The New York Knicks should win the Eastern Conference. They'll have to outlast the Cleveland Cavaliers and Detroit Pistons, sure, and that won't be an easy task. But teams like the Sixers, Heat, Bulls, and Bucks are likely to slow down as the season trudges on.
Thus, the door is wide open for the Knicks to win the conference, which is weaker than it has been in years. Plus, the Knicks own the best home-court advantage in basketball and have the most talented roster of their contemporaries; they can't settle for anything other than the No. 1 seed when April rolls around.
We know how good this team can be. There's no reason to mess around. Don't walk through the open door, kick it down!
These Knicks are brutally hard to beat when they're at their best and frankly, I don't think we've even seen that best yet! Last night's drubbing against the Timberwolves was probably the closest we've gotten, though. Despite the game being closer than the scoreboard shows, the Knicks were clearly the better team all night. Jalen Brunson (23/10/7) was masterful, OG Anunoby (25/8) was consistent all night, Mikal Bridges played some great defense on Anthony Edwards, and KAT (15/10/4/2) contributed in numerous ways.
All that to say, I'm pretty sure the Knicks can play better than they have so far. This early, that's more encouraging than worrisome, especially as the team adjusts to Mike Brown's system.
Currently, they're No. 5 in net rating, No. 13 in defensive rating, and No. 4 in offensive rating. Those numbers, coupled with a few areas that should find their level, should make fans pretty optimistic.
Knicks have yet to unlock their offseason additions
Jordan Clarkson and Guerschon Yabusele were the Knicks' biggest offseason additions, and they have yet to get cooking. Under Mike Brown's watch, in which bench players are utilized far more frequently than they were in Tom Thibodeau's, both guys will need to find their footing — and I'm confident they will.
Yabusele was the Sixers best player last season (that's barely hyperbole) and Clarkson has been an elite bench scorer for many years. Slow starts for each of them don't concern me much. Yabu has looked pretty lost out there but once he acclimates to his new team, the energy should tick up and that'll help the shot and defense fall into place, too.
Clarkson is notoriously streaky, which is great when it's a hot streak, but not quite as fun when it's a cold streak. He's looked much better in his past three games, though, so he could be turning a corner already.
Oh, and Josh Hart still exists! A shell of himself to start the season, the Knicks heart and soul finding himself again changes everything for the better.
In short, there's plenty of low-hanging fruit for this Knicks team to grab. If they do that, and hold on to it, they should cruise to 50-plus wins and capture the East. Why not? Just go win the dang thing!