Knicks · List of True Championship Contenders (page 1)

The way I see it...

Clear Cut
Heat
Spurs

In the scussion
Knicks(w/Sheed & Camby)
OKC
Clippers
Pacers
Bulls

These teams play championship caliber basketball. Stars, Depth, Bigs, defense, rebounding, 3's, veteran leadership, scoring inside & out, getting to the line, bench scoring

Solid regular season teams with little shot at the getting to the Finals & some flaws
Lakers
Warriors
Grizzlies

Exciting regular season with NO shot at getting to the finals & multiple flaws
Nuggets
Hawks

Teams a piece away from making noise
Houston

Teams that think they are good but really aren't but are 1st or 2nd round exit teams
Brooklyn

The way I see it...

Clear Cut
HEAT
THUNDER
SPURS
CHICAGO

In the scussion
KNICKS
NETS
NUGGETS
LAKERS

Solid regular season teams with little shot at the getting to the Finals & some flaws
HAWKS
CELTICS
JAZZ
BLAZERS
PACERS
BUCKS

Exciting regular season with NO shot at getting to the finals & multiple flaws
WOLVES

Teams a piece away from making noise
WOLVES

Teams that think they are good but really aren't but are 1st or 2nd round exit teams
HAWKS
PACERS
CELTICS

I think you're under rating the Clippers- they were the top team before CP3 went down.

Also Joakim Noah has just been diagnosed with plantar fascitis- that can last all season, coupled with trying to get rose up to speed, I don't think they're in as great shape as some people think.

Clippers are better than the Spurs and Bulls...GS is a mirage..Houston is 9-18 in the western conference...They are more than a one piece away..Houston is not a playoff team..

Not sold on the Clips. Blake will get shutdown again in by championship contenders in the playoffs again limiting Paul's effectiveness

As for the Bulls. Noah will heal in time for the playoffs. Still a half a season left to rest. Bulls have proven they can get by with injured players. As long as Rose, Noah and Boozer are healthy they are legit in possibly getting out of the East

gunsnewing wrote:Not sold on the Clips. Blake will get shutdown again in by championship contenders in the playoffs again limiting Paul's effectiveness

As for the Bulls. Noah will heal in time for the playoffs. Still a half a season left to rest. Bulls have proven they can get by with injured players. As long as Rose, Noah and Boozer are healthy they are legit in possibly getting out of the East

Paul almost took down the Lakers by himself when he was with NO..Paul outplayed Kobe head to head when Kobe was the best in the league...

holfresh wrote:

gunsnewing wrote:Not sold on the Clips. Blake will get shutdown again in by championship contenders in the playoffs again limiting Paul's effectiveness

As for the Bulls. Noah will heal in time for the playoffs. Still a half a season left to rest. Bulls have proven they can get by with injured players. As long as Rose, Noah and Boozer are healthy they are legit in possibly getting out of the East

Paul almost took down the Lakers by himself when he was with NO..Paul outplayed Kobe head to head when Kobe was the best in the league...

Clips were swept by the Spurs last year. In the playoffs championhip caliber teams slow the game down. Blake won't be as effective again making Chris Paul less effective. Paul won't win a championship on his own.

Nevermind what OKC would do to Clips.

gunsnewing wrote:

holfresh wrote:

gunsnewing wrote:Not sold on the Clips. Blake will get shutdown again in by championship contenders in the playoffs again limiting Paul's effectiveness

As for the Bulls. Noah will heal in time for the playoffs. Still a half a season left to rest. Bulls have proven they can get by with injured players. As long as Rose, Noah and Boozer are healthy they are legit in possibly getting out of the East

Paul almost took down the Lakers by himself when he was with NO..Paul outplayed Kobe head to head when Kobe was the best in the league...

Clips were swept by the Spurs last year. In the playoffs championhip caliber teams slow the game down. Blake won't be as effective again making Chris Paul less effective. Paul won't win a championship on his own.

Nevermind what OKC would do to Clips.

OK...Remember this conversation...If Chris Paul is healthy he might be the best player in the league in June...

For some reason the Pacers seem to be underestimated here.

The only clear cut teams are OKC, Miami and San Antonio.

The ones in discussion are Knicks, Chicago, Clippers, Lakers (if they can get into the playoffs anything can happen), Grizzlies, Golden State and Pacers. (and even out of those I'd say Grizzlies and Golden State are only there due to their record, I don't actualy think they have a chance...the Grizz did have some sort of hope, but then they let go of Gay)

Hawks don't have any sort of cutting edge, they're solid and that's about it.
Celtics don't even have the manpower to be a legitimate threat, lost their far and away best player and Sullinger for the season.
Nuggets are a solid team with a good record, but again, they don't have the "factor" about them.
Nets are gone in the 1st round. Same for the Jazz.
Blazers got a good starting line-up but the bench is non-existent.

And that's about it. Other teams as of now really aren't worth a mention.

holfresh wrote:

gunsnewing wrote:

holfresh wrote:

gunsnewing wrote:Not sold on the Clips. Blake will get shutdown again in by championship contenders in the playoffs again limiting Paul's effectiveness

As for the Bulls. Noah will heal in time for the playoffs. Still a half a season left to rest. Bulls have proven they can get by with injured players. As long as Rose, Noah and Boozer are healthy they are legit in possibly getting out of the East

Paul almost took down the Lakers by himself when he was with NO..Paul outplayed Kobe head to head when Kobe was the best in the league...

Clips were swept by the Spurs last year. In the playoffs championhip caliber teams slow the game down. Blake won't be as effective again making Chris Paul less effective. Paul won't win a championship on his own.

Nevermind what OKC would do to Clips.

OK...Remember this conversation...If Chris Paul is healthy he might be the best player in the league in June...

Got it!

He might be the best player come June. Although I think Lebron & Durant might have something to say about that. However doesn't mean they will get to the finals imo

I think the Clippers and Pacers are legit.

I don't think there is a clear cut favorite right now.

OGkush121 wrote:For some reason the Pacers seem to be underestimated here.

The only clear cut teams are OKC, Miami and San Antonio.

The ones in discussion are Knicks, Chicago, Clippers, Lakers (if they can get into the playoffs anything can happen), Grizzlies, Golden State and Pacers.

Hawks don't have any sort of cutting edge, they're solid and that's about it.
Celtics don't even have the manpower to be a legitimate threat, lost their far and away best player and Sullinger for the season.
Nuggets are a solid team with a good record, but again, they don't have the "factor" about them.
Nets are gone in the 1st round. Same for the Jazz.
Blazers got a good starting line-up but the bench is non-existent.

And that's about it. Other teams as of now really aren't worth a mention.

San Antonio is not clear cut. They didn't stand a chance against OKC last year. They were the best team in the regular season but showed their age in the playoffs. This is the same concern I have for the Lakers going up against OKC.

Indiana are the Nuggets/Warriors of the East with a slightly better chance of getting to the finals because they defend. They also lack a star player to win it all.

Tyson owns Hibbert and the Knicks already beat them this year despite all the injuries. The game the Pacers won at home we were without Felton and Melo, couldn't score and almost won. Pacers couldn't score either. And we kicked their ass last year with Melo, Amare and Tyson

gunsnewing wrote:

holfresh wrote:

gunsnewing wrote:

holfresh wrote:

gunsnewing wrote:Not sold on the Clips. Blake will get shutdown again in by championship contenders in the playoffs again limiting Paul's effectiveness

As for the Bulls. Noah will heal in time for the playoffs. Still a half a season left to rest. Bulls have proven they can get by with injured players. As long as Rose, Noah and Boozer are healthy they are legit in possibly getting out of the East

Paul almost took down the Lakers by himself when he was with NO..Paul outplayed Kobe head to head when Kobe was the best in the league...

Clips were swept by the Spurs last year. In the playoffs championhip caliber teams slow the game down. Blake won't be as effective again making Chris Paul less effective. Paul won't win a championship on his own.

Nevermind what OKC would do to Clips.

OK...Remember this conversation...If Chris Paul is healthy he might be the best player in the league in June...

Got it!

He might be the best player come June. Although I think Lebron & Durant might have something to say about that. However doesn't mean they will get to the finals imo

I always hear announcer talk about guys are competitors and dismiss it..Chris Paul is a competitor extraordinaire ...That's why I always value individual talents so highly..Some guys are just able to take it to a next level and carry their teams like MJ has and Bird has...I think Paul has the same competitive fire...And has shown it when it counts ..

I agree but as competive as Paul was in new orleans they didn't stand a chance at a ring. Blake Griffin is not enough imo

Chris Paul on the Heat, OKC, Spurs, Lakers or Knicks would probably go all the way

gunsnewing wrote:

OGkush121 wrote:For some reason the Pacers seem to be underestimated here.

The only clear cut teams are OKC, Miami and San Antonio.

The ones in discussion are Knicks, Chicago, Clippers, Lakers (if they can get into the playoffs anything can happen), Grizzlies, Golden State and Pacers.

Hawks don't have any sort of cutting edge, they're solid and that's about it.
Celtics don't even have the manpower to be a legitimate threat, lost their far and away best player and Sullinger for the season.
Nuggets are a solid team with a good record, but again, they don't have the "factor" about them.
Nets are gone in the 1st round. Same for the Jazz.
Blazers got a good starting line-up but the bench is non-existent.

And that's about it. Other teams as of now really aren't worth a mention.

San Antonio is not clear cut. They didn't stand a chance against OKC last year. They were the best team in the regular season but showed their age in the playoffs. This is the same concern I have for the Lakers going up against OKC.

Indiana are the Nuggets/Warriors of the East with a slightly better chance of getting to the finals because they defend. They also lack a star player to win it all.

Tyson owns Hibbert and the Knicks already beat them this year despite all the injuries. The game the Pacers won at home we were without Felton and Melo, couldn't score and almost won. Pacers couldn't score either. And we kicked their ass last year with Melo, Amare and Tyson

Yeah, they got outplayed last year in the playoffs, but still. I don't know about you, but if you have Parker, Duncan and Ginobili still playing their parts and the legend that is Popovich on the bench you shouldn't be written off. They're not my favorite to win it or anything, but to say they're not clear cut competitors is sort of "uncalled for".

With the Lakers it really depends which side of them turns up. They could be the shit Lakers (the ones where Kobe puts up 30/40 +) or they could be the winning Lakers (Kobe going for a double-double with 10+ assists). They have been mostly sh1t throughout the season and are rightly not the first team to spring to mind when you're talking about an NBA championship. But they still have enough time to get better and more than enough talent on the roster to make some noise and turn a few heads. Again, I don't think they'll manage it, but I wouldn't count them out.

The Pacers play defense, and defense wins championships. To say they don't stand a chance is wrong, especialy since they're more than able to "hang" with most good teams and spank the Heat.
When the foundation of a winning team is built on defense you can win any day, even if you have a bad shooting day, if you build your team around outscoring your opponent you're not getting that ring.

Then again the playoffs have so much to do with matchups that it really just depends on who draws who.

Knicks are not in the Scussin category. Not after not proven to win a playoff series with many of the players they've had on the team and their wild splits this year against the tough teams....Also what you describe for a group of teams also applies to other team not in those groups, you're not consistent

The way I see it...

Clear Cut
Heat
OKC

Heavily In the Scussion
Bulls
Spurs
Pacers

These teams are proven winners and/or have challenged those in the post-season who have gone far in the post-season recently. Regular season is Regular season....These teams play championship caliber basketball always consistent in what they do and how they play, are physically and mentally tough, evenly balanced on both sides of the ball and are tops of the league in defense

Sleepers/Darkhorses
Clippers
Memphis

All the teams above have these characteristics but these teams lack much/some of what's listed above.... Stars, Depth, Bigs, respectable defense, rebounding, 3's, veteran leadership, scoring inside & out, getting to the line, bench scoring, Solid regular season teams with little shot at the getting to the Finals & some flaws

Pretenders/Paper Champs
Knicks
Brooklyn

Teams that think they are good but really aren't at this time, likely early 1st or 2nd round exit teams

Exciting Regular Season/A Piece Away
Nuggets
Warriors
Houston
Hawks
Bucks

Could make noise a la Baron Davis/Warriors type team with difficult shot at getting to the finals, depends heavily on matchup(s), have multiple flaws. Not much difference between Paper Champs and Exciting Regular Season Team

Fading Legends
Lakers
Boston

Although could rear their ugly head with the heart of a champion

The Bulls are fakers...They play very hard during the regular season...But everyone plays hard in the playoffs..They don't have a second trick in the playoffs....Sixers beat them last year after Rose went down...

Houston is 9-18 in the West, tied for giving up the most point in the NBA, yet they are a piece away..Don't let the fact the the Lakers and Dallas underachieving cloud the fact on where Houston should be...They aren't a playoff team..

This year they will have Rose only question is how close to 100% will he be come playoff time. They are also up 3-0 on the Knicks without Rose. All 3 games were blowouts

gunsnewing wrote:This year they will have Rose only question is how close to 100% will he be come playoff time. They are also up 3-0 on the Knicks without Rose. All 3 games were blowouts

Well weren't we missing a few pieces as well??..Why is this always overlooked??

holfresh wrote:The Bulls are fakers...They play very hard during the regular season...But everyone plays hard in the playoffs..They don't have a second trick in the playoffs....Sixers beat them last year after Rose went down...

Timeout did they not challenge all the teams in the East with a healthy a Derrick Rose and lost to the Heat in the ECF? Now had the Knicks recently made the ECFs with Melo you would flying fit if fans said we aren't real and are Fakers.

Now here's the deal we haven't won a playoff series since we've had Melo. I don't want to hear about injuries, because a lot of teams that have been in the playoffs 3-5yrs have had injuries including Boston/Lakers/Bulls/Pacers/Spurs

3G4G wrote:

holfresh wrote:The Bulls are fakers...They play very hard during the regular season...But everyone plays hard in the playoffs..They don't have a second trick in the playoffs....Sixers beat them last year after Rose went down...

Timeout did they not challenge all the teams in the East with a healthy a Derrick Rose and lost to the Heat in the ECF? Now had the Knicks recently made the ECFs with Melo you would flying fit if fans said we aren't real and are Fakers.

Now here's the deal we haven't won a playoff series since we've had Melo. I don't want to hear about injuries, because a lot of team that have been in the playoffs 3-5yrs have had injuries including Boston/Lakers/Bulls/Pacers/Spurs

Well if u don't want to hear about injuries, how did the Bulls do last year against the Sixers??..First round KO..

I have seen in regular season games when teams match their intensity they do well ...Knicks never matched their intensity this season..Last year, Lin and Fields didn't pass the ball to Melo in the post...We would have won last year...