Cavs-Magic Game 7 Fully Vindicates Knicks' Final Regular Season Wins
For over two decades, the New York Knicks have been chided for a lack of victories. So just imagine their confusion over the consternation garnered for swiping a 120-119 overtime triumph over the Chicago Bulls on Apr. 14 at Madison Square Garden.
Behind 40 points from Jalen Brunson, the Knicks escaped from New York with a victory that secured the landmarks of a 50-win season and the second seed on the Eastern Conference playoff bracket. It was also the last of five consecutive victories before the postseason tipped off, the longest such streak among the East's automatic six qualifiers entering the tournament.
Yet answering "where" they'd lie on the playoff bracket only brought a resounding "why?" from at least some of the basketball world.
A hardwood landscape that still can't seem to give the Knicks their flowers chastised the Knicks for falling into the trap of facing the seventh-seeded Play-In winner in round one, the possibilities narrowed down to the red-hot, piping-angry Philadelphia 76ers and the Miami Heat group that ended last year's championship run.
When Philadelphia pulled it off, reserve Paul Reed basked in the prospect of an "easier" matchup. An anonymous NBA executive "couldn't believe" the Knicks "decided to win that last game." In a macabre irony, Cleveland Cavaliers head coach J.B. Bickerstaff was named one of the Coach of the Year finalists shortly after resting his starters in a loss to lowly Charlotte that removed his group from two-seed contention.
One round later, it's hard to deny that the narrative has changed.
The Knicks' task remains gargantuan, as they'll be facing an Indiana Pacers team that had their number in the regular season. But where they sit among the current conference semifinal matchups is among the prettiest set-ups.
Indiana, for example, has yet to face this brand of Knicks team: the first of two wins came on Dec. 30, when New York was severely limited due to injuries and the year-ending trade for ex-Ontarian OG Anunoby. Speaking of Anunoby, he has yet to partake in a Knicks game against the Pacers, as further medical woes kept him out of two February meetings.
But put aside the Pacer matchup, even briefly: had the Knicks politely turned down second-seed honors, they would've had to deal with the winner of a Milwaukee-Philadelphia winner. Sure, the Bucks are gone in the wake of injuries to Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard, but facing the 76ers was hard enough when they were armed with the momentum of a Play-In victory. Just imagine how difficult a second-round series would be, especially with a presumed matchup with the Boston Celtics in the conference final on the horizon.
Things perhaps came full circle for the Knicks on Sunday, as even their off days are starting to work in their favor: the NBA's weekend came to an end with the Cavaliers' come from behind to hex the Orlando Magic in Game 7 of their quarterfinal series. Not only did the Knicks' continued winning help them avoid the pesky Magic (who downed them three times in the regular season), but they also avoided the trials and drama of a seven-game set ... especially going into, again, a best-of-seven with the mighty Celtics, one they've managed to avoid until the de facto Final Four.
It's perhaps easy to discount what the Knicks have done considering there's no ring on their fingers just yet. Heck, the conference final hump has been daunting enough, with the Knicks tied for the third-longest active drought in the Association. They have one of their best chances yet to end that dubious streak thanks to calculated risk-taking and stepping out of the comfort zone of load management that has permeated today's game for better and worse.
Somehow one of those latest "gambits" involved the mere concept of winning ... and sometimes you get exactly what you asked for.
GEOFF MAGLIOCCHETTI
Editor-In-Chief at All Knicks