Predicting where the New York Knicks will finish in the East next season

3. Philadelphia

Philly is interesting because James Harden has been in trade rumors all offseason. For now, Harden is still a Sixer, and the team won 54 games last year. The Embiid/Harden combo will always be a threat, and most of the important pieces are back with some ancillary players like Pat Beverley and Mo Bamba added.

The biggest move Philly made was firing Doc Rivers and hiring Nick Nurse. That is an upgrade if you ask me. Nurse got the most out of his teams in Toronto, while Rivers has continually failed in the playoffs. Even if the Sixers end up trading Harden, they will finish ahead of the Knicks in the East.

4. Cleveland

This might be a controversial ranking, but I really like what the Cavaliers have done this offseason. Adding Max Strus and Georges Niang makes them much more difficult to guard.

The Knicks constantly left guys like Cedi Osman and Issac Okoro wide open beyond the arc in the playoffs because they didn’t respect their shot. Now those spots will be filled with deadly shooters. Cleveland also finished with the second-best point differential in the NBA last year. They were a very good team this past season, and with their young talent will only get better.