Marcus Camby thinks New York Knicks are championship contenders alongside Miami Heat – NBA News
In rather stormy turn of events, the New York Knicks will now open their season at the Madison Square Garden on Friday night against the defending champions, Miami Heat. The Knicks were supposed to open the season against the Brooklyn Nets at the newly constructed Barclays Center, home of the Nets. However, in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, that game was cancelled and instead, the Knicks will meet the defending NBA champions in their season opener.
Knicks Head Coach Mike Woodson says he would rather have his team face the toughest opponents early on.
“I think early on it’s always best to play (the) best teams just to gauge or see where you are as a team. Our schedule is what it is. We got some tough opponents coming up. We can’t run from it. We got to step out on the floor and be ready to play,” said Woodson.
In normal circumstances, one would expect the Madison Square Garden to be packed for a game like this, but come Friday attendance may be a bit low as the City of New York struggles to get its transportation network back on line after the devastation caused by Sandy. However, Marcus Camby still believes that no matter what the turnout is, the game is going to be intense to say the least.
“We know it's a big ball game. They're the defending champs coming into our building," said Camby.
Camby was very close to signing a contract with the Miami Heat over the summer, but he was convinced to sign with New York instead by Woodson, General Manager Glen Grunwald and assistant General Manager Allan Houston. He has played for the Knicks before, from the 1998-99 season to the 2001-02 season and said that deep down, he always thought of himself as a Knick.
As both teams prepare for the Friday night fixture, there is no doubt in anybody’s mind that the Miami Heat are entering the season with their eyes set on the NBA championship, and are the heavy favourites to repeat their performance from last season and win the championship one more time. However, Camby feels that the Knicks also have championship aspirations from this season and have a realistic chance of going all the way come playoffs.
"We both have dreams and aspirations of being there at the end, so more than likely we're going to see this team in June. Right now, I feel we have a team that's assembled to play late in June," added Camby.
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