Trae Young had his biggest career moment and it couldn’t have happened without a packed Madison Square Garden. It was great to have crowds back in arenas, and it was just as great to hear them silenced.
And now Knicks fans (who’ve been starving for the playoffs) have a villain to root against once again, which makes the series with the Hawks that much more fun. Young’s interaction with the crowd following his go-ahead floater to give Atlanta game one, showed how much that relationship has been missed, as fans back in the stands simply add a dynamic that was missing.
Of course, it wasn’t just MSG, from Kris Middleton’s buzzer beater to put the Bucks over the Heat to the ooooohhhs for Kyrie Irving at Barclays, the NBA playoffs simply had a renewed energy. One that could be felt on TV.
I also think it was just good to see a bunch of faces in the same place and not in a Zoom meeting.
And it was nice to have the likes of Spike Lee back in the building for big events, though Trae Young may have given him some bad flashbacks to Reggie Miller. However, no choke sign would apply to Trae going for 32 points and 10 assists in his playoff debut, especially where it happened and who it happened in front of.
Because I think all fans appreciated those in attendance being loud again, even if some of them had to be told to be quiet.
