If you are still wondering whether the New York Knicks are a true contender, you are nowhere near alone. Fans, media, and casual bystanders alike are trying to figure out the same thing. So too, in fact, are the Knicks themselves. Just ask Karl-Anthony Towns.
“Right now, we’re all trying to figure it out,” he said about the state of the team following their Tuesday night loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, per James L. Edwards III of The Athletic. “We’re still trying to figure out the system, the new things we’re doing, the nuances that go with it and the changes we’re trying to make. It’s still a work in progress. I know, being in New York, everyone wants a finished product right now. People want instant gratification, but we’re still trying to figure out a lot.”
Anyone who has even semi-regularly watched these Knicks can back up Towns’ words. That includes Josh Hart, who echoed the same sentiments. You might even appreciate their quasi-candor. They could have said some variation of “We’re fine,” “These things happen,” or the czar of all cliches, “We just need to execute better/try harder/want it more.”
At the same time, KAT’s admission that the Knicks still have to hash out their identity is far from comforting. If anything, for as much as it’s honest, it’s also condescending.
Expecting more from the Knicks is far from unreasonable
This isn’t meant to be a hostile jab at Towns. Nor is it a precursor to declaring the Knicks doomed. But claiming that anyone who wants them to be more consistent is suffering from IGS (Instant Gratification Syndrome) is total B.S.
We are nearly 60 games into the season, folks. It is totally okay if your default is patience, and faith in the process. It is also okay if you don’t want to hear iterations of “We’re a work-in-progress” and “We are still trying to figure out who we are” roughly 75 percent of the way through the schedule, from the highest-paid player on the team with the league’s second-highest payroll.
Excuses for these Knicks are wearing thin. Though they have dealt with some injuries and overall scattershot availability, so have most teams.
In New York’s case, just two of its starters have missed more than five games. And while there has been rotation churn, 86 percent of the Knicks’ minutes have come from players on last year’s roster. Only the Golden State Warriors (87 percent) and Minnesota Timberwolves (95 percent) have higher continuity marks.
The Knicks are not without positive indicators
None of this is to say the Knicks are an absolute farce. If anything, their ability to contend for a top-two seed in the Eastern Conference while navigating inconsistencies and imperfections galore is a silver lining. And hey, for all of their faults and foibles, they have a top-10 offense and league-average defense when playing one of the NBA’s top 10 teams.
Reactions to recent losses at the hands of the Cavs and Detroit Pistons can be considered overblown. Yes, going winless against the East’s No. 1 seed for a second-straight season isn’t ideal. But it’s better to get these lumps out of the way now rather than in the playoffs. Plus, for as frustrating as the past couple of weeks have been, New York has won 12 of its last 16 games.
This still doesn't allow players or the team, directly or indirectly, to deflect when it comes to matters of expectations, consistency, and overall identity. Especially when fans and the media aren’t the only ones foisting pressure upon them. The championship-or-bust standard is an internal bar they’re tasked with clearing.
So far, it doesn’t look like they’re ready to do it. There is no one reason, either. It’s everything, and everyone. It’s seesaw performances from Towns. Its turbulent shooting from Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby, and more recently, even Jalen Brunson. It is the absence of a true secondary creator. It is a defense that flashes moments of high energy and execution, only to retreat into total disaster.
To what extent the Knicks’ biggest flaws can be rooted out with patience is debatable. Yes, this is Mike Brown’s first season at the helm. But most of the issues pertaining to Towns, Anunoby, Bridges, the chemistry (or lack thereof) between the team’s two best players, the defense, the ball-handling beyond Brunson, etc. are holdover warts from last year.
Regardless of how much runway you’re prepared to allow this team, facts are facts. And the fact of the matter is, since winning the NBA Cup, the Knicks writ large have been a slightly above-average squad: ninth in offense, 14th in defense, and 11th in net rating. That is good. It isn’t great. And given the standard to which they’re being held, both internally and externally, good-not-great isn’t good enough.