New York Knicks
A season ago the New York Knicks were the darlings of the NBA. In his first season as Knicks head coach, Tom Thibodeau brought a level of toughness and defensive prowess that morphed the Knicks from the laughing stock of the league to the fourth seed in an improved Eastern Conference. Julius Randle led a Knicks team filled with veteran journeymen and young prospects that captured the city like no Knick team has done since the late 90s.
Their surprise success had many fans hopeful that the Knicks could re-tool and come back this season even better. Well, that hasn’t been the case.
Halfway through their schedule, the Knicks are 21-21. They are currently in 11th place in the East. If the season ended today, the Knicks would not only miss the playoffs, they would miss the play-in tournament.
Julius Randle has been more like the player that struggled in the playoffs than the second-team all-NBA player he was last season. New additions Kemba Walker and Evan Fournier haven’t lived up to expectations. Young guys like Obi Toppin, Mitchell Robinson, and Immanuel Quickley haven’t really shown any improvement. They have gone from the darlings of the NBA to, frankly, a team nobody cares about outside of New York.
On the bright side for Knicks fans, they are 6-3 since Christmas with nice victories over the Dallas Mavericks, Boston Celtics, Atlanta Hawks, and Minnesota Timberwolves. Also, RJ Barrett has scored 30 or more points in three of the Knicks’ last five games, including back-to-back 30+ point performances.
They are going to need to continue this level of play if they want to salvage their season.