Knicks Game Tonight Picks Lean Knicks in 7, 6 Over 76ers

Experts put knicks game tonight on the Knicks in the Eastern Conference semifinals, with four analysts picking New York over Philadelphia and none taking the 76ers. The range was tight: three chose a seven-game series, and one called for six, setting up a matchup built around Joel Embiid, Karl-Anthony Towns, Jalen Brunson and Tyrese Maxey.

Haberstroh, Iko, Rohrbach

Tom Haberstroh went with Knicks in 7. Kelly Iko made the same call, and Ben Rohrbach had New York in 6. Those picks pushed the series toward the longer end of the bracket, even as the 76ers arrived after upsetting the Celtics.

Haberstroh said, I can’t wait to see the Joel Embiid and Karl-Anthony Towns matchup. He added that Embiid gets the best of Towns in their minutes, which puts the interior battle at the center of a series where every possession should be weighted.

Titus Sees New York Edge

Dan Titus also took the Knicks in 7. His case rested on two matchups and one roster edge: Philly’s win over Boston was massive, but Embiid’s health is still up in the air and New York’s depth gives them the advantage.

Titus said the Embiid-KAT and Brunson-Maxey matchups will be must-see, and he pointed to Philadelphia’s lack of a true interior presence to control the glass and limit second-chance opportunities. He said the Knicks' superior defense and versatility should be the difference.

Towns, Brunson, and the Numbers

Kelly Iko backed the Knicks in 7 and cited New York’s 13-2 run since Feb. 1 when Towns logs a usage rate of at least 25%, according to Cleaning the Glass. He also noted that the 76ers can cycle through Paul George, Kelly Oubre and Embiid to defend Towns.

The analysts’ picks left the East semifinal race narrow but pointed in one direction. For the Knicks, the series now sits on the mix of Towns’ usage, Brunson’s scoring pressure and how Philadelphia handles the glass after leaning on only 6 players late in its Celtics series.