Interestingly, economic factors may be one of the reasons why the Knicks struggled to win at home in the playoffs

Interestingly, economic factors may be one of the reasons why the Knicks struggled to win at home in the NBA playoffs at Madison Square Garden

The Knicks' tough problems at Madison Square Garden have made the Celtics miserable.

New York Knicks led the Boston Celtics 2-1 in the second round of the NBA playoff series to enter Game 4. Recently, the Knicks ended their third game with a crushing defeat at home.

Although the Knicks' home record in the 2024-25 regular season was 27 wins and 14 losses, their home performance in the playoffs was not optimistic. The New York Knicks have a 5-0 away record this season, which is pretty good. However, the Knicks' home record is only 1 win and 3 losses.

Admittedly, this is just a very small sample, but things shouldn't be so. Teams usually perform better at home than away games for many reasons. However, there is at least one main reason for the Knicks’ poor performance at home: the fare. The ticket prices of the Knicks soared, and many hard-core fans struggled to enter the third game of the Knicks against the Boston Celtics, and the ticket prices soared. This is a problem for real fans. Why? In a city like New York that attracts tourists all year round and gathers American rich people, hardcore fans are increasingly worried that they will not be able to enter due to the high ticket prices.

Knicks fans have faced the same problem for years. But this problem has never been more serious than it is now.

fans had to pay nearly $1,000 on third-party ticketing sites to get the worst seats in the third game. This is much more expensive than any game of the entire season. While New York’s fare is already a trend, it’s even worse during the playoffs. Things were even worse in the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Boston Celtics.

Sky-high price tickets are not conducive to fair representation. In other words, high tickets are more beneficial to the rich, and many of them go to the Knicks to watch the Knicks because of the strong atmosphere on the scene, not the deep feelings for the team. It should be noted that not everyone is like this. But lately, this has become a trend.

This trend has led to a decrease in unwavering support, and the shouts of Jaylen Brunson's "MVP" at the free throw line have also decreased, and the audience's deterrence has also decreased. To be fair, Knicks fans showed unusual support for Mitchell Robinson when he had a hard time free throw in the third game. But condoning troubled players is much lower in terms of audience responsibility than staying involved and deterring opponents. It is not easy for the Knicks to struggle at home, although home fans should cheer for the team, the New York Knicks unexpectedly performed better in the first round away game against the Detroit Pistons. They have a surprisingly close free throw and field goal percentage at home and away, but the Detroit Pistons have higher three-point shooting percentages at 39% and 34%, respectively.

Although New York fans seem daunting, the Pistons have performed almost exactly the same in New York and Detroit, with similar free throw percentages and shots.

Granted, the "help" the New York Knicks received on the road are insignificant, but it does highlight their lack of real home advantage, and the problem lies in this. The impact of louder and more engaged audiences on home team shooting is difficult to quantify.

But the impact on the opponent's team is obvious. A louder and more engaged shout can distract your opponents and make them overthink critical moments. Instead, this should help the home team maintain confidence. But Madison Square Garden fans have not yet reached their full potential this season’s playoffs.

Enters the fourth game, and the New York Knicks still have a home advantage in theory. The Knicks only need to win two more games to advance. At most four games left, two of which — including Game 4 — for better or worse — will be held in New York. The fourth match will be held in New York on Monday night. The level of enthusiasm among New York fans may change the momentum of the game and ultimately affect the entire series. If the Knicks win tonight, their chances of winning the series will be greatly improved. Historically, in the seven-inning four-win playoff series, the winning rate of NBA teams 3-1 is as high as 89%.