NY Knicks: 3 teams who could pass them in the standings

NY Knicks: 3 teams who could surpass them — The Atlanta Hawks

This is one is probably the most obvious, although the Hawks aren’t exactly one of the aforementioned hobbled teams from last season.

The Hawks were for the most part, perfectly healthy, especially when they played the NY Knicks in the playoffs last season. The Hawks also were not one of the teams who made any big splashes this offseason.

We still have to look at this team as the same team that not only beat the Knicks in 4-1 in the first round, they took out the 76ers in the next round and pushed the eventual champions, the Milwaukee Bucks to 6 games.

If you take this team for what they were since Nate McMillan took over, you have a team that went 27-11 since he took over in the regular season and reached the Eastern Conference Finals.

This is a deep team. Just as significant as their depth is the balance of this team.

You have an instant-offense, All-Star point guard in Trae Young.

You have, in my mind, already one of the best young defenders in the game in De’Andre Hunter, who also is a terrific secondary scoring option. A perfect pick-and-roll man in John Collins.

Lethal scorers in Bogdan Bogdanovic and Danillo Gallinari. A bruising rim runner in Clint Capela. Fantastic bench scorers in Huerter and Lou Williams. Then there’s back of the bench young talent in Reddish, Okongwu, Jalen Johnson, and Sharife Cooper.

In many ways, it’s a team that has the same mindset as the NY Knicks. Win-now while simultaneously accumulating and building young talent.

I know Knicks fans are chomping at the bit to face the Hawks with not only Evan Fournier and Kemba Walker but a healthy Mitchell Robinson. Christmas at MSG finna be a movie. Expect these two to be neck and neck in the standings.