The Knicks have a star at point guard in Jalen Brunson, who is averaging over 33 points per game in his last seven contests, an All-Star in Julius Randle, and a new addition in Josh Hart who has immediately made a major impact through his first two games.
Add it all together, and BT says New York has a team that can make it to a place it hasn’t been in over 20 years.
“What I would like to tell Knicks fans today…is that the New York Knicks have a chance to do something and mess around with something they haven't done in quite some time. You know what that is? You're gonna think I'm nuts.
“Get to the Eastern Conference Finals.”
Tiki immediately told BT to “pump the brakes,” but BT wasn’t having it. He believes this team is capable of making a big run, and they’ve been showing why of late.
“No one's gonna buy this, and that's fine,” BT said. “And let me tell you why everybody's wrong. Are they tough? Yes or no? Are they smart? Yes or no? Yes. They've got one of the best lead guards in the NBA. Jalen Brunson…has been a godsend. Wow, he's been great. They've got an incredibly reliable number two in Julius Randle. You can critique him all you want. The guy's a terrific number two. He's an All-Star again.
“You've got size in the middle, particularly when Mitchell Robinson comes back, which by the way, is soon, and now you start to look around. OK, so for years you try to conjure up faith in the Knicks and you have to say, ‘Well, look at the teams that they would have to beat, and you just the only time you could conjure up energy to support a little bit of a Knick run recently is that the team's up top weren't that good. What I'm here to tell you is for the first time in a long time, the Knicks are actually bringing something interesting and transferable enough in the playoffs to the table every night to make other teams squirm.”
Robinson, still recovering from a thumb fracture, is one of the top contested rebounders in the NBA, and was the anchor of the team’s defense before he was injured. With Robinson on the floor, the Knicks had pushed themselves into a top 10 defensive team before the injury. On the other end, with the help of Brunson and Randle, the team has made a similar jump on offense. They of course aren’t among the beasts of the East just yet, but BT believes this team has what it takes to make this one of the more memorable seasons for the franchise in decades.
“Now, I'm gonna put, of course, the Celtics and the Bucks different level,” BT said. “No doubt, we delineate that. Do not tell me that you can't mess around beat the Sixers. Don't tell me the Cavs are beyond reproach. Don't tell me you're not better than the Heat now. Don't tell me that the New York Knicks are not possibly ready to do something.”
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