The New York Knicks have generated quite the buzz this offseason with their first trip to the Eastern Conference Finals last season in a quarter century.

There is a new excitement around Madison Square Garden and that is generated by an exciting new coach and a deeper bench the Knicks can rely on when the starters need a break. That was something the team lacked when it lost in the Eastern Conference Finals to the Indiana Pacers.

It also does not hurt that the Pacers and the Boston Celtics are both going to be without their top players due to injuries sustained last postseason.

Captain Jalen Brunson said after practice on Monday he is not listening to the noise. The noise does not affect the games and will not factor into the Knicks winning games. He wants the team to ignore the hype.

“I disregard it, because it doesn’t mean s–t,” the star point guard told reporters. “It doesn’t mean anything. It’s not for me to worry about. My worry is practice, my worry is film, my worry is getting better every single day. I don’t have time to think about what people say about us.”

Karl-Anthony Towns responded in kind. You do not win games on paper, they are won on the court. Predictions and prognostications don't get you anything in the win column.

The Knicks are expected to battle the Cleveland Cavaliers for the supremacy in the East. While anything can happen during an 82-game season, the Knicks and the Cavaliers are the two best teams......on paper.

“All that is, is looking at a crystal ball, hoping that things work out the way the crystal ball says,” Towns said. “We’ve gotta take care of our team and can’t even think about that.”

The Knicks start their season on Wednesday against the very same Cavaliers at The Garden. It will be a good test for the Knicks, even if they are missing Mitchell Robinson and Josh Hart due to injuries.

“It’s a good test. It makes us better,” Towns said. “I think both teams would agree, and I’ll say the same that we get to go against the best of the best. You get to see where you stand and also what to work on when you play teams that are highly looked upon this year. So we just go out there and play our best.”

Brunson said that while most of the faces are the same, things will be different. It will be interesting to see how it plays out, he said.

“A lot of things are the same, but some things are different. Yes, we have the same core, but we have some different pieces,” Brunson said. “The voice is different and everything is different from the coaching aspect of it. But the mentality and the approach has to stay the same.