All Part of the Learning Experience

One of the most important things when it comes to professional sports is being able to learn from mistakes that are made and then growing from it.

This is exactly what the New York Knicks are in the process of doing. After beating the Boston Celtics by a score of 88-80 to win the series, the Knicks have advanced to the second round and in the process, learned a few things.

For starters, one thing the Knicks learned is that no team is ever out of it. After wearing all black going into Game 5 at Madison square Garden, the Knicks put up a stinker and lost to the Celtics by a score of 92-86.

After that loss, not only did the Knicks realize that it was premature to count the Celtics out of the series, but it was also extremely immature for a professional sports franchise. 

Knicks' shooting guard J.R. Smith even said the following regarding the all black dress code the Knicks followed prior to Game 5:

"We was going to a funeral," (J.R. Smith said. "But it looks like we got buried."

The Knicks also learned that they need to figure out a better way to finish off teams. For most of this series, the Knicks were given ample opportunities to blow the Celtics out of the water but the team ended up squandering those opportunities by making poor decisions with the ball, taking bad shots and by being too content with the lead that they had.

Luckily for the Knicks, they were playing the seventh seed so they were able to get away with it. After the first round, that kind of play will lead to a short series that will not be in their favor.

The Knicks may not have been great in this series but the club also definitely learned how to overcome some adversity. There was a ton of pressure on this Knicks' team to win not only from the fans, but from major sports media outlets and instead of crumbling under the pressure and stress, the team was professional and was able to get the job done in Game 6.

With the series win, the Knicks will now have to take everything they learned into the next round when they take on the Indiana Pacers. The Pacers are going to be a much more difficult team to play against and if the Knicks play the Pacers the way they did against the Celtics, they will be in serious trouble.

If the Knicks can remember everything they learned and use it as a way to grow as a team, it could help them in what should be a great second round between two of the Eastern Conference's best teams.