The Knicks are title contenders

[indeedproceed]

I do not think they are for real yet until they win in the playoffs.

You could say that about the 2008 Celtics, even though about 85% of Celtics fans thought they'd win it all for the majority of that season.  And they were clearly the best team, and Vegas had them as favorites from about mid-November to the end.

Celtics record in 07-08 through new years: 26-3 (89% winning %)

Knicks record through now: 16-16 (50% winning %)

Not the same, IMO.

I have doubts about their coach too and his ability to win in the playoffs.

Remember that was a fear some had here of Doc Rivers? ESPECIALLY after 2005 when he got WORKED by Carlisle and a badly undermanned Pacer team beat a far more talented Celtics team?

Valid.

Never won a playoff series,  Some teams do great in the regular season and the Knicks are full of a lot of those guys who have never won jack in the NBA.

D'Antoni has.  Stoudemire and Melo hae reached the WCFs (hmmm, just like how the furthest Pierce, KG, and Ray ever went was to the CFs just once on their prior teams.)  Chandler was a huge reason (if not the #2 reason) why Dallas won a ring last year.

Valid.

Horrible logic on your part.  Are all teams just 'thrown out' because they've never won the championship in immediate history?  And even that may be irrelevant anyways because their team leader (Chandler) is a guy who went to Dallas, made them a defensive team, won a title the only year he was there, and went to the Knicks.  Dallas never did a [dang] thing without him, and won't do anything without him again either.  And he's a Knick now.  Sporting a 20+ PER and shooting 70% from the field.

Saying Tyson Chandler is their leader is pretty shakey logic. Carmelo Anthony is the most dominant personality on that team. Saying Tyson Chandler 'made' Dallas a defensive team is..partially true (Shawn Marion, Jason Kidd, Rick Carlisle, and others had a pretty big impact as well). Saying Dallas never did a thing without Chandler is completely false, unless the only 'thing' you're measuring are championships.

And calling a team 'contenders' after an 8-1 stretch is pretty generous.

[Marcus13]

I dont agree with this at all.  Their guard play is very unreliable, Amare still hasn't found his role with the team, Carmelo will go into superstar mode, they have no depth, and now Lin dribbles out farr too much of the shot clock.

[Senninsage]

Knicks are the real deal. Anybody who can't see that are just blind or ignorant.

Lin is also very clearly the real thing. He's no fluke. He's officially a top player in this league. You don't play like this consistently and somehow not be a top player in this league.

The Knicks will be a very tough team to beat in a 7 game series. Any idiot can see that. Lin is by no means expected to keep up these kinds of points numbers, but since he started playing in february, he is leading even players like lebron and kevin durant in overall points. What!?

[indeedproceed]

Knicks are the real deal. Anybody who can't see that are just blind or ignorant.

Lin is also very clearly the real thing. He's no fluke. He's officially a top player in this league. You don't play like this consistently and somehow not be a top player in this league.

The Knicks will be a very tough team to beat in a 7 game series. Any idiot can see that. Lin is by no means expected to keep up these kinds of points numbers, but since he started playing in february, he is leading even players like lebron and kevin durant in overall points. What!?

#1: I'd avoid calling people who disagree with you 'blind or ignorant'. It invites flame wars and vitriol, and it doesn't make your point any better than "I disagree".

#2: Define 'Top player', and 'consistently'. Because what I see is a guy who personifies 'wait and see' if there ever was one. We don't even have a 10 game sample size. 

[guava_wrench]

I have to admit, this Knicks team is very likeable and they are for real, they are legit title contenders now with Lin and JR Smith. If I where the GM, I would trade Melo.

I was quite disturbed when I found myself rooting for Lin and the Knicks. I look forward to Melo returning since he is so easy to root against.

[birdbrady]

Question for those "rooting for Lin and the Knicks."

Did you guys root for the Knicks when they had Patrick Ewing - who basically grew up in Boston?

I figured not.

[Change]

Point guard ✔ Jeremy Lin, Baron Davis
Scorers ✔ Amar'e Stoudemire, Carmelo Anthony
Defenders ✔ Tyson Chandler, Iman Shumpert, Jared Jeffries
Shooters ✔ JR Smith, Steve Novak
Glue Players ✔ Landry Fields
Coaching ✔ Mike D'antoni, Mike Woodson


Scary team.

[Donoghus]

Question for those "rooting for Lin and the Knicks."

Did you guys root for the Knicks when they had Patrick Ewing - who basically grew up in Boston?

I figured not.

Or maybe some people just appreciate fun, exciting basketball.

[Finkelskyhook]

They'll come down to earth as soon as the snitchster comes back.

[Celts Fan 92]

Solid team wit improved team play recently but I say HELL NO to title contenders lol i like lin but they're the knicks in our division we have a long bitter rivalry wit em it feels weird semi-pullin for them

[kg is king]

I think adding JR Smith was a huge move for them. A shooter that can stretch the floor and is instant offense. They have another 2 months to mesh and gel, which is a scary thought considering the amount of talent they have. If somehow they can add another big, I'd put them on the same level as Miami and Chicago.

On another note, Danny please do something! Anyone else wonder why he didn't go after JR Smith? Or did he just have zero interest coming to Boston?

[KCattheStripe]

is Carmelo anthony still on that team?

[indeedproceed]

I think adding JR Smith was a huge move for them. A shooter that can stretch the floor and is instant offense. They have another 2 months to mesh and gel, which is a scary thought considering the amount of talent they have. If somehow they can add another big, I'd put them on the same level as Miami and Chicago.

On another note, Danny please do something! Anyone else wonder why he didn't go after JR Smith? Or did he just have zero interest coming to Boston?

(Casey Jacobsen, former player):

Most selfish teammate: JR Smith

I played with JR his rookie year in New Orleans in 2005. We were a bad team, full of me-first guys, but he took the crown. I’d never seen a guy so intent on shooting the ball every time it hit his hands and I’m sure I never will again. Watching him during his latest Denver years, I can see that not much has changed.

[syfy9]

is Carmelo anthony still on that team?

And what about D'Antoni?

[clover]

Point guard ✔ Jeremy Lin, Baron Davis
Scorers ✔ Amar'e Stoudemire, Carmelo Anthony
Defenders ✔ Tyson Chandler, Iman Shumpert, Jared Jeffries
Shooters ✔ JR Smith, Steve Novak
Glue Players ✔ Landry Fields
Coaching ✔ Mike D'antoni, Mike Woodson


Scary team.

Is D'Antoni really scary...in a good way?

But I agree, good team.