Week 1 just passed in the 2012 NFL season, and usually around this time New York Jets head coach Rex Ryan begins making Super Bowl predictions. However, he's held off on them this year. Instead, the predictions have come from an athlete playing for a different New York team.
J.R. Smith of the Knicks becomes the second baller in the league to make title contention predictions after newly-acquired Boston Celtics guard Jason Terry did the same earlier in the summer. The Knicks' shooting guard was at Foot Locker's House of Hoops store in Harlem to give out Nike sneakers to children. After the event, Smith had some things to say about his team's chances this upcoming season.
"Right now with the talent we have, what it says on paper is championship all day. But it's a matter of us going out there and doing it. It's just a matter of us being smart with our talents and making the right plays."
The Knicks have made the playoffs each of the last two seasons but have been eliminated in the first round both times. Before losing to the Miami Heat in the first round of last year's postseason, Knicks' point guards Iman Shumpert and Baron Davis both went down with rather serious injuries. They lost their star sensation Jeremy Lin to free agency and acquired veteran Jason Kidd to fill the void.
We'll see if what the Knicks "have on paper" will be enough to win it all.
