Having the home advantage since their series opener victory, the Knicks are preparing to defend it this night, since they welcome the Cavaliers, at home. The atmosphere thus promises to be boiling and electric at the Madison Square Garden and you will have to hold on, on one side or the other, so as not to be disturbed by this very special atmosphere.
” I am very enthusiastic », announcement Already Jalen Brunson. ” It’s going to be a great place to play, it’s still the best place to play in this league anyway. It’s going to be unreal, I know it’s going to be an electric atmosphere. »
” It will be cool to play in such an atmosphere », confirms Julius Randle. ” You just have to stay ready, be in the present moment, realize what you have to do. In the end, the game is always the same, it doesn’t change, no matter what happens. »
Accustomed to taking out his clothes of light at the time of spring, Madison Square Garden has not yet been sold out in the playoffs since May… 2013, and a conference semi-final against Indiana. It must be said that the only other year (2021) where new York found himself in the Top 8 of the Eastern Conference after this date, a gauge was imposed in the various NBA halls because of the Covid-19.
A unique atmosphere, or almost
Ten years later, some 19,812 New York supporters will therefore be able to gather freely in the stands of “The Mecca of basketball” to support the Knicks against the Cavaliers and the local Donovan Mitchell. Even if evolving in such an environment can also be a double-edged sword.
” It can be good or bad, depending on how you use it “Warns Julius Randle, who knows that Cleveland will give nothing to New York. ” The crowd is going to be on our side, it’s going to be a lot of fun. The room will vibrate, the floor will shake. I’m pretty sure it will be complicated to communicate. »
For the little anecdote, note that since the reopening of Madison Square Garden in its most modern version (1968), the New York franchise has posted a home record of 100 wins and 50 losses in the playoffs. Even if, since 2001, this has only fallen to “only” 7 wins and 11 losses.
Overall, the various Knicks teams were able to feed off the crazy atmosphere of the Gardens. All that remains is for the New York version 2022/23 to imitate its elders, especially coming out of defeat…
” It’s always an advantage to play at home if you give the public reasons to encourage you “, also believes Tom Thibodeau. ” But don’t count on the fans to win the game, it’s not possible. They can in any case bring you energy. We know we have the best venue and the best fans in the best city. So we have to go out there and play as well as possible, together and intelligently. By doing so, the public will follow and respond, as always. »
| Shots | Bounces | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | GM | Minimum | Shots | 3 points | LF | Off | Def | Early | pd | bp | Int | CT | party | Points |
| Julius Randle | 77 | 35.6 | 45.9 | 34.3 | 75.7 | 1.8 | 8.1 | 10.0 | 4.1 | 2.8 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 3.0 | 25.1 |
| Jalen Brunson | 68 | 35.0 | 49.1 | 41.6 | 82.9 | 0.6 | 3.0 | 3.5 | 6.2 | 2.1 | 0.9 | 0.2 | 2.2 | 24.0 |
| Rj Barrett | 73 | 33.9 | 43.4 | 31.0 | 74.0 | 0.8 | 4.2 | 5.0 | 2.8 | 2.2 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 2.5 | 19.6 |
| Immanuel Quickley | 81 | 28.9 | 44.8 | 37.0 | 81.9 | 0.7 | 3.4 | 4.2 | 3.4 | 1.2 | 1.0 | 0.2 | 2.0 | 14.9 |
| Quentin Grimes | 71 | 29.9 | 46.8 | 38.6 | 79.6 | 0.7 | 2.5 | 3.2 | 2.1 | 1.0 | 0.7 | 0.4 | 2.5 | 11.3 |
| Josh Hart | 25 | 30.0 | 58.6 | 51.9 | 78.9 | 1.9 | 5.2 | 7.0 | 3.6 | 1.5 | 1.4 | 0.5 | 2.5 | 10.2 |
| Cam Reddish | 20 | 21.9 | 44.9 | 30.4 | 87.9 | 0.4 | 1.2 | 1.6 | 1.0 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 1.6 | 8.4 |
| Obi Toppin | 67 | 15.7 | 44.6 | 34.4 | 80.9 | 0.4 | 2.4 | 2.8 | 1.0 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 1.0 | 7.4 |
| Mitchell Robinson | 59 | 27.0 | 67.1 | 0.0 | 48.4 | 4.5 | 4.9 | 9.4 | 0.9 | 0.7 | 0.9 | 1.8 | 2.7 | 7.4 |
| Evan Fournier | 27 | 17.0 | 33.7 | 30.7 | 85.7 | 0.1 | 1.7 | 1.8 | 1.3 | 0.8 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 1.7 | 6.1 |
| Derrick Rose | 27 | 12.5 | 38.4 | 30.2 | 91.7 | 0.3 | 1.2 | 1.5 | 1.7 | 0.8 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.7 | 5.6 |
| Isaiah Hartenstein | 82 | 19.8 | 53.5 | 21.6 | 67.6 | 2.5 | 4.0 | 6.5 | 1.2 | 0.8 | 0.6 | 0.8 | 2.6 | 5.0 |
| Miles Mcbride | 64 | 11.9 | 35.8 | 29.9 | 66.7 | 0.2 | 0.6 | 0.8 | 1.1 | 0.4 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 0.9 | 3.5 |
| jericho sims | 52 | 15.6 | 77.6 | 0.0 | 75.0 | 1.9 | 2.8 | 4.7 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 1.8 | 3.4 |
| Svi Mykhailiuk | 13 | 3.1 | 50.0 | 60.0 | 60.0 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 1.6 |
| Trevor Keels | 3 | 2.7 | 25.0 | 25.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 |
| Ryan Arcidiacono | 11 | 2.4 | 20.0 | 33.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.3 |
