Are the Knicks title contenders? Why New York has a real shot

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The Knicks are one of the most interesting teams to watch at the trade deadline. Will they make a move to improve their chances of winning a title? Kevin O’Connor and Knicks superfan and Yahoo’s own Ariel Helwani go deep on New York’s recent success and potential concerns in this excerpt from “The Kevin O’Connor Show” which has been edited for length and clarity.

Kevin: Zoom out with the Knicks, the last two months since Nov. 30. Third in offensive rating, no surprise there, everybody thought they’d have a top offense. The questions have been about defense. But over those last two months, they’re sixth in defensive rating. That’s a pretty big sample at this point.

I feel like there’s concern come postseason time with KAT as a lone center, which is why we’re having this conversation about them either getting Mitchell Robinson back or going to get another big, but they’re sixth in defensive rating for two months straight now. That’s really impressive. It speaks to Mikal Bridges getting better over the course of the year. Josh Hart, I mean, he’s not an All-Star, but maybe we should have …

Ariel: You can make a very strong case that he is one of the 24 most valuable players in the league.

Kevin: Do we have this wrong when it comes to naming all-stars — that a Josh Hart should be an All-Star type?

Ariel: 100%. What would be wrong about that?

If you just look at who have been the most impactful and successful players this year, 24 of them, he has to be on there. … This guy’s a shooting guard really. He plays like a power forward. It’s unbelievable. The way he goes after the ball, the way he hustles, he’s been outstanding.

Kevin: It’s nuts. He does everything. He’ll screen, he passes the ball. He’s selfless, defends at a high level, sets a tone.

It’s part of what defines the character of this Knicks team, and that’s why, I mean I get the concern with KAT at the 5, but their defense has been great for two months. They have a ton of wings to throw at the Celtics, to throw at Jayson Tatum, throw at Jaylen Brown. Guys like Hart can defend smaller. If it’s against the Cavs, Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland. He can…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/are-the-knicks-title-contenders-why-new-york-has-a-real-shot-171416301.html

Author : Yahoo Sports

Publish date : 2025-02-01 17:14:00

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