Top 6 Recent Playoff Wins and Sixers vs. Knicks Prediction
Zo and Spike sum up one of the best (worst? both?) Sixers playoff wins of the past decade and look forward to the next round against New York.
Well, holy shit, they did it. I don’t know how – actually, I do know how, coaching and guts and The French. As I’m sitting on my lucky recliner in absolute agony (the usual), I got to thinking where this would rank on my recent Sixers playoff win list, or at least Process Era and beyond. So here goes:
6. 2023 East Semis vs Celtics, Game 1
I mean come on, the guy was/is an asshole but that was Hall of Fame James Harden in that game from start to finish, no doubt about it.
5. 2022 East First Round vs Raptors, Game 3
You know what happened toward the end of this series, but this no doubt was extremely fun – obviously because of who it was against, but then also because it was Jo’s first playoff buzzer beater.
4. 2019 East First Round vs Nets, Game 3
Motherfucking Mike Scott. The Sixers still win that series regardless, but hitting that shot in that moment against that crowd and a Nets team (and a Jared Dudley) that perceived itself as much better than it actually was – sweet, sweet glory.
3. 2018 East First Round vs Heat, Game 5
Meek Mill homecoming game (literally). Nuff said.
2. 2019 East Semis vs Raptors, Game 3
The Joel airplane dunk celebration game. I thought this was it man, I thought this was the one that finally would get them over the hump. Ah well.
1. 2024 Play-In vs Heat
Maybe I’m a prisoner of the moment, that’s fine. This wasn’t pretty for anybody not named Batum – but for me, it was a win these guys never get, a win Joel never gets, and tonight they got it. They had to fight and bang and crawl and out-hustle and out-muscle the dickhead Heat and earn all 105 points and they did just that. I don’t know if previous iterations would have or could have.
Now Down to Business: The Fucking New York Knicks
Most Important Knick Not Named Brunson: For me, Josh Hart. He’s annoying as hell and guards alot of 1-3, sometimes 4 for them. He’s a guy you have to make work on both ends. He never gets tired anyway but still, you gotta make him work, so I suspect he’ll get alot of burn chasing Nico Batum and RC4 (Sorry Tobias).
Most Important Sixer not named Embiid: This will HAVE to be a big Maxey series. Having him average 20+ isn’t a luxury anymore, it’s a necessity. He got quite the talking to at times last night from Nick Nurse for not blowing right past the slower Playoff Jimmy -- so hopefully the message got across, because as good as the Knicks are defensively, I’d make them prove that they have someone who can guard Zero and that speed for 48 minutes.
X-Factors
Knicks: OG Anunoby
Sixers: Kelly Oubre
Prediction
All due respect, the Sixers have two of the three best players in this series and that will mean something to the tune of them winning this in six games.
SPIKE’S CORNER - LAST NIGHT WAS GOOD NEWS FOR JOEL EMBIID
Early this season, I decided I was all-in on this Sixers team. I decided it was the year, and I’m still there. It’s likely that a lot of this is my old-age-it-better-be-the-year-or-what-am-I-doing-with-my-life-itis, but this is where I am.
So in keeping with my positive outlook, I am here to tell you that last night’s performance from Joel Embiid was good news.
You are correct in thinking Embiid looked out of shape, still injured, mopey or out of it - maybe all of those things. It was terrible. We’d seen it a million times. We all know how it ends, right? Unless it doesn’t end that way – and this time, it didn’t.
The fourth quarter came along, and after Nico Batum, Kelly Oubre, Buddy Hield, Paul Reed and Kyle Lowry helped the Sixers battle back, Joel Embiid showed up. And he was a monster. He scored, he rebounded, he created, and he played stifling defense. As great as the role players performed in that game, they do not win it without Embiid’s performance in the fourth quarter.
All I ever hear about is that what really matters is what happens when all the stakes are highest. It doesn’t matter that Jimmy Butler doesn’t try during the regular season because he performs in the playoffs. It doesn’t matter that Kobe was 6-24 in Game 7 against Boston because he came through when it counted and they won the game. When the chips were down, and he could have given up, or just assume the other guys would take it home, he showed up. He knew they needed him, and he gave it everything he had.
I wanted Miami in the play-in because I felt like the energy of the win could spur them to a playoff run. I still believe that. I also believe that what Joel did in the fourth quarter will have a lasting effect.
It’s The Year. Joel knows it now too.
Spike Eskin over Spike Lee yo!
Great write up Spike & Zo
Spike one thing I want to mention on narration: loved AUs narration on a previous article, and went to click play on Substack for this one but got robot lady AI narrating instead.
It actually wasn't terrible, but considering your disdain for AI I'm sure you'd rather narrate yourself!!
Cheers
Dave