New York Knicks: Player power rankings after three-game winning streak
Slash Line: .484/.417/.750
Week 6 Averages: 12.8 PPG, 10.3 RPG, 3.0 APG, 1.3 SPG, 1.8 BPG, 2.3 3PM, 54.8 percent shooting
Season Averages: 8.3 PPG, 8.4 RPG, 1.8 APG, 0.7 SPG, 1.0 BPG, 0.7 3PM
Noah Vonleh has played terrific for the New York Knicks. Not like a star player, but consistent and solid for a team trending in the right direction. Plus, with multiple moving parts, he remains one of the few constants.
Week 6 brought more success for Vonleh, with arguably his best stretch of games yet. He delivered three consecutive double-doubles, including a 14-point, 14-rebound game against his old team, the Portland Trail Blazers.
Vonleh’s outside game also took off. He flashed a rising three-point stroke through the season’s first month, but hit nine baskets from behind the arc. Four of them — a season-high — were against the Pelicans on seven attempts.
The fifth-year man also dished for the team. He compiled 12 assists to increase his season average to 1.8 — a current career-high.
For the season, Vonleh has crept towards a double-double average. He’s still below 8.5 in points and rebounds, but weeks like this show what he can potentially sustain. Maybe that has arrived, since his play as New York’s “most complete player,” as Fizdale called him ahead of Friday’s game, rises to the forefront.
As the Knicks win, Vonleh will remain in the starting lineup. How much further could he go in this primary role?