The New York Knicks Were Confident They Could Stop The Miami Heat In 2013
When star Carmelo Anthony was traded from the Denver Nuggets to the New York Knicks in 2010, the Knicks' championship hopes were high.
Even though they never won a championship, many believed they were in a good position.
In a recent episode of Stephen Jackson and Matt Barnes’ All The Smoke podcast, former NBA player Tyson Chandler said the Knicks had a huge chance at winning it all in 2013.
“We had a legitimate shot at winning the chip that year,” Chandler said. “Miami was trying to go for the back-to-back. I really feel like we would’ve beat them that year with that Knicks team, no offense. But I feel like we had the unit for it.”
The 2012-13 season was a special one for the Knicks. Being one of the best offensive teams in the league, they made it to the Eastern Conference semifinals for the first time since 2000. However, they lost 4-2 to the Indiana Pacers.
The Pacers advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals, where they lost 4-3 to the Miami Heat. Ultimately, the Heat won their second straight championship against the San Antonio Spurs.
The Pacers kept the series competitive but the Knicks might have had a better chance at winning, considering they won three of the four games against them that season. Even though it was just Paul George’s second year, he did a decent job at defending LeBron James. But with Anthony’s experience playing against James, things might have turned out differently.
The Heat were the best team that year but the Knicks still had the pieces to make things interesting.
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Cory Nelson is a contributor to Inside The Heat. He attended Northern Virginia Community College. He can be reached at corymckenzienelson@hotmail.com or follow him on Twitter @CKenzyNelson. You can also check out his personal blog HERE.
