When the New York Knicks traded for Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns this past offseason, they were looking to potentially overthrow the Boston Celtics as the kings of the Eastern Conference. Already being led by their star Jalen Brunson, adding even more firepower seemed like a no-brainer.
Sadly for Knicks fans, that just hasn't played out this season.
Not only have the Knicks not usurped the Celtics at the top of the East, but the Cleveland Cavaliers have jumped both of them! The Knicks have been in third place in the East for most of this season, and are currently eight games behind Boston and 12 games behind Cleveland.
To make things worse, New York hasn't been able to beat either of these teams this season. The Knicks have lost all six matchups to the Celtics and Cavaliers, with only one game being within 10 points.
Not great after salvaging so much to make the push this season.
The Knicks still have a lot to prove
However, there is reason to believe the Knicks could still be alive despite these results and are peaking at the right time.
Mitchell Robinson missed the first 58 games of the Knicks' season this year, forcing Towns to be the team's lone big and to be relied upon as the defensive anchor. As most would assume, this did not go well.
In the first 58 games of the Knicks' season, New York had the 21st defense in the NBA. No other playoff team ranked in the bottom 10, and the closest team was the Denver Nuggets, with the 17th defense in the league.
Despite New York having the third-best offense during this stretch, the poor defense made it hard for them to compete against contending teams and to be taken seriously by the masses. Having such a horrid defense with a coach like Tom Thibodeau was shocking to many.
There had been hope all season that Robinson's return would not only happen this year but would make a massive difference on that end of the floor. However, with many skeptics questioning whether Robinson would even play this year, it sometimes seemed like a long shot.
However, Robinson did return to the floor on Feb. 28, and the difference to this Knicks team has been noticeable.
Since Robinson's return, the Knicks' defense has shot up from being a bottom-10 defense to being ranked as the sixth-best defense in the league. The Knicks rank only behind the Houston Rockets, Oklahoma City Thunder, Orlando Magic, LA Clippers, and Toronto Raptors (shout to Toronto still playing hard).
The return of Robinson has helped New York just as they imagined. The Knicks have been 4.5 points better with Robinson on the floor since his return, with a defensive rating of 106.5 — this would be the best defense in the NBA by a country mile.
The play of wing OG Anunoby during this stretch has also been a massive reason for this defensive turnaround. Anunoby had missed the first three weeks of February and returned the same week Robinson did. Anunoby has been getting healthier and playing better as time passes, making the Knicks even more dangerous.
Over the last twenty games, Anunoby has averaged 23.6 points, 5.2 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.7 steals, and 1.0 blocks while shooting 49 percent from the field and 41 percent from deep on 7.5 attempts per game.
Getting a healthy Robinson and Anunoby around the same time has been a game-changer for New York. The Knicks are 7-3 in their last 10 games and have held off a strong rally by the Indiana Pacers to take over the third-seed.
And there is still more to be optimistic about! Brunson has been out most of this stretch due to an ankle sprain suffered against the Los Angeles Lakers on March 6.
Brunson had just returned in the Knicks' 50th win of the season against the Phoenix Suns. While the Knicks' defense surged with the returns of Robinson and Anunoby, their offense had taken a hit without their superstar.
The Knicks' offense had plummeted from the sixth-best in the NBA to the 18th-best in the 16 games with Brunson.
New York hopes that now that Brunson is back and healthy, the offense will return to its previous state, while Robinson and Anunoby's returns will continue to stabilize the defense. Brunson is a proven playoff monster, averaging 30.3 points and 6.6 assists on 55.7 percent true shooting. There is little concern about whether his offense will be there once the playoffs roll around.
The New York Knicks are finally whole and entirely healthy for the first time all season, with the only player remaining on their injury report being their second-round rookie Ariel Hukporti.
Time will tell if the Knicks are worthy contenders to the Boston Celtics or the Cleveland Cavaliers. One thing is for certain, though: this is not the same Knicks team you saw for most of the season.
The Celtics and Cavaliers had better be aware of this, or there could be a spoiler party in the Eastern Conference this playoff season.