NBA Eastern Conference best team
The Eastern Conference appears wide open, but which team will emerge as the best in 2025-26
It’s been five months since the Knicks lost to the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference Finals, a disappointing end for a team that had aspirations for more.
It wasn’t long after that loss when the organization stunned the NBA world by firing coach Tom Thibodeau, and later hiring veteran head coach Mike Brown as his replacement.
Brown inherited a team that, on paper, is again primed for a deep playoff run.
The Knicks return Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns, OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges, Josh Hart and a healthy Mitchell Robinson. And while team president Leon Rose and the front office didn’t land a star, they bolstered the team’s depth by adding guard Jordan Clarkson and forward Guerschon Yabusele.
The Knicks, who begin their season Wednesday, Oct. 22 against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Madison Square Garden, should again be one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference – as long as they stay healthy.
Here are five key storylines to watch as the season gets going:
1. What will Knicks’ offense look like under Mike Brown?
The Knicks had one of the top offenses in the league last season, ranking ninth in the NBA with 115.8 points per game. They were fifth in shooting percentage at 48.6 percent, and eighth in three-point shooting percentage 36.9 percent.
But Brown has said he wants the Knicks to play at a faster pace, which is why he instituted more of a read-and-react system in preseason. He also wants it to be more balanced so that so much of the scoring doesn’t have to fall on Jalen Brunson’s shoulders.
He has said he wants the Knicks to generate more three-point attempts – something they didn’t do well last season. They attempted 34.1 threes per game last season, 27th in the NBA.
2. What will Knicks’ starting lineup be?
We know Brunson, Anunoby, Bridges and Towns are locked in as starters, so the big question is whether Josh Hart or Mitchell Robinson will inserted as the fifth starter.
If Brown goes with Robinson, that would give the starting five better defense and rim protection but less offense. If Hart slots in the starting five, Towns would be pushed to center. That lineup would have better offense, but be as good defensively.
There are some injury concerns, too.
Hart suffered a back injury against the Sixers in Abu Dhabi and didn’t play any preseason games after that. The Knicks are also going to be monitoring Robinson’s workload to keep him healthy – the center has only played 48 games over the previous two seasons.
3. How will Knicks coach Mike Brown utilize his bench?
We all know that one of the biggest criticisms – fair or not – that surrounded Thibodeau was the workload he gave his starters. They played a ton of minutes and Thibodeau coached pretty much every game like it was a playoff game. Every possession mattered.
Hart (37.6), Bridges (37.0) and Anunoby (36.6) each ranked in the top-10 in the NBA last season in minutes per game. Brunson (35.4) was 17th.
Brown is likely going to show a different philosophy, using a bench that includes either Hart or Robinson, Mikes McBride, Clarkson, Yabusele, Ariel Hukporti and Landry Shamet.
He told reporters in recent days that he ideally would like to keep Bridges and Brunson to around 34 minutes per game, so slightly below last season’s averages.
All of that factors into the next storyline to watch…
4. Can the Knicks stay healthy?
This is going to be an overarching theme to the season.
Because when the Knicks are at full strength, there’s no question they’re one of the top teams in the NBA, let alone the Eastern Conference.
The problem is trying to stay healthy and actually staying healthy are two different things. And it doesn’t help the Knicks were already banged up in preseason with Hart battling back spasms, Anunoby tweaked his ankle during a practice last week and Towns was dealing with a quad strain.
Now, all were considered day to day and these are all apparently relatively minor injuries.
But it underscores the difficulty of staying healthy for the duration of an 82-game season.
5. Is this the year Knicks make it to NBA Finals?
The path is certainly there.
The Boston Celtics will be without Jayson Tatum. The Pacers will be without Tyrese Haliburton.
That means really the only team standing in the Knicks’ way will be the Cavaliers.
We’ll see Opening Night how well the Knicks stack up with the Cleveland.
The Knicks have the talent and potential to make a deep playoff run and be the last team standing in the East.
There are lofty expectations surrounding the Knicks. Whether they live up to them remains to be seen.
At this point, anything less than a return to the conference finals would be a major disappointment.
It’s not unfair to expect a trip to the NBA Finals, either.