The New York Knicks are rolling.
After grinding down the depleted Orlando Magic they overcame their worst defensive effort of the season against the Wizards because they had Jalen Brunson and Washington didn’t.
They’ve won seven games in a row and 12 of their last 14. They’re tied for the fourth best record in basketball, up to fifth in Net Rating, and just a game back of the Boston Celtics for the second seed in the East.
Pretty...pretty good.
Brunson had his 3rd 50-point game as a Knick and is now just two back of Bernard King’s all-time team record. While in his previous two half-century outings, he hit a combined 14 threes this one was about virtuoso paint scoring. Shooting an impressive 15 of 20 from two-point range and repeatedly making french toast out of Alex Sarr down the stretch, calling up Josh Hart to set screens, and then bamboozling the prized rookie on the ensuing switches.
Brunson continues to adapt to teams throwing length at him on a nightly basis. In what’s been a down year by his standards from floater range Brunson has cooked from four to ten feet the last two games and if he can get his distance shooting on track at the same time he’ll be all the more unguardable.
The game against the Magic in some ways might have been even more impressive. Going up against an elite perimeter stopper in Anthony Black, Brunson got to his spot at the elbow over and over again and won in a variety of ways launching traditional stepbacks, spinning fadeaways, and on his best play of the night faking the fade, faking a passing and then stepping through all the way to the hoop.
Masterclass of a weekend for the captain
Defensive Concerns
The third quarter against the Wizards was the Knicks’ worst quarter defensively of the season, arguably one of the worst the team has had since Tom Thibodeau took over.
In a flashback to the first 15 games of the year Karl-Anthony Towns was back to playing exclusively drop and doing a Danny Phantom impersonation at the rim.
OG Anunoby (in a defensive low point for him a Knick) gave up multiple threes due to falling down. Mikal Bridges repeatedly failed to affect the ball handler chasing over screens.
Hart continues to give up a back door cut for a lay at least once a game. Landry Shamet didn’t see the light of day after getting cooked by three different Wiz over a forgettable six-minute stretch. And Brunson for all his offensive brilliance was a sieve.
Minutes Management
So why were they so bad on defense? Not really an excuse for the bench, but for the rest it would perhaps be wise to look at the minutes.
Mikal Bridges (1st) Josh Hart (5th) and OG Anunoby (10th), and are all among the league leaders in minutes played.
After seemingly being the victim of a bitter Sixers fan who was particularly adept at making voodoo dolls in last season’s playoff run the Knicks’ starting lineup has had remarkably good health this year, likely the best in the NBA.
Tom Thibodeau better be knocking on every piece of wood in the Tri-State area because he’s pushing that luck at the moment.
For more insights and a deeper dive into the Knicks’ recent performances, tune into the Locked On Knicks podcast for this and much more.
Other Topics in Today’s Locked On Knicks Podcast:
• Karl-Anthony Towns’ offensive brilliance against the Wizards
• Josh Hart’s impressive performances in both games
• The need for more bench contributions
