The Knicks face a fierce post-All-Star break schedule with a four-game road trip starting Thursday: Milwaukee, Oklahoma City, Brooklyn and Philadelphia. It’s a 1-3 journey waiting to happen.
That’s why dear Knicks fans have a week to enjoy 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 playoff drought was nearly eliminated on March 1 of the previous six seasons.
Here are four positive takeaways from the season’s first 37 games (one game past the math midpoint of the 72-game pandemic schedule):
Stocks are rising more than falling on Knicks’ outlook
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 slipping.
The Knicks were unable to trade Smith fast enough on Super Bowl Sunday after a mediocre preseason and an early season quad injury. They actually got a good price, with the Pistons willing to comply with Derrick Rose’s trading wish for the Knicks.
Knox dropped out of Tom Thibodeau’s short rotation last month and is – in the coach’s dreaded language – ‘situational’. Knox has shown talent for playing the 3 and 4, but although he has improved his 3-point shooting (38.9 percent), Thibodeau now has little use for him and is a commercial candidate.
On the bull-market side of the ledger, Barrett has made progress as a more efficient scorer, improving both his 3-point shooting and his free throw shots. He is even stronger as a slasher.
Before Robinson broke his right hand, the center had established itself as an elite rim protector capable of staying out of trouble. Robinson will get his hand evaluated on Wednesday, but he’s made progress.
Ntilikina has changed his story over the past 10 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 has sunk his last six three-pointers. The 2021 restricted free agent has at least pumped up its trading value.
“Watching him play, work his way through things, his versatility, he can play all three positions on the edge,” said Thibodeau. “And his shooting is really over.”
The new Dr. J
Julius Randle’s transformation from a free-agent bust to a bona fide All-Star is one of the NBA’s best stories. Randle has 10 games with a minimum of 25 points, 10 rebounds and five assists. That is the second highest number for a Knick in an entire season. He’s also played in all 37 games – no small feat in the fragile era of the NBA. With a limited number of fans attending games, he hears raucous ‘MVP’ chants. Really, he’s risen as a strong contender for the Most Improved Player Award.
Tale of Two Rookies
When the NBA general managers’ preseason poll came out, Knicks 2020 lottery pick Obi Toppin finished third in the Rookie of the Year vote. Fellow rookie Immanuel Quickley didn’t play in the preseason opener and got eight minutes into the next game, looking like a late first-round pick who would struggle to find time in a packed backcourt. The story has been turned upside down, with Quickley a mainstay of Thibodeau’s sofa while. Toppin struggles to get minutes (12.7) and get to grips with Randle. Quickley was not named in the United States Rising Stars-roster due to the silly format of having to select disgraceful international rookies for the World Team. But he’s become a fan favorite with his fearless 3-point marksmanship (38.1 percent), free throw genius (a record 94 of his first 100 free throws) and a float that couldn’t miss until recently. His selection has taken the heat off Leon Rose’s lottery pick of Toppin, who is a project of 23.
Coaching is important
For the first 28 games before Robinson’s hand injury, Thibodeau stayed with the same starting line-up – all five remnants of last season’s sloppy club. And Thibodeau has kept the Knicks around .500 all season, reshaping a culture by emphasizing the importance of winning. He has coached Elfrid Payton, RJ Barrett and Randle. Thibodeau expertly led a diverse coaching staff handed over to him by Rose and senior VP William Wesley. The possibility that Thibodeau would eventually wear out his players by May can never be ruled out, but the first 38 games were as magical as a Turks and Caicos beach he shuns. Larry Greer, Knicks scout who previously worked at Minnesota, tweeted Thursday, “Get asked by many coaches what is the most important thing you’ve learned working with Coach Thibodeau. It’s this “Culture is how you do everything,” said Thibodeau. “It’s not a certain thing, it’s how you do everything.” This can be applied to ANY COMPANY !!! “