Will the rest help or hurt the Knicks before the ECF? | SportsNite
On SportsNite, Knicks Film School's Jon Macri joins Niki Lattarulo to discuss what stood out in the Knicks' sweep of the 76ers and how beneficial the Knicks' time off will be before the Eastern Conference Finals.
Video Transcript
And it's time to welcome in the dean of the Knicks Film School, Jonathan Macri.
Jonathan, the Knicks are back in the Eastern Conference Finals, back-to-back years for the first time in over 25 years.
They did it in dominant fashion.
What stuck out to you in the sweep of the 76ers?
Yeah, I mean, I think this might surprise some people because the offense got most of the headlines, but for me, this was a defense first series all the way.
I personally ca- coming into the series expected it to be a high-scoring series.
I think we knew the Knicks were re- gonna be able to put points on the board against a defense that featured Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid.
What I wasn't sure about, and what a lot of people weren't sure about, is whether they were going to be able to contain Tyrese Maxey.
And I think if you look at his regular season numbers versus the numbers that he put up against the Knicks in this series, this was night and day.
not only was the scoring down, his shooting percentage is down, but his assists were down, and he also turned the ball over a lot more than he usually does.
I think you could, credit certainly Mikal Bridges for doing a wonderful job on him, but also just the entire Knick team being connected, being defending on a string on these key possessions.
And, for the most part, these games were not close in large part because of how they contained Tyrese Maxey.
Yeah, listen, I knew this Knicks team was different, but I didn't expect them to sweep and sweep in this manner.
But now, because they had that sweep, they have at least six days off before they finish, or before they begin the Conference Finals.
A lot of guys are banged up.
It's late in the season.
How much is that a benefit for the Knicks that they have so much time off?
Well, I think it's a benefit generally at this time of year.
You know, everybody's banged up.
Nobody's fully healthy.
they have some guys in their late 20s, around 30.
But the biggest key is gonna be for OG Anunoby, and I know Ian had that report earlier today saying he expects him to be fully ready for game one.
they're gonna need him because the way that the Eastern Conf- the, the other Eastern Conference semifinals is going, it's looking like it might be the Detroit Pistons.
If that's the case, then OG Anunoby is absolutely the number one guy who they should be able to stick on Cade Cunningham in that next series, at least to start off, and then you adjust from there.
But they are gonna need to give OG Anunoby as much rest as possible, get that hamstring healed up.
And then everybody else, I mean, look, I know there's some concerns that the Knicks are gonna lose this mojo.
I think they're a veteran team.
I think they have answered so many of those sorts of questions already with their performance in the playoffs.
I think they're gonna hit the ground running and the rest is gonna be a good thing.
