The second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs features an Atlantic Division rivalry between the New York Knicks and Philadelphia 76ers. While the Knicks looked terrifying in their stampede of the Hawks in the first round, Philadelphia had to work hard to rally from a 3-1 deficit to upset Boston.
With the matchup set, Joel Embiid made a plea after Game 7 to 76ers' fans not to sell their tickets to Knicks fans. Embiid noted that when the teams met in the playoffs two years ago, Knicks fans turned Xfinity Mobile Arena into Madison Square Garden East, something he doesn't want to see happen again.
Knicks fans have already gotten into Joel Embiid's head before Sixers series
"I just have a message for our fans. Last time we played the Knicks it felt like this was Madison Square Garden East. Knicks fans, they travel, they're going to buy the tickets."
— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) May 3, 2026
Joel Embiid encourages 76ers fans to combat the high Knick fan presence in Philadelphia: pic.twitter.com/0jNBEngl8B
Things got so bad in that series that Fanatics' CEO Michael Rubin, a 76ers minority owner, bought a block of tickets for Game 6 to give away to avoid another invasion of Knicks' fans. While the gesture was nice as the tickets were given away to local first responders and charities, it didn't mean much as New York closed out Philadelphia in six games.
The 76ers are also acting proactively to prevent another invasion of Knicks' fans, geo-blocking sales of single game tickets to their home games. Sales for tickets to Games 3, 4 and 6 will only be allowed to residents of the Greater Philadelphia area, with sales to fans whose credit card billing address is outside that area being canceled and refunded in advance.
76ers are restricting ticket sales for their home games against the Knicks to greater Philadelphia residents, they said on their website.
— Mike Vorkunov (@MikeVorkunov) May 3, 2026
"Orders by residents outside Greater Philadelphia area will be canceled without notice and refunds given." https://t.co/tTTKISx8tZ pic.twitter.com/WCowUzMmQP
Knicks' fans should be the least of the 76ers' worries
While it is nice for Embiid to try and encourage his own fans to show up, the fact that the 76ers are worried about who is buying tickets to their games is not great. The more important concern should be the fact that the Knicks may be playing the best basketball of anyone left in the Eastern Conference bracket.
These two teams split their regular season series 2-2, with each team winning twice on the road. None of those meetings came after Feb. 11, however, and a lot has changed for both sides since New York won by 49 points in Philadelphia that night.
Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe figure to be tough covers for the Knicks defensively, while Embiid had a huge series the last time these teams met in the playoffs. Paul George was also not around for that previous series, having joined the team last season, so he could be a challenge for the Knicks' perimeter defenders as well.
Focusing too much on who is in the stands as opposed to how to slow down the great team on the floor is how you lose a postseason series. Philadelphia needs to refocus on the more important things before they begin their series with New York on Monday night.
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