From the moment the Knicks hired Tom Thibodeau as their new head coach in July, their defense thought they could get an upgrade.
But there was no guarantee that tangible change – and the victories that followed – would come so quickly.
The Knicks left New York on December 27, fresh off their first win of the season, a surprise defeat for the Bucks. They returned on Tuesday as winners of four of the last five to compete in the Jazz at the Garden showdown on Wednesday night, with many strong efforts to fuel their wave, but the main defense among them.
“I think being together is a big part of it. I think the willingness to share the ball, to play hard for each other, ”said Thibodeau after Monday’s 113-108 victory over the Hawks. “[But] it starts with our defense and the rebound. We still need to get our sales down, but I think that’s the general way they play for each other. I think that’s a big part of winning. They come in and they work every day. “
Last year, the Knicks, under David Fizdale and then interim coach Mike Miller, had the NBA’s 23rd defensive rating (112.4). In seven games this season under Thibodeau, they had the NBA’s ninth best defensive rating (106.1).
In their last five games, they kept opponents well below their scoring average – albeit in a small sample. They kept the Bucks, who otherwise average 127 points, at 110. They followed by keeping the Cavaliers (107.5) on 86, the Raptors (107.2) on 100, the Pacers (117) on 102 and the Hawks. (120) at 108.
“Most importantly, if you defend, bounce and take care of the ball, you are in a position to win,” said Thibodeau.
Of course, it’s not just defense that led the Knicks to win three out of four on their road trip. There were significant appearances from both newcomers and leftovers as the Knicks made their best start in seven games since the 2012-13 season:
“Quivers”: The combination of Immanuel Quickley and Austin Rivers is still very new, but it was impressive enough to already be nicknamed through social media. They both sat on the ground for crunch-time against the Hawks on Monday – Rivers for the last 5:06 PM and Quickley for 3:09 of the last 3:51 PM – to turn a 15-point deficit into a win by five points.
Rivers played a strong defense off Trae Young, deflating an important 3-pointer on a sharp pass from Quickley, who scored 16 runs.
“We play each other offensively, he is also very good defensively,” said Quickley. “So it just makes it really easy to play with him on both ends of the floor.”
King Julius: Julius Randle had another monster game on Monday, scoring 28 points, 17 rebounds and nine assists. His struggles last season were well documented, but he improved a lot early this year by putting in tough minutes.
“I think guys believe in Coach and believe in his message and play for each other, play hard, play together,” said Randle.
ResilienceThe Knicks spent a lot of time with the lead during their four wins, but dug out a 15-point backlog on Monday in the third quarter to end the road trip at a high level.
“It starts with Thibs and then goes all the way down,” said RJ Barrett. “Everyone who comes into play plays hard, plays with a lead.”
Shooter: The anomaly during the postponement of five games? The Knicks shoot 3-for-36 from deep against the Raptors. They shot 49-for-100 over the other four games. That includes just one match from Alec Burks, who was expected to be one of their best shooters.