Pertarungan sengit di area bawah ring antara dua pusat permainan, Karl-Anthony Towns dari New York Knicks dan Joel Embiid dari Philadelphia 76ers, diprediksi menjadi faktor penentu dalam seri semifinal Wilayah Timur yang dimulai pada Senin, 4 Mei 2026.
Analis senior NBA dari Yahoo Sports, Kevin O’Connor, menyoroti bahwa kedua pemain tersebut memegang peran krusial dalam menentukan sejauh mana tim mereka dapat melangkah di babak playoff musim ini.
"The two-- You could argue that there's not two players who determine their team's ceiling more than Joel Embiid with the Sixers and Karl-Anthony Towns with the Knicks, and now they square off. Like, that is what we sign up for." kata John Fanta, analis dalam program The Kevin O’Connor Show.
Fanta menambahkan bahwa duel ini memiliki dimensi emosional yang tinggi mengingat rekam jejak perselisihan antara kedua pemain tersebut di masa lalu.
"I would say that they're the two players who determine, maybe next to Wemby, they're the two players who determine whether their teams are going to get this thing done or not, and then it's the wing play." lanjut John Fanta.
Selain persaingan individu, kedalaman pemain sayap dari kedua tim juga menjadi poin penting yang dibahas, termasuk peran OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges, dan Josh Hart bagi Knicks.
"Are the Knicks gonna impose their will defensively? Are they gonna say enough is enough with Edgecombe, Kelly Oubre Jr., we're not gonna let you get free? And are OG, Mikal Bridges, and Josh Hart gonna show, or are they gonna no-show?" ujar John Fanta.
Menanggapi analisis tersebut, Kevin O’Connor mengingatkan kembali sejarah rivalitas panas yang pernah terjadi antara Embiid dan Towns, baik di dalam lapangan maupun di media sosial.
"When you started out saying there's not two players in the league who dot, dot, dot, I thought you were gonna say hate each other more than Joel Embiid and Karl-Anthony Towns." tukas Kevin O’Connor.
O'Connor menjelaskan bahwa hubungan keduanya memang tidak harmonis karena sering terlibat aksi saling ejek.
"'Cause- They don't, they don't exactly- 'Cause these guys, th- they got a history, John. They got a real history going at each other on social media, calling each other names, especially Joel towards KAT, and, on the court, a lot of talking too. Like, this could be, this could be the s- the best series. It probably will be the best series, I think, of the four remaining i, in the semifinals." tambah Kevin O’Connor.
Ia juga menilai bahwa New York Knicks telah berhasil melakukan perbaikan signifikan pada putaran sebelumnya, sehingga seri melawan 76ers ini dianggap sebagai sajian terbaik bagi liga.
"And this- And here's the thing and this- The, the, the, the Knicks-Celtics, the Knicks would've beat the Celtics. I think so too. Like, I, I don't th- this- The, the, the, the Knicks fixed themselves. They f- they fixed themselves, I think, last round. Th- this is a better series for the NBA, it's a better series for the playoffs, I think. And I mean, look at this. The, the, if, if you're watching the back and forth on social media where Embiid-- They, they've called each other out. This is going to be awesome. Like, sports is-" papar Kevin O’Connor.
Strategi penempatan posisi menjadi perhatian utama O'Connor yang berharap kedua pemain bintang tersebut dapat saling menjaga secara langsung tanpa banyak bantuan dari pemain lain.
"Well- What I, I'm hoping they defend each other, John. I'm hoping they are n- I, I'm hoping it's not Embiid defended by Josh Hart, double teams. I hope it's not, Embiid defending Hart, sagging off him, and it's, you know, Paul George or whoever defending Karl-Anthony Towns. I want Embiid versus KAT, possession after possession." harap Kevin O’Connor.
Pemanfaatan kemampuan menembak jarak jauh Towns dianggap sebagai kunci untuk menarik Embiid keluar dari area cat (paint area) guna membuka ruang bagi pemain Knicks lainnya.
"And I think, I think that's what the Knicks probably want it to become because Like, here, here's the way I look at it. We don't need to, like, dive super deep into this series considering the fact that game one is literally tonight. It's a quick turnaround by the time you listen to this podcast, and we're gonna do a game one recap tomorrow on my show on Tuesday. But I think, like, KAT offers something so different than what the Celtics could with his size and skill. So I think the Knicks ha- gotta continue playing through him as much as of- as much as possible, as often as possible, just like they figured out middle, midway through the hawks series, because you don't, you don't want Embiid to be, like, helping off Josh Hart, defending near the paint. You want Embiid spaced out on the perimeter against those Karl-Anthony Towns elbow actions, top of the key. You want him on the perimeter, wearing him out, creating an open paint, unlike what the Celtics had, where they weren't able to get into their drive and kick" pungkas Kevin O’Connor.
