The New York Knicks and the Cleveland Cavaliers have been confidently identified as the two teams who will lock horns for Eastern Conference supremacy in the 2025-26 NBA season. Those confidently choosing the Knicks are overlooking just how lucky they were in the 2025 NBA Playoffs.
Gavin Schall of Locked on Knicks admitted as much during an appearance on Locked on Cavs with Danny Cunningham. The man covering New York knew a lot of good fortunes fell in his team's favor during the Eastern Conference Finals run in 2025.
"The Knicks were shockingly healthy in some ways," Schall said. "OG Anunoby had, far and away, the healthiest season of his career. ... Karl-Anthony Towns had his healthiest season in the last five years. ... Jalen Brunson ... was, for the most part, healthy come playoff time."
Schall admitted this kind of clean bill of health was far from a guarantee. The Knicks' personnel is susceptible to missing time. Unlike the Cavaliers, they are not built as well to withstand those injuries.
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Is it foolish to bank on what a worst-case scenario can look like? Perhaps it is. However, that is not quite the case with what is going on here.
The Knicks stars have the track record. Maybe without Tom Thibodeau overplaying his main cogs, the injury threat is lessened. However, it is far from eliminated altogether.
For all the talk of the Cavaliers being threatened by Darius Garland's health undoing a championship push, they at least have the depth to survive a series without him. The Knicks improved their overall roster, but nowhere near to that point.
Brunson has played less than 70 games during four of his seven NBA seasons. For Towns, it is four of his 10. Anunoby has missed the mark in all but two of his campaigns. Josh Hart has three seasons of over 70 games played.
Mikal Bridges is the obvious exception here. The NBA's iron man is as consistent and reliable as they come.
Despite that, one does not have to look back further than the 2024 NBA Playoffs for a prime example of injuries shorting the Knicks of their upside. The situation quickly fell apart against the Indiana Pacers in the second round matchup.
The Cavaliers and Knicks are the clear class of the conference. While both of those teams come with injuries threatening their postseason campaigns, only one of them has the personnel to push their luck.