11. New York Knicks
Stat ranking: 2nd
Expert ranking: 19th
Last year: 13th

Kram: Most teams around this portion of the rankings are powered by one transcendent youngster, like Haliburton, Young, and Ball. The Knicks don’t have anyone near that level. But what they do have is more young depth than almost any other team, with five U25 players projected to accumulate double-digit WAR over the next half decade. That’s tied for the most of any franchise, along with the team that ranks no. 1 on our list.

The Knicks, to use the old analogy, don’t have any dollar-bill players; instead, their young core consists of a handful of quarters: Immanuel Quickley (whom advanced stats absolutely adore) and Quentin Grimes in the backcourt, RJ Barrett on the wing, Mitchell Robinson and underrated backup Isaiah Hartenstein in the middle. Whether the group—particularly Quickley and Barrett, the highest-ceiling members of the quintet—can take a collective step forward this season will go a long way toward determining the Knicks’ future.

Funny the disparity between the "expert" and the stats. Somethings gotta give here. I thought when Grantland started Zach Lowe kind of revolutionized NBA reporting- his love of the game, player perspective, and deep dives into stats really expanded my view of the NBA. I don't think Bill Simmons has been able to find gold again at the ringer. I read most of their articles but usually find myself snorting more than nodding. I mean, no mention of Obi at all but Dalano Benton gets a shout out two entries later?!?

BigDaddyG wrote:I think 11 is fair. The comment about the roster not having a dollar young player is true. But the expert ranking seems like it is too big discrepancy from what the stats show. They deliberately ignored how our younger performed just to justify their own narrative.

Also, they rack Dallas #3 just for having Doncic. Maybe not wrong but still