rangers captain Dave Maloney, prior to the 1979 Stanley Cup Finals. 

This is the first time since I started this blog that I will be doing a finals preview of the Knicks. Typically by June, I'm either writing about another failed postseason by the Rangers or speculating on when the Mets will fold. So this is special for me. It's also special for millions of long-suffering Knicks fans, some of whom weren't even born the last time they made the finals.

It's fitting that the Knicks will be facing the San Antonio Spurs in this series; 27 years ago they lost to the Spurs in five, in what would become the first of five NBA titles for San Antonio over a 15 year period. Contrary to what each team's respective fanbase is boasting, this will not be a short series. Indeed, I would be shocked if it didn't go at least six games.

Since Victor Wembanyama came into the league three years ago, each team has won three games on their home court. New York's win in the NBA Cup was on a neutral site. Aside from that Cup final game, the Knicks have had two significant and memorable wins against the Spurs: a 117-114 thriller on Christmas Day last season and a 114-89 rout March 1 this season; the latter one of only three losses the Spurs had from February 1 through the end of the regular season; the other two were against the Denver Nuggets.

This postseason, New York and San Antonio have the two best defensive ratings: the Knicks at 104.4 and the Spurs at 106.1; the Knicks are shooting 40 percent from three while the Spurs are shooting 36.5 percent from three; and the Knicks bench is averaging 31.3 points per game vs 32.6 points per game for the Spurs. These two team couldn't be more close if they shared a sleeping bag.

If there's one advantage the Knicks have going for them, it's that they've played four fewer games this postseason than the Spurs. In the history of the NBA playoffs, teams that are coming off a four-game sweep are 20-4 against teams that needed a full seven games; 5-3 in the finals. Since May 4, the Knicks have played a total of eight games - four in 23 days! - while the Spurs have played 13. The Knicks will be the more rested team in this series.

And they will need every bit of that rest in order to end their 53 year drought. The Spurs may not be the 2017 Golden State Warriors, but they are most definitely NOT the Cavs or the Sixers. They represent the toughest challenge the Knicks will face in these playoffs. Don't expect any 30 point blowouts. Every game is likely to go down to the wire. If you're a fan of hotly contested series, you're in for one helluva treat.

The prevailing sentiment among the so-called experts is that this series will come down to Wembanyama vs. Jalen Brunson. After all, those are the two best players on their respective teams. Far be it for me to disagree with the experts but in my opinion, this series will come down to the wings: Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby and Josh Hart vs. Devin Vassell, De'Aaron Fox and Julian Champagne. Off the bench, Landry Shamet and Deuce McBride will have to hold their own against Keldon Johnson and Dylan Harper.

Even allowing for all that, here are the four keys to the Knicks winning their first title since 1973.

1. KAT needs to stay out of foul trouble. Regardless of how many minutes per game Mitchell Robinson plays in this series - and the assumption is he will dress - look for the Spurs to target Karl-Anthony Towns on defense. It will be up to KAT not to take stupid fouls. To be effective, he has to be on the court, not on the bench.

2. Knicks need to make their threes. As I stated above, the Knicks are shooting 40 percent from downtown in the playoffs. That must continue in this series. If they go cold, the Spurs will win. The best way to insure that doesn't happen is by moving the ball around. The Knicks were 43-11 during the regular season when they had 25 or more assists. 

3. Make Wemby work on offense and defense. Imagine a player with the physical attributes of Hakeem Olajuwon and the shooting prowess of Steph Curry. That's who Wembanyama is. But as great as he is, the Oklahoma City Thunder still managed to limit his impact. By using a combination of Anunoby, Hart and Robinson, the Knicks hope they can wear him out. And on the other end of the court, if KAT can pull Wemby away from the basket, that will improve the Knicks chances of scoring in the paint. He can't block what he can't get to.

4. Avoid costly turnovers. Of the four teams that advanced to the conference finals, only the Thunder averaged fewer turnovers per game than the Knicks. In what promises to be a tight series, New York can't afford to be careless with the ball.

After the Rangers finally won the Stanley Cup in 1994, Sam Rosen made the pronouncement that it would "last a lifetime." Knicks fans have waited more than a lifetime to celebrate another championship. Their waiting will soon be over.

27 years ago, the Spurs were the better team. That is not the case this time around. This is the most talented roster the Knicks have had since the glory days of Clyde and Willis. Despite the trolling of the anti-New York media, these players have earned their way to a finals berth; and in another two weeks, they will earn their way to an NBA title.

Knicks in six. 

Almost Home

The New York Knicks are in the finals!

The last time that happened I still had black hair, my wife and I were on an Alaskan cruise to celebrate our fifth wedding anniversary, and Bill Clinton was in the White House. That was 27 years ago. To put that in perspective, Johnny Carson was on the air for 30.

They say time flies when you're having fun. Fun would be the last word fans of this franchise would use to describe the hell they've gone through. Between 2001 and 2020, New York made the playoffs five times, advancing to the second round once. Over that stretch, a litany of GMs from Isaiah Thomas to Phil Jackson have come and gone. 

But it wasn't until James Dolan hired Leon Rose in 2020 that things began to turn around. Rose immediately went to work rebuilding an organization that had become the laughingstock of the league. His first decision was to hire Tom Thibodeau as head coach that summer. In Thibs first season, the Knicks made the playoffs, losing in five to the Atlanta Hawks. Though it was a bitter defeat, a foundation had been laid.

Over the next few years, Rose made several significant moves. In the summer of 2022, he cleared enough cap space to sign Jalen Brunson to a four-year, $104 million contract; a move that was widely criticized at the time as an overpay. Then at the '23 trade deadline, he acquired Josh Hart from the Portland Trail Blazers for Cam Reddish. Over the summer, he signed Donte DiVencenzo.

But his boldest moves were yet to come. In December of '23, Rose traded RJ Barrett, Immanuel Quickley and a second round pick to the Toronto Raptors for OG Anunoby and Precious Achiuwa. Then in the summer of '24. he traded five first-round picks to the Brooklyn Nets for Mikal Bridges. Like the Brunson signing, this too was considered an overpay. But the final piece of the puzzle came right before the start of the 2024-25 season. In a stunner, he traded Julius Randle and DiVencenzo to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Karl-Anthony Towns. Rose had coveted the 7-0 center for years and now, at last, he had his man.

The Knicks would have their best postseason in a quarter century, beating the reigning champion Boston Celtics in six to advance the Eastern Conference finals for the first time since 2000. But the manner in which they lost to the Indiana Pacers - blowing a late fourth quarter double-digit lead in game one - did not sit well with Rose. He fired Thiboadeau and replaced him with Mike Brown.

Throughout the 2025-26 season, the Knicks displayed signs of a true contender. They won the NBA Cup in December, routed elite teams like the Denver Nuggets by 39 and the San Antonio Spurs by 25; the latter one of only three defeats the Spurs would suffer from February 1 through the end of the regular season. 

But there were also some bumps in the road. They barely beat a tanking Nets team and needed to come from behind to beat a Golden State Warriors team that was missing most of its starters. This dichotomy between greatness and underachievement was frustrating to watch, primarily because you never knew which Knicks team was going to show up. 

Going into the postseason, I wrote "the Knicks are capable of going all the way to the finals; they're also capable of being ousted in the first round." And after a game three loss that put the Hawks up 2-1, it was beginning to look like the latter was a very real possibility. The "Fire Mike Brown" contingent was in full force.

It was at that point that the Knicks had a come to Jesus moment. They went on a tear, the likes of which have rarely been seen by any New York area team. They won the next three against the Hawks, blowing them out by 51 points in game six. They then swept the Philadelphia 76ers and Cleveland Cavaliers. Both closeout games were ostensibly over by halftime.

The numbers are staggering. Of the Knicks twelve wins, eleven have been by double digits and five have been by 25 or more points; they've held their opponents to under 100 points seven times; and their point differential of +271 is the highest through three rounds in NBA history. Their defensive rating of 104.4 leads all postseason teams.

Leon Rose has done a masterful job assembling this roster, and Mike Brown has done an equally masterful job coaching it. This is not meant as a knock on Thibs, but no way in hell this team gets this far with him as coach. So dominant have they been that even some of their harshest critics have been forced to grudgingly admit that they are legit; though they still maintain that they had an easy path to the finals. Oh, well, you can't fix stupid, but you can sure as shit block it. 

Which is what I've been mostly doing. Nobody is going to rain on this parade. I've waited 27 years for this moment and I'll be damned if I'm going to let the haters take away my joy. I haven't felt this way about a team I root for since the '86 Giants went through the NFL like shit through a goose.

I believe in these players, and I believe they have what it takes to go all the way, regardless of which team they face in the finals. As for who that might be, I'm done projecting. I wanted the Raptors in the first round; I got the Hawks. I wanted the Celtics in the second round; I got the Sixers. I wanted the Pistons in the conference finals; I got the Cavs. At this point, I could care less who they play.

The New York Knicks are in the finals! 

They are four wins away from their first NBA championship since 1973. 

That was 53 years ago. 

Knicks Playoff Preview (Round Three)

For the second year in a row, the New York Knicks find themselves in the Eastern Conference Finals. Their opponent, the fourth-place Cleveland Cavaliers, ousted the first-place Detroit Pistons in a thrilling seven-game series. And thanks to the seventh-place Philadelphia 76ers beating the second-place Boston Celtics in the first round, the Knicks are the first three seed or lower team to have home court advantage through the first three rounds since seeding began in 1984.

This matchup is ironic in that throughout most of the regular season, the prevailing sentiment was that the Pistons or Celtics would come out of the East. Instead, it'll be the Cavs and Knicks who will battle it out for the honor. Funny how that works. 

In the last round, I was guilty of giving the Sixers too much credit. I really thought they would give the Knicks all they could handle. About the only thing the Knicks handled were the brooms they used to sweep them out the playoffs. New York treated Philly like they were a bunch of G-Leaguers. Make no mistake about it: the Cavs are no G-League team. They are the toughest opponent the Knicks have faced so far in these playoffs. Conversely, the Knicks are the toughest opponent the Cavs have faced so far in these playoffs. 

How tough? Both teams combined to have the top 10 plus / minus Eastern Conference players in the postseason. Jalen Brunson leads the way with a plus 162, while Jarrett Allen of the Cavs brings up the rear with a plus 44. And that means we're in for one helluva conference finals. Anyone predicting a short series is sniffing something that would be illegal, even in Colorado. 

Before we get to the keys for the Knicks, a final thought on the Pistons. Watching these bullies get their comeuppance was truly gratifying. Detroit thought they could resurrect the Bad Boys of the late ‘80s and early ‘90s. Instead, they earned themselves a trip to the golf course. Bottom line: It takes more than intimidation and hard fouls to win a championship in today's NBA; it takes talent. In the end, the Pistons didn't have enough of it.

Now for the keys. 

1. A healthy OG Anunoby. It goes without saying that Anunoby must be fully recovered from the right hamstring pull he sustained in game two of the Sixers series. The Knicks will need his elite-level defense. If he is not at full strength or - worse - re-injures himself, New York will have its hands full contending with Cleveland's backcourt.

2. Win the turnover battle. The Cavs have committed the second-most turnovers this postseason, averaging 16.6 per game, with James Harden the worst offender at 4.8 per game. Meanwhile, the Knicks have committed the fifth-fewest turnovers at 13.3 per game. That trend needs to continue, and the best way for that to happen is for New York to pressure both Donovan Mitchell and Harden whenever they have the ball. Expect Mikal Bridges to guard Mitchell, while Anunoby gets Harden.

3. Contain Mobley and Allen. Unlike Joel Embiid, who was, for all intents and purposes, useless, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen can score and defend. While not as physical as Jalen Duren and Tobias Harris, they can still cause trouble for New York in the paint. The best way to deal with them is for Karl-Anthony Towns to continue being the point center. That will force Kenny Atkinson to bring one of his big men out to the perimeter which is what the Sixers were forced to do in the last round. And that will free up Mitchell Robinson to grab as many offensive rebounds as he can. Expect Mike Brown to play both centers together at times in this series. It is the one matchup New York can truly exploit.

4. Hit the open threes. The Knicks are leading all NBA teams this postseason in three-point shooting at 40.8 percent. The Cavs are 7th at 34 percent. While Cleveland's defense has improved somewhat in the playoffs, they're still nowhere near elite level, meaning New York will get plenty of open looks from beyond the arc. They need to bury as many of them as possible. 

Last year, the Knicks blew a late fourth-quarter, double-digit lead against the Pacers and never recovered. I don't expect they will repeat that same mistake. In fact, I've been impressed with the level of maturity and poise this team has exhibited throughout these playoffs. After the Sixers series, there were no wild celebrations or chest thumping. It's as if they realize what the goal is and what they will have to do to achieve it. The only other past local-area teams that have displayed that much focus were the '86 Mets and Giants and the '94 Rangers.

Something to keep in mind: prior to this postseason, only five teams had advanced to the conference finals while being extended a full seven games through the first two rounds since the NBA went to a best of seven format in all four rounds in 2003. Their record was 1-4. The Celtics won in '08, while the Mavericks ('03), Suns ('06), Raptors ('10) and Nuggets ('20) all lost. The point is playing that many games that early in the playoffs takes a lot out of a team.

To sum up: this will be a long series. Both teams have multiple ways they can beat you, both teams have very good benches, and both teams are well coached. The difference is on defense, where the Knicks have the clear advantage. It's been 27 years since this team last made the finals. That streak comes to an end here. New York in six. 

And now for the Western Conference Finals.

San Antonio over Oklahoma City in six. I know I said OKC would repeat as champions in my last preview, but that was before I saw what Victor Wembanyama did to Rudy Gobert of the Minnesota Timberwolves. Put succinctly, the NBA has never seen anyone with Wemby's skillset in well over a generation. He's the equivalent of what baseball calls a five-tool player. Imagine a player who can defend like Bill Russell, block shots like Hakeem Olajuwon, rebound like Moses Malone, pass like John Stockton and shoot like Steph Curry. The last player to dominate his sport the way Wemby does was Wayne Gretzky. That's why I'm picking the Spurs to win this series and quite possibly the title.

As with my last three previews, if the Knicks advance, I'll preview the finals; if not, whoever wins the West will win the title. 

Time Was Always On the Knicks Side

In the end, the hotly contested series I predicted never materialized. The New York Knicks swept the Philadelphia 76ers four zip, with three of the games not remotely close; game four was ostensibly over at halftime. Knicks fans who showed up at Xfinity Mobile Arena - AKA, Madison Square Garden South - were absolutely beside themselves with glee.

It's the first time the orange and blue have swept an opponent since 1999, which, not coincidentally, was the last time they went to the finals. The team that was built to beat the Boston Celtics, dispensed with the Sixers as if they were a G-League squad.

How did they pull it off? Just like they had done in the previous round against the Atlanta Hawks, New York exploited mismatches with Philadelphia, most notably the inability of Joel Embiid to guard. The man was, for all intents and purposes, a statue on defense. The Sixers also had no bench; Nick Nurse was forced to play his starters longer than he would've preferred. That meant they were gassed by the fourth quarter.

What made this series so special was that two of the wins came without OG Anunoby, arguably their most "indispensable" player, who, prior to game three, was listed as day to day with a right hamstring injury sustained in game two. What we are seeing here is truly special, something rarely seen in New York sports. The Knicks, after dropping games two and three against the Hawks, have won a franchise record seven in a row. Six of those wins have been by double digits, and four have been by 25 points or more. 

New York's defensive rating of 105.7 is second best in the league. Overall, they have a net rating - the difference between offensive and defensive rating - of 20.3. To put that in perspective, the 1970-71 Milwaukee Bucks with Kareem Abdul Jabbar had a net rating of 13.6, and that team went 12-2 in the postseason. The Knicks +194 point differential through the first ten games is the best since the 2017 Golden State Warriors at +170.

Individually, the Knicks have been just as brilliant. In these playoffs, they have nine of the top ten plus / minus players in the Eastern Conference: 

1. Jalen Brunson: +162
2. Josh Hart: +145
3. Karl-Anthony Towns: +135
4. OG Anunoby: +118
5. Miles McBride: +112
6. Mikal Bridges: +101
7. Jordan Clarkson: +77
8. Mitchell Robinson: +66 

9. Cade Cunningham (Detroit) +57
10. Jose Avarado: +50

What's impressive about Anunoby's totals is that he missed the last two games and yet he's still in 4th place.

While defense is a team effort, one player in particular deserves a special shoutout. Mikal Bridges has been nothing short of spectacular. Last year, he was the reason the Knicks knocked off the Celtics; this year, he was the reason Tyrese Maxey didn't go off. Before the start of this series, this is what one so-called expert had to say about the Sixers guard:

"There's nothing the Knicks can do to stop Tyrese Maxey; he's going to get his points."

The so-called expert who wrote that was none other than yours truly. I told you to take my predictions with a grain of salt.

In this series, Maxey averaged 18 points per game, 10 under his regular season average. I can assure you wishful thinking had nothing to do with that. Whether you still feel that giving up five first round draft picks for him was an overpay, there's no denying Bridges is an elite defender. Without him, the Knicks would never have gotten to back-to-back conference finals. You can see why Leon Rose wanted him so badly, and why there's no way in hell, regardless of what happens in the next round, that he's trading him in the offseason, especially for you know who.

But defense wasn't the only secret sauce the Knicks had going for them. Karl-Anthony Towns has been reborn in these playoffs. For most of the regular season, KAT struggled to find an identity in Mike Brown's system. He seems to finally have found it, and in the most unlikely of ways. The 7-0 footer has now become a point center. 

In the playoffs, Towns is averaging a team-high 6.6 assists per game; 5.3 more than he averaged last postseason. And he's still averaging 10 rebounds and 17.4 points per game. In short, he has become the focal point of the Knicks offense, and that has allowed Jalen Brunson to play off the ball more, thus making it harder for defenses to double team him. Both the Hawks and Sixers were frustrated in their attempts to prevent New York from scoring almost at will. 

And then there's the depth. This postseason, the Knicks bench is averaging 32.4 points per game, 5th in the NBA. Under Tom Thibodeau last postseason, it was 15th with 15.8 points per game. Now you know why Rose fired Thibs and hired Brown. 

For those who may be wondering where this team was hiding all season long and why it waited until the postseason began to reveal it self, I would submit that they've shown us glimpses of this all along. There was the 25 point blowout of the Spurs at the Garden and the 39 point humiliation of the Nuggets in Denver. It was never about whether they could play like this, but rather whether they could sustain it.

So now that the Sixers have been vanquished, the Knicks will sit back and await the outcome of the series between the Detroit Pistons and the Cleveland Cavaliers. The earliest they will begin the conference finals is Sunday. Normally having that much time off is not a good thing, but in this case, the extra few days will allow Anunoby's hamstring to fully heal.

As for who they'll play, the last time I dipped my toe into that pond and expressed a preference, I ended up with egg on my face. This time around, I'll simply say that whoever New York plays will likely be a far tougher foe than Philly. But let's be honest, that's not exactly a high bar, is it?

As for my preview, I'll write that on Saturday. In the meantime, enjoy the week, people. I'm sure the Knicks will.

Knicks Send a Message

I've been watching the Knicks for more than 50 years and I've never seen anything like this. Neither has the NBA, apparently. Since losing game three to the Atlanta Hawks 109-108, this team has undergone a metamorphosis that would make David Banner proud. They beat the Hawks 114-98, 126-97 and 140-89 to advance to the second round. They then pummeled the Philadelphia 76ers 137-98 to take a 1-0 lead. Four games, four wins, three blowouts, with a total point differential of +135. 

New York shot 48, 57, 59 and 63 percent respectively from the field in those four games. This postseason, Karl-Anthony Towns has two triple doubles, two double doubles and is averaging six assists per game; Jalen Brunson is averaging 27.6 points and 5.7 assists per game; and O.G. Anunoby is averaging 7.9 rebounds and 21 points per game on 63.7 percent shooting; 59.4 percent from three.

But even more impressive than the offensive output has been the commitment to defense. During this four-game win streak, the Knicks have not allowed an opponent to score 100 points against them once. Since the playoffs began, they have the top five plus / minus players: Brunson (+111), Anunoby (+106), Josh Hart (+105), Towns (+103) and Miles McBride (+85); the top five net rating players: McBride (30.5), Towns (24.9), Hart (22.6), Brunson (22.3) and Anunoby (20.6); and the second-best team defensive rating at 103.6. Philadelphia, incidentally, is 14th at 117.4.

The Sixers and their fans can rationalize all they want about what happened Monday night at the Garden as simply being a hangover from their emotional win against the Celtics in game seven. And if that had been a one-off, I might tend to agree. Trouble is, it wasn't. The reality is game one of this series looked eerily similar to game six of the last series, and that isn't good news for the city of brotherly love.

The Knicks are sending a message loud and clear, not just to the Sixers, but to every so-called "expert" who doubted them. And that message is, "Dismiss us at your own peril." This team isn't just having an historic run; it's clearly the best team in the Eastern Conference. Hell, the way they're playing, they might even be the best team in the league.

Hyperbole? I think not. Compare what the Knicks have done in these playoffs with what other teams in their conference have done. The Detroit Pistons had to come from 3-1 down to beat the 8th seed Orlando Magic; the Celtics blew a 3-1 lead to the 7th seed Sixers; and the Cleveland Cavaliers needed a full seven games to dispose of the 5th seed Toronto Raptors. All three of those teams, at one point or another during the regular season, had better odds of coming out of the East than the Knicks.

I thought going in that Philly would pose a huge matchup problem for New York, and just to be clear, this series is far from over;  they still could pose a matchup problem. But if game one is any indication, it's the Knicks that are posing the matchup problem for the Sixers. Joel Embiid is, without question, an offensive force in the paint. In the first half he drew three fouls a piece on Towns and Mitchell Robinson; a problem that coach Mike Brown said his team would need to address going forward. 

On the other end of the court, however, Embiid is about as useless as tits on a bull, and the Knicks know it. Brunson and KAT exposed his lack of mobility several times with the pick and roll. Look for that to continue as the series progresses. The more the Knicks make Embiid work defensively, the less effective he will be offensively. Did you see him at the end of the Boston series? The man looked gassed. And that's exactly what New York wants: a gassed and ineffective Embiid in the closing minutes of each game. 

Then there's the bench. I'll say it again: New York has the deepest roster of any team in the Eastern Conference. Embiid and Tyrese Maxey are undoubtedly superstars and deserving of praise, but the reason the Knicks have gone through their opponents like shit through a goose this postseason is because they're not a one or a two-man show. KAT and Brunson may garner most of the headlines, but Brown is getting contributions from every player in his lineup. This is not meant as a slight on Tom Thibodeau, but no way this team would be playing as well as it is if he were still coaching them. That should painfully obvious to all but the most ardent Thibs apologists.

I predicted before this series began that it would go seven games, and, who knows, it very well might. But the way New York is playing right now, I wouldn't be surprised if it gets wrapped up in six or five. Not because the Sixers are a bad team, but because the Knicks are that much better. 

That being said, some adjustments will have to be made before game two tonight, notably how they guard Embiid. Clearly Towns and Robinson are not the answer. The Knicks cannot afford to have their two big men in foul trouble by halftime, especially since it's unlikely that we'll see another blowout like we saw in game one. If I were Brown, I'd put Anunoby on Embiid. Two years ago, both he and Precious Achiuwa did a pretty effective job on him. The best way to prevent Embiid from being a one-man wrecking crew is to keep him on the perimeter. Waiting until he gets to the top of the key with the ball is too late.

If the Knicks can "contain Embiid," as I wrote in my preview, and if they continue to defend the way they've been doing so far in these playoffs, they'll advance to their second consecutive conference finals. It's just a matter of when, not if.

P.S.: Less than an hour after this piece was published, ESPN's Shams Charania reported that Joel Embiid has been ruled out for game two tonight at the Garden. There is absolutely no excuse for the Knicks not going up 2-0 in the series.

Knicks Playoff Preview (Round Two)

Before I get to the Knicks, I wanted to talk a little bit about the Boston Celtics. For the second season in a row, the darlings of the East were eliminated in a series they were favored in. Last year it was the Knicks; this year it was the Philadelphia 76ers. This loss was particularly egregious because Boston had a 3-1 lead. But like last year, the over-reliance on the three pointer proved to be their Waterloo. Over the last three games of the series, the Celtics shot under 30 percent from downtown. I've said it before and I'll say it again: this is a flawed team that is given way too much credit for a playoff run they had two years ago when everything went their way. Unless changes are made to their offensive approach they will never get to another conference final, much less win another title.

Now onto the Knicks. To say I was rooting for Boston would be putting it mildly. Leon Rose built this roster specifically to beat the Celtics, and while I think it is certainly capable of beating the Sixers, it will be more difficult. 

The keys for the Knicks will be as follows:

1. Contain Embiid. There's nothing the Knicks can do to stop Tyrese Maxey; he's going to get his points. But Maxey alone won't be enough for the Sixers to advance. That's where Joel Embiid comes in. Two years ago, he basically played on one leg and still managed to average 33 points and 10.8 rebounds per game. The Knicks have to find a way to contain him or they will lose this series.

2. KAT and Brunson have to lead the way. In the last three games of the Atlanta series, this duo finally found their stride, and the results spoke for themselves. Karl-Anthony Towns had 26 assists and two triple doubles while Jalen Brunson averaged 25 points primarily playing off the ball. Both will have to continue to lead this team for New York to advance.

3. Brown has to utilize his bench. Philly has an imposing starting five, but their bench consists of Quentin Grimes and three guys named Moe, Larry and Curley. So thin is the Sixers bench that Nick Nurse was forced to play Maxey, Paul George and VJ Edgecombe each more than 40 minutes in game seven against the Celtics. Even Embiid played 39 minutes. There is no way they can sustain that kind of usage, especially Embiid who was limited to 38 games this season. Unlike his predecessor Tom Thibodeau, Mike Brown will likely go with a ten-man rotation, which means his starters will be have plenty left in the tank late in games. I expect Jose Alvarado, Deuce McBride, Jordan Clarkson, Landry Shamet and Mitchell Robinson will get significant playing time. The longer this series goes on, the more it favors the Knicks.

4. Don't throw away games. The Sixers are more than capable of winning games on their own merit. They don't need any help from a Knicks team that against the Hawks fell asleep in the fourth quarter of game two and got off to slow start in the first quarter of game three. Whatever switch this team flipped in game four needs to stay open. If they throw away any games in this series, they will be going home.

While the Knicks have the home-court advantage in this series, that might not mean as much as you think. That's because both teams closed out their respective series on the road and both are more than capable of winning in each other's buildings. Two years ago, the Knicks blew a chance to clinch at home and were forced to do so in Philly. Don't think for a minute if the shoe were on the other foot that the Sixers couldn't return the favor. This promises to be the most hotly contested series of the second round.

In the end, the Knicks bench will be the determining factor in this series. Rose has constructed a solid roster that is as deep as it is talented. New York in seven. 

And now for the other series.

Eastern Conference:

Detroit over Cleveland in six. The Pistons were pushed to a seventh game by the Magic, but while the Cavs can score, their reluctance to play defense will be their undoing in this series.

Western Conference: 

Oklahoma City over Los Angeles in five. The Lakers took advantage of a flawed Rockets team in round one. The Thunder have no flaws.

San Antonio over Minnesota in six. If Anthony Edwards were available I might take the T-Wolves. Unfortunately he's not.

If the Knicks advance, I'll preview the third round. If not, my pick to win it all is OKC. 

Enjoy the ride, people.

Knicks Take Care of Business in Atlanta

Early in the first quarter of game six, the Atlanta Hawks, who were facing elimination, led the New York Knicks 9-5. If you were anything like me you were probably muttering to yourself, "Great, I guess we're going to have a game seven at Madison Square Garden after all."

Fortunately for us Debbie Downers, the Knicks had other plans. They outscored the Hawks 35-6 the rest of the quarter and 43-21 in the second to take a commanding 83-36 lead into the locker room. It was the most dominant half of playoff basketball in the history of the NBA. 

And the Knicks didn't stop there. They kept their foot on the gas in the second half and increased their lead to 117-64 going into the fourth. When it was all over, the Knicks routed the Hawks 140-89. It was the third largest margin of victory in a close out game in the play-by-play era.

To be honest, I thought New York would win this series in six, but never in my wildest dreams did I think they'd put that kind of ass whoopin' on them. The Knicks outscored the Hawks 380-284 over the last three games. The last time the city of Atlanta was that badly destroyed, Sherman set it on fire. 

So how did the Knicks do it? How did they go from losing games two and three by a single point to completely dominating games four, five and six? And make no mistake about it, this was domination in the strictest sense of the word. The Knicks margin of victory over the Hawks in this series was 105 points. To put that into perspective, the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder's margin of victory over the Phoenix Suns was just 69 points. And the Thunder swept their series, mind you.

Defense was the key. In these playoffs, the Knicks have the second best defensive rating at 103.9. Only the Detroit Pistons, at 102.9, are better. This turnaround didn't begin once the postseason started; it began on January 21 with a 120-66 mauling of the Brooklyn Nets. Since then, New York's defensive rating has been the second best in the NBA.

But the biggest reason for the Knicks success lies with Mike Brown. After game three, he made the adjustments that finally unleashed this offense. Jalen Brunson got Karl-Anthony Towns involved and KAT, for his part, became the distributor in chief; a point center, if you will. Over the last three games, Towns had two triple doubles and 26 assists. Only Nicola Jokic averaged more assists, and his team was eliminated by the Minnesota Timberwolves.

I said this playoff series was a microcosm of the Knicks regular season, and it turned out to be that way. When their offense clicked, they looked like a team that couldn't be stopped; when it stalled, they looked like a team that couldn't get out of its own way. And therein lies the paradox, and the challenge. Whoever they play in the second round, they must remember what they did right in this series and carry it over into the next if they want to advance.

As for who they play, we'll know that soon enough. The Philadelphia 76ers forced a game seven against the Boston Celtics at TD Garden Saturday night. If the Sixers win, the Knicks will have home court; if the Celtics win, they'll open on the road.

If I were the Knicks, I'd much rather play Boston. With the Celtics you know what you're getting: a team that lives and dies with the three pointer. When they go in, they win; when they don't, they lose. In the three games the Celtics have won in this series they've shot over 35 percent from beyond the arc; in the three games they've lost, they shot under 30 percent from there.

Philadelphia, on the other hand, presents all kinds of matchup problems for New York, starting with their center Joel Embiid. The Sixers are 24-14 when Embiid plays; 21-23 when he doesn't. Two years ago when the Knicks beat the Sixers, Embiid, was injured and the Knicks still struggled to contain him. This postseason, he appears to be fully recovered after having surgery to remove his appendix. Playing alongside Tyrese Maxey, the most underrated guard in the league, Philly could definitely win.

The way I see it, Leon Rose built this roster specifically to beat the Celtics. With OG Anunoby and Mikal Bridges on the wing, New York would have the advantage over Boston. Against Philly, it's anybody's guess who would prevail.

Typically, I don't like projecting ahead. After all, the Hawks thought the Knicks would be an easier team to beat and look what happened to them. All I'm saying is when you look at both teams objectively, the Sixers scare me; the Celtics not so much.

Knicks Need To Treat This Game As a Must Win

Generally speaking, I hate the term must win; it's the most overused and abused term in sports. For the record, the only "must wins" are elimination games, when losing means your season is over. I'm making an exception in this case. Game five against the Atlanta Hawks is a must win for the New York Knicks.

No, the Knicks season will not be over if they lose tonight at the Garden, and yes, they are more than capable of beating the Hawks in Atlanta in game six and closing them out in their building in game seven. But why on Earth would the Knicks want to subject themselves to that kind of pressure?

To be clear, the Knicks have been the better team in this series. They've played a total of two bad quarters - the 4th in game two and the 1st in game three. But that was enough to lose both games by one point a piece. In the two wins, New York has outscored Atlanta by a combined 27 points. You could make the argument that had they not taken their foot off the gas in game two and not gotten off to such a slow start in game three, the Knicks would now be awaiting the winner of the Celtics / Sixers series. 

Unfortunately that didn't happen, and here we are tied at two. In many respects, this series has been a microcosm of the Knicks season. One minute hot, the next cold. It's amazing to think that the same team that routed the Nuggets in Denver barely beat the Nets in Brooklyn. They have been the ultimate enigma for a fanbase that has often times been frustrated by the lack of consistency on the court. 

And that is why it is absolutely imperative that the Knicks not fall behind 3-2 going back to Atlanta. Even with all their talent and resolve, there is no guarantee that they would force a game seven. And should they lose this series, it will be a very long offseason for this team, I can assure you. Mike Brown will almost certainly be fired and Leon Rose would be forced to make some drastic changes to the roster. To put it another way, the Knicks aren't just fighting to beat the Hawks; they're fighting to stay together as a core.

So how do they accomplish both? By remembering what they did right in game four. I wrote at the start of the series that the Knicks had to get Karl-Anthony Towns involved. They did so in game one and most of game two. But then they forgot about their big man in the 4th quarter of game two and the Hawks mounted a comeback. The Knicks recovered from a slow start in game three to take a three-point lead but couldn't hold it because, once again, they didn't go to KAT when it counted. Jalen Brunson turned the ball over in the closing seconds and that was that.

In game four, however, the Knicks put on a clinic. It was one of their better games of the season. They started strong and they finished strong. Towns was, by far, the best player on the court, recording the fourth playoff triple double in franchise history. He had plenty of help. O.G. Anunoby had a game-high 22 points and 10 rebounds, while Brunson and Deuce McBride chipped in 19 and 11 points respectively. As a team, the Knicks had 23 assists, and led for 94 percent of the game. But perhaps the most important stat was that New York did not allow Atlanta a single fast-break point through three quarters. 

The Knicks need to bottle that performance and bring it with them to the Garden tonight. Every chance they get they need to put the ball in KAT's hands and let him do his thing. Because when they've done that, when they've let KAT be KAT, the Hawks have had no answer for him. None. I've heard of mismatches, but this one takes the cake. Mike Brown has to make it abundantly clear to his captain that in this series, he needs to defer to his center. It doesn't mean Brunson can't contribute; he did, after all, have 19 points in the last game. But the fact is the Knicks offense is more fluid and diverse when he plays off the ball, and conversely, it grows stagnant when he hogs the ball.

So, to sum up. The Knicks need to get off to a fast start, they need to get the ball to their big guy, and they need to keep their foot on the accelerator. If they do those things, they'll be one step closer to a rematch with the Celtics; if they don't, they'll be one step closer to the most disappointing playoff defeat since the last time they lost to the Hawks in 2021.

We all remember how that felt.