The New York Knicks are Good and it’s not a Fluke this Time
The New York Knicks aren’t taken seriously (for good reason). But, right now, they’re one of the hottest teams in the league.
It has been a while since the New York Knicks have been relevant. Since the turn of the century, the Knicks have been dysfunctional, insignificant, and stuck in their own ways. Saying the name Isiah Thomas in the city is a curse. The last really relevant Knicks squad was back in 2013. You’d have to go back to 1999 to find another meaningful Knicks team.
On Christmas Day, the Knicks seemed directionless. Julius Randle was still polarizing. Tom Thibodeau’s seat was starting to warm. RJ Barrett couldn’t hit a shot to save his life. While everything but the latter have remained the same, New York’s turnaround has been nothing short of miraculous.
The friskiest and feistiest team in the NBA might play at Madison Square Garden…for once. The Knicks have lost just once in the past month. And, I’m inclined to believe that their winning ways aren’t fluky.
I Am Better Than You
The bulk of New York’s offense comes from Jalen Brunson and Julius Randle. These two southpaws are the driving force for any postseason success the Knicks hope to have. In Brunson, the Knicks finally have a competent point guard who can organize the show and hold his own scoring-wise with just about anybody. New York fell apart last night versus Charlotte, largely thanks to Brunson’s absence. Brunson has silenced the doubts about his $108 million dollar contract with his All-NBA (yes, I said it) level player.
Julius Randle has returned to All-Star form this season. His shot selection still worries me — given how many tough, contested shots he takes — but he’s been effective. As always, consistency is Randle’s problem. Five days ago in Miami, Randle shot 64% from the field, hit eight triples, and notched 43 points. A few nights later, against one of the worst defenses in the league, he was 5/17 from the field. That’s the Julius Randle experience.
Over the past 10 games, in which the Knicks are 9-1, they’re dead last in assists. Right now, New York’s offense is heavily reliant on them being able to score in one-on-one situations. The Knicks are making the second-fewest passes per game over this stretch.
Now, obviously, that isn’t very sustainable. I don’t have to tell you that. While Brunson and Randle are good, the Knicks need more cohesion to win games. Randle, in particular, has struggled to navigate when defenses send a second help defender. Time and time again in that thrilling double OT win against Boston, the Celtics sent late help to foil Randle;
Defenses are going to sag off guys like Barrett (see clip above) and Hart. They’ll more or less dare those guys to shoot. That condenses the floor, making it harder for these isolations to succeed. The Knicks don’t play at a break-neck pace. They play at a slow, traipsing pace.
That slower style is more commonplace during the playoffs, but how much can the Knicks rely on their two stars? Will that isolation-centric offense work in the postseason? Some more passing is probably needed to make things work. But, things aren’t as dire as I’m making them seem.
With Brunson and Randle on the floor this season, the Knicks have a 120.7 offensive rating (and a 118.5 defensive rating, but let’s not talk about that). The Knicks have also been shooting a sizzling 51% from 4-14 feet away from the basket, the area of the floor where a majority of their shots (24.3%) have been coming from during this ten-game bender.
The Knicks have been near the top of the league in drives per game. Jalen Brunson is a big part of that, as he’s been averaging 17.8 drives a night over the past ten contests. He’s been shooting 62.3% from the field on these drives and scoring 13.4 points per game.
New York’s ability to get by defenders and collapse the defense is why they’ve been shooting the ball so well in this stretch. Immanuel Quickley made Celtics defenders look like they were trying to move through cement as he burned them time after time while attacking the rim.
You wouldn’t think of the Knicks as an offensive team, but that’s what they’ve become. When healthy, the duo of Brunson and Randle can create enough offense for the Knicks to stay in games. Even when this hot shooting eventually levels off, New York has two guys who thrive in the half-court. Not many teams have that luxury.
The Hart Factor
Josh Hart is a winning player. More than that, he’s the type of player born to be a Knick. There’s no setting other than 110% for Hart, a player who gets the most of his somewhat limited skillset by playing harder than everyone else around him. In Portland, Hart was asked to shoulder too much offensively.
In New York, his offensive role is smaller, and he can do more of what he does best: play defense. The Knicks didn’t have a lot of options on the wing until Hart came to town. Now, they have an imposing, physical, versatile forward to further anchor their defense.
Hart has become one of the most valuable Knicks in his short time with the team. Tom Thibodeau has already trusted him to play key minutes in close games. In turn, the Knicks have been utterly dominant when Hart has been on the floor.
The Knicks are 21.5 points per 100 possessions better when Hart is on the floor compared to when he’s on the bench. That’s the highest swing on the team. Sure, it’s a small sample size, but the Knicks have a 22.1 net rating with Hart on the floor. They weren’t getting that production when Cam Reddish was collecting dust on the bench.
Against the Celtics, Hart got the Tatum assignment and made life hard for the superstar. He’s become New York’s top perimeter defender. Guys like Quentin Grimes and RJ Barrett are fine defenders, but Hart gives them a real stopper on the perimeter. Mitchell Robinson finally has someone to help him on that end.
Most good teams don’t add such an important role player like Hart midseason. Now, they have the perfect gritty, tough wing that will give them energy no matter the situation. Quite the addition.
Fun Fact: The trio of Brunson, Randle, and Hart has a +39.7 net rating!
Here Comes The Defense
Remember what I said about the Knicks being more of an offensive team now? Well, that’s because their defense hasn’t been great all year. Part of that is because New York’s backcourt is so small. Brunson and Quickley get picked on by opposing teams.
Tom Thibodeau (likely) isn’t pleased with New York’s 16th-ranked defense. You know he expects more from his teams on that end. Part of New York’s struggle has been Mitchell Robinson’s continued health struggles. When Robinson is on the floor, the Knicks have been competent defensively. But things falter when he’s on the bench.
New York’s half-court defense has been average. They’ve been a good rebounding team and avoid giving teams easy opportunities in transition off rebounds. Teams do shoot a lot of threes against the Knicks, however, and they knock them down. Only three teams allow more wide-open threes than the Knicks, according to nba.com.
But, during this 9-1 stretch, the Knicks’ defense has been a top-ten unit in the NBA. They’ve been much better in the halfcourt. Part of this has been opponents shooting just 33% from beyond the arc against New York. Will that continue? Probably not. What has a better chance of continuing has been New York’s defense inside the arc.
Teams have been shooting just 64% at the rim and 43% from mid-range. It’s a sign that the addition of Hart and the overall effort defensively has increased. New York isn’t a team that forces a lot of turnovers or get a lot of deflections. They’re a team that relies on limiting opponents to one shot and want to stay in front of you.
That defensive strategy is working right now and I think it will continue to work. You can’t understate how the addition of Josh Hart has helped them in that regard. Keeping Mitchell Robinson healthy will also assure that this defense won’t fall apart.
No matter what era of basketball we’re in, it makes sense that the Knicks play defense. It’s been their identity since the introduction of their franchise. It’s what made then standout during that surprise 2021 playoff run. And while it may not be their main identity right now, the Knicks will need their defense to come through if they want to go anywhere in the postseason.
Everything Feels Right
Julius Randle’s improbable, impossible, ridiculous game-winner against the Miami Heat summed up New York’s season well. There were moments when you almost turned your head away in horror. Randle lost the ball a few times and was forced to shoot a three, fading to his right on the right wing as a lefty. Somehow, his prayer was answered and the Knicks won.
Sure, I don’t love that the Knicks so heavily rely on two players offensively. Their defense hasn’t been particularly great until teams started to get cold from distance. RJ Barrett has been terrible. But there’s something about this team.
The New York Knicks, for the first time in decades, have some spunk to them. An attitude. A belief. They believe they’re good, and they’ll fight like hell against anybody to prove it.
Even though they’ve faced the second hardest schedule in the league, the Knicks are 11 games over 0.500 and sitting comfortably as the 5th seed in the Eastern Conference. They have a chance to catch the fourth-seeded Cavs and get homecourt advantage in the first round.
If they don’t, the Knicks will have to play on the road…where they’re one of the best road teams in the NBA. Yeah, that’s right. New York is 20-12 on the road. They don’t need the enormous advantage of playing at Madison Square Garden, although they’re still gunning for it.
New York has depth at all of their positions, and they’re able to play a lot of different styles. They could go small and put Randle at the five (something that they haven’t done much this season, but it’s been very good). Lineups with the three guards — IQ, Brunson, and Grimes — have been fantastic. Bench units with Toppin and Hartenstein have been elite defensively. Derrick Rose is an assistant coach/mentor! What’s not to love?
In a top heavy East, there’s a vacuum for a dark horse. So far, nobody has really been able to take that crown confidently. By all measures, the friskiest team in the league has a chance to claim it. And with it, a chance for their first meaningful playoff success in a decade.
How far are the Knicks going in the playoffs? Leave a comment down below!
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