Marquette In The 2026 NBA Playoffs: Eastern Conference Finals Edition

Good news, everyone!

Marquette fans everywhere still have a rooting interest in the 2026 NBA Playoffs! Our lone entrant in the Conference Semifinals advanced to the Conference Finals, so we’ve still got something to latch onto here.

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Look, I’m not trying to tell head coach Mike Brown how to do his job here, but the fact of the matter is that New York is a perfect 6-0 when Marquette’s very own Tyler Kolek gets on the floor for the Knicks in these playoffs. Fair’s fair, so I have to remind myself that the Knicks are 2-2 when Kolek does not play, and .500 in the playoffs isn’t that far from advancing anyway. It does mean that the Knicks have only lost when Mike Brown does not get Kolek into the game though, so perhaps I’m more right than I realize.

We should also point out that Kolek has played in six of the Knicks’ last seven games, all of which have been a part of the most overwhelming 10 game point differential stretch in NBA Playoffs history.

Tyler Kolek is helping the Knicks mollywhop the opponents, and I will not accept explanations that challenge this information. I mean, come on, like anyone could possibly believe that the Knicks would have beat the Sixers by 30 in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals without Kolek giving them four points, three rebounds, and two assists in 13 minutes?

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Anyway, that level of Kolek-led domination has the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference Finals for the second straight year. Oooh, that means Tyler Kolek is a two-time Eastern Conference Finalist! Take that, almost every single other pick in the 2024 NBA Draft!

While Tyler Kolek’s playing time is the clear key to the Knicks’ success, we do have to acknowledge that Jalen Brunson led New York in scoring against the Sixers, averaging 29.0 points thanks to 45% three-point shooting. However, the Knicks’ point guard in name was not their assists leader in the series, as that went to Karl-Anthony Towns. The self-proclaimed best shooting big man in NBA history beat out Brunson in the helpers department, 7.5 per game to 6.0. KAT also shot 55% on threes, which is some Markus Howard…


Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/marquette-2026-nba-playoffs-eastern-131838550.html

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Publish date : 2026-05-18 13:18:00

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