Knicks Pulse Check: Onto the ECF

The New York Knicks have captured the energy of a cinderella college team during this postseason.

Their journey has included late-game heroics, upsetting a higher seed, and everything in between. And here’s the best part: they’re not done.

The scenes outside of Madison Square Garden after the game six, series-clinching victory tell you all you need to know about what this postseason run means to the Knicks fanbase. The familial ties between the last two Knicks appearances in the Eastern Conference Finals—assistant coach Rick Brunson, who was on the Knicks roster during that 1999-2000 season, and his son, the captain of the New York Knicks, Jalen Brunson—are just the icing on top of the cake.

But nostalgia aside, the Knicks really battled and transformed as a team to get to this point. They overcame back-to-back twenty-point deficits in games one and two, and probably played their best defense of the season in the closeout Game 6. NBA.com’s John Schumann noted that, with 1:49 left in the third quarter, the Celtics had scored just 51 points on 69 possessions, a rate that would be the fourth worst from any team this season or during the playoffs.

The cynics will say that a season-ending torn achilles injury sustained by Jayson Tatum will be the main reason that the orange and blue are just one series win away from an NBA finals appearance, but the truth is that this team, who is no stranger to being doubted - even by their own fanbase, was able to produce their best when their best was needed. Sound familiar?

Centers of Attention

Fans have been encouraged by what they’ve seen when both Karl-Anthony Towns and Mitchell Robinson share the court, to the point where some fans wanted Mitch inserted into the starting lineup for Josh Hart.

Individually, both Towns and Robinson have clearly left their mark on this series. Towns saved his best offensive performance for Game 6 when he scored 21 points, added 12 rebounds, and was a +25 on the night. But it was his defense on Tatum during Game 4 that left the biggest impression on Knicks fans.

Towns’ backup and sometimes frontcourt partner in crime, Mitchell Robinson, also left his mark with one of THE highlights of the series. Whenever Robinson checked in, he immediately changed the game with his rebounding. And despite the tense vibes heading into Game 6, everyone knew the Celtics were done after this impressive defensive highlight.

The Blockness Monster finished the series averaging eight rebounds per game and, per NBAstats.com, had the highest plus/minus on the team (+7.7) for the entire series. Not bad for a player who some wanted to trade during the season.

Mikal Bridges

This postseason has been filled with breakout performances from Mikal Bridges. The former Villanova man was at the center of every important defensive stand and offensive comeback against the Celtics. And while most fans spent the majority of the season pointing out what Bridges is not, maybe we should have been celebrating what he is: an absolute star in his role.

Mikal moves without the ball, crashes the boards consistently, played stellar defense this postseason, and has the most dangerous mid range fadeaway jumper in the league. Only Chris Paul comes to mind, but even he can’t get the lift that the six-foot-six Bridges gets on his shot.

Certainly this must have been what Leon Rose envisioned when he traded five first-round picks for the seven-year veteran. And although it started out rocky, a good performance from Bridges, similar to OG Anunoby last season, has become one of the prime indicators for victories this season.

While most of his counting stats are down from his regular season averages, Bridges has improved from 3.2 rebounds during the regular season to 4.9 during this postseason. Situationally, he may be the most “clutch” player not named Jalen Brunson on the team. His defensive awareness has been at an all-time high.

Captain Clutch

At some point, you run out of superlatives and things to say when discussing Jalen Brunson. Even though there are some big names left in the Conference Finals—including the league’s MVP, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander—I truly believe that Brunson is the most feared man in any arena, especially during the fourth quarter.

If you’re a Knicks fan, you’re no longer surprised to see tweets like the one above. I honestly thought the Celtics did a decent job of guarding Brunson for most of the series. JB was clearly worried about driving into the C’s rotation of big men including Al Horford, Kristaps Porzingis, and Luke Kornet. But it wasn’t enough, and the truth is there is no one player or defensive scheme that can stop Brunson. Ausar Thompson and now Jrue Holiday have tried and come up empty handed.

For me the best part of watching Brunson is not knowing what he’ll do, or when he’ll do it next. Of course you expect a certain level of greatness, but the timing, and level of importance of those performances never ceases to amaze me. And despite the Derek Jeter level of professionalism Brunson displays during his press-conference, as a competitor, you know he’s got to be boiling inside, knowing he has the opportunity to get revenge against the Pacers for last season.

Final Thoughts & ECF Preview

The early conversation around Knicks vs. Pacers has been focused on health and comparisons to last year’s matchup. For most of the series, the Knicks were missing OG Anunoby and did not have Mikal Bridges or Karl-Anthony Towns. This is a completely different Knicks squad from the 2023-2024 team. Even during this season, the Pacers had not faced the Knicks with a healthy Mitchell Robinson.

It is also true that the Knicks did not face a Pacers team with Benedict Mathurin. As a result, the first two games will likely feature both teams feeling each other out as players get used to their defensive matchups. Along that line, the Pacers are a deep team ,and head coach Rick Carlisle plays 10 players on most nights. Tom Thibodeau cannot live with playing seven players, as he did during the majority of the Celtics series. If neither Cam Payne nor Landry Shamet can make an impact, Thibs needs to search for someone who can spare the starting five when it’s time for a rest.

My X-factor for the Knicks will be their defensive game plan for Myles Turner. Last season, Turner shot 48% from the three-point line against the Knicks in the semifinals, and he’s currently shooting 45% from the three-point line this postseason. Similar to the Celtics, the Pacers will likely pick-and-roll to iso Brunson and Towns when Tyrese Haliburton has the ball. Then, it becomes a game who can rotate quickest to open shooters.

Mitchell Robinson has the chance to grow his legend and affinity amongst Knicks fans even more than he already has. If he hits his foul shots and keeps Turner in check, the Knicks just might have what they need to make it to the NBA Finals.

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