NBA: Re-seeding the Eastern Conference after blockbuster Lillard trade

3. New York Knicks

After being one of the biggest surprises last season, it’ll be interesting to see how much better the New York Knicks can be this year. The surprise element is gone. Teams know that the Knicks are good but the big question I have is, can they avoid the natural regression to start the year? New York played above their expectation last year. But was that a sustainable amount of success that the Knicks will be able to build on, or was their run toward the end of last season into the playoffs merely a hot streak?

The good news is that the Knicks did improve their roster this offseason. They didn’t make a big splash move, but they did add depth on the wing (signing Donte DiVincenzo) while also clearing up some of the frontcourt logjam (trading Obi Toppin) that they had this past season. Ultimately, this season could come down to the continued development of RJ Barrett.

If the Knicks are going to be one of the three best teams in the Eastern Conference this season, Barrett has to take that complete leap toward stardom. If he can, the Knicks can emerge as a very dangerous team this season.