Let’s ignore the past two weeks.
The injury-ravaged Knicks that have dropped four straight games entering the All-Star break are not the team you will see in the spring. Think of the team you watched a few weeks back, playing to their potential, winning nine straight by an average of nearly 16 points, which included a 38-point drubbing of the defending champion Nuggets.
You have seen Jalen Brunson become an All-Star, Julius Randle remain an All-Star and OG Anunoby elevate the Knicks to another level. You saw Leon Rose improve the roster with the acquisitions of Bojan Bogdanovic and Alec Burks. You have watched Tom Thibodeau squeeze the most out of the rare team that never mails it in, building a top-10 offense and defense, whose physicality and passion should frighten any potential postseason opponent. You have seen enough to know everything is in play this season, partly because of what you haven’t seen around the league.
There are no dynasties to topple, no overwhelming favorite that appears unbeatable. No one took Golden State’s place after Kevin Durant ruptured his Achilles in the 2019 NBA Finals. There have been five different champions in the past five seasons. That hadn’t happened since the 1970s. The Eastern Conference has had five different representatives in the past six Finals.
