The New York Knicks advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time in well over 20 years. With their Game 6 win over the Boston Celtics, the Knicks stand just four wins from the NBA Finals.
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New York entered the series with the Celtics as massive underdogs, but they quickly shut that narrative down. The Knicks grabbed three of the first four games of the series, putting a stranglehold on the defending champions.
But Game 5 in Boston showed a side of New York that the team has seen far too often. The Knicks were blown off the court by the Celtics, despite Boston missing star Jayson Tatum.
However, it seems that the blowout loss inspired the Knicks heading into Game 6.
According to Fred Katz of The Athletic, the Knicks held a players-only meeting ahead of Game 6. The purpose of this was to address the poor performance that New York had in Game 5 against Boston.
“The day after Wednesday’s 25-point defeat, a could-have-been elimination game that extended the Boston Celtics’ season a superfluous 48 hours, Knicks players (and only the players) met at the team’s practice facility in Tarrytown, N.Y. That’s where the locker room leaders presented a message: Performances like the one in Game 5, when the Celtics outplayed, outhustled and outthought the Knicks, were unacceptable.”
The Knicks jumped all over the Celtics in Game 6, leading to a massive blowout victory. New York had no interest in going back to Boston for Game 7, and it seems that the players-only meeting greatly helped.
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New York has one of the better starting lineups in the NBA, but at times udinr ght eseaosn, they looked flat. But this series against Boston showed the potential of this unit, and they will be playing in the conference finals.
The Knicks will be taking on the Indiana Pacers, a rematch from last year’s playoffs. Indiana defeated the Knicks in Game 7, so New York will be looking for some redemption this time around.
New York has home-court advantage entering the series, giving them a slight edge. But if this Knicks team wants to do something special this season, it will take a total team effort to take down the Pacers.
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