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ATLANTA — Two years ago, the Knicks were lovable underdogs.
A year ago, they were a little less lovable — a product of exhausting all their draft assets in trades and losing their rough-and-tumble identity — but they were underdogs, nonetheless.
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“ ‘If they make it a six-game series, I’ll be proud of the Knicks,’ ” recalled Karl-Anthony Towns of the punditry surrounding last year’s second round against the Celtics.
Now? They better win. That’s the mandate not only from the outside but also the team owner, James Dolan, who replaced the coach in June and sent a public Finals-or-bust message in January. So it doesn’t matter that the Knicks still aren’t betting favorites to win the East, or that they’ll probably enter as the No. 3 seed.
They either advance past three rounds or they’re a disappointment and Giannis Antetokounmpo becomes the only way out.
“The perception and standards have obviously changed for us ever since we made that stride last year in the playoffs,” Towns said Monday. “Getting through the first round, we weren’t supposed to make it out of there. Then the second round, we definitely weren’t supposed to be making it out of there. We showed the world that we can beat these teams, especially in the playoffs.
Karl-Anthony Towns goes up for a shot as New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson defends during the third quarter at Madison Square Garden in New York, New York, USA, Tuesday, March 24, 2026. JASON SZENES FOR THE NEW YORK POST
“But in doing that, we put the antennas up for the rest of the league as well. They know what we can do and on top of that, coming in with the expectations we had this year, finding a way to win the NBA Cup. Even through all the ups and downs, finding ourselves the third seed. The world is not unaware of how good we are. But it’s up to us to execute in a seven-game series and be disciplined and find a way to win.”
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Towns was wrong about one thing. The Knicks were supposed to beat the Pistons in the first round last year and they succeeded in six games. But then they were projected for a beatdown…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/karl-anthony-towns-believes-knicks-045531011.html
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Publish date : 2026-04-07 04:55:00
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