Can the Knicks win the championship?

Do you know who the only team to win a playoff series in the last 4 seasons is? The New York Knicks. Not the Thunder, the Celtics or the Nuggets, the three teams who have won titles in that time span, but the Knicks. Yet, there is still this belief that New York doesn’t have enough to win the championship. Is that really the case?

Last week, I wrote that the Spurs and Thunder had separated themselves from the rest of the league and I do think that remains true. Even in spite of San Antonio’s game 1 loss to the Timberwolves, I think the Spurs and Thunder are the two best teams in the league and by a pretty solid margin. I mentioned that I wasn’t sure if the Knicks' best game was as good as those teams and that New York is too inconsistent. I still worry about both of those things for the Knicks. Yet, they have won 5 games in a row and look every bit as good as any team in the league. The Spurs are young and vulnerable and this Jalen Williams injury lingers for Oklahoma City, this Knicks team is really good and one that I think can win the title.

There is something lingering for New York. In Wednesday’s game 2 win, OG Anunoby hurt his hamstring. Anunoby has been awesome in these playoffs, averaging 21.4 points, 7.5 rebounds, 3.0 stocks (steals + blocks) per game while shooting 62% from the field and 54% from three. He has arguably been New York’s 2nd best player this postseason and New York needs him to make a run. ESPN’s Shams Charania is reporting the OG is day to day so that is a positive for New York but if this lingers it could get dicey for the Knicks. Outside of Anunoby, they don’t have a ton of big wings. Mikal Bridges is likely the biggest who will see consistent playing time and he is only 6 foot 6. Anunoby gives New York so much flexibility on both ends of the floor, he is able to guard bigger wings on defense and his offensive game has become so much more complete with his ability to punish teams who close out too hard with drives to the basket. If he is out, it changes the way you need to look at the Knicks.

Another part of New York success is the emergence of Karl-Anthony Towns’ passing. Through his first 5 playoff runs, Towns had averaged 2.0 assists per game. This season, he is averaging 6.1 assists per game. Now, his turnovers are up, from 2.5 in his first 5 playoff runs to 3.1 this season but the assists make the high turnover number more palatable. His scoring is also down, averaging 18.6 points per game after averaging 21.4 in the Knicks run to the conference finals a season ago. Towns is really good, yes he has had an up and down season in which his play has bothered Knick fans at times but he really matters to this team. His shooting and spacing on offense are game changers for New York and his defensive rebounding has proven to be huge for the Knicks all season. The issue is he just cannot stop committing dumb fouls. This has always been a bugaboo in Towns’ game and it has reared its ugly head at the start of these playoffs. They need him to stop committing these silly fouls. Karl-Anthony Towns has had a really strong start to the playoffs and he is a big reason as to why New York can make a run to the Finals.

You can’t talk about the Knicks and not bring up Jalen Brunson, who is having another great playoff run. There are some worries. For example, in the Knicks Game 2 loss against Atlanta, CJ McCollum attacked Brunson on every Knicks defensive possession late in that game. Which begs the question, can Brunson hold up at all on that end? His offense late in games makes up for it but the defensive worries linger. This hasn’t mattered a lot in these playoffs because the Knicks haven’t played a lot of close games and when they do, it is Brunson who pushes them over the finish line. When the Knicks need a basket, they give the ball to Jalen Brunson and he usually scores. If the Knicks are going to win the whole thing, it will be Jalen Brunson who makes most of the clutch shots to get them there. 

The Knicks are the favorite in the Eastern Conference right now and they should be. Detroit hasn’t looked great but have played better over the last 4 games, Cleveland is Cleveland and hasn’t won a game on the road yet and Philly is currently down 2-0 to the Knicks. New York should win the east and be in the Finals. However, that’s not the question we are asking. That question is, can the Knicks win the whole thing? I think that answer is yes. Assuming it is the Thunder or Spurs who are opposing the Knicks in the Finals, I won’t pick the Knicks to win that series. However, did anyone pick the Pacers to win the Finals last year? If Tyrese Haliburton doesn’t get hurt, the Pacers very well might have won that series. New York is good enough and with a lot of buttons that Mike Brown can push on both sides of the floor. When the game gets late, New York has a closer, a guy who can take you to the finish line and push you over the edge to win the game. Yes, Brunson’s defense is a concern but he is so good on offense that it almost makes up for it. This is a really good team and a 7 game series is short. Would I pick the Knicks to win the title? No I would not but that doesn’t mean they can’t win the NBA championship, which I believe that they can.