{"id":557003,"date":"2026-01-24T04:29:16","date_gmt":"2026-01-24T04:29:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/557003\/"},"modified":"2026-01-24T04:29:16","modified_gmt":"2026-01-24T04:29:16","slug":"knicks-get-true-test-against-76ers-to-see-if-theyre-really-out-of-funk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/557003\/","title":{"rendered":"Knicks get true test against 76ers to see if they’re really out of funk"},"content":{"rendered":"

Beating up on the Nets<\/a> was a good way to lift the vibes around the Knicks, if at least for a few days. <\/p>\n

But now comes a big step up in quality of opponent.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This matchup with the 76ers \u2014 against whom they are 0-2 this year \u2014 in Philadelphia on Saturday will be a much truer test of whether the Knicks have climbed out of their downturn.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s gonna be a challenge,\u201d Josh Hart said after practice Friday, \u201cbut we need challenges right now. \u2026 We had a stretch where we were struggling. Obviously, we had a really good win the other day [against the Nets]. And now it\u2019s like, feeling good but you can\u2019t be feeling too good. Tough opponent where you gotta go in there and do the little things. And then if you beat a good team like that, then you can feel a little better about yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Knicks have been torched by the 76ers\u2019 explosive backcourt of Tyrese Maxey, a budding superstar in the league and All-Star starter, and VJ Edgecombe, who\u2019s enjoying a strong rookie season. Those two represent exactly what the Knicks struggle with most \u2014 defending quick, athletic guards \u2014 who can both beat opponents off the dribble and hurt defenses from 3-point range at the point of- attack.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"NewNew York Knicks\u2019 Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, Mikal Bridges, and Og Anunoby on the bench. Charles Wenzelberg \/ New York Post<\/p>\n

Maxey and Edgecombe scored 30 and 23 points, respectively, in the first matchup of the year \u2014 a 116-107 Knicks loss Dec. 19. They scored 36 and 26 points, respectively, in the second matchup \u2014 a 130-119 loss Jan. 3. And between the two games, they combined to shoot 56.3 percent from the field and 52.8 percent from 3-point range. <\/p>\n

Both those games were at Madison Square Garden.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ve just gotta prepare for what they like to get to, their moves, and know where they like to get a quick burst and you can\u2019t relax,\u201d Mikal Bridges, who will spend plenty of time guarding Maxey and Edgecombe, said Friday. \u201cThe moment you relax, they get that first step, it\u2019s gonna be tough for you. So always being engaged and preparing for whatever the movements are because they\u2019re so fast.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe thing is to focus on ourselves and know to help each other on the defensive end. It\u2019s never one-v.-one. It should be one-v.-five. Whatever guy\u2019s got the ball should see the guy on ball and four help defenders helping each other out.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Lost in Maxey\u2019s and Edgecombe\u2019s breakout seasons has been Joel Embiid\u2019s resurgence. He is healthier and more impactful than he has been in three years, since he won MVP in the 2022-23 season.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He did not play in the first matchup between the teams, but certainly made a difference in the second, recording 26 points and 10 rebounds.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"TyreseTyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe of the Philadelphia 76ers during the game against the Phoenix Suns on January 20, 2026 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. NBAE via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Embiid is also coming off his biggest workload of the season, playing 26 minutes in the 76ers\u2019 overtime win over the Rockets on Thursday.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cEmbiid\u2019s a Hall of Famer,\u201d Knicks coach Mike Brown said. \u201cHe\u2019s an All-Star and he knows all the tricks of the trade. He can beat you shooting the 3 because he has great touch, he can beat you from the free-throw line, he\u2019s getting there eight times a game. So we have to make sure we continue to lead with our chest and show our hands. But, obviously, he can beat you in the post. So we have to be on point, try not to give him anything easy, especially sending him to the free-throw line knowing he\u2019s great at drawing fouls.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWhat\u2019s happening on and off the Garden court\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSign up for Inside the Knicks by Stefan Bondy, a weekly exclusive on Sports+.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\tThank you\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Saturday\u2019s game is part of the NBA\u2019s Rivalry Week. The teams will enter the game just 1 \u00bd-games apart in the standings, and could certainly run into each other down the road in the playoffs.\u00a0<\/p>\n

There was some animosity when they squared off in the first round of the playoffs two years ago, particularly toward Embiid. This year, there hasn\u2019t been much vitriol or bad blood. It doesn\u2019t take much to change that, though.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the NBA wants me to say yeah [it\u2019s a rivalry],\u201d Hart joked. \u201cBut it\u2019s obviously a really good team, a really good-coached team. \u2026 I feel like whenever you play someone in the playoffs, you always, whether that\u2019s the players or the fan base, always finds some type of way to hate them or hate a player there or here.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Rivals or not, it\u2019s an important next step that the Knicks can take.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Beating up on the Nets was a good way to lift the vibes around the Knicks, if at…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":557004,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[3769],"tags":[679,7,327,6,191,678,207,3817,66],"class_list":{"0":"post-557003","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-philadelphia-76ers","8":"tag-76ers","9":"tag-basketball","10":"tag-josh-hart","11":"tag-nba","12":"tag-new-york-knicks","13":"tag-philadelphia","14":"tag-philadelphia-76ers","15":"tag-philadelphia76ers","16":"tag-sports"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/115948196480313158","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/557003","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=557003"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/557003\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/557004"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=557003"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=557003"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=557003"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}