After suffering through some 20 years of ineptitude, the New York Knicks have been gradually building a winning team over the last few years. Now, they seem to have a clear opportunity to do something special this coming season.
With Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum out for the season due to a torn Achilles (one he suffered versus the Knicks in the 2025 playoffs) and Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton also out for the year because of a similar injury, the field in the Eastern Conference is almost wide open for the Knicks. The Cleveland Cavaliers remain in the way, but New York seems to be clearly better than the rest of the pack right now.
Andy Bailey of Bleacher Report just gave the over/under for wins and predicted win totals for all 30 NBA teams in a recent article. The Knicks' over/under is at 53.5 wins, and the only East team with a higher figure is the Cavaliers. Overall, only three NBA teams were given a higher over/under than New York in this piece.
"Every member of the New York Knicks lineup that led (by a massive margin) the league in total minutes last season (Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby and Karl-Anthony Towns) is back," Bailey wrote.
"That alone should have Knicks fans encouraged about the possibility of a second straight 50-win season, but that's not all.
"New York also added Guerschon Yabusele and Jordan Clarkson to a bench that includes Mitchell Robinson. That should lead to meaningful improvement over last season's second unit."
Last season, New York went 51-31, but Bailey picked the team to once again win 51 regular-season games. However, his reasons for that prediction aren't necessarily negative.
"So, why are the Knicks predicted to finish below their over-under this season?
"Well, think back to caveat in the intro. There are only so many wins to go around, and being higher than consensus on one team might mean shaving a win or two off other teams.
"That and what feels like a small likelihood of New York being as healthy as it was last season made the Knicks one of the victims of the finite leaguewide win total."
As Bailey pointed out, the Knicks have a somewhat deeper bench for this season. Clarkson isn't an efficient shooter, but he did average 16.2 points a game last season, which was around his career average in scoring. Yabusele, a wide-bodied 6-foot-8 29-year-old who can play the 4 and 5 spots, put up 11.0 points on 50.1% from the field and 38% from 3-point range, 5.6 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 27.1 minutes a game.
Backup guard Miles McBride, who has been a spark plug over the last couple of years, remains on the roster.
The onus seems to be on All-Star big man Karl-Anthony Towns to raise his game. While he was at 24.4 points and 12.8 rebounds a game last season, many are disappointed with his lack of defense, both around the rim and on the perimeter.
The Knicks have a new head coach in Mike Brown, who has always been known as a defensive mastermind but has also kept up with the NBA's offensive evolution in recent years. All eyes across the Tri-State area will also be on him as the team attempts to win its first world championship since 1973.
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