Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns shut down the hype around the Knicks

The Knicks haven’t entered a season with this kind of excitement since the days of the Yankees Core Four.

They start a new year with NBA Finals expectations, having been named one of the favorites in the Eastern Conference. The core group that made it to the Eastern Conference finals is back, bolstered by an improved bench that includes Jordan Clarkson and Gershon Yabusele.

But for captain Jalen Brunson, that’s just hype. It has nothing to do with what this group wants to achieve. He does his best to avoid the noise.

“I ignore that, because it doesn’t mean st,” the star point guard said Monday after practice. “It doesn’t mean anything. It’s not my business to worry. What I’m worried about is practice, my concern is movies, and my anxiety is getting better every day. I don’t have time to think about what people say about us.”

Karl-Anthony Towns had a similar response. Forecasts and forecasts do not guarantee anything.

So, while the Knicks and Cavaliers are expected to compete at the top of the conference, that doesn’t mean the 2025-2026 season will play out that way.

No one expected the Pacers to be out of the East at this time last fall.

“It’s just looking into a crystal ball and hoping things go the way the crystal ball says,” Towns said. “We have to take care of our team and we can’t even think about that.”

It all starts for real Wednesday night at the Garden against the Cavaliers and Donovan Mitchell and it’s no coincidence. It will be an interesting early challenge for the Knicks under new coach Mike Brown. An early opportunity to see where they stand against another big competitor, even If Mitchell Robinson and Josh Hart don’t play.

“It’s a good test. It makes us better,” Towns said. “I think both teams will agree, and I will say the same thing, we have to play against the best of the best. You have to see where you stand and also what you have to work on when you play teams that are getting a lot of attention this year. So we go out there and play our best.”

It will be interesting to see What does Knicks look like?. They went 4-1 in the preseason, but were not at full strength. In Friday’s final practice against the Hornets, four key players — Towns, Hart, Robinson and OG Anunoby — He didn’t play. Brown warned that it may take some time for this group to hit their stride in this new, fast-paced style.

So, while many familiar faces are back in orange and blue, creating incredibly high hopes within the fanbase, there is still some uncertainty as to what they will look like when the games are real.

“A lot of things are the same, but some things are different. Yes, we have the same core, but we have some different pieces,” Bronson said. “The sound is different and everything about the training aspect of it is different. But the mentality and approach has to stay the same.

“It’s the desire to win games, the desire to get better, the desire to learn and do whatever it takes. Those other things are different, but they have to be the same.”

A year ago, the Knicks’ opener was against the Celtics, and they got crushed, which meant nothing when they eliminated Boston in the playoffs. Wednesday night is just the beginning.

“It’s the first step, hopefully a long way,” Bronson said.