Before the highly-anticipated clash between the New York Knicks and the Boston Celtics tipped-off, the panel of the NBA Countdown discussed the top four teams in the Eastern Conference. While talking about the importance of the clash in Madison Square Garden, Stephen A. Smith stressed the fact that Jalen Brunson and co. could go on to play in the 2024 Eastern Conference Finals, provided that the team can remain healthy.
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After underperforming and being a lottery-bound franchise for the past several years, the New York Knicks are finally one of the best teams in the league. Currently placed 4th in their conference, Tom Thibodeau’s boys only trail the Boston Celtics, the Cleveland Cavaliers, and the Milwaukee Bucks.
Stephen A. Smith disregarded Giannis Antetokounmpo’s Bucks and Donovan Mitchell’s Cavaliers to state that the New York side will only worry about facing the Celtics in the postseason. With Jayson Tatum and Co. virtually locking the #1 seed, Smith believes that clinching a top 3 seed would be crucial. Further, if the team can be injury-free for the remainder of the season, the ESPN analyst can see the Knicks advancing to the 2024 Eastern Conference Finals.
“If the New York Knicks are a top-three seed, the objective is to avoid the Boston Celtics. That’s the objective… Am I worried about the Cleveland Cavaliers? No… If Julius Randle comes back healthy, if Mitchell Robinson comes back healthy… if the New York Knicks come back healthy, they’re going to the conference finals,” Smith said.
Jalen Brunson and Co. are only two games behind the #3 Bucks and three games behind the #2 Cavaliers. With 25 games remaining for the conclusion of the regular season, once Julius Randle is back in the lineup, the Knicks can manage to finish with their franchise’s best record since the 2012-2013 season (54-28).
That said, Stephen A. Smith’s Conference Finals prediction is still a bold one, to say the least. Much like the West, the East is also looking very deep this year. So, it is entirely possible that the Knicks crash out in the first or second round all over again. If and when that happens, Smith’s reaction is all fans will be looking forward to.
The New York Knicks have three crucial players injured
The New York Knicks played exceptionally well in the first half of the 2023-2024 season. Unfortunately, the team has found themselves in a soup lately, suffering six losses in the past eight games. The major reason for the same can be pinpointed to crucial players missing out due to injuries.
The likes of Julius Randle, OG Anunoby, and Mitchell Robinson are crucial players for the Knicks. Without the three starters healthy, the Knicks have been struggling.
Randle, who dislocated his right shoulder towards the end of January, was only expected to be sidelined for three weeks. It’s been more than a month now, and there’s still no timeline for Randle’s return. However, fans will be pleased to learn that the All-Star has been healing.
“Every day I’m getting stronger, I’m getting better,” Randle said. “So just taking it a day at a time, just continuing to try to just stay locked in on what I have to do to continue just to get healthy. Not just physically but mentally as well.”
Early in February, Anunoby hurt his elbow and was expected to miss three weeks. It’s been more than 17 days since undergoing surgery to remove a loose bone fragment from his right elbow and the forward has not yet progressed to contact drills or any other workout that involves his right arm.
Mitchell Robinson was initially expected to miss out for the entire season after suffering an ankle injury. However, a month later, the franchise released a positive update stating that there could be a possibility of the center returning to the lineup this season itself. While the big man has taken off his walking boot, he’s yet to start running.
All these three players are expected to join the lineup in March. Once they find their rhythm, the Knicks will surely poise as a threat to every title contender in the league. Until their return, Jalen Brunson will have to help the Knicks to maintain their position in the standings.
