Despite a lot of scares in Game 7, the Philadelphia 76ers ultimately came out with a win. Now, having beaten the Boston Celtics, they advance to the Eastern Conference Semifinals to face the New York Knicks, another familiar foe.
The 76ers are probably on a high right now following their historic and thrilling victory, but it is becoming apparent that they were actually not the biggest winners from their Game 7 win. That distinction belongs to the Knicks, their next opponents, which are now in a position of clear advantage heading into their affair in the semis against Philly.
New York was one of the best teams in the league during the regular season despite some rough patches of their own. And with their biggest kryptonites (the Indiana Pacers) out of commission this time around, the consensus belief is that they are the team to beat in the East. In fact, many already have them penciled in to win over the 76ers –– something which is admittedly far from an arbitrary assessment.
Knicks possess clear advantage over the 76ers right from the get go
The Knicks will have a handful of advantages over the 76ers before the series even kicks off. First, they are the fresher team. They are the only team still alive in the conference which did not have to go through seven games in the first round. They disposed of the Atlanta Hawks in six games, with Game 6 ending up being a 51-point beatdown.
Second, Joel Embiid seems to have banged himself up in Game 7. He sustained some bumps and bruises against Boston, although he managed to stay on the floor. For now, the 76ers have not yet issued any kind of update given that the game had just ended, but from the looks of it, the former Most Valuable Player will have to push himself to his physical limits just to be in uniform to start the semis.
The third edge which New York touts over Philly is depth. While the Knicks' second unit actually produced less points on the average than the 76ers' during the regular season, the latter has not given their bench any kind of considerable run as of late outside of Quentin Grimes. Mike Brown and his staff have more deployable players off the bench, and that is something which Nick Nurse could have a hard time trying to neutralize.
The Knicks will be favored over the 76ers –– that is undisputable. However, Philly is starting to find its groove as a unit, especially on the defensive end. If that holds up, they should be able to make things a lot more interesting and possibly even stage another upset. Be that as it may, if there is one thing clear, it is that they will be more exacting to face than the shorthanded Celtics.
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