Chris Webber: Why the Knicks are on Such a Hot Streak Heading into NBA Finals

Chris Webber has a theory about why the Knicks look so fresh heading into the Finals, and it has very little to do with analytics, a word he joked has become just another four-letter term everyone needs to avoid.

Webber said this run is exactly what Coach Brown was made for, pointing to the offensive fluidity and how deep Brown goes into his bench. That depth is one reason the Knicks are not worn down. But the bigger reason, in Webber's telling, is the locker room.

A team stays fresh, he explained, when you are not constantly picking a teammate up off the floor, reassuring a guy that maybe he plays tomorrow. The Knicks are fresh because they believe in each other. Webber, who played the game at a high level, framed it as a mentality as much as a rotation.

Then he made an admission he could barely believe he was making out loud. Outside of his beloved Sacramento Kings, Webber said, the Knicks have the greatest fans in the world. He cast New York's fan base as a template for how other fan bases should be, while bracing for the consequences. If they win, he said, we are never going to hear the end of it.

He grounded the point in his own career. Webber recalled the magic of Sacramento, the cowbells, offices shutting down, buildings changing their lights to match the team, and said New York has all of that on steroids. As an athlete, he knows how much those Knicks players are enjoying this, because the whole point of the job is creating memories.

That, Webber said, is what this Knicks team is doing for an entire city right now, and it is a genuine thrill to watch. He even got a little family heckling along the way, ribbing one of his own sons for being a Cowboys fan in the middle of all the Knicks love.