Knicks Respect Is Real, But Is Game 1 a Trap?

Evan & Tiki

Audacy

Sports

4.2 • 988 Ratings

🗓️ 18 May 2026

⏱️ 20 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Evan Roberts and Tiki Barber break down the sudden shift in how the Knicks are being viewed heading into the Eastern Conference Finals against Cleveland. After dominating their last two playoff series, the Knicks have gone from nationally doubted to betting market favorite, but the long layoff creates real concern about whether rust could slow down their momentum. The guys debate why New York is favored more heavily now than it was earlier in the postseason, how Cleveland’s grueling path could impact the series, and whether the Knicks can finally bury an ugly Game 1 trend. The conversation also turns into a classic fan dilemma as Big Mac weighs Knicks playoff tickets against his Yankees loyalty, putting his New York sports priorities on trial.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Why are the Knicks the smallest favorite of all the first round teams?
0:04.4	And the Knicks, even though they won in six, we would all agree it was kind of quick work,
0:08.2	especially what they did in games four, five, and six.
0:11.7	What have I told you?
0:13.0	The Knicks are bigger favorites against the Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Finals than they were the Atlanta Hawks in the opening round.
0:20.6	Are you serious? I am serious. I am not making that up. Now it's close. They are slightly more of a favorite
0:26.3	in this series against Cleveland than they were against Atlanta. What do you make of that?
0:30.6	I mean, I can see why Vegas would go down that route because of the length of what we just talked about, the length of series that the Cleveland Cavaliers have played in, how ridiculously on fire the Knicks were not only in the sweep against the Philadelphia 76ers, but also against Atlanta, those last three games.
0:52.5	So they've been dominant, like historically dominant.
0:56.1	That's a big part of us.
0:56.9	Their last seven games. Yep. They're not factoring in maybe, this is what we're, as fans are factoring in, the rust issue. Sure. It's been 11 days. That's a real thing. It's a long time. Yeah. But I can understand it because when you look at rest versus a hot team and a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, battled-tested cavalier team and home court is what is in Madison Square Garden. It, it just feels like it should be in the next favor. But more than the Hawks, that's surprising.
1:29.5	Yeah.
1:29.8	Well, I think it's a combination of just the disrespect that the Knicks got entering this postseason.
1:35.3	Like, they got that.
1:36.4	And we talked about it.
1:37.6	Like, there was a lot of, and I'm not talking about local fans and how they felt about the team.
1:42.7	Like, there was just not a belief nationally in this New York Nick team.
1:46.9	And what they've done, and Nick Fans will appreciate this, is you beat the respect out of them.
1:52.5	Right.
1:52.9	Because you dominate the Sixers in a four-game sweep in which you force them to tap out, basically, at the end.
1:59.5	You annihilate the Hawks in the final three
2:01.8	games after going down 2-1.
	...

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