Some Friendly Advice for Knicks Fans Entering the Eastern Conference Finals

As a sports fan, the only thing scarier than realizing your team is going to suck for the foreseeable future is realizing that they actually have a chance to win the whole thing. The stakes get raised to queasy heights, literally every single game matters, and as the playoff field dwindles down, the walls can feel like they’re collapsing around your beloved team.

This is reality for the New York Knicks and their loony tunes passionate fanbase now. For anyone 25 and under, these are uncharted waters, as the Knicks have not ventured this deep into the NBA postseason since 2000. Their opponent in those Eastern Conference Finals 25 years ago? None other than the Indiana Pacers, their dance partner for a whopping eight playoff series since 1993. Whether you’re old enough to have burned a Reggie Miler effigy, or young enough that Tyrese Haliburton is the only Pacers villain you’ve ever known, these next few weeks are going to be a powder keg of emotion.

The spirit of the ’90s is alive in New York and Indiana.

New York Daily News Archive/Getty Images

To help guide New Yorkers through the tumult, we’re offering up seven pieces of advice, one for every potential game of this evenly-matched series. This isn’t quite an apocalypse situation, one where you’ll have to stock a bunker full of chopped cheeses to survive—though that may happen if the Knicks can find eight more wins and bring home the Larry O’Brien trophy—but everyone from Williamsburg to Westchester should be prepared nonetheless. This is the city that killed King Kong, after all.

1. Each game starts at 8 p.m. ET

This isn’t advice, per se, just a helpful fact to file away. During these playoffs, Knick games have started at 1:00, 3:30, 6:00, 7:00, 7:30, and 8:00. Frankly, it’s been hard to keep track of. Thankfully, the NBA has made it simple for the Eastern Conference Finals. Every game is scheduled for 8 p.m. Don’t be confused by Indiana’s Midwestern geography. They’re in the eastern time zone, too. Get everything done by 7:45 or so, settle in, and clear the rest of the night to watch the best Knicks team in a generation.

2. Make sure to hydrate

Whether you’re a drinker or not, it’s always good to hydrate! If you are the type to watch sports with an alcoholic beverage by your side, though, something tells us that’s going to ramp up for a Knicks-Pacers bloodbath. Something about seeing those two uniforms share a court brings out a real intensity, both for the players and the spectators. You’ll thank yourself in the morning if you mix in a water or two during the games, and it might not be a bad idea to see what kind of Gatorade your bodega has in stock. Plus, win or lose, nothing’s worse than being hungover at work the next day.

3. Don’t get too high or too low after one game

Speaking of the morning after, that’s often the hyperbole zone. Let’s say the Knicks wipe the floor with the Pacers in Game 1. Does that mean they’re going to coast the rest of the way? Certainly not. These things are best-of-seven for a reason, and no matter how overlooked they puzzlingly remain, the Pacers are quite good. Yes, the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Pacers’ opponent in the last round, were not totally healthy for the first two games of their showdown. But even in the games where the Cavs had their full roster, they still offered very little resistance. And Cleveland was the number one seed! They won 64 games! Blowouts are always fun, and down-to-the-wire wins probably say more about a team’s overall mettle, but flush each win and move on to the next game.

On the reverse, if the Knicks come out flat and get worked at home—think Game 3 of the Celtics series—they’ve shown an ability to recover. In fact, the Knickerbockers have lost three of their six games at Madison Square Garden during this playoff run, which isn’t ideal, but they’re still here! If they go down 2-0, it’s reasonable to react, but avoid a full-blown panic spree.