Knicks-76ers preview: Has New York turned a corner or is Philly just heating up? – The Athletic
On Saturday, the Philadelphia 76ers came up with what is arguably the biggest win the franchise has had in 25 years. On Monday, they have to forget about that and face another rival.
The Sixers and New York Knicks will meet in the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs in a series that could be as emotional and as hotly contested as the seven-game series win over the Boston Celtics. How fast the Sixers put that behind them and lock in on the Knicks could very well make a difference in who wins.
Philadelphia and New York saw each other two years ago in a first-round series that the Knicks eventually won in six games, with New York garnering the series-clinching win on Philly’s home floor. The 76ers haven’t forgotten about that. Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey haven’t forgotten about that.
The biggest question for Philadelphia: How healthy can the roster remain in an every-other-day setting? This is especially so after having no rest to reset following the Boston win. The Knicks will have to figure out how to deal with Embiid and Maxey. Whomever answers those questions the best should have an upper hand.
Let’s discuss what we learned about both teams over the past two weeks and what we can expect going forward.
Why did the Knicks and 76ers win their first-round series?
James Edwards III on the Knicks: The Knicks won because the defense that ranked sixth in the NBA from Jan. 1 until the end of the regular season showed up in the playoffs. It took some trial and error – primarily figuring out how to guard CJ McCollum – but New York turned off Atlanta’s water from Game 4 onward. Josh Hart took away Jalen Johnson’s half-court offense and gave trouble to McCollum when he started guarding him more. Karl-Anthony Towns was very good at defending the rim. OG Anunoby was causing havoc off the ball. The Hawks just didn’t get enough half-court offense once New York made McCollum uncomfortable.
Fred Katz on the Knicks: The Knicks won the series because of Towns, who looked more comfortable inside an offense that once pushed him to the side than he had all season. Especially starting in Game 4, the Knicks deployed him out of the high post. They turned him into their top facilitator. For the most part, everything ran through Towns. He dominated up top and down low. Defensively, he was far better than his reputation. By series end, Towns’ numbers may not have been much different from those during the regular season, but his involvement and impact on winning were through the roof.
Jay King on the Sixers: The 76ers had a clunky Game 4 after Joel Embiid returned from an appendectomy but reached another level in the final three games of the series with him. Tyrese Maxey was a problem for the Celtics. Paul George was great overall on both ends of the court. Still, as Joe Mazzulla said after Game 6, the series changed once Embiid came back. The 76ers’ belief seemed to grow.
Tony Jones on the Sixers: In a big way, they outlasted the Celtics. This is a classic example of why you should never play with your food and you should end a series when it can be ended. The Celtics had a double-digit second-half lead in Game 5. They let up on the gas and let Philadelphia win that night, and the Sixers sensed they had a chance to win the series and took advantage. As the series progressed, Philadelphia became the fresher team, while Boston looked like the more tired and worn out team. And once Embiid gained his footing, he presented the Celtics with an issue for which they could never truly find an answer.
What did we learn about the Knicks and 76ers that should carry forward to the next series? How do they match up in the second round?
Edwards on the Knicks: The defense should be able to carry, but the 76ers present some challenges. Maxey is a little bit too quick for Hart to overwhelm with his size. Bridges will probably get the assignment of guarding the All-Star guard, but that won’t be a walk in the park. Towns had a really good defensive series against Atlanta, primarily because he was able to hang around the basket and defend the rim. The Knicks will have to take Embiid more seriously in space than they did Hawks center Onyeka Okongwu. Also, this feels like a series where Towns could find himself in some foul trouble, as most bigs do when going against Embiid. A healthy 76ers team will really test how good this New York defense is.
Katz on the Knicks: Anunoby can take over a series in unconventional ways. Anunoby was the Knicks’ most consistent player against the Hawks, scoring 20 or close to it throughout the five games before exploding for 29 in Game 6. He rarely ever did it on his own. At no point did New York put the ball in his hands and ask him to do his thing. That was Towns’ or Brunson’s job. Instead, he scored off cuts and in transition, off spot-up 3-pointers and offensive boards. He dominated the glass. He defended Okongwu, their All-NBA forward Jalen Johnson and smaller guards, like McCollum or Nickeil Alexander-Walker. He inspired wreckage no matter who he was on.
King on the Sixers: The 76ers displayed a synergy late in the first round that they should lean on moving forward. Maxey’s aggression opened things up for his teammates. Embiid’s scoring forced the Celtics to double-team. Once they sent too much help, he created open shots for teammates like Quentin Grimes. And George was just great on both end. In a tough matchup against Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, he was their equal or close to it. He will need to do a lot again in the second round against a Knicks team loaded with wings. Can New York handle Embiid down low without Towns and Mitchell Robinson finding too much foul trouble? That’s the biggest question for me.
Jones on the Sixers: This team can play at the highest levels of the Eastern Conference. The Knicks are an elite group, so it’s not like Philadelphia will be favored. But, like Boston, the 76ers are capable of winning the series. The question in Philly is whether or not the group can stay healthy over a long haul. They were forced to expend a bunch of energy in coming back to beat Boston. Jumping squarely into a series with a more rested New York team will not be easy. But top-end talent wins in the postseason. The 76ers have plenty of top-end talent.
What are you watching the most closely about the Knicks and 76ers as they move forward?
Edwards on the Knicks: Is Mikal Bridges a factor … at all? He was essentially a no-show offensively in the Atlanta series until Game 6. The Knicks need to make sure that they mentally didn’t lose him going forward in the playoffs, so hopefully, for their sake, the beatdown in the elimination game helped Bridges regain some confidence. New York will need Bridges to be the point person to guard Maxey. He’s also got to make sure to make Maxey work some on the other end – assuming Maxey is guarding him.
Katz on the Knicks: I hate to be redundant, but at least from the Knicks’ perspective, the answer to this question is about the man the Knicks for whom the Knicks traded five first-round picks and a first-round swap less than two years ago. Bridges removed himself from the offense during the Hawks series until Game 6, when he made 10 of his 12 field goal attempts, but there’s an argument to be made that Atlanta’s two defensive dynamos, Alexander-Walker and Dyson Daniels, deserve more credit than Bridges does criticism. If the Knicks wing put the basketball on the court, he was at risk of coughing it up. The Hawks’ guards, the best defensive guard duo in the conference, are that frisky. But maybe against a new opponent, Bridges looks a little more confident running a pick-and-roll or second-side action. Or maybe he’s gotten in his own head and this is the Bridges the Knicks will have to live with through the rest of the playoffs.
King on the Sixers: Can the 76ers continue playing to their potential? Throughout the years, they have always been a “what if?” team. What if Embiid was healthy at the right time? What if his co-stars didn’t go missing at the wrong time? What if Kawhi Leonard’s shot didn’t fall in after bouncing off the rim 789 times? What if Sam Hinkie hadn’t left a curse on the organization? But late in the first round, everything worked for them. They came together at the right time. Now, can they stay together?
Jones on the Sixers: An off-beat development: Will the 76ers crowd at Xfinity Mobile Arena do what is needed to keep Knicks fans from taking over in Games 3 and 4? That’s what happened a few years ago when the two teams met in a first-round series. That’s what happened twice this season when the Knicks and Sixers met in Philadelphia. New York fans have made it a badge of honor to travel to Philadelphia in droves. In multiple instances, they have thwarted Philadelphia’s home-floor advantage. The Sixers have enough to deal with playing on the road at Madison Square Garden. They will for sure want a true home-court advantage.
How do you feel about the Knicks’ or 76ers’ long-term playoff chances after this series? Why should or shouldn’t they be in the title conversation?
Edwards on the Knicks: To me, this is the Eastern Conference finals – even though I thought that last season, too, before the Indiana Pacers gave a middle finger to everyone who doubted them. If Detroit doesn’t get past Orlando, I think the winner of this series comfortably beats the Magic, Cavaliers or Raptors in the next round.
Katz on the Knicks: This, of course, depends on what happens in the other series. If the Raptors beat the Cavaliers, the road becomes easier. If the No. 1 seed falls in Round 1, then a path to the NBA Finals is clearer for either of these two teams. The Knicks played Detroit three times during the regular season and got demolished in all three games. I would be nervous about seeing them in the playoffs if I were New York. But especially if the Pistons are out, I believe whoever wins Knicks-Sixers has a real chance to go to the NBA Finals.
King on the Sixers: I don’t know what to think of the 76ers. History tells us they will run into some sort of strange problem soon (what sort of malady could Embiid possibly suffer next?), but their fan base should dare to dream after the way they finished the first round. If Embiid, Maxey and George can keep playing at that level, they have a fighter’s chance against anybody. I still think the Knicks are the favorite in the East now that everything has burned down around them, but Philadelphia has a shot.
Jones on the Sixers: On paper, these are the two most talented teams in the East. The Knicks can probably lay claim to being one of the two best teams remaining. The Sixers haven’t been a great team, per se, but they have great collective talent. Whomever gets out of this series is going to have a real chance at making the NBA Finals.
Prediction for Knicks-76ers and why?
Edwards: On paper, a healthy 76ers team presents a lot of challenges for the Knicks – maybe even more than Boston. New York has struggled at times this season with athletic, dynamic guards, and Maxey is both of those things. Philadelphia also has multiple guys on the perimeter outside of Maxey – George, VJ Edgecombe and Grimes – who can create off the dribble, shoot and get defenses in rotation. Embiid, obviously, is a handful for anyone when healthy. I just don’t trust Philadelphia to be healthy for an entire series, though. New York has the wings to disrupt George, Grimes and others. I also think this will be a more favorable series for Brunson than the last one. It’ll come down to the Towns-Embiid matchup and if Bridges can hold Maxey in check. Knicks in 6
Katz: When the 76ers are at full strength, they’re far more talented than your average No. 7 seed, but if the past however many years has taught us anything, it’s that just because they’re healthy today doesn’t mean they will be at full strength tomorrow. I have questions about Joel Embiid playing in a series that will run every other day. The Knicks don’t employ an ideal Maxey defender, but the Sixers also don’t have a top-notch Brunson stopper. Kelly Oubre has done a good job on Brunson historically, but during that playoff series a couple of years ago, the All-NBA point guard had him figured out by Game 3. I think New York’s two-way play could be too overwhelming. Knicks in 6
King: The 76ers can compete with anyone if Embiid, George and Maxey play like they did in the first round. When healthy, that trio is dynamic. The three stars enhance one another. They make the game a bit easier for the guys around them. I can already see Towns picking up three fouls in the first quarter of Game 1 while trying to handle Embiid. Still, the Knicks are deep and relentless. Brunson will be the difference. Knicks in 6
Jones: The Sixers are obviously capable of winning this series, and they are capable of giving New York myriad issues on both ends. There are a couple of things at play here that can tilt things toward New York. Robinson is a great defender, an even better rebounder and a good rim protector, and he is capable of providing questions the Sixers can’t answer. Secondly, the Sixers may struggle defending Brunson. On the other hand, the Knicks may really struggle defending Maxey. It’s a razor-thin margin, but I would give the Knicks the edge. Knicks in 7
