u/TheOneThatSaysBMF

I've been a Knicks fan for as long as I can remember. I was only 11 when they won in 1973, but memories of the actual games from back then are a blur. All the kids my age knew who the key players were (Clyde, Pearl, Willis, Bradley, etc.). I remember former stars like Bob McAdoo and Spencer Haywood coming to the team with hopes of bringing in another chip, but to no avail.

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I remember when Michael Ray Richardson and Ray Williams were the most exciting young backcourt in the league. There was Louis Orr, Truck Robinson, Rory Sparrow, and many other names that tried as well. When Bernard King arrived and we stayed winning again, it gave us new hope. I remember us thinking that Eddie Lee Wilkins would be a star after dropping 24 and 10 in his NBA debut. He and Kenny "The Animal" Bannister were going to be the foundation of a string frontcourt, except those 24 points turned out to be his career high and he disappeared just as quickly as he arrived. I remember coach Hubie Brown forming the original "Twin Towers" with Bill Cartwright and Marvin Webster. When Bernard wrecked his knee (which happened on my birthday no less), I was crushed because he was my favorite player and had the most incredible playoff run pre-Jalen Brunson in 1984. So much hope, so much disappointment and heartbreak. Little did I know that would be the theme for the next 40+ years.

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Winning the Patrick Ewing lottery gave us more new hope. I'll never forget a friend of mine in DC telling me that he was coming to the New York. This was weeks before the draft lottery. I really do think the league wanted him here. Patrick's arrival led to another Twin Towers experiment with he and Bill Cartwright. They didn't work well together and Cartwright had a bunch of injuries that limited him, so he was traded to the Bulls for Charles Oakley.

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Before the Ewing/Oakley teams of the mid/late 90s, there was another version of the Knicks that took the city by storm, Rick Pitino's "Bomb Squad" with Mark Jackson, Rod Strickland, Gerald Wilkins, Trent Tucker, and Johnny Newman. That was a really fun team to watch.

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Of course we all know about the 90s teams that suffered so much heartbreak against the Bulls, the Pacers, the 1994 Finals with OJ and the white Bronco, the brawl with the Heat, getting crushed by the Spurs in 1999. More hope followed by more heartbreak. Then came the really lean years pre-Melo, followed by even more lean years until Leon Rose, Julius Randle, and Thibs got on back on track.

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So here we are, it's Game 5 and the Knicks made yet another improbable comeback. We won the game and I just sat there, not knowing exactly how to react. I thought I would be really emotional when that day finally arrived, but all I could do was sit there...amazed, astonished, and immensely proud. With all that happened in all these years as Knicks fan, more than anything, I just felt a sense of relief. Of course we all want them to win it again over the next few years, but one thing I've learned over the course of this journey is that winning isn't guaranteed. Sometimes it takes 53 years...

They've won those closeout games by 51, 40, and 37 points respectively....an average margin of 39 points.

This team is laser focused. I'm all my years of watching, I can't recall seeing a Knicks team more focused on hero getting the job done than this one. There's a steely sense of calm with this group. They know what needs to be done and the coaching staff has them prepared to go out and execute. There was some really rust during Game 1, but I think we all knew that they would eventually get on track.

Game 2 will be different. I fully expect them to come out guns blazing and try to choke these dudes out early. The Spurs will make adjustments. They'll blitz JB and maybe put Wemby on Hart. We might even see some Hack-A-Mitch. None of that will matter. Early contributions from OG and Bridges will be huge. The "DEUUUCE!" chants will be at loud ever and that 3rd quarter run will set the stage for the starters to rest midway through the 4th.

At least that's how I envision it....