New York Knicks: 3 early takeaways from the games we’ve seen so far

3. The New York Knicks will be inconsistent

This team will play with confidence and energy, but they’ll still execute as the Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde team that they are. We witnessed this team do a complete 180 from the first Knicks – Pistons match up to the second. We then saw a complete transformation of the Knicks during the Cavaliers matchup from the first to the second half in game one of the series. Then the Knickerbockers took it to another level for the final match against the Cavaliers.

It’ll be challenging to expect the Knicks to consistently compete the same way they did in their final game of the preseason throughout the regular season because 1) the Cavaliers aren’t considered a playoff team, and 2) they weren’t even at full strength. And if we go back to look at how the Knicks competed against the Pistons, it was difficult for them to score consistently in the second game.

Offensively, this team will struggle because they do not have enough players that will be consistent on a nightly basis. The players that it seems like they can rely on are Barrett, Randle, Alec Burks, and Nerlens Noel.

I know some of you who are reading this are saying, Alex, we just saw Quickley and Knox play at such a high level, and to some extent, Toppin. How come they’re not included?

Well, as I am really high on Quickley and Toppin and still have stock in Knox being a decent role player down the line, Quickley and Toppin are rookies, so I expect them to have nights where they struggle (it’s also way too early to put them in the consistent category). And as happy as I am to see Knox come out of his shell and playing aggressively, we did see Summer League Knox come and go, so I’m cautious at fully believing the Knox we just saw is here to stay.

On the defensive side of the ball, the effort will be there, but there will be lapses, especially at the beginning of the season. Even though Thibodeau is known for his defensive schemes and will coach these players to the best of his ability to not be porous on that end of the floor, he can only do so much.

Under Fizdale, the Knicks were ranked 25th in the league with a defensive rating of 113, while the Knicks had a defensive rating of 112.1, ranking them 21st in the league under Mike Miller. So, based on these numbers and considering the Knicks have a slightly upgraded roster from last season, I’d expect no less than this team being ranked 21st defensively.

This New York Knicks team is going to be rough to watch. There is no doubt about that. But even though this team will be tough to stomach some nights, there should be some excitement based on what we saw from the young Knicks so far. Barrett, Toppin, Quickley, Knox, and Mitchell Robinson all showed enough that we should be encouraged they’re trending in the right direction.