Bobby Marks claims the Knicks, Cavs & Lakers* are CONTENDERS … with an asterisk 👀 | Get Up
On Get Up, Brian Windhorst, Kendrick Perkins and Bobby Marks join Matt Barrie to debate whether the New York Knicks, Cleveland Cavaliers and Los Angeles Lakers are serious contenders or pretenders.
0:00 New York Knicks
2:36 Cleveland Cavaliers
5:37 Los Angeles Lakers
☑️ Subscribe to ESPN+: https://plus.espn.com/
📱 Get the ESPN App: http://www.espn.com/espn/apps/espn
🏀 Subscribe to NBA on ESPN on YouTube: http://bit.ly/2yxs3Og
☑️ Subscribe to ESPN on YouTube: http://es.pn/SUBSCRIBEtoYOUTUBE
☑️ Watch ESPN on YouTube TV: http://es.pn/YouTubeTV
#ESPN #NBA #Knicks #Cavs #Lakers
29 Comments
Wenddddyyy
Bucks beat both teams in a 7 game series! Regular season games are irrelevant.
Cavs are contenders and Knicks aren’t
Its all about matchups. Knicks celtics would be a 7 game series, lakers nuggets/thunder would end in 5 all about matchups
The Lakers are not winning the western conference stop it Lol
No one will convince me the cavs are winning the chip
bobby get away from Espn while you still have some credibility with-in the next 5 years being associated with Espn will not be good lol you will be laughed at; Espn is the view of sports information lol nobody watches anymore we just make fun of the clips of foolish things yall say lol
And I’m Superman*
No one will convince me the cavs are winning the chip
Lakers in 5
40/20 Rule
Oklahoma City Thunder
Cleveland Cavaliers
Teams that could still get there…
Boston Celtics
New York Knicks
Memphis Grizzlies
Denver Nuggets
Nuggets can't afford to lose their next four as they already have 19 losses. Knicks and Grizzlies can afford to lose one while Celtics only need one more win to get to 40. Only three championship teams failed to get the 40 wins before 20 losses: 95 Rockets, 04 Pistons, and 06 Heat. This is based from an entire 82-game season which wasn't the case in 1999, 2012, 2020, and 2021 which are excluded.
I never understood the media picking the Mavs last year, a 5th seed. I had Celtics all the way. They checked every checkbox. Here is the championship profile…
– Be a top 3 seed
– Follow the 40/20 rule
– Be top 10 in offense or defense (preferably both but at least top 10 in one)
Only twice did a team fail to be a top 3 seed during the 77+ year history but still won the chip: 69 Celtics, 95 Rockets. Why were people like Skip Bayless picking the Mavs then last year? Smart people like Rachel Nichols was picking the Celtics next to Paul Pierce who is obviously a Celtics homer.
The Thunder, Cavaliers, Celtics, and Knicks should all fit the criterias. From my estimation, I believe the Celtics will repeat. If you hate the Lakers like I have since 1993, you want Celtics in the Finals because I believe Lakers could beat Knicks and Cavaliers. The Luka trade actually opened the door for Denver because they only have to worry about OKC when it comes to size.
Both the Celtics and Nuggets are finally waking up and playing their best basketball. Celtics have won 7 of their last 8. Nuggets have won 8 straight. I say Boston vs. Denver like what we should've got during the last 2 Finals when Miami upset Boston in 2023 and Minnesota upset Denver last year. The champions of the last 2 years will finally meet in the Finals. Champion vs. champion.
My Rankings
1. Boston Celtics
2. Denver Nuggets
3. Oklahoma City Thunder
4. Cleveland Cavaliers
5. New York Knicks
Yeah, I know I would sometimes rank the Lakers at No. 1. It's to jinx those a-holes. They don't fit the championship profile as they already have 21 losses. They're one of the worst defensive teams in the league. Their offense is only middle of the pack. And it's probably a struggle for them to get to a top 3 seed with OKC so far away and Memphis and Denver holding their ground or on a roll.
I see only those 5 teams making the Finals: Boston, Denver, OKC, Cleveland, and Stephen A's Knicks. I don't see Memphis or Houston reaching the Finals. If ESPN's Los Angeles LeLukas do reach the Finals, Boston will beat them. But it needs to be Boston. I don't believe Cleveland or NY have the experience to beat LeBron and Luka regardless of the Lakers lack of size after trading AD away.
A team to definitely watch out for but for next year are the Spurs. Trading to get DFox is like getting their next Tony Parker. But I see them as only a play-in team at best this year and they will likely miss the playoffs. But some tweaking in the summer and they can definitely rise to a top 6 seed next year. I love that Wemby/Fox duo. Spurs will be back being a perennial playoff team by next year.
I know Windy is bullish on the Lakers next season but the West can still get better next year. Is he forgetting Dallas? They're having a down year. What if Minnesota rebounds after a disappointing season this year? OKC and Denver aren't going away either. Grizzlies and Rockets could still be solid. Warriors could still be dangerous. Spurs could be on a rise. LeBron and Luka will only get older and SLOWER. Teams will hunt for them on defense with no rim protector to clean it up once an opponent blows right by them.
I got Celtics repeating and they deserve it. Remember back in 2019 when Rich Paul threatened the Celtics that if they traded for AD, AD would not sign an extension? Rich was basically forcing/strong-arming a trade to the Lakers to help LeBron. Since then, Lakers and Celtics won a chip but Boston got to have a parade for it. They won a legit one with no bubble and no interruptions. With fans in attendance. At least Celtics did it the old fashion way. Homegrown and through trades. Not the BS the Lakers have pulled.
Go, Celtics! Just remember, Jayson Tatum is only a few months older than Luka and has made 5 conference finals and 2 finals vs. Luka's 2 conference finals and 1 finals. And Tatum only entered the league a year earlier. Even if OKC does win the West, they will lose to Boston in the Finals. Experience does matter. It's like when OKC choked big against Milwaukee in the Vegas Cup final. They're still a bunch of kids. If you can double Shai every play, you beat them. Chet has been injured for most of his career. You only have to worry about Shai when beating OKC.
No. 19 banner coming right up 🍀. Celtics will get to 20 championships first before the Lakers wins their No. 18.
Rudy go brrr
Knicks are Pretenders and I am Spill blood for Knicks
THE KNICKS COACH IS THE REAL PROBLEM
Fair points until you got to the Lakers. Cavs are different this year, size & shooting all over that roster, they are going to be ok. Regular season does matter, its an excellent predictor of the eventual NBA champion. 40 of the last 44 NBA champs have had a top 5 record going into the All Star Break. 16 of the last 17 champs had a winning percentage of 69% or better going into the break. Only 3 teams meet this criteria this year, Cavs, Celtics & Thunder. The Knicks & Grizzlies are close at 67% and make up the 4th best records in the league. The idea that the regular season doesnt matter or record doesnt matter is a myth. It does matter when it comes to determining the eventual NBA champion, well that and the league referees
Cavs, Boston, and OKC…that is all.
The Cavs are definitely contenders but like I always say I have to see it in the playoffs. Even though it was 2 yrs ago the Knicks beat them. And then last year they threw games on purpose for seeding to avoid teams like the Celtics and Knicks. The Knicks are contenders with an asterisk. They really need to address their defense. They don’t have the same defensive tenacity they had last year. There was just this pit bull mentality last year. Ju not being there isn’t much of a difference. But D Vo and I Hart absence is kind of being felt. Boston will be Boston. But they can’t be over reliant on 3 pointers because they can be beat by the Cavs or Knicks relying too much on that.
Knicks will be running on fumes again by the playoffs unfortunately and the D will suffer even more. Lakers just got thumped by the Jazz. I'm sure Luka will get better, but they are very vulnerable to teams with centers and quick guards both. They have good size except center, but are slow on D. Cavs have a ton of balance front and back court and added more wing size. Not sure how they stop Celtics though.
Cavs will lose in the first round
The Knicks downgraded their team this year with last year's trade. Cavs are contenders but their playoff performance is yet to be tested. The Lakers can contend with Lebron and Luka but not this year- not with Luka hurt. They are still a couple of pieces away but they made a major upgrade to the team this season.
I love my Knicks but they can’t beat the Celtics. Not sure if they can beat the Cavaliers at this point. They need time to figure it out before they’re true contenders. But anything is possible!
How does Windy see the Lakers playing the Warriors when they're the 10th seed
Wait so Knicks are pretenders but Lakers are contenders lmao get some people that actually watch games
Og is not a difference maker perk. Stop that.
Why do you have to qualify it for the Knicks? Because it's NY? F 'em they've done NOTHING in 30 years, it's really 50+ but I'd give em that lil choke job run in the 90s.
Do the Cavs have a legitimate chance to win the East, or are they still a step below Boston and Milwaukee when it matters?
For the life of me I do not understand how Kendrick Perkins still has a job “speaking” on national television/online for a major news outlet . English is his second language, behind mumble mouth slang. “Hell yeah they contendas.” 😅😅 “Rudy go-brrr “ ?!?????
it was a good run, NY. Time to tear it down
The cavs kryptonite is coming back.😂😂mitchell robinson