The key storylines of Sixers-Knicks: Joel Embiid's health, Jalen Brunson, and Nick Nurse

A Sixers-Knicks series has all the critical elements for a rivalry-defining moment, but the trouble has been getting them in the same place at the same time. Philadelphia and New York have not met in the playoffs since 1989 when the Knicks pulled off a three-game sweep behind leading scorer Gerald Wilkins. This writer was not even alive yet.

For a pair of division foes, there has been surprisingly little playoff action — five of their nine playoff meetings came when the Sixers were still the Syracuse Nationals, and only three of the matchups came during a time when we referred to it as the "Eastern Conference" rather than the "East Division." It has been rare for both teams to be good a...