The latest player power rankings for the New York Knicks feature changes throughout the list.
The New York Knicks closed Week 4 at 4-10, sitting near the bottom of the Eastern Conference. They dropped games to the Toronto Raptors and Orlando Magic while defeating the Atlanta Hawks for the second time in 2018-19.
It’s all part of a developmental season for New York’s young roster. They have players on the rise, but that doesn’t leave out hardships along the way, including the lopsided loss on Sunday night.
Week 4’s games also impacted the latest player power rankings. Is there someone new at the top? Did anyone enter the top five after a one-and-two week?
Slash Line: .444/.339/.667
Week 4 Averages: 6.3 PPG, 2.7 RPG, 1.0 APG, 0.3 SPG, 1.0 3PM, 20.6 MPG
Season Averages: 11.5 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 1.1 APG, 0.8 SPG, 0.1 BPG, 29.0 MPG
Damyean Dotson jumped into the rotation when Kevin Knox suffered an ankle injury. That quickly led to a spot in the starting lineup, which also featured nine consecutive games of double-digit points.
Knox returned against the Chicago Bulls, but only played four minutes. That double-overtime game also saw Dotson play 41 minutes.
After this, Knox’s role steadily increased and Dotson’s decreased, playing 17, 23 and 21 minutes in Week 4’s three games, respectively.
This was by far Dotson’s worst stretch of the 2018-19 season. His 6.3 points per game were the result of two single-digit performances, one of which was on just one shot attempt against the Atlanta Hawks. He also went 5-for-15 against the Toronto Raptors.
The production dip comes as Knox returns to a regular rotation role of 20-plus minutes. It was always set to be at Dotson’s expense, and it could continue to sway in the rookie’s direction after back-to-back blowout losses.
Without anyone to replace Dotson in the rotation, however, and after his solid first three weeks of the season, he should maintain a role as a complementary scorer with the ability to hold his own on defense.