logo
Knicks fever hits NYC as ‘styling and profiling' locals, tourists gear up in hopes of Cinderella run to topple Celtics: ‘This is very exciting'

Knicks fever hits NYC as ‘styling and profiling' locals, tourists gear up in hopes of Cinderella run to topple Celtics: ‘This is very exciting'

New York Post16-05-2025
In the words of Clyde, the whole city is styling and profiling.
Knicks fever was visible across the Big Apple this week as locals and tourists geared up at the Midtown NBA Store and fans tried will the underdog team to finish off the hated Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals.
The team's jerseys, hats and other swag were flying off the shelves at the NBA's Midtown store, as the orange-and-blue wave become the trendy colors of the spring and casual fans are suddenly die hards.
5 The Knicks improbable run to have the Celtics on the cusp of elimination has energized the fanbase.
Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
5 New York has a 3-2 series lead on Boston with Game 6 at Madison Square Garden on Friday, which has fans excited.
David McGlynn
'It's been crazy here — the day after Game 3 was the biggest day,' one employee told The Post, pointing out that that was coincidentally the first playoff game the Knicks lost against the Celtics.
'They buy everything. Shirts, hats, jackets. Anything.'
The Knicks are up 3-2 in a playoff series against the defending champion Celtics — despite many basektball fans and oddsmakers believing New York didn't have a chance in the series.
They went up 2-0 with back-to-back comeback wins in Boston, fueling a wave of optimism before trading wins with Boston in the following three games.
Friday they'll have a chance to win the best-of-seven series and advance to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 2000 — and keep alive the city's dreams of a Cinderella-run straight to an NBA championship.
The possibility that the Knicks could beat the Celtics in a playoff series — a feat they haven't accomplished since 2013 — is enough to turn any New Yorker into a Knicks fan this spring.
5 Umut and Elif Sevgi turned into Knicks fans for the week despite typically cheering on the Houston Rockets.
Katherine Donlevy/NY Post
'It's not my favorite team, but we're in New York!' said Umut Sevgi, who was visiting from Turkey with his wife, Elif.
The pair typically follow the Houston Rockets in support of Turkish player Alperen Sengun, but Sevgi traded in his red and black colors this week for a blue and orange cap and a New York T-shirt.
It was a coincidence that the Sevgis were in the Big Apple in time for the landmark occasion, but they promised they'd wear their new gear and settle into a barstool to watch the Knicks take on the Celtics Friday.
'The New York name seems good to me!' said Elif, pointing to her husband's shirt.
5 Clarissa Solone bought Jalen Brunson jerseys for her sons and husband back home in Argentina.
Katherine Donlevy/NY Post
Clarissa Solone also dropped a few hundred dollars on Knicks jerseys — with star point guard Jalen Brunson's name stitched on the back — as a souvenir for her sons and husband, who were stuck back home in Argentina.
The family are massive Knicks fans, she explained, adding that it was a coincidence that her trip to New York City with her parents coincided with the playoffs.
'They hate me right now, oh my gosh!' Solone said of her husband and sons.
5 Knicks fan Kevin Shah outside TD Garden after the Knicks' Game 5 loss, which did not deter many supporters' confidence in a series win.
David McGlynn
'I would like to go to Madison Square Garden, but I couldn't find tickets. Very excited, like $1,000,' she added, saying she was happy enough relishing in the excitement in the air.
Similarly, Eva popped into the store to buy a Knicks quarter zip for her uncle, who was eagerly following the games from his home in Africa.
One man, who didn't give his name, said his home was filled to the brim with Knicks regalia from his nearly five-decade career as a mega fan.
When asked if he minded seeing other people piggyback onto the team's success, the Manhattanite said he didn't mind: 'It's exciting, it's fun. It's in the air.'
'I grew up watching the Knicks during the '78 season,' he said, referring to the year the team finished in second place after falling short to the Philadelphia 76ers.
'So this is very exciting. It feels like coming home.'
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Ryan McMahon off to fast start with Yankees: `First impressions are usually pretty big'
Ryan McMahon off to fast start with Yankees: `First impressions are usually pretty big'

Yahoo

time2 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

Ryan McMahon off to fast start with Yankees: `First impressions are usually pretty big'

NEW YORK (AP) — Two games into his New York Yankees career, Ryan McMahon has fans talking. And in this case, that's a positive. 'First impressions are usually pretty big,' he said Sunday after sparking a comeback with a tying, two-run double and some dazzling defense in a 4-3 win over the Philadelphia Phillies that stopped a three-game losing streak. Acquired on Friday from Colorado, the 2024 All-Star went 1 for 3 and made a nifty backhand stop in his pinstriped debut Saturday, a 9-4 defeat. After the Phillies went ahead 2-0 Sunday against Carlos Rodón on second-inning homers by Nick Castellanos and rookie Otto Kemp, McMahon grounded a Zack Wheeler curveball into the right-field corner in the bottom half. 'He looks great so far. Hopefully he continues it," Yankees closer Devin Williams said. "I've obviously played against him in the past and he was a good player and I'm happy to have him here.' McMahon also singled and was hit by a pitch. He's reached base five times in two games with the Yankees. His glove work has been even more impressive. McMahon easily fielded J.T. Realmuto's 104.3 mph grounder in the second, jumped to grab Bryce Harper's looper leading off the fourth, then ranged to his glove side for a fifth-inning grounder with two out, slid and spun and then threw out speedy Trea Turner at first. 'Three big plays that stood out to me,' Rodón said. 'It's a whirlwind for a guy that gets traded and has to figure things out. So it's a pleasure to have him.' McMahon made 129 errors over six minor league seasons. He credited his defense to former Rockies teammates Nolan Arenado, Trevor Story and DJ LeMahieu, who have combined for 13 All-Star selections and 14 Gold Gloves. 'When you have those three guys and you're 20 years old and in your first big league camp, you're going to learn a lot if you just shut up and watch and pay attention,' McMahon said. McMahon arrived in the Bronx on Friday night following his trade from the Rockies, the team that drafted him in 2013. He took only one suitcase of clothing and his gear, and is staying in a hotel through the homestand. His wife Natalie and 1 1/2-year-old daughter Austyn Brooke remained behind. 'We'll figure that out, man,' he said. 'My wife, she's a rock star. She's awesome. She'll let me get settled a little bit and then they'll probably come out next homestand.' Yankees players, led by captain Aaron Judge, Gerrit Cole and Giancarlo Stanton, have been working at getting to know McMahon. 'Real easy to be around. I kind of sat with him a little bit today in the locker room, just kind of shooting it a little with him and he feels, to me, he feels comfortable,' said manager Aaron Boone, a third baseman obtained by the Yankees from Cincinnati at the 2003 trade deadline. 'It's allowing them space, allowing them to be themselves but also trying to really get to know them a little bit and making them immediately feel part of it,' Boone said. Austin Wells hit a go-ahead sacrifice fly and Trent Grisham an RBI single against Wheeler (9-4), who tied his career high with three hit batters — including two in a row ahead of the double by McMahon, who himself was hit by a pitch in the sixth. A smile on his face, McMahon left the clubhouse to address some of the logistics of the trade. 'I've got a lot of calls to make today, that's for sure,' he said. ___ AP MLB:

Matt Shaw's recent surge won't end the Cubs' pursuit of Eugenio Suárez at trade deadline
Matt Shaw's recent surge won't end the Cubs' pursuit of Eugenio Suárez at trade deadline

New York Times

time4 minutes ago

  • New York Times

Matt Shaw's recent surge won't end the Cubs' pursuit of Eugenio Suárez at trade deadline

CHICAGO — Matt Shaw exited Yankee Stadium and hopped into a rental car for the ride to his family's lake house in upstate New York. The All-Star break had just begun for the Chicago Cubs in the middle of July, and their rookie third baseman needed to exhale and recharge. Joined by his wife Danielle, Shaw brought along their dog and enjoyed access to a boat and some quiet. The water, the Adirondack Mountains and a few days without baseball proved to be soothing. Advertisement 'It was perfect,' Shaw said. 'Needed it.' Playing loose and with more confidence, Shaw has sharply boosted his offensive production out of that All-Star break, a surge that coincides with the run-up to Thursday's trade deadline, a crucial moment for a team with World Series aspirations. Shaw's improvement won't end the Cubs' pursuit of All-Star third baseman Eugenio Suárez, according to a source briefed on the club's discussions. But it is a potentially significant development as the Cubs work through the cost-benefit analysis of any possible deals with the Arizona Diamondbacks and other sellers. Besides Suárez, Arizona's group of players who can become free agents after this season includes starting pitchers Merrill Kelly and Zac Gallen and reliever Shelby Miller. The Diamondbacks have already unloaded first baseman Josh Naylor and outfielder Randal Grichuk in separate deals for younger, cost-controlled talent. At the age of 34, Suárez is producing a monster season, slugging 36 home runs, 87 RBIs and an .898 OPS. While one league official pointed to the law of averages, wondering if Suárez would eventually cool off in August and September, a team source made the counterpoint: 'Sometimes, it's just your year.' Suárez is performing at such a high level — at the one position where the Cubs entered the season with a big question mark — that the organization can't yet foreclose the possibility of acquiring the right-handed slugger. Especially when the Milwaukee Brewers, a heated division rival, have also been linked to Suárez, whose career numbers against the Cubs include 36 home runs and 94 RBIs in 132 games. The Cubs truly appreciate how Shaw has handled this entire adjustment period. 'I haven't read anything or looked at it,' he said. 'I don't really follow any of the media.' He had worked hard last winter to put himself in position to become the Opening Day third baseman after Alex Bregman turned down Chicago's underwhelming offer and signed with the Boston Red Sox.  Shaw didn't mope when the Cubs demoted him to Triple-A Iowa in the middle of April after only 68 plate appearances (.172 batting average). He used the minor-league reset to make some tweaks to his stance and swing, re-establishing a comfort zone in the batter's box. His effort, instincts and athleticism have turned him into a plus defender at a position where he previously had limited experience. Advertisement The Cubs evaluated Shaw so highly that they made him the No. 13 pick in the 2023 draft out of the University of Maryland, and then promoted him to Double A before the end of that year. The Cubs retained Shaw through a few trading cycles, and then placed him on their season-opening trip to Japan, even though his Triple A experience to that point had amounted to only 35 games. Shaw made his major-league debut in the Tokyo Dome against the Los Angeles Dodgers, the defending World Series champs. That organizational belief in Shaw's talent is genuine, and his overall body of work has made him a positive contributor (1.6 WAR, per Baseball Reference) with an OPS+ that's now slightly under the major-league average. Cubs manager Craig Counsell indicated that he has not discussed any trade possibilities with Shaw, nor does he view it as a distraction. 'Matt's getting a great opportunity,' Counsell said. 'We're trying to do the best, and he's trying to do the best to take advantage of it. And you go from there. But I think you should have to earn your spots on teams like this. That's completely fair. (But) it doesn't get easier (later in the season). You got to earn that.' Under the circumstances, Counsell credited Shaw for 'doing a great job.' Since the All-Star break, Shaw has hit four of his six home runs while posting a .444 batting average. His two-run homer helped break open Saturday night's 6-1 win over the Chicago White Sox, and he chipped in with an RBI double during Sunday afternoon's 5-4 victory at Rate Field as the Cubs won a crosstown series on the South Side. At the same time, the Cubs are an organization obsessed with data and process. Making any decision off 27 at-bats in the second half would be an overreaction. More than likely, Shaw isn't as great as he appears to be right now, but he's also not as bad as he looked, at times, earlier this season. He had a good run in May, a poor offensive showing in June, and then this July resurgence. Advertisement Shaw is a focused, well-rounded player figuring things out at game speed, in front of sellout crowds, while trying to keep his spot on an older club that expects to play in October. The next test will be Monday night in Milwaukee. The Cubs and Brewers, currently tied for first place in the National League Central, will play a big three-game series that leads into Thursday's 5 p.m. CT deadline. 'If you were to ask me who the Cubs are interested in,' Shaw said, 'I would have said I had no idea. I really don't. That's kind of how we are as a team. I don't think anybody is really thinking about that stuff. We're a great team. We have a great record. We are playing good baseball. We're here enjoying it.'

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store