Sal: Knicks are officially back, and 'it feels different'

For the second straight season, the Knicks have won a playoff series, and are advancing to the second round where they will be the favorites against the Pacers, with a trip to the Eastern Conference Final on the line.

For Sal, it takes him back to his heyday as a Knicks fan, and the heyday of an entire generation of fans who finally have a team that seems like a legitimate threat to make a deep playoff run year after year.

"This is another first-round win," Sal said. "They've been in the postseason three of four years, and made it to the conference semis two straight years. Now, it's official. The Knicks are back, and it just feels different.

"It reminded me of the 90s. I hate to keep doing that, but that's what we have as Knicks fans…anything that happened between the 90s and now didn't resonate like now."

Sal has his doubts about how far this Knicks team can go, but he says there is no denying the joy in the realization that the Knicks are back.

"It just felt different," Sal said. "And now we are again in the midst of what we saw in the 90s."