You know what? As bad as I have been criticizing the Knicks, they have a shot to win the East. Yeah, I said it. The reason is that the East has been in shambles for the last 20 years. Ever since THE SECOND BEST PLAYER EVER, Michael Jordan retired the East has been a mess. Eight teams (that have not been lead by LeBron James) have made the NBA finals since 1999. No one has been to the finals more than two times in a row in the East (THAT HAS NOT BEEN LEAD BY LEBRON.) In fifteen years, the Detroit Pistons reached the Finals again in 2005 after they won in 2004.
Fast forward to the present day. No LeBron and the Brooklyn Nets two best players are both coming back off of injury. Last year, two teams made the playoffs with losing records (Brooklyn Nets and Orlando Magic.) The Knicks only won 21 games last season and were only 12 games out of the 8th spot. So come on now. In this article, I’m going to breakdown (briefly) some of the teams in the Eastern Conference to give a better perspective of why the Knicks can be a top-four team in the East.
Knicks: The “Favorites”
The Brooklyn Nets are the Los Angles Clippers of the East. Both teams relocated to big markets where cornerstone franchises reside in. Their fans are nonexistent, and will both be abandoned faster than Andrew Bogut’s run in Cleveland. On paper, they look great. As I said they have two players coming off of serious injury. No one knows how they will really play. I get the feeling it will just be 2 guys playing offense and the other three will play defense. If Kyrie doesn’t quit on the team first.
This is a very inexperienced team that is not ready for a championship. They are being led by the grump fellas, who show no signs of leadership and have not gotten anywhere without another MVP. Brooklyn is not a favorite at all.
Knicks: The Seventy Slippers
The academy award for “best acting performance in an NBA regular season” belongs to Philly. Embiid is a walking bucket who cannot stay healthy or motivated. The same can be said about Ben Simmons. He refuses to shoot which is limiting him offensively and he could be an all-time great if he shoots the damn ball. We keep seeing the same thing every year and expect something different. Doc Rivers will be a difference-maker. He’ll have some say in what they do.
Doc let things slide with Kawhi in LA. The only reason that happened is that Kawhi won something. The boys in Philly haven’t so I believe Doc will redeem himself. Well, he can if his two stars can stay upright for at least 60 games or more. Not too many people will think that will happen. Wouldn’t be surprised if another Knicks player dunks on Ben Simmons again.
Team Greek Freak
Two years in a row the MVP just struggled in the playoffs. He can’t shoot the ball to save his life. I shouldn’t say that. He doesn’t shoot consistently. He can rebound and drive. That’s really it… The organization is trying everything to keep him there. But, Jrue Holiday is not the one missing piece. I’m not worried about anyone else on that team. They are very long and athletic but they haven’t gotten anywhere with it and the roster hasn’t really changed that much.
Boston Celtics
Not going to give them a nickname. They are legit and are still trying to put some pieces together to make it back to the championship. Tatum just got paid big money and he deserved every bit of it. The Tristan Thompson signing was solid and an upgrade over what they had before. They had a really solid draft getting Aaron Nesmith with the 14th pick. Would not be surprised if they are the one seed in the East next season, make the conference finals, and get to the finals this year.
The Lukewarm
The Heat made the finals last season. It’s no laughing matter, I do not believe that they will repeat and go back to the finals. Jimmy Butler played the best basketball of his life and that is as far as he will get without a superstar. The Heat do have good young players and also had a great draft. The problem that will hurt them is that they do not have a solid defensive team. They got exposed against the Lakers, and they did not add anyone that will help get them back to the finals this year.
The Knicks
Last but not least the New York Knicks. The only team that can stop them is themselves. Hopefully, they prove a lot of Knicks fans wrong. Their draft could have gone better, but it hasn’t been their worst either. They have been really quiet in free agency. No big moves, they have only just been acquiring second-round picks. The development of Kevin Knox, Mitchell Robinson, Obi Toppin, and especially RJ Barrett will be key to making a top-four seed.
Giving Thibs a shot this year hurts inside of me. He’s the best coach the team has had in the past seven seasons and has experience coaching. He has coached underachieving players and got the best out of them (Nate Robinson and DJ Augustin.) The Knicks do not have any high expectations because they don’t have any big contracts. No one will see this team coming and somehow the East has gotten weaker. So why not the Knicks?
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