New York Knicks rookie Kevin Knox turned heads with his performance in the NBA Summer League, thus creating some positivity around the franchise. Knox is taking that a step further with his prediction for the 2018-19 NBA season.
The New York Post’s Marc Berman spoke to Knox about how one oddsmaker in Las Vegas set the Knicks’ over/under to 29.5 wins. Knox believes the team can sail past that mark.
“I saw that. People are sleeping on us with the 29 wins,” he said. “I think we definitely can win at least 35 and get in that playoff talk. That’s my personal opinion. Everyone has their own opinion. But the whole team, I’m pretty confident we’re really good this year, that we have a chance to make the playoffs.”
LeBron James’ move to the Los Angeles Lakers has opened things up a bit in the Eastern Conference. The Brooklyn Nets, Orlando Magic and Atlanta Hawks are all fully in rebuild mode as well and have little hope of reaching the postseason.
Still, believing the Knicks can challenge for a top-eight place might be a bit of a stretch.
Kristaps Porzingis is recovering from a torn ACL and will miss a big chunk of the season. In addition, the Knicks did little to strengthen their squad beyond signing Mario Hezonja and Noah Vonleh and selecting Knox in the first round of the 2018 draft.
Even head coach David Fizdale seemingly acknowledged the Knicks’ focus goes beyond the upcoming season when he spoke about the team’s big plans during the summer of 2019.
New York won 29 games a season ago, so it could hit the over for its win total in 2018-19. Considering 43 victories was the postseason cutoff in the East, however, seriously challenging for the playoffs would be surprising.
Courtesy: Bleacher Report
