Knicks vs. 76ers preview: Key matchups, series prediction and more
It’s hard to imagine that after using Boston as the foil they had to surpass while building their roster, the Knicks have found a path through the postseason that doesn’t include the Celtics.
But that doesn’t mean the path isn’t without its challenges. The arrival of the Philadelphia 76ers in the Eastern Conference semifinals may be unexpected, but they won’t be easy to beat.
The Knicks and 76ers will meet in a rematch of a 2024 first-round series that was far closer than you might remember. The total point differential in the series was one point, and it could have swung to the 76ers, as the series could have, if Donte DiVincenzo’s second-chance three-pointer in Game 2 at Madison Square Garden hadn’t fallen through the net.
The teams have changed in the two years since then and provide different and tougher challenges.
Here are some of the matchups that will determine if the Knicks’ path — with home-court advantage in this round — is a stepping stone to places they haven’t reached in decades or if they just hit another roadblock in the long title chase.
Speed kills
If the Knicks duo of OG Anunoby and Mikal Bridges were put in place to match up with Boston’s Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, they weren’t built to keep up with the 76ers’ backcourt of Tyrese Maxey and rookie VJ Edgecombe.
Actually, few in the NBA are built for that. Maxey averaged 30.0 points and 5.3 assists and Edgecombe averaged 19.3 points against the Knicks this season.
Even with that elite Knicks defensive duo, it was Josh Hart who stepped up to take on the task of defending Atlanta’s CJ McCollum, but Hart doesn’t possess the speed to keep up with Maxey. Bridges has gotten the call more than anyone else this season and was reasonably effective, holding Maxey to 46.7% shooting (42.9% from three-point range).
Hart likely will get Edgecombe unless Mike Brown lets Jalen Brunson take time on the rookie. Landry Shamet and Deuce McBride got more time on Maxey (with little success) than any of the Knicks’ starters other than Bridges.
What can the Knicks do?
“Ask Tyrese to slow down a little bit,” Hart said. “That would be nice. The style of defense is going to be totally different [from Atlanta]. CJ doesn’t have that quick acceleration at his age, so you can be more physical with him. Tyrese and Edgecombe, they are on the young side. They are quick and explosive. So there’s definitely a different style of defense. Hopefully they can slow down a little bit so I can get my hands on them and be physical.”
On the other hand
While these two teams have changed a lot since their meeting in the playoffs two years ago, Brunson remains the most dangerous playoff performer, which he was in that series, too.
Brunson topped 40 points in each of the three final games of that series. Philadelphia tried length on him, with Kelly Oubre Jr. the primary defender more than any other player in the postseason two years ago, and that didn’t work. They tried the speedy Maxey the next most and the results were slightly better.
Battle of the bigs
The 76ers likely wouldn’t be here if Joel Embiid hadn’t made a quicker-than-expected return from an emergency appendectomy, missing only 2 1⁄2 weeks and getting back in time to help Philadelphia upset the Celtics.
The missing pieces for the 76ers played a large role in why they finished as the seventh seed in the playoffs. Embiid battled his usual assortment of injuries and Paul George was sidelined for a 25-game suspension after testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug.
When Embiid was in the lineup, he was as difficult to handle as ever, scoring 26 points in the second meeting of the season, then 38 when the Knicks won in Philadelphia in the only game in which both sides had all five of their regular starters. The Knicks blew out Philadelphia in the last meeting, but Embiid and George were out.
Karl-Anthony Towns had only 10 points in that second meeting of the season but seems to have found his footing on both ends of the floor in the Knicks’ system. He now helps orchestrate the offense and is much more active on defense.
That said, the 76ers sometimes have opted to use Embiid on Hart, but after what Towns did to smaller defenders against Atlanta, that’s a huge risk.
An X-factor for the Knicks is using Anunoby on Embiid because of his defensive acumen, although he gives up size.
“OG is unique and special,” Mike Brown said. “He gives us, like Josh, the ability to throw different defenses at our opponents. And he can guard ones, twos, threes, fours, fives. We always try to mix it up with him. We will continue to try to do it going forward.
“So wherever we need to adjust, no matter who he is guarding at this point of the season, we have a pretty good feel of what we may need to do to shore up this area or that area and help him when he’s guarding this point guard or this center.’’
Speaking of X-factors
Bridges seemed lost in the Atlanta series, but Brown stuck with him in the starting lineup and he excelled in Game 6 as the Knicks closed out the series. He likely will have to use most of his energy trying to contain Maxey, but if he can use his length offensively against the Philly guards, it could create an advantage for the Knicks. While he struggled much of the time against the Hawks, it is a far different type of matchup against the 76ers.
An X-factor for Philadelphia? How about former Knicks wing Quentin Grimes, who played well against Boston and would love a shot at the team that dealt him away.
Prediction
It wasn’t easy two years ago. It wasn’t easy in the regular season. But it’s hard to imagine that a Knicks team that seems to be clicking as well as it has all season won’t be able to find a way to get past the 76ers with Embiid seemingly always hobbling through the games. He joked that he was faking the injuries in the last round, but even at full strength, the Knicks just have the better, deeper team. Still, the speed of the Philadelphia backcourt will make this a tough test.
Knicks in 6, closing it out at Madison Square Garden East, as Knicks fans affectionately call the 76ers’ home court.
Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
