When the Knicks opened up their season against Carmelo Anthony and the Oklahoma City Thunder, expectations for the year were modest at best. There was plenty not to like regarding New York’s roster, with much uncertainty swirling around. An 105-84 hammering at the hands of the Thunder seemingly set the tone for the year ahead.
And yet, the Knicks are six weeks into the season and are still hovering right around the .500 mark. With a couple of favorable matchups ahead, they have a tremendous opportunity to garner some momentum ahead of the Christmas period. Following their win over the Atlanta Hawks, the Knicks now get set to host the 9-15 Los Angeles Lakers before going across town to face the struggling Brooklyn Nets.
Not many could have predicted that the team would have been as competitive at this point in the campaign. In fact, New York was expected to linger around the basement of the NBA’s worst by this time of the year. Suddenly Jeff Hornacek’s grind-it-out, never-give-up squad, harbor legitimate playoff hopes. The Knicks now chase the the NBA’s newest young flavor, the 76ers, who currently own the East’s 8th and final seed.
The players and front-office have always sung from the same hymn sheet regarding New York’s playoff ambitions, but the reality is heading into the year, the Knicks were understrength. Enes Kanter was viewed as being a salary dump in the Anthony trade, yet the Turkish international leads all starters in the plus/minus category, (per Basketball Reference), while players such as Doug McDermott & Ron Baker rank in the top 3 in true shooting percentages. The Knick faithful would, perhaps, like to see a little bit more production from Kristaps Porzingis. But despite his fall from grace this year following a hot-start where he scored at least 30 points in eight of his first twelve outings, the Latvian big-man has still been a leader on defense with hopes he’ll rediscover his scoring touch sooner rather than later.
If the Knicks are to make the playoffs, they are going to need the roster to be more efficient moving forward. Porzingis will need to be more consistent and Kanter’s defensive shortcomings will need to improve. Frank Ntilikina, an impressive rookie, will be looked upon to share more of the responsibility as the season progresses. Veterans Jarrett Jack and Lance Thomas will have to remain solid, if not spectacular. Fans have often questioned the duo’s starting abilities, but leadership and experience count for a lot throughout an NBA campaign.
The loss in Chicago, where the 5-20 Bulls were coming off the end of a back-to-back, was deflating. It took the sting out of an enjoyable season and served as a harsh reminder of the possibilities of this year becoming much like the last — where hopes of a postseason appearance were dashed well before the All-Star break.
There’s plenty of improvement to be made, especially if New York truly hold playoff aspirations, but for now, there’s also hope. Considering how the year started out, the Knicks will gladly take pride in that.
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