The Knicks enter this season as a legitimate title contender.
Don’t just take my word for it. Walt “Clyde” Frazier — a Knicks’ icon — sees it, too. The Hall of Fame player and dresser was among the best players on the Knicks’ two championship teams in the 1970s and is now the long-time alliterative color commentator on Knicks broadcasts. He was at the Fanatics Fest NYC on a panel about the Knicks with Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, and others and said this via Zach Braziller of the New York Post.
“I see the vibes,” Frazier said Friday. “I see a lot of similarities with [our] championship teams, starting with the coach. [Tom Thibodeau] is a lot like Red Holzman. He holds the guys accountable, and they’re defensive-oriented, and the players actually like each other.
“I think this is going to be our year. Obviously, health is going to play a big factor into it. But if the Knicks can stay healthy, I think we can get back to our former grandeur.”
Things are going to be tight at the top of the East this coming season. Boston remains the team to beat, they were clearly the best team in the league last season, won the title, and bring back their top seven. Philadelphia might take a minute to mesh, but with Joel Embiid, Paul George and Tyrese Maxey they are a threat to win it all (if Embiid and George are healthy for the playoffs). The Knicks, with Mikal Bridges in the fold, are in that mix of the top three, with Milwaukee and Orlando lurking just behind.
This year, Knicks fans are not delusional in thinking their team can compete with anyone — they are in the title mix. It’s
a marathon of a season, and any team that wins a title needs some luck and a few breaks to go their way, but Frazier has nailed this one.
This could be the year the Knicks return to their former grandeur.
