Knicks Notes: Bridges, Towns, Robinson, Layoff
Knicks head coach Mike Brown decided to keep Mikal Bridges in the starting lineup after he struggled in the first three games of the first-round matchup vs. Atlanta. The veteran wing rewarded Brown’s faith in him by playing well at the end of that series and throughout the second-round sweep of Philadelphia, writes Jared Schwartz of The New York Post.
“It’s always great when your coach has got trust in you,” Bridges said after practice on Saturday. “Yeah, that’s great. And teammates staying with it, keeping me confident, as well. I think we all know the end goal is just trying to win games and do whatever it takes to win. Even in my mistakes, just try to do whatever it takes and know that I just gotta bounce back and learn from them.”
Bridges, who went scoreless with four turnovers in 21 minutes in the Game 3 loss vs. the Hawks, has averaged 15.6 points, 3.1 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.1 steals on .667/.444/1.000 shooting over the last seven games, all victories. He played a critical role in slowing down Sixers star Tyrese Maxey, Schwartz notes.
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- Brown hasn’t used the double-big lineup of Karl-Anthony Towns and Mitchell Robinson very much during the playoffs, but the results have been spectacular when they’ve been on the court together, notes Kristian Winfield of The New York Daily News (subscription required). In their 20 shared minutes, the Knicks are outscoring opponents by an average of 27.9 points per 100 possessions. “I came to a little bit of a revelation with those guys,” Brown said. “We feel it’s a little easier to play with them — not just defensively, but offensively, too.”
- The Knicks have won seven straight games since Brown gave Towns a greater role in running the offense, and Towns’ college coach, John Calipari, has been delighted by the results, per Mike Lupica of The New York Daily News (subscription required).“What everybody is seeing is that playing through him the way they are doesn’t take away from anybody else’s game,” Calipari said. “On the contrary, it adds to everybody else’s game. And is exactly right for this team. The style of game he’s been playing, especially since they got behind the Hawks, I call that (Nikola) Jokic style, and that’s without him getting a ton of shots.”
- The Knicks closed out their second-round series last Sunday and will have a nine-day break by the time the conference finals begin Tuesday night. Brown isn’t sure whether that will be an advantage for his team or not, relays Zach Braziller of The New York Post. “I’ve been in both situations, playing while a team’s waiting and I’ve been waiting while a team’s playing,” Brown said. “You can say a lot theoretically. You can say they’re going to be tired, but you can also say they have a competitive edge because they’ve been going at it for seven games and we’ve been off. You keep trying to do different things during the course of the downtime to keep them sharp, keep them focused and try to keep their competitive edge up as much as you can.”
Knicks Notes: Towns, Brown, Hart, Bridges, Potential Sweep
Head coach Mike Brown made a strategic adjustment heading into Game 4 of the first-round series against Atlanta, and the Knicks haven’t lost since, writes Ian Begley of SNY.tv. Trailing 2-1 in the series, Brown opted to station Karl-Anthony Towns on the perimeter more often and use him as a play-maker. The results have been spectacular as New York has reeled off six straight wins by an average of 25.8 points per game and is now one victory away from the conference finals.
“The real change for us came before Game 4 in Atlanta,” Towns told reporters. “That’s when we really changed our offense. It’s been great. It’s been something I’ve talked about for a lot of the season, to feel like we can help our guys [on offense] more. We made the right moves.”
Brown likes having an “equal opportunity” offense where anyone can contribute in a variety of ways, and he believes the Knicks are “just scratching the surface” of what they can become on that end of the court. He plans to keep the philosophy in place beyond the current playoff run.
“What we’re doing now, I think, can have great carryover next year and down the line because we’d be able to expand on it the right way through a training camp,” Brown said.
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- Josh Hart is still feeling the effects of a sprained left thumb he suffered in Game 2, Begley adds. An X-ray taken during that game showed that it wasn’t broken, so he opted to keep playing. “It’s something I’ll revisit in the offseason,” he said. “There’s people that played through this.”
- The Knicks are seeing the version of Mikal Bridges that caused them to send five first-round picks to Brooklyn in a 2024 trade, per Kristian Winfield of The New York Daily News (subscription required). Bridges is playing shutdown defense on Sixers guard Tyrese Maxey and is contributing on offense as well. “I would take it a step further. There’s a ton of stuff that I would argue people don’t see that he does throughout the course of the game that’s far more important than just a couple of the big plays and coming up with a loose ball down the stretch,” Landry Shamet said. “He does that for 48 minutes. So does his level go up and does he show up in big moments? Absolutely, but I would argue that he’s the type of guy that does that for all 48 and finds a way to do it every night.”
- The Knicks have a chance to sweep their rivals from Philadelphia for the first time in 37 years, but they’re not looking past Sunday’s game, according to Stefan Bondy of The New York Post. The Sixers overcame a 3-1 deficit to beat Boston in the first round, and the Knicks don’t want to offer them any hope of another big comeback. “We just gotta stay in the present,” Towns said. “The next game is the most important game. There’s a lot of things we need to clean up and we want to clean up and we have another game to do that. It’s about just staying about us.”
Knicks Notes: Clarkson, Shamet, Anunoby, Bridges
Jordan Clarkson signed with the Knicks last summer to play for a contender, but he had fallen completely out of the rotation by the trade deadline, writes James L. Edwards of The Athletic. It would have been understandable if he had asked to be dealt or bought out, but Clarkson said he didn’t consider either option.
“Never,” he stated. “I was just going with the flow, staying locked in. I don’t really think too far ahead. Whatever is in the moment is what’s going on. I got out the mud, bro. I was a second-round pick, damn near undrafted. I just stick with the grind and stick with the process, try to find ways to impact the game. I only care about winning. I came here for the opportunity to play winning basketball.”
Clarkson’s rejuvenation began during a game at Utah in mid-March when he scored 27 points in 26 minutes to spark a comeback victory. He also pulled down five offensive rebounds and played tight defense, exhibiting traits that have made him a valuable member of the Knicks’ bench as they’ve moved within a win of the conference finals.
New York’s reserves made the difference in Friday’s Game 3 win at Philadelphia as Clarkson combined with Landry Shamet, Mitchell Robinson and Jose Alvarado to score 28 points and collect 14 rebounds. Coach Mike Brown is gratified to see that his “stay-ready” approach to handing out playing time is working.
“As a coach, you love to see it,” Brown said. “That’s why you give different guys opportunities at different times. Sometimes you start Landry, sometimes you start (Mohamed Diawara), sometimes you start this guy. Hopefully, it shows, coming from me, that I have a confidence in them. And, not only that, your number can be called at any time, so be ready. Our guys have taken that to heart. A lot of good guys who are resilient fighters and done a good job of staying present.”
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- Shamet scored 15 points off the bench, topping his total from the previous six playoff games, notes Zach Braziller of The New York Post. With OG Anunoby unavailable on Friday, Shamet played more than 26 minutes and was part of New York’s closing lineup. “You just stay ready,” he said. “It felt good, it felt good to get out there with my teammates, it felt good to get a win. We have one more.”
- Anunoby is listed as questionable for Sunday’s Game 4 as he tries to work his way back from a strained right hamstring, per Ian Begley of SNY.tv (Twitter link). Miles McBride replaced him in the starting lineup, but only played 21 minutes.
- Mikal Bridges‘ defensive effort against Tyrese Maxey has been a huge reason for the Knicks’ 3-0 series lead, Begley adds in a full story. The high-scoring Sixers guard is averaging 18.6 PPG during the series – nearly 10 fewer than his season average – while shooting 2-of-12 from three-point range and committing 12 turnovers. “He’s doing an amazing job. That’s a tough task, a tall order,” Josh Hart said. “The way he is able to maneuver and navigate screens, do all those things, and on top of that, give us good shots, good minutes and a good quality of executing on the offensive end is great.”
Knicks Notes: Anunoby, Bridges, McBride, Fouls, Workout
The Knicks came through in crunch time on Wednesday to pull out a victory in Game 2 of their second-round series vs. the 76ers and will carry a 2-0 lead into Philadelphia. However, the win may have come out a cost, as standout forward OG Anunoby exited the game in the fourth quarter due to an apparent right hamstring injury and didn’t return, according to Zach Braziller of The New York Post.
Anunoby appeared to sustain the injury on a missed dunk attempt with just over three minutes left in the game. The 28-year-old landed a little awkwardly and briefly grabbed at the back of his leg, then was limping as he begin running up the court following the offensive possession (video link via NBA.com). He signaled to the bench that he needed to check out of the game and was subbed out shortly thereafter.
“It looked like he was hopping, but I don’t know anything,” head coach Mike Brown said after the game, per Vincent Goodwill of ESPN. “They haven’t told me. I just know he left the game. Nobody said he was back. I haven’t talked to anybody yet.”
There have been on additional updates on Anunoby since last night, so we’re still waiting to get a sense of whether the injury is a minor one or if it’s more significant. As Mike Vaccaro of The New York Post and Ian O’Connor of The Athletic write, it’s a concerning development for a team that has been playing its best basketball since Game 4 of the first round, given how important Anunoby has been during that stretch. He holds overall playoff averages of 21.4 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 1.9 steals in 35.3 minutes per game.
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- Mikal Bridges‘ scoring average dropped to 14.4 points per game this season, making him a target for criticism given what the Knicks paid to acquire him (five first-round picks) and to extend him ($150MM over four years). However, he has been on a roll in the postseason, showing why the team valued him so highly, writes Jake Nisse of The New York Post. Bridges has scored 35 points on 16-of-23 (69.6%) shooting through the first two games of the second round and has been one of the primary defenders on Sixers star Tyrese Maxey, who has made just 12-of-32 shots (37.5%) while committing 10 turnovers. Bridges’ contributions could be even more important going forward if Anunoby misses time, Nisse notes.
- Count Miles McBride among the Knicks who is prepared to take on a larger role if necessary, depending on Anunoby’s diagnosis, writes Ian Begley of SNY.tv. McBride said he’d be “extremely comfortable” if asked to do more. “I feel like the coaching staff trusts me, I know my teammates trust me and I trust myself overall,” McBride said. “So if that happens, I know I’ll be ready.”
- After his big men got into foul trouble for the second straight game, Brown suggested in his post-game media session that he hopes the free throw discrepancy between the two teams gets “evened out a little bit more” over the course of the series, per Jared Schwartz of The New York Post. “I think it was (Karl-Anthony Towns)’ third or fourth foul where Maxey came off him,” Brown said, presumably referring to this play. “I’m not sure what’s a bump and what’s not a bump, but up by half-court, I gotta go back and I gotta watch that, because you can literally call somebody getting bumped every time down the floor if you want to. And so, for KAT to pick up his third or fourth foul that way — I can’t remember which one it was — that was tough.”
- Texas Tech wing Donovan Atwell, Michigan guard Elliot Cadeau, Kentucky center Malachi Moreno, and Ohio guard Jackson Paveletzke were among the prospects who took part in a pre-draft workout with the Knicks on Tuesday, a league source tells Adam Zagoria of NJ.com (Twitter link). New York holds three picks in this year’s draft — Nos. 24, 31, and 55.
Knicks Notes: Offensive Explosion, Bridges, Anunoby, Game 2, Jones
The Knicks are firing on all cylinders. New York made 53 of its 84 shots en route to Monday’s 137-98 blowout win over the Sixers in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.
“It’s a lot of fun when you have concepts on either end of the floor and guys are trying to embrace those concepts at the highest level,” head coach Mike Brown said, per James Edwards III of The Athletic. “When they do, it doesn’t really matter what you call or (who) initiates the action because guys are trying to play the right way. It can be any team out on the floor. If they’re trying to embrace what you’re throwing out there, sacrificing, all of that other stuff, it can be a lot of fun to watch.”
As Edwards notes, every New York starter besides Josh Hart, who had eight points and six assists, scored 17 points or more and only Jalen Brunson took more than 11 shots.
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- Mikal Bridges had 11 points or fewer in each of the first five games of the first-round series against Atlanta before erupting for 24 points in the Knicks’ 51-point blowout in Game 6. Apparently, it was no fluke. He had 17 points on 7-for-10 shooting along with five assists and a plus-19 rating in 27 minutes during Game 1 against Philadelphia. He also kept Sixers play-maker Tyrese Maxey under control. “It’s very important. He’s a huge factor for us,” Brunson told Zach Braziller of the New York Post. “He’s been playing great.”
- In the last three games, OG Anunoby is 23-for-30 from the field and 8-for-11 from distance, Braziller notes. “I think [it’s] the way he’s been able to create space, the way he’s been attacking,” Brunson said. “Those things have been a key factor for him. Obviously, he’s knocking down shot after shot. He’s just playing real aggressive, really downhill. … He’s creating havoc, and he’s making good decisions.”
- Brunson expects a much tougher game from the Sixers on Wednesday. “I don’t think we’re going to see that team, from Game 1 to Game 2,” Brunson said, per Vincent Goodwill of ESPN. “They’ll be ready to go.”
- The Knicks hosted Florida State’s Lajae Jones for a pre-draft workout on Monday, Ian Begley of SNY tweets. Jones averaged 12.7 points and 5.7 rebounds for the Seminoles, his third college team.
Atlantic Notes: Embiid, Nurse, Ingram, Quickley, Celtics
Sixers center Joel Embiid, who underwent an emergency appendectomy less than a month ago, grimaced after taking a shot to his midsection from Knicks forward Mikal Bridges during Monday’s Game 1 loss (Twitter video link). Asked about it after the game, Embiid stopped short of calling the contact “dirty,” but questioned whether it was necessary within the flow of the play.
“I don’t know if it was dirty or not,” Embiid said, per Gina Mizell of The Philadelphia Inquirer (subscription required). “I guess I’ve got to do a better job of protecting, especially that part (of my body). … I just felt like it wasn’t necessary, but we move on. It is whatever. It’s playoff basketball. If that’s the reality of it, I guess we got to go out and be physical, too, and do it too.”
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- Sixers head coach Nick Nurse is currently away from the team in order to mourn his older brother, who unexpectedly passed away last week, per Tony Jones of The Athletic. Nurse attending the funeral service in his hometown of Carroll, Iowa and is expected to rejoin the 76ers in time for Wednesday’s Game 2 in New York, Jones adds.
- After battling heel inflammation near the end of the regular season and in the playoffs, Raptors forward Brandon Ingram is visiting a specialist this week to discuss the treatment plan for the injury, head coach Darko Rajakovic said on Tuesday (Twitter link via Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca). Both Ingram and guard Immanuel Quickley, who missed the entire first round due to a hamstring strain, expect to be back on the court within three or four weeks and shouldn’t have their offseason routines significantly impacted by their health issues.
- Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe (subscription required) takes stock of where the Celtics‘ roster stands entering the offseason, writing that all indications point to head coach Joe Mazzulla being back on the sidelines next season. As for center Nikola Vucevic, the only player on the 15-man roster without a guaranteed contract or option for next season, Himmelsbach says Vucevic will have to take a sizable pay cut no matter where he ends up, adding that he won’t be surprised if the big man doesn’t return to Boston.
Knicks Notes: Anunoby, Robinson, Bridges, Alvarado
In the Knicks’ first-round victory over the Hawks, they relied on the offensive output of their best defender to help take them over the top. OG Anunoby stepped out of the role player spotlight and assumed the role of leading man, Howie Kussoy writes for the New York Post.
The 6’8″ wing had 29 points and seven rebounds in the record-setting Game 6 victory, a performance that epitomized his play throughout the matchup. Over the course of the series, he averaged 21.5 points and 8.7 rebounds per game while hitting 56.7% of his threes and playing versatile defense against Atlanta’s best scorers.
“[He was] just doing everything — scoring, defense, rebounding, making plays,” said Mikal Bridges. “He’s doing everything out there and that’s what we need. And I think he’s gonna continue to do that for us.”
It was a performance impressive enough to beg the question if we should be thinking about Anunoby more as a third star than another elite role player, contends Jake Nisse of the New York Post.
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- The Knicks have struggled at times to establish their toughness, often operating as more of a finesse team than one built on brute force, but in Game 6, Mitchell Robinson showed his ability to play enforcer, Kristian Winfield writes for the New York Daily News. It was a message he was trying to show since Game 1, when he wrote “Standing on business” on the tape wrapping his ankles. An altercation with the Hawks’ Dyson Daniels brought all of that to the forefront again. “Mitch is a big part of our locker room. What he does on the court — obviously y’all know he impacts winning, and he does a lot of things that sometimes don’t end up on the stat sheet, but makes us come out with a W,” Karl-Anthony Towns said.”So, Mitch is very vital for our locker room, for our team, and we’re always gonna support him. We’re always gonna stand behind him when he wants to, I guess – quote-unquote – ‘stand on business.'”
- After a brutal start to the series, Bridges found the range offensively in Game 6 and may have recaptured some of his usual swagger, the Post’s Stefan Bondy writes. Bridges finished the game with 24 points on 10-of-12 shooting and hit big momentum shots over the course of the night. “He just did what he’s capable of doing,” coach Mike Brown said. “Now, is he going to go 10-for-12 every night? No. But he was aggressive and took great shots. And it shouldn’t go unnoticed that his defense was phenomenal. … A big night on both ends of the floor by Mikal.”
- Jose Alvarado got to experience a special moment in the Game 5 victory over the Hawks, as his hometown crowd sang “Jose, Jose, Jose” while he was being subbed out in the third quarter, Peter Sblendorio of the New York Daily News writes. It’s a feeling he isn’t taking for granted. “It’s amazing,” Alvarado said. “I can’t really put it into words. I always had a Knicks jersey on. I always think, ‘This is crazy.’ But it’s a good feeling. I’m excited to be in the city I’m from and compete for a championship.” Alvarado wasn’t just a hometown kid in the series though — he was an impactful player off the bench, culminating with his Game 5 performance, when he scored 12 points in 11 minutes.
Knicks Notes: Bridges, McBride, Robinson, Hart, Fouls
The Knicks‘ loss to the Hawks in Game 3 on Thursday was a team effort, but the most notable aspect was the performance of Mikal Bridges, who went scoreless in 20 minutes, with more turnovers (four) than steals, assists, rebounds, and points combined.
Head coach Mike Brown isn’t benching Bridges, but he came closer to doing so on Thursday, as he was replaced for most of the second half by Miles McBride, Vincent Goodwill writes for ESPN.
While McBride was one of the few Knicks hitting shots, Bridges looked out of sorts, lacking confidence or intentionality, writes Stefan Bondy of the New York Post. After the NBA’s iron man was benched two minutes into the third quarter, Brown put him back on the court to start the fourth quarter. His one attempt to make a play with the ball ended in a turnover, and he was pulled once again in favor of McBride.
“I’ve got to take it on the chin, handle it how I’m supposed to and be ready for the next one,” Bridges said. “You know, it’s going to suck. It is what it is. I’ve just got to be better to help my team out there.”
Determining whether to replace Bridges with McBride in the starting lineup will be a crucial decision, according to Ian Begley of SNY, who notes that the Knicks have been getting off to slow starts and says they can’t afford to do so in Game 4 on Saturday.
Brown isn’t committing to a change yet, but he’s also not ruling anything out, per James L. Edwards III at The Athletic. The Knicks’ coach told reporters on Friday that the lineup for Game 4 would be a game-time call.
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- New York has struggled to get backup center Mitchell Robinson involved in this series despite his importance to the team throughout the year. Brown hasn’t been able to find ways to use him, especially with Karl-Anthony Towns playing well, Andrew Crane writes for The Post. On Thursday, Robinson played just 11 minutes and finished the game with four rebounds. Crane notes it’s only the seventh game all year in which the big man recorded four or fewer boards. When asked what he was looking for in terms of using Towns and Robinson together, Brown said the two-big lineup “has to fit offensively and defensively over the course of a ball game,” per Begley (Twitter link), adding that it’s been hard to find the right matchups to roll it out against.
- Josh Hart also struggled on offense in Game 4, recording just two points on 1-of-9 shooting in 40 minutes. However, he has still managed to be the Knicks’ most important player through three games, Edwards writes. His defense on Jalen Johnson and CJ McCollum has been crucial for keeping the Knicks in a series they might otherwise be trailing 3-0, and he remains an elite rebounder, averaging 12.0 per contest through three games. If the Knicks are going to make it out of the first round, they’ll need even more from him, Edwards says. More importantly, they need the rest of the team to play with as much hustle and determination as their versatile, undersized forward.
- While a majority of the Knicks’ issues have been either self-inflicted or the result of the Hawks’ tough defense and shot-making, Brown is also frustrated with a lack of calls for his players as they drive to the basket. “When they close out hard, we gotta drive the basketball. I do think it’s a tough game for the officials to officiate,” Brown said. “But I know we got fouled on a few of the drives that didn’t get called. It’s tough to see 20-26 [free-throw discrepancy] in a one-possession game when you know for sure there were a couple of fouls that should’ve been called.”
Knicks Notes: Hawks Matchup, Prospects, McBride
The third-seeded Knicks were unfazed when they learned they’d be playing the Hawks in the first round instead of Toronto, writes Jared Schwartz of The New York Post. The Raptors needed to win Sunday’s regular season finale against the tanking Nets — which they did — to earn the final guaranteed playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
Atlanta could have secured the fifth seed if it had won at Miami, but the team sat most of its rotation members and lost. The Hawks’ defeat, combined with Orlando losing to Boston, moved Toronto up to No. 5, with Atlanta sliding down one spot to No. 6.
“Right now, I think we’re excited to be in this situation,” Hawks head coach Quin Snyder said ahead of Sunday’s game. “Whoever we play is gonna be really good. It’s hard to even try to figure that out. It’s possible that certain teams wanna play us. The primary thing is for us to be healthy going into the postseason. That’s been the one thing that has been consistent the last few weeks and months — you don’t know what’s gonna happen. It’s hard to predict all these games, they’re all going on. Wherever it falls is where it falls, and we’ll prepare for the playoffs, regardless of who that is.”
Guards Jordan Clarkson and Miles McBride said the Knicks are focused on playing their own game, Schwartz notes.
“We didn’t pay any attention to that,” Clarkson said. “It’s just what they wanted to do.”
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- James L. Edwards III and John Hollinger of The Athletic preview the first-round matchup with Atlanta, with both writers predicting the Knicks to win in six games. Edwards and Hollinger think New York’s size and rebounding will be too much for Atlanta to overcome, though they wouldn’t be surprised if it’s a competitive series. Edwards views Mikal Bridges as the X-factor for New York, while Hollinger lists Jonathan Kuminga as a key swing factor for the Hawks.
- The Knicks hosted a pre-draft workout on Monday that included Kowacie Reeves Jr. (Georgia Tech), Toby Harris (Iona), William Kyle (Syracuse), Jayden Epps (Mississippi State), and Wyatt Fricks (Marshall), reports Ian Begley of SNY.tv (via Twitter). None of those five prospects are on ESPN’s top 100 list. New York controls one first-round pick and two second-rounders in the 2026 draft, Begley notes.
- McBride struggled in his first five games back since returning from sports hernia surgery, but he played well in Sunday’s finale with the Knicks resting all their starters, per Fiifi Frimpong of The New York Daily News. The 25-year-old had 21 points (on 8-of-15 shooting), three rebounds, one assist and one steal through three quarters (24 minutes) prior to sitting out the fourth. McBride said pain management will be key for him for the rest of the season. “Dealing through residual pain of the surgery is not fun, but it’s part of the journey, just trying to do anything I can do to help the team win,” McBride said.
Knicks Notes: Anunoby, Brown, Injury Report, First Round
The Knicks got a scare during Friday night’s victory over the Raptors as starting forward OG Anunoby missed the second half of the game with an ankle injury, seemingly suffered when he tripped on the foot of Scottie Barnes early in the second quarter, according to Stefan Bondy of the New York Post.
While Anunoby sat out Sunday’s game against the Hornets, there was reason for optimism, as Bondy reports (via Twitter) that, according to the coaching staff, the 6’8″ wing is considered day-to-day, and the team doesn’t seem overly concerned about the injury.
Anunoby averaged 16.7 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 1.6 steals per game this season and is expected to be in the running to make the second All-Defensive team of his career.
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- After securing the third seed in the East, the Knicks opted to rest most of their rotation for the season finale against the Hornets, per Bondy (Twitter link). In addition to Anunoby, the Knicks sat Mitchell Robinson, Jalen Brunson, and Karl-Anthony Towns. Mikal Bridges started, in order to keep his games-played streak alive, but was pulled just 23 seconds into the game as Jordan Clarkson took his spot.
- Head coach Mike Brown has done a good job carrying over what worked for the Knicks last season while adding lineup flexibility and amplifying the voices of the assistant coaches, Steve Popper writes for Newsday. When asked about his performance relative to the expectations he set for himself coming in, Brown says he hasn’t gotten a chance to think about it much. “The things that you set as your standard are the things that I brought to the table for the standard in terms of sacrificing, being connected, everybody having a competitive spirit and everybody having true belief of each other in the process,” he said. “While I’m trying to hold people accountable, people are holding me accountable, too. All those things are the things you hope for. I didn’t put a number on how many wins or anything like that.”
- The most likely playoff outcome for the Knicks is playing the Raptors in the first round, though the Hawks remain a strong possibility and the Magic are technically still in play. New York should feel comfortable scouting Toronto, Bondy writes, given the team’s familiarity with a division rival that features several former Knicks. Bondy breaks down the three playoff possibilities in anticipation of Sunday’s slate of games, which will determine the first-round matchup once and for all.