STAMFORD, CT – I’m back from vacation and ready to roll. It’s been a while since the Knicks and Rangers had the alternating nightly playoff schedule, especially with both teams looking strong. The Rangers did their part on Sunday, drawing first blood in businesslike fashion. The Knicks won both of their games at The Garden, including an absolute classic win in Game 2 last night. Oh boy, what a win. The NFL Draft kicks off on Thursday night, with our Giants and Jets fans hoping to land a game changer with early picks. Let’s go.
Knicks Miracle Finish
Game 1 looked a lot like Game 2 for a while, except that Philly was set up to pull this one out. The Sixers stuck with their Brunson strategy, which has been effective. Maxey was electric and Embiid did his part. The Sixers were in position to overcome their lack of depth on this night.
But with 30 seconds left, an extremely fortuitous bounce on a Brunson three, followed by a wild sequence ending with a DiVincenzo three, took the Knicks from down five to up one with 14 seconds left. The Garden explosion reminded me of the Larry Johnson four point play vs Indy back in the day. Now the Knicks head to Philly, the stomping grounds of their Villanova boys, up two games.
It looked like it was over for the Knicks with Brunson’s three about to hit the front iron. But all five players played their part in this wild finish. Hartenstein and DiVencenzo, who made the biggest plays in this one, weren’t even in the game in crunch time in Game 1. The Knicks’ depth has been the difference. This is a gutsy team that found a way to get it done.
Embiid was limping in the end and a comeback at this point seems unlikely. We’ll see if they have enough in the tank for one more stand at home.
Giants and Jets on the Clock
There is plenty of intrigue surrounding the Giants and what they will do at pick six. If they can trade up to the top three to get a QB, they should. Face it, Jones apologizers, the guy was outplayed by his two scrub backups last year, and now he won’t be able to run much. It’s time to move on.
The Pats are the only team that might be willing to trade down. It has been reported that the Giants and Vikings are the teams most aggressively trying to trade for the third pick. If it doesn’t work out, the Giants can grab one of the three stud WRs in Harrison, Nabers, or Odunze. I think they’ll walk away with Nabers. The price to move up may be too high and the Vikings have more draft capital to trade, including two first round picks this year.
There is less intrigue surrounding the Jets as they have one mission with the 10th pick – get Rodgers another weapon. In all likelihood the big three receivers will be gone. But the Jets could grab TE Brock Landers Bowers who would pair nicely with Garrett Wilson. I think that’s who they’re going to grab.
That’s it for me. Come back tomorrow for Angry Ward.
