CLEVELAND — If you traveled back to the beginning of the season or January or even just a few weeks ago, the NBA Finals represented validation.
It was improvement from the 2025 finish. It was justification for changing coaches, a good enough reason for Leon Rose and James Dolan to take victory laps and Jalen Brunson to be chiseled into the franchise’s Mount Rushmore. It was also considered very difficult, perhaps even a long shot, since Jayson Tatum was back in Boston and the Detroit Pistons obliterated New York in the regular season.
You probably forgot because, in hindsight, it sounds ridiculous, but … the betting odds before the playoffs, according to BetMGM, had the Knicks below the Celtics and Cavs. They were tied with the Pistons for third.
A few utterly dominant weeks later and the Knicks are inevitable Eastern Conference champions with a 3-0 lead over the retreating, dispirited Cavaliers. They are riding a 10-game winning streak in the playoffs, their longest winning streak — regular season or postseason — since 2013. They haven’t lost in over a month. Their offense is working together like the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Their defense is synchronized like Russia’s artistic swimming team. They have achieved what psychologists call a “flow state,” which occurs when focus is effortless and skills perfectly match the challenge at hand.
