Two years later, the Knicks find themselves in an identical position.
They are coming off a surprisingly strong season. There are heightened expectations.
That team fell on its face, failing to reach the postseason in a dismal 37-win campaign.
“I think that experience, especially for me personally and a couple of guys that were here, definitely helps knowing that going into the season we have to come out with that same fight and energy like we did last year,” RJ Barrett said on Wednesday.
There are differences between the two teams.
For one, continuity.
There were changes to the roster that didn’t work out, most notably the additions of Kemba Walker and Evan Fournier.
Derrick Rose appeared in just 26 games after having such a big impact the previous season, leaving coach Tom Thibodeau without a true point guard.
The current group is almost the same as the one that won a playoff round last spring for the first time in a decade and went 47-35 during the regular season.
The lone exception is Donte DiVincenzo entering and Obi Toppin departing.
“The team was a little different. We had to try to figure things out differently,” Barrett recalled. “It didn’t end up working out. That’s what I’ll say is the difference. This year, we added Donte, but we pretty much have the same guys out there. I think it should be better.”
NBA decisionmakers think the Knicks are contenders.
In the annual general managers poll conducted by NBA.com, the Knicks were picked to finish fifth.
They received 17 percent of the vote for third and 33 percent for fourth.
It was very different from last year, when Thibodeau’s team was considered to be a play-in team at best.
But that was before Jalen Brunson’s emergence as a top lead guard, Julius Randle’s rebounding with his second All-Star appearance and the development of so many young players.
But the Knicks aren’t taking any victory laps about anything they have accomplished.
Asked about the poll, Thibodeau joked: “Yeah, I put a lot of stock in that.”
Barrett had a similar reaction, all but dismissing the notion the Knicks are now viewed in a more positive light than they were at this time last year.
“I think we’re still always going to be doubted and overlooked regardless,” he said. “That’s not really what’s important. We want to win. People can say we’re the greatest team ever or we’re the worst team ever, we’re trying to win. It doesn’t really matter what anybody else says except the people that are in there fighting together and working together every day. … We know the expectations we have of ourselves and we kind of work to that standard every day.”
There are only a few players who were part of that team two years ago, most notably Barrett, Randle, Mitchell Robinson and Immanuel Quickley.
It’s hardly a rallying cry or something that is discussed. Instead, Thibodeau has preached the importance of starting over.
Just because the Knicks were one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference last year, doesn’t mean that will be the case this season. They have to earn that spot — no matter what any polls may say.
“I think what’s been brought up the most is not being comfortable, not looking too much ahead,” Isaiah Hartenstein said. “I think, again, Thibs is always big on taking it day by day. That’s really going to help us, taking it really day by day, as corny as it may sound.”
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