On the Latest crossover podcastHoward Beck and Chris Mannix discuss whether New York can continue its hot streak.
The following text is excerpted from Transit The NBA Podcast. Listen to the full episode on Podcast players are everywhere or on SI.com.
Manx: I want to start with your New York KnicksWho, as we’ve recorded this, has won seven straight games. They play some good defence. Galen Bronson He seems to be worth every nickel in the necklace he gave him. I think the Knicks are now playoff contenders, there’s no doubt about that. Are they competitors in a series? Applicants to the second round? or claim?
Beck: Will the Knicks contenders win a playoff series? No, I don’t think they are – with all due respect to the way they’ve put themselves together, that line, the defense they play, the grit they show, and yeah, I agree, Bronson he’s been worth every cent spent to get him, and the effects are kind of what you’d hope for when You finally get a qualified point guard with a team that was desperate for someone to lead their offense.
This is where skepticism comes in, and it’s not so much about the Knicks as about their surroundings. Real quick reference points here. They are 14th in offensive efficiency, 9th in defensive efficiency, and 10th in net rating. This indicates that it is very good. A league-best tenth ranking indicates that they should be able to win a playoff series, perhaps. However, I look east and see five teams for sure, definitely better than them, barring any crazy stuff happening, trades, injuries, whatever. Milwaukee, Boston, Cleveland, Brooklyn – I’m surprised I have to bring them back in this sentence. The nets are in, and I think the Sixers are in there too when they’re healthy. So here are five teams that are definitely better than the Knicks and the standings, and they’re definitely better than the Knicks when it comes to going head-to-head in the playoffs.
Then if you look at the standings now and think about who you think should be in sixth place by the end of the season, Miami and Atlanta both have better talent than the Knicks. I mean, if you’re drafting a team, you take both Jimmy Butler and Pam Adebayo before you take any Nick. And you take on Trae Young and Dejounte Murray before you ever get to anyone on the Knicks. These teams have better talent. Now, better talent isn’t always a better team. Chemistry is important, it goes with all sorts of things. And I’m not sure the Hawks fit in. They have some strange things going on there. But Miami and Atlanta should be better than the Knicks. They may not be at the end of it.
But the bottom line is, if the Knicks aren’t in the top four, and they aren’t, then you’re in fourth. And when you are in fourth place, you must beat one of the top four. And I don’t see them taking four out of seven from the Bucks or Celtics or Cavaliers or Nets or Sixers. Are you?
Manx: no i don’t. And I would call them demonstrators, too, for at least a series win. You know, you play with the teams in front of you, the Knicks benefited during this last stretch, which is beyond these seven games, playing teams that were without a star, whether it’s the Sixers with Joel Embiid. I was at the Sacramento game where they played the Kings without DI Aaron Fox. They took advantage of that, and it’s not their fault, you’re playing whoever puts you in front of you. But I think that pushed them a little bit during the stretch.
I’m encouraged by what Bronson brings, for starters. It is a nice. Julius Randle, he’s been a bit of a bounce back in the year, still not quite at the all-NBA level he was two seasons ago, but he’s about to love the low-to-mid-30s from the three-point range. His field goal percentage is high. He exceeded 20 points a game again. So, I think it’s more of an advantage. I don’t think they are great defensively or will be great defensively. And if you’re not, you’d better be good offensively, and I don’t think they’re good offensively either.
And when you think about who they’ll have to face in the first round, the teams that I mentioned, Milwaukee, Boston, Cleveland, Philadelphia, whoever’s leading the conference standings, I don’t see them coming away with a win. Perhaps the best case scenario is for Tom Thibodeau to save his job in New York? Could. I mean, it’s possible, I guess. But I don’t think they pose a threat to winning a first-round series, at least not the group as it’s currently established.
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