In a previous article, I discussed how the Knicks were perceived as “faux contenders” despite being the third seed. They had not won a single regular-season contest against the Boston Celtics, the Oklahoma City Thunder or the Cleveland Cavaliers. The series against the Detroit Pistons was a nail-biting one to watch, as at any moment, your team could lose a playoff game and the narrative would be devastating. In hindsight, if we had lost in the first round to a team that had a 28-game losing streak the previous year, the slander would be devastating and the NBA media would have an easier time justifying the firing of former Head Coach Tom Thibodeau.
It was common consensus that, at that point, the Knicks were not going to win this series by any margin. On paper and in practice, the Celtics were the superior team, shooting lethal threes and dominating their opponents in impressive displays. Knicks fans made their peace with it and accepted that if the Knicks were to go out, it would be fine. It was the first year of our new core — the Villanova trio of Josh Hart, Mikal Bridges and captain Jalen Brunson, with Karl Anthony Towns, OG Anunoby and Mitchell Robinson back from injury.
Miracles can happen in any NBA game, especially in the playoffs: take Haliburton’s series of game-winners, Aaron Gordon’s game-winning dunk against the Clippers, even Brunson crossing up Ausar Thomson to win the Knicks the series. But this … what a choke. It was slow, like an oncoming train and both Knicks fans and Celtics fans were in genuine shock.
Although the Knicks lost game three, game four was the nail in the coffin. However, this was met with criticism from some Celtics fans online, who pointed out that their squad was injured — most notably, Jayson Tatum, who had suffered an Achilles injury.
By the time Tatum tore his Achilles tendon in the game, the Knicks had the lead and the momentum swung in their favor. It was revealed that Jaylen Brown was playing through a knee issue and Kristaps Porzingis was dealing with some illness, but I’m not sure what kind of injury storm makes a team collectively drop a 20-point lead to a team they’ve been literally humbling all year.
And so it was — the Knicks had beaten the Celtics and in retrospect, it makes the bittersweet ending to the Pacers’ season a little sweeter.
What shocked me somewhat was what happened afterward. Jrue Holiday was traded to the Trail Blazers, Kristaps Porzingis was traded to the Hawks and Al Horford signed with the Warriors. Three of the pieces to their championship run are no longer on the roster.
Below the surface, it makes sense. Holiday and Porzingis were traded mainly to fit under the second tier of the NBA collective bargaining agreement. Teams that exceed this apron, which the Celtics were, would face restrictions on trades they could make in the future, including having their first-round pick moved to the end of the first round if they remained there for three out of the five seasons, as well as a massive luxury tax bill.
In the eyes of a sports fan with loyalty so blinding that it leaves little to no room for nuance, the Knicks killed the Celtics dynasty before it really got off the ground. Hyperbole removed, the injury was terrible and Madison Square Garden was quiet when it happened – no ill wishes were made.
On a serious note, no championship team is at 100% health when competing for a title and no contender is playing at 100% health either. It’s almost ingrained in sports culture to sacrifice your body for your team and to push human limits until something snaps irreparably, as seen not only by Tatum but also by Damian Lillard and Haliburton tearing their Achilles tendons in the playoffs.
The injury bug excuse is often used in basketball more than any other sport as a means to detract from a team winning a series or game. Would the Thunder’s championship be more valid if Haliburton didn’t get injured? Would the Celtics have more of a claim to a “hard” postseason last year if they didn’t completely outmatch every team they faced? No matter what it is, injury, even those not visible, are a part of the sport and you will run into them. Whether it’s on our team or the other team, there are unavoidable issues.
Celtics fans? Let Knicks fans have this. The Celtics have the most titles in the league; they’ll be fine.