[Dazzling Dunks and Basketball BloopersParticipant]

The Knicks have been a running joke in the nba for years now but they are actually playing some good basketball right now. A lot of people were skeptical of the thibs hiring but he has this team playing hard and exceeding expectations, currently sitting at 19-18 and 5th in the east heading into the all-star break. Julius randle is playing like a legit star and is basically carrying this team.
However, we have seen this story with thibs coached teams before, where he basically burns his stars out early and they wear down as the season progresses. The east is incredibly tight and one losing streak could easily knock a middle of the pack team out of playoff contention entirely. Does this team have enough outside of randle to be a viable threat and is there an actual foundation to build on here?

[NorrinRaddParticipant]

If I have to predict the Knicks, I’m not betting on them. Yeah, they had a hot start. I like how Randle has been playing and have seen flashes from others, but I don’t think that system is sustainable combined with other teams like Boston and Miami I expect to pass up the Knicks. I’m guessing they just miss the playoffs again and get like the 11th pick or something. I guess they CAN make the playoffs, but I wouldn’t rely on that. They just won’t. They still need a big piece.

[sniperParticipant]

I don’t have strong feelings on whether they’ll make the playoffs or not … I think they’ll probably play hard enough to remain in the mix. I do think that they will be a quick out in the first round — they are just relying too heavily on players like Bullock, Burks, Payton, etc. who are borderline rotation players on a contending team. Meanwhile they are killing the trade value of Knox an Ntilikina. If Thibs doesn’t see them as part of the future, that’s his call, but they are lottery picks who are looking like complete busts right now. The Knicks should play them, even if it means missing out on the playoffs this year, so they can get something of value back for them.

[festar35Participant]

Haven’t posted here in quite some time, but this Knicks topic intrigues me. I’m very interested to see how they approach the deadline, they’ve been said they want to win now & they have some nice young pieces. I hope they don’t sacrifice these young prospects for a 1st round exit.

Right now I feel they will be in the top 8, I fully expect Miami, Boston, Toronto to all start playing better to round out that top 6, the next 4 spots will be up for grabs. I definitely think Knicks fall into that 7 or 8 spot.

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