The New York Knicks Are NBA Contenders

Sports Illustrated

The New York Knicks are on a roll, but does their regular season success mean they could be contenders come the NBA playoffs?

Transcript

00:00 The New York Knicks are in the midst of a great season,

00:02 but how high can they take it?

00:04 You know, I hesitate to call them

00:06 championship contenders, I suppose,

00:08 but then it is a different day and age in the NBA.

00:11 I mean, the Heat were in the finals last year,

00:13 who the Knicks went six games with.

00:15 You can't say you're not championship contenders

00:17 if you're in the finals.

00:18 And I think that the days of the dynastic

00:21 star-stacked teams are done.

00:22 So if Julius Randle's healthy, if Anobi's healthy,

00:26 and obviously Randle's a big question,

00:27 if Brunson's out there, he's been a dog all season,

00:30 and maybe they make one more move

00:31 to punch up the bench at the deadline,

00:34 I wouldn't be surprised to see them

00:35 in the Eastern Conference Finals,

00:36 which to me makes you a contender.

00:38 - That's fair.

00:40 I mean, that to me is probably their ceiling.

00:42 I don't think they will come out the East.

00:44 I don't think they could beat Boston in a series.

00:46 I don't think they could beat Philly in a series,

00:48 assuming Nbidis Azez wants to play.

00:50 But I love seeing what they're doing.

00:54 Like, they're great defensively.

00:56 They have a top 10 offense.

00:57 Brunson's had a phenomenal season.

00:59 What OG's done to boost their defense.

01:02 Getting Randle back will be key.

01:04 Obviously it's good news to see his injury

01:06 is more of a week-to-week thing

01:08 as opposed to taking a couple months.

01:09 So they're right in the mix of it, in the midst of it.

01:13 And at the end of the day, all you want to be is there

01:15 to say, all right, at the end of the day,

01:18 we got to play and you got to beat us.

01:20 And they're not going to be easy out.

01:22 I don't think they're better than Boston,

01:24 which to me would be the favorite coming out the East.

01:26 But in a series, you never know.

01:29 And Brunson did prove last year

01:31 that what he did in the regular season

01:32 does translate into the playoffs.

01:34 He can get to his spots and he can get buckets,

01:36 even when things tighten up.

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