Each player on the New York Knicks offered something that led to the 4 seed in the Eastern. Grades combine the eye test, statistics, and chemistry with others.
The New York Knicks had one of their most successful seasons of recent, winning 41 games and earning the 4 seed in the Eastern Conference. Players bought under first-year coach Tom Thibodeau and soon realized their potential as a team and grew more individually confident.
A first-round exit to the Atlanta Hawks spoiled the end of the season. It now offers much reflection on what went well, what could have been, and what was just plain awful. From a player-by-player viewpoint, it’s easier to see where this Knicks team should be headed next season.
I came up with a grading system to come up with letter grades for each player that played in at least 30 games last season and ended the year on the New York Knicks roster. This automatically discludes Austin Rivers, Dennis Smith Jr., Iggy Brazdeikis, Novel Pelle, and Theo Pinson from receiving a grade.
GRADING CRITERIA:
- Entertainment Value: 10 points
- Future with the Knicks: 10 points
- Stability: 15 points
- Chemistry: 20 points
- Eye Test: 20 points
- Statistics: 25 points
LETTER GRADES:
- A+ (98-100)
- A (94-97)
- A- (90-93)
- B+ (86-89)
- B (82-85)
- B- (78-81)
- C+ (74-77)
- C (70-73)
- C- (65-69)
- F (64 and below)
I’m no professor, so feel free to roast me about how I came up with the makeshift point totals for this totally made-up and opinionative exercise.
It’s hard to argue with statistics, so that had to earn the biggest chunk of points. Chemistry to a team is vital and the eye test shows things statistics can’t. Those are both important values to pass. Stability is hard to grade, but in the case of Mitchell Robinson, injuries do affect the team. Entertainment value and future with the Knicks are small chunks, both important to include. Remember: this is a business and next year counts just as much as this year.
As far as the letter grades, that’s completely random and just how my brain thought to put this together. Here we go!