The playoffs are officially lit, and our beloved Knickerbockers just mostly demolished the Atlanta Hawks on their way to the second round. Can they keep it rolling? Will the vibes stay electric deep into June? As usual, the Posting & Toasting crew has squeezed back around the round(ball) table to cut through the noise and tackle the juiciest questions surrounding New York’s second-round showdown with a hungry, rising Philadelphia 76ers squad. Our panel of basketball geniuses tackled the following
questions:
How many games will the Knicks-76ers series last, and who advances?
Antonio: Six. I preferred the Celtics to the Sixers in the second round, so I don’t expect it to be easy, let alone after what the Hawks did to the Knicks early, as little as that means at this point. Embiid is going to have one game where KAT can’t handle him, struggles with fouling, and gives Philly enough. And I just don’t believe Maxey/Edgecombe/George won’t combine for at least one strong game, making that two wins for the Sixers.
Miranda: Five. Joel Embiid is in the middle of a stretch of playing one playoff game every other day for at least two weeks. You get a flat tire, a donut can get you to the next rest stop, but push it beyond that and it’s gonna pop.
Zeno: I actually think the Knicks matched up better with the Celtics, should they have advanced, but there are still plenty of reasons to believe that the Knicks will prevail. Atlanta pushed the Knicks to six games, but it was perhaps the least competitive six-game series ever. This one will also go six, and the good guys come out on top, but it’ll look a lot like the 2024 clash that sent heart palpitations across the entire Northeast.
Kento: Like the first round, this series will go six games. But unlike the first round, there won’t be that many blowouts. The 76ers aren’t your traditional seventh seed. They have two players in Joel Embiid, and Tyrese Maxey, who are All-NBA level talents, have Paul George, who is still a very capable player, especially as a third option, and rookie standout VJ Edgecombe has given this team some much needed youth, and athleticism. That being said, the Knicks have rebounding, depth, rest, and home-court advantage on their side.
Polaniecki: Sticking with Knicks in six again. However, all six are going to be dog-fights until the final buzzer. We should be in for a very fun week-and-a-half of Knicks basketball that will have us screaming and cursing back and for the a whole lot.
Beyond Jalen Brunson, who is the most important Knick in this matchup?
Antonio: Given what percolated through the first round, there’s no answer to this question other than Towns. The Knicks flipped a switch, turned KAT into an uber-hub, and he didn’t even have to score more than 10 points to still look delightful and do whatever he pleased. Now, for the important and more concerning/why-he’s-key part: It’s Embiid in front of him, and that doesn’t only mean talent, but also dealing with shithousery. This feels like the ultimate test for KAT and his easy-whistle tendencies.
Miranda: Karl-Anthony Towns. The last thing Embiid or the Sixer defense wants is Embiid away from the hoop. Their leading shot-blocker was Adem Bona, which sounds like a punchline. Number two in rejections? Maxey. Philadelphia bossed Boston in Game 7 because the Celtics have no real centers. The Knicks have two. If they guard Towns with someone else, he can shoot and see over the top of them. If they try Embiid . . . good luck.
Zeno: This one isn’t as cut and dry as Atlanta. I’ll go with Mitchell Robinson. He’ll surely be motivated after how things went in 2024, and he might be the Knicks’ best option to guard Joel Embiid. After a series where the Knicks didn’t use him much due to the way they used Towns and an inconsistent double big lineup, he should get serious run in this one.
Kento: Josh Hart. Philadelphia has two options. Put Joel Embiid on Karl-Anthony Towns, and allow the Knicks to play the offense they want to, or put Embiid on Hart, and try to limit Towns’ effectiveness. If they, after having seen the big man’s dominance in the first round, go the latter route, that will mean Hart will be forced to make plays either via the jump shot, or by attacking a physically compromised Embiid. Hart shot the lights out from three when these two teams met up in the playoffs last season, and if he can even come close to repeating that, New York will have a much easier time beating Philadelphia.
Polaniecki: Mitchell Robinson. His minutes off the bench are going to be huge, especially on the defensive end, and his timing matters just as much as the minutes themselves. If the Knicks get pulled into a Hack-a-Mitch situation and he can’t convert at the line, it limits how much they can keep him on Joel Embiid, which then puts more of that burden on Karl-Anthony Towns.
There’s a part of me that wouldn’t mind experimenting with Mikal Bridges coming off the bench, sliding Josh Hart and OG Anunoby from the 3 and 4 down to the 2 and 3 to create more chances to keep Robinson on the floor when they’re not in the foul limit.
What must New York do to win this series?
Antonio: Play Josh Hart for 48 minutes and teach Philly what’s the real meaning of gritty. Also, don’t trust Paul George’s old rearend and leave him alone all day. Dude can still put it in with gusto, and the Sixers have an underrated four-man unit.
Miranda: Don’t get in any benches-clearing brawls. Win one of the first two games in Philly. Make. Their. Free. Throws.
Zeno: Limit Tyrese Maxey any way possible. With Embiid’s injury history, they’ll lean on Maxey to initiate offense, and he’s capable of winning a game on his own the same way Brunson is. The initial matchup should be Mikal Bridges, but he should also see a lot of Deuce McBride. He’s much more dynamic than CJ McCollum, but the strategy of showing him a lot of different bodies and looks could be effective.
Kento: Win by committee. The 76ers top two stars presents some difficult challenges for the Knicks. Embiid will get his. Mitchell Robinson may be able to slow him down more than anybody else in the league, but it’s not like the Knicks are going to get 40 minutes of Robinson holding Embiid to 15 points. Tyrese Maxey will likely also get his. He’s become one of the league’s premier guards, and we’ve seen just how dominant he can be, especially against a Knicks defense that isn’t particularly well-equipped to handle him. Jalen Brunson, and Towns may not outscore those two, but if they can get a balanced offensive effort from those two, as well as OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges, Josh Hart, Deuce McBride, and Jordan Clarkson, they should have enough firepower to withstand Philly’s big two.
Polaniecki: Control the pace and stay out of early foul trouble. Stick with what worked in the second half of the series against the Hawks, but let the offense run through Karl-Anthony Towns. They also have to avoid early fouls, because that will cut into Mitchell Robinson’s minutes.
What concerns you most about the Knicks entering Round 2?
Antonio: Said it above, kinda. The Sixers have a very vivid memory of what happened the last time these two met. They have had a few good years for Embiid to teach their kids his tricks. And we all know what will happen in at least one, likely two games when things will inevitably go extracurricular. Starting 2-1 to Atlanta was manageable. Falling one game behind Philly (I’d concede not counting Game 1) could be hella dangerous territory, and the team might reach that point hella unsettled by the Sixers’ tactics. Not saying these Knicks are “soft” anymore, but I always have this fear they’ll suffer a mental short circuit if such a scenario comes to fruition.
Miranda: As great as the Knicks are at center, they’re also kinda thin. Between KAT’s gift for fouling and Mitch’s shall we say “fluid durability,” New York is only a dumb foul or a turned ankle away from needing Ariel Hukporti out on the floor. If at any point in this series the Knicks “need” Hukporti, uh-oh. Not ‘cuz I’m down on Huk. Just ‘cuz Embiid is one of one.
Zeno: Their tendency to lose focus. They played well enough to sweep the Hawks, but got lulled into a six-game series after taking their foot off the gas in Game 2 and crumbled late in both Games 2 and 3 after leading late. We’ve seen just how good they are when every man on the roster is dialed in, but can they keep that focus 24/7?
Kento: Tyrese Maxey is the easy answer. Not only is he really good, as I mentioned above, the Knicks just don’t really have a great answer for him. And to be honest, right now, not many teams do. But if I was to give a less popular answer, it would likely be VJ Edgecombe. The rookie has been among the best to defend Brunson during the regular season. I do believe in Brunson during the postseason, but Edgecombe won’t make it easy for the captain.
Polaniecki: Going back to how they played against the Hawks through the first three games, Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns need to reestablish that old-school point guard–big man connection we saw in the second half of that series, where the offense flows through Towns instead of defaulting to Brunson pounding the ball until the final seconds of the shot clock every possession.
What gives you the most confidence about New York after the Round 1 victory?
Antonio: After 88 games, it looks like the Knicks know who they are and how to unlock their best version. Took them a minute, and it’s not that they will win every game by 80 points after the slaughter in Atlanta, but if they can carry the momentum into one or two wins to start this series, I see no way they end up collapsing. Also, if you are brave enough, check Philadelphia’s 6-through-14 players, then have the audacity to tell me that the bench unit can beat any Knicks five-man squad.
Miranda: Their adjustments. Last year, we watched them struggle all year against elite teams refusing to switch, then against the Celtics they did something different, and it worked. This year Towns struggled notably (and publicly) about finding his place in Mike Brown’s offense. Against Atlanta, it looked like KAT might’ve been playing rope-a-dope with the fans and the media. Seeing an offense that went beyond “Jalen, save us” is extremely encouraging.
Zeno: The depth disparity. The Knicks trust nine guys in their rotation fully, and will probably use a 10th in Landry Shamet at some point. The Sixers are legitimately running a 6.5-man rotation, only leaning on Quentin Grimes and sometimes Andre Drummond off the bench. Maxey, George, and Embiid will be on the floor so much that the condensed schedule could wear out Philly early.
Kento: Depth. The 76ers have one bench player they really trust, and that’s Quentin Grimes. I’m convinced that if Embiid could give them 48 minutes, Andre Drummond, their only other rotational player, wouldn’t even play. The 76ers come into game one having just played a physically, and emotionally draining game seven against a conference rival, and will do so on less than 48 hours rest, while the Knicks have had three full days to rest up. New York has more depth, and more rest, and the longer this series go, the less I faith I have in a 36 year-old Paul George, and a banged up Embiid to physically hold up.
Polaniecki: They’re so close they can taste it. Of the remaining 4 teams in the East, the Knicks are the best, and the know it too. They just need to avoid an upset at this point to get the Finals for the first time since 1999.
