Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green has been known for being highly critical of the New York Knicks, but he recently gave them some praise on his podcast The Draymond Green Show following their offseason upgrades that include bringing in Mikal Bridges via trade and re-signing OG Anunoby and Jalen Brunson to lucrative extensions.
Draymond Green sees the potential in the Knicks
“I don’t want to see that team in the regular season because they are going to be playing harder than nobody’s tomorrow,” Green said (h/t Let’s Talk Knicks via X). “Defensively, that team is going to be tough… would not shock me if they get the number one seed.”
Despite Green’s rare praise for the Knicks, he stopped short of saying that they would reach the NBA mountain top by making the finals. He further added that not only does he think New York will fall short this upcoming season, but for the next three years as well.
Making the finals is not an easy task, especially with the competitiveness of the Eastern Conference in recent years. Therefore, it’s reasonable to stop short of making a rather bold claim that an unproven team will reached the promised land despite the excitement surrounding them.
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The Knicks are set up to make a run at the finals in 2024
On paper, the Knicks are arguably the deepest team in the league in terms of overall talent. Led by two All-Stars, two elite wing defenders, and a solid bench unit, they are set up to be a true title contender and a threat to take down the reigning champion Boston Celtics.
However, the Knicks still have to prove that all of the pieces can co-exist. That shouldn’t be a massive problem, though, as along with the Villanova quartet, the team showed last season that the Anunoby addition transformed this team into a contender overnight. They only got 12 games of the Brunson, Anunoby and Julius Randle trio last season, but they were 11-1 in games they played together in.
The Knicks also have a winning mindset on the court and are willing to sacrifice shot attempts for the greater good of the team. Last season, several players stepped up amid the adversity of all of the injuries to the roster and were a big reason why they were able to stay competitive throughout the playoffs.
Despite all of that, the Knicks will continue to be harshly critiqued by people like Green until they prove them wrong. That could happen this upcoming season if all of their pieces click at once and they remain healthy.
