Is it Possible For The Knicks to Win the In-Season Tournament?
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Being a delusional Knicks fan, it’s very easy for me to see the Knicks win everything, such as the in-season tournament and the NBA championship. However, I am aware of how much it could take for the Knicks to win the chip, but exactly how much could it be? After the Knicks' first year with Jalen Brunson on the team, the Knicks became a fifth seed and an immediate playoff contender. The Knicks swept the Cleveland Cavaliers in five games to get them to the second round. But at what cost?
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After first beating Cleveland and then seeing Miami in the second round, I was pleasantly surprised to see that the Knicks could actually make a push to the finals this year. I saw the landscape and said to myself “If the Knicks win against Miami, and see Boston in the Eastern Conference Finals (ECF), they have a genuine shot at a Finals run” and that’s what I believe the Knicks had. I saw the Knicks win against Cleveland, but I saw the Knicks lose to Miami. It was heartbreaking, however, with the recent buzz of a Damian Lillard trade, Portland will probably not trade Lillard yet, talks with Miami have stalled, and on top of everything, Gabe Vincent and Max Strus who were prominent players in their run are gone. So I don’t see the Knicks losing to them again in a seven-game series at least within the next year.
There’s a genuine chance for the Knicks to get a star to Madison Square Garden (MSG), however, there’s one man that can bring a chip to New York, and that man is Joel Embiid. Former CAA client Embiid would collide with his former agent Leon Rose who is running a basketball operation in New York. Embiid is this year's reigning MVP and with James Harden possibly leaving the 76ers, the Knicks have started to monitor the situation around him. They were in the running for Harden, but with Daryl Morey’s high prices and with how Harden plays in the playoffs, the Knicks decided to turn their cheek to their other star in Embiid.
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Other options for the Knicks include Mikal Bridges, a former teammate of Josh Hart, Jalen Brunson, and newly acquired Donte DiVincenzo. The last time those four were together on the same team, they won a championship in Villanova. With Bridges having a breakout season at the end of last season, his addition to the Knicks would be vital. He has recently said on “Podcast P”, Paul George’s podcast, that he thought he was coming to New York, and he didn’t think the Knicks would draft Kevin Knox over him, but in typical New York fashion of course, they did.
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It would certainly be entertaining to see Bridges on the Knicks and call me crazy, but I think it’s possible. I think the explosion that Bridges became this season and the slow but sure progression of Brunson, Immanuel Quickly, Quintin Grimes, and Rj Barrett, could certainly bring the Knicks to the top once more. With this addition, they can make the finals and shine again. Embiid and Bridges would be great for this city alongside everyone in their young core.
