Are the New York Knicks Officially Back?
With everything crazy going on in the world today, perhaps the hardest storyline to believe in the last few months is that the New York Knicks are currently the #4 seed in the Eastern Conference. In fact, this occurrence is so unusual that New Yorkers are actually celebrating in the streets about a .514 record (18-17) for their die-hard team in early March. If there’s anything anyone deserves in this world, it’s for the Knicks to finally be relevant and intriguing for their adoring fans.
All kidding aside, the Knicks sport one of the NBA’s top defensive units lead by Head Coach Tom Thibodeau and have taken advantage of a top-heavy Eastern Conference. Veteran forward Julius Randle has been fantastic as the do-it-all offensive weapon and the acquisition of Derrick Rose from Detroit midseason has proven early to be a savvy move for their backcourt. Second year forward RJ Barrett has shown improvement in almost all areas of his game and has become much more a vocal presence for New York. Late first-round pick Immanuel Quickley has been an amazing revelation for the Knicks all season long, providing a consistent versatile skillset that has helped power the team’s surprising success. Along with Randle, Rose, Barrett, and Quickley, New York has seen tremendous depth contributions from Mitchell Robinson, Austin Rivers, Elfrid Payton, and Alec Burks.
A major reason for the NYK recent success has been their ability to draft well as of late, which is something they have been criticized endlessly for in years past. RJ Barrett, Immanuel Quickly, and Mitchell Robinson, all drafted between 2018-2020 are major factors driving this turnaround season. Along with drafting well, the Knicks have found a desperately needed swagger back, specifically in how they are playing defense right now. The Knicks are #1 in the league in points allowed on defense (104 pts) and are also #3 in the league in rebounds per game (46.9). Despite these impressive metrics, one major red flag for the Knicks is their inability to score the basketball, currently sitting at 29 out of 30 NBA teams with 104.9 points per game as a squad.
They say defense wins championships, right? Sure enough, that has been the bread-and-butter blueprint for victory this season for the NYK. Slightly more than halfway to go in the regular season, New York will look to prove that their style of play is no fluke by continuing to surprise people across the NBA world. Whether you are a fan of the Kicks or not, I think most people would agree that a playoff appearance from this team would be the great story of the shortened 2020-2021 NBA season.