Jose Alvarado, the Knicks' recent trade acquisition, dismissed concerns about being swept by their Eastern Conference rivals. 'Playoffs is a whole different ball game,' Alvarado told reporters. 'When it counts, that's when it matters.'
The Knicks weren't competitive in any of the three regular-season matchups against Detroit, losing by 15, 31, and 28 points. However, New York has overcome regular-season sweeps before, notably defeating Boston in last year's playoffs despite being swept by them in the regular season.