At this point, it should have been expected, expected, foreseen, predicted, and should have been no surprise. This is the Knicks. This is who Tom Thibodeau wanted them to be. They can adapt to the unaccommodating, adapt to the unaccommodating, and turn even the most impossible scenario into something that at least seems possible.
That was the case Sunday, as Precious Achiuwa dove toward Joel Embiid and drilled a 3-pointer into the Wells Fargo Center seats in the final minutes of Game 4. The midseason acquisition — a follow-up to the OG Anunoby deal — also did not appear in Games 1 and 2 of the Knicks’ first-round series against the 76ers. If it hadn’t been for Mitchell Robinson’s left ankle problem, he probably wouldn’t have played in Games 3 or 4, and if he had started at center, Achiuwa would have missed a few minutes toward the end of the fourth quarter. It’s almost certain that he wasn’t on the court during that time. Isaiah Hartenstein did not pick up five fouls in the third frame.
But for most of the regular season, the 2023-24 Knicks have built a reputation based on being resourceful and finding ways to win games despite strange, outlandish, what-if circumstances. Ta.
That carried over into the playoffs.
