John Starks isn't holding back.
The former NBA All-Star and Sixth Man of the Year believes the New York Knicks are the best team in the Eastern Conference.
Starks is remembered for his long Knicks tenure, helping lead the team to the NBA Finals in 1994 along with Patrick Ewing.
The former undrafted guard became an All-Star the year the Knicks advanced to the Finals and he became the first player in NBA history to make at least 200 three-pointers in a single season when he accomplished the feat in 1994-95.
“We’re the best team in the East.”
While the Knicks have been behind the No. 1-seeded Detroit Pistons during the entirety of the season and have gone 0-3 against the Pistons.
However former NBA Sixth Man of the Year, John Starks said the Knicks, not the Pistons, are the team to beat in the East.
It's worth noting that Detroit's best player, Cade Cunningham, is out indefinitely due to a collapsed lung.
"I feel like we're the best team in the East," said Starks in an exclusive interview. "I really do. I know Detroit has the record over us, and I know Boston is ahead of us right now. But when I saw that San Antonio game, it’s almost like when you dangle some meat in front of some guys and they go get it. That's what it looked like to me. That told me that they can beat anybody in this league."
Starks is referencing the New York Knicks' 114-89 victory over the San Antonio Spurs on March 1 when New York vastly outplayed the Victor Wembanyama-led squad.
However, he does preach that the Knicks need to be more consistent against the top teams in the NBA.
"They’ve got to be consistent when you're playing against these good teams, and they haven't shown that, obviously... But I think when it comes to playoff time, all these guys are going to lock in, because they've been there. Sometimes you start to look ahead and you forget you’ve got to play Detroit and you’ve got to play the Celtics. You’ve got to play the Cavaliers. You’ve got to play the Lakers. You’ve got to play all these good teams. But that San Antonio game showed me that they're a championship-quality team."
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Starks: Knicks can make NBA Finals run
The former Knicks star said that he's confident that the team can make an NBA Finals run this year. It would be the first time since 1999 - when Ewing was still on the team - that they'd be in the championship round.
New York would have to go on the road and likely get through the Pistons in Detroit if they want to get to the Finals. They defeated the Pistons in six games in the first round in Detroit last season.
"No question," said Starks about the Knicks making a Finals run. "Understand one thing about this team: they know they can go on the road and beat anybody. The playoffs is all about going on the road and winning on your opponent's home court. That's the most important thing."
"You can always shift the home court. If you go seven games, then that game - that's the only thing the home court advantage means. Other than that, you can go in and just like what they did to Detroit last year. They had the home court, and then went in and shifted it in our favor. We're good."
Knicks Legend: “He's back to being Jalen Brunson.”
Starks gives tremendous credit to the Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns pairing. The duo is in their second season together and previously led the squad to the Eastern Conference Finals last year.
"I think Karl is doing a tremendous job and making conscious efforts on the defensive end of the court," said Starks. "He's starting to get a little bit more in that post where you like your big man. He's just not settling for jump shots. Now he's been more aggressive going to the basket. I like where he's at in his thought process."
"Jalen is going to do what he's going to do. I think he struggled over the last three or four weeks because teams are starting to play him differently. They're starting to take the ball out of his hand, and everybody's starting to double him early in the game. I think he was kind of struggling with that: how to be aggressive on the offensive end, how to get his teammates involved, and keep his teammates involved. I think he didn't figure that part out. Now I think he's back to being Jalen Brunson."
Starks: Knicks have turned up defensive intensity in recent weeks
The Knicks are currently hot right now, riding a six-game win streak entering their Tuesday night game against the New Orleans Pelicans.
"I like where we are headed and I like the way we are playing right now. We're getting back to our DNA, and that's on the defensive end of the court. I think we lost a little bit of that during that losing streak. Guys got so worried about the offensive end that if you're struggling on offense, you can get it on the other end."
"We kind of turned the corner when we played against San Antonio. We started off from a defensive standpoint. I haven't seen these guys move that fast in awhile. It was like eight guys out there on the court on defense. That's how you could see that intensity level step up."
Starks does mention the recent back-to-back losses to the Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers, but said that's probably just the Los Angeles effect of having to travel all the way from the east coast to the west coast.
"Obviously, we took a step back against the Lakers and the Clippers, but that could be the Los Angeles effect and the driving and flying. But after that they got back to playing aggressively. On the defensive end, Golden State woke us up again.
“You gotta play hard, and you can't go out there and underestimate anybody in this league because they can beat you, and they just carry that over into the next game and the next game."
"I like where we are from a mentality standpoint. A couple of guys have to get going with their shots, but other than that, defensively, I like where we are heading into the playoffs."
Defense Should Lead For The Knicks
The former All-Defensive Second Team guard said he believes the team's identity is on the defensive end. If they can execute on that end, the sky's the limit for the Knicks. New York is fifth in points allowed per game and in defensive rating.
"You have to have an identity. You can't just go into the game and say one night we're going to play defense and one night we're not. Offensively, we're going to shoot the ball great, one night we're not."
"I think when you want to hang your hat for any team, you hang your hat on the defensive end of the court, because that keeps you in the games until your offense gets going."
"That's always been our mentality when I was here, and it's going to continue to be that way here in New York, because when this crowd gets going and is hollering, 'Defense! Defense!', they want you to go out there and guard."
"I think we got enough on the offensive end of the court. Our shooting has been a little erratic lately, but I think overall once playoff time comes, we'll work out the kinks and we should be fine."
John Starks spoke exclusively with DJ Siddiqi on behalf of Covers.com. All quotes in this article are taken from an exclusive interview conducted by Covers.com. Journalists and media outlets are welcome to use these quotes, provided they are attributed to Covers.com. Please ensure links back to the original article to provide full context for readers.
