Why Knicks’ sweep of 76ers leaves no excuses to fall short of NBA Finals

The New York Knicks are patiently waiting for their Eastern Conference Finals opponent. New York wrapped up its series-clinching win in Game 4 against the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday. But the other Eastern Conference Semifinals matchup between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Detroit Pistons has been a significantly tighter battle.

But while the Knicks wait for their next opponent, they are able to do something fairly unusual: rest.

Knicks getting significant rest as they await next opponent

There is still much to be decided in the remaining game or two between the Cavaliers and Pistons, and it’s not all about who the Knicks will play. If Cleveland wins Game 6, Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals will kick off on Sunday in New York. If the series goes seven games, the Eastern Conference Finals will start on Tuesday.

So, if the Cavaliers win, New York will have one full week of rest between games—and Cleveland will have to turn around and start the conference finals on the road on only 36 hours of rest. If the Detroit forces a Game 7, the Knicks will have nine consecutive days off. Game 7 would be played on Sunday, meaning the Pistons or Cavaliers would only have two days off before kicking off the Eastern Conference Finals.

Aside from the possible opponent, the rest is tremendously important for the Knicks. And specifically, OG Anunoby. Anunoby suffered a hamstring strain in Game 2 against the 76ers.on Wednesday, May 6. He will have 11 or 13 days of rest, depending on the outcome of Game 6. Either way, Anunoby’s hamstring will be as healthy as can be expected given the injury. And that’s a good thing.

Anunoby suffered a more severe hamstring injury in the 2024 Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Indiana Pacers, which also took place in Game 2. That injury took place on May 8. He tried to return for Game 7 on May 19. Ironically, that was an 11 day rest period, as well. However, as previously mentioned, that particular injury was significantly more severe. And Anunoby struggled mightily—and the lack of healing was apparent immediately. The veteran looked stiff, struggled to move laterally, and ultimately played only five minutes.

OG Anunoby received an uplifting injury update

But there’s a silver lining to the Anunoby injury. Knicks’ coach Mike Brown revealed that Anunoby was a full participant in a recent practice, meaning he should be good to go come Game 1, whenever that is.

“Anytime anybody is able to do anything like that (practice without restrictions) is always encouraging,” Brown said to the media recently. “At the end of the day, I’m waiting and letting the medical group tell me what he can do. Everything we did today, he did.”

Ultimately, the Knicks look to be in good shape heading into the conference finals. They might be spinning their wheels in terms of watching tape and practicing without an opponent in mind, but there are fat situations in which teams find themselves.

New York should be very well prepared to take on either Detroit or Cleveland. For what it’s worth, the Knicks won all three matchups against the Cavaliers in the regular season— but they lost all three against the Pistons.

Either way, being the more rested team should benefit the Knicks, especially given how overworked they’ve been this time of the year in recent seasons. Hopefully, they can pick right back up where they left off, as they have been victorious in seven consecutive playoff games and counting.

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