The first ticket for professional basketball’s ultimate prize has been punched, but the New York Knicks’ NBA Finals path ranks among the easiest in league history. The Eastern Conference was in a down year where the Celtics were among the NBA’s best in terms of talent, but were wildly inconsistent all season long. The fact that the Bucks and the Pacers were noncompetitive opened the door for teams that wouldn’t have a chance at the playoffs most years.
New York has made the most of this opportunity with weaker playoff opponents. Jalen Brunsion has scored 26.9 points per game and a career-high .486 shooting percentage in the postseason. Knicks fans should be concerned that their team is not adequately prepared for the Finals, with a battle-tested Western Conference team on the horizon.
What Made The New York Knicks’ NBA Finals Path So Easy?
The Knicks’ easy run started in the first round, with an Atlanta Hawks team that was just happy to be there. The Hawks have a solid young core to build around, but they overachieved with their playoff berth. Their two wins were by a point each (a 107-106 victory in Game 2 and a 109-108 decision in Game 3), so the Knicks could’ve easily had three sweeps on their way to the Finals. Jalen Johnson is a blossoming star in the league, but New York’s talent proved to be too much.
In the second round, NYC’s team clashed with the 76ers, who were clearly not at full strength. Joel Embiid had an emergency surgery prior to the playoffs, so it was a minor miracle that the Sixers even made it that far into the playoffs. As a result, Philadelphia didn’t have the firepower to close games late, leading to New York pulling out clutch wins in Games 2 and 3. Blowouts in Games 1 and 4 were more indicative of where both teams were trending.
Most recently, the Orange and Blue swept the Cavaliers to punch their ticket to the Finals. The series said more about Cleveland than it did New York, as the Cavs blew a 22-point fourth quarter lead in Game 1, and were never the same since. To add to the embarrassment, coach Kenny Atkinson stated that the team should be winning the series from an analytics standpoint ahead of Game 4. Cleveland had some major deficiencies (James Harden’s defense, in particular) that were exploited by the Knicks, who capitalized on a fraudulent opponent.
Is the Knicks’ run to the Finals the easiest all-time? There are a few contenders to make cases for. The 1959 and 1961 Celtics had a first-round bye, and only had to get through one sub-.500 team to make the Finals both years. In 1987, the Showtime Lakers waltzed through the Western Conference, as they had two series against teams with losing records.
More recently, the 2023 Nuggets’ four opponents in the playoffs had a combined win percentage of 53.05% (fifth all-time). The modern standard for easy playoff runs, the 2024 Celtics had three consecutive series where the opposing team was missing at least one star player. The Knicks’ path to the Finals might not have been as easy as the Celtics, but it’s still an all-time easy playoff run.
The Knicks will be tested in the Finals, despite the low difficulty up to this point. The Thunder are defending NBA champions, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and company are intent on flopping and defending their way to another title. Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs are a pleasant surprise this postseason, with their defense being elite for much of the playoffs. The Blue and Orange will likely have to raise their level of play to match the intensity of either team, and be ready for a long NBA Finals.
