A new report has calmed New York Knicks fans’ fears that they will struggle in Game 1 of their series against the Cleveland Cavaliers due to their lengthy layoff ahead of the Eastern Conference Finals.
There is a lot of hope and excitement about the Knicks right now. On Tuesday night, they begin their Eastern Conference Finals series against the Cavaliers at home and as the favorite. Due to their excellent play over the past few weeks, this could be the franchise’s best chance to win an NBA title in decades.
However, there are some among his fans and basketball experts who wonder if not playing in games since May 10 will have any impact. This question has reignited the rust vs. rest debate and how it relates to the Knicks, as the extra days off will certainly give talented forward OG Anunoby a better chance to return to the field after suffering a hamstring strain in Game 2 of the semifinals.
Well, on Tuesday afternoon Sportico data expert Lev Akabas wanted to end the debate. He recently dug into the numbers and revealed some interesting details in a new X post. According to Akabas, since 1984, teams that received five or more days of rest, while their opponents had one, were 42–23 in Game 1 of a playoff series. Additionally, they were 48–17 in those series.
When it comes to teams with five or more days off, and were at home against an opponent with one day off between series, those teams went 33–9 in Game 1. The record of those teams in series that started with those unique parameters was 39–3.
Although it may not ease the fears of the most anxious Knicks fans, the data should give most of them reason to feel very confident about Game 1 tonight. Beyond how well his team has played over the last two weeks.
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