Some Friendly Advice for Knicks Fans Entering the Eastern Conference Finals

As a sports fan, the only thing scarier than realizing your team is going to suck for the foreseeable future is realizing that they actually have a chance to win the whole thing. The stakes get raised to queasy heights, literally every single game matters, and as the playoff field dwindles down, the walls can feel like they’re collapsing around your beloved team.

This is reality for the New York Knicks and their loony tunes passionate fanbase now. For anyone 25 and under, these are uncharted waters, as the Knicks have not ventured this deep into the NBA postseason since 2000. Their opponent in those Eastern Conference Finals 25 years ago? None other than the Indiana Pacers, their dance partner for a whopping eight playoff series since 1993. Whether you’re old enough to have burned a Reggie Miler effigy, or young enough that Tyrese Haliburton is the only Pacers villain you’ve ever known, these next few weeks are going to be a powder keg of emotion.

The spirit of the '90s is alive in New York and Indiana. New York Daily News Archive/Getty Images

To help guide New Yorkers through the tumult, we’re offering up seven pieces of advice, one for every potential game of this evenly-matched series. This isn’t quite an apocalypse situation, one where you’ll have to stock a bunker full of chopped cheeses to survive—though that may happen if the Knicks can find eight more wins and bring home the Larry O’Brien trophy—but everyone from Williamsburg to Westchester should be prepared nonetheless. This is the city that killed King Kong, after all.

This isn’t advice, per se, just a helpful fact to file away. During these playoffs, Knick games have started at 1:00, 3:30, 6:00, 7:00, 7:30, and 8:00. Frankly, it’s been hard to keep track of. Thankfully, the NBA has made it simple for the Eastern Conference Finals. Every game is scheduled for 8 p.m. Don’t be confused by Indiana’s Midwestern geography. They’re in the eastern time zone, too. Get everything done by 7:45 or so, settle in, and clear the rest of the night to watch the best Knicks team in a generation.

Whether you’re a drinker or not, it’s always good to hydrate! If you are the type to watch sports with an alcoholic beverage by your side, though, something tells us that’s going to ramp up for a Knicks-Pacers bloodbath. Something about seeing those two uniforms share a court brings out a real intensity, both for the players and the spectators. You’ll thank yourself in the morning if you mix in a water or two during the games, and it might not be a bad idea to see what kind of Gatorade your bodega has in stock. Plus, win or lose, nothing’s worse than being hungover at work the next day.

Speaking of the morning after, that’s often the hyperbole zone. Let’s say the Knicks wipe the floor with the Pacers in Game 1. Does that mean they’re going to coast the rest of the way? Certainly not. These things are best-of-seven for a reason, and no matter how overlooked they puzzlingly remain, the Pacers are quite good. Yes, the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Pacers’ opponent in the last round, were not totally healthy for the first two games of their showdown. But even in the games where the Cavs had their full roster, they still offered very little resistance. And Cleveland was the number one seed! They won 64 games! Blowouts are always fun, and down-to-the-wire wins probably say more about a team’s overall mettle, but flush each win and move on to the next game.

On the reverse, if the Knicks come out flat and get worked at home—think Game 3 of the Celtics series—they’ve shown an ability to recover. In fact, the Knickerbockers have lost three of their six games at Madison Square Garden during this playoff run, which isn’t ideal, but they’re still here! If they go down 2-0, it’s reasonable to react, but avoid a full-blown panic spree.

Run it back. Nathaniel S. Butler/Getty Images

In my opinion, there is no bigger loser sports fan behavior than blaming the officials. Your guys didn’t lose because of the referee, they lost because they didn’t play well enough. While it’s true that, at one point, the NBA did employ a crooked referee who was betting on games and went to federal prison for it, that guy can’t hurt you anymore. He did his time, he’s banned from the NBA, it’s fine.

Look, Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns aren’t going to get every call, no matter how hard they jerk their head back while driving to the rim. That doesn’t mean anything is rigged. If anything, wouldn’t the league want the Knicks to win, so the NBA Finals could happen in New York rather than Indiana? (Sorry, Indiana.) So rather than throwing something at the TV when Haliburton gets a whistle that was silent on the other end, remember that refereeing is basically an impossible job, and the Knicks are guaranteed to get some questionable calls of their own. That’s just how basketball works.

You can basically hear them now. Any game in which the Knicks fail to crack 100 points will trigger the Brunson can’t be the whole offense by himself chatter. A stinker by KAT and we’ll have to endure the discussion about how he can’t handle big moments. As the Pacers utilize more of their bench than the Knicks—which they should, and will, because they have a better bench than the Knicks—batten down the hatch for all the takes about Tom Thibodeau grinding his players to dust. Role players aren’t immune to discourse, either. Should Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby, or Deuce McBride have an 0-for shooting night, people will be big mad.

Listen to me closely: that does not mean you have to watch the ESPN morning shows or listen to the inflammatory podcasts! Form your own opinions, practice patience and restraint, and maybe go for a walk while listening to your favorite springtime album. Feeding the take inferno, debating whether Haliburton is a top-ten player, or giving into whatever other topic is leading the A-segment of Sports Shouting will not enrich your life.

In other words, keep that copium on deck. The East is already wide open, as evidenced by the three and four seeds meeting in the Conference Finals, but think about what it’ll look like next year. Jayson Tatum might miss the whole season with his Achilles injury. There’s no guarantee Giannis Antetokounmpo will still be in the conference. Free agency could put a dent in the Cavs’ depth chart. Barring any major injuries of their own, the Knicks will begin the 2025-2026 campaign with undoubtedly better championship odds than they had at the start of this season.

Of course, that doesn’t mean they should just fold up the tent and focus on the future. But we’re here to offer advice, and if the Pacers do knock them out for the second straight year, it’s not like the Knicks’ window is closed.

And Haliburton’s dad is not afraid to run up on you.