After the Philadelphia 76ers defeated the Miami Heat in the play-in game, Joel Embiid and Co. clinched a spot in the NBA playoffs. Being the #7 seed, the Sixers will be going up against the #2 New York Knicks as their first-round matchup. Ahead of the exciting encounter between the two Atlantic Division teams, former 76ers sharpshooter Danny Green revealed his pick.
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During his time on SportsCenter, Danny Green revealed that he staunchly backed the New York Knicks to win the first-round series against Nick Nurse’s Philadelphia 76ers. While he did acknowledge that Julius Randle will be missing the entirety of these upcoming playoffs, Green claimed that the New York side had the “bodies” to counter Joel Embiid.
“Well, the Knicks are really good. So I expect them to be high up even with their injuries they went through… I expect the Knicks to play at their pace and I give them the advantage in the series… They got the bodies. They got Hartenstein, they got Mithcell Robinson, they got OG Anunoby, they got bigger guards, and they got guys that can score in half court sets very well,” Green said.
Further, apart from claiming that Knicks guards, Jalen Brunson, Donte DiVincenzo, and Deuce McBride had been in sublime form, the three-time NBA champion also stated that the Knicks just had a deeper squad than the 76ers.
“Jalen Brunson, so good, he’ll win you a series. They got Donte DiVincenzo shooting well. Deuce McBride making himself a household name now. They have a lot of weapons, man. I just don’t think Philly is deep enough to beat them,” Green explained.
Green may not be completely accurate in his assessment of the two teams’ depth on the bench. During the 2023-2024 regular season, the Philadelphia 76ers’ second unit recorded 31.2 points per game during this past regular season. On the other hand, Tom Thibodeau’s boys were among the bottom four teams in the league, with their bench scoring coming at a much lower 28.4 points, per Statmuse.
Additionally, the Sixers also trust their bench players far more than the Knicks do. While Philly played a combined 85.9 minutes per game, the NYK bench was on the floor for almost 10 minutes less per game, per StatMuse.
So, while these stats may not reveal the entire truth of the situation, they don’t lie either. At the end of the day, the Knicks’ have some very good impact players coming off the bench. However, the difference between the two teams’ reserve units likely isn’t nearly as great as Danny Green seems to believe.
Additionally, there is news to pay attention to attached to this first-round series. Before the Sixers stumbled in Eastern Conference standings due to Joel Embiid’s injury, they were one of the top 3 teams in the East. And now that Embiid is fully fit, fans and analysts are backing the Philadelphia 76ers to make a deep run in the postseason, with many in Philly now raving about a potential championship once again. Being a former player for the Philadelphia 76ers, evenCharles Barkley was among the many to display faith in the Philly side.
On the Knicks’ side of things, Brunson has done a phenomenal job in leading his team to the 2nd seed during the NBA regular season. However, Julius Randle’s absence will likely be felt, especially on the defensive end of the floor. Also, with the Sixers having significantly more playoff experience than their competitors, the former will fancy their chances and hope to make a real run to lift the Larry O’Brien trophy by the end of the postseason.
