The Sixers this past Saturday exorcised 40-odd years’ worth of postseason demons when they defeated the Boston Celtics in Game 7 at TD Garden, overcoming a 3-1 series deficit for the first time in franchise history.
Now, get over it.
There’s no rest for the weary as the Sixers will kick off their second-round series with the New York Knicks Monday night at Madison Square Garden. These teams met just two years ago, with the Knicks winning in six games. Prior to that, they hadn’t played each other since
1989, with New York sweeping the best-of-five series.
With such a quick turnaround, consider this a preview for Game 1 and the series overall.
It was a weird season series with the teams splitting four games and neither winning at home. There’s some quirky context to add as well. The two games the Sixers won at MSG were with the Knicks playing on the second night of a back-to-back. One of New York’s wins in Philly was without Joel Embiid and Paul George, with the Sixers coming back from a West Coast trip. Only putting it out there to say we didn’t see the optimal versions of these teams face off this season.
The Knicks went 53-29 in the regular season, good for the East’s third seed. They dispatched of the Atlanta Hawks in six games with a 140-89 drubbing in the elimination game. They had a top-10 offense (3rd) and defense (7th) during the regular season. They’re a formidable opponent.
They’re still led by Villanova legend Jalen Brunson. After another All-Star campaign, he had a strong series against the Hawks, averaging 26.3 points on 56.9% true shooting. The Sixers will have their hands full containing the lefty guard with his craftiness, footwork and ability to draw fouls.
But the Sixers have the requisite bodies to throw at Brunson. Kelly Oubre Jr. defended Brunson very well in that 2024 series, forcing New York to change the gameplan by Game 3. Rookie VJ Edgecome was also tough on Brunson during this regular season.
It wouldn’t be surprising to see Paul George matched up on Brunson from time to time after the veteran wing was an absolute defensive maven against Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum in the first round. Quentin Grimes, who started his NBA career as Brunson’s teammate, will surely see time on the star guard, too.
Karl-Anthony Towns joined Brunson at this year’s All-Star game and also had a strong series against Atlanta. The veteran big averaged 18.7 points, 11.3 rebounds (2.8 offensive) and 6.0 assists while knocking down 44.4% of his threes. Towns was the Knicks’ primary starter at center this season, which presents an interesting matchup with Joel Embiid.
Towns has never fared well against Embiid defensively, but his ability to shoot and hit the offensive glass could present challenges on the other end. Embiid was moving pretty damn well by the end of the Boston series, but we’ll see how the big fella holds up as the minutes pile up. Of course, Embiid will also see Mitchell Robinson, who’s had some success against the former MVP. Robinson only averaged 13.8 minutes against the Hawks. Expect that number to jump. You could even see OG Anunoby get the assignment — with designated help, of course.
The chess match between Nick Nurse and Mike Brown should be interesting. Will Embiid force the Knicks to go to their two-big look more? Could that give the Sixers an advantage with Paul George playing the four and Towns needing to guard him or Oubre in space? How do the Sixers handle screens and switches with Brunson, who is outstanding at finding mismatches?
All of this and we haven’t really touched on New York’s supporting cast. Anunoby had an outstanding first round, averaging 21.5 points while benefiting from all the space Brunson and Towns were creating. Josh Hart and Mikal Bridges didn’t have their best series, but we know what that Wildcat duo is capable of in the postseason.
Deuce McBride is a player who’s never missed a shot against the Sixers (not technically true, but it sure feels like it). You’ll likely see all of McBride, trade deadline addition Jose Alvarado and former Sixers first-round pick Landry Shamet get reps on Tyrese Maxey. The player Maxey will probably see the most of is Hart, who did a solid job at times on him two years ago in the playoffs. It’s safe to say Maxey has grown quite a bit as a player since then. They also have veteran guard Jordan Clarkson as a potential flamethrower off the bench.
This Sixers starting group is much better than the one the Knicks saw two years ago. In fact, there’s a legitimate argument to be made this is the Sixers’ best starting group of the Joel Embiid era. Embiid and Maxey are humming right now. George’s two-way excellence in the first round was crucial. Edgecombe is playing nothing like a rookie, while Oubre has filled in the gaps, despite not shooting as well as he did in the regular season.
Of course, New York is quite different, having moved on from Isaiah Hartenstein and Donte DiVincenzo — who both killed the Sixers in that series — and with the six-time All-Star Towns in the fold. They also have Brown instead of Tom Thibodeau, which means their starters will be much fresher than in previous postseasons.
The Sixers’ bench is where things are going to get interesting. Nurse was essentially in a seven-man rotation by the end of the first round. Grimes is really the only reserve who will play big minutes. The guess here is Nurse continues to roll with Andre Drummond as his backup five given New York’s size. The veteran big played a little over eight minutes in Game 7. That’ll probably be the norm for this series.
The other x-factors on the fringes of the rotation are Justin Edwards and Dominick Barlow. Both guys are in a tough spot, having barely played in the first round. Edwards had some decent moments while Barlow struggled a bit. Again, the Knicks’ size is not just with their bigs, as they feature multiple long wings. That could lead to minutes for either player. While Drummond will get the first crack at backup minutes, Adem Bona could still be heard from in this series if the team needs a bit more energy and athleticism off the bench.
The good news for both teams heading in: the injury report is basically clean. Embiid is listed as probable with a right hip contusion. He took a pretty good beating at the end of Game 7, so it’s good to see he should be ready to go for Game 1.
This should be a fun one. The Knicks are a good basketball team, but they’re far from unbeatable. The Sixers have a legitimate chance to punch their ticket to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 2001 — just as we all envisioned when the season began!
Game Details
When: May 4, 8 p.m. ET
Where: Madison Square Garden, New York, NY
Watch: NBC, Peacock
Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic
Follow: @LibertyBallers
