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