At the beginning of the N.B.A.’s Eastern Conference Finals, Knicks fans of all varieties were ready once again to risk emotional ruin:

“Lawd have mercy we are goin’ to da promise land. Us in six.”—Spike Lee, film director.

“For the next month, I am a sincere convert, bowing before the greatness of these Knicks. The Knicks are simply the most dynamic, passionate team left standing. This is a team any sports fan has to love. Knicks in six.”—Bill de Blasio, former mayor, Celtics fan.

“I was at both series when the Knicks won their championships in 1970 and ’73. Particularly the first time they won, with the lineup of Frazier and Willis Reed and DeBusschere and Bradley and Dick Barnett, that was the most selfless, brilliant team. I get that same sense of camaraderie with this Knicks team. That’s what’s been missing. Obviously, talent, too. But they’ve never really meshed in the way this team has. The key to the series is the tempo. If the Knicks are able to control the tempo, and if they hit their shots, they should win in seven games.”—Peter Gelb, general manager, Metropolitan Opera.

“Knicks in six. Unless Reggie Miller comes out of retirement, then Knicks in seven.”—Alison Roman, food writer.

“If the Knicks spread the ball around like the Pacers do and guard the three-point line, we should be good. Great matchup for Karl-Anthony Towns. Knicks in seven.”—Matthew Collier, special-education teacher, George Westinghouse Career and Technical Education High School, Brooklyn.

“They can’t stop Jalen Brunson. Knicks in five!”—Lynaea, fourteen, student, Westinghouse High.

“Ferocious beats slick. Knicks in seven.”—Donald Moss, psychoanalyst.

“Knicks in five. I was at the Reggie Miller game with my late dad. I haven’t uttered the words ‘safe lead’ since.”—Anthony Weiner, politician.

“Not only is it playoff season, it’s Manhattanhenge season. On May 28th at 8:13 P.M., the day before Game Five, the sun will set perfectly framed on one side by M.S.G. on Thirty-fourth Street. We’re hoping this is when the city will get cosmically charged up and the Eastern Conference series will turn in our favor. Knicks in six.”—Jackie Faherty, astrophysicist, American Museum of Natural History.

“With Jalen Brunson’s clutch scoring, K.A.T. from both the three-point line and the paint, Bridges and O.G. anchoring both ends of the floor, Mitch dominating the offensive boards, McBride contributing on both offense and defense off the bench, and Josh Hart’s non-stop hustle, this team has the grit and the chemistry. The Knicks will take this series in six games.”—Julie Eichner, manager, Union Square Cafe.

“I’m rooting for Jalen Brunson to become the greatest Knick ever. I say they win it all . . . next year. Pacers in four.”—Julian Casablancas, singer.

“These teams are strange mirrors—each reflecting what the other dreads. The Garden’s going to shake its roof off, but the series will hinge on the breaks of the game: some second-quarter scramble, some mid-range miss, some road game no one wants to remember. Knicks in seven.”—Rowan Ricardo Phillips, poet.

“As New Yorkers, we eat adversity for breakfast. Brunson, O.G., and Hart will find a way to pull it out. I believe we will make it to the finals for the first time since ’99. Knicks in six.”—Benjamin Adler, associate principal clarinet, New York Philharmonic.

“The Knicks vs. the Pacers

or

NY vs. Indiana

We already won.”—Fran Lebowitz, writer.

“The Pacers have a really fast-paced game, but I think Jalen Brunson’s the real deal. My prediction is the Knicks in six.”—Sunil Rao, director of interventional cardiology, N.Y.U. Langone.

“I’ve had season tickets since the beginning of the beautiful ’69-’70 season. We had seats in the tenth row beneath the basket. The game started and the referee handed the ball to DeBusschere, and I remember looking down at the court and thinking, There’s no place in the whole world I’d rather be. I hope the Knicks are going to win, but I don’t want to jinx it.”—Joe Crowley, ninety-one, grandfather.

“My first game was when I was six. One time I got to talk to Jalen Brunson. I asked, ‘Does Thibodeau ever smile?’ And he laughed and said, ‘Very rarely, but yes, sometimes.’ After I talked to him, I felt, like, everything. I was running around. My eyes got watery. I got way more flexible for some reason. I was sweating. It’s gonna be close, but, I mean, if you were, like, who’s better, Brunson or Haliburton—what would you say? Brunson. I think in Game Six the Knicks are gonna win.”—Calvin Crowley, eight and a half, grandson.

“As a lifelong Knicks fan, this is a first, to see them win anything. I believe they will perform as they have been but will lose at the end, keeping with their decades-long track record. They’ll do six hard-fought games.”—George Santos, politician. ♦