Trailing the Atlanta Hawks 2-1 when they could feasibly be up 3-0 instead is frustrating enough on its own. It becomes downright gut-wrenching when looking at what’s happening in the series between the Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers.
Most presumed Beantown would waltz their way to a relatively quick ticket into the second round. The Sixers have been up and down all year, and are without Joel Embiid, who is recovering from an appendectomy. Philly’s Game 1 dud, in which it lost by 32 points, reinforced these sentiments.
It turns out the Sixers have other ideas. They came storming back with a Game 2 victory, and were in position to win Game 3. While they remain wildly unlikely to pull off the upset, it’s clear this series will last longer than most expected—which means the Knicks farted away an even bigger opportunity, while potentially digging themselves an even deeper hole, than we thought.
The Knicks could have benefited from a shorter Hawks series
With all due respect to the Hawks, the Knicks laid the blueprint for a quick series victory in Game 1, despite their myriad imperfections. For parts of Game 2 and even Game 3, the path to a 4-1 dispatching was clear.
Instead, the Knicks authored some of the most painful meltdowns in playoff history. And while they now have to worry about even surviving this series, they also burned their chance at a valuable rest advantage.
If it figures out how to advance, New York will face the winner of Boston and Philadelphia. Had the Knicks avoided a pair of caps-lock IMPLOSIONS in Games 2 and 3, they could have been resting up for the semifinals while the Sixers and Celtics sparred for much longer than anyone anticipated. And though New York would have a clear preference on who it’d rather face, it wouldn’t matter nearly as much if either Boston or Philly emerged from a six- or- seven-game rock fight worse for wear.
BUT WAIT! It gets worse than an opportunity squandered.
After scrapping their way to a 2-1 series lead, the Celtics could still feasibly wrap up the first round in five games. In that case, the Knicks definitely would have benefited from taking care of business against the Hawks, just so they could have a comparable amount of rest before squaring off with their arch nemesis in Round 2.
New York’s missions remains the same
Harping on rest advantages or equity is futile now. It’s not happening. The Knicks torched that bridge. And then peed all over the flickering embers of the wreckage. They have bigger issues to worry about than luxury developments.
Can Mike Brown get his act together? Will Jalen Brunson find a way to activate Karl-Anthony Towns? Or to regain his superhuman offensive impact? Can anybody stop CJ McCollum? Is Mikal Bridges navigating a temporary rut, or embroiled in an existential crisis of epic proportions? Does Brown remember Mitchell Robinson’s name?
This list goes on, and on, and on. And then on some more. The breadth of it has left the Knicks not just fighting to shorten their first-round series, but to survive it at all. They don’t have room to care about anything else.
At the same time, what’s happening between Philly and Boston, when juxtaposed against how New York got here, is a painful reminder that it didn’t have to be this way. The Knicks could be in a much more favorable position—maybe even sitting prettier than anyone initially expected.
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