Could New York benefit from Jalen Brunson’s injury on the long run?
After beating the lowly Kings, barely edging the Trail Blazers, and suffering a demoralizing loss against the Warriors, the New York Knicks finally put on a show in a much-needed get-right homecoming of sorts last Monday.
However, winning a game against the Heat these days, as is doing against Sacramento and Portland, isn’t a great accomplishment and that’s reflected on this week’s power rankings published across the interwebs.
The question, as it was from the moment JB collapsed to the court in pain, remains the same: can New York positively navigate the home stretch? But more intriguingly, could Brunson’s absence unlock the superpowers buried in the chest of others (looking at you, Karl-Anthony Towns)? The playoffs can’t come soon enough, that’s for sure.
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. 8 — New York Knicks (-1)
John Schuhmann of NBA.com dropped the Knicks for the second consecutive week, this time just one spot after knocking them down two half a month ago.
The pundit can’t be blamed, however, considering his rankings were released on Monday before the New York beat Miami, making the Knicks week a 2-1 span with two meh wins and a loud loss at the hands of the Dubs.
“Losses to the Clippers and Warriors without Brunson have been the second and third times that the Knicks have scored a point per possession or less. But they’ve scored more efficiently over these last four games (110.1 points per 100 possessions) than they did over their previous eight games since the All-Star break (107.4). They had a huge offensive night (133 on 100) in Sacramento last Monday and were already slumping offensively before losing their star.
“Their last two games were the Knicks’ first two clutch games without the guy who leads the league in clutch usage rate. Mikal Bridges led the team in clutch usage over the two games, draining the buzzer-beating, overtime game-winner in Portland on Wednesday. Karl-Anthony Towns, meanwhile, had more clutch 3-pointers in the two games (3-for-5) than he had previously (2-for-9). But the Knicks scored just five points on eight clutch possessions, with as many turnovers (two) as field goals, in their loss at Golden State over the weekend.
“Mitchell Robinson’s playing time is still limited (no more than 18:47 in his seven games), but the Knicks have outscored their opponents by 12.6 points per 100 possessions in his 105 total minutes on the floor. A few of those minutes have come alongside Towns.” — John Schuhmann
With New York dropping outside of the top seven, it’s the Timberwolves (yes, the Julius Randle Wolves) moving inside of it jumping from No.8 to No. 6.
The Athletic — No. 8 — New York Knicks (+1)
Law Murray of The Athletic decided to move up the Knicks in another random twist to his rankings, which are the most unpredictable thing in the history of #thisleague.
With March Madness gaining steam and amateur basketball taking over the pro circuit for the next couple of weeks, Murray wrote some notes about what each franchise’s rookies have or have not done.
In the case of the Knicks, as any hardcore or casual follower would have known from the get-go, that’s not a lot.
“The Knicks continue to do what they do: Beat the teams they are supposed to, and come up short in big games. It took an overtime buzzer-beater from NBA minutes leader Mikal Bridges for the Knicks to escape Portland, while NBA minutes runner-up Josh Hart missed every shot he took in Golden State. Don’t expect any relief for those two players to come from New York’s draft class.
“None of Dadiet, Kolek, Watson, McCullar or Hukporti average 10 minutes per game. Dadiet has yet to play 20 minutes in a game. Kolek still doesn’t play even though Jalen Brunson is out with an ankle injury. Watson was drafted by Boston and never played there while on a two-way contract before being waived and put on a two-way with the Knicks. McCullar also is on a two-way contract and has yet to play for New York; he finally debuted in the G League on Jan. 31 after recovering from a knee bone bruise. Hukporti was promoted from a two-way contract in November, but he needed surgery to repair a torn meniscus last month.” — Law Murray
The Knicks stayed out of the contenders tier for the second week and it’s looking like they won’t have enough time to convince Murray to right his wrongs before the regular season is over.
ESPN — No. 7 — New York Knicks (-)
The ESPN panel left the Knicks right when they placed a week ago, leaving New York in seventh place and outside of the league’s cream of the croup—and a few other dubious “contenders.”
The folks from the giant outled seemed to have grown tired of coming up with ideas for their blurbs, so they kept it simple and basically provided a summary of what’s going on around each franchise and what’s on each team’s imminent future.
“Between Jalen Brunson turning his ankle badly in a loss to the Lakers, Mikal Bridges’ buzzer-beating 3 for a win in Portland and a deflating loss to the streaking Warriors, the Knicks’ West Coast trip (2-3) had plenty of drama. They’ll have a calmer stretch, with one of the softer portions of their schedule ahead.
“With matchups against the Spurs, Hornets, Wizards and the short-handed Mavs over the next week, it puts less pressure on Brunson — who’s expected to miss at least another week, per ESPN’s Shams Charania —to rush back.” — Chris Herring
In a shocking development pertaining to these rankings, ESPN moved Houston all the way up from No. 9 to No. 4 with the Nuggets and the Grizzlies sandwiched between the Rockets and the Knicks.
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!