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The New York Knicks are in the midst of a seven game win streak following the victory over the Indiana Pacers on December 18.
A lot has gone right for the Knicks over that stretch as they climbed out of a hole that saw them as a fringe play-in team all the way up to the 6th seed in the Eastern Conference.
The Knicks still have a lot of games left to play before the season wraps up, and the winning streak will have to end eventually. New York has proven they can compete with anyone night in and night out, and Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle made the bold statement of calling the Knicks one of the best teams in the NBA at the moment.
Carlisle Praises the Knicks
With the Knicks rolling, it’s obvious they are playing like one of the best teams in the league, but it’s one thing to be playing like one and it’s another thing entirely being called one of them from an opposing coach.
“Right now, New York is as good as any team in the NBA,” he said. “To go toe-to-toe, and we had a six point lead and they hit two threes in the last couple minutes. I don’t remember the exact sequence. Very disappointing, no question about that.”
The Pacers are right in the hunt with the Knicks, as were the Bulls, so seeing the Knicks dispatch the both of them is an encouraging sign for fans, but there’s still a lot of season left to go.
Streaks like this are nice to see, but they all end eventually and the Knicks will need to prove they belong where they are in the standings. The Bucks, Nets, Celtics, Cavaliers, and Sixers are all above them in the conference, and each of those teams seem like they could easily represent the East in the Finals.
Each of those teams boast a superstar level talent, and while the Knicks don’t quite reach that lofty height, they have a well-rounded roster that seems to complement itself.
Having an opposing coach notice how far the team has come is a good start, but more work will have to be done for the Knicks to truly cement themselves as a competitor.
Any Trades Coming?
With Cam Reddish, Evan Fournier and Derrick Rose out of the rotation, the expectation is those players are going to come up in trade talks and potentially be shipped out of town.
All three of them can still provide for a team, and the Lakers have already shown interest in bringing on Reddish and Fournier, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania.
“The Lakers are prioritizing shooting in their conversations with teams, and have discussed packages including salaries and a protected first-round pick for Detroit’s Bojan Bogdanovic, league sources, who were granted anonymity so that they could speak freely, tell The Athletic,” Charania reported. “They’ve also discussed concepts involving New York’s Cam Reddish and Evan Fournier, sources said.”
For Rose, there’s no telling what type of interest he’s drawing considering he’s 34 years old and coming off a variety of injuries that caused him to miss the majority of last season. He can still provide veteran leadership for a team, but his days of playing 20-30 minutes per game appear to be behind him.
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