The Knicks are still four wins away from ending New York’s infamous, 53-year title drought. But by reaching the NBA Finals, this team has already gone where no other 21st-century Knicks squad could.
Allan Houston and Latrell Sprewell could never replicate their 1999 run. Carmelo Anthony and Amar’e Stoudemire topped out in the second round. All the losing that led to the Kristaps Porzingis era didn’t amount to much. Lenny Wilkens, Larry Brown, Mike D’Antoni, and Tom Thibodeau are just some of the head coaches who couldn’t get the Knicks over the hump. Isiah Thomas, Donnie Walsh, and Phil Jackson were among the big names who took a shot at building a contender in The Mecca.
They came. They saw. None conquered. But this group, in head coach Mike Brown’s first year on the job, under the steady stewardship of Leon Rose, got it done.
It begins with Jalen Brunson, the relentless, tough-as-nails guard who spent part of his youth growing up at Madison Square Garden while his father, current Knicks assistant Rick Brunson, played for New York. When Brunson arrived in 2022, the Knicks had won one playoff series over the previous 22 seasons. They’ve won seven series in the four years since. Along the way, the three-time All-Star sacrificed tens of millions of dollars to help his team.
Brunson continues to rise to the postseason occasion despite much of NBA history suggesting undersized guards are supposed to wilt and be taken advantage of at this time of year.
Meanwhile, Karl-Anthony Towns has spent this spring rewriting his own postseason narrative by playing the most complete basketball of his decorated career. A polarizing big man with a checkered playoff history, it was Towns’ first-round suggestion that he serve as more of a playmaking hub that sparked New York’s conference-winning turnaround.
Running the offense through Towns achieves a number of objectives. It keeps the big man fully engaged. It eases the burden on Brunson, a high-volume guard who gets beat up by opposing defenses. And it diversifies the Knicks’ offense. Towns’ combination of skill and size allows him to survey the floor to find cutters, the open man, and the right play. The proof is in the pudding: No team has scored more efficiently in the playoffs, with New York’s frequency of offense off cuts (7.3%) up 30% compared to the regular season (5.6%), per NBA.com.
Towns ranks third on the team in playoff scoring, but the big man – who had never averaged more than 4.8 assists in a regular season or 2.6 assists in a postseason before this year – is up to 5.9 dimes per game through the first three rounds (while leading the team in rebounds and blocks). Entering this spring, Towns’ single-game career high for playoff assists was five. He’s eclipsed that number in nine of his last 11 games. Unsurprisingly, Brunson’s 27 points per game are coming on the highest efficiency of his postseason career.
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The Knicks’ two stars have been supported by players who star in their roles. OG Anunoby has averaged roughly 20 points and 2.6 stocks on 72% true shooting while posting New York’s best on-off differential. Mikal Bridges, who was raked over the coals during a wretched start to the playoffs after Rose traded five first-round picks for him, has shot 71% inside the arc, 38% from deep, and 100% from the free-throw line over the last nine games. The tireless Josh Hart is the ultimate glue-guy, serving as an invaluable connector on both ends despite his shooting limitations.
Those five starters, whose collective performance was a concern entering the postseason, have carried the load. But the bench has done its job, too, buoyed by Miles McBride’s shooting, Landry Shamet’s underrated two-way play, and Mitchell Robinson’s offensive rebounding in a limited role. Brown has wisely used Robinson, a pitiful free-throw shooter who gets intentionally fouled, to push the Knicks into the bonus before removing him from games.
The Knicks’ defense, which seemed like regular-season fool’s gold given the liabilities of Brunson and Towns, has also held up. New York owns the postseason’s stingiest defense to match its top-ranked offense. The team seems to have coalesced and peaked when it mattered most.
The Knicks figured out a tricky Hawks team in Round 1, putting Atlanta to bed with a 51-point beatdown in Game 6. They completely broke Philadelphia’s spirit in a four-game second-round sweep, outscoring the 76ers by 89 points. New York roared back from a 22-point deficit in the fourth quarter of Game 1 against Cleveland, then methodically put the high-priced Cavaliers out of their misery over the next three contests.
The Knicks went from a 2-1 series deficit against the sixth-seeded Hawks to rattling off an 11-game win streak, during which they outscored the Hawks, Sixers, and Cavs by an average of 23.8 points per game. Only four other teams have won 11 straight games in a single postseason, but no team in playoff history has thoroughly dominated opponents like New York has since its last loss more than a month ago.
The Knicks will surely open as Finals underdogs against either the defending champion Thunder or rising Spurs, but neither team will take New York lightly. This is a two-way juggernaut that has an overwhelming sense of belief and an air of destiny about them. The Knicks will also have a rest advantage of at least three days against San Antonio or Oklahoma City, both of whom are dealing with their own injury concerns.
In any event, Finals-related questions can wait. For now, long-suffering Knicks fans just want to celebrate being back on basketball’s biggest stage, and the inspiring team that helped them get there. Who can blame them?
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