New York Knicks Mike Vaccaro The added ingredient that lifts Knicks-76ers into different stratosphere of playoff series By Mike Vaccaro Published May 3, 2026, 7:10 p.m. ET Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (21) celebrating with guard Tyrese Maxey (0) after their playoff win. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect This is when it gets fun. Familiarity. Back in the day, it was Michael Jordan’s Bulls, and then Reggie Miller’s Pacers. A little later it became Pat Riley’s Heat. The playoff collisions were already delicious, but the “you-again” factor turned those series, those rivalries, into something more.
Lately, it’s been the Pacers again, this time engineered by Tyrese Haliburton and company. Two years ago, the Knicks fell apart bit by bit and so there was something inevitable — and almost explainable — about that. Last year, though … that was harder to take. Partly because the Knicks believed to the end that they were the team.
How does the old saying go? “Familiarity breeds contempt.”
