In the words of Towns, ‘It is what it is.’
Do you know what happens when you win games like a madman? You start making headlines. Do you know what happens when you start losing matchups left and right? Nobody cares about you.
That’s the story of the last week for the Knicks, who have split their last four outings putting up a 2-2 record but at the same time have not changed perceptions across the nation punditry following a three-game losing streak and beating a tanking Raptors team and a good-not-great Bucks squad.
Did I mention that losing to the OKC Thunder, in perhaps the most awful game in a good while under the guidance of Tom Thibodeau, could have also impacted perceptions? Ah…
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 (-2)
John Schuhmann of NBA.com dropped New York two places after already moving them down one spot a week ago, placing New York outside of the top-5 teams across the Association.
As always, Schuhmann didn’t factor Monday’s slate of games into his power rankings, meaning he didn’t count the loss to Detroit… but included the one to the Orlando Magic last week, which might actually have been even more damaging in his eyes.
“The Knicks lost four out of five games for the first time, getting clobbered by the Thunder on Friday. But they responded with one of their best (and most important) wins of the season, eviscerating the Bucks’ defense on Sunday afternoon.
“The five games before their win over Milwaukee were, by far, the Knicks’ worst offensive stretch of this season (109.1 points scored per 100 possessions), with their three perimeter starters combining to shoot 15-for-76 (20%) from 3-point range. But three of those five games came against the league’s top two defenses and their 140 points on 100 possessions on Sunday was the most efficient game for any team against the Bucks’ defense (which ranked ninth) by a wide margin.
“The one good thing from the loss to the Thunder was that the Knicks only committed 12 turnovers against the team that leads the league in opponent turnover rate by a wide margin. The Knicks have started to turn teams over themselves a little bit (not a lot) and have committed 27 fewer turnovers than their opponents over their last 11 games, having had a differential of plus-4 over their first 29. Improved shooting is the biggest factor in their offensive jump, but they’ve also seen the league’s fourth-biggest drop in turnover rate from last season.
“The Knicks’ starters don’t just play a lot of minutes. Karl-Anthony Towns missed their loss to the Magic last Monday, but all five starters have been available for 35 of the team’s 40 games, with the Wolves being the only other team with a lineup that’s played in at least 30. Jalen Brunson went to the locker room with a right shoulder injury early in the third quarter on Sunday but returned to score 12 of his 44 points in eight minutes spanning the third and fourth.” — John Schuhmann
The Grizzlies (no. 5) and the Rockets (no. 4) moved a place up each, displacing the Knicks down to sixth.
The Athletic — No. 6 — New York Knicks (-)
Law Murray of The Athletic left the Knicks right where he placed them a week ago, just outside of the top five.
Murray reviewed the preseason win totals for each team in this week’s edition of his power rankings, and highlighted New York’s slightly subpar pace midway through the season.
The Knicks entered the campaign expected to win 54.5 games and are on pace for 52 wins if they keep doing what they’ve done to date.
“New York’s starting lineup of Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby, Josh Hart and Karl-Anthony Towns has played 688 minutes together this season, 258 more than any other five-man lineup in the league.
“The Knicks have shown that their top-heavy talent will overwhelm many teams on many nights. But they are good, not great. They don’t have enough quality players, and they rarely beat teams that are better than them.” — Law Murray
The only minimal touch Murray applied to his rankings was flipping Memphis and Houston, with the latter moving up to no. 4 and the former dropping to no. 5 in his ranks.
ESPN — No. 5 — New York Knicks (-1)
The ESPN panel released their rankings on Wednesday morning before the Knicks take on the Sixers later today.
No flavor in this week’s edition, but that didn’t prevent the folks from dropping New York one spot after they already did the same a week ago. Sheesh…
“The bad news is entering Wednesday’s matchup, at just 29.9%, no team has shot worse from three over the past 10 games than the Knicks. The good news? New York—still the third-most efficient offense in basketball—managed to win six of those contests. The real question, after a blowout loss to Oklahoma City at the Garden, is how the Knicks stack up against elite opponents. They have the league’s toughest remaining schedule” — Chris Herring
Everything stayed the same outside of New York moving down to no. 5 so Houston could take the no. 4 place with the Rockets overtaking the Knicks in the latest edition of ESPN’s power rankings.
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!