Knicks Embrace Underdog Status vs. Celtics

Bob Dylan once sang that "when you ain't got nothing, you've got nothing to lose." That's more or less where the New York Knicks' ongoing postseason journey begins and they couldn't be happier.

The Knicks are set to face the defending champion Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Semifinals and even the biggest Beantown basher can't deny New York's underdog status: likely swayed by the Knicks' regular season struggles against the Celtics (0-4 with an average margin of defeat over 16 points), all 11 experts on an ESPN panel picked Boston to advance and New York fared no better on this very site.

Fortunately for the Knicks, the games are played on the hardwood and not in cyberspace, and they were more than happy to hammer that point home as they engaged in their final prep for departing for Boston.

"If we're counted out already, then we should play with a great level of freedom. That's about it. We don't really care too much what the outside world said. We're focused on how we feel internally and going about it that way."

- Josh Hart pic.twitter.com/1PtdaSkHhB
— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) May 4, 2025

"With us, we don't really involve ourselves with what other people think," Josh Hart said in video from SNY. "If we're counted out already, then we should play with a great level of freedom. That's about it. We don't really care too much what the outside world said. We're focused on how we feel internally and going about it that way."

"It's the playoffs," teammate Mikal Bridges added, also in SNY video. "What are you not excited about?"

A second-round matchup against the Celtics has allowed the Knicks' most relentless critics to resurrect one of their favorite narratives, namely this season's winless mark against the Association's top three teams.

The struggles against the Celtics aren't the only reason why the Knicks will probably carry the bittersweet of gift of having nothing to lose, as New York is seeking its first Eastern Conference Finals appearance since 2000. Boston, on the other hand, has been no worse than a national semifinalist in all but two of the last eight seasons, a run that includes last year's record-breaking 18th NBA championship.

"We always go in with confidence. It's idiotic to play the game if you don't go in with confidence. If you don't go in to win, you shouldn't go out there."

Josh Hart was asked about the Knicks' confidence level going into this series: pic.twitter.com/01r5Z3sA4e
— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) May 4, 2025

But the Knicks made it clear that's going to take far more than pregame narrative formed beyond the locker room to curb their postseason enthusiasm.

"We always go in with confidence. It's idiotic to play the game if you don't go in with confidence. If you don't go in to win, you shouldn't go out there," Hard bluntly declared in video from SNY. "We're confident in the team that we have. We're confident in the coaching staff that we have, and I'm sure it's vice versa, same for [Boston]."

"We're always confident in ourselves. If you're not confident, like I said, you shouldn't be out there."

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