April 22, 2024
Wendell Cruz/USA Today Sports
Knicks players like Mitchell Robinson crushed the Sixers on the glass in Game 1.
In their first postseason matchup in 35 years, the Knicks punched the Sixers in the mouth in Game 1 of their first-round series. Joel Embiid is once again banged up and the Sixers desperately need to steal Game 2 at Madison Square Garden on Monday evening.
Before that action tips off, here are three numbers that showcase what went wrong for the Sixers in Game 1 and if it's possible for those stats to be repeated...
The Sixers' defensive concept against the Knicks was sound: shutdown All-Star lead guard Jalen Brunson and see how lucky New York can get shooting threes with the variance that comes with the territory. Naturally, the Knicks knocked down 45.7 percent of their threes (16-for-35).
That's the highest three-point shooting percentage the Knicks have had in a playoff game (minimum 10 attempts) in 24 years (via Stathead).
Sheesh.
Josh Hart hit a barrage of back-breaking threes in Game 1, going 4-for-8 from deep despite being just a 31.0 percent three-point shooter in the regular season. The Sixers dared Hart to shoot and he made them pay.
That Hart performance is likely an outlier, but he's streaky and the Knicks do have trusted shooters in Bojan Bogdanovic (37.0 percent on threes in 2023-24), Donte DiVincenzo (40.1 percent) and Miles McBride (41.0 percent).
Nick Nurse's method of 'Brunson is the team's best option and the Knicks aren't going to be the Death Lineup Golden State Warriors every night,' but getting hit with that shooting display in a very winnable Game 1 anyway has to sting.
Sustainability meter: 4/10
Beyond the eternal worries of Joel Embiid's health, the biggest cause for concern for the Sixers in their first-round series with the Knicks is rebounding. New York is a throwback squad, an ultra-physical team that harkens back to the '90s. They were first in the NBA in offensive rebounding rating this season. Would they match that in the postseason?
It's been just one game, sure, but the answer so far has been a resounding yes. The Knicks had 23 offensive rebounds alone on Saturday night. The overall rebounding margin? The Knicks snagged 22 more total rebounds than the Sixers. Weak stuff. There have been more than 8,700 playoff games in NBA history. There have been only 123 instances where a team grabbed 23 or more offensive rebounds (via Stathead). The Knicks etched themselves into history in that right.
Crashing the offensive glass ferociously feels like a bygone era. It is in a way. That 23 offensive rebounds mark has only happened 22 times this century in the postseason (via Stathead).
Shooting numbers can be fluky over the course of a playoff series. This play style, however, is here to stay, especially against a Sixers team that does not bang down low like this. The Sixers have not illustrated a willingness to get dirty and gritty the way the Knicks do. They never have. That's the energy that reverberates throughout this New York squad. Hart is perhaps the best rebounding guard in the game. The Sixers look disinterested in the simple concept of boxing out. It was fairly obvious that New York would out-rebound the Sixers but it was still astounding to watch in real time.
Sustainability meter: 9/10
What a fitting number. The Sixers were a -21 in the 12 minutes that Joel Embiid was off the court in Game 1. They were +14 when he was out there. This has been the case for a half-dozen years. The Sixers would cruise to the Finals if Embiid was an Iron Man who could play every minute. The Sixers cannot and have not been able to survive their non-Embiid playoff minutes during this entire era regardless of whether Embiid gets banged up in the course of a given game.
Fan-favorite backup big Paul Reed is an enticing talent, but he's the latest in a long line of No. 2 centers behind Embiid who has not shown the ability to keep the Sixers afloat when the games matter the most.
Sustainability meter: 9.5/10
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