Last season, the Knicks once again fell in the second round of the playoffs. They were eliminated in the second round for two consecutive years. The previous year they lost to the Heat with 2 wins and 4 losses. This time they won more. One win, and they also had the draw advantage first. Unfortunately, they ran out of energy in the last two games and were taken away by the Pacers. It is obvious that the Knicks hope to go further in the future and showed super courage before the start of the season. , successive transactions, intending to form a better lineup and directly hit the championship.
The Knicks used 5 first-round picks in the offseason, including their own 4 unprotected first-round picks in 2025, 2027, 2029, and 2031 and the Bucks’ 2025 first-round picks, plus the 2028 first-round exchange rights. , traded for Mikal Bridges from the Nets to form the Villanova Super League. Although the Knicks traded a top wing lock, the loss was not small. The team will be in 2031. During this period of the year, more than half of the draft picks were given away. Once the record is poor, the team will lack draft picks to strengthen future potential.
Unexpectedly, the Knicks’ road to upgrade did not stop there. At the beginning of the season, another more blockbuster trade came. The Knicks sent Julius Randle, Donte DiVincenzo and Keita Bates. – Diop) and a first-round pick from the Pistons, directly traded from the Timberwolves for 2015 No. 1 pick Karl -Anthony Towns, which means the Knicks have robbed the future.
But compared to the original blue line, the Knicks’ penalty area and shooting have been greatly upgraded. The starting five lineup is very complete, with height, technology, and stardom. The rest depends on the integration results.
The season is now nearly halfway through, and the Knicks’ record ranks third in the Eastern Conference. Although their ranking is slightly worse than second place in the Eastern Conference last season, their winning rate is higher than last year, and their overall strength has indeed improved compared to last year. . In particular, the offensive efficiency improved from seventh in the league last year to third in the league. It was only this season that the Cavaliers surged to occupy the leading position in the Eastern Conference, which pushed the Knicks’ record rankings down one spot.
In terms of transaction results, Towns had a career year after coming to the Knicks. He averaged 13.9 rebounds per game, 55.0% field goal percentage, and 44.9% three-point field goal percentage, all career highs. His average of 25.4 points per game was also the second-best result in his career. It also alleviates the past situation where Nick relied heavily on Jalen Brunson.
After Towns came to the Knicks, he not only helped the team open up more offensive space on the shooting end, but his cutting and finishing and misplaced singles can provide the team with another offensive option.
Although Bridges’ average data per game has declined slightly compared to the Nets period, and there were once reports of problems with the shooting mechanism, he still maintains an average of 18.0 points per game, although his three-point shooting rate is the highest since his rookie year. A new low, but the overall shooting rate is better than that of the Nets. It provides the third ball-holding offensive point the team needs and makes the Knicks’ offense more difficult to defend. This is because the team has performed better on the offensive end this year. main reason.
