The Knicks aren’t perfect, but despite their hurdles they’re trucking along and playing winning basketball.
If I told you before the start of the season that Reggie Bullock and Elfrid Payton would rank third and fifth on the Knicks in minutes per game, that the #8 overall pick wouldn’t even average a quarter of playing time, that the team would rank 29th in the league in three-pointers attempted, but they’d be 24-23 after 47 games despite all of the above… you wouldn’t have believed me. And I wouldn’t have blamed you. The Knicks have a lot going against them, but it somehow seems to not really matter. Sure, it helps having a person like Tom Thibodeau helming the sideline who nightly fights as maniacally for every single win that you fear he’s inches from an aneurysm, but it goes deeper than that. There’s a sense of calm hovering over the Knicks, that hasn’t been present since Patrick Ewing donned the uniform. A sense of peace, even, for the first time in years. Ewing, for the record, last wore a Knicks jersey 21 years ago. The Knicks are finally without drama, and it’s paying off. Julius Randle is having a career-year averaging 23 points,10.8 rebounds and 5.8 assists, all while making his first NBA All-Star game, and second-year man RJ Barrett is coming along nicely, putting up a respectable 17.4 points,6.1 rebounds and 3.1 assists on his own. While Barrett still has ways to go, it’s apparent he has improved. Would that even have been the case during a « normal » Knicks season? Despite New York’s recent success, there’s little optimism that they end up competing for a title this season.
