Bill Simmons’ bold prediction for Knicks vs. 76ers series

The New York Knicks snuck away with a win over the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 1 of their first-round series with heroics from Deuce McBride and Josh Hart contributing to the win amid a bad shooting performance from Jalen Brunson, and Bill Simmons believes that game will make the difference for the Knicks in what looks to be a competitive series.

“I think that game at some point became a, if we lost this game we’re kinda f**ked we might lost this series,” Bill Simmons said on his podcast. “And Josh Hart made a couple threes, Embiid went 0-5 in the fourth quarter and kind of died, and they just kind of pulled it out. They got a crazy Deuce game, Deuce was plus 37, Deuce hit all these threes, and then Josh Hart hit the two classic no, no, no, yes threes. I thought Maxey, that was the best two-way game I’ve seen him play in a big spot. They got a really good hour and a half from Embiid, and I just think the Knicks needed it. I think it would’ve been really bad to lose it. Brunson wasn’t that good, they were throwing some weird s**t at him, and they really pulled it out. They kind of fought, 55 to 33 rebounds, and I think that’s going to be the game. You hate when I do this.”

It appears that Simmons believes that the Knicks will come out on top in this series after the win in Game 1 over the 76ers. The fact that New York got the win while Jalen Brunson shot 8-for-26 from the field was big, because the 76ers likely would have felt good about their chances to get a win if they had been told that would be his shooting line before the game.

As mentioned before, the performances from Josh Hart and Deuce McBride were huge. McBrides minutes in the middle of the game helped New York build a lead, and Hart’s heroics helped the team close out the win late. Hart his three key three-point shots.

Mitchell Robinson’s defense on Joel Embiid should not be understated as well. He forced Joel Embiid to miss some key shots in the second half that helped the Knicks get the win. Before his injury, Mitchell Robinson was putting together a great defensive season, and he played to that level in Game 1.

Why Knicks should be optimistic after Game 1 win

As mentioned before, the Knicks probably feel good about their chances after getting a win while Brunson had a poor shooting performance. The Knicks would likely bet on that performance being Brunson’s worst in this series.

Also, Donte DiVincenzo shot 3-10 in the game. He usually makes more of a scoring impact from the outside, and could be someone to watch for in Game 2.

There is a long way to go for the Knicks, and the series is nowhere near over, but they should feel good after getting a big win in Game 1 while some of their best players put up poor shooting performances.