NY Knicks: Midseason Daily Knicks roundtable

NY Knicks: End of season predictions:

Brad Dressler – With a decent trade or two, they hover right around either the fourth or fifth seed until the end of the season. Without a trade and if they remain healthy, they’ll settle into the sixth seed and avoid the play-in tournament. That being said, I do think that they could be a team capable of a major upset in the first round. The only teams that I see them having a serious problem within a seven-game series would be the 76ers and, I hate to say this, the Brooklyn Nets.

Adam Kester – The NY Knicks seem like they can hang with anyone. They’ve had some close losses to some of the NBA’s best teams, and it’s a testament to the team’s mental fortitude. The Knicks have some tough matchups in the near future, but I really do think this a team on-par if not better than the Pacers, Raptors, and the other middle-of-the-pack competition in the East. I think they finish 38-34 and finish fifth in the East. They face the Celtics in the first round and beat them in a grueling 7 game series with Randle overwhelming the Celtics’ thin frontcourt. LET’S GO!

Max Hoover – The second half of the schedule gets tougher for the NY Knicks. They also get a boatload of televised games for their trouble. The Knicks will lose a few more games in the second half of the season than they did in the first and likely finish up somewhere in the 6-10 range for playoff seeding. Operating under the assumption that the Knicks finish sixth, that sets up a pretty difficult 1st round matchup. I could see the Knicks losing to either the Sixers, Nets, or Bucks in 5-6 games. What matters most is how they get there. If the Knicks are competitive through the whole second half of the season and make a respectable playoff appearance, this season is a win. We weren’t supposed to be here yet, and it feels like we’re playing with house money.

Jeremy Goldstein – At the end of the season, I believe the Knicks will finish as the sixth seed, and lose in five games to a team like the 76ers. With the coaching of Thibodeau and strong play from the vets, I think the Knicks are good enough to avoid the play-in tournament. Still, they don’t have enough talent or playoff experience to win a series against a team like Philadelphia. If the season ends this way it is without a doubt a success. This would be exceeding original expectations by far and setting in place a good starting point for a hopeful future.

Playing meaningful basketball in April/May no longer seems like an unattainable goal. In fact, in year one of the Leon Rose regime, the Knicks have also established an identity on the court, maintained both cap flexibility, and future draft capital. Postseason basketball might just be the cherry on top of a great season!