Knicks fans haven’t been excited about their team in a long time, which includes the 2012-2013 season when they last won a playoff series. Even that season, the fans did not expect much.
This is different now. Knicks fans have been talking about their team maybe going on a playoff run. Listening to Lori Rubinson’s show on WFAN this past Sunday, a caller told her that he expects the Knicks to go to the NBA Finals. He represents what every Knicks fan is thinking about. Most Knicks fans on social media have been talking about a 90s-like run, such as going as far as the Eastern Conference Finals.
It’s great to hear fans expect more rather than hoping for the best when it comes to the Knicks. It shows right there this once-woebegone franchise is finally heading in the right direction.
Now, it’s on the Knicks to validate these expectations by going on an Eastern Conference Finals run. This means getting out of the first round should be the bare minimum.
They started their playoff journey with a 101-97 Game 1 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers Saturday afternoon at Quicken Loans Arena. Don’t let the score fool you. This was all Knicks all the way. You never had the impression they were blowing this at any point of the game. First-year Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson made the big shots as usual on his way to a 27-point performance, and Julius Randle complemented Brunson with 19 points in his first game back since his ankle injury that had him miss the last five games of the regular season.
The Knicks should make quick work of the Cleveland Cavaliers in either four games or five games, aka a gentleman’s sweep. They have more playoff experience in the sense that they have been there before as a team. They received an education in what playoff basketball is like a couple of years ago when the Atlanta Hawks earned a gentleman’s sweep of the Knicks.
This is not to say the Cavaliers don’t have playoff experience. They have players such as Donovan Mitchell, Jarrett Allen, Robin Lopez, Danny Green, Caris LeVert and Ricky Rubio that played in the playoffs for different teams.
The point is the Knicks have had the same roster outside of Brunson. They have played together and know what to expect. Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau is a former warrior of the playoff wars, having previously guided the Chicago Bulls and Minnesota Timberwolves as head coach.
There’s no reason for the Knicks to flame out this early in the playoffs this year. They shouldn’t have flamed out against the Hawks two years ago, but we were okay with it since they entertained us for the first time since the Linsanity era.
It will be unacceptable if this Knicks team fails to get past the first round. They took three out of four against the Cavs in the regular season. They have to know the Cavs’ strengths and weaknesses by now.
The Knicks have a star to match up with Mitchell. Brunson can take over a game by making shots of his own and playing great defense. They couldn’t say that two years ago when they had no one to match up with Hawks star Trae Young.
They also have enough depth to beat the Cavs. Their bench outscored the Cavs bench 37-14 in Game 1, and that’s another reason why the Knicks should make their series with a first-round opponent a short one.
If the Knicks advance to the Eastern Conference Semifinals, they likely will run into a problem in Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks unless the Miami Heat somehow and someway upset the Bucks in the first round.
The Knicks need to win at least two games against the Bucks to make this series worthwhile to watch. For this team to be respected and make their claim that the they are back, they need to make the Bucks sweat it out there. This is a series where the Knicks need to make an impression on future stars when they are free agents.
For the Knickerbockers to be talked about on sports radio and get plenty of television and newspaper coverage, they need to make this spring a spring to remember like the good old days in the 90s when they would always contend for an NBA championship.
It’s time for the Knicks to grow up and be a NBA championship contender. If not now, when? This is a team that has not won a championship in 50 years. They haven’t gotten past the first round since the 2013 season. They haven’t gotten past the second round since the 2000 season. They haven’t made an NBA Finals appearance since the 1999 season, a lockout season.
At some point, this once-proud franchise should have us asking for more.
This is the time for this franchise to do something great.
No one is asking for much here. A second-round appearance with a respectable showing against the Bucks would constitute a great season. Sure, the bar is low when a franchise’s goal is to get to the second round, but the Knicks have to start somewhere after two decades of unwatchable basketball and failures. We also have to be realistic about the team’s shortcomings.
Eventually, the reclusive Leon Rose needs to go find another star to pair with Brunson. The Knicks president of basketball operations stockpiled so many draft picks in an attempt to get a star through a trade. It’s time for him to make a move this offseason after failing to acquire Mitchell.
This is why this postseason has to be a seminal moment for the Knicks. Stars that are not participating in the playoffs will be watching. Maybe this is a chance to show Luka Doncic, LaMelo Ball and Tyrese Haliburton among others that they can be the answer to the team’s championship drought. Shoot, this could be a chance to make an impression on Mitchell and Antetokounmpo about maybe wanting the challenge to play for the Knicks one day. Maybe, just maybe, LeBron James could finish his Hall of Fame career with the Knicks.
So much is at stake. The team can't just be happy to be there anymore. They have been there, and they have done that.
It shouldn’t be an upset if the Knicks beat the Cavaliers since the Knicks are the better team.
If the Knicks somehow flame out again, this season would be an epic failure, and questions about Tom Thibodeau’s coaching and future will come in earnest.
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