So, 44 wins.

I'll go with 45 wins for our Knickerbockers. Last year would put them at the 7th or 8th seed.
I don't care much about seeding, a winning season and playoffs would feel so good at this point...

Champions--Cavs.
Championship game--GSW vs Cavs.
WCF game--GSW vs Clippers
ECF game--Cavs vs Pacers

Eastern playoffs
(1)Cavs
(2)Pacers (I really like their squad, can't logically put the Knicks higher than them.)
(3) Knicks
(4) Bulls
(5) Raptors
(6) Wizards
(7)Celtics (I think all of their posturing to make a superstar trade will be a distraction and I do not think that their youths really have enough value to swing a real deal.)
(8)Nets

Western playoffs
(1)GSW
(2)T-Wolves (Watch out now. Once they make the switch from Rubio to Dunn (Dunn, Lavine, Wiggins, Towns)... I don't know of a better built young core 4. With Thibodeau in charge, they will be dangerous.
(3)Rockets
(4)Clippers
(5)Spurs
(6)Blazers
(7)Thunder
(8)Lakers

Knicks final record:48-34. I don't think we have the bench to win close games.

Western sleeper team-- Lakers. Walton will turn Russell into most improved player candidate.

Eastern sleeper team-- Nets. This one I pulled completely out of my rear end. Like picking a 16 bubble seed to upset the #1. But, I think Kenny Atkinson will do a good job with that team. I would expect them to trade Bropez this season. He doesn't seem to jive with that culture much anymore, in my opinion. Seems like they are forcing it with him. They don't have much left to trade, but I think they are ripe to overachieve. The Hawks loss in Atkinson will be their gain.

http://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/2017-nba-predictions/?addata=espn:frontpage

Clearly they and I are at opposite ends of the spectrum on the Lakers and Nets. Maybe I just thought "which teams are the worst" when I picked my sleepers.

newyorker4ever wrote:So lets make our predictions on who we think will be playing in the championship (i can probably answer this question for everyone)and who will win the championship, who will be playing in the WCF and ECF, the top 8 in the west and east, the final record of our Knicks and pick one sleeper team in the east and west and lets not go with the obvious and go with a real sleeper that nobody expected to be good.

Champions--GSW
Championship game--GSW vs Cavs (shocker)
WCF game--GSW vs Spurs (Shocker)
ECF game--Cavs vs Celtics (damn it i hate picking the Celtics)

Eastern playoffs
(1)Cavs
(2)Celtics
(3)Raptors
(4)Knicks
(5)Pacers
(6)Hornets
(7)Pistons
(8)Wizards
Heat, Hawks, Bulls left out

Western playoffs
(1)GSW
(2)Spurs
(3)Rockets
(4)Clippers
(5)Thunder
(6)Blazers
(7)T-Wolves
(8)Jazz

Knicks final record:55-27

Western sleeper team--Utah Jazz....the easy pick is the T-Wolves but the Jazz are a better sleeper cause everyone has the T-Wolves on their radar

Eastern sleeper team--Orlando Magic....i don't have them in the playoffs but i like a lot of the moves they made in the off season and like the F.Vogel hiring.

Malcolm wrote:You know . . . if you look at a team in isolation, you say to
yourself: "This could be a good team".

But then there can only be so many good teams.

Knicks are like that.

You say to yourself: "How can they NOT win just 9 more games (?)"

But you can also say that about enough other teams that it makes
it impossible for Knicks to do it.

So I don't know what makes the difference . . .

Repeat: 11 or 12 teams in each conference look sort of good when you
just look at their roster.

But only Cleveland, Golden State, and San Antonio are locks.

Any of the other 21 COULD be playoff teams.

I'd hate to bet against any of them . . .

nychamp wrote:Staying with my original prediction from the thread way back in the summer after all the signings. Knicks win between 40-45 games. Most likely compete for playoff spot 6-8, could miss postseason with 41 wins if East is very strong again. If things come together nicely, team has good luck (with injuries, etc.), pieces fit together (which I think they should), east is weaker, they could win between 47-52 and be a 3-4 seed. Lose in conference finals. Absolute best case scenario.

Noah is super important and also can't get injured.

They just showed a clip of MSG asking what Noah's expectations for the season were and he looked very serious and then sort of smiled and said "My expectations? They're high." I love that dude. Already one of my favorite Knicks.

EwingsGlass wrote:I'll bite... lot of thinking though...

Champions--Cavs.
Championship game--GSW vs Cavs.
WCF game--GSW vs Clippers
ECF game--Cavs vs Pacers

Eastern playoffs
(1)Cavs
(2)Pacers (I really like their squad, can't logically put the Knicks higher than them.)
(3) Knicks
(4) Bulls
(5) Raptors
(6) Wizards
(7)Celtics (I think all of their posturing to make a superstar trade will be a distraction and I do not think that their youths really have enough value to swing a real deal.)
(8)Nets

Western playoffs
(1)GSW
(2)T-Wolves (Watch out now. Once they make the switch from Rubio to Dunn (Dunn, Lavine, Wiggins, Towns)... I don't know of a better built young core 4. With Thibodeau in charge, they will be dangerous.
(3)Rockets
(4)Clippers
(5)Spurs
(6)Blazers
(7)Thunder
(8)Lakers

Knicks final record:48-34. I don't think we have the bench to win close games.

Western sleeper team-- Lakers. Walton will turn Russell into most improved player candidate.

Eastern sleeper team-- Nets. This one I pulled completely out of my rear end. Like picking a 16 bubble seed to upset the #1. But, I think Kenny Atkinson will do a good job with that team. I would expect them to trade Bropez this season. He doesn't seem to jive with that culture much anymore, in my opinion. Seems like they are forcing it with him. They don't have much left to trade, but I think they are ripe to overachieve. The Hawks loss in Atkinson will be their gain.

Wow, i really like how you took some chances and the Nets as a sleeper....i hope not and no way in hellz do they get in the playoffs. I also love what the Pacers did in the off season and think they put a really nice squad together but i'm a bigger fan of Brad Stevens and how he's got these guys playing especially on defense and think A.Horford is gonna be a big piece for them....i hate them sooooo much though. I really like that Lakers team and think they have some really good young talent and D.Russell was really starting to come on in the end of the season last year but no to the playoffs for them.