The New York Knicks have done a great job of getting their season back on track after a tumultuous stretch in which they lost nine out of 11 games.
They have responded by winning 10 out of 12 games following that brutal stretch, once again looking like a contender. The driving force behind the team’s most recent turnaround has been improved performance on defense, which some people will question after suffering an embarrassing 137-134 loss to the Indiana Pacers.
Alas, even with that hiccup, the Knicks are viewed in a positive light by people around the NBA. Tim Bontempts and Vincent Goodwill of ESPN recently ranked their top four teams in the Eastern Conference.
Both of them have New York at No. 2. Bontempts has the Boston Celtics ahead of them, while Goodwill has the Detroit Pistons in the No. 1 spot. They each have the same teams in the top three, just with slightly different orders.
How can Knicks become Eastern Conference favorites?