Knicks prepping playoffs without knowing next opponent: ‘It’s about us’
The Boston Celtics, Detroit Pistons and Cleveland Cavaliers all went to Game 7. The Knicks got their first-round Eastern Conference playoff series done in six games. As a result, they practiced at the team’s Tarrytown training facility on Saturday without knowing their opponent for the second round of the playoffs.
As the Knicks awaited the winner of the Celtics-Philadelphia 76ers first-round series, they worked to improve their own processes on both ends of the floor in an extra day of practice available on the schedule. “Well, you can always get better. It’s about us,” head coach Mike Brown said after practice on Saturday.
“And a lot of times, it’s about us even if we know who we’re playing. There’s plenty that you can work on without knowing who your opponent is because you’re trying to get better, or sharper, in the areas that make you who you are. ” The Knicks’ dominant three-game stretch against the Atlanta Hawks put the basketball world on notice.
After falling behind 1-2, the Knicks went on to beat the Hawks by 16 in Game 4 and 29 in Game 5 before leading by as many as 61 points in an historic beatdown of elimination in Game 6. The No. 1 Pistons needed a Game 7 to decide their first-round series against No.
8 Orlando. The second-seeded Celtics — who sustained a Jayson Tatum injury in Game 6 — needed a seventh game against the Philadelphia 76ers. And the No.