One guy's take
Knicks are still the best team right now, despite trades in East
James L. Edwards III
So this is what being the hunted looks like, eh?
The New York Knicks won the NBA title less than three weeks ago, and the Eastern Conference has gone mad, wild, extraordinary. The run-up to free agency has led to several Eastern Conference teams making blockbuster moves. Giannis Antetokounmpo is with the Miami Heat. Kawhi Leonard is back with the Toronto Raptors. Jaylen Brown was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers.
The East, without question, has stronger teams today than it did a month ago. Yet, despite all of the chaos, the Knicks should still emerge as favorites when the dust settles and the season begins.
Push aside one of the most dominant playoff runs the NBA has ever seen, look across the Eastern Conference and find me a starting lineup better than Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby, Josh Hart and Karl-Anthony Towns. I’ll wait.
Philadelphia’s starting lineup is good. It could be great, but that is if Joel Embiid is healthy and available. I don’t need to elaborate on that.
Boston, after trading Brown and adding Paul George and Mitchell Robinson, just feels like a different version of last year’s overachieving team.
Memorable moments from Jaylen Brown's 10 seasons in Boston
Miami’s starting lineup is good, too, particularly defensively. Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo are a scary pairing. But are we sure Antetokounmpo is going to hold up healthwise? Do the Heat have enough on-ball creation? I’m not sure they do.
Toronto? The Raptors are a better team than the one that was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs, as Leonard was one of the best six players in the NBA last regular season. But I don’t believe RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley are championship-level players.
New York has a continuity that will take all of these teams time to collect. What the Knicks did this postseason on the way to their first NBA title in 53 years is synergy in human form. There aren’t going to be kinks to iron out.
Even last year’s No. 1 seed, the Detroit Pistons, a team that did have continuity, is going through a bit of puberty. Isaiah Stewart is gone. So is Tobias Harris. Jalen Duren doesn’t seem too pleased with how his restricted free agency has gone. A team with a real identity is going through a bit of a makeover. Furthermore, Detroit still doesn’t have a secondary ballhandler next to Cade Cunningham.
The team the Knicks beat comfortably in the Eastern Conference finals, the Cleveland Cavaliers, still need to prove worthy on the sport’s most intense stage.
Let’s wait to see what Tyrese Haliburton looks like coming off a torn Achilles before we put the Indiana Pacers back in any top-dawg conversation.
Beyond all of that, a big reason the Knicks won the title is because of their bench play. Landry Shamet was huge. He’s back. Jose Alvarado came up big. He’s back. Miles McBride is still one of the game’s best 3-point shooters. Yes, you could talk yourself into missing Robinson, who agreed to terms with the Boston Celtics on Wednesday. He’s one of the best offensive rebounders of all time and a solid defender. Robinson, though, averaged only 13.9 minutes per game in the playoffs largely because of his poor free-throw shooting. The oft-injured Robinson has played a big part in many Knicks wins over the last several seasons, but he wasn’t a huge factor these playoffs. New York will miss his presence, ultimately because any replacement won’t replicate his dominance on the glass, but finding someone who can be available, knock down free throws and rebound even a little bit will lessen the blow.
As for the rest of these teams, Philadelphia’s best bench player is, who? Adem Bona? Miami has Bobby Portis, but that’s about it in terms of proven talent. Toronto has some interesting players, but they’re all young. Again, the Pistons might be going through an identity shift. The Cavaliers aren’t better on paper right now than they were the last time we saw them, as Dean Wade left for Philadelphia.
All of this movement is fun. It’s exciting. It elicits conversation and debate. Until someone actually dethrones the champs, however, none of these teams has the combination of star power, continuity and depth these Knicks still have.
New York is still the best team in the East until further notice.
