Basketball News

30 days/30 teams: New York Knicks

A few weeks before the start of the regular season, DNA of Sports begins its traditional presentation, franchise by franchise, of the upcoming NBA season. Like every year, this takes the form of a countdown, from the teams expected at the bottom of the ranking to our favorite for the champion title. Today, place for Knicksauthors, in two stages, of a successful 2022/23 season.

Because we remember that the club new York initially struggled enormously to find its cruising speed at the start of the season (10 victories and 13 defeats as of December 3), before finally displaying much better consistency after this famous change in rotation which notably pushed Evan Fournier at the end of the bench for the rest of the campaign (37 victories and 22 defeats from December 3).

A regularity that is also clearly visible in the figures: the Knicks ended the regular season with the 4th best offensive evaluation in the league (117 points scored on 100 possessions). Certainly, they only had the 19th best defensive rating (113.1 points conceded over 100 possessions) but ultimately the 7th best “Net Rating” (difference between the average of points scored and conceded)! Quite remarkable, after such a start to the season…

Continuity and automation

Brilliant in the regular season without being able to confirm in the playoffs in 2020/21 (dry defeat in five rounds against the Hawks in the first round), only a shadow of themselves in 2021/22, the Knicks seem in summary to have found the right formula in 2022/23. By reaching, for the first time since 2013, the second round of the playoffs after a very easily dominated series against Cleveland (4-1) in the first round.

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It now remains to confirm this good 2022/23 season. For this, management has unsurprisingly focused on continuity: the eight biggest playing times from the previous year are all back, and will now be supported by the solid Donte DiVincenzowho reunites with his former colleagues from Villanova in New York.

We therefore note in New York a clear desire to focus above all on collective experience, and therefore the strengthening of the automatisms which worked last season. Or perhaps it is rather the symbol of a desire to keep all the “assets” available, to better position itself in fishing for very large fish in the coming months. Like the complex case of Immanuel Quickley’s contract extension…

Regardless, the Knicks, driven by the desire to confirm that their 2022/23 campaign was not just a mirage, will be ambitious next season in the Eastern Conference.

SUMMER MOVEMENTS

Arrivals: Donte DiVincenzo (Warriors), Isaiah Roby (Spurs).
Departures: Obi Toppin (Pacers), Derrick Rose (Grizzlies), Cam Reddish (Lakers), Svi Mykhailiuk (Celtics)

Jalen Brunson to the Knicks

PLAYER TO WATCH: JALEN BRUNSON

Last year, the selection for this section was quite open since no Knicks player was truly established as the indisputable leader, at the end of a particularly disappointing 2021/22 campaign. This year, compared to the 2022/23 campaign, there is no real doubt: it is Jalen Brunson.

A major recruit for the club last summer, the former Villanova point guard broke the screen during his first season in the “Big Apple” (24 points on 49.1% shooting, 6.2 assists and 3.5 rebounds then 27.8/5.6/49 in the playoffs), establishing himself as one of the very best in his position in the Eastern Conference, and as the new face of the franchise.

At 27 years old, he is calmly entering his “prime” and we will therefore carefully observe, over the coming months, his ability, or not, to do even better as an individual. If this is the case, there is no doubt that the doors of the All-Star Game could well open to him, for the first time in his career…

New York Knicks roster preview

Average age: 25.8
Payroll: $162.4 million (19th)

THE IDEAL SCENARIO

With an unchanged workforce in terms of the core of its rotation (its major five and the trio Josh Hart, Immanuel Quickley and Isaiah Hartenstein coming off the bench), the New York team quickly (re)finds its automatisms and therefore avoids, unlike last year, a serious delay in lighting at the start of the season.

Tom Thibodeau’s squad performed well, particularly at home, in Madison Square Garden, and quickly established itself in the Top 6 of the Eastern Conference. After the All-Star Weekend break, she even managed to enter the Top 4, under the leadership of the pair Jalen Brunson – Julius Randle, named together to the 2024 All-Star Game. A little less in the spotlight, RJ Barrett n He nonetheless remains as valuable as a third option by being more consistent from long distance, while Immanuel Quickley is one of the very best sixth men in the league.

The role players also shine: Donte DiVincenzo integrates wonderfully into his new team and often finishes matches, while Josh Hart and Isaiah Hartenstein remain essential soldiers. Enough to allow the Knicks to start the playoffs with home-field advantage!

THE WORST SCENARIO

Not everything is going as hoped in New York, with progress compared to the 2022/23 campaign not really being observed. In other words, the Knicks are plateauing: Jalen Brunson and Julius Randle continue to perform at a very good level individually, but they are not taking their team to higher levels. Same observation for Immanuel Quickley and RJ Barrett, precious but not untouchable, while Tom Thibodeau remains faithful to himself and his ideas, very difficult to move.

In summary, these Knicks version 2023/24 display a level substantially identical to that of the previous season. Not surprising, ultimately, after a very calm offseason…

The problem is that patience is not the strong point in the “Big Apple” and seeing this team in the soft underbelly of the Eastern Conference annoys the fans, but also the managers. Rumors are multiplying, with the Donovan Mitchell trail hovering over the team, disturbing RJ Barrett and potential counterparts quite a bit.

And after the smiles of the last campaign, it’s the return of the grimace soup among the Knicks…

WESTERN CONFERENCE
15 – Blazers 14 – Spurs 13 – Rockets 12 – Jazz 11 – Pelicans
10 – Thunder 9 – … 8 – … 7 – … 6 – …
5 – … 4 – … 3 – … 2 – … 1 – …

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