James Dolan adds more pressure to Knicks with stern NBA Finals expectations

The New York Knicks got back into the win column on Wednesday with a road victory over the Utah Jazz, but it still wasn’t exactly an inspiring victory over a tanking opponent. Prior to that, the Knicks had suffered two straight uncompetitive losses to the Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers on their West Coast trip, and the team currently sits in third place in the Eastern Conference.

One person who believes the Knicks have everything they need to compete for a championship this year is none other than team owner James Dolan, who recently put the organization on notice with his bold comments.

“We want to get to the Finals,” Dolan said, per WFAN, via Vincent Goodwill of ESPN.com. “And we should win the Finals. This is sports and anything can happen. But getting to the Finals, we absolutely got to do.”

Many speculated that the Knicks might try to shake things up at last month’s NBA trade deadline amid what had been a rough stretch for the team, but New York seems to have mostly gotten back on track since then, with blowout wins over the San Antonio Spurs and Denver Nuggets last week marking some of the highlights of the season.

On paper, the Knicks have as much talent as just about anyone, having made several win-now moves over the last couple of seasons to build their roster into a contender. However, concerns about the team’s best two players, Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns, both being clear negatives on the defensive side of the ball still persist, and recently, there have also been major questions about the reliability of Mikal Bridges to deliver with consistency, after what has been a disastrous road trip for him.

The Knicks will hope that they are able to round back into form ahead of the NBA playoffs, which will get underway in just over a month.

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