It’s just about NBA playoff season and the race for the 2024 title feels relatively wide open. Denver and Boston are clear favorites, but beneath that it’s a free-for-all. We all have opinions on which teams have realistic shots at crashing the contender party, and below I’m going to share mine.
Teams you will not see: The Lakers, who are probably going to have to win two play-in games just to face the Nuggets in the first round. Ditto for the Warriors. The Clippers are a borderline sleeper as people have forgotten how great they were for a large chunk of this season as they’ve flattened out post-All-Star and Kawhi Leonard has been out, but that’s a high-profile team with three Hall of Famers. Nobody is sleeping on that. Ditto for the Suns, who I assure you are not going anywhere meaningful this postseason.
The Timberwolves, Thunder and Bucks joined Denver and Boston as my top-five title contenders last week. (I’m already feeling stupid about putting the Bucks on that list.)
The Sixers could be called a sleeper with Joel Embiid back, but I’m way too cynical to think Embiid can just jump back into the lineup and lead a Finals charge when he’s never been out of the second round to begin with, even if this is as a rested as he’s ever gone into a postseason. The Miami Heat are the very definition of a sleeper, but I’m going to make the mistake I make every year and just say they’re not good enough.
Having said all that, below are the three teams that I consider to be the biggest sleepers in the upcoming postseason. Here we go.
Some air went out of the New York balloon with the news that Julius Randle was out for the playoffs. Big name, big team, there’s an instinct to let go of the highest hopes for what was starting to feel like the makings of a dream season. Not so fast.
Yes, the Knicks, who had won 12 of 14 preceding Randle’s injury, have barely been a .500 team since he went out (17-15). But OG Anunoby has played in only six of those games 32 games, and the Knicks have won five of them.
With Anunoby back and Jalen Brunson solidified as one of the most reliable shot creators in the league, New York, even without Randle, possesses the four most vital characteristics of a contender: superstar individual scorer, elite rim protection for 48 minutes with Isaiah Hartenstein and Mitchell Robinson back, defensive versatility with Anunoby capable of taking the tallest scoring tasks to himself, and of course, shooting.
The Knicks are a top-10 team with over 13 made 3-pointers per game. Donte DiVincenzo has been a certified Kevin Harlan flamethrower all season. Brunson is 40% from deep. Anunoby is a plus shooter. Same for Miles McBride, who comes in at over 41% from deep. Bojan Bogdanovic has struggled since being traded to New York, but that can change quickly, and the spacing he creates remains real.
Randle’s shot creation will be missed. There probably isn’t a more valuable tool in the postseason kit. Having said that, the Knicks have a real path to the conference finals. Entering play on Thursday, they would face Indiana in the first round and either Milwaukee, Philadelphia or Miami in the second. Most importantly, Boston would be on the other side of the bracket.
Now, if the Knicks were to make it to a conference finals matchup with the Celtics, the road likely comes to an end. They are 0-4 against Boston this season. But who knows … maybe the Celtics get upset by Miami or Philadelphia or Cleveland (I wouldn’t sleep on the Cavs, either, if they recommit to heavy minutes for the lineup that was a world killer with Donovan Mitchell, Jarrett Allen and shooting even though Darius Garland and Evan Mobley are back).
It’s not likely, but by avoiding Boston as long as possible, the Knicks at least have the hope of an upset, and with the way both teams have looked this season, New York has every right to believe…
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