Are the New York Knicks for real?
By no means do I believe that just because the New York Knicks ran the Milwaukee Bucks out of Madison Square Garden on Sunday, or that beating the overachieving Cavaliers one game later means they are a championship contender, but I need to break down exactly how much better the team has become since before the pandemic ended their previous season back in March.
Through four games, the Knicks have managed to string together 8 quarters of quality basketball, and there’s been an improvement on both ends of the floor as the season has progressed. As much as I believe this is a player’s league and coaching doesn’t play as big of a role when you have stars on the court like LeBron James or Kawhi Leonard, New York’s collective performance so far proves that when a team is built properly from the top-down, including the front office and coaching staff, good things tend to start happening.
There’s a theme starting to brew here, and that is team basketball. Countless times throughout the past few seasons I found myself hanging my head in disappointment due to lackluster overall team effort and sloppy play on both sides of the ball. This year, so far, it has gone completely against past experiences, as the Knicks have managed to gel far better than I have seen them do in quite some time.
When the Knicks are playing well, I constantly catch myself saying that they’re playing inspired basketball, and even when they have stretches of ugly play, it’s rarely for very long. Even after a performance including 25 turnovers, not only did they manage to win, but they never once allowed the mistakes on offense or defense to dictate the following possession. Complete and utter tunnel-vision like a horse with blinders.
Here are 3 reasons why I believe the Knicks can build on their promising start.