Despite maintaining sole possession of the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference with a 41-23 record, it’s hard for many to take the New York Knicks seriously as true title contenders this season.
The Knicks had a pair of All-Star representatives be voted to start in the contest this season, and that very two-headed monster of Karl-Anthony Towns and Jalen Brunson have both been incredible, though the pair have yet to lead New York to victory against other dominant franchises this season.
Due to their clear inability to come away with wins against some of the league’s most fearsome competition, the NBA world has begun to effectively rule the Knicks out as possible contenders coming out of the East this postseason.
“The New York Knicks are a combined 0-7 against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers,” Bleacher Report’s Grant Hughes wrote Wednesday morning.
“Odds are, the Knicks will have to go through all three of them to win a championship, and they haven’t shown the ability to play on that level all season.”
“The main issue is defense, as New York’s drop coverage tends to play into Boston and Cleveland’s hands by allowing clean looks from three. Karl-Anthony Towns’ substandard rim-protection leaves the drive-heavy Thunder drooling.”
Towns’ monster contributions of 24.2 points, 13.3 rebounds and 3.1 assists on 42.1% accuracy from three-point range and Brunson’s 26.3 points and 7.4 assists have put the club in a great position to end as a top-three team in the East, but their status as a mediocre defensive unit sporting the league’s No. 14 defense (113.8 defensive rating) will likely do them in come playoff time.
Most concerning of all, New York’s defensive struggles have come despite their ability to include three of the most dependable defensive players in the entire Association in their starting lineup on a nightly basis in Josh Hart, OG Anunoby and Mikal Bridges.
Unfortunately, the latter pair and former All-Defensive Team selections Anunoby and Bridges have struggled on that end of the floor this season, posting a combined 116.5 defensive rating per 100 possessions.
At some point, the Knicks will have to show teams like Oklahoma City, Boston and Cleveland that they can compete, but their average point differential of -20.1 in the seven games played against the three titans of both the East and West could already prove that to be impossible.
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