Will the Knicks end their 52-year NBA championship drought in 2026?

New York Post

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00:00For the next 25 weeks or so, and even the next 82 games,

00:03it's New York or nowhere, but is it also NBA Finals or bust?

00:08Let's talk about the 1970 and 73-like expectations for the Knicks

00:13heading into tonight's season opener against the Cavs

00:17with our New York Post sports columnist, Mike Vaccaro.

00:20Mike, thanks for hopping on with this.

00:22We're finally here, season opener.

00:25Things are going to get real.

00:26You know all about and have wrote about the expectations

00:29surrounding this team, new head coach, deeper roster.

00:34So how much pressure is it on Mike Brown, Leon Rose,

00:38and this team stepping into this new season?

00:41Yeah, they can't sneak up anybody this year, Brandon, that's for sure.

00:45Not that they did last year, but look, last year right from the start

00:47they were considered the third best team in the East,

00:50maybe the sixth or seventh best team in the league.

00:52So what they did was overachieve, and they've done nothing

00:55but overachieve really in the last five years.

00:57And now it's a matter of getting beyond that.

01:01You know, you see, I think you smartly cited the 70 and 73 Knicks.

01:05You know, I think what's underrated about what those teams did was that

01:08they did it with full expectations that they had to do what they did,

01:11win championships.

01:13The 90s Knicks and Patrick Ewing had those same expectations year after year,

01:17and obviously they never could quite get there.

01:19That's what these Knicks are feeling right now.

01:22I mean, they're clearly, they're going into the season, you know,

01:24one of the favorites in the East, they're expected to get at least to as far

01:28as they got last year to the conference finals and get beyond that.

01:31I mean, I think it would be considered that something went wrong

01:34if they don't get to the finals in the very least.

01:36So, yeah, it's interesting to see how a team performs once the burden

01:40of expectation shifts the way it has for them.

01:42New team, new coach, deeper roster, I guess, like, just looking at the roster

01:49just all around better than what it was last year.

01:51But, Mike, we know how impatient this fan base can get,

01:55and we know how desperate this city is for an updated championship banner

01:59at the Garden.

02:00So, from a media standpoint, how much time do you think Mike Brown

02:04and his team has to gel and show the city that this new normal can win?

02:09I think at least until about 10 o'clock tonight, don't you?

02:149.59.

02:16Exactly.

02:17I mean, look, it wouldn't surprise me if they were a 500 team

02:20the first 20 games of the season.

02:22You know, it just wouldn't.

02:23I mean, they were that way a lot under Tom Thibodeau.

02:26I mean, I think it takes a lot.

02:27There were a lot of new parts of this team.

02:30There are a couple of parts that are hurt right now.

02:33It's going to take a while for them to adapt to Mike Brown's system

02:36and to each other.

02:38And there's nothing wrong with that.

02:40I mean, if you're 10 and 10 after 20 games, you know,

02:43then you kind of get to find the next year.

02:45If they're better than that, then I guess it's a pleasant surprise.

02:47If they're worse than that, maybe you can start to wonder

02:49if they were put together properly.

02:51But, I mean, at the very least, you've got to give them, you know,

02:53give them a month, give them 20 games, give them 25 games,

02:57and see where they are then.

02:59Because, look, I mean, while the core elements are back intact,

03:03new coach, a deeper team, they're going to play more guys

03:07than they used to.

03:07And, you know, it takes a while to get used to no longer playing

03:11in an eight- or nine-man rotation, more of a 10- or 11-man rotation,

03:14which is what Mike Brown's going to do when they have, you know,

03:17all healthy players.

03:18So it's going to take a little bit of time.

03:20But, I mean, I do think that the parts are in place to where, you know,

03:24come the new year and beyond, you're going to see a level.

03:27I just think the Knicks are better than most of the teams in the East.

03:30They're just flat out better.

03:31And now it's a matter of performing to that standard.

03:34Yeah, it's about trying to find that balance of, you know,

03:37finding what the identity of this team is.

03:39But you're hoping that the fan base gives them a little bit of time to gel.

03:43Because, you know, as an athlete, as a player, the rollercoaster ride,

03:46the adversity of the season, that kind of gets you ready for the postseason.

03:50It gets you ready for the grind moments of the postseason.

03:53So I'm praying that there's some sort of patience there within the fan base.

03:57But, million-dollar question here, the East looks like it's up for grabs

04:01with Tyrese Halliburton and Jason Tatum out.

04:04Is it safe to say that this is the Knicks' best chance in recent years

04:09to finally win the East and get back to the NBA Finals?

04:13Is it finals or bust?

04:15I think it has to be.

04:17You know, because, look, I mean, you've already gotten as far as the conference finals.

04:21And you lost there last year, obviously.

04:23I mean, I think it has to be the goal, the only goal, to be in the finals.

04:28I don't think there's been this kind of expectation or, you know,

04:31pressure surrounding a Knicks team since probably 1997 or so,

04:35which is when they won 57 games.

04:37And, you know, who knows what they would have done

04:38if they hadn't gotten to that fight with the Heat at the end of that season.

04:42But, look, I mean, I think that, you know, it feels around this team

04:47the way it felt around those teams, that, you know,

04:50the 82 games that are going to come are to kind of make sure

04:53that everything is heading in the right direction once we hit April

04:56and once we hit the playoffs.

04:58And, look, I mean, they're going to be expected to make it through the East.

05:02They have enough players.

05:04If they stay healthy, certainly if they stay on the right track,

05:07there's no reason to expect that they wouldn't be a viable candidate

05:10to be playing in the finals.

05:11And then when you're in the finals, you take your chances against the Thunder

05:15or the Nuggets or the Rockets or whoever.

05:17But I do think that it's a reasonable expectation for the Knicks to be

05:23in the finals this year.

05:25You mentioned 1997 Spice Girls' Wannabe and Hanson's Mbop

05:30were the top pop songs in the country.

05:33So let's bring that 1997-like vibes back for some throwback vibes.

05:39Mike, thank you for hopping on with us.

05:41And I'm sure we'll be speaking with you throughout the course of the season.

05:44Sounds good, Brandon.

05:45Great talking to you.

05:46Thanks.

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