Knicks record is 1-4 against Boston this year and the Sixers are 1-3… Sixers are 1-1 with Embiid this year, and Knicks are 1-0 with that game coming on April 11 (a game with little incentive for Boston)..
Not discounting what the current rosters are, just thought it was interesting the Cavs and Magic of all teams have had the most success of any Eastern Conference team the last two seasons — who would have thought that?
The Knicks are 1-0 against Boston since they traded for Anunoby, but as you stated, they needed that game a lot more than Boston.
Since getting OG the Knicks beat Philly by 26 and 36 points (without Embiid), Minnesota by 6, Denver by 38, Miami by 16, and Milwaukee by 13. They also have Mitch Robinson back now and he's got 10 games under his belt. He played 25 minutes against Brooklyn on Friday with 15 points, 8 rebounds, and 2 blocks.
I think that Knicks-Sixers series is going to be a bloodbath. Since Embiid returned the Sixers are 5-0 having beaten OKC (#1 seed in the West), Miami, and Orlando. Joel is averaging 30.4 points and 9.2 rebounds in those five games. He's also shooting 48% on 3's since returning, indicating he shot a lot of 3's while waiting for his knee to fully recover. For the season he's shooting 39%.
That reminds me of Evan Mobley, who was 2-for-10 on 3's before his knee surgery and 20-for-49 (41%) since.
The Knicks with Anunoby and Robinson along with the Sixers with Embiid are really, really, good teams. That series is going to be intense. Boston-Miami could get interesting. In their last game Boston won by 6 points in Miami with Butler out. But the Heat are just 33-27 with Butler, who is 34 years old. In his last three games he scored 12, 14, and 15 points. He has not been taking a lot of shots, and having to play Wednesday and also Friday (if they lose to Philly Wednesday) will not help since the Celtics will be resting all week. But Butler is the kind of player who can rise to the occasion, so we'll see what happens if Miami gets that 8th seed.