The Knicks worked until the final day of the regular season to earn the highest seed in the playoffs, and their reward for earning the No. 2 seed was a perennial contender in the Eastern Conference, but with no active league, they simply slipped into the play-in tournament. was. Won MVP for more than half of the season.
Joel Embiid returns to the 76ers and enters this intriguing first-round playoff matchup on a nine-game winning streak, including six straight since the seven-time All-Star center returned from a knee issue earlier this month. .
Embiid hasn’t always been at his best in these games, but the Sixers are 32-8 with him in the lineup and 16-27 without him.
The Knicks boast point guard Jalen Brunson as a legitimate MVP candidate, even without three-time All-Star forward Julius Randle following shoulder surgery.
Tom Thibodeau’s Knicks defeated the Cavaliers in the first round last year and reached the playoffs for the first time since 2013, but lost to Jimmy Butler and the Heat in the conference semifinals.
After a 50-win campaign, hopes for more depth are even higher, but it all starts with finding a way to get through an incredibly difficult first-round bracket at 2-7.
The newspaper’s Peter Votto breaks down the key matchup that will determine whether the Knicks defeat Embiid and the Sixers and earn a chance to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 2000.
Knicks 3-point shooting vs. 76ers 3-point defense
The Sixers scored 113.0 points per 100 possessions, ranked 11th in the NBA in defensive percentage and fifth in opponents’ 3-point percentage (35.4 percent).
The Knicks are 14th in 3-point attempts from last season, up from 8th in the league last season, despite free agent signing Donte DiVincenzo setting the franchise single-season long-distance shooting record (283). 35.8 bottles per year).
Still, key reserve players Miles McBride (41.0 percent), DiVincenzo (40.1 percent) and Brunson (40.1 percent) each exceeded the 40 percent mark, and mid-season pick-up OG Anunoby (39.4 percent). and Bojan Bogdanovic (37.0 percent) were close behind.
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Sixers 3-point shooting vs. Knicks 3-point defense
Standout perimeter defenders Immanuel Quickley and Quentin Grimes were released in the Anunoby and Bogdanovic deals, respectively, but the team’s impressive 20-3 record with Anunoby in the lineup was largely due to him. depends on his defensive ability.
Still, the Knicks finished the season 17th in the league in defending the arc, with opponents connecting on 36.5 percent from deep.
All-Star guard Tyrese Maxey (37.3 percent on 8.1 attempts per game) and deadline pickup Buddy Hield (38.9 percent on 6.6 attempts per game) are high-volume shooters from long range. But Nicolas Batum made six threes in the play-in win against Miami, and Embiid shot 38.8 percent on 3.6 attempts per game from the outside.
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rebound
Even though Mitchell Robinson missed 51 games due to ankle surgery in December, the Knicks still finished fifth in the league in overall rebounds (45.2 per game). And they continued to be demons offensively, recording a league-high 12.7 offensive boards per game.
Fill-in starter Isaiah Hartenstein averaged 3.3 offensive boards, finishing fifth in the NBA in that category, while 6-foot-4 wing Josh Hart and midseason acquisition Precious Achiuwa combined for one game per game. He recorded another 4.5 times per hit.
And Robinson, who returned in a backup role in late March, is averaging 4.6 offensive boards in 31 games, which would have led the league if he played enough games to qualify. This number was on par with Thailand.
Embiid (11.0 rebounds per game) is the Sixers’ main rebounding threat, but his 43.0 rebounds per game ranks 20th in the league.
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draw a foul and shoot a free throw
The Knicks fell from third in the league in free throw attempts last season to 14th after Randle missed the final two months and RJ Barrett and Quickley left in late December.
Thibodeau has lamented Brunson’s lack of call-ups all season, but his 6.5 attempts per game leads the team among active players in this series. Hartenstein and Robinson are next with 2.1 attempts per game, and Robinson’s 40.9 free throw percentage lends itself well to opponents’ “hack-a-mitch” strategies if they are late to the game.
Embiid’s ability to get to the line and get defenders into foul trouble is always a big factor. His 11.6 attempts per game are better than league leader Giannis Antetokounmpo’s 10.7, and he’s shot 88.3 percent from the stripe this season.
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Knicks ability to score paint points vs. Sixers inside defense
The Knicks’ ability to grab offensive rebounds helped them rank second in the league in second-chance points with 16.3 points per game, but they were 20th overall in paint points with 48.9 points per game.
Still, the 6-foot-2 Brunson’s 11.6 points per game in the paint was second among NBA guards behind the Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (14.3 points).
Embiid and backup center Paul Reed combined for 2.7 blocked shots per game, but the Sixers ranked 17th in the league in paint points allowed.
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Sixers ability to score paint points vs. Knicks inside defense
The Knicks didn’t miss out on an inside presence as much as initially feared when Robinson was sidelined, with Hartenstein and Achiuwa each averaging over one block per game.
Still, Embiid is a rare inside force when healthy, averaging 27.9 points per game for his career, including 34.7 points in 39 games this season. Despite his limp, he averaged 30.4 points in the final six games of the season, including 23 points and 15 boards in the play-in win over the Heat.
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in transition
The Knicks rank 17th in the league with 7.5 steals per game and 15th in transition points, but they have the ability to push the ball thanks to the aggressive perimeter defense of Anunoby, Hart and McBride.
The Sixers were tied for the league lead with the Thunder at 8.5 steals per game and finished a few notches above the Knicks (11th) in transition points.
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depth/bench
Knicks. Robert Szabo of the New York Post
With Robinson, Randle and Anunoby out for much of the second half, Thibodeau was left to rely heavily on promising second-team players like Hart and McBride (who returned to a backup combo guard role with Anunoby’s return).
Bogdanovic is starting to find his form with 11.4 points per game through eight games in April, and Robinson and Achiuwa provide solid backup up front.
The Sixers’ depth players behind Embiid and Maxey — primarily Hield, Batum, forward Tobias Harris, veteran guard Kyle Lowry and starter Kelly Oubre Jr. — are all capable. He’s a scorer.
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coaching
Thibodeau is a two-time Coach of the Year award winner, and this may have been his best coaching job as he overcame several long-term injuries to push the Knicks to 50 wins for the first time since 2013.
Philadelphia’s Nick Nurse, who won the 2019 NBA title with the Raptors, looks much better with Embiid in the lineup than without Embiid.
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something intangible
The talented Sixers aren’t your typical No. 7 seed, but their recent postseason failures (never making it past the second round against Embiid) have yet to shake them off.
The Knicks are 27-14 at home this season and should use the convivial Garden atmosphere to their advantage, especially in a potential Game 7.
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