Knicks Shutdown Rockets (Season 4 NBA 2k25)

Simon Carver

Alright, welcome back to another 2k Bros Podcast, folks! Simon here, and, uh, I gotta say—if you’re a fan of Rivalries, this episode is your happy place. Jimbo.... Phillip and Joe meet in the finals for 2 straight seasons, who comes out on top? Let's break this down..

Jimbo

Oh, Man! This Finals matchup was such a classic clash. Season 4—Phillip with the Houston Rockets, Joe with the New York Knicks, styles couldn’t have been more opposite. You’ve got the Rockets: full-throttle, up-tempo, rainin’ points on everybody. Nearly seventy points a game in the regular season—68.9!—with 52.6% shooting and nearly forty percent from deep? That’s just, like, offensive fireworks every night.

Simon Carver

Right, but then—here comes Joe’s Knicks. Slow it way down. Absolute brick wall on defense. They let up just, what, 46.9 points a game all season? That’s about as stingy as it gets, and their differential was still north of plus-10.7. I know numbers aren’t always the whole story, but my first thought was, “Well, which one wins—unstoppable force, or immovable object?”

Jimbo

Exactly! And if you’d have asked me halfway through the season, I probably would’ve gone, “Yeah, points win out. You gotta be able to score.” But, you remember my rant last episode about unpredictability? Here we are again. Joe’s defensive approach was, honestly, almost understated all year, but it ended up being the difference. Sometimes the boring thing is the thing that just, well, crushes you in the end.

Simon Carver

I gotta jump in here with my old-man anecdote, but this reminds me of—I was, like, fifteen and I entered this tiny local documentary competition, thinking the flashiest story would win. Instead, some kid won with a three-minute piece about his grandma’s garden. Just pure, simple, focus—the least flashy thing in the room, right? But it was sharp and it hit home. That’s Joe’s Knicks. Not pretty, but impossible to break down. Every game, same deliberate tempo, same clamps. You love it—or you hate it—depending on your taste, but you sure can’t argue with it.

Jimbo

And their consistency! Knicks lost just one game in the regular season, Rockets were 12-2, both teams just dominant in their lanes. But as we’re about to talk about, it’s the grind...that’s what carried through when things got tense.

Simon Carver

Let’s get to the big stuff—the Finals itself. If you only looked at the season stats, you’d expect a slugfest. But the actual series? This was all Knicks. Four-zip. Complete sweep.

Jimbo

Yeah. Four-nothing. And it honestly felt like a statement, like Joe was making a point after last year—another sweep, ties things 2-2 on rings. These games weren’t just wins, they were kind of demoralizing for the Rockets. You look at Game 1, right? Houston barely cracks 50, Knicks put the clamps down, holding Harden to four points, Westbrook only five. Even Anthony Davis, the league MVP, he got his fourteen, but couldn’t turn the tide. That plus/minus, man—minus-six for Davis in that first one?

Simon Carver

Yeah, and it just piled on from there. Game 2—a little closer, Davis puts up fifteen with a monster nine boards and four blocks, but nobody else really steps up. Westbrook was named Sixth Man of the Year, but in these games, his impact vanished. Game 3, if you wanna talk about low point, this has gotta be it for Phillip’s Rockets: thirty-nine. That’s their entire offense, and it’s their lowest of the year. Just brutal. And on the other end, Porzingis puts up seventeen with nine rebounds, and it’s not even like he’s forcing shots—he’s just so efficient.

Jimbo

Porzingis wins Finals MVP for a reason. He closed out Game 4 with twenty on 9-for-13, adding six boards, a block, and a steal. Playoff plus/minus through the roof. And, man, it wasn’t just him. I keep coming back to those supporting guys. J. Grant exploded for twelve in Game 2, Robert Williams III with double-digit scoring in the clincher, Max Strus and Fox always coming up with the right basket or extra pass. What did you say last pod, Simon? “Depth wins out deeper you go in the playoffs”? That’s what we saw.

Simon Carver

For sure. And the numbers—if you look at the Rockets’ side? Regular season, +14 differential, Davis over ten plus/minus, Harden above ten, that all vaporized in these Finals. Suddenly it’s zero, or even negative. Westbrook: minus-2.5 in the postseason. Their formula just fell apart against a team that basically said, “We know exactly where you want to go, and you’re not getting there.” That’s a different kind of pressure, I think—way beyond X’s and O’s.

Jimbo

And it’s such a contrast from those earlier playoff runs—remember when the 76ers, with Phillip, just hammered everyone with chemistry and triple-digit scoring for fun? Defense, man. This was an actual defensive masterclass, and it’s not a fluke anymore. Two straight sweeps, that’s a pattern.

Jimbo

So what’s wild is, if you start poking around those box scores, there’s a pretty clear trend. The Knicks just choke out Houston’s main guys every time—they’re holding Rockets’ star scorers to, like, half of what they averaged all season. It wasn’t just one bad shooting night; it was every single game, a little less hope.

Simon Carver

Absolutely, and if you zoom out—it’s now two years in a row, Phillip with incredible regular seasons, but he's swept both times in the Finals by Joe. And now? All-time rings: Phillip, two. Joe, two. Just like that, the whole rivalry’s on a knife’s edge again. By the way, is this a thing now, Jimbo, that Joe’s grind-it-out approach is basically a cheat code against the offensive blitz?

Jimbo

Man, “kryptonite” is the word that’s coming to mind. Phillip keeps building these electrifying lineups, winning awards—Davis, MVP and DPOY!—but it just falls flat when the lights get brightest. And all the Rockets’ adjustments, the trading, the pace pushing… it never cracks this defensive shell. So let me ask, and maybe it’s an uncomfortable one: does Phillip need to just blow this up at the top? Can you keep rolling out the same formula, or does the offensive engine need retooling if you know how the movie ends every season?

Simon Carver

No, it’s a fair question, and, look, systems only get you so far if the counterpunch is this effective. We’ve seen in the 2kbros league: Joes Bulls went down off an unbeaten regular season, Clips got hot last playoffs on versatility, even my favorite old Sixers squad had to change it up at some point. Maybe Phillip’s gotta ask if being the most exciting team in October really matters when June comes around and you’re watching the confetti for the other guys. Because right now, Joe’s style... it might not sell tickets, but you can’t buy an answer for it at the deadline. I dunno, maybe it’s back to the whiteboard—my boss fight, apparently.

Jimbo

That’s what makes this rivalry so good, though. With the reset every year and these swings in momentum, nobody’s safe, nobody’s got a dynasty, and the arms race just gets more creative. Phillip fans, don’t lose hope—but man, Joe fans, you can celebrate this one for a while.Don’t worry, folks, you know there’s a ton more twists coming in the next season. Simon, always a pleasure grinding tape with you, man. Can't wait to see Phillip and the Cavaliers try to dethrone Joe as he heads to the Alamo City.

Simon Carver

Always, Jimbo. Alright, everybody, until next time—keep hoopin’, don’t be afraid to change it up, and we’ll catch you on the next one. Later, Jimbo.

Jimbo

Later, Simon. See y’all soon!