It's finally over. On Friday afternoon, LeBron James announced that he'd be joining the Phildelphia 76ers. A lot can be said about what this means for James and the rest of the league. But what does it exactly mean for the Knicks? And more specifically, how does it impact their potential chances of becoming the first team to win back-to-back titles since the Warriors accomplished the feat in 2018? Let's dive in.Knicks now have another 76ers weapon to worry aboutLet's first rewind and zoom out for a second. This team is so much more than just James. The 76ers now have an elite starting lineup (on paper, at least) consisting of Tyrese Maxey, Jaylen Brown, VJ Edgecombe, James and Joel Embiid. That probably makes them the most talented starting five in the entire league. Four of those guys can go get their own shot at will, with Edgecombe being the exception. But you also have to figure that in his second year in the league, he's only going to get better and build off of what was a very strong rookie campaign. They have solid to good shooting all around. And the bench isn't shabby either. Rookie Labaron Philon Jr. showed some really nice flashes during Summer League. Anfernee Simons is a flawed player but he'll have a smaller role on this team than he's ever had, which should only help him. And a combination of Dean Wade, Dominick Barlow, ex-Knick Ariel Hukporti and Adem Bona are all nice regular season depth pieces that will provide energy on the second unit. If everything goes well, they could find themselves as one of the few teams that have a realistic shot at winning a title. But the Knicks don't need to panic.Why the Knicks should still be favorites over LeBron James and the 76ersNew York is still the better team. The 76ers may very well have the raw talent advantage. Jalen Brunson is better than Maxey. And I, along with many Knicks fans, would argue that Karl-Anthony Towns, currently holds the edge over Embiid. That's kind of it though. James, Brown and Edgecombe are arguably a better trio than OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges and Josh Hart. As a team, however, the Knicks just make so much more sense together. En route to a one of the most dominating postseasons which resulted in a championship, New York showed that the game isn't played on paper. It's not about just the big names. Or who has the most talent. But the team has to fit. It has to synergize. It has to become more than the sum of its parts. The Knicks did that. Brunson and Towns were the undoubted best players and engines of the team. Yet everybody else played not just a supporting role, but made meaningful contributions that were needed. Anunoby and Bridges provided a level of wing defense unmatched by any team in the postseason, while also spacing the floor with their shooting and making timely cuts. Hart was amazing as a rebounder and defender, and he embraced doing all of the little thankless things that help win games. Landry Shamet, Deuce McBride, Jose Alvarado and Jordan Clarkson all helped in their own ways, too. The 76ers just don't have that kind of personnel. Who on their team is going to do all of the other things that the main stars can't or won't want to do? Wade, Barlow, and Hukporti can certainly provide some of that. But who in the starting lineup is going to take a lesser role?Are the 76ers going to ask Embiid, the face of their franchise, to take a step back? Brown is just months removed from saying he enjoyed this past season as a No. 1 option and now he's going to be only a support player some nights on a team he didn't even choose to be on. How is that going to work out?James obviously can play as a distributor. He's one of the greatest passers of all time. But he still needs the ball in his hands. And while Edgecombe will inevitably have to be the one to sacrifice his role, he is nowhere near the level of spot up shooter that Anunoby, Bridges, and quite frankly, even Hart was last season. There have been plenty of other Big Threes in the history of the NBA, and not all of them have won a ring. When they don't, it often comes back to persistent saying: "There is only one ball." If you combine every player in the starting lineup's usage rate from last year, it totals a staggering 142%. That just won't work. The problems also aren't just on the offensive side. While, yes, it's true that some of the aforementioned depth pieces are solid defenders, Edgecombe is the only player in the starting lineup who will bring it defensively every single night. James has shown even in his old age that he can turn the switch on and revert to being a good defender in the postseason. But he's also proven that he just does not have the ability to do it night in, and night out all season long. Maxey historically hasn't been a good defender. Brown's defense has consistenly looked worse. And the Knicks are just a couple months removed from feasting on Embiid and his lackluster drop coverage. If these two teams meet up in a series, they have the possibility of making things tough for the Knicks. Maybe more than any other squad in the league, they have the ability to make Brunson work defensively. If he has to "hide" on Edgecombe, it still won't be a fun night for him. James' experience, ability to turn on the defense, and dominate games in different ways will be scary. Maxey, despite struggling against the Knicks in this year's postseason, is still a threat. And the addition of Brown will provide a different kind of challenge. But if the Knicks play the way they did this past postseason, they should still be favored. There's still not a single player on the 76ers that can consistently defend Brunson, or Towns for that matter. The Knicks still have much more spacing and shooting. They have the intangibles, and now, the experience of winning it all. And while, health is always goin to be a factor, there's much less confidence in Philly holding up through an entire postseason run than New York. Embiid hasn't seen a healthy season in what seems like an eternity, and James will be 42 years old come 2027. James may catapult them past teams that were in the same tier as recently as Thursday night. it wouldn't be surprising to see them ultimately do better than the Celtics, Raptors, Pacers, Cavaliers, and Heat, especially in the regular season.But in the postseason, their redundancy, clogged up offense, lack of defense, and health concerns may make them another example of why superteams don't always work. The Knicks, and arguably a couple other teams, should still be ranked ahead of them come the most important time of the year.Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow