Although the New York Knicks are an iconic franchise, one of the most valuable NBA teams, and popular around the world, they are also a historically beleaguered fanbase. There is perhaps no organization with a bigger gap between their brand size and their actual performance than the Knicks. They have arguably the best fanbase in the sport, a group of unending diehards craving meaningful basketball at Madison Square Garden. Those supporters have been largely unsatisfied, especially since we entered the new millennium.
In fact, the last time this franchise reached the Eastern Conference Finals was the year 2000, just one season after losing in the NBA Finals. That East Finals appearance put a bow on an extremely successful 1990s, albeit without a single championship. Since then, New York has made the playoffs just eight times, only winning a series in three of those trips. Two of those first-round victories came in the past two seasons when Jalen Brunson helped end the squad back to relevance. Fortunately, those short postseason runs were just the appetizer for what was to come this year.
Knicks Entering Most-Anticipated 2nd-Half In Decades
After trading for OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges, and Karl-Anthony Towns in one year, Leon Rose assembled the most talented Knicks roster since the 1990s. Despite starting slow with a new group, Tom Thibodeau has his guys playing great basketball into the break. At 36-18, NY is just about locked into the East’s third seed and has hovered around a top-five record in the NBA all season. The Knicks haven’t had 36 or more wins through 54 games since 1996-97, when Patrick Ewing was still trying to bring a title to the Mecca.
However, the excitement surrounding this team has little to do with records. The fanbase has fallen in love with this squad of recent years for their heart and gritty playstyle, which embodies the hard-nosed New York culture. Now they have the talent to match their energy, and the fans have bought in. Not only that, but this feels like the first time the city truly believes they can win the title since the Ewing era. The 2012-13 Knicks won 54 games and earned a second seed, but were an older roster with nowhere near the talent of today’s squad.
With the Excitement Comes Pressure, and a Lot to Prove
Things are great at MSG these days, and rightfully so. Unfortunately, if these Knicks don’t prove they’re a championship-level team during the second half, the mood will change drastically. It’s only year one of the Brunson/Towns/Anunoby/Bridges/Josh Hart core, but a playoff flameout would be disastrous. The Boston Celtics are a juggernaut and deserved favorite in the East, but Knicks fans are desperate to finally break through to the NBA Finals.
There’s been a lot of chatter about NY’s 0-5 record against the Cavaliers, Celtics, and Thunder. They’ve looked overmatched, especially defensively, and have a ton to work on in these final 28 games. Thibodeau’s group would do well to prove they can hang with the best in the second half, and will have ample opportunities to do so. New York gets two more chances versus Boston and three games against Cleveland to see where they stand. After that, it’ll be time to lace ’em up for the postseason, presumably as the third seed. As it stands now, NY will need to beat Boston in the second round and Cleveland in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Knicks Should Be Fully Healthy
Mitchell Robinson and OG Anunoby both received great updates on their injuries Wednesday. With their returns to come shortly, Thibs should have the full ten-man rotation Knicks fans have dreamed about since the Towns trade. As long as they can remain healthy the rest of the season (a big if), New York will be a threat to beat anyone in the playoffs. For most of this season, the team has been told they aren’t good enough to compete at the top of the NBA. Well, they now have a chance to prove everyone wrong. They’ll have their full group available to do it.
Photo credit: © Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images
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