The 2024-25 New York Knicks season was one of the most awaited in franchise history, and perhaps the most anticipated since the turn of the century. Bringing in OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges, and Karl-Anthony Towns all in the calendar year 2024 made this group unrecognizable from the lovable underdog Knicks of the Thibs era. With all that change comes increased expectations, so how have they handled the pressure? Now that 41 games are in the books, it’s a good time to grade the Knicks’ performance in the first half.
Grading the First Half of the Knicks 2024-25 Season
Over the first 41 contests, New York compiled a record of 26-15, a +6.4 net rating, and sits comfortably in the East’s third seed. Tom Thibodeau’s squad is tied for second in offensive rating (119.2) and is 15th in defensive rating (112.7). Overall, it has been a mixed bag for this Knicks team. Both their record and net rating have them in the league’s top five, and their offense has been special from the jump, but they’ve also revealed clear flaws and roster deficiencies that must be addressed.
The Knicks have shown flashes of greatness this year, including a nine-game winning streak with an average win margin of 14 points. Adding Towns as a pick-and-roll partner for Jalen Brunson to complete a true five-out offense has completely transformed both his career and NY’s offense. With Josh Hart having a career year offensively (14.3 points, 9.4 rebounds, 5.5 assists on 56.8/37.7/81.7 splits), there are no weaknesses on that end of the floor. Having Brunson and Towns run two-man action with Anunoby and Bridges spacing the floor makes them truly unstoppable.
Roster Decisions Have Left The Team With Major Flaws
However, glaring weaknesses have come to light. The team was top-heavy since New York acquired Bridges, limiting Leon Rose’s flexibility to build the fringes of the roster. This left several shortcomings for Thibodeau to deal with, including a lack of depth and a mediocre defense.
The lack of a bench has been exacerbated by injuries to several role players. Mitchell Robinson has yet to play a minute, while Miles ‘Deuce’ McBride, Precious Achiuwa, Landry Shamet, and Cameron Payne have all missed time. However, injuries are a part of basketball, and the Knicks need to trade for additional depth to ensure that 2024-25 doesn’t end with a gutted roster, as it did in last year’s playoffs. Fans are clamoring for rookies Tyler Kolek and Ariel Hukporti to see the floor, but Thibodeau appears unwilling.
Additionally, the depth issue and injuries have forced absurd minutes onto the starters. Placing heavy responsibility on his stars has always been Thibs’ style, but it’s been beyond even his norm. NYK has four of the top five in minutes played in the entire NBA, and Towns is 10th. Resting stars has become overrated in today’s league, but the burdens these five guys are shouldering are unsustainable. New York will pay the price if they don’t add quality players at the deadline.
NY’s Defense Has Disappointed
Unfortunately, for as great as New York’s offense has been, the defense has been equally as disappointing. Part of their struggles can be written off as exhaustion from heavy workloads, but they have clear personnel issues. Brunson and Towns are slow-footed defenders who give opponents easy entry points to the middle of their defense. These breakdowns have the Knicks constantly closing out on wide-open shooters, who have pulverized them from three. NY ranks sixth-worst in opponent’s three-point percentage (37.3%).
Some of the issues are solvable through small trades and Robinson’s return, but they’re never going to be elite defensively. Perhaps their offense will be so good that it won’t matter, but Cleveland and Boston also have top-three units. In the new era of the CBA, it is difficult to build a perfect roster. New York is finding out the consequences of paying five players over $18M. There aren’t any huge moves to make, at least until the summer.
What Can They Do?
Leon Rose has a few low-value trade assets (Jericho Sims, Payne, Kolek, Achiuwa) that he can move to strengthen the bench. Running units with Robinson and McBride on the floor will give New York stretches as a dominant defense. At the end of the day, however, this group is going to go down with Brunson and Towns on the floor, which puts a ceiling on their defensive capabilities. Whatever Rose can do to supplement the roster will help, but they also need to improve with their current core.
NY gets a B+ because they’ve shown flaws, and are on a 52-win pace while being a top-five team for most of the season. They are at the top of the NBA’s second tier and are fighting to join that first tier.
Final Grade: B+
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