NBA: Top 5 most overrated teams entering 2013-14

3. New York Knicks

The most exciting team in the league right now? Yup. Title contender? No way.

Somewhere below the tier one and tier two teams reside the Hawks, Knicks and Nets. That means there’re at least 5 (taking into account both conferences) teams ahead of them in the title contention.

New York didn’t lose much over the summer, as Marcus Camby and Steve Novak weren’t playing significant roles by the end of the 2012-13 campaign. But contrary to popular belief, they really didn’t add anything either.

Andrea Bargnani is one of the biggest busts in recent times. He produces empty stats, doesn’t defend and is going to complicate an already hazy frontcourt rotation.

Metta World Peace is on the wrong side of 30 and Amar’e Stoudemire is nursing his knees.

Re-signing J.R. Smith might not be as fruitful as they hoped. He was never a focused player, and now that he’s got his finances in order, he might not produce as much. Also, nobody knows how well he’ll play after his surgery.

Nobody’s saying the Knicks are going to miss the playoffs altogether. But there’s just no convincing evidence that they’re going to be much better than they were a year ago. So, pegging New York for something like 50 wins and a second-round playoff exit seems about right.

Expecting them to perform better than that is probably a mistake.