Not even beating the cream of the Western Conference crop helped New York.
For some reason the Knicks always seem to play back-to-back games at the start of the week, making it impossible to get a consensus feeling of where pundits across the nation truly rank them in their power rankings.
This last week, none of the three ranks featured in this column considered the same amount nor number of games, with one excluding this week’s sweep entirely, another taking just the win over Houston in consideration, and the final one none of those two victories. Such a shame!
Here’s a roundup of all the power rankings posted at different outlets through Tuesday’s matchups, capturing the national perception of the Knicks among the basketball elite.
Note: I have included a +/- next to each rank, with a minus sign (-) meaning dropping down and a plus sign (+) meaning climbing up X spots compared to last week’s position on that outlet.
NBA — No. 6 — New York Knicks (-)
John Schuhmann of NBA.com, the same as will be the case with the other two rankings explored below, left New York right where he placed it a week ago.
It’s worth mentioning, however, that these rankings were published on Monday morning, thus not factoring any of the two back-to-back dubs put together by the Knicks against the Rockets (no. 2 team in these) and the Raptors.
“As has been the case most of the season, the Knicks have won with elite offense. They scored more than 124 points per 100 possessions over the five-game winning streak that preceded the weekend loss to L.A., with their wins over the Kings and Grizzlies being the worst defensive games for those teams all season. Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart combined for 77 assists and just 16 turnovers over the five games and the Knicks have seen the league’s biggest jump in assist/turnover ratio from last season (1.84, 23rd) to this season (2.13, fifth).
“As has been the case most of the season, the Knicks have lost with sub-par defense. The Lakers scored 128 points on 99 possessions on Saturday (even though they had just three offensive rebounds), and New York has allowed more than 123 per 100 in each of its last four losses.
“OG Anunoby suffered a foot sprain in the loss to the Lakers. He’s listed as questionable for Monday, when the Knicks’ stretch of 12 of 14 at home comes to an end with a visit from the Rockets, so it doesn’t seem like a long-term injury. But it’s another sign that, with the trade deadline three days away, this team could probably use (at least) one more player that coach Tom Thibodeau can trust.” — John Schuhmann
Schuhmann’s top 10 remained the same, with the first change coming at the 11th place, now in possession of the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Athletic — No. 5 — New York Knicks (-)
Law Murray of The Athletic decided to keep the Knicks in fifth after he moved New York up one spot a week ago.
In The Athletic’s case, it was only the game against Toronto that didn’t make the cut.
For this edition, Murray decided to name a realistic trade target for each franchise, and in the case of the Knicks, he didn’t go for a big, opting instead for a wing.
“(SF Terance Mann) The Knicks have more than enough offense, but they could use another wing defender, especially with how comfortable opposing shooters are against them. Mann has East Coast ties and would also be solid insurance for Josh Hart. It is more likely that New York will be content to just get what it can from Mitchell Robinson, if he is ever cleared to return.” — Law Murray
Surprisingly, the Grizzlies overtook the Knicks, jumping from No. 6 to No. 4, although that had more to do with Hoston dropping from No. 3 to No. 6. Sheesh…
ESPN — No. 6 — New York Knicks (-)
The ESPN panel released their rankings on Wednesday morning, on trade deadline’s even, and they also decided to leave the Knicks right where they placed them last week. Boooo-ring.
No theme in this iteration as every scribe over E Nation must be locked into checking their phones hunting for the latest update so they can feed it to Shams for him to hit the baby layup on X.
“The Knicks, who faced questions just last month about whether they had what it took to beat upper-echelon competition, went 3-1 this past week against the West’s No. 2, 3, 4 and 5 teams.
“In the most recent of those victories, over third-place Houston, Jalen Brunson finished with 42 points and 10 assists, with 17 of those points coming in the last six minutes.” — Chris Herring
No movement at all in the top 7, with the Lakers moving up two places from tenth to No. 8 while the Pacers jumped from outside the first third into it by snatching the No. 10 spot.
What are your thoughts on the ranks above? Where do you have the Knicks ranked after they split their first six games of the season? Drop your hot takes in the comments section below!