If you ask Knicks fans whether the Knicks are a championship team, you’ll likely get multiple answers. Some will say yes. Others have questions. But one thing is clear: NYK needs to win the championship, and they need to do so now.
Here’s where the 35-20 Knicks stand: good enough to be a No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference, but not good enough to be a championship team.
Dolan isn’t hearing a lot of cheers these days (photo NY Post)
This season is about winning a championship. Anything short of that goal is a failure. Don’t take my word for it. Take it from Knicks owner James Dolan.
He fired head coach Tom Thibodeau last season after the Knicks didn’t make an NBA Finals appearance. Making the Eastern Conference finals wasn’t good enough. Thibodeau couldn’t get his team to recover after Tyrese Haliburton hit a lucky shot that tied the game and sent it to overtime, resulting in a Knicks’ 138-135 Game 1 loss to the Indiana Pacers. The Knicks ultimately lost the conference finals in six games.
Dolan made it clear on WFAN’s Craig Carton show that he expects his team to play in the NBA Finals this season. He should feel that way. If this team can’t get there this year and win it all, when will they? The Knicks can only have so many chances.
But here’s the thing. The Knicks should be in the NBA Finals this season. There’s no elite Eastern Conference team out there. For one thing, the Boston Celtics are a shell of themselves with Jayson Tatum still rehabbing after recovering from an Achilles tendon injury he suffered against the Knicks in last year’s playoffs. Then there’s the Detroit Pistons, probably the conference’s best team. But let’s not confuse them with the Bad Boys.
Whether the Knicks can win it all is another question.
If a team plays physically on them, the Knicks tend to fold. It happened against the Pacers in last year’s playoffs. The Pistons can do that this season, and so can the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Knicks are more of a finesse team. They like to operate their offense with precision. If they get pushed around or are forced to play half-court offense, they can’t function properly. That is where head coach Mike Brown needs to make adjustments when it happens in the playoffs. We will find out what he does when the situation presents itself.
The Knicks addressed this issue by acquiring New Orleans Pelicans point guard Jose Alvarado and signing Jeremy Sochan. Both are physical, and both can defend and make timely shots. They offer intangibles the Knicks could use in the postseason.
That said, the Knicks’ lack of defense should be a concern. Too many teams can score against them, especially at the 3-point line, which is no way to win a championship. If the Knicks are going to rely on offense to get by, it’s not going to work. Just ask Steve Nash and the Suns back then, when they were contending for a championship.
Can the Knicks get that timely rebound or loose ball when it matters? That’s another problem, evident in the Eastern Conference finals last year against the Pacers.
If there’s one thing the Knicks have going for them, it’s that Brown uses all of his players on the roster rather than sticking with seven players, as Thibodeau did last season. Utilizing the team’s depth can help the Knicks reach their desired destination in the playoffs.
So the bottom line has no ifs, ands, or buts. The destination is clear: winning the championship this season.
