Throughout their incredible playoff run, the Knicks have heard the doubts from outside voices. Even now, there's some skepticism, though some are starting to change their tune.For those still on the fence, or even fans who don't want to get their hopes up, there's a host of undeniable evidence that shows how strong New York is as a title contender.The dominationNot that it really matters, but a surprising amount of people have found the Knicks' run to the Finals unconvincing, citing a young Hawks squad, a less-than-100% Joel Embiid, and a fatigued Cavaliers team. Those things aren't false. But the Knicks' aren't just barely getting by. They are winning these games with ease, and in historic fashion at that. After Monday night's emphatic closeout win over the Cavaliers, New York became just the fifth team ever to win 11 straight playoff games, and is now a +262 over that stretch, which just happens to be the highest point differential over any 11-game stretch in NBA history. At +19.4, they've also passed the 2017 Warriors (+16.3) for the highest playoff point differential in a single postseason, and currently have the highest net rating in NBA playoff history as well. The Knicks have also posted not historical, but playoff bests in offensive rating, defensive rating, assists per 100 possessions, three-point percentage, field goal percentage, true shooting percentage and effective field goal percentage while being third in offensive rebounding, and defensive rebounding percentage. Say what you want about the competition, but the there just is no denying how good the Knicks have been. The Spurs and Thunder would both instantly be the best team that the Knicks have played thus far. Both teams present unique challenges (elite defense on OKC, athleticism on San Antonio) unlike anything the Knicks have seen to this point. But New York is clearly ready to compete. They have the scoring, shooting, passing, defense and depth to matchup with both potential opponents.The balanced scoringThe Knicks' offense right now is more balanced than it ever has in the Jalen Brunson era, which also adds to their title case. The Knicks no longer totally rely on Jalen Brunson for everything. | Kyle Ross-Imagn ImagesIn seasons prior, New York's offense included a heavy diet of Brunson creating something out of nothing. Some of that was a coaching decision, some of it (especially earlier in his tenure) was a personnel issue, and some of it was a Brunson problem. But under Mike Brown, and the collective buy in from the entire roster, this offense has turned into an unstoppable force. It feature ball and player movement, strong paint presence, elite midrange shooting, and efficient outside shooting, with the luxury of still having Brunson's heroics as a great fallback option when needed. During their current winning streak, we've seen the Knicks win games with Brunson putting on his usual show. But we've also seen them win with him scoring less than 20 points. Karl-Anthony Towns has dominated offensively. OG Anunoby and Mikal Bridges have taken over games with great efficiency as well. Even Josh Hart won them a game with stellar shooting. The Spurs currently have three players averaging more than 15 ppg, five players averaging more than 10 ppg while shooting higher than 44% from the field, and two players that average more than 4 apg. The Thunder have four players averaging more than 15 ppg, but Jalen Williams and Ajay Mitchell make up for two of them, and their availability for the Finals is still up in the air. They also have five players averaging more than 10 ppg, while shooting over 44% from the field. And they have just two players averaging more than 4 apg, with one of them being the aforementioned Mitchell. The Knicks, in their last 11 games, have four players averaging more than 15 ppg, five players averaging more than 10 pgg on higher than 44% shooting from the field, and three players averaging more than 4 apg. As you can see in the numbers above, and the graphic below, the Knicks' offensive is no longer a one-man show. It is a well-oiled attack with threats constantly on the floor, even when Brown uses his bench. Mike Brown has the New York Knicks moving the ball WAY more than they did in any playoff series under Thibs pic.twitter.com/5wfFuFcbtP— Lev Akabas (@LevAkabas) May 26, 2026They will see more resistance against a Spurs or Thunder defense that will be stronger than the ones they've faced so far. But even if their numbers were to take a step back, this if an offense that can beat opponents in multiple ways, and that should give fans another reason to believe in this team. CoachingFormer coach Tom Thibodeau was fired for a myriad of reasons. Among them were his inability to run a more creative offense, and develop/utilize his bench more, which was tied to his tendency to play the starters too many minutes. But the one thing that might have cost him more than anything was his stubbornness. It may have been one of his strengths, as it allowed him to be steadfast in building a winning culture. Yet it was also the root trait that lead to a lot of his aforementioned weaknesses, and resulted in him being slow to react or make changes.Brown may not be the quickest to adjust, or the best coach in the league. But we've seen him be much more willing to change throughout the season than Thibodeau ever was. He played around with Hart not starting. He tried different lineups. He relied on the bench more. He pivoted to Tyler Kolek, Mo Diawara, and even Kevin McCullar Jr. when needed. And we've seen him do it again during the playoffs as well. Since his two horrendous coaching jobs in Games 2 and 3 of the Hawks series, Brown has done a nice job of switching things up. It may take him a bit to find out what the requisite change is, but he's at least recognized the issue at hand more times than not. Mike Brown is proving the Knicks right to hire him. | Brett Davis-Imagn ImagesIn the Atlanta round, he eventually went away from the non-Brunson/non-Towns lineup and switched up the offense to a more Towns-centric one, which yielded amazing results. Against the 76ers, Game 1 started off with a lot of Towns playing as the hub, but he quickly switched things up, and had a great gameplan attacking Joel Embiid the rest of the way. He also had to adapt to Anunoby's hamstring injury in Game 3 and 4. In the four-game sweep of the Cavaliers, Brown got enough out of Hart after a nearly disastrous Game 1, even against the ghost coverage that has long haunted this team, and found the right matchups again defensively. In a Finals series that will see the Knicks facing off against two good coaches, the back-and-forth chess match and game within the game will matter a lot. Brown, and his assistant coaches, who have done a great job up until this point, will be tested. Though if the playoffs up until this point are an indictor of how they'll handle the upcoming challenge, Knicks fans should feel relatively confident that they'll find the right answers, and quickly.Ability to close out games, and seriesOver the last few years, the Knicks were often seen playing with their food. One night, they could beat an elite team like the Nuggets, Celtics, or Cavaliers, only to lay an egg or barely beat a struggling team like the Nets, Wizards, Kings, or Pelicans. It happens every now and then to every team, even the greatest ones. But it seemed like the Knicks, more than most squads that considered themselves contenders, played down to their competition, or just simply took their foot off the gas pedal. So far this postseason though, that's been anything but the case.In their three closeout games, non only are the Knicks undefeated, they have won by an average margin of 39.3 points per game, and Brunson has yet to play a single second in the fourth quarter in said games. Mind you, the closeout games are supposed to be the hardest games of the series to win. The opponents are fighting to keep their season alive, and are playing desperately. The Knicks seem to not care. In fact, they appear to thrive in heading to hostile territory and ripping the hearts out of their opponents. Since their two losses to the Hawks, this team has looked hungry, focused, and determined to not only win the whole thing, but to prove a point. After many of these playoff wins, the players have seldom shown expressions of satisfaction. Following their clinching of a Finals appearance, there were smiles, but for much of the postseason, the players have continued to stress one thing: there is still work to do. Towns even revealed that there were no beers or champagne in the locker room after the ECF, which is uncommon for teams making their first Finals appearance together. This team is locked in, and if they can get to an elimination game, you have to feel confident that they'll save their best for last. HealthPlayers have often reminded fans that luck has been, and always play a role in winning it all. So much has to go right for a team to lift the Larry O'Brien trophy, and health is a large part of that. The Knicks have dealt with recurring issues throughout the season. Brunson's ankle is likely far from 100%, and the same can be said for Hart's fingers, and Anunoby's hamstring. But they are much closer to being, or at least looking, 100% than the Thunder or Spurs. The Thunder have been without Mitchell for the last two games with a soleus injury, and Williams has played just five games this entire postseason. The Spurs are a bit better off, but De'Aaron Fox is clearly still not 100% as he deals with an ankle sprain, and Dylan Harper had to leave Game 2 with an adductor injury. The highly regarded training staff led by former Maverick Casey Smith has done an incredible job in getting the Knicks to this point. In what has been an unusually long, and grueling postseason run, New York has stayed relatively healthy. Whichever team comes out of the West will still have a few days before the Finals begin, but the Knicks should have the upperhand here.Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow