Reasons Why New York Knicks Is A 2024 Championship Contender

The New York Knicks had their most successful season in almost a decade, winning 47 games and a playoff series for the first time since 2012. With those achievements comes a new responsibility: demonstrating that they were not a fluke.

Reasons Why New York Knicks Is A 2024 Championship Contender

The contemporary Knicks are already dealing with New York’s enormous expectations, and expectations will almost surely be greater than a second-round departure this time around. While a championship is unlikely for the Knicks in 2024, a step backwards might be the end of the road for certain on and off-the-court staff.

There are several aspects that go into winning a championship, including health, coaching, team camaraderie, general managers assembling a roster, and, most importantly, the talent of the players. Some of these factors explain why the Knicks haven’t won a championship since 1973 and have only participated in two NBA Finals since then, in 1994 and 1999.

Even though many people dismiss the Knicks as a legitimate contender in the Eastern Conference, here are five reasons why they may win a championship in 2024.

New York is unlikely to win the NBA Finals… just yet. Sure, the team would like to get there in the near future now that Jalen Brunson and Julius Randle are there to provide a semblance of a winning core, but New York probably believes it is one or two pieces away from being a serious contender, which is why they’re reportedly looking for MVP candidates to join the current group. That should not be anyone’s fault in the corporation.

A great bench

If the Knicks remain with what they’ve got, they’ll have one of the greatest benches in the league.

The Knicks will almost certainly deploy the same starting five and four-man bench as they used for most of last season. This means Isaiah Hartenstein, freshly acquired Donte DiVincenzo, Josh Hart, and Immanuel Quickley will be their four bench players.

Last season, all of these individuals were mostly bench players, averaging a total of 39.5 points. Last season, this would have been enough for a top-five scoring bench.

When Josh Hart joined the Knicks, he averaged 1.4 steals and seven rebounds off the bench while also having one of the league’s finest defensive grades.

The arrival of Donte DiVincenzo is a major boost for the Knicks, who finished last season with the league’s 19th-best 3-point shooting %.

Quickley, the Knicks’ bench leader, placed second in the Sixth Man of the Year vote. Last season, he averaged 14.9 points, 4.2 rebounds, 3.4 assists, and 1 steal while shooting 45/37/82. In the postseason, he averaged 9 points, 1.6 rebounds, and 1 assist on 35/24/85 shooting splits.

Tom Thibodeau

Thibodeau, Tom Over the previous 11 seasons, “Thibs” has been one of the top basketball coaches. He is extremely enthusiastic about every single possession, ensuring that his guys play hard and wisely. That is why he has a career-winning percentage of 57 per cent.

Thibs is an excellent coach since he implemented modifications during the season. The most significant change was the transition to a nine-man rotation. The Knicks were 10-13 over their first 23 games. The Knicks ended the season 37-23, the sixth-best record in the NBA at the time, when Thibs switched to a primary nine-man rotation.

Thibs forced the Knicks to concentrate on the minor details. Winning the turnover fight and playing at a slow tempo restrict an opponent’s possessions, giving them fewer chances to score. Shooting three-pointers is essential in today’s league. Most significantly, they were excellent at finishing off possessions by getting boards, but they were also excellent at creating second-chance opportunities by grabbing offensive rebounds.

RJ Barrett

Barrett must improve his play if the Knicks want to win a championship.

Barrett averaged 19.6 points, 5 rebounds, and 2.8 assists last season while shooting 43.4 per cent from the field, 31 per cent from three, and 74% from the free throw line. He was incredibly erratic, and it appeared at times that he could score from everywhere and at other times that he couldn’t throw a pebble into the water.

He played the best in the Heat series, averaging 20.8 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 2.8 assists on 43/38/78 shooting splits.

He has been considerably more efficient and effective in the previous few games he has played.

A weak East

Outside of the Knicks, the Milwaukee Bucks, Boston Celtics, Philadelphia 76ers, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Miami Heat are also contenders for the Eastern Conference title. Each of these teams has significant weaknesses.

The Celtics and Bucks are the top two teams in the East. Both have issues, since both clubs were defeated by the Heat. The Celtics will not be the same defensive squad they were last season, and they did lose three times to the Knicks. The Bucks haven’t won a playoff game since 2021, when they were eliminated in the first round.

Going into next season, the Knicks are one of the most underappreciated teams in the league. When Tom Thibodeau switched to a nine-man rotation, the Knicks were sixth in the league and fourth in the East. The Knicks had the third-best record in the NBA and the second-best in the East after trading for Josh Hart.

Jalen Brunson

The cliche goes that superstars win championships, and that is exactly what the Knicks need Jalen Brunson to be next season.
Last season, he averaged a career-high 24 points, 3.5 rebounds, 6.2 assists, and shot 49.1 per cent from the field, 41.6 per cent from three, and 82.9 per cent from the free throw line. He then improved his play in the playoffs, averaging 27.8 points, 4.9 rebounds, 5.6 assists, and 1.5 steals.
Brunson has performed at a superstar level for the duration of the season and should continue to do so for the rest of the season. He has shown he can compete with the best by outplaying Donovan Mitchell in back-to-back playoff series and outplaying Jimmy Butler.
Jalen Brunson’s rise to stardom was the primary reason for the Knicks’ success.

 

 

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