Five Reasons Why the Knicks Will Win Their Third Championship

Yes, 7 ft 4 in San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama is the best player in the NBA. He brings the ball up court. He shoots three-pointers with amazing accuracy. He has the size and strength to make the alley-oop pass a stunning momentum shifter. He clogs the paint so effectively that opponents simply do not challenge him and refuse to drive to the hoop. He changes the game all by himself. And he is only 22 years old.

Yes, the Spurs are favored to defeat the Knicks in the upcoming NBA Finals. Yes, the Spurs have the home-court advantage. They just polished off the defending champs, the Oklahoma City Thunder, in the Western Conference Finals. They will be rested and battle-hardened. They will be very tough to beat.

And yet ...

I am confidently picking the Knicks to win the championship series and capture the beleaguered franchise’s first title since 1973. For those of you who like to point to omens, remember that the New York Rangers won their first championship in fifty-FOUR years back in 1994. There must be something hopeful about the thought of erasing these 50-plus years of championship droughts at Madison Square Garden.

Omens aside, the Knicks have what it takes to be world-beaters. The team is riding an 11-game playoff winning streak–an NBA record for dominance, with a blowout margin of 23.8 points per victory. The Knicks became the first NBA team in history to win three series-clinching games by at least 30 points each time (defeating the Atlanta Hawks by an eye-popping 51, the Philadelphia 76ers by a mere 30 and the Cleveland Cavaliers by 37!).

Here, then, are five reasons why the Knicks will won:

1) In Jalen We Trust: Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson is the league’s best player in the final two minutes of a game. In the clutch, Brunson is the most dependable scorer in the NBA. His jumper from 12-15 feet has emerged as the NBA’s most devastating shot since the days of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s sky hook. Brunson the thrives under pressure. He welcomes the challenge of putting his team on his back. As someone who has watched the Knicks since the team’s golden championships in 1970 and 1973, I have to say that Brunson is the second-best Knick guard in history, surging ahead of Earl Monroe. Yes, Walt Frazier is still No. 1.

2) Balanced Scoring: The Knicks have claimed another NBA record in the post season, a 124.1 offensive rating, topping the league in both 2-point at a 59.3% clip and 3-point shooting at 39.6%. Like in the old championship days of the 1970s, every Knick starter can shoot well. Forwards OG Anunoby and Josh Hart, guard Mikal Bridges and all-star center Karl-Anthony Towns can take the pressure off Brunson all over the court.

3) The Towns Factor: Towns, who has had a star-crossed relationship with Knick fans in his two years here, has emerged in the post-season as a wonderful complement to Brunson. Towns has enjoyed his new role as the team’s “point center,” a big man who passes expertly and can still draw the opponent’s center away from the basket when Towns directs traffic from the high post. Towns has also played smarter, shooting fewer low-percentage three pointers and cutting down on his penchant to commit silly fouls away from the basket. When he gets into foul trouble he forces coach Mike Brown to remove him from the game.

4) Brown’s Flexibility: Remember when the Atlanta Hawks won games two and three of the opening round by a point apiece? The Knicks looked like they could fade quickly from the post season. Brown then decided to use the 7-foot Towns exotically, as a point center, and abruptly shift the Knicks’ offensive strategy. The plan worked magnificently. The Knicks haven’t lost a playoff game since. Brown, in his first year as Knicks coach, has proved to be a calming presence as well as a sensible one. Unlike his intense predecessor, Tom Thibodeau, the ever-smiling Brown employs his entire roster, showing the team that he has confidence in the bench players as well as the starters. Energetic reserves like Landry Shamet and Miles “Deuce” McBride have become fan favorites in the playoffs.

5) Slowing Down Wemby: The Knicks will try to make life difficult for the astounding Wemby, who can do it all on the court. Expect any number of tall or quick Knicks to cover him. Anunoby is regarded as possibly as the league’s finest one-on-one defender. Hard-working back-up center Mitchell Robinson will be hampered by a broken pinky finger but is expected to play and provide additional depth. At the very least, he can muscle Wemby and hope to make him shoot from uncomfortable angles. The Knicks cannot expect to stop Wemby. But if they can prevent him from taking over the game, they have done something significant.

Even though the Spurs officially have the home-court advantage, the Knicks can feel confident. I don’t think the young Spurs can win a game at Madison Square Garden, where the fans are the loudest in the NBA. All the Knicks need to do is win one game on the Spurs’ court to tilt the series in the good guys’ favor. They will, too.

See you at the parade!