The New York Knicks’ 2023–24 campaign began on Wednesday night with a close home defeat to the Boston Celtics. Even though Boston dominated the game for much of the evening, New York pulled off an incredible comeback late in the fourth quarter to actually take the lead. Nevertheless, the Celtics managed to make a couple more plays in the closing minutes to win and leave Madison Square Garden.
Nevertheless, the Knicks’ outstanding performance was sufficient to earn them high praise from several media analysts.
One person who was pleased by the Knicks’ ability to remain competitive against a title contender in Boston was ESPN NBA analyst Jay Williams.
“I think [the Knicks are] better than Cleveland,” said Williams. “I mean, they beat Cleveland last year in the playoffs… I’m looking at the Eastern Conference thinking it’s wide open. I think the Knicks are the third best team.”
In the 2022–23 season, New York had a strong run. They eliminated the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round and lost to the Miami Heat in the second round. It’s unclear what Williams believes the Knicks accomplished in the summer to get past Miami, but Jalen Brunson and Julius Randle—who has always been a very good regular season player with some playoff demons to shake—lead the team with a lot of skill.
The Knicks’ next away game is a road game against the Atlanta Hawks on October 27. The start of the game is scheduled at 7:30 PM ET.
