News & Blogs
Knicks sweep 76ers, return to Eastern Conference finals – ESPN
Surging Knicks will enter Eastern Conference Finals as prohibitive favorite after second-round sweep – SNY
Knicks turn attention to Eastern Conference Finals after dominant second-round sweep – SNY
Knicks owner James Dolan is winning his bet on Mike Brown over Tom Thibodeau – The New York Times
A stat dump from a historic sweep over the Philadelphia 76ers – Posting & Toasting
Playoff Game Thread: Knicks at 76ers, Game 4, May 10, 2026 – Posting & Toasting
Knicks sweep 76ers reaction | The Putback with Ian Begley – Begley Putback
Knicks Are A Juggernaut (Knicks/76ers, Game 4 Reactions) | KFS Playoff Hangover | Knicks Film School – Knicks Film School
Pod Strickland Episode 593 – Outclassed & Annihilated – The Strickland
This Is the Knicks’ Best Chance to Win It All – Hot Hand Theory
Knicks 76ers Series Recap feat Anthony MSG – Knick of Time
The Knicks Are Headed To The ECF Locked & Loaded | Game 4 Debrief: Key Stats & Soundbites – Knicks Fan TV
YT News
93 replies on “Knicks Morning News (2026.05.12)”
Happy CLE-DET is tied at 2-2, but hope it ends in 6. If it goes 7, the victor will have won 2 game 7’s in a row. Rather an opponent not have that under their belt.
So Sunday is the earliest we could start the series?
I’d rather they go to 7. Just look at how unprepared Philly was for us in game 1 after an emotional game 7. I see there is a slight danger of too much time off but I’d rather everyone have more time to rest and prepare. OG, obviously, but Hart and KAT both got a little banged up and I’m sure everyone else is dealing with some bumps and bruises. More rest and preparation this time of the year is a good thing. Plus if it goes to 7 OG very well could be back for game 1.
Ideal situation would be game 7 Cleveland wins. Then they have to travel from Detroit to NYC for game 1. If Detroit wins game 7 they get to stay at home.
I was just randomly thinking that we might have humiliated the Sixers so badly that Daryl Morey might offer Mo Diawara the TPMLE out of spite (that and bc he has no bench).
Then again Daryl Morey might also lose his job.
There are very few teams that win the Conference Finals after going 7 games in the first two rounds.
I’m surprised anyone’s done it. 7 game first round series are kinda new. Like 20 years or something. Who are the teams?
EDIT: just remembered the Celtics did it in ‘08.
Great Katz story about Deuce: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7271267/2026/05/12/miles-mcbride-tattoo-sibling-rivalry-knicks-playoffs-run/
I was trying to get a full list and didn’t manage to find all instances. Part of the issue is that the first round was a best of 5 for a long time. Boston 08 was the one case I found this century.
Since 2003 when 7 game round 1 was introduced, I believe there have been 4 instances where a team has gone 4-3 in the first 2 rounds. Only once did the team go on to win the Conference–and yes it was Boston in 2008. Dallas in 03, Phoenix in 06 and Denver in 2020 all then lost.
It’s pretty clear that the Knicks are the best team, both personnel-wise (starters, bench rotation players, deep bench) and coaching-wise, in the EC. JB and Kenny are both a notch below Brown as X’s and O’s guys and have less to work with.
It would be a massive disappointment (and firing offense for Mike Brown?) if we lost to either of DET or CLE.
In a way, this team is reminding me of Celts 2024 and OKC 2025. Both teams experienced bitter disappointment in the playoffs the year before and went into the next’s years playoffs with a much higher level of steeliness and determination. That this Knicks team utterly dominated every meaningful game in the first two rounds when the opponents should have been the hungriest and most desperate is very telling. After falling short in humiliating, gut-wrenching fashion last year vs. IND, these guys are on a championship mission, just like those teams were.
The eye test seems to say that neither Cleveland or Detroit are playing the kind of crisp, team-oriented, two-way basketball that the Knicks are playing, and the scoreboard seems to agree.
There’s an adage in boxing that styles make fights, and maybe one of these matchups proves to be difficult for the Knicks. But it sure does seem at this moment in time that we’re just a level above either of those potential opponents.
Diawara is going to get a real offer from somebody. You can’t be sure of getting a 6’9″ extra long player who just became legal to drink 13 days ago who can handle the ball, shoot the ball from distance and can move his feet in the lottery. He is as green as grass but two or three years from now this guy is going to be something.
A team with a hot James Harden and a hot Spida can shoot their way to a win or two, but both of those guys are so inconsistent that they will also shoot/decision-make their teams out of games.
Detroit is strictly a bully-ball team. They rely on athleticism hustle and intimidation, and on Cade’s size being a problem for opposing players.
But we have answers for anything that either of those teams can throw at us. And I’m positive that the Knicks will be extra-motivated to put the Pistons in their place if they advance because JB apparently talked shit to the effect of “The Knicks will never beat us again!” and followed that up by kicking their asses all 3 regular season games. That speaks to the potential for some dirty shit if we start humiliating them, which is my only concern in playing them. They have some very chippy players.
The Mets, with the worst record in baseball and a $380M payroll, are calling up top prospect AJ Ewing. I hate this move.
Ewing is my personal favorite Mets prospect in a while. He’s a 5’10”, 160 pound waterbug with 70 grade speed who has hit the hell out of the ball at every level up to AA ball. He is only 21 and dominated AA for a month this year before getting called up to AAA.
He had done very well in a short stint in AA last season as a 20 year old, but this year at 21 was shredding the level, with more walks than strikeouts, also doubling his isolated power from the season before.
So he was called up to AAA, and has had 50 plate appearances there. He’s still just 21. He has been good but not dominant at AAA: he has a 118 wRC+ at the level after raking AA for a 180 wRC+.
If you have watched the 2026 Mets at all, it is clear that they are going nowhere. They’re the worst offensive team in MLB by a mile. There should be no hurry to rush a blue chip prospect to the major league club. Ewing projects as a plus CF who steals 70 bases and smacks tons of doubles and triples. A good comp for him would be Jacoby Ellsbury.
But the Mets continually damage their hitting prospects by rushing them to the majors. And they are now doing it with Ewing. The Mets’ major league coaching staff is an abject disaster. They have utterly failed to get any results out of any of the hitters this year. These do not seem like the guys you want developing your blue chip position players.
Ewing will likely struggle at MLB, not because he isn’t an excellent prospect, but because they’re rushing him to paper over all the mistakes they have made everywhere else. He should be getting at least a couple hundred plate appearances at AAA.
The Mets’ coaching staff including Mendoza and the front office needs a complete teardown.
If the Knicks can continue to keep their eyes on the prize and play with such unselfishness, OKC better have their jock straps strapped on really tight.
Indy had their bum holes puckering in game 7 before Hali got hurt. They aren’t prime GSW or Jordanaire Bulls, yet.
I am fairly confident that Diawara is going to be in a Knicks uniform next year. Not 100% by any means, but it would be the best move for him long-term to not chase a couple of million more to go elsewhere.
A lot depends on Mitch’s UFA status. How much is Leon willing to invest in those tender ankles? Does it bring the second apron into play? How hard will they go after Giannnis, especially if they fall short of a championship this year?
In general, so much is riding on this next month that it’s impossible to predict anything about what will transpire past these playoffs until our last game is played. The possibilities range from keeping the gang together and making our draft picks to blowing it up in pursuit of Giannis. It’s actually nauseating for me to even think about it.
In terms of being a Knicks fan, never in this millenium has the present meant as much to me as it does right now.
Couldn’t agree more. They are using this kid as a shiny object to distract from the failure of the management team. Every human in the world (except Soto) need to marinate a bit in the minors.
I see that Biekerstaff is bitching about the refs yet again.
He’s exhausting.
Maybe don’t try to get your players to mug everyone on the opposing team?
Two years ago on June 1, 2024, I went to a Mets game with my son and saw Sean Manaea get bludgeoned as part of a lifeless loss. They lost again the following day, falling to 11 games under .500. I told my boy that the season was probably over but with baseball, it’s a crazy long season, you never know in June…one 10-game winning streak and everything changes. And sure enough, by July 1, they were back to .500, on their way to one of the most exciting playoff runs in Mets’ history.
That’s probably not in the cards this year, but it’s still May and anything can happen. They can throw a theoretically good lineup out there and they have some theoretically good pitchers who can get hot.
But I can’t really pay attention to them at all with the Knicks doing what they’re doing.
In the afterglow of the Sixers beatdown, I was thinking about 2 major turning points in Knicks history that at the time seemed like massive disappointments but in hindsight turned out to be good fortune:
1) In the 2019 draft lottery, we have the worst record going in but end up picking 3rd and select RJ Barrett. If we got either Zion or Ja, we would have gone all in with one of those guys as our franchise building blocks and we know how that would have turned out. And we wouldn’t have had RJ to include in the OG trade.
2) In the same year, KD and Kyrie decide on Brooklyn over the Knicks. If they had come our way, the Knicks would have pretty much been on the same trajectory as the Nets, and we know how that ended up
Amazing how what seemed like low points in Knicks history turned into massive blessings in disguise. And we likely never get Brunson in an either alternate timeline.
As our beloved poster Ephus used to say, it’s a great time to be a Knicks fan!
The Mets’ pitching has actually been shockingly good. They are 6th in MLB in pitcher WAR. They are 3rd in FIP. Other than Senga and Manaea who are both washed, they have gotten good results from their pitchers, including the oft-maligned David Peterson and Devin Williams, both of whom have been getting killed by bad BABIP luck.
The hitting is so unbelievably bad though. Dead last in wRC+ by a comfortable margin with horrific numbers underlying that pathetic performance. I don’t know what is going on with the coaching but nobody on the team can hit a 90 MPH fastball right down the middle of the plate. The worst pitchers in the league shut them down with regularity. Young hitters who showed promise last year like Baty and Alvarez are in the toilet. Bo Bichette is one of the worst hitting regulars in the league. Marcus Semien is washed.
Something systematic is happening at the MLB level with the Mets and their hitters. It’s not an accident that literally nobody can hit the ball.
I am curious to the logic here, namely, why is it in his best interest to stay here.
From his POV, a couple of million is a couple of million. Secondly, if he stays here he is cock blocked by OG, Bridges and Hart for many years.
If he goes to Philly he becomes at worst the 7th man and if he goes to the Wizzards or the Kings he plays 30+ minutes a game.
I don’t see the advantage in staying here if you have the least belief in yourself. He has no road to real playing time here. He is out of the rotation with OG injured and Hart limping around. From his POV… what’s the future here.
Seems like if you draft a guy at age 20 you should be able to control his rights for a few years no matter what. I don’t pretend to have any understanding of the NBA salary cap system other than that I don’t like it.
I think people are really overrating Diawara because he had a tiny 3pt hot streak.
In just the last few posts, Bob has employed the following metaphors:
-“…better have their jock straps strapped on really tight…”
-“…Indy had their bum holes puckering…”
-“…if he stays here he is cock blocked…”
Lovely.
I’m bored 💀
The plan is working. First Heated Rivalry. Then then…
RE: Mets
Is it Mendy? I hope not because he made me a believer last season. You know the team is struggling when they have to turn to Soto to bat leadoff. It probably is Snitker replacing Chavez and Barnes. Plus they have terrible injury luck this season. Aside from that, things just seem off overall. Too many staff and roster changes, maybe? As a Mets fan, I’d love to see Beltran and Grandy have roles on the coaching staff. They feel like naturals at coaching.
Now that the lottery has been settled, why in the fuck are the Wizards still keeping Keefe. If you have Trae, AD, and the top pick- you better have a coach that can handle that. Either get you a proven coach or an up and coming one with more potential than Keefe.
Yes, absolutely. After shooting 26-63 from deep pre ASB (41%), he shot 22-67 (32%) post ASB. The sample is so tiny that a couple of shots basically change his numbers from excellent to very bad three point shooter.
He might be good! We just don’t know yet.
I gues you concede the overall points is was making then?
Diawara has some other attributes that are enticing other than the three point shooting. He’s a fluid athlete with good lateral movement for a guy of his size and length, and seemed to understand defensive schemes well. If he’s even a somewhat decent three point shooter, that’s a rotation player in the NBA, and his upside is obvious: refine that shot a little more and tighten up the dribble and that’s a do-everything wing.
It’s a very good profile for a prospect: measurables are excellent, showed a surprising amount of skill for a 51st overall pick, intangibles seem good, was able to earn minutes on a good team without embarrassing himself.
He’s a legit prospect and would probably go pretty high in a redraft.
Here’s a defining question for Diawara’s value: If he were allowed to and decided to re-enter this draft, where would he be taken, given what he has shown to NBA GMs thus far? Top-5? Top 10? I can’t imagine any later than back end of lottery. Probably in the 8-12 range.
I think the Knicks offer him something like the Paul Reed contract and that he accepts it. That would be somewhere in the 8-12 range for a first round rookie scale deal. But hey, you never know!
“I gues you concede the overall points is was making then?”
A little early to be hittin’ the rheumatism jug, no?
Zubac/Pacers – I don’t think he is a great fit for how they play . He is a much easier cover for opposing teams compared to Turner in that offense .
In this draft Diawara is maybe a late 1st. This draft is much better than the 2025 draft.
ETW, that might have been true before Diawara showed what he can do in the NBA. But now, I think he would undoubtably be taken in the first half of the first round no matter how strong this draft is.
Oh shit, Brandon Clarke is dead! WTF?
RIP Brandon Clarke. I remember the arguments we had over him before the 2019 draft, and continuing into the first few years of his career, because of his unconventional, analytics-friendly game. He always felt like one of our “guys.” 29 is too young.
I just got the notification on my phone. Cause of death unannounced, which I guess might be expected. Wow, though. 🙁
29. Awful.
I mentioned this the other day — they’re the perfect landing spot for Thibs. He’d craft a solid game plan around Trae and AD so Dybantsa wouldn’t have to do too much too soon, and get all of their kids playing good fundamental basketball for the first time in their careers. With AD and all their athletes, they’d probably be a very good defensive team. I could see them in the playoffs as early as next year with him.
It’s sad to speculate on this, but Clarke did have some recent episodes that suggested pretty serious behavioral concerns.
One benefit of the anti-tanking measures is that we as fans can make much better judgments on how good teams actually are relative to the rest of the NBA, both in the present and in the future. In other words, what would the records of the tanking teams (Wizards, Jazz, and Nets) be if they actually played to win all season with the personnel they had? Obviously we’re not talking playoffs, but close to 30 wins? I think we know that a team like the Pacers would have had 30+ wins if Carlisle really wanted that, and the Kings were probably better than their record. We also knw that teams like the Grizz, Bulls, Bucks, Pels, and Mavs are sort of in disarray but have decent core personnel.
We have witnessed how a historically bad Pistons team could turn things around in one season, even with a middling coach like JB. I could see the Wizards with a coach like Thibs turning it completely around in short order.
This might be a blazing hot take, but if the Wizards keep Trae Young (and he’s healthy and willing to play for them) and draft Dybantsa I think they’re a play-in team next season. I like Sarr, George and Coulibaly a lot as prospects.
If Davis is convinced to stay and somehow remains relatively healthy I’m even more confident of this.
Yeah maybe coaching DOES matter in the NBA?
The thing with Diawara IIRC is all it will take is someone to offer him $3M and we’re hard capped at the 2nd apron.
That means if he gets that offer, the choice is effectively Diawara or Mitch. Maybe even Mitch & Landry.
Not a good corner to have needlessly painted yourself into, but all Leon criticism is on hold pending the potential championship.
hey swifty…hoops central has a nice vid on some of the coaching MB has done…
sadly they used some borrowed first take vid in the intro, thankfully that goes away quick enough and starts getting in to the story…
Sheesh. Insane times. Rest well, BC
Damn, just saw the news. RIP Clarke.
I remember all the arguments we had that year about him vs RJ.
Sorry, Jowles…
According to spotrac.com, with the following players on the books for 2026-27, we are $16.5M below the second apron:
KAT, OG, Brunson, Mikal, Hart, Alvo (player option), Deuce, Dadiet, Kolek
Our UFAs are:
Mitch, Shamet, Sochan
We also have a 1st and a 2nd.
Our RFAs are:
Diawara, McCullar, Jones, Jemison
If we assume that all of Alvo, Kolek, and Dadiet can be salary dumped, that’s around $25M in 2nd apron room to fill 9 roster spots (or 8 if we meet the minimum of 14.)
Does that sound right, ignoring cap holds and such?
I have zero interest in keeping Dadiet around (other than missing the chance to call him Daddy Chill with GF whenever he manages to hit the floor), but I’d like to keep Alvie and Kolek. It would be a tough one for me, but if we only keep one of those two, it would be Kolek…….but only if we’re going to put him in the actual rotation where Alvie used to be. If we’re not going to use Kolek, then keep Alvie.
Nick Wright just said on First Things First that if we don’t win the championship this year, “the move for LeBron” would be to come here and finish the job. But we all know that “LeBron don’t take discounts,” and moving OG for him would be hellish. Doubt I’d even want to move Mikal for him.
LeBron is dead to me.
Oops, I left Huk off of the RFA list…I think we can either offer the QO or extend him…not sure!
Clarke: reported now (ABC News via ESPN) as possible drug overdose.
I’d like to keep everyone and use both our draft picks.
The 2nd apron isn’t a hard cap. The only meaningful penalties are they freeze our 2033 pick for a year and we lose the TPMLE. When your window is this open, you go over it gladly.
The penalty for staying under the 2nd apron is Mitch, and there ain’t no Mitch available with the TPMLE.
I love it when I’m in complete agreement with Hubert…
Yeah, everything he said. I don’t follow the cap rules at all, so when I posted about who I’d like to keep and who I don’t mind leaving, it was because I didn’t know that we could “keep everyone and make our draft picks.” I would prefer that, as well (although I guess I wouldn’t miss the Dadiets, Jemisons, and Dillon Jones of the world to make room for said rookies).
Agreed. Especially if we win it all or come really close. Run it back. Use our picks to hopefully keep developing young talent and see if we can win it all next year (hopefully repeating as champs!)
brown has even said he thinks that the offense could be even better with another summer/training camp because everything is just now clicking.
It kind of reminds me of when the warriors finally discovered the “death line-up” during their first championship run. I believe that wasn’t until the finals against Cleveland, no? I’m not comparing us to the warriors dynasty, just how that line up unlocked that team and the league literally had no answer for it. Yes, cleveland beat them the next year but that was after winning 73 games and they only won because Draymond was a dummie.
If we run it back (after winning it all, of course). I could see us cruising through the regular season and winning 55 to 60 games with this new offense because finally everyone, especailly KAT, has bought in.
I agree that next year might be the year to go into the 2nd apron. I just don’t know whether Brock Aller would agree with that, and if he doesn’t, whether Leon will overrule him. It will probaby be a fascinating discussion between those two and Dolan.
Still, it’s impossible to have an informed discussion about it until the Knicks have played their last playoff game. As we know, Dolan insists that this is a championship roster. If somehow (heaven forbid!) we don’t get to the finals, it seems logical to assume that all bets are off and there is going to be a major shakeup. If we get to the finals but fall short, then it’s like a 6-7, 6-7 situation. If we go hard at Giannis, do we send the wrong message to Mitch and he bolts before we get a chance to counteroffer? (see: Charles Smith/Xavier McDaniel) Does someone make a quick offer to Shamet? Or to Mo? Leon will be on the clock for sure.
The real game-changer is KAT’s recent play (and as a result, his trade value/replacement cost.) There really isn’t any going back from that now, is there? Now that he’s putting up Jokic-level numbers (we can quibble about how real it is or how big the gap is, but even that is something, isn’t it?), there has to be consideration of whether he is a) worth NOT trading even for Giannis because he is a legit max player/outside-MVP candidate right now, and b) whether that looming extension for his age 33-36 years is best to avoid, i.e. it’s best to sell high on him.
The most important thing is for Leon to NOT make judgments entirely based on any success this year short of a championship (if they hang a banner, who cares what he does?!). There must be some kind of exit strategy to extend the “contender” window of the Brunson era.
And Jason Collins passed away today, too (cancer). He was 47.
Fuck cancer.
Very sad day for the NBA family and fans. I’ve lost some very close folks to glioblastoma, one of the worst of all cancers, no known cause or cure.
Reading this thread backwards makes me understand how the internet can spread fake news even without russian bots and trolls.
—
What a fuckin day. Sheesh.
Rest well, Jason
****BREAKING NEWS****
Cade Cunningham, Isaiah Stewart, Evan Mobley, James Harden, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander all have sprained areolas that are expected to keep them out for the rest of the playoffs.
Tragic day for the NBA just got more tragic
BTW..
FUCK CANCER
I like how the play in tournament rewards teams who finish top 6 with a week off.
Knicks played 10 games in 22 days and now have another week or so off as a erward for their historic performance.
I wonder what exactly they’re doing this week but whatever it is, I hope it’s the same. When Frankie and Berman were on the beat, fans would get much better insight on their day-to-day activities. Hit the street, interview everyone, find cool golden nuggets and share them.
Fat Elvis has officially left the building (Philly)
Z-man, we have three draft picks, not two. Our own first (#24), Washington’s second round pick (#31) and our own second round pick (#55).
This Voltron is really made of 7 lions — the 5 starters + Deuce & Mitch. The importance of the latter two shouldn’t be underestimated when it comes time to pay them. Now that KAT & Mikal have finally clicked with the team, it really does feel like we have a real multi-year window. Landry is a great 8th man, too, and we can pay him. If you have 8 core guys like that you can easily operate over the apron for two years with no major consequence other than Dolan money.
Thanks, KFNINJ, missed that!
Power Rangers straight up ripped off Voltron.
Wemby taking over the game already
In 1993 the 62 win Suns went down 0-2 in the first round (best of 5), losing at home twice to the post-Magic Sedale Threatt-led Lakers. They scraped out the next three, played a tough 6 gamer vs the Robinson Spurs, went 7 with the Sonics, before losing in a relatively hard fought series to Jordan in the finals.
This is the 2026 Detroit Pistons roadmap.
Naz Reid might kill Wemby today.
May not be pitching a perfect game any more but damn I’m still on an all time heater. (Sorry, OG.)
The Wolves could use someone like KAT against the Spurs.
The Curse Of Upsetting The Celtics is a real thing. (Celtics are gonna cakewalk to the finals next year.)
Very conflicted about the Wolves-Spurs series. I would like the Wolves to win, but the Spurs have a much better shot of beating OKC – and are a much better matchup for the Knicks.
Francisco Alvarez blew out his knee swinging out of his shoes and whiffing at a pitch, marking the 2,734th time he has gone to the disabled list in his career.
On the plus side, AJ Ewing walked twice, stole a base and hit a 104 MPH triple, scored two runs, and in his other at bat smoked a hard line drive to CF that was caught. The triple came against a left handed pitcher (Ewing bats left handed).
😊
Randle is having an awful series vs the Spurs.
I’m not seeing Diawara getting a big offer from another team. He looks awful in his garbage time minutes, ice cold, out of rhythm. Not sure the Venn diagram of GMs who are that dialed into fringe prospects and also have openings on their rosters to develop a guy really exists.
Morey is out…. Nurse stays.
I think that’s fair, but it doesn’t mean that Nurse is safe. He’s going to have to impress the new GM. Morey pissed off players and saddled the 76ers with bad contracts. He did draft well, but the Sixers scouting organization probably had something to do with that.
I respect aspects of Morey’s track record and place in the evolution of the game, but never cared for his cold, calculating approach to team-building. His Philly tenure was pretty amateurish.
It’s kinda funny that a couple of months ago, GMAC from KFS interviewed a TWolves podcaster who said that everyone in TWolves nation felt that Minny decisively won the KAT trade. Although I haven’t been a fan of pre-revelation KAT, I always thought that it was a good trade for us value-wise. But right now it seems like absolute highway robbery.
All that can change if KAT reverts to whatever it was prior to the last few weeks and disappears like he did against the Mavs in the conference inals two years ago, but I feel pretty good about that not happening. This is not your older brother’s KAT!
okay, fair point I’m like 20 hours behind on the joke, just wanna say though:
quick everyone – hide the blue chews from grandpa 😜
Dodgers lost, but at least I got an Ice Cube lowrider world series champ bobblehead for my peregrination to the stadium.
This site uses User Verification plugin to reduce spam. See how your comment data is processed.