I thought the Knicks were gonna lose a series before it started. As I said the Pacers are pathetically underrated. Coaching matters and they have the best coach in the league. They beat the crap out of the number one seed.
The Pacers are very good, in the best-case scenario this was going to be a long coin toss series, but everything changed with the way the Knicks lost game 1. It essentially took any competitive mental battle out of the series. To me, everything has to be viewed differently after the game 1 epic all-time collapse. What I find interesting is I would argue Rose is in almost the exact same situation as Drury was last summer. The Rangers were coming off an ECF run, and obviously very clearly needed major core changes after the Florida loss, it was obvious to anyone who was paying close attention. Drury fell into the trap of "we just made the ECF, how can I make major changes, we don't need that", and the rest is history as the Rangers had a horrific season. The Knicks are coming off an ECF run, they don't need major core changes, but obviously very clearly need a new coach, and one more very good player to be a legit title contender, it is obvious to anyone paying close attention. Will Rose fall into the Drury trap "we just made the ECF, how can I fire the coach, and we don't need another very good player, we don't need that". He must have the foresight to see big picture and know what the team needs, he cannot be fooled like Drury was. I have faith in Rose, but I also understand it is going to be extremely difficult to fire the coach after an ECF trip and making it further than the Knicks have in 25 years. Adding another very good player may be a challenge also due to available tradable assets and cap flexibility, but Rose must find a way to do it. The Knicks are not good enough as is, that's just reality, staying the course with this roster is dooming the Knicks to a very good but not a great title contending team, and that is worst thing to be. If Tibs stays I fear the Knicks will not make it back to the ECF next season, let alone win the title. It's a huge test for Rose this summer. Drury failed the test miserably, and we paid for it as Rangers fans (I am hopeful he does much better on the test this summer). Will Rose pass the test, or do we have to suffer through a major step back Knicks season, we'll see.
The miracle comeback in Game 1 couldn't have happened without their pro wrestling style officiating, missing obvious goaltending, allowing moving screens to free up shooters then grappling Knick defenders trying to work through. The NBA and NHL have always operated with the philosophy that NYC teams will always sell out whether they win championships or not while smaller markets need officiating help to win championships to grow the sport. The NHL has always disrespected the Rangers, allowing another franchise within 20 miles of the Garden then completely changing the rules of hockey to help the hapless Devils succeed while the sport faltered. The NBA officiating has always been suspect to the point they had to admit that one (just one) ref was fixing games for gamblers, no sport has as many late game shenanigans with the point spreads as the NBA.
Overall, I do agree NY gets the short end of the stick in many ways. I think your point of NY always selling out win or lose plays a part. Meanwhile, you have teams like the Pens about to relocate until the league gifted them Crosby. So, I agree with your overall premise of officials and leagues themselves disrespecting NY teams. With that said, while I do agree with you, I would also say these NY franchises have been so poorly run by ownership and/or Pres/GM's, that is a factor also (always going for the fat cat soft big-name stars instead of building a real tough cohesive blue-collar team). I would say the poor ownership and/or leadership have compounded a bad situation of anti-NY officials and leagues. It's been sort of a perfect storm, that's why NY almost never wins in sports, zero titles since 2011, and 3 titles since 2000. It's really sad NY is awful in sports.
