Second best team in the East?

[Amorphous Blob]

Did someone actually put the Nets ahead of the Knicks??

[Rockice_24]

Amare has always been hurt as a member of the NYKs come playoff time - if we use past history as a future predictor - what's going to change?

It's always something with the Knicks and their injuries or someone coming back from injury or whatever. Great teams make it all work - that's why they are great and win. Miami was w/o Bosh for nearly the entire Pacers and part of the Boston series - but they made it work somehow. All great teams overcome adversity to some capacity. NY isn't there and hasn't proved anything as a collection of their current talent.

What? Again this just does not make sense.
Here is a few points.

The Amar'e injury was a back injury before game 2 trying to touch the top of the backboard. That injury lingured literally all through last year, that was all one injury. He was semi healthy for the playoffs although had only been back for about 2 weeks then punched the fire extinguisher, are you seriously formulating an argument around him having a incredibly stupid freak injury again, like punching glass or trying to show off in pregame dunks???

I don't even see the reason to bring up 2 years ago because outside of a HURT STAT Carmelo is the only player left on the team from that squad. So im just going to throw that out. The team had been together about a month had zero depth lost 2/3 of their best players in game 1 and has only 2 players remaining on the team now, Not to even mention played a 3 seed as a 6 seed.

Last year we faced the Heat at full strength, no team in the NBA can compete with them when they are playing like they did in round 1 last year. The big 3 were healthy and Lebron and Wade were playing at the top of their games. Again I fail to see why losing to them in 5 is so horrible, the Thunder lost to them in 5 maybe we should just write them off as well.

You also continue to just ignore that last year the Knicks had Baron Davis playing with an injury in each knee that would have sidelined him had we had anyone to replace him. We had Mike Bibby backing him up... We had nobody as a backup big, the list goes on and on. This years Knicks team with Felton, Kidd, Camby/Martin, and despite his up and down nature a JR smith who is about 10x better this year then he was last year is immeasurably better then last years.

I get saying you don't believe. I think we will need some serious luck to get to the ECF and even Boston in the first round will be a fight. But to discredit the Knicks solely on the last 2 years is just an incredibly weak thing to do and is obviously a cop out the teams aren't the same and i don't see how losing to the heat disqualifies you.

JR is not 10x better then he was last year, how do you figure that? He's the same guy he was last year and has been in and out of the doghouse all year. He's been equally as bad has he's been good. He can shoot you out of games just as easy as he can shoot you back into them. Kidd is shot and has been borderline useless (he's hit 10 of his last 50 something 3's), Felton is back to Earth (which is average at best), Shumpert probably won't be 100%, Camby can't be counted on, Martin has played 1 game so who knows what you got. Amare has been good on offense and equally as bad on D. He's good for scoring 15-20 and giving it right back. The whole age thing has caught up with the Knicks and it's about time Knicks fans acknowledge that. Hell the next most consistent player on the Knicks has been Pablo. Maybe they catch a second wind but how when you got the Nets/Bulls/Hawks/Pacers all looking to pass them in the standings.

You've got two constants Melo and Tyson. That's not winning you the East.

Now as bad as I just bashed the Knicks that doesn't mean they can't make noise. They can most certainly get hot at the right time and beat anyone in the East even the Heat yes (they'd have to be really hot but it's possible for sure. They proved it earlier in the season for a substantial enough stretch that they need to be taken seriously.) There are just too many other more consistent teams (offensively and defensively) and it's the steady teams that win the long series not the teams looking to get hot. The Knicks would be the team to get upset in the first round by a Hawks or Celtics team.

[NYK_89]

Not sure where you are going with your post - when I clearly never mentioned Chicago as #2. My post clearly said it was NY or Indy.

Eh perhaps i missed something way before hand but there is no mention of any other team in the post i replied to its just you saying Amar'e/Melo haven't won in 3 years together, and stuff about how the knicks haven't won in 10 years.

I will disagree with the post were responding to because the Knicks aren't beating the Heat, and there is no challenge in the East for them. But I will still argue in the context of the thread i don't see how past playoff performances disqualify the Knicks, when nobody outside of the Celtics has anything but moral victories to stand on.

[NYK_89]

JR is not 10x better then he was last year, how do you figure that? He's the same guy he was last year and has been in and out of the doghouse all year. He's been equally as bad has he's been good. He can shoot you out of games just as easy as he can shoot you back into them. Kidd is shot and has been borderline useless (he's hit 10 of his last 50 something 3's), Felton is back to Earth (which is average at best), Shumpert probably won't be 100%, Camby can't be counted on, Martin has played 1 game so who knows what you got. Amare has been good on offense and equally as bad on D. He's good for scoring 15-20 and giving it right back. The whole age thing has caught up with the Knicks and it's about time Knicks fans acknowledge that. Hell the next most consistent player on the Knicks has been Pablo. Maybe they catch a second wind but how when you got the Nets/Bulls/Hawks/Pacers all looking to pass them in the standings.

You've got two constants Melo and Tyson. That's not winning you the East.

Now as bad as I just bashed the Knicks that doesn't mean they can't make noise. They can most certainly get hot at the right time and beat anyone in the East even the Heat yes (they'd have to be really hot but it's possible for sure. They proved it earlier in the season for a substantial enough stretch that they need to be taken seriously.) There are just too many other more consistent teams (offensively and defensively) and it's the steady teams that win the long series not the teams looking to get hot. The Knicks would be the team to get upset in the first round by a Hawks or Celtics team.

What are you talking about man. First off anyone who has watched the games this year and last year will tell you JR has been much much much better this year. Yeah he has been up and down this season but his defense has been consistent and he was literally all down last year. Jr's stats are murdured by a stretch a few weeks ago where he was just awful but nobody was playing well so he kept shooting. Not a huge fan of Jr's game but if you think he is the same player as last year you aren't paying attention HE WAS AWFUL last year. Kidd as i explained has stepped his game up significantly for the playoffs the last few years and I see no reason to just assume he won't this year. But in reality you seem to TOTALLY miss the point here, Felton/Kidd/Prigoni Is immesurably better then Hurt Baron Davis/Bibby/Shumpert out of position, Martin/Camby/Thomas is also an massive improvement as backup bigs when compared to Jared Jeffries(who was the only guy you could consider a backup big on our roster last year).

Also you can pretty much take it to the bank the Knicks will have a top 4 seed,how a team like Chicago who is 5 games back and playing awful is fixing to pass them i don't even know. People have been saying the Knicks are doomed in the standings for weeks if not months now and guess what hardly any ground has been made up in reality because no other team is that good except maybe the pacers. I also love how you turn the conversation to winning the east when that is not a realistic goal for any team in the east other then miami

You all need to stop being so damn reactionary, over the course of the season this board has widely accepted Memphis as a true top flight contender, the clippers as co-favorites with the Heat and Thunder, Kevin Durant as an almost equal player to Lebron, the celtics being better without rondo and the list goes on. There was even Curry>CP3 **** going on in that thread yesterday after the 54 point game. How about we just accept the fact that when the Knicks start playing back up to their potential they are right there with Indiana as the #2 team. Chicago is bascically a wild card but every day that rose does not come back makes it less and less likely they will be real threats. We see the Knicks play bad for a month or so and all of a sudden the Hawks who have played good for like a week are a threat to them

[dreamchaser]

The Knicks are a 52-win team that hasn't won a playoff game in a decade. This year because nobody else in the East can play they are the #2 seed. But that doesn't make them better than what they are -- this year's Hawks. A #4 or #5 seed in a normal year.

The Hawks? First off this years East is the best it has been in awhile. Second off THE HAWKS?? Carmelo and Chandler are EASILY the 2 best players on those teams of yesteryear and STAT if he continues to improve coming back is just as good as players like Joe Johnson.

Dude WHAT??? No just No...The East without a doubt is the worst it has been this year...I think we can all agree that Miami is clearly the best team on the East this year and record proves that but that's what makes the east horrible...The last two years it was Miami & Chicago as the two teams that are head above every other team in the Eastern Conference but this year it's a huge gap between the #1 seed and the 2-4 seeds on the east...It also doesn't help with D. Rose being out with a torn ACL injury and Rondo going down for the rest of the season...It's a tie between whose the second best team on the East because both the Pacers & Knicks are 2-0 against the Heat this season but right now the way the Knicks have played in February compared to the Pacers in February, I can see why the Pacers have the edge...And while I don't consider the Hawks a true threat to win the east, they've actually had more playoff success than the Knicks have had in over a decade...Just saying...

[Triple M]

The Hawks? First off this years East is the best it has been in awhile. Second off THE HAWKS?? Carmelo and Chandler are EASILY the 2 best players on those teams of yesteryear and STAT if he continues to improve coming back is just as good as players like Joe Johnson.

really???
i think it is at its weakest point compared to the last few years

over the years the East had 2 or 3 title contenders however this season it is really only Mia

2012: Mia and Chi
2011: Mia/Chi
2010: Bos/Cle/Orl
2009: Cle/Orl and Bos before KG went down
2008: Bos/Det
2007: Cle/Det

Even if you doubt the legitimacy of some of these runner up East teams I still don;t see how 2013's potential runner up will compare to those teams.

[TheToothFairy]

Kinks

34-20 for 2nd Best winning percentage in the East

End Thread/

[NYK_89]

The Knicks are a 52-win team that hasn't won a playoff game in a decade. This year because nobody else in the East can play they are the #2 seed. But that doesn't make them better than what they are -- this year's Hawks. A #4 or #5 seed in a normal year.

The Hawks? First off this years East is the best it has been in awhile. Second off THE HAWKS?? Carmelo and Chandler are EASILY the 2 best players on those teams of yesteryear and STAT if he continues to improve coming back is just as good as players like Joe Johnson.

Dude WHAT??? No just No...The East without a doubt is the worst it has been this year...I think we can all agree that Miami is clearly the best team on the East this year and record proves that but that's what makes the east horrible...The last two years it was Miami & Chicago as the two teams that are head above every other team in the Eastern Conference but this year it's a huge gap between the #1 seed and the 2-4 seeds on the east...It also doesn't help with D. Rose being out with a torn ACL injury and Rondo going down for the rest of the season...It's a tie between whose the second best team on the East because both the Pacers & Knicks are 2-0 against the Heat this season but right now the way the Knicks have played in February compared to the Pacers in February, I can see why the Pacers have the edge...And while I don't consider the Hawks a true threat to win the east, they've actually had more playoff success than the Knicks have had in over a decade...Just saying...

How does having 2 teams clearly ahead of every other team equate to a better eastern conference then having teams down to like the 7th seed that could win their first round matchup. Did you think that through? Also if Rose comes back a similar chicago team will exist this year...............

And yes the once again terrible playoff success over the last decade argument. Totally relevant.

[NYs Finest]

JR is not 10x better then he was last year, how do you figure that? He's the same guy he was last year and has been in and out of the doghouse all year. He's been equally as bad has he's been good. He can shoot you out of games just as easy as he can shoot you back into them. Kidd is shot and has been borderline useless (he's hit 10 of his last 50 something 3's), Felton is back to Earth (which is average at best), Shumpert probably won't be 100%, Camby can't be counted on, Martin has played 1 game so who knows what you got. Amare has been good on offense and equally as bad on D. He's good for scoring 15-20 and giving it right back. The whole age thing has caught up with the Knicks and it's about time Knicks fans acknowledge that. Hell the next most consistent player on the Knicks has been Pablo. Maybe they catch a second wind but how when you got the Nets/Bulls/Hawks/Pacers all looking to pass them in the standings.

You've got two constants Melo and Tyson. That's not winning you the East.

Now as bad as I just bashed the Knicks that doesn't mean they can't make noise. They can most certainly get hot at the right time and beat anyone in the East even the Heat yes (they'd have to be really hot but it's possible for sure. They proved it earlier in the season for a substantial enough stretch that they need to be taken seriously.) There are just too many other more consistent teams (offensively and defensively) and it's the steady teams that win the long series not the teams looking to get hot. The Knicks would be the team to get upset in the first round by a Hawks or Celtics team.

What are you talking about man. First off anyone who has watched the games this year and last year will tell you JR has been much much much better this year. Yeah he has been up and down this season but his defense has been consistent and he was literally all down last year. Jr's stats are murdured by a stretch a few weeks ago where he was just awful but nobody was playing well so he kept shooting. Not a huge fan of Jr's game but if you think he is the same player as last year you aren't paying attention HE WAS AWFUL last year. Kidd as i explained has stepped his game up significantly for the playoffs the last few years and I see no reason to just assume he won't this year. But in reality you seem to TOTALLY miss the point here, Felton/Kidd/Prigoni Is immesurably better then Hurt Baron Davis/Bibby/Shumpert out of position, Martin/Camby/Thomas is also an massive improvement as backup bigs when compared to Jared Jeffries(who was the only guy you could consider a backup big on our roster last year).

Also you can pretty much take it to the bank the Knicks will have a top 4 seed,how a team like Chicago who is 5 games back and playing awful is fixing to pass them i don't even know. People have been saying the Knicks are doomed in the standings for weeks if not months now and guess what hardly any ground has been made up in reality because no other team is that good except maybe the pacers. I also love how you turn the conversation to winning the east when that is not a realistic goal for any team in the east other then miami

You all need to stop being so damn reactionary, over the course of the season this board has widely accepted Memphis as a true top flight contender, the clippers as co-favorites with the Heat and Thunder, Kevin Durant as an almost equal player to Lebron, the celtics being better without rondo and the list goes on. There was even Curry>CP3 **** going on in that thread yesterday after the 54 point game. How about we just accept the fact that when the Knicks start playing back up to their potential they are right there with Indiana as the #2 team. Chicago is bascically a wild card but every day that rose does not come back makes it less and less likely they will be real threats. We see the Knicks play bad for a month or so and all of a sudden the Hawks who have played good for like a week are a threat to them

You're battling a useless battle brother.... People will always find anything to use against the Knicks....

[Meeks]

Keyword MAYBE.
Claiming Chicago with a healthy drose as #2 is not as far-fetched a claim as CoachKobe made it out to be.

hey, come on, it was clear that i was responding to the #1 thing.
if d-rose returns to what he was before his injury, the bulls will be definitely up there. no doubt. huge rose fan here.
but they'd still be one tier below the heat.
tied for #1? come on.

my bad. But imo before the drose injury Miami and Chicago were on the same tier, above everyone else in the east. Maybe I shouldve worded it that way.

[NYK_89]

The Hawks? First off this years East is the best it has been in awhile. Second off THE HAWKS?? Carmelo and Chandler are EASILY the 2 best players on those teams of yesteryear and STAT if he continues to improve coming back is just as good as players like Joe Johnson.

really???
i think it is at its weakest point compared to the last few years

over the years the East had 2 or 3 title contenders however this season it is really only Mia

2012: Mia and Chi
2011: Mia/Chi
2010: Bos/Cle/Orl
2009: Cle/Orl and Bos before KG went down
2008: Bos/Det
2007: Cle/Det

Even if you doubt the legitimacy of some of these runner up East teams I still don;t see how 2013's potential runner up will compare to those teams.

What? is every team a title contender now? ORLANDO CLEVELAND l o l jesus if those teams are title contenders then the pacers certainly are. You are actually arguing that garbage teams surrounding 1 great player would have a chance right now , the bulls have hardly a fringe chance when healthy and they have a great player in rose with 2 other all stars in deng and noah.

Jesus as with the other guy i don't see how overall depth of the conference does not lead to a better conference then the number of title contenders. By this logic with Miami Boston and Chicago in the east the west and east have been even for multiple years.

[Rockice_24]

JR is not 10x better then he was last year, how do you figure that? He's the same guy he was last year and has been in and out of the doghouse all year. He's been equally as bad has he's been good. He can shoot you out of games just as easy as he can shoot you back into them. Kidd is shot and has been borderline useless (he's hit 10 of his last 50 something 3's), Felton is back to Earth (which is average at best), Shumpert probably won't be 100%, Camby can't be counted on, Martin has played 1 game so who knows what you got. Amare has been good on offense and equally as bad on D. He's good for scoring 15-20 and giving it right back. The whole age thing has caught up with the Knicks and it's about time Knicks fans acknowledge that. Hell the next most consistent player on the Knicks has been Pablo. Maybe they catch a second wind but how when you got the Nets/Bulls/Hawks/Pacers all looking to pass them in the standings.

You've got two constants Melo and Tyson. That's not winning you the East.

Now as bad as I just bashed the Knicks that doesn't mean they can't make noise. They can most certainly get hot at the right time and beat anyone in the East even the Heat yes (they'd have to be really hot but it's possible for sure. They proved it earlier in the season for a substantial enough stretch that they need to be taken seriously.) There are just too many other more consistent teams (offensively and defensively) and it's the steady teams that win the long series not the teams looking to get hot. The Knicks would be the team to get upset in the first round by a Hawks or Celtics team.

What are you talking about man. First off anyone who has watched the games this year and last year will tell you JR has been much much much better this year. Yeah he has been up and down this season but his defense has been consistent and he was literally all down last year. Jr's stats are murdured by a stretch a few weeks ago where he was just awful but nobody was playing well so he kept shooting. Not a huge fan of Jr's game but if you think he is the same player as last year you aren't paying attention HE WAS AWFUL last year. Kidd as i explained has stepped his game up significantly for the playoffs the last few years and I see no reason to just assume he won't this year. But in reality you seem to TOTALLY miss the point here, Felton/Kidd/Prigoni Is immesurably better then Hurt Baron Davis/Bibby/Shumpert out of position, Martin/Camby/Thomas is also an massive improvement as backup bigs when compared to Jared Jeffries(who was the only guy you could consider a backup big on our roster last year).

Also you can pretty much take it to the bank the Knicks will have a top 4 seed,how a team like Chicago who is 5 games back and playing awful is fixing to pass them i don't even know. People have been saying the Knicks are doomed in the standings for weeks if not months now and guess what hardly any ground has been made up in reality because no other team is that good except maybe the pacers. I also love how you turn the conversation to winning the east when that is not a realistic goal for any team in the east other then miami

You can't just say Kidd is going to step up for the playoff it doesn't work like that either. People were calling the Knicks out for their past playoffs and you said they can't use last year so neither can you can't have it both ways. As of now Kidd is pretty much useless.

You list 3 bigs who are a major upgrade to your last years team yet they only see the floor for like 5 min if they're lucky. Please don't tell me all of a sudden you plan on playing any of them for more then 5 min here or there so they are basically pointless to discuss. Tyson/Amare/Melo hold down your front court with Amare moving to the 5. You play small ball so you can't preach about guys who get 5 mpg.

The Bulls are only 3 behind you so not sure where you got that from. Yeah they are 4-6 in their last 10 but you are 5-5 so let's not act like you guy are running away here.

The Knicks have a tough stretch run FYI so not too many more SAC or CHAR on the schedule. Playing .500 ball the rest of the way like you've been is a recipe for losing home court. I find it laughable that you think you have that locked up.

[dreamchaser]

Dude WHAT??? No just No...The East without a doubt is the worst it has been this year...I think we can all agree that Miami is clearly the best team on the East this year and record proves that but that's what makes the east horrible...The last two years it was Miami & Chicago as the two teams that are head above every other team in the Eastern Conference but this year it's a huge gap between the #1 seed and the 2-4 seeds on the east...It also doesn't help with D. Rose being out with a torn ACL injury and Rondo going down for the rest of the season...It's a tie between whose the second best team on the East because both the Pacers & Knicks are 2-0 against the Heat this season but right now the way the Knicks have played in February compared to the Pacers in February, I can see why the Pacers have the edge...And while I don't consider the Hawks a true threat to win the east, they've actually had more playoff success than the Knicks have had in over a decade...Just saying...

How does having 2 teams clearly ahead of every other team equate to a better eastern conference then having teams down to like the 7th seed that could win their first round matchup. Did you think that through? Also if Rose comes back a similar chicago team will exist this year...............

And yes the once again terrible playoff success over the last decade argument. Totally relevant.

Uh basically that means that no matter who battles it out through 2-7 none of them are in the same class as Miami which is one team...Kind of similar to the 90s were Jordan's Bulls were winning the East all the time, there was some competition but not enough to actually knock off the Bulls...I mean the East has always been a weak conference but for just one team to have a huge gap over all other 7 teams is just sad...And to be quite honest with you D. Rose coming back would make the Bulls so much better because all they need is that superstar who could penetrate and run the offense through...I mean they beat the Knicks twice and I'll take them in a playoff series over the Pacers...

[NYK_89]

You can't just say Kidd is going to step up for the playoff it doesn't work like that either. People were calling the Knicks out for their past playoffs and you said they can't use last year so neither can you can't have it both ways. As of now Kidd is pretty much useless.

You list 3 bigs who are a major upgrade to your last years team yet they only see the floor for like 5 min if they're lucky. Please don't tell me all of a sudden you plan on playing any of them for more then 5 min here or there so they are basically pointless to discuss. Tyson/Amare/Melo hold down your front court with Amare moving to the 5. You play small ball so you can't preach about guys who get 5 mpg.

The Bulls are only 3 behind you so not sure where you got that from. Yeah they are 4-6 in their last 10 but you are 5-5 so let's not act like you guy are running away here.

The Knicks have a tough stretch run FYI so not too many more SAC or CHAR on the schedule. Playing .500 ball the rest of the way like you've been is a recipe for losing home court. I find it laughable that you think you have that locked up.

Yes so the Knicks past playoff performances with completely different and inferior squads is the same as saying a guy who looked awful in the regular season the last few years then was great in the playoffs can do it again... LOL.

MAYBE if i was like RASHEED DID YOU SEE HIM ON THAT CHAMPIONSHIP PISTIONS TEAM OR KIDD GOING TO 2 STRAIGHT FINALS WE ARE CHAMPIONSHIP FAVORITES you would have a point because that is basically what you guys are doing, unfortunately you would still be wrong because they still are at least those people not a completely different squad like the knicks of 10 years ago

Also let me introduce you to the concept of foul trouble which is where the backup big is really needed. sheed was playing 14mpg and camby 10mpg and that is when they were both healthy at the same time you REALLY need to know more about this team before you try and post on them dude the idea is to move stat to the starting lineup but we don't have a healthy backup right now.

Bulls have 5 more losses then the knicks, pretty simple math. in the 4 less games they have played the Knicks could go 0-4 and still have a 1 game lead

[NYK_89]

Uh basically that means that no matter who battles it out through 2-7 none of them are in the same class as Miami which is one team...Kind of similar to the 90s were Jordan's Bulls were winning the East all the time, there was some competition but not enough to actually knock off the Bulls...I mean the East has always been a weak conference but for just one team to have a huge gap over all other 7 teams is just sad...And to be quite honest with you D. Rose coming back would make the Bulls so much better because all they need is that superstar who could penetrate and run the offense through...I mean they beat the Knicks twice and I'll take them in a playoff series over the Pacers...

And this is different then last year and basically the year before how? The "threat" to the heat got beat in 5 games. and the 2nd best team last year couldn't win with a top 20 player in the league hurt for most the series.

You seem to be confusing regular season record with quality team. There is like 5 teams outside of the Heat this year that would have had a decent shot at the ECF last year.

[Deathclutch23]

Heat


Then it's a toss up. Arguing about it is just waste of time.

[AKFO]

After the Heat, you can rank the Bulls, Pacers, Nets, and Knicks in pretty much any order. They all seem to have one other team they can't beat, actually (at least so far).

The Knicks haven't beaten the Bulls (0-3).

The Nets haven't beaten the Heat (0-3).

The Pacers haven't beaten the Nets (0-2).

The Bulls haven't beaten the Pacers (0-2).

The Heat haven't beaten the Pacers or the Knicks (0-4).

FWIW:

C's vs top 5 EC Teams
Heat 1-1 -11
Knicks 1-1 +3
Bulls 2-2 -4
Nets 1-2 E
Pacers 1-0 +19
OVERALL 6-6 +7

C's vs top 5 EC Teams w/o Rondo
Heat 1-0 +2
Knicks 1-0 +6
Bulls 1-0 +2
Nets 0-1 -5
Pacers 0-0 E
OVERALL 3-1 +5

Pretty solid.

1. Pacers
2. Bulls
3. Celtics
4. Nets
5. Knicks
6. Hawks

[dreamchaser]

Uh basically that means that no matter who battles it out through 2-7 none of them are in the same class as Miami which is one team...Kind of similar to the 90s were Jordan's Bulls were winning the East all the time, there was some competition but not enough to actually knock off the Bulls...I mean the East has always been a weak conference but for just one team to have a huge gap over all other 7 teams is just sad...And to be quite honest with you D. Rose coming back would make the Bulls so much better because all they need is that superstar who could penetrate and run the offense through...I mean they beat the Knicks twice and I'll take them in a playoff series over the Pacers...

And this is different then last year and basically the year before how? The "threat" to the heat got beat in 5 games. and the 2nd best team last year couldn't win with a top 20 player in the league hurt for most the series.

You seem to be confusing regular season record with quality team. There is like 5 teams outside of the Heat this year that would have had a decent shot at the ECF last year.

So what has the Knicks done better compared to the Pacers & Bulls? They got swept by the Celtics in 2011 and got beat by the Heat in 5 games last year and both of them came in the first round...And don't use that injury excuse because Amar'e injured himself dunking in drills during a pre-game warm up in a playoff game against Boston than he punched a Fire Extinguisher after the game 2 loss against the Heat...Chicago was actually hands down the second best team on the East over the past 2 years and than Boston was third imo...I see the Pacers being a threat because they had Miami on the brink of elimination before getting destroyed by a two man show for 3 straight games. The Knicks didn't pose any challenge to the Heat whatsoever...It's weak now because basically the Knicks haven't got out of the first round, the Nets haven't proven anything, the Hawks are the Hawks, and the Bulls & Celtics are missing their best players...On top of all that I actually think the Heat's biggest threat this year is themselves and I'm not being a homer, but people seem to forget D-Wade was playing through the playoffs injured, if he's healthy through the playoffs this year along with Bosh and our role players like Battier, Cole, Ray Allen, etc. than there is no threat on the East...

[TheChosen618]

But no team in the East has a healthy Melo/Lebron and I honestly think that's what separates the Knicks and the Heat from the pack. Unless Granger/George becomes a top 5 player in the postseason.

Too bad Melo is usually not a good playoff performer. Derrick Rose at full health is better than Melo too.

I agree with the people saying the Bulls would be #2 if they get Rose back and he returns to his level, but as of now I would say the Bulls are #3 or #4 in the East.

Cant disagree totally but when the hell did Rose become a playoff performer

Melo has had some good postseasons recently just the 2 with the knicks have been marred for other reasons.

Melo has been garbage in the post-season since joining the Knicks, I don't know what you're talking about. He got shut down and humiliated by Lebron last season and he had one good game against the Celtics in 2011....and he still lost that game.

Melo hasn't been impressive in the post-season, which is why I lol when people say he is the best scorer. Sure, he has a lot of moves, too bad none of that ever comes handy since he still can't score when it matters the most.

[AKFO]

Too bad Melo is usually not a good playoff performer. Derrick Rose at full health is better than Melo too.

I agree with the people saying the Bulls would be #2 if they get Rose back and he returns to his level, but as of now I would say the Bulls are #3 or #4 in the East.

Cant disagree totally but when the hell did Rose become a playoff performer

Melo has had some good postseasons recently just the 2 with the knicks have been marred for other reasons.

Melo has been garbage in the post-season since joining the Knicks, I don't know what you're talking about. He got shut down and humiliated by Lebron last season and he had one good game against the Celtics in 2011....and he still lost that game.

Melo hasn't been impressive in the post-season, which is why I lol when people say he is the best scorer. Sure, he has a lot of moves, too bad none of that ever comes handy since he still can't score when it matters the most.

It's like when Heat fans say they signed Ray Allen for the playoffs.