Former Knicks GM Scott Perry: "I love the position NY's in…Did what they had to do… "Burks…Trusted…Brings that scoring when they lost IQ… "…Bogdanovic…can avg 20ppg… "What they have now's definitely good enough to get to the ECF…give Celtics a run for their money…"
Are the New York Knicks and the Cleveland Cavaliers the major obstacules for the Boston Celtics to reach the Finals?
NBAFriday, 09 February 2024 at 21:00
The Boston Celtics are having yet another great season. The Celtics are currently on top of the Eastern conference and looking stronger than ever. This might be their year, their biggest threat were Milwaukee Bucks, but they need to fix their defense, and with Embiid out and the Philadelphia 76ers don't have the personnel to match them properly. However two dark horses emerged throughout this campaign, the New York Knicks and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
As we approach the All-Star break, Cleveland and New York are playing at a level that rivals the best in the league. With Milwaukee's unprecedented mid-season coaching change and Joel Embiid's injury problems in Philadelphia, Boston's main competitors in the East are now the Knicks and Cavaliers.
Heading into Friday, the Cavs (33-16) are in sole second place in the East, while the Knicks (33-19) are tied with Milwaukee for third place. Clearly, both teams have undergone a remarkable transformation.
Stepping back a bit, starting this 2024, both Cleveland and New York had records of 18-15, considered good but below their fans' expectations. Since then, the Cavs have won 15 of their last 16 games, while the Knicks have won 15 of 18 games.
Both teams are showing dominance on both defense and offense (here especially with a brutal Donovan Mitchell). Cleveland has Jarrett Allen leading the defense in the paint, backed up by Isaac Okoro and Dean Wade on the wings. On the other hand, New York has strengthened their defense with the addition of OG Anunoby from Toronto, and is looking to improve their offense with the recent acquisitions of Bojan Bogdanovic and Alec Burks.
While Cleveland and New York are starting to shine on the court, Milwaukee and Philadelphia are facing challenges. The Sixers are struggling due to injuries to Joel Embiid, while Milwaukee is lacking on defense with Damian Lillard and the arrival of Doc Rivers has not served as a revival. We'll see what happens, but we see a much more wide open East than expected.
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