The Resurgence of the New York Knicks

Author: Patrick Sullivan

Editor: Brian Symons

The New York Knicks are currently 36-28 thus far in the 2020-2021 NBA season as their 9 game win streak came to an end against the Phoenix Suns. Although the Knicks lost to the Suns, they were in the lead for the first 35 minutes of the game and stayed close the entire time. Outside of some incredible shooting for the SUns and some help from the referees, the Knicks truly could have won this game. Regardless, the Knicks have proven yet again that they can hang around with the elite teams of the NBA and truly compete with any team.

Before this loss, the Knicks truly proved themselves to the league as not only a surprise this season, but a legitimate playoff team granted they remain in the playoff picture with 10 games remaining which seems very likely. Likewise, prior to the 9 game win streak, the Knicks were hovering around as a 500 team and no fan was truly sure if the Knicks were actually a good team. The 9 game win streak and the level of competition they are providing to the best teams in the NBA, prove that they are no doubt a good basketball team which no one has been able to say about the Knicks since 2013.

It's safe to say that this is finally the resurgence of the Knicks and fans have hope and excitement about the team for the first time in a long time. Coach Tom Thibodeau has the team playing together and great on both sides of the ball. IT truly shows how coaching can have a major impact on the performance of a team granted the Knicks have the lowest payroll in the NBA showing how they are doing more with less which is just a testament to Thibodeau’s great coaching. Furthermore, as most of the Knicks players are contributing, it is important to point out the great play of Julius Randle, RJ Barrett, and Derrick Rose as of late. They are truly leading the Knicks to the first playoff berth in 8 years. However, it wouldn't be right to not point out the great play that Immanuel QUickley, Alec Burks, Nerlens Noel, and Reggie Bullock are bringing to the table as well. The play of all these guys and others is great to watch as a Knick fan and it’s making the Garden an electric place to be once again.

Looking ahead to the playoffs, the Knicks will most definitely need to keep up their level of defensive play to have a chance in a series with any playoff team and will also need to be more consistent on the offensive end as they have been during the 9 game win streak. To be completely honest and fair, it is hard to see the Knicks go deep into the playoffs considering they don;t have the stars that some playoff teams have, but its sports and anything can happen at any time. Nevertheless, the Knicks are back and the fans are ecstatic to see their team playing good basketball once again.

SPORTS ARE OUR UNIVERSE

The Knicks are Back in Town

Author: Billy Taylor

Editor: Brian Symons

At the beginning of the year, no one thought the New York Knicks would be where they are now. Yet, here we are nearing the final week of April and the Knicks are on a nine-game winning streak as the 4th seed in the Eastern Conference. Just 3.5 games behind the Bucks and 6.5 games behind the first place Nets.

About one month ago I wrote an article on whether the Knicks can make the playoffs. I wrote that they could, but they must learn how to close out games and win against teams who can be beaten. After losing by two points to the Nets and Celtics on April 5th and 7th respectively, the Knicks have caught fire and look more on a page than they ever have before. They have won 3 games in overtime, haven’t let late-game runs get out of hand, and continue to play superb defense in their nine-game winning streak. Yes, they have gotten bailed out by injuries from the likes of Trae Young, Lebron James, and Anthony Davis. But quite frankly, that does not matter. Neither do the disappointments of Frank Ntilikina, Kevin Knox, and Obi Toppin (despite draining 3 threes on Sunday).

Julius Randle is arguably the biggest star of New York right now, RJ Barrett continues to blossom, Reggie Bullock and Alec Burks have turned out to be big surprises, Immanuel Quickley continues to be a key contributor off the bench and Nerlens Noel contributes greatly to the defense. So much has gone right for the Knicks, and lots of the credit goes to potential Coach of the Year winner Tom Thibodeau. He has tapped into almost every ounce of potential this Knicks team has and they still have eleven games left to improve before the playoffs, which the Knicks have a 95.4% chance to make, per Basketball-Reference.

Leon Rose, William Wesley (Worldwide Wes), and the rest of the front office also deserve much of the credit for the improvement of the Knicks. The fact that the Knicks are a top 10 team in the NBA when they would have been lucky to make the playoffs at the start of the season is truly something special. Many Knicks fans haven’t felt this excitement since 2012-2013, and so many more have been suffering since the days of Ewing and Starks. This Knick team is nowhere near the Knicks of the ’90s but when your team’s identity is defense, it surely harkens back to their heyday. There is so much anticipation for May when the playoffs start, and now is the time to buckle in and enjoy the ride. The perfect way to sum up the Knicks season thus far is a quote from Immanuel Quickley after Wednesday’s win against the Hawks: “It is a blessing from God to be a New York Knick.” And right now, it is a blessing from God to be a New York Knick fan.

SPORTS ARE OUR UNIVERSE

Can the Knicks Make the Playoffs?

Author: Billy Taylor

Editor: Aaron Mesco

Going into the 2020-2021 NBA season, the New York Knicks were an afterthought in the conversation of what the Eastern Conference standings would look like at the season's end. Some may argue that they are still an afterthought, but there is no denying that the Knicks have made some noise this year and the idea of them making the playoffs is not completely out of the conversation.

In Leon Rose and William Wesley’s first year at the helm of the New York Knicks front office, they have suddenly curated a roster with a very young and solid core. There is definitely room for improvement, but new head coach Tom Thibodeau gets the most out of this roster and that is what counts for this year.

There are quite a few bright spots on this Knicks roster. R.J. Barrett is continuing to develop and looks as though he is blossoming into a certified shooting guard in the NBA. R.J. is averaging 17.2 points per game, nearly 3 points higher than last year. His field goal percentage has also improved from last year. Immanuel Quickley is proving to be a savvy draft pick by Leon Rose, averaging almost 13 points off the bench. You would like to see a better field goal percentage from him, but that could improve as time goes on similar to R.J. Barrett.

Derrick Rose is also a pleasant surprise to this Knicks team. When they initially traded for Rose, there was lots of warranted caution from fans who were let down by his first stint with the Knicks. When the Knicks traded for Rose in 2016, fans were hoping he could tap into his MVP talent from earlier in his career. When that didn’t happen, many fans in the NBA wrote him off. After playing with LeBron in Cleveland for two years, Rose landed in Minnesota with current Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau and reinvented himself. Fast forward to 2021 and Rose is under Thibodeau again with more experience than ever. His stat sheet doesn’t jump out at you, but he has proven to be a valuable commodity to this team who can run the offense and keep the young players at ease in high leverage situations. He will be a free agent at season's end, and I believe the Knicks should strongly consider giving him another contract.

And of course, the biggest bright spot and certified MVP of this New York Knicks team is forward Julius Randle. Julius was the dreaded “consolation” prize of the Kevin Durant-Kyrie Irving sweepstakes in the summer of 2019. He was a nice player to acquire, but when your expectations were as high as Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, it was a massive disappointment. However, he has improved in almost every category when compared to his 2019-2020 campaign and has proven himself as a guy who needs to stay on this Knicks team.

The Knicks don’t have the most talented roster, but what they lack in talent they make up for with heart and tenacity. They know they’re not the most talented, but on some nights that doesn’t matter. The problem with that is that it’s just SOME nights.

The biggest problem with this Knicks team is their inconsistent play. Despite their loss to Brooklyn on Monday, they didn’t give up until the final buzzer. Yes, they lost, but they lost to one of the best teams in their conference and made sure Brooklyn played until the end. They then followed that up with a loss to the best team in the east; the 76ers, in which they blew a 9-point lead in the fourth quarter. The 76ers have way more talent than the Knicks, but the Knicks will lose out on a playoff spot if they continue to let games like this slip away. This is even more important as the Knicks face a pretty harsh schedule in the second half of the season.

The remaining games left on the schedule for the Knicks will be quite the test for them. They have to face teams like the 76ers, Nets, Heat, Lakers, Clippers, and Nuggets. They also face some teams who are average on paper but aren’t pushovers by any stretch of the imagination. They have to not let games that are winnable slip through their fingers and watch whatever chance they have to make the playoffs wither away.

The Knicks also have to get healthy. They’re a little banged up right now with Derrick Rose missing time due to COVID protocols, Immanuel Quickley’s sore ankle, and Mitchell Robinson’s hand fracture.

As of right now, my confidence isn’t the highest with this team, but they have the chance to turn things around, as they have done several times this year. If they have enough resilience to steal a playoff spot with the schedule they have ahead of them, my confidence and the confidence of Knicks fans will shoot to highs we haven’t felt since 2013.