Early Takeaways from Knicks' 2024 NBA Playoff Performance

The seventh-seeded Philadelphia 76ers were supposed to make the second-seeded New York Knicks sweat.

And they have.

The teams' first two meetings in this opening round series of the 2024 NBA playoffs have been decided by a total of 10 points. Fortunately for the 'Bockers, though, they've survived both of those nail-biters, taking the opener by a 111-104 count before rallying for a 104-101 triumph in Game 2 on Monday. New York wiggled out of a five-point hole in the final 30 seconds, getting three-pointers from Jalen Brunson and Donte DiVincenzo on back-to-back possessions.

In essence, the Knicks have done what they were supposed to do: protect their home floor. But what can we take away from these first victories?

With Julius Randle shelved by a shoulder injury, the Sixers have been able to throw everything their defense has at Jalen Brunson.

And for the most part, Philly has been successful with that approach. Brunson, a first-time All-Star this season, has more shots (55) than points (46) and is just 2-of-12 from three.

You might think those numbers would've spelled New York's demise. The offensive punch from the Knicks' role players ensured that it didn't.

In Game 1, New York got invaluable contributions from Miles McBride (21 points, 5-of-7 from range) and Bojan Bogdanović (13 points, 3-of-6). In Game 2, DiVincenzo was lights-out (19 points, 4-of-8 from distance, 5-of-5 at the line). In both games, Josh Hart did a masterful job of picking his spots (43 points on 28 shots).

Any team that faces an opponent with star power like the Sixers' dynamic duo of Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey also faces a dilemma. Do they sell out on stopping the stars, or do they focus more on limiting the role players around them?

New York has predictably stopped to slow down the Embiid-Maxey pairing, but that's about all this defense has given up.

The Sixers have 205 points in this series. Embiid and Maxey have netted 131 of them. If the Knicks allowed a role player or two to pop off, this series could look a lot different.

They really haven't, though. Kyle Lowry had a good showing in Game 1 (18 points, 4-of-7 from three), but that's kind of it. Tobias Harris has been a non-factor (17 points on 18 shots), Kelly Oubre Jr. hasn't done much (14 on 14), and no one else has been too involved. Sixers' subs have 17 points in this series; the Knicks' second-teamers have 58.

It's been a quantity-over-quality start to the series for Brunson. His shooting rates are completely unrecognizable: 29.1 percent overall, 16.7 from three.

And that doesn't necessarily matter as much as you think.

Sure, the Knicks would love to see Brunson's typical conversion rates (47.9/40.1/84.7 shooting slash), but those will be hard to summon. Without Randle, New York doesn't have that second option to demand the attention of this Philadelphia defense. Brunson is good enough to overcome that, but don't be surprised if his shooting percentages aren't great at any point this series.

The Knicks can live with that. More than anything, they need their lead guard to stay full-throttle on the attack. Embiid and Maxey are going to get buckets. The Knicks need an aggressive Brunson to help keep up, even if the efficiency isn't the cleanest. The support scorers will change from one game to the next, but Brunson needs to be New York's constant.