Dominance

The last time the New Yorks Knicks were in the NBA Finals was of the lock-out shortened 1999 season. The team was bannered by Patrick Ewing, Allan Houston, Larry Johnson, Latrell Sprewell and Marcus Camby. Also on that roster was Rick Brunson (currently assistant of NYK head coach Mike Brown), the father of Eastern Conference Finals MVP Jalen Brunson.

At that time, the Knicks were seeded 8 and upended top seed Miami in the first round in 5 games. They swept Atlanta in the next round and closed out conference rival Indiana in six games for the EC title. They went on to the NBA Finals without an injured Ewing and lost to the San Antonio Spurs in 5 games.

This year’s iteration of the Knicks dominated and had won 11 straight playoff games. For the record, they had 12 post season games with an average winning margin of 22.75 points and had outscored Atlanta, Philadelphia and Cleveland by a total of 273 points. They have two 1-point loses to the Hawks in the first round and one single digit win, a 6-point victory over the Sixers in the second round.

NYK’s 19.35 playoff point differential was the biggest so far in the league. The previous post season point difference belonged to the Warriors at 13.53 in 2017.

In NBA history, 4 other teams had done this single post-season feat:

•1999 San Antonio Spurs – 12 straight wins

•2001 LA Lakers – 11 straight wins

•2017 Golden State Warriors – 15 straight wins

The 1989 Lakers won 11 straight playoff games but were swept in the Finals by the Detroit Pistons. The above teams mentioned went on to win the NBA championship.

For the second consecutive round, the Knicks will have enough rest as the NBA Finals is set to begin on June 3, either in OKC or in San Antonio. They have eight days to recharge and do have a good chance of winning their first league title after 27 years.

Meanwhile, Victor Wembanyama is getting overwhelmed inside the paint and I’m just curious why coach Mitch Johnson is having an over reliance on Luke Kornet when the Spurs have three other big men in Kelly Olynyk, Mason Plumlee and Bismack Biyombo. Wemby needs a spell, and his Game 5 performance shows, never mind SGA’s perfection of foul-drawing.

Excluding the 2020 Orlando bubble, 78 teams had the homecourt advantage and 57 won the NBA championship.