Knicks Pulse Check Part VIII: Judgement Free Zone No Longer

If you ask Knicks fans, I feel that they’re split down the middle with how they view this season.

On one hand, the orange and blue finished with 51 wins (back-to-back 50 win seasons for the first time since the 93-94/94-95 seasons) and are headed to the playoffs for the fourth time in five seasons. On the other hand, there is this feeling that this team - after swinging for the fences with trades for both Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges - underwhelmed with results, ending their season 0-10 against the top three teams in the NBA.

For his part, head coach Tom Thibodeau seemed to agree with the latter, saying that the team needed to fix “everything” after a loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Not exactly the vote of confidence you want going into the postseason.

Combing over the 82-games of the 2024-25 season, the Knicks finished fifth in offensive rating (same spot from our previous check-in), 13th in defensive rating (up one spot), and 8th in net rating (down one spot).

However, despite the mid-table defensive ranking, the Knicks seem to be playing some of their best defense of the season, holding teams to under 100 points scoring in three out of their last 10 games. On the season, the Knicks accomplished this 16 times. Over the last 10 games the Knicks ranked 10th in defensive rating.

A lot was made this season about the Knicks’ three-point defense. The orange and blue finished 25th in the league, with opposing teams converting 36.9 percent of their three-point shots on a nightly basis. The Knicks were also 24th in rebounding, which led to a ton of second-chance points for their opponents - something they will need to “fix” before the playoffs.

But of course it wasn’t all bad news - the Knicks offensive efficiency was top tier for most of the season - finishing top 10 in both true shooting percentage and effective field goal percentage. They were also top five in both limiting turnovers and loose balls recovered.

End-of-season Awards

For the purposes of this article I’m only going to focus on MVP, Most Improved, and Defensive Player of the Year. The Knicks Most Valuable Player for the 2024-25 season was, once again, Jalen Brunson. There will be some that argue for Towns, and although I think he played well, you can’t argue that his impact on winning was greater than Brunson’s impact.

Brunson finished this season with the most “clutch” points in the league and his final season’s averages included 26.3 points per game, 7.3 assists per game, while shooting 48.8 percent from the field and 38.3 percent from the three-point line. Brunson did miss 15 straight games during the end of the season, but I think most fans know that JB was the driving force behind most of the team’s success this season.

I’m awarding both the Defensive Player of the Year award and the Most Improved award to OG Anunoby. OG finished the season ranked seventh amongst all forwards that played in at least 60 games for defensive field goal percentage (44.8%). But in order to appreciated OG’s defense, it’s really about the eye test. The six-foot-seven, 240 pound forward suffocated opposing guards/forwards, making them afraid to put the ball on the floor.

On the offensive end of the floor, Anunoby posted career highs in points per game (18.0), total points (1332), field goals made (489), and field goals attempted (1027). Yet, despite OG’s offensive onslaught. it’s possible that Knicks fans were most impressed with the eight-year veteran tying a career-high in games played (74) and posting a career-high total minutes (2706).

A look ahead to the Pistons

During the regular season, the Detroit Pistons bested the Knicks in three out of the four games they played. The Pistons enter this playoff matchup with a top-ten defense, and four players in their rotation who converted above 35 percent of their three-point shots (Marcus Sasser, Malik Beasley, Tim Hardaway Jr., and Cade Cunningham) this season. The Pistons also ranked ninth in second-chance points, which means the Knicks will have to control the boards to keep this series from getting close.

Cade Cunningham was an absolute stud this past season. On his way to earning his first All-Star team selection, the four-year man out of Oklahoma St. averaged 26.1 points per game, 9.1 assists per game, while shooting 46.1 percent from the field and 35.6 percent from the three-point line. Cunningham is truly a do-it-all type of initiator who can score at all three-levels on the floor. The Knicks defensive game plan will have to be organized to keep him from getting to his spots and controlling the game.

Based on NBA.com’s tracking stats, during the first three matchups (I didn’t include the fourth game between the Pistons and Knicks b/c neither OG nor Josh Hart played) Mikal Bridges guarded Cade for 19 minutes and 11 seconds. During that time, Cunningham scored 19 points on 8/20 shooting. OG Anunoby guarded Cade for five minute and 58 seconds, also scoring 19 points, but on 7/11 shooting. Josh Hart spent four minutes and thirty-three seconds guarding Cade, and the first-time All-Star scored eight points on 4/8 shooting during those minutes.

Guarding Cade will be team task. I expect that Thibs will start with Mikal Bridges on Cade, but he will see multiple bodies in front of him. Most importantly, limiting his drives, and making him take contested mid-range shots will be the name of the game. Mitchell Robinson did not play in any of the games versus the Pistons and I think he will play a massive role in preventing their bigs from controlling the boards and from preventing the Piston’s guards from finishing at the rim.

Final Words 

Even though the Knicks finished at third place in the Eastern Conference, there is this negative feeling heading into the playoffs. Fans are not worried about the Knicks just getting there: they want to see that their team has the goods needed to challenge the Boston Celtics and make it to the conference finals.

If you’re an optimist, it’s important to note that the entire rotation is healthy and ready to go for the playoffs. The Knicks record against top teams was horrible, but those teams never faced Robinson at the five and feasted on KAT, attacking him in the pick-and-roll. Furthermore, OG has improved steadily this season, as an offensive threat, and as a result, it’s gonna be hard for teams to just focus their defense on KAT and Jalen Brunson.

Plenty of questions will need to be answered, but this is the time of year to be excited about if you’re a fan. It’s time to pack Madison Square Garden and flood the streets of New York City. Heck - if you have the means, head to Detroit and invade Little Cesar’s Arena.