{"id":1938555,"date":"2026-05-16T10:49:37","date_gmt":"2026-05-16T07:49:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1938555"},"modified":"2026-05-16T10:49:37","modified_gmt":"2026-05-16T07:49:37","slug":"the-knicks-are-for-real-plus-aronimink-gets-nasty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1938555","title":{"rendered":"The Knicks are for real? Plus: Aronimink gets nasty."},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"Article_ContentContainer__jBNW3 article-content-container bodytext1\">\n<p><strong><span>The Pulse Newsletter <\/span><\/strong>\ud83d\udce3<span> | This is <em>The Athletic\u2019<\/em>s daily sports newsletter. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/newsletters\/the-pulse\/\"><span>Sign up here<\/span><\/a><span> to receive The Pulse directly in your inbox.<\/span><\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>Good morning! If you can read this newsletter here, you can read it anywhere. Inside:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\ud83d\uddfd\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7279583\/2026\/05\/15\/knicks-nba-playoffs-second-round-winning-streak\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Knicks have a chance<\/a><\/li>\n<li>\ud83d\udea6\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/golf\/tournament\/pga-championship\/I5XBIfExz1GbJii1\/live_blog\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Traffic jam at the PGA<\/a><\/li>\n<li>\ud83c\udfc7\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7276167\/2026\/05\/15\/analyzing-preakness-field-favorites-contenders-long-shots\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Preakness minus Tempo<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr>\n<h3><b>New York, New York: The Knicks\u00a0<em>could\u00a0<\/em>actually do it this time<\/b><\/h3>\n<p>For a non-Knicks fan with a normal level of interest in the NBA playoffs, it\u2019s become a springtime ritual the past few years: Peer in on the New York team making a medium-to-deep run in the playoffs as every New Yorker in your life goes berserk. Witness not just Spike Lee but also Timoth\u00e9e Chalamet and various Jenners going wild courtside. Behold Ben Stiller tweeting all night about the Knicks. Be aware, for some reason, of\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/05\/04\/style\/met-gala-or-knicks-game.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">a Knicks-Met Gala conflict<\/a>. Be happy for the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/5592759\/2024\/06\/26\/mikal-bridges-jalen-brunson-knicks-nets-rockets-suns-nba-draft-alex-sarr-the-bounce\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">various former Villanova players<\/a>\u00a0who have all come together on this roster.<\/p>\n<div class=\"ad-container\">\n<div class=\"ad-wrapper article-treatment\">\n<div class=\"ad-slug-container\">\n<p class=\"ad-slug\">Advertisement<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"mid1\" data-position=\"mid1\" class=\"ad place-ad\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>That\u2019s my perspective, anyway.\u00a0<strong>The Knicks are a minor cultural fixation even when they\u2019re bad, but they\u2019ve become a party over the past few years of being good<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p id=\"article-pickem\">\n<p>It\u2019s been fun to watch. It also hasn\u2019t been all that serious, because only fleetingly has it seemed like the Knicks had any shot to actually win the finals. (It did look possible for a moment last spring, after Jayson Tatum tore his Achilles and the Knicks got past the Celtics, before losing the Eastern Conference finals to the Pacers as slight favorites. But that didn\u2019t feel like this.)<\/p>\n<p>To be clear, the Thunder still exist and are the obvious title favorites. If it\u2019s not them coming out of the West, the Spurs will be no picnic.\u00a0<strong>But the Knicks are now\u00a0<\/strong><strong><em>commanding\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><strong>favorites in the East, having swept the 76ers in the conference semis.\u00a0<\/strong>The Cavaliers and Pistons have exhausted each other in a seven-game series that won\u2019t end until Sunday, while the Knickerbockers have been off since\u00a0<em>last<\/em>\u00a0Sunday. New York\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7272517\/2026\/05\/13\/knicks-playoffs-pistons-cavaliers-nba\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">seems to match up nicely against either<\/a>. This team has just\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7279583\/2026\/05\/15\/knicks-nba-playoffs-second-round-winning-streak\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">gotten really, really good as it\u2019s come together<\/a>\u00a0this spring.<\/p>\n<p>You can look down the road and imagine the Knicks, with a major rest advantage, quickly winning the conference finals while the Thunder and Spurs slug out a long, brutal West final.<\/p>\n<p><strong>In short: The Knicks are probably not just having the same cultural moment they\u2019ve had every spring since 2023. They\u2019re an actual threat now,<\/strong>\u00a0in part because of circumstance.<\/p>\n<div id=\"top-league-content-root\"><\/div>\n<p>    {&#8220;endpoint&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/api-prd-nyt.theathletic.com\/graphql&#8221;}<\/p>\n<p>That doesn\u2019t seem absurd, anyway. But I ran it past\u00a0<em>The Athletic\u2019s\u00a0<\/em>Knicks beat reporter, James Edwards III: Does\u00a0<em>he\u00a0<\/em>feel materially better about this team\u2019s chances than in recent springs?<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>\ud83d\udcac<em>\u00a0<\/em><strong>You have to say that the Knicks are the favorites coming out of the East right now<\/strong>\u00a0based on their postseason to date. Other than the Spurs, they\u2019re the only team in the playoffs that ranks in the top three in both offensive and defensive rating. They\u2019re on a seven-game win streak with an average margin of victory of 26.4 points during that span.\u00a0<strong>New York is about to get a week\u2019s worth of rest.<\/strong>\u00a0Other than\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7276183\/2026\/05\/13\/og-anunoby-injury-update-status-knicks-nba-playoffs\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the hamstring of OG Anunoby<\/a>, the Knicks are healthy. This feels like the best opportunity the franchise has had to make the NBA Finals in over 25 years.\u00a0<strong>Winning the whole thing? New York has a chance simply because it should be one of the last two teams standing, but the Thunder are a freight train right now, too<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>At worst, there\u2019s an excellent chance a blue and orange team wins it all. At best, the Knicks will complete their arc from lovable losers to a team with great energy to actual champs.<\/p>\n<div class=\"ad-container\">\n<div class=\"ad-wrapper article-treatment\">\n<div class=\"ad-slug-container\">\n<p class=\"ad-slug\">Advertisement<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"mid2\" data-position=\"mid2\" class=\"ad place-ad\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<hr>\n<h3><b>News to Know<\/b><\/h3>\n<h3><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1706\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-7283786\" src=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/athletic\/uploads\/wp\/2026\/05\/16005940\/USATSI_28961504-scaled.jpg\" alt><\/h3>\n<h3><strong>A cluster atop the PGA leaderboard<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>After two rounds, there are 44 players within five shots of co-leaders Maverick McNealy and Alex Smalley (4 under) at the PGA Championship at Aronimink. Sound like a lot? It\u2019s the most ever through 36 holes. Gabby Herzig wrote\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7283084\/2026\/05\/15\/alex-smalley-pga-championship-2026-mom\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">a fun story<\/a>\u00a0about Smalley\u2019s \u201cmomager,\u201d who follows him around the course tracking his shot data and recording his swings to find an edge. McNealy said yesterday that his \u201csuperpower\u201d is his putting \u2014 a handy asset at a course where diabolical greens and pin locations are giving the world\u2019s best golfers\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7283109\/2026\/05\/15\/pga-championship-aronimink-low-scores\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">some serious trouble<\/a>. Bryson DeChambeau was among the big names to miss the cut. Find the leaderboard and more\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/golf\/tournament\/pga-championship\/I5XBIfExz1GbJii1\/live_blog\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Spurs-Thunder is on<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>There\u2019s no reason it couldn\u2019t be the Knicks \u261d\ufe0f, but popular opinion has held that if anyone is going to derail the Thunder,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7283542\/2026\/05\/16\/spurs-thunder-nba-playoffs-preview-west-finals\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">it\u2019s the upstart Spurs<\/a>, who beat them four out of five tries in the regular season. At their best, San Antonio looks plain delighted to be playing basketball together, as they did in winning Game 6 by 30 in Minneapolis last night. Get ready to hear a lot about this being the \u201creal NBA Finals.\u201d Game 1 is Monday.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Earlier yesterday, Detroit won its second Game 6 to stay alive in these playoffs, this time without too much stress. It helped immensely that Jalen Duren (15 points, 11 boards and three blocks) was his regular-season self again.\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7283328\/2026\/05\/15\/pistons-cavaliers-nba-playoffs-game-6-score-result-takeaways\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Takeaways here<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>More News<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>The\u00a0<strong>Golden Knights\u00a0<\/strong>have to forfeit their 2026 second-round pick and coach\u00a0<strong>John Tortorella\u00a0<\/strong>was fined $100,000 because they violated media availability rules. Harsh? The league says they were warned.\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7282554\/2026\/05\/15\/golden-knights-tortorella-media-draft-pick-fine\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read the full story<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>A\u2019ja Wilson<\/strong>\u00a0became the only player in\u00a0<strong>WNBA\u00a0<\/strong>history with multiple 45-point games. Look at this line: 45 points on 15\/18 field goals, 13\/13 free throws, 2\/2 3-pointers. Goodness.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Deion Sanders<\/strong>\u00a0says he plans to talk to\u00a0<strong>Browns coach Todd Monken<\/strong>\u00a0about how to best coach his son,\u00a0<strong>Shedeur<\/strong>.\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7281992\/2026\/05\/15\/deion-shedeur-sanders-browns-quarterback-draft\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Several interesting quotes here<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>Speaking of legendary defensive backs and their sons,\u00a0<strong>Charles Woodson Jr.\u00a0<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7282786\/2026\/05\/15\/charles-woodson-jr-commits-michigan\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">committed to\u00a0<strong>Michigan<\/strong><\/a>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Bucks center Myles Turner<\/strong>\u00a0had some blunt descriptions of this past season with ex-coach\u00a0<strong>Doc Rivers<\/strong>\u00a0and superstar forward\u00a0<strong>Giannis Antetokounmpo<\/strong>.\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7282223\/2026\/05\/15\/myles-turner-comments-bucks-doc-rivers\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Sounds like chaos<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>The<strong>\u00a0Warriors\u00a0<\/strong>expect\u00a0<strong>Draymond Green<\/strong>\u00a0to return next season.\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7283437\/2026\/05\/15\/draymond-green-warriors-free-agent-future\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">More here<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>In more horrible\u00a0<strong>Mets<\/strong>\u00a0news: They lost their best starter this season,\u00a0<strong>Clay Holmes<\/strong>, for \u201ca long time\u201d after a 111-mph comebacker\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7283632\/2026\/05\/15\/mets-clay-holmes-injury-fractured-fibula\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">broke his fibula<\/a>. Ouch.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\ud83d\udcf0\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Find more news here 24\/7<\/strong><\/a><strong>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<hr>\n<h3><b>Watch Guide<\/b><\/h3>\n<p>\ud83d\udcfa\u00a0<strong>Preakness Stakes<br \/>\n<\/strong><strong>6:50 p.m. ET post time on NBC<br \/>\n<\/strong>Golden Tempo, the Kentucky Derby winner, is not running. It\u2019s\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7276593\/2026\/05\/15\/cherie-devaux-kentucky-derby-preakness-triple-crown\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the latest installment in a trend<\/a>. Also,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7277568\/2026\/05\/15\/barbaro-death-legacy-preakness\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">here\u2019s a great, emotional story by Jerry Brewer about Barbaro<\/a>, who was injured at the Preakness and later euthanized\u00a0<em>20 years ago<\/em>. Where does the time go?<\/p>\n<p>\ud83d\udcfa\u00a0<strong>MLB: Yankees at Mets<br \/>\n<\/strong><strong>7:15 p.m. ET on Fox<br \/>\n<\/strong>In case there wasn\u2019t enough New York flavor to today\u2019s newsletter, here\u2019s the Subway Series to add a little more. The Yankees don\u2019t have Mets-sized problems\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7277270\/2026\/05\/14\/yankees-concerns-road-trip-standings\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">but do have a few<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\ud83d\udcfa\u00a0<strong>NHL: Sabres at Canadiens, Game 6<br \/>\n<\/strong><strong>8 p.m. ET on ABC<br \/>\n<\/strong>The Sabres have to win on the road to bring the series back to what would be a deafeningly loud Buffalo. It will require\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7280797\/2026\/05\/14\/canadiens-sabres-nhl-playoffs-game-5-score-result-takeaways\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">much, much better goaltending<\/a>\u00a0from someone.<\/p>\n<p><i><span>Get tickets to games like this <\/span><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/stubhub.prf.hn\/l\/jXBQP09\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\"><i><span>here<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span>.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<div class=\"ad-container\">\n<div class=\"ad-wrapper article-treatment\">\n<div class=\"ad-slug-container\">\n<p class=\"ad-slug\">Advertisement<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"mid3\" data-position=\"mid3\" class=\"ad place-ad\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<hr>\n<h3><strong>Pulse Picks<\/strong><\/h3>\n<div class=\"wp-caption alignnone\">\n<div class=\"wp-caption-image-container\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/athletic\/uploads\/wp\/2026\/05\/14213323\/Justin-Turner-1024x683.jpg?width=1440&amp;quality=70&amp;auto=webp\" width=\"1440\" height=\"960\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"inline-credits\">\n<div class=\"inline-credits-container\">\n      <span class=\"credits-text\">Courtesy of the Tijuana Toros<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Former MLB All-Star Justin Turner expected to be playing in the majors this year at 41. Instead, he is raking for the Tijuana Toros\u00a0and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7280830\/2026\/05\/15\/justin-turner-mexican-league-tijuana-toros\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">refusing to let his baseball career die<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Whether you love gardening or hate it (\u270b), get a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/a.co\/d\/0i1D10Xm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">weeding knife<\/a>. They\u2019re amazing for pulling weeds but also great at carving out edges for flower beds, post holes, whatever. Just be advised: They\u2019re sharp! \u2014 Matt Piper<\/p>\n<p>After the NFL\u2019s big 2026 schedule release Thursday night, Dan Shanoff projected the league\u2019s\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7279452\/2026\/05\/15\/nfl-schedule-2026-national-tv-games-thanksgiving-christmas\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">most-watched national TV games<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTucci in Italy\u201d season two was recently released, and I\u2019m halfway through another marvelous exploration of how the country\u2019s local dishes stem from their region\u2019s history. There are so many dishes you\u2019ve probably never heard of before, or knew were Italian. Perhaps the least surprising thing if you know me, but I can\u2019t recommend enough. \u2014 Lauren Merola<\/p>\n<p>In another NHL era, the kind of back-and-forth goalie-swapping we\u2019re seeing lately would be unthinkable \u2014 especially in the playoffs.\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7280082\/2026\/05\/14\/nhl-playoffs-starting-goalie-tandem\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Here\u2019s why tandems are on the rise<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ve made espresso-based drinks, I\u2019ve dipped into pour-over coffee \u2026 but I finally made an iced pour-over, using what\u2019s referred to as the<a href=\"https:\/\/www.seriouseats.com\/japanese-style-iced-coffee\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">\u00a0Japanese method<\/a>. Best iced coffee I\u2019ve ever had. \u2014 Chris Branch<\/p>\n<p>\ud83d\udea8 Saturday Night Live is hosted by Will Ferrell with musical guest Paul McCartney tonight. Umm, yeah. \u2014 Chris Sprow<\/p>\n<p>Well worth your time this weekend, via David Ubben: Alabama\u2019s Ryan Coleman-Williams has a new name \u2014 and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7279994\/2026\/05\/15\/ryan-coleman-williams-alabama-football-name-change\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">strives for a football \u201crebirth\u201d along with it<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Some combination of potatoes and cheese is a pretty safe bet for weeknight dinners, but\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/cooking.nytimes.com\/recipes\/777653357-halloumi-and-sweet-potato-tacos?unlocked_article_code=1.iVA.TMJp.Zn_RBWXjkEys&amp;smid=share-url\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">this 20-minute recipe<\/a>\u00a0is at least a fresh twist on the concept (gift link!). \u2014 Torrey Hart<\/p>\n<p><strong>Most-clicked in the newsletter yesterday<\/strong>:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7276583\/2026\/05\/14\/2026-nfl-regular-season-key-games\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Best matchups<\/a>\u00a0on the NFL schedule.<\/p>\n<p><span>\ud83d\udceb That\u2019s all for now! Say hello at <\/span><a href=\"mailto:thepulse@theathletic.com\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\"><span>thepulse@theathletic.com<\/span><\/a><span>, and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/5803046\/2025\/12\/31\/the-athletic-newsletters-sign-up\/\"><span>check out our other newsletters<\/span><\/a><span>.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Pulse Newsletter \ud83d\udce3 | This is The Athletic\u2019s daily sports newsletter. Sign up here to receive The Pulse directly in your inbox. Good morning! If you can read this newsletter here, you can read it anywhere. Inside: \ud83d\uddfd\u00a0Knicks have a chance \ud83d\udea6\u00a0Traffic jam at the PGA \ud83c\udfc7\u00a0Preakness minus Tempo New York, New York: The [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,241],"class_list":["post-1938555","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-nytimes-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1938555","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1938555"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1938555\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1938555"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1938555"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1938555"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}