3 reasons the Knicks can win a first-round playoff series

drubbing the Boston Celtics</a> on Monday night.</p> <p>Making the playoffs is just the start, however, and the Knicks want to make some noise when they get there. Despite the talk this year being about the top four teams in the East, the Knicks have a very real chance to win a first-round playoff series.</p> <p>Here are three reasons why the rest of the East should have a healthy respect for the Knicks.</p> <h2>Reason No. 1: They have defeated the other contenders this season</h2> <p>The New York Knicks have not built their 36-27 record this season by solely feasting on lottery teams; they have also notched a number of wins against the best teams in the East. That not only proves they can beat anyone, but it also speaks to how well they match up with their fellow East playoff foes specifically.</p> <p>After Monday&#8217;s win over the Celtics, the Knicks are now 2-1 in that matchup. They are 0-3 against the Milwaukee Bucks, but their last two games were decided by six and four points, respectively. They are 2-1 against the Cleveland Cavaliers, their most likely first-round opponent, and split the season series with the Philadelphia 76ers 2-2. The Knicks can hang with anyone.</p> <div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #007BC1" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://dailyknicks.com/2023/03/01/3-reasons-knicks-win-first-round-playoff-series-brunson/3/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span>&nbsp;Jalen Brunson </a> </div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><div id="attachment_139894" class="wp-caption alignnone"> <img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="wp-image-139894 size-full" src=https://dailyknicks.com/2023/03/01/3-reasons-knicks-win-first-round-playoff-series-brunson/3/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_1066,w_1600/https%3A%2F%2Fdailyknicks.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F08%2F1457598661.jpeg" alt="New York Knicks" width="1600" height="1066" srcset="https://dailyknicks.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1457598661.jpeg 1600w, https://dailyknicks.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1457598661-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px"><p class="wp-caption-text">Jalen Brunson, New York Knicks. (Photo by Dustin Satloff/Getty Images)</p> </div> <h2>Reason No. 2: Jalen Brunson can carve up likely opponents</h2> <p><a href=https://dailyknicks.com/2023/03/01/3-reasons-knicks-win-first-round-playoff-series-brunson/3/"https://www.nba.com/player/1628973/jalen-brunson" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Jalen Brunson</a> is having an All-Star season, even if he missed out on making the actual team. The first-year Knicks point guard is averaging a career-best 23.6 points per game, along with 6.2 assists and 3.6 rebounds. He is shooting 40.1 percent from deep on a healthy number of attempts, and his 5.9 free-throw attempts per game rank 19th in the league. He’s killing it this year.</p> <p>That’s why the Knicks should be looking at their likely first-round playoff opponents and rubbing their hands together maniacally, as one does. The Knicks will most likely face either the Cleveland Cavaliers or the Philadelphia 76ers in the first round, and both of them have weak backcourts defensively to attack.</p> <p>Whether it’s Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland, or James Harden and Tyrese Maxey, both teams have a potent offensive pairing that will be fodder for Brunson to carve up. Brunson will either go to town offensively, or he will force those teams to keep their guard defenders on the court (Isaac Okoro for the Cavs and De’Anthony Melton for the Sixers) and reduce the minutes of their best offensive lineups.</p> <p>Brunson’s specialty is roasting shaky guard defenders in the playoffs. He lit up Mitchell last year when the Dallas Mavericks took out the Utah Jazz and followed that up by eviscerating old man Chris Paul. He can do the same when facing the soft backcourts of the Eastern Conference contenders.</p> <div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #007BC1" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://dailyknicks.com/2023/03/01/3-reasons-knicks-win-first-round-playoff-series-brunson/3/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Knicks are killing it </a> </div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><div id="attachment_139260" class="wp-caption alignnone"> <a href=https://dailyknicks.com/2023/03/01/3-reasons-knicks-win-first-round-playoff-series-brunson/3/"https://dailyknicks.com/wp-content/uploads/imagn-images/2023/02/19294521.jpeg">ghost of Derrick Rose</a> to create shots, the Knicks have one of the league&#8217;s best point guards in Jalen Brunson to attack opposing defenses.</p> <p>The Knicks also have more playoff experience to bear; the holdovers from two years ago got to bank that experience, and now have played plenty of games since together. Jalen Brunson went to the Western Conference Finals last season. This team is a bit more ready for what they are facing. Contrast that to Cleveland, a likely opponent, which is starting three players without a minute of playoff experience.</p> <p>Finally, this season&#8217;s Knicks have the league&#8217;s seventh-best net rating and have been playing even better as of late. They are incredibly deep, have a dynamic combination of youth and experience, and have versatility on both ends of the court to face playoff tests.</p> <p>These Knicks are more experienced, are playing better, and have a diverse offensive attack to deploy in the playoffs. 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