After “The Last Dance” reopened old wounds for many New York Knicks fans, the Knicks State of Mind podcast talks about those fabled ’90s.
“The Last Dance” is becoming a cultural phenomenon among sports fans. It’s a chance to relive the double three-peat from Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls. Unfortunately, for New York Knicks fans, it’s a chance to dredge up painful memories.
ESPN’s compelling documentary dives deep into 1993 Eastern Conference Finals, a series in which the Knicks blew a 2-0 series lead, and the respect Jordan and the Bulls had for Patrick Ewing and the Knicks.
It was often said that the Bulls always had a tougher time reaching the NBA Finals than actually winning it. They had to deal with the “Bad Boys” Detroit Pistons before winning their first championship. The Ewing-led Knicks stepped in later to serve as the hard-nosed team that would put Jordan on his rear end.
Of course, the Knicks State of Mind guys can’t go a full “What if?” episode without relating things back to the present. The topic of Tom Thibodeau’s coaching candidacy came up.
Although none of the guys are completely sold on Thibs, he could be a way for the Knicks to regain their ’90s mentality. Thibodeau wasn’t around when the Knicks were tussling with Jordan in ’93, but he was an assistant in New York from 1996-2004.
Knicks fans have always wanted a team that resembles those great squads from the ’90s. Steve Mills may have billed the 2019-20 roster as that kind of team, but they weren’t even close to that kind of rough-and-tumble group.
Perhaps Thibs is the right voice to bring back that grittiness and toughness that once ruled in Madison Square Garden.
