Atlantic Division watch: All hail the New York Knicks, world champs

The Golden State Warriors went 1-1 against the New York Knicks last season, winning 126-113 at home in January and dropping a 110-107 game at the Garden in March. Those were two regular-season games in a long year, and you can set them aside, because the Knicks team Golden State saw back then hadn't found the version of itself that ended up holding the trophy.

That version showed up late. In April, the third-seeded Knicks were down 2-1 to the sixth-seeded Atlanta Hawks in the first round, and CJ McCollum was carving them up like a holiday ham. Russell Richardson at Posting and Toasting walked through the moment everything flipped:

"With their backs against the proverbial wall, coach Mike Brown recognized the need for a change. His central adjustment placed Karl-Anthony Towns in a facilitating role farther out from the basket. This reduced the creation load on Jalen Brunson , highlighted Towns' vision as a passer, drew opposing bigs away from the rim, and created opportunities for the wings to cut and screen effectively.