Can the Knicks repeat or will LeBron spoil it? | Atlantic Division Preview
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Good morning and welcome to the NBA Daily. I'm Dave DeFore here with Espera Henne and Andrew Schlecht. Coming up, we take a look at the Atlantic Division and give our offseason grades. Good morning, everybody. What's up, guys? Thankfully, LeBron has landed the plane, or maybe a helicopter, in Philadelphia. Man, an arms race happening, not just in the Eastern Conference, but specifically the Atlantic Division. It just completely changed outside of the Knicks. If divisions mattered anymore, this would be the hardest division in basketball. Well, the divisions matter for us, just for organizational purposes here, right? Yes, absolutely. But outside of the Knicks, guys, it's just... A lot of changes up and down the Atlantic Division.
Let's start with the Knicks. I want to jump right in. Essentially running it back after winning a title, right? We got to give them a round of applause for that because so many teams we've seen, they just say, oh, wow, the team's too expensive. We heard a little bit of, I would say, a little bit from James Dolan. Hey, we're not going to pay the tax, blah, blah, blah. They figured out how to do this. The only guy they're going to be missing, really, is Mitch Robinson.
That's a big thing though, Dave. That's a, that's a really important player. And Andre Drummond can do a really good impersonation of Mitchell Robinson, but that guy's not taking off his toenail and signing it like that's not happening. Okay. And he's not the defensive player that Mitchell Robinson is either. He's maybe the rebounder. And if the corner three is real, that could be kind of interesting for them. But I do think that's a pretty big loss for the Knicks. Also, I just have to mention that I don't think it's the Atlantic Division that's beefing up. I think it's East Group B of the NBA Cup. There we go. Knicks, Cavs, Sixers, Heat, Pacers. Yeah. I mean, there's not a weak link there. Shout out to East Group B.
Who's going to get to Indianapolis first? That's right. The Pacers. I think those teams will just let the Pacers win. Oh, no. They're beefing up. What? Come on.
Listen, guys, the NBA Cup.
Let's take this off the rails. NBA Cup is not going to have the same allure without the trip to Vegas. I don't know. I think it's going to steal some of the competitive juice.
Can the 2026 Knicks repeat as champions with their offseason moves?
I don't know that Vegas is what they cared about. All they care about is this. They just want the money. The moolah. And the more you talk to players about it, they want the money. I think the Vegas part mattered.
How about the opportunity for the Knicks to be the back-to-back doubles or triples or whatever you want to call it. You've got to win the summer league title.
The summer league title would be the triple.
Right. So the double, if they get back-to-back doubles, it would be unprecedented. Double-double. Double-double. Double-double, which is a drink here in Canada.
Do you feel like that's in play for this team? Do you feel like they can run it back?
I think they can run it back. I think everything we saw from them in the postseason shows us that they have the ability to play with an identity that leans very much into what that team is good at, and specifically what Karl-Anthony Towns is very good at. I think the big question for them is, of course, Andrew mentioned it with Mitchell Robinson. Not having a guy who can be a rim protector that can be double big lineups with him and Kat together or just kind of like spot minutes for you. I love Andre Drummond, but Mitchell Robinson is a markedly better defender than what Drummond is at this point in his career.
How big is Mitchell Robinson’s departure and can Andre Drummond replace him?
I also am curious about their guard depth in general. Feels like Jose Alvarado and Deuce McBride and obviously Jordan Clarkson, like those guys will be able to fill in to what they need next to Brunson. We saw some of that ball handling limitation, especially in the finals. The big question for me is with the East all stacked up and loaded.
Yeah.
Are they on pace to have a dominant regular season, or are they going to slow roll it like they did last year and kind of gear up for the playoffs?
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Chapters
6 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:00–2:23
2
Can the 2026 Knicks repeat as champions with their offseason moves?
2:23–3:35
3
How big is Mitchell Robinson’s departure and can Andre Drummond replace him?
3:35–12:26
4
Will the Knicks pace themselves in the regular season or gear up for the playoffs?
12:26–36:52
5
Is trading Jalen Brown for Paul George an upgrade for the Celtics?
36:52–43:53
6
Can the Celtics be a regular-season juggernaut but still struggle in the playoffs?
43:53–53:51