How the Knicks Need to Handle the 76ers in Round 2

What Brown Found Against Atlanta — and Why It Matters Now

The first three games against the Hawks were ugly for a specific reason: the Knicks were running their offense through Brunson in isolation sets against a defense that was loading up on him. Jalen was grinding, over-dribbling into set defenses, and the spacing around him was static. Brown was still feeling out his playoff rotations, and it showed — the offense looked like it was running through mud.

The pivot in Game 4 changed everything. Brown re-centered the offense around Karl-Anthony Towns operating from the high post, and the domino effect was immediate. Suddenly Brunson wasn’t banging his head against the wall trying to create from nothing. Towns was catching at the elbow, surveying the floor, and finding cutters. OG Anunoby — who’d already been scoring at a high clip, with 29-point games in both Game 3 and Game 6 — started getting cleaner looks off backdoor cuts instead of having to manufacture offense. KAT’s series averages of 18.7 points, 11.3 rebounds, and 6.0 assists don’t fully capture it. The assists tell the story. He was the fulcrum of an offense that went from sluggish to suffocating in the span of one halftime adjustment.

How It Applies Against the 76ers

Now translate that to Philadelphia. The Sixers’ defensive scheme is built around Embiid dropping in pick-and-roll coverage, funneling ball handlers into his massive frame at the rim. It’s a system designed to force mid-range pull-ups, and against lesser playmakers, it works. But Brunson thrives in the mid-range. If Brown keeps running the offense through Towns at the high post — forcing Embiid to choose between helping on Brunson’s drives and staying home on KAT’s three-point shooting — Philly’s drop scheme becomes a liability. Embiid can’t be in two places at once, and Towns shot 44.4% from three in the first round. You can’t leave that.

The defensive matchups is where it may get challenging. Brunson doesn’t need to guard Tyrese Maxey but he shouldn’t guard Paul George or Oubre. That only really leaves Edgecome amongst the Sixers starters, who has only made Philly more explosive this season. The Knicks have OG Anunoby, who’s the best perimeter defender in this series and led all players in Win Shares (1.6) through Round 1. You can have OG start on Paul George, but you’ll have to adjust to the hot hand when everyone in the 76ers starting lineup can create their own shot. 

Knicks Rotation

Everyone’s going to talk about Brunson versus Maxey and Towns versus Embiid. Those matchups matter, obviously. But this series will be decided in the minutes when one or both of those guys are sitting — and that’s where the Knicks have a decisive edge that Philly simply can’t close.

Start with what happens when Embiid goes to the bench. Andre Drummond is a capable regular-season backup center, but in the playoffs, against this Knicks team? KAT and Mitchel Robinson have to win that matchup. Drummond doesn’t have the foot speed to chase Towns out to the three-point line, and he doesn’t have the offensive game to punish the Knicks on the other end. Every minute Embiid sits is a minute the Knicks should be extending their lead, and Brown needs to be aggressive about staggering his rotation to ensure Towns is on the floor for those stretches.

Flip it around. When Brunson sits, the Knicks have the backcourt-by-committee approach that actually held up well against Atlanta. Miles McBride gives you shooting and plus defense. Jordan Clarkson can create his own shot when the offense stalls. Jose Alvarado should be pest on Maxey every time he touches the ball, disrupting Philly’s rhythm in transition. It’s not as clean as having Brunson out there, but it’s three guys who each bring something specific and who played well down the stretch of the Hawks series.

Philly’s Bench Depth

Philadelphia’s bench rotation is going to be put to the test following a 7 game series. This only applies pressures on the starters outside of Maxey and Embiid. Kelly Oubre Jr. is a microwave scorer who can get hot, but he’s just as likely to go 2-for-11. That leaves a lot riding on V.J. Edgecombe, the rookie who dropped 23 points with five threes in Game 7 against Boston. He was electric in that moment — but he’s a rookie being asked to sustain that against a defense ranked 7th in the league. The Knicks are going to test his decision-making, send bodies at him, and make him prove he can do it in a different environment. The Garden in May is a different beast than TD Garden with a shellshocked home crowd.

The real wrinkle is Mitchell Robinson and the double-big lineup Brown deployed late in the Hawks series. In about eight combined minutes of Robinson and Towns sharing the floor across Games 5 and 6, the Knicks outscored Atlanta by roughly +60 per 100 possessions. Yes, it’s a tiny sample. But the logic is sound: two massive bodies crashing the glass, Towns spacing the floor while Robinson protects the rim and sets bone-rattling screens. Against Philly, this lineup could be devastating in specific situations — especially if the Knicks can get either Embiid or Drummond in foul trouble. Brown showed he’s not afraid to go big. Expect him to use it as a haymaker in the middle of the second and fourth quarters.