The Knicks will conclude their preseason Thursday against the Raptors. Five days later, the reigning champions will raise a long-awaited banner to the rafters of Madison Square Garden.

The Knicks, who will attempt to become the first team in eight years to repeat as NBA champions, have already been reminded how difficult it is to defend a title. Mitchell Robinson is now a Celtic. Karl-Anthony Towns and Josh Hart are questioning their futures in New York after the team paused all contract negotiations. And after dropping their first three preseason games, the Knicks must move on from a summer-long celebration and face the rigors of an 82-game regular season in which they are circled on every team’s calendar.

Still, the Knicks remain the team to beat in the East, riding the most cohesive starting unit in the sport with every member still in his prime. After four consecutive seasons improving upon the previous year’s win total, the postseason confidence should carry over for the Knicks (over 52.5 wins), putting them in position to earn the No. 1 seed for the first time since 1993.

But how will their competition fare?