Before the New York Knicks’ season started, an appearance in the Eastern Conference Semifinals seemed unlikely, but we were hopeful. The second seed wasn’t even discussed. 50 wins? Only the most delirious homers thought the number possible.
Yet here we are, with all those things having come to pass. The Knicks exceeded our expectations from top to bottom, with an MVP-caliber campaign by Jalen Brunson, the glory that was the Nova Knicks, a tremendous January (thanks to savvy front office moves), a great Julius Randle year (before Miami sabotaged him), the revelations of Isaiah Hartenstein and Deuce McBride, and another Coach-of-the-Year worthy job by Tom Thibodeau.