Be ready for failure, Knicks fans.
Amare Stoudemire set the parameters for next season while speaking with MSG during a Knicks Summer League contest (as transcribed by Newsday). And like you want a competitor to say, he set the bar very high.
The Knicks should be better next season — just a full season under Mike Woodson without the turmoil of a mid-season coaching switch will help. Marcus Camby is a good fit as a backup big man and Raymond Felton seems motivated. They will get a good seed, maybe have a first round home court advantage, maybe get to the second round.
But unless there are some big changes, they are not coming out of the East. Miami got better and they have the crown. Boston got better. Chicago is potentially a title contender depending on Derrick Rose. After that there is a step down to the next tier in the East, where New York, Indiana and likely Brooklyn live. For the Knicks to get out of the East pretty much everything has to go right, then they would get to the finals and run into the Thunder or Lakers and, well. Bust.
But you don’t really want or expect Stoudemire to say anything otherwise.