Nobody quite knew what to expect from the New York Knicks when the season began. Offseason trades for Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns massively reshaped the roster and improved it from a talent perspective, but questions persisted about how quickly the new pieces would gell with the Knicks’ returning core. Through 48 games, most of those questions have been answered, because the Knicks are just a game behind the Celtics for the 2-seed in the East with their 32-16 record.
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Taylor Rooks joined the Roommates Show podcast to talk to Knicks stars Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart about their season, and during their talk she admitted that although she had some initial skepticism about whether they’d be good this year, that has been laid to rest.
“I feel like you guys are better than I thought you’d be at this point … I don’t know how I felt about the trade initially, I’m not gonna lie, but I’m on board.”
Rooks was impressed with how the Knicks have essentially integrated three new starters this season. Bridges and Towns, of course, but also OG Anunoby, who came over at last year’s trade deadline and was only able to play in 32 games between the regular season and playoffs.
She said that Towns is having “an MVP type of season,” and she’s right, as his 24.6 points and 13.7 rebounds led to him joining Brunson as the only pair of teammates to be named All-Star starters this year.
The Knicks clearly won the KAT-Julius Randle trade
People around the NBA were shocked when the Knicks traded away Julius Randle and playoff hero Donte DiVincenzo for Towns, but there’s no denying that the Knicks got the better end of that deal. The Timberwolves have taken a big step back this year without KAT’s floor-stretching ability, and they’re currently on pace for a 46-win season after winning 56 games a year ago.
The Knicks have won five straight, and they’re blowing good teams off the floor as they’ve found their stride. Monday’s 37-point smackdown of the Grizzlies put the NBA on notice that they’re a team to be reckoned with. They’re on pace for 54 wins right now, four more than last year, but with the way they’re playing, that number could easily go higher.
Many people questioned whether Karl-Anthony Towns would thrive playing in a major media market like New York, but he’s passed every test with flying colors while drastically raising the Knicks’ offensive ceiling.
The Knicks have been eliminated in the Eastern Conference semis the last two years, and haven’t reached the conference finals since 2000. If they can avoid the injury bug that bit them last postseason, they might finally have the team to make a run.
