The New York Knicks have a chance to write history in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Returning to the Eastern Conference Finals has been 25 years in the making for the New York Knicks, and they pulled it off in the most dramatic way possible.
The Knicks beat the Detroit Pistons in a six-game slugfest of the postseason’s opening round. And in the East Semifinals round, they stunned the world and eliminated the reigning world champs in the Boston Celtics, also winning in six.
Tom Thibodeau let it be known that their primary goal is to win the NBA championship, but their progress making it to this stage has been monumental and worth celebrating already.
As they aim for the franchise’s first championship since 1973, the New York Knicks are slated to embrace a major fight against a familiar foe, with NBA world thrilled by a renewed rivalry.
With a ticket to reach the NBA Finals up for grabs, the Knicks will collide against the Indiana Pacers for a highly-anticipated best-of-seven bout in the East Finals.
The Knicks have unfinished business against the Pacers. Last year, Indiana eliminated them in the second round in an intense seven-game play.
And according to Knicks legend Patrick Ewing, the Knicks’ chances to pull a major redemption and entry to the title stage simply leans on how OG Anunoby will show up.
“In order for us to win, [Anunoby] has to play well. In order for us to win, he has to be the dominant one who is going to stop their best player,” Ewing said on The Rematch podcast.
“Their best wing or guard player, he’s the one who’s going to be the primary defender.
“We need for him to be locked in and give us the boost that he’s been giving us on the offensive end, knocking down threes, getting in the post, driving in the lane, doing a lot of things we need for him to do to be able to win.”
Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns are already presumed to produce tremendously as the Knicks’ main superstars, and it all now boils down to how Anunoby and the rest of the team will step up.
Ewing is also a big fan of Josh Hart, comparing his grit and hustle plays to 1990s legend Dennis Rodman.
Anunoby had mixed success against the Celtics, averaging just 14.2 points in 36.7 percent shooting across 38 minutes. In three of the six total games of the series, he only dropped single digits in points.
But despite dour offensive displays, Anunoby still responded at the defensive end as he mainly rotated on both Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.
Facing the Pacers, expectations are high that he will elevate his game and do his best in containing Pascal Siakam, his former Toronto Raptors teammate, with whom he holds a close relationship.
Is Anunoby up to the challenge of being New York’s X-factor in dealing against Indiana? That will initially be answered as Game 1 of the East Finals is set for May 21.
