Since the calendar turned to 2024, the New York Knicks have been arguably the best team in the NBA. Their victory over the Washington Wizards on Thursday night pushed their record to a season-high eight games over the .500 mark, to 25-17. In 2024, their record is now an impressive 8-2.
The Knicks are taking full advantage of a soft spot in their schedule. Six games thus far in January have been against teams at or below the .500 mark. They have two more, against the Toronto Raptors and Brooklyn Nets, before the schedule stiffens up a little more again to finish out the month.
Regardless of the level of opponent the Knicks have been facing recently, they have been steamrolling them. While the lineup and rotation aren’t perfect since their trade with the Raptors, it has been hard to argue against the results.
NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Jalen Brunson, OG Anunoby, Isaiah Hartenstein, New York Knicks Updates
Not only is New York winning games with OG Anunoby as their new starting small forward, they have lineup combinations that are amongst the best in the NBA. As shared by Tommy Beer on X, the Knicks trio of Jalen Brunson, Anunboy and Isaiah Hartenstein has been producing video game-like numbers.
In 222 minutes together, that trio has outscored their opponents by 146 points, 605-459. That essentially comes out to the Knicks defeating opponents by an average of 31.6 points per game with that trio on the court.
Those numbers are impressive, but in the NBA, you need five players on the court. If you add any two players around those three, the Knicks would have success. Currently, their starting lineup with Donte DiVincenzo and Julius Randle filling in the other spots, has been on a tear as well.
Also shared by Beer on X, New York’s starting lineup of Brunson, DiVincenzo, Anunoby, Randle and Hartenstein is one of just two lineups with at least 100 minutes played to reach these impressive plateaus. They are currently scoring more than 127 points per 100 possessions and surrendering less than 111 points per 100 possessions as well.
NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Jalen Brunson, OG Anunoby, Isaiah Hartenstein, New York Knicks Updates
The only other five-man lineup to accomplish that feat is the Philadelphia 76ers with Nicolas Batum. To this point, the Knicks have found the perfect balance on offense and defense with their starting lineup. Unfortunately for them, you need more than five players to play in an NBA game.
For as good as the starting five has been, the Knicks have some real issues to iron out with their second unit. With three weeks until the NBA Trade Deadline, expect New York to bring in some reinforcements for the stretch run of the season.
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