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2026 NBA Playoffs Round 2: Knicks vs. 76ers Game 4 – Sweep or Gentlemen’s Sweep?

The Knicks are in Philadelphia this afternoon ready to put the Sixers to pasture for the season. I think that the Knicks would have defeated the Boston Celtics if the two teams had played each other in this round, but holy shit, there’s no way that the Celtics would have been THIS easy to beat.

And with the Pistons losing Game 3 against the Cavaliers, for all we know, the Knicks might have, like, a fucking WEEK off if they take care of the Sixers today.

If not, they can just celebrate on their own home court in Game 5, but I suspect that they are ready to just end this farce with this game.

Let’s go, Knicks!

253 replies on “2026 NBA Playoffs Round 2: Knicks vs. 76ers Game 4 – Sweep or Gentlemen’s Sweep?”

Still not used to the lottery being a mere curiosity I don’t particularly need to watch live.

Mitch Mitch!

1

nervous talk incoming…

can’t believe trent grisham is still leading off…

why oh why are the new york yankees trying to maximize his plate appearance…it puzzles me…

at least his OBP is still above .300…barely…

what is the wait on putting and keeping ben at the top…

rice
caballero
judge
bellinger
whoever

1

Hahaha fuck the Pacers!
Lottery worked out great for us. Biggest east winners are incompetent franchises (WAS, CHI). Indy screwed itself with that Zubac trade. Brooklyn at 6 is going nowhere. Atlanta at 8… Obvs could be great players in the late lottery but the worst case outcome would have been Indiana banking on their gap year bullshit.

Let’s go Knicks!

1

So the Pacers traded Mathurin, Isaiah Jackson and two first round picks to the Clips for Zubac, and the 1-4 protected pick just went to LA. Also, the 2029 pick is unprotected

I thought Kevin Pritchard was supposed to some kind of basketball genius?

Silver probably gifted it to the Clippers to give him cover for more than a slap on the wrist for ballmer’s blatant circumvention of the salary cap.

ha, 1 thru 4 protected…didn’t know that…

that certainly does make it a little special…

zubac is suddenly feeling very mid in a pacers uni…

I hope the coach that told Mikal Bridges it’s actually good to score around the rim, even in the playoffs, gets a big raise

can’t wait to see if landry comes in all fired up and shooting lights out…

Edit: okay maybe let’s let deuce just keep on cooking…

goodness, what a second round close out game kind of 3 spree from deuce…

A lot of viewers probably don’t know about the proud Philadelphia tradition of wearing the other team’s gear and cheering for them loudly as a kind of reverse psychology

4

Nick Nurse should let his guys get on earlier flights to Cancun as a humanitarian gesture

I know people have been complaining that KAT has a low IQ or whatever. Mercifully, I missed a lot of those games. But he looks smart as hell these days with assists to support the idea. Maybe there was no one open before? Hahaha.

Dumb foul by Philly not knowing who was shooting – Clarkson is not good from 3

Hopefully just a bruise for KAT…backs are scary. Would be great to get him as much rest as possible.

Maxey not scared of being defended by Shamet

Holy cow, crazy how loud the boos are for Maxey at the line

Just got home and we’re up 20, how can you not fall in love with this team.

I may have to eat a lot of crow on Clarkson. He’s playing the best basketball of his life right now. He’s hustling and making the right pass.

1

Between KAT and now Hart, let’s just put the bench in now…

All due respect to our shooters, but there’s no one within 10 feet of them on most of their 3 point attempts.

Sixers saying “no mas”

Smart plays on both sides – Hart with a quick shot to go two for one (missed, but still smart), Clarkson trails and reaches in to take the ball from a driving Maxey after a trap blew up the play. Nice.

I thought Clarkson was a good addition but for completely different reasons, I thought he could be a decent scorer off the bench but he’s really bought in on the defensive side.

Clarkson respec-ing his character stats from microwave scorer to elite O-boarding guard/defensive specialist/slasher is really something else. BBIQ, talent, work ethic

4

Shamet is a guy Philly could definitely use but you can’t pass up the opportunity to trade him and 4 picks for Tobias Harris

Wow!!!!!

That KAT touch pass after a smart pass from Clarkson, Hart finishing through contact…wow

C’mon. Those passes from Towns. I’m thinking Clyde loves what he’s seeing.

2

I’m not comparing KAT to Jokic because that would be insulting to the guy who is in fact very much still playing. Incredible playmaking though.

1

KAT knows he’s not going to play in the 4th so getting his triple double out of the way soon.

1

I’m beginning to get depressed at the thought of not being able to watch another Knicks game for at least a week…

I am laughing out loud in my large and otherwise empty Italian apartment. Wrecking ball vs Tin Man.

1

I’m out of free trials and refuse to pay for a 4th streaming platform, so have fun, guys. Sounds like this one’s a laugher anyway.

Jesus, this is some beautiful basketball. The ball is moiving and the defensive effort is outstanding. From everyone!

With OG out Anne Hathaway seamlessly shifted to giving KAT the Mandate of Heaven

I’m out of free trials and refuse to pay for a 4th streaming platform, so have fun, guys. Sounds like this one’s a laugher anyway.

Try StReAmEaSt dotPs

1

KAT’s a loser, only 3 rebounds.

Of course, doesn’t help that the Knicks aren’t missing…

KAT pulling a Wilt, who after being criticized for being selfish lead the NBA in assists in 1967-68, not that KAT was criticized in that manner.

He didn’t even fall on the part of his body he’s grabbing

1

I didn’t see muscles but I think Bridges was flexing after that last put back 😉

1

Bridges battling with three (!) Sixers underneath the basket, beating them, and scoring. I never thought I’d live to see that.

I’m out of free trials and refuse to pay for a 4th streaming platform, so have fun, guys. Sounds like this one’s a laugher anyway.

It’s on League Pass , at least if you’re outside the US

And a VPN could make it seem outside the US…

With OG out Anne Hathaway seamlessly shifted to giving KAT the Mandate of Heaven

Who’s this OG guy you speak of?

2

Josh Hart suffering some kind of finger injury and immediately becoming a deadeye shooter is such an oddly specific thing to have happened multiple times

1

Josh Hart suffering some kind of finger injury and immediately becoming a deadeye shooter is such an oddly specific thing to have happened multiple times

Are we at 3 or 4?

I like Mikal’s middy excellence so much more when he’s doing it in addition to a lot of other good stuff

3

Great hands from Mikal

Another drawn foul by Embiid, blah

These guys are getting the fuck after it, up 3-0, up 26. Whatever weird vibes existed a few months ago seem to have been obliterated.

Texting via fb msgr with a college buddy of mine who’s a Philly guy. I been suggesting they rebuild around Maxey but he says he aint The Guy. Wants to blow it all up and Process again.

Cap passing up a wide open three to feed Deuce. “It’s the little things.” 😉

1

i think i hate embiid more than any other nba player now..what a freakin doosh

2

Shout out to Knicks fans who brought a photo of Mitch’s dunk over Embiid to the arena.

2

The great thing about Brunson is that while he’s sometimes prone to chucking, he genuinely wants to see his teammates flourish and has no issue adapting to make that happen.

Take Melo’s tantrum over Jeremy Lin on one end of the spectrum; Jalen Brunson is on the polar opposite end.

4

Watching Mikal get an offensive rebound, score in traffic and then do the tough guy muscle flex was more than I could handle. I had to clean good beer off the floor.

1

Just finished a six hour car trip and I can’t believe the Sixers are more wrecked than I am….

1

Knicks can’t get a defensive stop to save their lives at the moment but thankfully neither can Philly.

Mikal is cutting to the basket, KAT is cutting off Maxey on switches…they are giving me dangerous amounts of hope

Do we need to strategically schedule more Mikal donuts so that he can go on absolute tears after?

We have reached the “Jalen Brunson is laughing at his own excellence” portion of the game

1

When Jalen Brunson actually smiles you know things are going pretty well for the Knicks

1

Oh holy fuck. Just when you think it can’t get any better…

I just jumped out of my recliner and laughed my ass off after that Brunson 3pter…

Reminder that we theoretically have OG coming back

1

I was prepared for disaster bc my little brain thinks the Knicks don’t like day games. Hahaha.

Given that Embiid can’t miss, I don’t understand while they are not hacking Mitch every time.

What a sequence – Brunson’s eyes got big when he saw Barlow on him, cooked him. Deuce then deflecting the pass, Mikal picking it up and hitting Brunson for the 3, just wow

Looking for things to complain about…. Deuce 0-1 from two. Brunson only 2-7 from two.

Of course together they’re 13-19 from three…

They should give Breen and Legler a break during garbage time and bring in the second string announcers.

Knicks are playing more locked in up 30 than the Sixers were to start this game.

Super worried about Embiid falling awkwardly and oafishly into a Knick.

1

Deuce has made more three pointers today than Embiid and Maxey have for the series.

Seems fine, but that KAT fall terrified me. It’s god damn Kolek o’clock.

1

Not to mention Cap. It’s Kolek Time…

(Nod to Noble…)

If Shamet’s feeling right again, we have a potent bench.

I’m a little disappointed we haven’t heard a full throated Fuck Embiid chant yet. We should have that going for the whole 4Q.

The heater Deuce is on, I’d like to bankroll him on the craps table tonight.

Seriously, this game is so important for Deuce to get confidence in his shot. They will need him against the Pistons.

It’s so weird that this is only the end of the third…

1

Credit to Kolek. A long rehearsal for the Broadway revival of RENT today and now he has to play a full quarter of NBA basketball.

Putting Dadiet here is Brown’s response to Nurse’s spiteful challenge. He would have played Diawara if Nurse hadn’t been an ass.

Earliest start date for ECF is May 17th. May 19th if if goes longer.

If it’s the Cavs, I may have back-to-back nights at MSG. Anyone else seeing Bruce?

Knickeblogger now has a week to debate which bench was worse.

And whether this was a good or bad week for Leon Rose 😉

1

If it’s the Cavs we’re going to have an 11 game playoff win streak and net rating of plus 30

2

The man has erred, no doubt. But with us going to our second consecutive conference finals and being the only team in the NBA to have won a round in four consecutive seasons, it’s kinda funny that Leon Rose has never even finished in the top 3 for executive of the year.

The criteria has never been well-defined, but he’s got a legit beef with the voters.

it’s kinda funny that Leon Rose has never even finished in the top 3 for executive of the year.

The criteria has never been well-defined, but he’s got a legit beef with the voters.

I expect he cares about as much as Jalen Brunson cares about individual accolades. Which is to say….not much.

1

I guess my perfect game is over bc I said this series was going to be a war. Although technically it did resemble the Anglo-Zanzibar War of 1896, but that was not the spirit of my guess.

1

I’m trying to contain myself. The Knicks are not going to continue shooting like this and the Pistons (if that’s who we face next) can really lock down. That said, imo this is the best all around basketball by a Knicks teams since Clyde was PLAYING!

1

The cherry on top is the Pacers getting it right up the wazoo in the draft lottery!

1

Josh twists the knife, as if this wasn’t humiliating enough:

“I used to think Philly was a sports town. I don’t know anymore.”

1

The cherry on top is the Pacers getting it right up the wazoo in the draft lottery!

It was so bad that their GM publicly apologized!

Tough day for Donnie’s two basketball teams.

Now we’ll have to hear even more about the bloody Dodgers.

We can beat any team any where right now, but really hoping Cleveland somehow pulls this series out and we get games 1 and 2 at MSG, or if Detroit wins that it goes the distance.

Either way, we have to be pretty heavy favorites in the conference finals, no?

I would think Knicks will be pretty strong favorites vs Cavs but if its Detroit it’ll be considered a pick em series.

1

Love love love the lottery results, Washington finally gets a top pick in a great draft, Indiana got screwed, OKC didn’t get lucky, basically everything I wanted happened.

1

The rest of the playoffs are on ABC/ESPN so everyone can cancel their peacock subscriptions now

2

I would think Knicks will be pretty strong favorites vs Cavs but if its Detroit it’ll be considered a pick em series.

Our odds were better than Detroit’s heading into round 1 of the playoffs, and I think based on playoff performances thus far they would have to be even better now.

It just occurred to me that we kicked the Sixers ass the last two games without OG. Praying that he is 100% for the next series!

It’s so weird that this is only the end of the third…

still watching, following along with the thread as the game progresses…

gotta say though- this feels exactly right…

you better not be doing drugs noble…cocaine and adderall cocktails are not for you…

absolutely on fire all thread long…

don’t be doing no posting PED’s though…

Tim Bontemps prediction of the Sixers in 6 not aging real well.

out of the 11 ESPN basketball folks polled – 4 picked philly to win…

they need to be better at their job…

1

My assumption is that Detroit will win the other conference semifinal. I hope I am wrong. Detroit becomes a mediocre team once one matches their physicality. If Orlando had elementary shooting, there is no doubt they’d be playing the Cavs right now. Now, remember that the physicality of Detroit is what gave the Knicks the most problems of any team this season. Three times they were pushing us around as if they were playing against a high school team. That was the ‘old’ Knicks though! For the past seven games we have been watching a newly emerging ferocious Knicks squad, and part of this resurgence is physicality and intensity on defense. What I conclude is that if we are respectably physical with Detroit and manage to contain Cade Cunningham, things we miserably failed to do in the regular season matchups, we should be ok. Offense is not the issue. It’s not that Detroit is an offensive juggernaut. Just hold yours on the defensive end. We have a good chance against them. I wouldn’t have said this two weeks ago but, hey, this is a new Knicks team!

As someone who said prior to the season that we won’t be able to judge Mike Brown until the playoffs, I can safely conclude that his absolute floor is Tom Thibodeau.

The one frustrating thing about a sweep is we might have to spend a week wondering about the severity of OG’s injury.

Yeah, but Hubert, it’s a week for him to heal; as well as a week for KAT to heal from his various aches and pains. Meanwhile I hope Hart hurts his finger playing with himself during the week off so he can continue shooting lights out…

1

From what I understood, he did not even know what the Flagrant 2 decision means. What he did wasn’t intentional, it was out of frustration. He is not a dirty player, but he deserved the ejection.

I suspect Knicks-Detroit will be like Knicks-Atlanta in 2021. We went 3-0 against them in the regular season and Julius Randle had his way with the Hawks. But then we looked totally overmatched in the playoffs.

Much of the Pistons success against us this year came down to their intensity. I think we just weren’t in the mood for that kind of fight in January and February. Not to mention we were still very much a fractured team.

Tobias Harris is seriously their #2 scorer. They’ve got a bunch of guys who can’t even throw the ball in the ocean. Duren’s not going to overpower KAT or Mitch with his strength. It shouldn’t be hard to play off Ausar Thompson and make Cade’s life miserable. They’ll make it harder for us to score than Atlanta and Philadelphia did but I don’t see how they can limit our offense enough to score less than them.

I’m thinking Knicks in 5, with the Pistons getting one resounding win in the first two games, and very little else.

Dude is congratulating himself for what he did.

what?

dude’s just cheering his team…loved the way he was sitting down and just snatched harrison barnes’ neck, who was standing at the time and a couple of feet away, to bring him within earshot…

he’s just sooooooooooooo long…

It’s great how the Knicks managed to also embarrass Boston without even playing them.

3

What a win! My favorite past time is watching all the informed reporters (bontemps, etc) that picked the sixers eat crow.

I’ve been so impressed with KaT so far, not just the passing but also the iq and defense. It shows, involving KaT in the flow on offense, leads to better, smarter defensive play. This team has so much potential!

I like our chances vs. any of the remaining teams. Neither DET nor CLE seems all that, SAS is young and vulnerable, MIN is not healthy, OKC is the only scary team and I like how we match up.

KAT playing MVP-level ball 75% of the time is a game-changer.

*All of the above is contingent upon a fully healthy OG.

I hope the Spurs lose! Like many others, I have an affinity with Minnie because of Julius and the injured Donte.

1

Much of the Pistons success against us this year came down to their intensity. I think we just weren’t in the mood for that kind of fight in January and February. Not to mention we were still very much a fractured team.

Detroit shot 46-101 (45%) in the series and 35% in the year.

New York shot 29-98 (29.5%) in the series and 37% in the year.

There are a lot of things that go on in these blowouts, but I wouldn’t expect that shooting disparity to be like that in the playoffs.

The thing about these playoff Knicks is how surgical they’ve been in attacking the opponents’ weak spots. Duncan on defense and Ausar on offense are exactly that.

I had missed that the Nets dropped to 6th in the lottery. In this draft. Lol.

We are it the dark about the OG injury — as per usual, the Knicks do not disclose what actually is going on — but even light hamstring injuries need 2-3 weeks to heal. Let’s hope this is nothing more than that, and pray that the Cavs-Det series goes the distance. We do have the best medical team in the league and we will 100% need OG against presumably Detroit.

more deuce, shazamet, and clarkson is working right now…

we don’t play for at least a week, that’ll be about 10 days rest there…the longer the pistons/cavs go the better…

he may end up with near 2 and a half weeks rest and not miss more than another game or two…

Just got home from Philly…what a weekend…sighseeing during the day Friday and Saturday with my son and teaching him about US history and then retard maxing before, during and especially after the games.

Best weekend as a dad and fan in my life.

Told you all that going through adversity will make this team bond stronger and maximize the sum of its pieces. They all have the right character and grit needed to travel the route needed to become a champion!!!!

As an ultimate optimist, even I thought that this would be a gentleman’s sweep and we would loose game two. Thank god some idiots with advanced degrees thought it was wise for Embioid to sit the only game they had a shot at winning.

1

he may end up with near 2 and a half weeks rest and not miss more than another game or two…

Geo, OG got injured on May 06. From what I know, the latest ECF start is May 19, next Friday. This is less than two weeks. I wouldn’t be surprised if OG wont play in game 1. The Knicks may want to take the chance without him.

We are it the dark about the OG injury — as per usual, the Knicks do not disclose what actually is going on

There is absolutely zero to be gained by being transparent about injuries.

Brunson has played 347 minutes so far this postseason.

Cade has already played 405 and has at least two more games to go. He’ll have at the very least 480 minutes. It’s a huge load, especially given how they are so reliant on him.

maybe not the worse thing for OG to rest until the knicks return home to the garden after playing those first 2 in detroit…

hoping that we can win at least one of those game…split there and then best of 5 with 3 at home and OG back in the fold…we shall see…

Z-Man, I can’t believe you forgot to mention the Lakers!

Re Knicks:

“They’ve now outscored opponents by 194 points in 10 games this postseason, the best point-differential in a 10-game span in NBA playoff history.”

Told you all that going through adversity will make this team bond stronger and maximize the sum of its pieces. They all have the right character and grit needed to travel the route needed to become a champion!!!!

You sure fucking did you beautiful retard!

I think we can safely take the Knicks at their word on the OG injury.

They originally put him down as day to day and didn’t even bother giving the injury a grade. That is consistent with what I saw and said right after the injury. It was a TWEAK and that he might even be ready for game 3 if they need him. Then once we went up 2-0 going back to Philly there was no reason to play him and risk a more serious injury. When we went up 3-0 it would have been insane to play him. He’ll be ready for the conference finals.

1

Detroit shot 46-101 (45%) in the series and 35% in the year.

New York shot 29-98 (29.5%) in the series and 37% in the year.

There are a lot of things that go on in these blowouts, but I wouldn’t expect that shooting disparity to be like that in the playoffs.

Hopefully, running the offense through Towns more instead of just Brunson means we will continue to have more ball movement and a more balanced attack. So we’ll do better than that on offense. However, don’t underrate the role of Detroit’s defense in that. Sure, Orlando does not have a potent offense, but Detroit did more than just shut them down. They turned that offense into a CYO bantam look alike. They are also defending the Cavs well. The Hawks defense was tougher than the 76ers. The 76ers played no defense.

I really hope we don’t fall in love with 3 ball because of this win. That will be almost a sure way to hand a couple to wins to Detroit (or the Cavs). If we get quality looks, fine, but we shoud be focusing on attacking mid range and the basket, drawing fouls at the rim, kicking the ball out if a double comes and taking the very best looks from 3.

I think we can safely take the Knicks at their word on the OG injury.

Not sure it’s safe to take anyone at their word in sports or in life when they’re communicating to their direct competitors, enemies or even just people they don’t like.

Every team in the league would have listed that injury as day-to-day. This is NBA code speak for we’re not telling anyone what’s really going on.

However, don’t underrate the role of Detroit’s defense in that.

Nah. That stuff fluctuates wildly. Detroit opponents hit the 6th best percentage of their 3PT attempts last season, and the worst percentage this season. It’s the same roster basically. Teams control mostly how many shots the opponent takes, not the percentage.

We’ve been really good at learning the other team then tearing their limbs off after a few games and then clubbing them to death with their own body parts.

2

Very entertaining and somewhat didactic.

Agree. Here trying to set up all the tasks for my teams work day tomorrow and coudn’t stop watching it. Learned that going over the top on DHOs 10 feet above the three point line is a no-no.

However, the screaming and asshole comments is why he probably doesn’t have a couple of million followers.

On these paid subscription channels, during every game break, the commentary should be showing the breakdowns of defense presented the same way as he does above. NFL is great at this.

Think highlighting poor defensive efforts and mental lapses in coverage will improve the defenses as no one wants to be exposed and ridiculed.

Instead, they just focus on offensive shot making highlights and spit out general comments that they rinse and repeat game after game.

3

the rook dybantsa, AD, and alex sarr are going to make for a heck of a starting front court…when healthy…

curious to see whom the hornets add…

star of the draft so far, that top 4 protected pacers pick going to the clippers as the fifth pick in the draft…that’s just brutal…

only made it most of the way through the extra loud: WHA…

no caffeine or methamphetamine for you my mind, you are already good on that…

was funny, in sean strickland’s post fight news thing, said he wasn’t able to provide a more entertaining content cuz he had to recharge his “hate battery” after tussling hard with chimaev for a full 25 minutes…

that person was in need of some kinf of release…that does sound way cool though that someone can talk through certain plays to explain in detail some of the basketball techniques/processes being used…

one of my fave games: wonder what drug they are on?

1

furry the potato went pay for content model…

short teaser clips available, that’s it now though…no one riles up a crowd like furry…oh well…

one of the nice things about passing KAT…it helps negate that strategy of putting a smaller player on him, easier for him to distribute with a smaller player guarding…

By the way, Zubac is a very good player. He’s not the type of guy that you’d be shocked would net you two first round picks. If the pick did not convey this year, it was STILL going to be two first round picks, an unprotected 2029 pick and an unprotected 2031 pick. An unprotected 2031 pick from ANY team is a very valuable asset.

Obviously, the #5 pick in THIS draft is an even MORE valuable asset, so the Pacers definitely lost out on this deal, but had they kept their #5 pick, they were still going to have to trade two first rounders for Zubac. I think that that aspect of the deal is not getting as much attention in the midst of the mockery of the Pacers’ bad luck.

But yeah, fuck, it is awesome that they got fucked over.

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I think the craziest state about this 10 game run is that the 2 games they lost are by a combined 2 points and the 8 games they won are by 194 points. What an insane run.

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