00:00How does this impact my Knicks?
00:03Well, first of all, maybe this means that in Philadelphia,
00:09for the home games, they can actually get a couple of Philly fans in the arena.
00:14I think this feels about right in terms of the Knicks and the Sixers
00:19having the best odds to win the Eastern Conference.
00:22I think that's fair.
00:24I would put the Raptors and the Pistons as the next group of teams.
00:30I do not think the Boston Celtics will be a top four team in the Eastern Conference.
00:35They still have Tatum.
00:36They have Paul George, but I don't buy that at all.
00:40You know, I would right now rank it Knicks number one, Sixers number two.
00:45I would put the Pistons number three, the Raptors number four,
00:49and I might move Toronto up once we get 100% Adam Silver stamp
00:54that the Kawhi Leonard deal is ultimately going to go through.
00:58But the Sixers, make no mistake, are the biggest threat to the Knicks in the East.
01:03I felt that way before LeBron.
01:07I feel that way after LeBron.
01:10And I think the Sixers have a real shot to win the Eastern Conference.
01:14Having said that, the fact that LeBron goes to Philly is really going to help the Knicks.
01:19I'm going to tell you why.
01:20First of all, I'll always and forever believe this, right?
01:25I really think that by winning a championship, Carl Anthony Towns, Mikel Bridges,
01:30and their third seasons with the New York Knicks, regular season,
01:34will have the best regular season they've ever had.
01:36All the pressure's off.
01:37They can take a breath.
01:39They won a championship.
01:40They don't have to justify anything ever again.
01:42So the Knicks last year won a championship.
01:44They were dominant, unbelievable, majestic moments.
01:46We all know the deal, in the postseason.
01:49They were the third seed in the regular season.
01:51So I think the Knicks will have a better regular season this year than they did last year.
01:57That's number one.
01:58Number two, Jalen Brunson, you know, whatever the Knicks do this season,
02:04so many ways is going to be house money, right?
02:06I still walk the streets.
02:08You know, I'm in Cabo on vacation.
02:09You see someone wearing a Knicks hat, Knicks in five.
02:12I mean, the vibes are too good.
02:14I don't want to say this year doesn't matter, because if Jalen Brunson was sitting next to me,
02:18I would never say that to him.
02:19But now that you see LeBron go to Philly, this group was always going to be motivated.
02:26They're going to be even more motivated.
02:29Celebrate.
02:30Go to the clubs.
02:31Go for dinner.
02:33Do everything.
02:34Go to Yankees games.
02:36Whatever it is.
02:37But by the middle of August, this team is going to be so locked in and so focused on not
02:44only repeating
02:46and not only being the kings of New York and the kings of the NBA again,
02:50but to make sure that they're better than LeBron James and the Philadelphia 76ers.
02:56Listen, I think this is going to ultimately be such an incredible thing when it's all said and done for
03:02the Knicks.
03:02They didn't need any carrot that was dangled in terms of motivation.
03:06How about the reports that Rich Paul and company reached out to the Knicks and the Knicks were like,
03:13hell no, we don't need LeBron James.
03:16Can you imagine telling your younger self, you know, after the first decision when LeBron spurned the Knicks,
03:25that X number of years later, we were going to see, 20 years later,
03:30we were going to see the Knicks win a championship and the Knicks would turn down LeBron James.
03:35Amazing.
03:35I think the Sixers are unequivocally the biggest threat to New York.
03:39I love that this rivalry is going to have now a fever pitch.
03:43I think there's a real shot the Sixers open the season in New York against the Knicks.
03:48Frankly, I would love to see Knicks Spurs or Knicks Thunder on opening night with the 76ers in golden states
03:56to get the party started.
03:58But that's what I would do.
03:59I think the leagues were going to put the Sixers and the Knicks ultimately when it was all said and
04:04done.
04:05I think that is going to be the case.
04:07I don't think there's any question about that, that that's what we're looking at here.
04:11So I think that's the leader in the clubhouse.
04:14But I will tell you right here and right now, Philly is number two, Knicks number one,
04:21when you take a look at the Eastern Conference here on what matters the most, the Shine Time Power Rankings.
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