Beno Udrih was one of the Knicks’ offseason acquisitions that the team hopes will improve its roster over the one that led them to finish with the second best record in the East last season.
New York made it as far as the second round of the playoffs, before injuries to Carmelo Anthony and J.R. Smith limited their effectiveness against a very strong Indiana Pacers team. Despite their regular season success, most have predicted a drop-off next year, with other teams in the East seemingly entering next season with a stronger group of talent.
Udrih, however, believes that his new team has enough to reach the Finals, and that needs to be the mindset when training camp opens later this month.
From Marc Berman of the New York Post:
“I believe our team can go as far as going to the Finals,’’ Udrih told The Post at Ashe Stadium in his first remarks since signing. “We have to think like that from the first practice. We can be very good. It all depends how seriously we’re going to take it.
“We all believe we can go really far. And our goal from the beginning has to be win it all because we know we’re going to be in the playoffs. Our mentality from the first practice has to be: we want to win a championship.’’
This falls along the lines of, “What do you want him to say?” It’s also not all that outrageous of a statement.
The Knicks were so good last year because Anthony was stellar offensively to the point where he won the league scoring title, and Smith was so effective off the bench that he took home the Sixth Man of the Year award at the end of the season.
It isn’t a stretch to believe that the additions of Udrih, Metta World Pace, and Andrea Bargnani can make New York tougher to deal with than they were a season ago in the playoffs. But Miami, Indiana, and Chicago will all likely have a say in whether or not the Knicks can actually make it to the Finals.
