The rest of the Eastern Conference
The New York Knicks may have improved compared to last season but I still have my concerns about how much they’ll be able to compete in the Eastern Conference. The thing about the Knicks heading into this season is that nearly every other team also improved in the conference this offseason.
Looking at the top, the Milwaukee Bucks, Boston Celtics, and Philadelphia 76ers will all be better – two of them improved their roster this season too. The second tier will likely include the Miami Heat (even though they didn’t improve, they should still be better than the Knicks), Toronto Raptors (with the continued development of Scottie Barnes), and Cleveland Cavaliers (with the addition of Donovan Mitchell).
That’s six teams you can assume that will likely be better than the Knicks to start the season. And then you can throw the Brooklyn Nets, Chicago Bulls, and Atlanta Hawks which can be absolute wild cards.
That’s nine players that could end up being better than the Knicks this season.
New York certainly improved this offseason but I don’t think this year will end with a playoff appearance.