The Knicks are on a 4 game winning streak and absolutely dominating their competition. The defense has taken a huge leap forward from the first 20 games of the season and is starting to help them win more and more ball games as we approach midseason.
The Knicks have won four in a row against some solid teams including the Cleveland Cavaliers, Atlanta Hawks, and the Sacramento Kings who have surprised a lot of faces this year. Against all of these teams who possess great offenses, the Knicks allowed less than 100 points in each of the three games.
Julius Randle has started to emerge as the player who won most improved player just two seasons ago and looks like a clear all-star in the East if he can keep this type of play up. Last night, he was ejected midway through the third quarter for arguing with the refs, yet he still finished with 27 points and 8 rebounds, that is absurd numbers for barely playing half the game.
RJ Barrett has been steadily improving his game after having a very long struggle to start the season. RJ seems to always get off to a slow start to start the year, but eventually he bounces back and he sure has recently, hopefully he can continue to play great basketball.
With RJ and Randle playing better basketball, Jalen Brunson has been able to take a load off and not have the Knicks consistently rely on him every night. He has not put up the same numbers as he used to, but he is still a huge difference maker for the Knicks almost every game.
Another guy who deserves the props that he does not receive is Miles McBride. Now I can go on and on about what McBride has done for the Knicks this season, but just to sum it up, in games where he plays over fifteen minutes, the Knicks are 13-3. So it's clear, play Miles McBride or you are going to lose games.
We are also talking about a guy who last year rarely received any minutes because of the guard-heavy roster the Knicks have, and now since he is getting his shot he's taking advantage of it and not looking back. The Knicks are finally giving the young guys the green light and I'll tell you what it is REALLY paying off for them right now.
With lots of rumors surrounding Cam Reddish, Derrick Rose, and Evan Fournier and where they will end up, Leon Rose and the Knicks should try and get deals done for these vets as soon as possible. They now know what these young guys bring to the table and can trust them to carry the load for the rest of the season from here on out.
The Knicks have been playing some great basketball and have to keep it up. They have a favorable upcoming schedule this week with three road games, two against the Bulls and one against the Pacers. Gotta take advantage of the opportunity and move. Let's Go Knicks.
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