New York Knicks: How Good Are They?
By Ken Tavarez
The Knicks have been outstanding on defense
The Knicks defense has been fantastic and is currently ranked 8th in the NBA with a rating of 107.72 DRtg/A. Coach Thibodeau deserves the credit. Last season, the Knicks were ranked 17th with a 113.6 DRtg/A.
This is impressive when you consider that the roster wasn’t completely turned over and that the team’s best perimeter defender, Frank Ntilikina hasn’t played much due to injury. A lot of the credit goes to Thibodeau for the system he has implemented of protecting the paint and taking away teams’ preferred 3-point shots.
Credit also has to been given to RJ Barrett, whose defense has improved. He has been giving all-out effort on both sides of the court while being one of the league leaders in minutes. Mitchell Robinson has also improved by playing smarter and staying out of foul trouble.
The other noticeable improvement has been in two of the team’s weakest defenders, Julius Randle and Kevin Knox. Both have improved their effort and focus which has resulted in them being better on-ball and team defenders.
You don’t see teams singling out any particular Knick on defense anymore, as this squad doesn’t have any weak links.