After the Knicks earned a 101-92 victory over the Miami Heat Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden, Knicks fans celebrated all over seventh and eighth avenues as if their team had won an NBA championship. It was a sight to behold as I exited New York Penn Station to walk to the Port Authority Bus Terminal on my way home in Fort Lee.
On Sunday night after the Knicks clinched a playoff spot with a 118-109 victory over the woebegone Washington Wizards, I received nasty replies on Twitter about how wrong I was on the Knicks and Jalen Brunson. I mentioned the Knicks would miss the playoffs, and I also said Brunson would be a free-agent bust as the Knicks point guard. I have been critical of Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau on Twitter and this site.
I was way off with my take, and if I am going to dish it, I better take it when I am wrong. I get it.
Knicks fans should have a reason to be happy. Their team performed well all season, and Brunson has been a star for them. There’s a good chance the Knicks can get past the first round this year. Thibodeau has changed the culture for sure.
But let’s not be satisfied with just making the playoffs. The Knicks used to have a goal of championship or bust under the troika of Pat Riley, Dave Checketts and Ernie Grunfield in the 90s.
This is a franchise that has not won a championship in 50 years. This is a team that has not gotten past the first round since 2013. This once-proud franchise hasn’t gotten past the second round since 2000. Their last finals appearance was in 1999.
So yes, the Knicks may have come a long way from bad basketball, but they are not officially back until they start being a championship contender. This has to be the standard, not just making the playoffs.
It was one thing to celebrate the Knicks two years ago when they made the playoffs because they have some hideous years after the 2012-2013 season. They hired and fired presidents of basketball operations and head coaches. They traded Carmelo Anthony and Kristaps Porzingis since they never won with them. It was ugly all around.
Knicks owner and MSG CEO James Dolan may have found his basketball Yoda in Leon Rose and Thibodeau to solve his team’s issues. The Knicks got some building blocks to win with players such as Julius Randle, Immanuel Quickley, RJ Barrett, Quentin Grimes, Mitchell Robinson, Josh Hart and Brunson. They have plenty of draft picks that they can trade for to get this established star. The team is financially positioned to get a star from a small-market team one day.
The Knicks’ goal should be to win championships, and at a bare minimum, be a championship contender, I do think that’s Thibodeau’s and Rose’s goal since this is what they were hired to do.
Knicks fans need to have that same mentality. Most Knicks fans that are below 40 years old never got to experience what I experienced in the 90s when the team was contending for championships. This era has been their golden era since they have not been a top team in the Eastern Conference since than. It’s understandable why would they be excited when they never saw success from the Knicks in their time.
The Knicks did better than I thought. I did not think they would recover after an underwhelming 6-7 start. When they were out West, it could have been the start of the end for them, and it could have been Thibodeau's job had the team not recovered. They managed to go 2-2 by beating the Denver Nuggets and Oklahoma City Thunder while losing to the Golden State Warriors and Phoenix Suns. They could have fallen apart after a five-game losing streak at the end of December that had the team go 18-18, but they responded by winning seven of eight.
The Knicks took off by winning nine in a row starting on Feb 11, and they never looked back. They are in a position to get a favorable matchup to win a first-round against Donovan Mitchell and Cleveland Cavaliers. They have a shot to even get to the conference final this season with the right matchup.
The goal for this Knicks team is to get to the conference final this year. Getting past the first round has to be a must after getting a taste of the first round two years ago. They underachieved against the Atlanta Hawks the last time they made a playoff appearance, but we were okay with it since we were just happy they entertained us and overachieved.
Losing in the playoffs can’t be okay this year. No Knicks fan can say this team is heading in the right direction after another one-and-done. It’s time this team takes a step forward and goes in the right direction, and that’s why this team has to go to the conference final for this season to be a success.
It’s time for standards to be raised here in town. This franchise has to make progress. Save this happy to be in the playoffs for small-market cities such as Cleveland, Minneapolis, Atlanta, Utah, New Orleans and Oklahoma City. We should be better than this as the nation’s biggest media market.
Thankfully, Thibodeau, Rose and the players have high standards. They expect the Knicks to have a long postseason run this year. They know they can be good with the right matchups.
They certainly have the head, heart and guts to go far led by Brunson.
It’s time for them to show up in the playoffs, and it’s time for us to demand more.
You can read Leslie's Jersey Sporting News columns on Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays.
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