The Knicks are facing a tight schedule after the All-Star break with a four-time drive starting Thursday: Milwaukee, Oklahoma City, Brooklyn and Philadelphia. It’s a 1-3 trip waiting to happen.
That’s why it’s lovely Knicks fans who have a week to feast on their current 19-18 record. Because for the first time since the 2013-14 season, the Knicks will play meaningful games after the All-Star break.
The worst part of the seven-year-long play-off drought has been to virtually eliminate the past six seasons.
Here are four positive takeaways from the first 37 games of the season (one game past the mathematical center of the 72 pandemic schedule):
Stocks rise more than fall on Knicks’ prospects
The key to this supposed rebuilding season was the development of Kevin Knox, Mitchell Robinson, RJ Barrett, Dennis Smith Jr. and Frank Ntilikina. It’s a 3-2 win – with Knox and Smith moving away.
The Knicks could not trade fast enough on Sunday at the Super Bowl after a mediocre preseason and an early season at the fourth season. They actually got good value, with the Pistons willing to agree to Derrick Rose’s trade wish to the Knicks.
Knox fell out of the short turn of Tom Thibodeau last month and is – in the dreaded mouth of the coach – “situational.” Knox showed a skill to play the 3 and 4, but although he improved his 3-point shooting (38.9 percent), Thibodeau has not used much for him now and is a trade candidate.
On the bull market side of the ledger, Barrett has progressed as a more effective scorer with his three-point shooting and free-throw improvement. He is even stronger than a cutter.
Before Robinson broke his right hand, the center established itself as an elite rim protector capable of staying out of bad trouble. Robinson will judge his hand on Wednesday, but he has made progress.
Meanwhile, Ntilikina has changed his narrative over the past ten days. Before February 25, the Frenchman had not played since the end of December, but now he is suddenly hotter than a French bistro, and he has sunk his last six three-pointers. At least the limited free agent increased its trade value in 2021.
“If he sees him playing, working through things, his versatility, he can play all three positions on the perimeter,” Thibodeau said. “And his shooting really came.”
The new Dr. J
Julius Randle’s conversion from a free agent to a bona fide All-Star is one of the NBA’s best stories. Randle has 10 games with at least 25 points, 10 rebounds and five assists. This is the second most for a Knick in an entire season. He has also played 37 games – no small feat in the fragile era of the NBA. Now that a limited number of fans are attending games, he hears loud MVP chants. In fact, he has emerged as a strong candidate for most improved player.
Tale of Two Rookies
When the NBA general manager’s survey appeared, the Knicks 2020 lottery Obi Toppin finished third in the Rookie of the Year poll. Fellow rookie Immanuel Quickley did not play in the preseason, and then got eight minutes in the next game, like a late first pick in the first round that would find trouble in a busy backfield. The narrative was reversed, while Quickley was a mainstay off Thibodeau’s bench. Toppin struggles to get minutes (12.7) and get traction behind Randle. Quickley was not nominated in the Rising Stars series of the United States due to the silly format that he had to select undeserved international rookies for the World Team. But he became a fan favorite with his fearless 3-point shooting (38.1 percent), brilliance of the free throw (which made a record of 94 of his first 100 free throws) and a driver who until recently had not missed. His choice took the heat out of Leon Rose’s lottery from Toppin, which is a project at 23.
Coaching
For the first 28 games before Robinson’s hand injury, Thibodeau stuck with the same starting line-up – all five holders of last season’s bad club. And Thibodeau kept the Knicks around 500 throughout the season, rebuilding a culture by emphasizing how important it is to win. He trained Elfrid Payton, RJ Barrett and Randle. Thibodeau expertly managed a diverse coaching team handed over to him by Rose and senior deputy director William Wesley. The possibility that Thibodeau could finally wear out his players by May can never be let down, but the first 38 games were as magical as a Turkish and Caicos beach he avoided. Larry Greer, former Knicks pre-scout with Minnesota, tweeted Thursday: ‘Many coaches are asking what the most important thing is that you learned with Coach Thibodeau. It is this “Culture is how you do everything,” Thibodeau said. “It’s not one thing, it’s how you do everything.” It can be applied to ANY BUSINESS !!! ”