New York Knicks Mike Vaccaro Knicks fans beware — why you shouldn’t try to turn CJ McCollum into a Garden villain By Mike Vaccaro Published April 26, 2026, 1:17 p.m. ET Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (11) and forward OG Anunoby (8) double team Hawks guard CJ McCollum (3) during the first quarter in Game 4 in Atlanta on April 25, 2026. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post I get it. I fall into the trap too. Six days ago, this is what I wrote about CJ McCollum, in the aftermath of the Hawks’ stunning comeback victory in Game 2 of this first-round series:
“There always has to be a dollop of torture. There always has to be a villain doing villainy things …“
“[Jalen Brunson] … was overshadowed in the fourth quarter by CJ McCollum, the new version of Reggie/Trae/Tyrese, the player who, if things don’t work out in this series, will have his face on WANTED posters all over the Garden …”
