No one is giving the New York Knicks a chance next season. The Knicks are picked to be a bottom team or a team that is tanking again.
The most recent vote of disrespect comes in the form of ranking tiers, scattered across the internet to lure Knicks fans back into a state of depression. Tiers are when people ranked all the teams in the NBA within categories such as, ‘title contenders’, ‘playoff locks’, ‘overrated’, ‘tanking’, etc. In all these tiers, the Knicks are constantly at the very bottom. Again, no one is giving the Knicks a chance, however, being the underdog has its advantages.
All of those naysayers are just fueling the fire for this young New York Knicks team. The newest member appears to already have that fire lit beneath him.
Bobby Portis stated in an interview with Alex Kennedy of Hoops Hypes that he loves being “underrated.” According to Portis, he is an underdog. This is exactly the type of attitude this young team needs to have entering this season.
Yes, the Knicks are underdogs and have been for years, but this season is different. They are fiery. And having people doubt them and say they are tanking again is perfect.
One young player on this team, coming off his best year, Julius Randle, is looking to build off that. Others like Dennis Smith Jr. are looking to prove that he can be the player people think.
Kevin Knox is looking to silence the haters after a historically, statistical atrocious rookie season. As for RJ Barrett, he played in four summer league games and is 19-years-old, relax. And Mitchell Robinson, well, we all know he is going to be a beast.
Portis, along with new point guard addition Elfrid Payton, are looking to prove something this season. More intensity the better. Thankfully, the Knicks got more of that with Marcus Morris.
The Knicks really have a chance to make some noise next season with this ‘something to prove’ attitude. They are not going to contend for a title or any of that jazz, but they are on the right path to make a giant step forward in the rebuilding process this upcoming season.