Before Game 1 of their first-round series against the New York Knicks, Philadelphia 76ers coach Nick Nurse said that it felt like a “really long two days” since Game 7 of their first-round series against the Boston Celtics.
“I always said, even when I was coaching in the minors, that when your team’s winning, you just want to keep the games coming,” Nurse said.
In retrospect, perhaps some rust would have been acceptable if it meant getting a little more rest. The Knicks ran the Sixers off the floor in the opener, and, less than a week later, the series is already over. With Joel Embiid playing through hip and ankle ailments and Tyrese Maxey compromised by an injured finger, Philadelphia never resembled the team that won three straight games to erase a 3-1 deficit against Boston.
The Knicks, meanwhile, wouldn’t change a single thing about these playoffs, aside from OG Anunoby’s strained right hamstring. After a 144-114 rout to sweep the Sixers in Sunday’s Game 4, they’ve won seven straight games since falling down 2-1 against the Atlanta Hawks in the first round. In those seven games, they scored 130.5 points per 100 possessions, allowed 103 points per 100 possessions and had a true shooting percentage of 66.2%. For the second consecutive season, they’re headed to the Eastern Conference finals, which will begin on either May 17 or May 19.
Given how well things have been going, maybe New York will find itself antsy to get back on the floor in the next few days. This break, however, will give Anunoby at least a week to rest and rehabilitate his injury. It will also give the coaching staff at least a week to scout the Cleveland Cavaliers and Detroit Pistons without having to think about its own second-round series.
Perhaps most importantly, by making short work of Philadelphia, the Knicks don’t have to worry about anything else going wrong in the next seven days. In the playoffs, when you’re often playing every other day, wear and tear is cumulative. New York should be rooting for the Cavaliers to tie their series on Monday, and then it should be rooting for them and the Pistons to beat each other up in a seven-game slugfest.
Two years ago, the Knicks lost the war of attrition against the Indiana Pacers in the second round. In Game 7 at Madison Square Garden, Anunoby played five minutes on a strained hamstring, Josh Hart played 37 minutes with a strained abdomen, Jalen Brunson fractured his hand in the third quarter, and the Pacers won by 21 points. Mitchell Robinson had ankle surgery during the series. New York didn’t fall apart physically the same way when they lost in last year’s conference finals, but it again couldn’t keep pace with Indiana. Part of the rationale for replacing coach Tom Thibodeau with Mike Brown was that Brown would play a deeper bench and the team would be fresher when it matters.
It is impossible to overstate how much the Knicks’ outlook has improved in the last two-and-a-half weeks. On April 23, when they lost a second straight one-point game against Atlanta, questions swirled around Brown, Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges in particular. Now, that existential crisis seems like a distant memory. In the last seven games, New York has played like the best version of itself, especially on offense. It has seamlessly toggled between Towns-as-a-facilitator mode and Brunson-as-a-pick-and-roll-playmaker mode. It has exploited opponents’ pressure points far more effectively than those opponents have been able to pick on Towns and Brunson. It has done damage on the offensive glass, gotten solid production from the bench and gotten to the free-throw line. And it has been absolutely scorching from 3-point range.
In the clincher against Philly, the Knicks tied NBA playoff records for 3s made in a half (18) and game (25). Twenty-one of those 3s were assisted, with Brunson and Bridges assisting five of them apiece and Towns assisting four. Their ball movement and player movement have been purposeful, and their confidence has been through the roof. Having watched the Sixers’ perimeter defenders stifle the Celtics’ offense so recently, it was a bit jarring to see a team put them into scramble mode so easily. After the win, Brown complimented Philadelphia’s quickness, athleticism and ability to jump passing lanes, which forced the Knicks to make sure their spacing was pristine.
To be clear, merely making the conference finals was not New York’s goal this season, and, unlike when the Knicks won the NBA Cup, Sunday’s achievement will not even give owner James Dolan the opportunity to turn down a banner. If we’ve learned anything from the Knicks’ up-and-down season, it’s that neither prosperity nor despair can be trusted — they’re always capable of falling into a rut or rattling off wins. In the last couple of years, New York has won series over both of the teams that are still standing in the East, but the Pistons wiped the floor with New York during the regular season and the Cavs have more firepower than they did in 2024.
The Knicks’ most important games are the ones they haven’t played yet, but that doesn’t mean the run they’re on right now can’t be celebrated. Despite a messy start to the playoffs, they’ve put themselves in the best possible position ahead of the challenges that await them. It may be a really long seven to nine days, but, big picture, that’s a really good thing.
