Where Jalen Brunson Ranks in the Pantheon of Clutch New York Athletes

As I was watching Jalen Brunson address the crowd at the Knicks parade, I couldn't help but notice an air of vindication in his words. Yes, he thanked James Dolan and the front office for believing in him; his teammates for giving him the confidence; the coaching staff and trainers; and of course the fans.

But it was what he said in closing that resonated most with the two million or more fans who turned out to watch the parade live and the millions more who tuned in to watch it on TV.

"There's a lot of people that have a lot of negative stuff to say. There's a lot of people who have a lot of opinions. But when you prove them wrong, you really don't have to say shit to them. Nah, they don't deserve it. Appreciate y'all. Thank you."

That's about as close to saying "fuck you" as Brunson is capable of. But if ever there was someone who was entitled to say "fuck you" to his detractors, it would be Brunson. Since his arrival on Broadway, this man has endured every kind of slight imaginable.

One of those slights came at the hands of a certain person whose name I shall not bother to mention here. As Brunson said, she doesn't deserve it. But for those who need a reminder, the incident occurred two years ago. This individual made it a point to say Brunson was too small and was "not a dude," whatever the fuck that means. She then went on to explain that since John Stockton and Allen Iverson didn't win, and they were small, that meant Brunson couldn't win either.

For those who actually know a thing or two about basketball, and who also know what the word context means, allow me to turn back the clock a bit. Stockton was a point guard who played for the Utah Jazz from 1984 to 2003. The Jazz went to two consecutive NBA finals in '97 and '98, where they unfortunately met up with the Chicago Bulls, who just happened to be working on their second three-peat. Stockton and Karl Malone played their hearts out, but they couldn't stop Micheal Jordan and the Bulls. They lost both series 4-2.

Like Stockton, Iverson was a point guard who played for the Philadelphia 76ers from 1996 to 2010. In 2001, the Sixers advanced to the finals, where they met up with the Los Angeles Lakers, who were also in the middle of going for a three-peat. That Lakers team had Shaquille O'Neil and Kobe Bryant on it. The Sixers were valiant but the Lakers were too much for them. They lost 4-1. Ironically, the only game LA lost that whole postseason was against Philly in the finals.

My point is Stockton and Iverson's size had absolutely nothing to do with them not winning a title. Their teams just happen to lose to two of the most dominant basketball dynasties of the last 30 years. There's no shame in admitting that, nor should there be. If Stockton and Iverson had been four inches taller, the results would've been the same. Iverson, in fact, averaged 33 points per game against the Lakers in that series.

Making general statements about an athlete's size as a bar against winning is the sort of thing trolls on social media do; it's not the sort of thing people who hold responsible positions in the media should do, and whether or not she apologizes, I hope the next time someone is asked to opine on the prospects of a player winning a championship, the reply that follows is an informed one.

Having said all that, I think what Brunson did this postseason ranks him among the top clutch New York athletes of all time. By clutch, I mean coming through in the playoffs. But where does it rank? I decided to compile a top ten list from the last 60 years.

Without further ado,

1. Eli Manning: The man lived in the shadow of his brother Peyton his whole career, yet when it mattered most, he came up big in Super Bowls 42 and 46, earning not only MVP in both games, but the distinction of being the only quarterback in NFL history to beat Tom Brady twice in the Super Bowl. His postseason passer rating in 2011 was 103.3, and he led the NFL in passing yards with 1219 and touchdowns with 9.

2. Mark Messier: He had one mission when he came to Broadway: end the curse of 1940. His "guarantee" and subsequent hat trick in game 6 of the '94 conference finals stands as one of the most iconic moments in Rangers history, and his game-winning goal against the Canucks in game 7 of the finals delivered New York its first Stanley Cup in 54 years.

3. Jalen Brunson: The player who was too small, too slow and not a number one option, tied Micheal Jordan for most points in a road close-out finals game. Captain Clutch's overall performance in the finals is the singular reason the Knicks were able to end their 53 year drought. The man not only deserves his flowers; he deserves a whole damn florist. 

4. Walt Frazier: When Willis Reed got injured in game five of the 1970 NBA finals, the Knicks needed someone to step up and take charge. That someone was Clyde. His 36 points and 19 assists in game 7 enabled New York to win the first of its two titles in the '70s.

5. Reggie Jackson: Mr. October was no stranger to winning in the postseason. He was an integral part of that Oakland A's team that won three consecutive World Series. But it was his performance in game 6 of the '77 World Series that forever cemented his place in New York folklore. His three home runs against the Dodgers helped the Yankees clinch their first title since 1962. 

6. Joe Namath: In the late 1960s, everyone knew the NFL was the dominant league. The Green Bay Packers had routed the Kansas City Chiefs and Oakland Raiders in Super Bowls 1 and 2, and now the Baltimore Colts were preparing to do the same to the Jets in Super Bowl 3. But Broadway Joe had other plans. He not only guaranteed his team would win, he went out and proved it. In what is still considered to this day the greatest upset in sports history, New York shocked Baltimore 16-7. The win not only made Namath a household name, it put the AFL on the map. One year later, the two leagues merged.

7. Mariano Rivera: Without question, the greatest closer in baseball history. He's the career leader in postseason saves (42), ERA (0.70) and WHIP (0.75). How impressive was Rivera? His ERA in the Yankees '98 and '99 playoff runs was 0.00 in 18 appearances. Indeed, from 1996 through 2000, he allowed just two earned runs in 56 innings. If there's such a thing as an automatic out, it was Rivera. 

8. Lawrence Taylor: From 1981 to 1993, the most feared defensive player in the NFL. He gave offensive coordinators fits and opposing quarterbacks nightmares. LT helped lead the Giants to two Super Bowl wins in '86 and '90, and turned Bill Belichick into a legend. 

9. Derek Jeter: In 7 World Series, Jeter had a batting average of .321, with an OPS of .832. Overall in the postseason, he hit .308 with 20 homers and 61 RBIs. During his Yankee career, which lasted 20 years, he finished 6th in team RBIs (1311) and 8th in team batting average (.310). He was the most consistent clutch player to wear the Pinstripes since Mickey Mantle. 

10. Brian Leetch: The 1994 Conn-Smyth winner led the Rangers with 34 points during their Cup run. The Calder and two-time Norris trophy winner was a fixture on New York's blue line until he was traded to the Maple Leafs in 2004. He's second for most points by American-born defensemen with 1028, 204 behind Phil Housley. 

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. 

Leon Rose's Next Move Will Be His Most Consequential

With the Rangers in the midst of their second rebuild, retool - or whatever the fuck Chris Drury is calling it - in eight years, the Knicks approach this year's trade deadline with one purpose: to get a team with championship aspirations across the finish line.

This will be Leon Rose's sixth trade deadline since he was hired by James Dolan in March of 2020 to run the franchise, and it will be, by far, his most consequential. With the Eastern Conference wide open, Rose cannot afford to waste this opportunity. But he also can't afford to panic, which is pretty much what every Knicks fan on Twitter has been doing since the NBA Cup. How some of these people are allowed out in public is beyond me.

Let's face it: the roster Rose assembled in the summer of 2024, despite knocking off the Boston Celtics in the second round of last season's playoffs, clearly has flaws. Yes, they've won their last two games, but prior to that, they had lost nine of eleven and looked more like a play-in team than a title contender. The question isn't whether some changes need to be made, but how many and to what extent. 

Mike Brown was hired to transform an offense that had become predictable as dirt under Tom Thibodeau, and for a while there it looked as if he had accomplished the impossible. The starters weren't logging as many minutes as they were the last few seasons; the bench, long an afterthought under Thibs, was making significant contributions. On the surface, everything appeared to be going smoothly. After beating the Pelicans on December 29, New York was 23-9, one game behind the first place Detroit Pistons. To quote Clyde Frazier, the Knicks were "movin' and groovin'."

And then everything began to fall apart. The Knicks blew a late fourth-quarter lead to the Spurs in San Antonio; they were then routed by the Sixers at home and the Pistons in Detroit; they even lost to the lowly Kings in Sacramento. They now sit in fourth place in the Eastern Conference, a half game ahead of the Cleveland Cavaliers.

While there are many issues besetting this team, the most egregious appears to be Karl-Anthony Towns. After an impressive maiden season on Broadway, the 7-0 center has had a rough time adjusting to Brown's system. He is averaging only 20.5 points per game, down four from the previous season. Worse, he has looked disjointed at times and even sullen. In his last game against the Sixers in Philly, KAT fouled out after a season-low 16 minutes, scoring a measly 10 points and grabbing six rebounds. Had it not been for Mitchell Robinson, the Knicks might very well have lost that game.

Towns has been the ultimate enigma. On the one hand, there's no denying his talent; on the other, no player on this team is more frustrating to watch. Fouls have plagued him throughout his NBA career. It is inexplicable that after eleven seasons he still doesn't know how to set a screen. Adding insult to injury, Towns has the audacity to complain when he gets called for the foul, as if the ref was Mr. Magoo. If it weren't so sad, it would be hysterical.

Almost as frustrating as his foul troubles is his inconsistent offensive production. When facing teams with big front courts, he tends to struggle. It's no coincidence that two of his worst offensive performances this season came against the Sixers and the Pistons; two teams that the Knicks could well face in the postseason.

The problem for the Knicks is that when KAT isn't scoring, he's pretty much useless on the court. The man can't defend to save his life; indeed, the one thing Brown and Thibs both have in common is that they would often substitute Towns for Robinson late in the game with a lead.

By no means is Towns the only culprit when it comes to defense. Jalen Brunson isn't exactly Gary Payton. But unlike KAT, Brunson doesn't wilt in big moments. If anything, the tougher the opponent, the more he seems to rise to the occasion. There's a reason why he's referred to as Captain Clutch. 

The sixty-four thousand dollar question for Rose is, can this Knicks team win with a seven foot center who is erratic offensively and takes stupid fouls? If the answer is yes, then I expect he will just add a depth piece at the deadline. If the answer is no, I wouldn't be surprised to see Towns traded.

But for whom? You can forget Giannis Antetokounmpo. The Greek Freak recently suffered his second calf injury this season - fourth in the last 19 months - and is out four to six weeks. Rose would be nuts to trade for a player who, despite his physical prowess, might not be available until mid March. And, besides, the Bucks have already turned down a proposed swap involving KAT. In other words, it ain't happening.

Another player that could be on the move is Guerschon Yabusele. After averaging 11 points per game for the Sixers last season, he has been a major disappointment for the Knicks this season. With a $5.5 million cap hit, I expect him to be included in a package for a guard or a forward regardless of whether they keep Towns or not.

One thing is certain: as presently constructed, this team will not beat Detroit in a best of seven series. The Pistons are bigger and deeper than the Knicks. To have any shot of advancing to the finals, the Knicks will have to get tougher and smarter. 

Nine days to go till the trade deadline. The pressure couldn't be higher on Rose.

Knicks Half Way Home

In the end, it wasn’t close. The New York Knicks, who needed fourth quarter comebacks in games one, two and four, left nothing to chance in game six. They dominated the Boston Celtics pretty much from the opening tip-off, en-route to a series-clinching 119-81 victory Friday night at Madison Square Garden. It was, by far, their most complete game in these playoffs.

Every starter was in double digits, with Josh Hart recording a triple double. Jalen Brunson led all Knicks with 23 points, while Karl-Anthony Towns scored 21 and grabbed a team-high twelve rebounds. The win catapulted New York into the Eastern Conference finals for the first time since 2000; it was also the first time since 1999 that the Knicks clinched a best of seven series on their home court.

The off-season acquisitions of Mikal Bridges and Towns - often criticized during regular season - have given this franchise its best starting five since the Pat Riley / Jeff Van Gundy era.  If this is what Leon Rose envisioned over the summer when he gave up five first-round picks, Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo, then he has been vindicated, at least for the moment.

But it was the return of Mitchell Robinson from a left ankle injury at the end of February that seems to have had the biggest impact on this team's fortunes. The 7-0 center has vastly improved the Knicks rim defense. Against the Celtics, New York was a plus 46 when Robinson was on the court versus a minus 43 when he was off. Imagine how many more regular season wins the Knicks might have had if Robinson had been healthy all year. Indeed, the best decision Rose appears to have made was not unloading him at the trade deadline for a depth scorer. Had he done so, the Knicks would probably be on the golf course right now.

I'd be lying if I said I saw this coming. My heart may have said Knicks in seven, but my head said Celtics in five. Given how many times my heart has been broken over the years, I had every reason to expect a quick and decisive loss for the men in orange and blue.

To quote a well-known scripture verse,  "O ye of little faith."

In my defense, though, I was hardly alone. Even an incurable optimist would've had a hard time believing the Knicks were capable of beating the Celtics in the playoffs, given they were 0-4 against them during the regular season, and only one of those losses was competitive. That most of the sports writers and talking heads had Boston winning in four or five games was less about an anti-New York bias than it was about an objective, sober analysis of where both teams were. The overwhelming view was that the Knicks were a very good team that was still a year or two away from challenging for the title.

But then a switch was thrown and logic went out the window. The fact is these are no longer the same Knicks who struggled during the regular season against the elite teams in the league. They have a swagger about them that is eerily familiar to those '90s teams. The resiliency that was missing most of the season, and which defined last year's team, is back with a vengeance. They believe in themselves, and they feel they are never out of a game, as evidenced by the fact that they've come-from-behind in six of their eight postseason wins.

And now they are eight wins away from their first NBA championship since 1973.

52 years! God, when you say it like that, it sounds like an eternity. That's because it is. Think about it: 90 percent of the fans who showed up outside the Garden to celebrate the Knicks win over the Celtics probably weren't alive in 1973. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if a third of them weren't around when they last went to the finals in '99. When I tell people I remember Clyde Frazier, Earl Monroe, Willis Reed and Dave DeBusschere, I'm not bragging; I'm just showing my gratitude for having had the opportunity to see such greatness in my lifetime.

And now all of us have the opportunity to see such greatness right before our very eyes. There is something special about this Tom Thibodeau-coached team; I can feel it. Every once in a while the basketball gods shower their favor upon a team. Don't get me wrong: I am not predicting a championship. Knowing my luck, that would be the kiss of death. What I am saying is that if the Knicks play the Indiana Pacers like they did the Celtics in game six, I like their chances. A lot.

This much is certain: the next time my head contradicts my heart, I'll tell it to go fuck itself!

Mr. Clutch Comes Through Again.

In what looked more like a bi-polar convention at a psychiatric ward than an NBA playoff game, the New York Knicks were on the verge of a loss that would've meant a seventh and deciding game at Madison Square Garden Saturday afternoon. The Detroit Pistons had erased a twelve-point, fourth quarter deficit and were leading 112-105 with 2:35 left.

That's when Jalen Brunson - aka, Mr. Clutch - stepped up and said, "I don't think so." The Captain scored eight of his team's final eleven points, including a three pointer that hit nothing but net with 4.3 seconds on the clock that will go down as one of the most iconic shots in NBA playoff history, to propel the Knicks to a 116-113 win. He would finish the game with 40 points and seven assists.

We're running out of superlatives to describe Brunson and what he means to this team. Just look at some of these stats:

• He's tied for second with Giannis Antekokoumpo, Dwayne Wade and Charles Barkley for the most 40 point road playoff games with two. Michael Jordan - the greatest basketball player of all time -had four during his career.
• He opened this postseason with four straight 30 point games. The last player to do that was Jordan in 1998.
• In the series against the Pistons, Brunson scored 66 fourth-quarter points in just 55 minutes. Over his career as a Knick, he's averaged just under a point per minute in the fourth quarter of the playoffs. 
• In the three games at Detroit, Brunson scored 23 clutch-time points; the Pistons as a team scored 24.
• As a Knick, Brunson has averaged 31.5 points per game in the playoffs. His regular season average is 26.4.
• Brunson has more 30 point playoff games (14) than Magic Johnson (12), and Johnson appeared in 190 playoff games while Brunson has only appeared in 55.

Some have compared Brunson to another Knick great: Walt Frazier. Respectfully, while Frazier does have two rings to show for his tenure in New York, I don't think it's that much of a stretch to say that when his career is over, his jersey will be hanging in the rafters. If the measure of a player's stature is how many times he comes through when it counts, then Brunson has earned every accolade he's received.

Case in point, the Pistons series. Going in, the so-called "experts" thought Cade Cunningham would be the best player on the court. Well, guess what? Jalen Brunson owned him, and it wasn't even close.

Detractors can mock his size all they want; they can continue to diminish his accomplishments on the court; or qualify them, as Candace Parker did last season on TNT. To his fans, he will forever be known as Mr. Clutch: the man who, night in and night out, dons a cape and delivers his teammates from the evil clutches of the loss column.

The man is legit, he's elite, and he's the reason the New York Knicks are headed to Boston to play the Celtics in the second round.

Critics be damned. 

Knicks Still Need a Third Option

After nine games, the verdict is in: The trade with the Toronto Raptors that brought OG Anunoby to the New York Knicks is an unqualified success. Not only have they've gone 7-2 over that stretch, they've gone from being one of the worst defensive teams in the NBA to one of the best. If there's such a thing as a secret sauce, Anunoby would be it.

And yet as good as this Knicks team has played, you can tell there's still something missing. Yes, their work ethic is beyond reproach. And, yes, to paraphrase Mr. T., "I pity the team that has to play them in the postseason." As things stand now, they would give the Philadelphia 76ers a run for their money. Hell, they might even beat them. But against the Milwaukee Bucks or the Boston Celtics, it would be game, set and match. Anybody that doubts that hasn't seen enough basketball games.

That's because for all their grit, they don't have quite enough polish. Every team that plays against them knows who's going to get the ball: it's either going to be Julius Randle or Jalen Brunson. That's about it. Oh, OG will get his points, as will Donte DiVencenzo and Josh Hart. But come crunch time, the game is in the hands of the dynamic duo.

The fact is that without a genuine third scoring option, the Knicks will continue to be outmanned and outgunned against the elite teams in this league. This isn't the NHL, where you can effectively "neutralize" the other team's best players. In Adam Silver's NBA, the cream always rises to the top. This is one professional sports league that knows how to showcase its talent.

And that's why Leon Rose needs to pull the trigger on the one deal that would catapult this team into a bonfire contender. He has enough first round draft picks to populate an entire roster. Sitting on them is not a viable option. In an earlier piece last month, I wrote that maybe Lauri Markkanen of the Utah Jazz might be available. But the more I think about it, the more it seems unlikely that Danny Ainge would part with the centerpiece of the Donavan Mitchell trade, especially for just draft picks.

I then posited that Rose would do well to turn his sights south to Atlanta where the Hawks are clearly in rebuild mode. Dejounte Murray is on the trading block. Everyone on this side of the Milly Way Galaxy knows it. For the right package, he could be a had. Can you imagine a backcourt of Brunson and Murray? As I wrote last month, "it would harken back to the days of Walt Frazier and Earl Monroe."

Think about it. With three players capable of scoring 25 plus points per game, the Knicks would be almost impossible to defend. And with their defense, they could capture their first title since 1973.

So what needs to happen to make this trade a reality? For starters, Rose has to do something he's been reluctant to do: roll the dice. You're not going to land Murray for just a couple of picks. Atlanta GM Landry Fields needs to know he's getting a package that he can sell to his fanbase. And that package must include players who can actually play as well as first rounders he can rebuild around.

Here's a proposed trade that would be a win / win for both teams.

New York receives Dejounte Murray and Clint Capela.

Atlanta receives Quentin Grimes, Deuce McBride, Evan Fournier and three first round picks.

In addition to Murray, the Knicks get Capela to backup Isaiah Hartenstein. Nobody knows when or if Mitchell Robinson will return this season, and at 6' 8" Precious Achiuwa is simply not the answer.

In Grimes and McBride, the Hawks get a starting backcourt that is both young and has potential. And even though he fell out of favor with Tom Thibodeau, Fournier has played both guard and small forward and is a proven scorer. Regarding the three number ones, need I say more?

Some Knicks fans may squawk that including McBride in the package is too high a price to pay, even for an elite guard like Murray. I would counter that in a rotation that includes Murray, Brunson and Hart, it's unlikely that McBride would see the court anyway. Let's face it: unless the Knicks are up 20 with less than two minutes to go, Thibs is not one to empty his bench. That's not his style. In fact, in such a three-man rotation, DiVencenso could well see his minutes reduced.

With the Indiana Pacers improving themselves by acquiring Pascal Siakam, the Knicks don't have the luxury of standing pat. Yes, they are a better team now than they were three weeks ago, but ultimately their success will hinge on what they do come April, May and June.

The NBA trade deadline is February 8. The clock is ticking, Leon.

Knicks Take Care of Business

The New York Knicks went into Cleveland last night up three games to one over the Cavaliers, needing just one more win to wrap up their series. And rather than punt it to a game six, they took care of business. It's nice to know there's one New York team that knows how to close out an opponent. And, yes, that was meant as a dig at you know who.

For the first time since 2013, the Knicks are in the second round of the NBA playoffs. And for the first time since 1999 - the last year they went to the finals - they won a best of seven series in five games or less.

To say this was a monumental accomplishment would be an understatement. I picked the Knicks in six, but even I didn't expect this kind of domination. At no point in game five - a game which the Cavs desperately needed to win to stay alive - did the Knicks trail. In fact, the closest Cleveland got to extending their season was when they pulled to within six (90-84) with 8:10 to go in the 4th quarter. For the next 3:58, the Cavs were held scoreless until Darius Garland - who had an abysmal series along with Donovan Mitchell - sank two free throws to make the score 96-86. Cleveland would not score again until Mitchell hit a jump shot with 3:06 remaining to make it 100-88. That's five minutes without a basket and only two measly free throws. Think about that.

Everyone contributed in this series. Jalen Brunson put on a clinic directing the Knicks offense. Mitchell Robinson had his way with both Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen. R.J. Barrett redeemed himself over the last two games, putting up 26 and 21 points respectively. Immanuel Quickly and Obi Toppin came off the bench to provide much needed depth scoring; the latter playing the entire second half of game five after Julius Randle re-injured his left ankle late in the 2nd quarter.

And then there was Josh Hart, quite possibly the best trade deadline acquisition in franchise history. In a word, he was unconscious. For the series, he averaged 11.6 points and 7.8 rebounds, including twelve in game five, where he played all but 1:46. Since his arrival from Portland in February, the Knicks are 21-9.

New York out-rebounded Cleveland 227-186 for the series; and their bench outscored the Cavaliers bench 145-94, and that was with Quentin Grimes not starting in games four and five due to a shoulder injury he sustained in game three.

I haven't seen such tenacity - to steal a phrase from Clyde Frazier - from a Knicks team since the heydays of Patrick Ewing and Charles Oakley back in the '90s. They are without a doubt the hardest working team in the league. If they don't bring you out of your seat, it's probably because you're dead and you don't know it.

I rarely say this about any team I root for out of fear of jinxing them, but this Knicks team is capable of going deep in the playoffs. With the Milwaukee Bucks, the number one seed in the Eastern Conference, getting knocked off by the the eighth seed Miami Heat, New York has the home court advantage in the second round, thanks to the NBA's refusal to re-seed.

That doesn't mean they're a lock for the conference finals, mind you. The Heat, after all, were one win away from going to the finals last postseason. Let's face it, Jimmy Butler makes Donovan Mitchell look like a sixth man; he torched the Bucks defense in games four and five to the tune of 56 and 42 points respectively. Tom Thibodeau - who should be coach of the year - will have his hands full devising a defensive strategy to contain him. And we still don't know the extent of Randle's injury. If he's not a hundred percent, that will affect how the series plays out.

But for now, the Knicks can bask in the glory of what they accomplished in this series. They were the better team and they showed it. Two years ago, they were cowed by an Atlanta Hawks team that was deeper and more resilient. Now the tables have turned. They are the deeper and more resilient team. 

How deep and resilient, we are about to find out.

The Knicks Are Building Something Special

On December 3, the Knicks record stood at 10-13. They had just lost to the Dallas Mavericks at Madison Square Garden, and it was becoming all too apparent that this season was starting to look eerily similar to last season when they finished 11th in the Eastern Conference with a woeful 37-45 record.

Over the last last twenty-two years that's been pretty much the story. One woeful season after another. With a couple of notable exceptions, there hasn't been much for Knicks fans to celebrate. There was the 2012-13 season in which they beat the Boston Celtics in the first round before losing to the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference semifinals; and there was the 2020-21 season in which they lost to the Atlanta Hawks in the first round. That's pretty much it for the highlight reel.

Then something incredible began to happen. Since that loss to the Mavericks, the Knicks have gone 29-14. With Sunday night's win over the Celtics in Boston, they are now 39-27, a game out of fourth place in the Eastern Conference. They have won nine in a row: the second time this season they have put together win streaks of eight or more games. The last time a Knicks team accomplished that feat was during the 1972-73 season. They have the second-best road record and the 7th best point differential in the NBA. Since January, both the Knicks and Celtics have identical 19-9 records.

Something special is happening at the Garden, and for the first time in a very long time it doesn't involve the hockey team. These Knicks aren't just for real, they're starting to turn some heads, which given how many stomachs they've tuned over the last two decades I guess is only fair.

They're 3-1 against the Celtics; 2-2 against the Sixers; 2-0 against the Heat; and 2-1 against their likely first-round opponent, the Cavaliers. They've proven they can beat anyone in the league, and while it may be a bit premature to start referring to them as a contender, one thing is certain: whoever ends up playing them in the postseason will have one helluva battle on their hands.

The credit goes to Team President Leon Rose and G.M. Scott Perry. Their decision to sign Jalen Brunson over the summer has turned out to be the most consequential signing this franchise has made since Amare Stoudemire in 2010. Brunson has finally given this team what it has lacked since the days of Latrell Sprewell: someone capable of ball distribution. For the last couple of seasons that duty has fallen to Julius Randle. While a gifted - if somewhat inconsistent - scorer, bringing the ball up court was never Randle's forte. With Brunson as a legitimate point guard, the Knicks offense finally looks cohesive.

The addition of Josh Hart at the trade deadline has given coach Tom Thibodeau much needed depth. Indeed, with Hart, Immanuel Quickley, Obi Toppin and Isaiah Hartenstein, the Knicks have one of the deepest benches in the league. Quickley scored a season high 38 points against the Celts on Sunday standing in for the injured Brunson.

It's been fifty years since the Knicks last won a championship. That team was coached by the great Red Holzman, and it had Walt "Clyde" Frazier and Earl "the Pearl" Monroe in the backcourt, Willis Reed at center, Bill Bradley at small forward and Dave DeBusschere at power forward. By all accounts, it was the hardest working team of its day. Every time I see this Thibodeau-coached team take the court, it reminds me of that great Knicks team. Don't get me wrong: I'm not saying Jalen Brunson is Clyde Frazier, and Mitchell Robinson sure as shit ain't no Willis Reed. But the way these players bust their asses night in and night out is a throw back to a time when perspiration meant something besides BO.

Can they win it all? Probably not. They're still an elite player away. But like I wrote above, I'd hate to be the team that has to show them the door.

Imagine What Might've Been

Beginning in 2019, the NBA decided to use a weighted lottery system to determine which team had the privilege of going first in the draft. The decision couldn't have come at a worse time for the New York Knicks, who had the league's worst record at 17-65 and were looking forward to drafting Duke power forward Zion Williamson with the number one pick. Thanks to the bean counters in the league offices, they now had no better than a 14 percent chance of landing him.

Well as fate would have it, the New Orleans Pelicans, the team with the 7th worst record, wound up winning the rights to Williamson; the Knicks got the third pick, which they used to pick Williamson's teammate, RJ Barrett.

At the time, Barrett was considered a solid choice for a rebuilding Knicks team that was desperately looking to turn the page from yet another disastrous front office administration. But while Barrett has been a good, if unspectacular, player for New York, it was the second overall pick, which belonged to the Memphis Grizzlies, that has garnered the majority of headlines over the last three seasons.

Ja Morant is generally acknowledged to be an elite point guard and one of the most exciting players in the NBA. And in a league that rewards its stars the way kids are rewarded with ice cream for cleaning their rooms, Morant has his team solidly in 3rd place in the Western Conference, while the Knicks are mired in 12th in the East. 

Imagine what might've been. Imagine if the Knicks, instead of picking third, went second. Imagine Ja Morant wearing the blue and orange in the most famous arena in the world. Imagine what coach Tom Thibodeau could do with a budding star like Morant in his back court. The Knicks would be a contender instead of a sub-500 team that, with a bunch of middling players last year, over achieved and were ousted in the first round by the Atlanta Hawks.

It is axiomatic that in today's NBA, teams that do not have elite-level talent simply don't succeed. Take a look at the standings. Without exception, each team at or near the top has at least one player that can carry his team. The Sixers have Joel Embiid; the Nets have Kevin Durant; the Warriors have Steph Curry; the Suns have Chris Paul.

Unlike the NHL, which for some reason rewards its less talented teams by allowing them to neutralize the advantage superior talented teams have once the postseason begins, in the NBA, the cream always rises to the top. If the Knicks shot pucks instead of hoops, they'd be the Islanders. Hard as it is to believe, last year, the boys from Uniondale were five wins away from a Stanley Cup championship, and they didn't have a single scorer in the top 40. Go figure.

But, alas, the Knicks shoot hoops, and as it turns out, not very well. As a basketball team, they're not bad; they're just not all that good, especially against the top teams in the league. Julius Randle, last year's most improved player, tries hard every night. He just isn't a star; nor is Barrett, or anyone else on this team.

After last year's early exit, you'd think that Leon Rose would've spent the offseason moving heaven and earth to acquire a star that could've transformed this franchise into a bonafide contender. Someone like, say Damian Lillard, the Portland Trailblazer point guard who, while not quite on Morant's level, is considerably better than either Kemba Walker or Evan Fournier, both of whom played for the Boston Celtics last year. While the Celtics are currently five games over .500, the Knicks are five under. You can't tell me that for the right package, Rose couldn't have landed Lillard. You can't.

And now, with the trade deadline a few days away, it's time for Rose to think big picture. Having a team full of sixth-men just isn't going to hack it. You don't get an E for effort in the NBA; what you get is a big fat L. Case in point, the game against the Lakers the other night. Despite jumping out to a twenty point lead in the first half, the Knicks had no answer for LeBron James and Anthony Davis in the third quarter. They eventually lost in overtime.

That's been the story of this team all season long. Game in and game out, early leads dissipate once the other teams stars take charge. In the end, all the perspiration in the world can't overcome the dearth in talent. I don't care how good your coach is - and Thibodeau is one of the game's best - he can't shoot, or pass, or rebound. Athleticism, or a lack thereof, is the ultimate determining factor.

I've been a Knicks fan since the 1970s. I remember, fondly, the '73 team that had the likes of Walt, Clyde Frazier, Dave DeBusschere and Earl, the Pearl, Monroe. Under the guidance of coach Red Holzman, they won the NBA championship that season. That would be the last title this franchise would win. In all the years since, they've been to the finals twice: '94 and '99, with no cigar.

Great players come and go, most of them wearing the opposition's uniform. In the '80s, it was Bird and Magic; in the '90s, it was Jordan and Shaq. Like the Four Tops used to sing, it's the same old song. The only thing that changes is the date on the calendar.