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The Knicks’ extended break is finally over. It’s back to game mode.
There is no more sitting back and watching to learn who their opponent will be in the Eastern Conference finals. It will be the Cavaliers, after their 125-94 Game 7 win over the Pistons in Detroit.
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Game 1 is set for Tuesday at 8 p.m. at Madison Square Garden.
For most of the regular season and entering the postseason, it seemed a given that the Knicks would have to go through the Celtics and Pistons to reach the Finals. As it turns out, they won’t face either.
Jalen Brunson in action for the Knicks in the second round of the playoffs. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
Now with the matchup set, let’s break down the top storylines:
The rest factor
The Knicks last played May 10 — which means they will have had nine days of rest before Tuesday’s Game 1. That was critical for OG Anunoby, who has been recovering from a right hamstring strain that kept him out of Games 3 and 4 of the second round.
The Cavaliers, on the other hand, will have less than 48 hours between Sunday’s win and Game 1. The two teams will begin the series on complete opposite ends of the rest spectrum.
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“It’s good to give your body some rest,” Miles McBride said after practice Friday. “Be able to sit back and watch your opponents beat each other up in a sense.”
It has certainly been well documented how, after trailing 2-1 in the first round against the Hawks, the Knicks changed their offense. They’ve implemented a system that has Towns — not Jalen Brunson — facilitate with the ball in his hands at the elbows, allowing the others, including Brunson, to cut and set screens for each other around him.
But that was with Onyeka Okongwu, the shell of Joel Embiid and the past-his-prime Andre Drummond guarding Towns. The conference finals will be a different story.
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Evan Mobley — the reigning Defensive Player of the Year — and Jarrett Allen are much more athletic and stronger defenders than anyone Towns has faced this postseason. Will Towns still be able to command the offense? Or will Mobley and Allen limit his impact?
Knicks…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/knicks-face-cavaliers-eastern-conference-024752213.html
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Publish date : 2026-05-18 02:47:00
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