The New York Knicks are the biggest threat to the Boston Celtics

The New York Knicks watched from the sidelines last month as the Boston Celtics captured their record 18th NBA championship.

Heading into the 2024-25 season, the Celtics are considered the favorites to repeat in the Eastern Conference. But who will occupy the second spot? Danny Chau of The Ringer thinks it could be the Knicks.

“Not only have the Knicks increased their talent immeasurably with the acquisition of Mikal Bridges, but they’ve also created an ecosystem that will allow Julius Randle, notably absent throughout Knicksanity’s playoff run, to fill the small-ball 5 role that was a big reason for his wild success with the Pelicans in 2018-19. Losing Isaiah Hartenstein is a bummer, but I’m curious to see what impact Randle’s third act, now under much less pressure and scrutiny, can have on this Knicks team,” Chau writes.

But Chau wasn’t alone in his theory. Fellow writer Zach Kram also agreed.

“New York went 20-3 with OG Anunoby in the lineup during the regular season and while they lost Hartenstein, they added Bridges to the conference’s deepest rotation. Josh Hart and Donte DiVincenzo are top 100 players who leave the bank “Next season, the 76ers and Bucks have more stars, but the Knicks have the best team outside of Boston,” Kram writes.

The Knicks have a case to make for being the team to beat in the East, along with the Celtics. They were the second seed in the playoffs this year and got better. Other answers to the question that came up in other writers’ responses were the Philadelphia 76ers, who signed Paul George, and the Orlando Magic, who signed Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.

Both the Sixers and Magic were also eliminated in the first round last year, so there’s an argument to be made that the Knicks might be better than both of them, too.

As we saw last season, playoff success is going to be dependent on injuries. Had the Knicks been a little healthier, they could have ended up in the Eastern Conference Finals with the Celtics. That said, a healthy Knicks team could be very dangerous, and if they stay off the court, they could give the Celtics a good run for their money.

Be sure to bookmark All Knicks for all the latest breaking news, exclusive interviews, film analysis and more!