The Heat have been the better team through the first five games. To send this series back to the Garden for Game 7, the Knicks will obviously need everyone at his best. It is particularly important with Immanuel Quickley (left ankle) missing the last two games and Josh Hart struggling. The trio have all scored at least 20 points in each of the last two games, and in three of the last four. The Knicks’ Big 3 is finally clicking at the same time. MIAMI - The postseason started with RJ Barrett trying to find his game and Julius Randle battling a left ankle injury.Īt the end of the first round, just as Barrett was starting to hit his stride, a mostly ineffective Randle re-injured the ankle that cost him the opening game of the second round.īut as the Knicks prepare for this do-or-die Game 6 against the Heat Friday night as a significant underdog, Barrett and Randle have elevated their games, complementing the consistently brilliant Jalen Brunson. What the Knicks can learn from the Nuggets-Heat Finals showdown Knicks shouldn’t make play for this star - as enticing as he isĪn early look at the 2023-24 NBA title odds Barrett probably deserves a mention too.Who the Knicks should move on from according to Stephen A Smith Still, in any extended conversation about how good Julius Randle has been this season, R.J. Who ultimately wins the award probably doesn’t matter much to Knicks fans, carrying this momentum into the playoffs and continuing their upward trajectory for next season will be much more gratifying. His overall shot selection means his true shooting percentage is still hovering in average territory (he’s attempting slightly fewer free throws and 3s this season) but even the leap to average is enormous, especially considering that he’s remained a high-usage creator and simultaneously cut his turnovers.ĮSPN’s Real Plus-Minus is a slightly more robust measure of overall impact and by the estimate of that metric, Barrett’s improvement this season ( plus-2.78 points per 100 possessions) is at least in the ballpark of Randle’s (plus-3.78 points per 100 possessions). He’s taken his 2-point percentage from 43.2 to 46.9, his 3-point percentage from 32.0 to 39.1 and his free-throw percentage from 61.4 to 73.2. Barrett has almost no chance of leapfrogging Randle for the Award, his improvement has been nearly as dramatic.īarrett has also increased his points, rebounds and assists per game from his rookie season but the most significant development has been in his shooting efficiency. The combination of profile, narrative and easily digestible improvement in box score stats gives Julius Randle a strong case for the Most Improved Player Award this season, and he can probably be considered the favorite. By Box Plus-Minus, his improvement in overall impact has been one of the biggest in the league this season. And his overall improvement is not just the window dressing of inflated counting stats. Per Marc Stein at The New York Times, Randle’s 3-point shooting improvement is the biggest mid-career jump in NBA history. At the age of 26, he’s posted career-highs in points, rebounds, assists, steals, 3-point attempts and 3-point percentage, earning his first All-Star selection. Randle’s career year has gotten plenty of media shine already. But the biggest, and most important, surprises have been Julius Randle and R.J. Alec Burks is on his sixth team in the past three seasons but has found a home as a microwave scorer off the bench, shooting a career-high 40.8 percent on 6.9 3-point attempts per 36 minutes. 25 pick in the draft and has become a key contributor as a rookie, shooting 38.1 percent from beyond the arc, posting an assist to turnover ratio of more than 2-to-1, holding up on defense and putting up a positive Box Plus-Minus. As of today, their odds are over 80 percent and it would take an epic collapse for them to fall out.Īnd then there are the individual surprises. The NBA prediction model at 538 gave the Knicks just a five percent chance of making the playoffs before the season began. Vegas set the Knicks’ preseason over/under at 21.5 - they won their 22nd game nearly a month ago, on Mar. But their offense has also improved dramatically. Thibs delivered on the defensive improvement - they currently have the third-best mark in the league. 4 seed and the right to host a first-round series. They’re fifth in the Eastern Conference standings and a half-game out of the No. The Knicks currently hold a seven-game win streak, the longest active streak in the league. But no reasonable or rational person expected this. The hiring of Tom Thibodeau seemed sure to raise the team’s floor, especially at the defensive end. Pretty much everything about the New York Knicks has been a surprise this season. Subscribe here to get it delivered to you via email each morning. The Whiteboard is The Step Back’s daily basketball newsletter, covering the NBA, WNBA and more.
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