If you told anyone a year ago that the Brooklyn Nets and New York Knicks would both be in the playoffs in 2021, you would get a cross-eyed look.
Not only were the Nets trying to embark on rebuilding their team with superstars -- one of whom in Kevin Durant, spent the entire 2019-20 campaign on the shelf recovering from an Achilles Tendon tear he suffered in the 2019 Finals with the Warriors.
But, the Knicks were still an utter embarrassment. When COVID-19 postponed the finish to the NBA season, the Knicks were 21-45; a total disaster, a continuous rebuild going on 20 years running since their "glory days" of the the 1990s. They hired Tim Thibodeau in the off-season, a coach with a strong pedigree for success, but nobody expected this so suddenly.
And let's be honest, the NBA isn't exactly popular these days after the Association put its proverbial foot in its mouth with outspoken left-wing politics that alienated half its fan-base. With NBA television ratings slip sliding to all time lows on a nightly basis, it was almost like this season went by without much of a whimper. But here stand New York's two pro basketball teams in the thick of the tournament.
In years past, this would serve as a moment of jubilation and headlines.
Instead the Nets have been looked upon as the villains of the sport for their lack of team building. They built a team strictly on star power. With Durant healthy, he joined fellow superstar Kyrie Irving in the backcourt, and eventually the team traded the farm and then some for disgruntled star James Harden, reuniting Harden with Durant, whom he played with in Oklahoma City. Ironically, this trio has only played 8 games together all season, and yet they find themselves as the best team in the East in the eyes of many.
At times it has felt like the Nets just don't care. Kyrie Irving's erratic behavior is no exception.
But ask anyone how they feel about the Nets being in the playoffs, they would say a Nets championship would be bad for the sport, because of the freakish All-Star talent this team acquired in trades and signings over the last year.
Should the Nets win the title, it would come as no surprise, especially with the Lakers and Warriors experiencing a down year out west. Should the Nets get knocked out, it is almost certain that GM Sean Marks, who crafted this Frankenstein's monster of a team, will be thrown onto the Hot Seat.
Meanwhile, across town, the Knicks resurgence is nothing short of a miracle.
The Knicks are locked in as the 4th seed in the playoffs after a spectacular regular season that saw the team grow by leaps and bounds. A record of 41-31-- their best record in a single season in eight years, the Knicks fortunes changed thanks to great coaching and spirited play from the likes of Julius Randall (24.2 ppg) and R.J. Barrett (17.5 ppg), and a renaissance campaign from a Thibodeau favorite, Derrick Rose, who averaged 15 points per game in 34 games this season.
At one point the Knicks were just trying to get by and slowly improve. On April 7 they stood two games under .500 at 25-27. Maybe they would compete for the 8th seed. Maybe they wouldn't get in, but at least the foundation was getting set. Then all of sudden they ripped off nine straight and finished the season 16-4 in their final 20 games to put themselves in the thick of the postseason race.
So here we stand, the Nets about to play the seventh seed in the East, while the Knicks are about to play the fifth seed in the East. Should both keep winning, they could eventually find a date with one another in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Maybe then basketball fans will return and start caring again for real.
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