With things breaking so perfectly for the Knicks ... is it title time in New York?
The well-rested Knicks are healthy and haven't lost in nearly a month as OKC and San Antonio are losing bodies in a slugfest that will likely drag on. Everything seems to be coming up Knicks.
Remember that moment nearly a month ago when the New York Knicks were down 2-1 to the Atlanta Hawks in the first round of the NBA playoffs? When Mikal Bridges couldn’t make a shot, when Jalen Brunson was going to tank the draft stock of every small guard from here to eternity, when Mike Brown’s rotations were taking years off Ben Stiller’s life? It’s safe to say those questions have been replaced by a new one: Are the Knicks ever going to lose again?
As both sets of conference finals shift to the lower-seeded team’s home court, an interesting dynamic is developing. When you watch the Oklahoma City Thunder slug it out with the San Antonio Spurs — a 1-1 series that seems destined to go the distance — it feels like both teams are playing a higher level of basketball than anything we’re watching in the Eastern Conference. Play 2026 Soccer Pick 'Em with FOX One and make your picks for the world's biggest soccer tournament Things are looking up for Josh Hart and the Knicks after Thursday's win at the Garden.
(AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura) AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura But at the same time, the physical and mental toll of the Western Conference playoffs is already manifesting in injuries to De’Aaron Fox and Dylan Harper for the Spurs and a hamstring that is making it difficult for the Thunder’s Jalen Williams to stay on the court. Regardless of which team emerges from the West, it is likely to be such a fierce battle that the winner enters the NBA Finals at significantly less than the peak of its powers. Meanwhile, the Knicks are pretty much just … cruising through the East.
Yeah, this series could still shift in the Cavs’ direction when they return home to Cleveland, but we should probably trust our eyes at this point. Though New Yorkers have every reason to be paranoid given that their franchise hasn’t made the Finals since 1999, the Knicks made easy work of the Hawks after that initial scare, broke the spirit of the Philadelphia 76ers in an embarrassing sweep and have made things pretty simple so far against the Cavs because they’re just the better team. Though it took a crazy fourth-quarter comeback for New York to pull out Game 1 in overtime, its slow start looked a lot more like a product of rust after being off for nine days.
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