New York Knicks: Predicting the first 10 games of the 2021-22 season
By Adam Kester
New York Knicks — Game 5 @ The Chicago Bulls
This is going to be a fun one. The revamped New York Knicks visit the revamped Chicago Bulls in their first of three meetings.
There’s a lot of buzz around the Chicago Bulls with their new acquisitions of DeMar DeRozan, Lonzo Ball, and Alex Caruso.
This is a team that was sick of being a middling playoff squad and could see the writing on the wall for Zach LaVine wanting out. They said enough is enough and went all in, sacrificing draft capital and future cap flexibility to commit to this roster and try and make noise in the Eastern Conference while convincing Zach LaVine that this is a place where he can win.
Now, the pressure is on. The Bulls are going to be competing with the Miami Heat, Philadelphia 76ers, Boston Celtics, Atlanta Hawks, and the New York Knicks for playoff spots.
This is a team that addressed their perimeter defense and lack of perimeter playmaking with their new free agent signings, but the questions remain as to just how high of a level this team can compete.
Does Nikola Vucevic-Zach LaVine-DeMar DeRozan-Lonzo Ball sound significantly better than Zion Williamson-Brandon Ingram-Jrue Holiday-Lonzo Ball? Yes, I’m referring to the 2019-20 New Orleans Pelicans. The Bulls have a better bench of course, but this team should be happy with being a competitor for the middle-seeds in the Eastern Conference.
I do believe that Chicago can make a run at the 4-6 seeds in the East but it’s going to take a few months to figure it out. New York is bringing back a roster with the same philosophy and added offensive firepower.
This will be an important game for both teams but it’s going to be the Knicks who prevail with experience and the system they have in place. Expect this one to be close through the first 3 quarters with New York pulling away in the 4th.