The home stretch of the season has arrived for the Knicks. Twenty-two games are left for coach Tom Thibodeau’s team to either build off of a strong first 60 or regress. As the last few weeks begin Friday night in Washington, the Knicks find themselves in sixth place in the Eastern Conference and just two games behind the Nets for fifth.
With that in mind, let’s evaluate how the club’s key figures have done thus far with a look forward into what they have to do the rest of the regular season to keep the good vibes going, or get them back in tune:
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Grade: A
Already one of the best free-agent signings in Knicks history, the 26-year-old point guard looks like a bargain at $26 million a year. He’s played at an All-Star level despite getting snubbed for the showcase, averaging career-bests of 23.9 points, 6.2 assists, 5.9 free throw attempts and 41.1 percent from the 3-point arc. He’s also proved to be an invaluable leader. Thibodeau and Julius Randle credit Brunson with the All-Star forward’s bounce-back season, and Brunson has become a go-to guy in the locker room for reporters, always accountable and deferring credit to others. A true professional.
Moving forward…
Brunson shouldn’t change a thing. Just be himself. The Knicks have their point guard for years to come.
Grade: A
He’s averaging more points (24.8 to 24.1), more rebounds (10.8 to 10.2) and fewer turnovers (2.8 to 3.4) than he did in his breakout season two years ago. Randle has adjusted his game to playing with Brunson, excelling off the ball more in posting a through-the-roof 117.4 offensive rating.
Moving forward…
Randle can sometimes get shot- and isolation-happy, and it would be nice to see him give max effort on defense more. But that’s nit-picking. It’s hard to quibble with the season’s he’s had. A continuation of it is all the Knicks and their fans want to see.
Grade: A
A reserve in name only, Quickley has become a valuable two-way asset, able to play either guard spot and defend at a high level. In a career-high 27.7 minutes per game, he’s turning the ball over less and scoring more efficiently on 43.7 percent shooting, also a career-best. His defensive rating of 107.5 is the best of any Knick in Thibodeau’s current rotation, and his 35.2 percent 3-point mark is climbing.
Moving forward…
This is more of a Thibodeau question than one of Quickley. Josh Hart’s emergence can’t cost the third-year guard minutes. He’s just been too productive at both ends of the floor.
Grade: B
Until a recent shooting slump, this grade would’ve been higher. Grimes has provided standout defense on the wing and quality shotmaking from the perimeter to stretch the floor. After missing most of the first month of the season due to a foot injury, the second-year guard has shown potential.
Moving forward…
Grimes’ production has fallen off from beyond the arc, having hit just 15 of his last 54 3-point attempts over his past 12 games. After shooting just 32.6 percent from 3 through all of January, he has been hesitant to let it go on occasion. He has to regain his confidence with that jumper if he’s going to hold onto his starting role.
Grade: B
It’s not easy to go from watching for an extended stretch to starting to watching again. Sims has handled that role as well as can be expected of a second-year player, particularly one who was taken with the No. 58 pick in the draft. He can’t defend like Mitchell Robinson, and at only 6-foot-9, has struggled against top big men. But few teams have a third-string center as effective as him.
Moving forward…
If all goes right, Sims won’t be needed. However, he has proven capable of ably filling in.
Grade: B-
McBride took advantage of his opportunity, proving he has at least one NBA skill — on-ball defense — in his extended time in the rotation prior to the Hart trade. His offense, though, is holding him back.
Moving forward…
McBride is a Thibodeau kind of player: Tough, defense-first and consistent in his work habits no matter how much playing time he gets. That said, he will likely spend the rest of the year as a spectator.
Grade: C+
The free-agent acquisition from the Clippers has emerged over the past 12 games, providing the rim protection and playmaking the Knicks envisioned with Robinson out. His nagging Achilles injury has healed, and he has been a difference-maker at both ends, posting a 12.2 net rating over that span, meaning the Knicks are out-scoring the opposition by 12.2 points per 100 possessions when he’s on the court.
Moving forward…
Hartenstein has shown a glimpse of his value with increased minutes. Those may drop somewhat upon Robinson’s return. But Hartenstein believes his improved health and comfort level with his new team will enable him to sustain his recent play.
Grade: C
No player on the Knicks has Barrett’s peaks and valleys, sometimes occurring in the same game. He’s only shooting 32.3 percent from 3-point range, his worst mark since his rookie year, on 5.5 attempts, and his 2.8 assists average is also his lowest since that season. He has been shaky since dealing with a right index finger laceration at the turn of the new year.
Moving forward…
The Knicks need Barrett to find his game, and that goes beyond shotmaking. His defense has taken a sharp downward turn, to the point where he hasn’t been finishing games. Still, the potential is there as we’ve seen through his career as a two-way player. It’s important he recovers it, because the Knicks can’t get to where they want without the 6-foot-7 wing at his best.
Grade: C-
Aside from his improved 3-point shot, Toppin has taken a step back this year. The non-displaced fracture in his right fibula, costing him 15 games, obviously didn’t help matters, but his minutes and overall production have fallen. Randle’s rebound also has been a factor, cutting back on Toppin’s already limited role. It doesn’t feel as if his future will be here.
Moving forward…
Toppin can still make an impact the rest of the way, as evidenced by his 11-point performance in the pre-All Star break rout of the Hawks. But it’s going to come in small doses barring injury.
Grade: Incomplete
Nothing has changed since the summer, when the 7-foot rim-protector inked a four-year, $60 million deal. He’s incredibly valuable — the Knicks outscore the opposition by 8.2 points per 100 possessions with him on the court — but he’s not on the floor enough, having missed 22 games due to a fractured right thumb and sprained right knee. Still, he is the key to the Knicks’ defense and is one of the premier offensive rebounders in the game.
Moving forward…
It’s pretty simple: Robinson, expected to return soon from the thumb injury, just has to stay healthy. If he does, the Knicks can make noise in the postseason. Otherwise, it’s hard to see them reaching another level.
Grade: Incomplete
The early signs are extremely promising for Brunson’s former Villanova teammate. Since coming over in a trade from the Trail Blazers, Hart has scored in double figures in all three games, which have also resulted in Knicks victories. Thibodeau loves the ball-moving, intense wing, and has played him major minutes, an average of 26 per contest.
Moving forward…
If Hart is going to shoot the 3 anywhere close to the way he has so far — he has hit 9 of 14 attempts as a Knick — this trade will be among the best any team made at the deadline.
Grade: B+
Thibodeau has made quality adjustments, from playing more uptempo early in the year to improve the offense, to cutting down his rotation to nine in early December, to going with younger legs in the backcourt in Grimes and McBride over Evan Fournier and Derrick Rose.
Moving forward…
There will be difficult decisions to make as a potential playoff berth draws closer, particularly if Barrett’s struggles continue. Thibodeau has shown he will go with the hot hand. He has to continue to do so.
Grade: B
Signing Brunson is looking masterful now, and Hartenstein’s recent play has made that move seem better as well. The deal for Hart could wind up being a major win, too. Still, the Knicks may have been a top-four team in the Eastern Conference had Rose found a way to land Donovan Mitchell in the summer instead of haggling over draft picks.
Moving forward…
The Knicks still need a superstar, and they own a glut of draft picks over the next seven years. It’ll be up to Rose to find that player to team with Brunson and Randle and make them a true title contender.