NBA Playoffs 2011: Michael Jordan and the NY Knicks 5 Biggest Playoff Tormentors
Ray Allen has already tormented the New York Knicks in this year's NBA Playoffs with his Game 1 winning three-pointer Sunday night, but does his performance make him one of the biggest Knicks postseason tormentors of all time?
It really depends on how you define postseason tormentor.
Is it a player who exhibited unstoppable prowess on the basketball court every time he faced the Knicks in the playoffs?
Is it a player who had a performance against the Knicks that New York would like to forget?
Or is it a player who hit a shot that will linger in the minds of the Knicks and their fans forever, and have them wondering "what if things had gone differently"?
The answer is "yes: to all three. A true postseason tormentor of the Knicks meets one or more of the aforementioned criteria. Whether it was a performance of a lifetime that nearly ended the Knicks' playoff hopes or a game-winning shot that cost New York the game, each is a form of torment.
And while the criteria for such a player is broad, there are only a handful of players in NBA history who have had performances that served as a significant obstacle or impassable road block in New York's quest to advance in the playoffs.
In the Knicks' rich basketball history there are only a few players who are truly worthy of being considered New York tormentors.
Is Michael Jordan the greatest Knicks postseason tormentor of all time?
Did Ray Allen's Game 1-winning shot that ruined the Knicks' return to the playoffs allow him to make the cut?
With these questions in mind, let's take a look at the Knicks' five biggest playoff tormentors of all time.
No. 5: Celtics "Big Four": Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Rajon Rondo
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Ray Allen does crack the list of the Knicks biggest playoff tormentors, but so does the rest of Boston's "Big Four".
While many may be puzzled, the first two games of the opening round playoff series have shown just how lethal these guys are when playing the Knicks.
In Game 1, New York had an 85-84 lead with 21 seconds to go. Allen inbounded the ball to Paul Pierce who found Allen open from three-point range. Allen drilled it to give the Celtics an 87-85 lead and the victory.
Then, in Tuesday night's Game 2, the Knicks, sans Chauncey Billups and Amar'e Stoudemire, were fighting their way toward victory on the back of Carmelo Anthony, who had 42 points.
However, Rondo torched the Knicks all game. He had 30 points and seven assists and slashed through the paint like nothing ever seen before. Pierce also hurt the Knicks down the stretch, pulling up and hitting jumper after jumper.
And then with the Knicks ahead 93-92, Kevin Garnett hit a jump hook to give Boston the lead for good.
It just seems that there is nothing the Knicks can do to stop Boston's "Big Four" down the stretch. The Celtics continue to take the game out of the Knicks' hands in the final seconds.
New York has been playing with a ton of heart in its return to the playoffs, but Allen, Rondo, Garnett and Pierce have proven to be too much up until now.
And this is why they crack the list as the Knicks' fifth biggest postseason tormentor.
No. 4: Isiah Thomas
2 of 5Isiah Thomas not only tormented the Knicks as their general manager, but as a player too.
He is best known for his scoring binge in Game 5 of the opening round in the 1984 playoffs.
During the fourth quarter, Thomas scored 16 points in 94 seconds to force the game into overtime. New York went on to win the game, 127-123, but Thomas' performance would forever be implanted in the memories of Knicks fans.
It was a scoring streak unlike any other and the Knicks had no answers for him as can be seen in the video clip above.
Additionally, Thomas tormented the Knicks again in the 1990 Eastern Conference semifinals. His Pistons accomplished what they failed to do in 1984 and defeated the Knicks 4-1 to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals.
The Thomas-led Pistons would go on to win an NBA title that very same year. Thomas' court vision and offensive agility was something the Knicks simply could not contain in that series.
He often goes overlooked when looking at the Knicks' postseason grudge matches, but his leadership pushed the Pistons passed the Knicks in 1990 and his scoring binge in 1984 was historic.
Thomas' performances in the 1984 and 1990 playoffs make him the Knicks' fourth-biggest postseason playoff tormentor.
No. 3: P.J. Brown
3 of 5P.J. Brown making the list may come as a surprise for some, but his selection is more than warranted.
Brown instigated a brawl between the Knicks and Heat in Game 5 of the 1997 Eastern Conference Semifinals, and in doing so, he changed the complete course of the NBA Playoffs.
The Knicks came into Game 5 leading the series 3-1, and even though at the time of the fight the game was out of reach, it was widely believed that New York would prevail over the Heat in the end.
Many felt that the 1997 Knicks had the potential to defeat the Jordan-led Bulls and win an NBA championship.
Unfortunately for the Knicks and their fans, the reality of that potential will never be known.
As the above clip shows about eight minutes in, Brown flipped Knicks guard Charlie Ward into the crowd, which resulted in a tumultuous on-court frenzy. It was absolute madness.
The madness came with brutal consequences though. As a consequence from their roles in the fight, Ward, Patrick Ewing and Allan Houston were suspended for Game 6 while Ward, Larry Johnson and John Starks were suspended for Game 7.
New York could not overcome the loss of such key players in each of those games, and wound up losing in seven games to the Heat.
This is why Brown is one of the biggest postseason tormentors in Knicks history. He completely reshaped the outcome of this series and possibly the entire playoffs with his actions.
Brown left the Knicks and their fans in dismay, with the lingering question of "what if" implanted in their brains.
It wasn't Brown's offense, nor his defensive prowess that tormented the Knicks. It was his instigation tactics. He single-handedly brought the Knicks title hopes to a screaming halt.
And that makes him the clear choice for the third biggest postseason tormentor in Knicks history.
No. 2: Michael Jordan
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Michael Jordan is the second biggest Knicks playoff tormentor of all time.
Jordan was 5-0 against the Knicks in playoff series and simply torched New York every time he faced them.
In Jordan's first postseason meeting against the Knicks, he led his sixth-seeded Bulls to a 4-2 series victory over the second-seeded Knicks. In Chicago's series-clinching Game 6, Jordan had 42 points, 10 assists, five rebounds and two steals.
His performance against the Knicks that year was very impressive and it was the first of many to come.
The Knicks met Jordan and the Bulls again in the opening round of the 1991 NBA Playoffs, where the Jordan-led Bulls swept New York 3-0 en-route to their first of three consecutive NBA titles.
Jordan met the Knicks the following year in the 1992 Eastern Conference semifinals. Chicago and Jordan prevailed in a grueling seven-game series on their way to a second straight championship. In the series-deciding Game 7, Jordan lit the Knicks up for 42 points, proving to be the game's difference maker.
In 1993, for a third straight year, the Knicks were forced to meet Jordan in the playoffs, this time in the Eastern Conference Finals. The Knicks jumped out to a 2-0 series lead, but Jordan led the Bulls to four straight victories to clinch Chicago's third straight NBA finals appearance.
During Game 4 of that series, Jordan dropped 54 points on New York to lead Chicago to a series-tying victory. His performance provided the push and momentum the Bulls needed to win the final two games of the series to complete an outstanding comeback.
After 1993, Jordan and the Knicks would not meet again in the playoffs until 1996 in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Jordan's Bulls beat the Knicks rather easily in five games, with Jordan's most memorable performance coming in the Bulls' only loss in Game 3, where he scored 46 points.
Jordan's postseason record against the Knicks speaks for itself. New York could just not get past the Jordan-led Bulls. The Knicks' only postseason victory over Chicago during that time span came in 1994 when Jordan was in retirement.
Clearly, Jordan was a difference maker in the postseason series against the Knicks. Every time the two teams met, Jordan hurt the Knicks again and again.
And this makes him the Knicks' second biggest postseason tormentor of all time.
No. 1: Reggie Miller
5 of 5Reggie Miller is the ultimate New York Knicks postseason tormentor, even more so than Michael Jordan.
Miller was one of the most, if not the most, hated players by Knicks fans. He torched the Knicks on multiple occasions in the playoffs.
He is best known for two different scoring exploits against New York. In the 1994 Eastern Conference Finals, Miller exploded with 25 points in the fourth quarter to give the Pacers a 3-2 series lead. New York would recover and win the last two games of the series to reach the NBA Finals, but Miller was simply unstoppable.
This is not Miller's most impressive accomplishment against the Knicks in the postseason, though. In Game 1 of the 1995 Eastern Conference semifinals, Miller scored eight points in nine seconds to put the Pacers past the Knicks, 107-105.
The performance is unbelievable, even when you see it for yourself above. And this performance would prove to be the difference in the series. Indiana went on to win the series 4-3 behind Miller's outstanding performance.
In the deciding Game 7, Miller torched the Knicks for 29 points on 10-of-18 shooting. He was 3-of-5 from three-point range and added a key block down the stretch. The Miller induced collapse of the Knicks in Game 1 would haunt fans for years to come.
It was the last time Miller faced the Knicks in the playoffs before retiring, and he went out in style, as the ultimate Knicks postseason nemesis.
He has become universally known as the "Knicks Killer," and it is this title, coupled with his exemplary postseason performances against New York, that make him the No. 1 Knicks postseason tormentor of all time.
