Steve Popper

New Jersey

Writer and Columnist at Newsday

Knicks writer and NBA columnist for @newsdaysports. I've done this for a long time at a lot of papers. Opinions my own, not usually ones anyone else would claim

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Articles

Knicks bring tough love, and defense, back to Garden for Game 3 against Celtics

5 days ago | newsday.com | Steve Popper

The parties in the street outside Madison Square Garden last year seemed like a thing of the past, celebrations of a love affair between a team and a city that was enamored by the effort and heart of the overachieving 2023-24 team. Summer work by the front office put together a talented group with high expectations and while it got them one more win in the regular season than last year, the team had to prove itself.
Knicks' 'We've been here before' mentality helping them fight their way to 2-0 lead over Boston

6 days ago | newsday.com | Steve Popper

BOSTON — It’s hard to say when you know. People point to the moment Willis Reed hobbled out of the tunnel 55 years ago to inspire an unlikely championship for the Knicks. Maybe it was the black cat passing by the Cubs dugout in 1969 that put the Miracle Mets on the path to their first World Series title. You don't believe until the ball rolls through Bill Buckner's legs or Eli Manning's pass clings to David Tyree's helmet.
Knicks vs. Celtics Game 2 takeaways

6 days ago | newsday.com | Steve Popper

1. Mikal Bridges takes his time and Knicks fans are just going to have to waitBridges started off Game 1 shooting 2-for-12, banked in a corner three in overtime and then made a game-saving steal at the buzzer, ripping the ball loose from Jaylen Brown. So we shouldn’t have been surprised when he was 0-for-8 through three quarters Wednesday in Game 2.
Knicks stun Celtics again, take 2-0 series lead

1 week ago | newsday.com | Steve Popper

BOSTON — The Knicks found themselves in a familiar place, a 20-point hole to the defending champions at the TD Garden. Just as they had in Game 1 Monday when the Knicks fought back for an overtime win, they came all the way back, taking their first lead of the game in the final minutes.
Knicks' Brunson and Thibodeau have deep ties

1 week ago | newsday.com | Steve Popper

BOSTON — It’s easy to watch Jalen Brunson with the ball in his hands late in the game, in the moments that have earned him the NBA Clutch Player of the Year Award, and assume it is some magical quality, something that has appeared out of nowhere. But the skills that put him in those spots with confidence came from decades of work.
Hart pumped life into Knicks as they rallied to win Game 1

1 week ago | newsday.com | Steve Popper

BOSTON — Sometimes before the heroics, before Jalen Brunson’s late-game clutch shooting, before OG Anunoby’s defensive stops and long before Mikal Bridges ripped the ball from Jaylen Brown to seal a stunning Knicks overtime win at TD Garden Monday, they needed someone who just does the dirty work. It was, as it often is, Josh Hart.
Knicks vs. Celtics Game 1 takeaways

1 week ago | newsday.com | Steve Popper

If you believe, trust me, the Knicks believe moreThe craziest part of Game 1 might not have been that the Knicks came back from 20 points down in the third quarter at TD Garden against the defending champions, whom they hadn’t beaten all season, or that they saw a chance to win in regulation slip away and were able to recover. The craziest part is that the Knicks insisted afterward that they weren’t surprised. “I don’t think it builds our confidence; we always have confidence,” Josh Hart said.
Knicks' rally to stun Celtics in Game 1 overtime victory

1 week ago | newsday.com | Steve Popper

BOSTON — For all of the strategy, from the offseason moves to the days of preparation,it all came down this: the ball in the hands of the best clutch player in the game. But a perfect feed from Karl-Anthony Towns to Jalen Brunson cutting to the rim saw the ball roll off the rim, the potential game-winner in the final seconds of regulation slipping away. Brunson could just smile as he stood there incredulous as the Knicks regrouped and headed to overtime.
Knicks believe they have grown much since season-opening loss to defending champs

1 week ago | newsday.com | Steve Popper

BOSTON — If you remember the very first game of the season, you can pick apart the reasons the Knicks found themselves humiliated in the first test of the team they built to chase the Boston Celtics. The Knicks were just a few weeks into putting the roster together at that time, Karl-Anthony Towns’ arrival not finalized until after training camp had already begun. Roles were still being sorted.
Five key matchups between Knicks and Celtics in Eastern Conference semifinal

1 week ago | newsday.com | Steve Popper

KNICKS’ DEFENSE VS. CELTICS’ THREE-POINT SHOOTERS — ALL OF THEMOne of the Knicks’ issues this season has been finding the shooters as they scramble in rotation defensively. There is no team that makes you pay for that more than the Celtics, so while the Knicks are figuring out how to defend Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, the concern just as much might be who is standing alone on the perimeter. The Knicks ranked fifth in fewest three-point attempts allowed but 26th in opponent field-goal percentage.