There was a lot of hype surrounding this New York Knicks team entering the season, and for good reason. The late September addition of Karl-Anthony Towns to this roster created a team that was bound to finish high in the Eastern Conference standings, and here we are with a month left in the regular season schedule with the Knicks sitting in third place.
But as strong as this team's overall performance has been (40-23 record), they have one major shortcoming that has been repeatedly addressed by the national media: their inability to beat the top teams around them in the standings. As of this writing, New York holds an 0-7 record against the top three teams record-wise in the NBA: the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Boston Celtics.
One would naturally think that this would not bode well for their chances in the postseason. After all, if you are unable to beat the best squads when the stakes are low, how can you expect to take them down when the circumstances are that much more dire in the playoffs? Well, if we take a look at NBA history, there is one team that should serve to give Knicks fans some reassurance about their team's situation.
The Miami Heat won a title in '06 despite not beating top teams
In 2006, the Miami Heat made one of the more storied runs to an NBA championship in league history. Emerging as the second seed in the East that season, the Heat took down the reigning two-time conference champion Detroit Pistons in the East Finals before overcoming an 0-2 deficit in the NBA Finals to take home their first championship in franchise history.
Interestingly enough, that team followed a similar path as this year's Knicks team in that they were not super successful against top teams in the Eastern Conference. The 2005-06 Heat finished the regular season with just a 19-21 record against teams with a .500 or better record, even though they employed the prime version of Dwyane Wade and a veteran Shaquille O'Neal. Nevertheless, that did not stop them from making a run to a championship.
What this shows us is that all is not lost for the Knicks. Many are writing New York off as a pretender due to their performance against other top teams. But do not be fooled, as history proves that alone is far from enough reason to give up hope on this squad.