The New York Knicks' start to the 2021-22 season has been nothing short of spectacular so far. Sitting at 5-2 with impressive victories over three projected playoff teams (the Chicago Bulls, Boston Celtics, and Philadelphia 76ers) and a top-three offense in the NBA, the sky really seems to be the limit for New York's team right now — at least at its best.

Losses to the injury-plagued Orlando Magic and Toronto Raptors have marred the otherwise encouraging start for the Knicks, as well as a general inability to stay out in front after their formidable offense builds early leads. Of the Knicks' five wins, three featured them allowing teams back into the game after building early double-digit leads — the opener against Boston, the win against the Bulls that came down a final missed potential game-winner by DeMar DeRozan and the win over the woefully short-handed New Orleans Pelicans Pelicans—playing without both Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram—that required some late-game heroics by RJ Barrett to salvage the day.

All of this is to say, there's been a lot of good and a lot of bad so far that's led to the Knicks starting 5-2. That makes it a perfect time for some overreactions.

The Knicks think they're better than they are

Let's just get this one out of the way real quick. As mentioned above, the majority of Knicks games this year have featured them building up big leads, only to squander them and flail toward the finish line like a fish out of water. Luckily for them, they've been able to pull out some of those games. The loss to the Magic may have given the Knicks a false sense of security — despite basically not trying the entire game, they were still within a couple scores of the Magic late and had opportunities to win the game in the final minutes.

Monday's loss against the Raptors should hopefully be the straw that breaks the camel's back for the Knicks, though, as far as a wake-up call about just how good they are this year.

Are they vastly improved from a year ago? Obviously! Their offense is top-five in the NBA, which is a huge uptick from a year ago. Julius Randle hasn't lost any of his skills from his Most Improved Player campaign and Barrett appears ready to take a huge leap.

Are they the 2017 Warriors, so ridiculously talented they can afford to just selectively turn their effort on and off against some of the inferior teams of the league and still come out with wins? Obviously not! The Knicks' top-end talent is still not elite in the grand scheme of things. They're a collection of talented players that will be very reliant on team basketball on both ends to reach their high water mark this season, should they ever find it.

RJ Barrett is a future All-NBA player in the making

The initial take here was going to be “RJ Barrett is a surefire All-Star in the making,” but his recent performances are making that feel like way too tame of a prediction to be considered an “overreaction.”

Over his last three games, Barrett is averaging 27.3 points, 5.7 rebounds and 2.3 assists on blistering .630/.632/.800 shooting splits. Small sample, sure, but it's not just the numbers that give this prediction legs. Barrett has been hitting a variety of different looks to get those numbers, utilizing skills not seen in his first two seasons like pull-up shots and better finishing around the rim.

On top of that, opponents are shooting 6.3% worse when defended by Barrett, one of the better marks for wing defenders in the league. If Barrett continues on his current trajectory, he doesn't just seem like a surefire future All-Star, he seems like he could be a future All-NBA player cut out of the same cloth as players like Jimmy Butler or Kawhi Leonard — a hard-working, two-way stud that scores with efficiency and shuts down the opposing team's best player on a night-to-night basis.

This team could be a legit Eastern Conference contender

For all of the reasons listed in the first overreaction, this season could go off the rails for the Knicks. But the reality is this: with two brand new players inserted into the rotation and soaking up big minutes, along with some of the incumbents from last year not quite looking like themselves yet (Immanuel Quickley, Derrick Rose, Randle, and Mitchell Robinson returning from injury come to mind), the Knicks have shown some weaknesses to start the year… and yet their raw talent has still seen them build double-digit leads in almost every game against all manners of opponents.

What if the Knicks solve their mid-to-late-game effort issues? What if they tighten up the defense and get it back to maybe not last season's top-three level, but a top-ten level to pair with their top-five offense? What if Robinson gets his conditioning totally back and regains his insane athleticism to pair with his newfound size? What if Barrett's hot streak isn't so much a streak as a trend, and he's a consistent 20 point per game scorer this season?

How much better does this thing have the potential to get when the building block is “flawed, but good, and sitting at 5-2 after seven games, with three wins over projected playoffs teams?”

It's not unfathomable to imagine a world where the Knicks get it together and are a top-three, or perhaps even top-two seed in the East this season with legitimate Eastern Conference Finals dreams. To be clear, though, if they break in the other direction, they could just as easily end up a bottom three seed in the East and a playoff washout as well.

Only time, and the Knicks' own ambitions, will tell what the result ends up being.