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After years of mediocrity, the New York Knicks seem to have finally turned the corner and become a legitimate threat in the Eastern Conference, with the team seeing Jalen Brunson turn into a superstar while having the right pieces around him to compete with the best of the best in the NBA.
Although the Knicks headed into the 2024 NBA Playoffs with a lot of confidence, they had already lost Julius Randle for the season and then saw OG Anunoby limited by injury, which didn’t bode well for their chances of advancing to the NBA Finals.
However, the Knicks showed a lot of grit by defeating the Philadelphia 76ers in six games in the first round and then taking the Indiana Pacers the distance in the second round, when Brunson went down with a broken hand.
The Knicks had a lot of heart and were leaning on that to take them to the Finals and potentially a title, but in the end, the injuries turned out to be too much to overcome.
Josh Hart, who played a pivotal role in the Knicks’ success, said he believes they could have given the eventual NBA champion Boston Celtics a run for their money had they reached the Eastern Conference Finals and been healthy with Randle available, via NBA Central.
Josh Hart thinks a healthy Knicks team with Julius Randle could have pushed the Celtics to 6 or 7 games in last season’s playoffs
( @Roommates__Show / https://t.co/s1YmYtHnY1) pic.twitter.com/XhdjvxQoMU
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) July 5, 2024
Although hypotheticals only go so far and shouldn’t be something entertained in the aftermath, the Knicks certainly would have been a better team with a healthy squad. But then again, every team is banged up to a certain extent at that point of the season, which proves to be the difference a lot of the time.
With the Knicks recently acquiring Mikal Bridges and targeting Walker Kessler of the Utah Jazz in a trade, it will be interesting to see what they can do next season and whether it will be enough to compete with the Celtics and a new-look Philadelphia 76ers team.
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