‘They’re pushing their chips in with Jalen Brunson’ – Knicks going for broke

The New York Knicks are one of the marquee franchises in not just the NBA, but in all of professional sports.

Yet, they haven’t won a title in over 50 years.

51 to be exact, since 1973.

This season, they are looking to change that.

This season, they head into the year with legitimate title aspirations for the first time in years.

With massive blockbuster additions of Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges, and superstar Jalen Brunson already in place, the expectations are as high as they’ve ever been.

In an exclusive interview with talkSPORT, Stefan Bondy, New York Knicks beat writer for The New York Post, a man who has seen a lot of New York basketball in his day, discussed a season that is almost unlike any other.

“It’s been a really really long time since the Knicks have been successful,” Bondy said.

“If they advance to a conference finals, which is basically the bar, like if they don’t get to the conference finals, it’s a failure of a season.

“If they do get there, it will be the first time that they advance to the conference finals since Bill Clinton was president. That just kind of gives you some perspective about how much suffering has gone on with the Knicks fan base.

“When you watch your team advance to consecutive second rounds and get to the seventh game of the second round like they did last season, there’s an expectation that they’re going to get further this season.

“The pressure is ratcheted up and a lot of that falls on the best player, Jalen Brunson.

2

Bondy is right.

It all starts and ends with Brunson. He is the head of the snake and the Knicks’ title aspirations.

Bondy expects Brunson to live up to the now lofty expectations.

“They’re pushing their chips in with Brunson and I’m done underestimating him,” Bondy declared.

“I think he’s going to have a big season and you’re going to see him in the MVP conversation.”

Bondy isn’t worried about Brunson, but he does have slight trepidation towards New York’s two big additions.

“Jalen Brunson is not going to shy away from pressure,” Bondy said.

“That’s not going to have a big effect on him. I am more worried about the newer guys because we haven’t seen them in that environment.

“Karl Anthony Towns played in Minnesota, which is a lot different than New York City and Mikal Bridges played for Brooklyn, which is in New York City, but a whole whole different animal than playing for the Knicks.

“I’m more worried about those two guys.”

Minnesota is no New York, that’s for sure.

If the Knicks want to win its third title in franchise history, they are going to need Towns and Bridges to play to their potential.

Brunson will be fine and up to the task, the question is, will everyone else be?