Knicks playoff predictions, evaluating the Karl-Anthony Towns trade and more: Mailbag

Sports

add

Barring a collapse, there isn’t much more to gain from the New York Knicks’ regular season, which ends on Sunday.

The Knicks (50-29) have been locked into the No. 3 seed for quite some time and need just one win over the Detroit Pistons or Brooklyn Nets to close the regular season or an Indiana Pacers’ loss to secure the positioning for good.

New York’s regular season, while successful, has always been examined through a playoff lens. Is there another level this team can get to? Are they title contenders? We’re going to find out soon.

To put a bow on the regular season, I answered Knicks’ fan questions one last time. Let’s get into it.

How far do you think the Knicks go in the playoffs assuming everyone is healthy and with the emergence of OG (Anunoby), our demon? — @NewYork4Everr

From the moment the Knicks made the trade for Karl-Anthony Towns just before training camp to today, I’ve felt that the team was a second-round playoff team at best. Nothing has changed. In fact, my certainty that they’ll get through the first round of the postseason has dwindled. The Pistons are no joke and the Milwaukee Bucks still have one of the five best players in the NBA. And while I believe New York ultimately does advance to the second round, no matter the opponent, the Boston Celtics will be waiting for them on the other end. Nothing suggests that the Knicks can beat Boston in a seven-game series.

As you mentioned, New York is healthy. That’s not nothing. And they’ve been getting tremendous play from Anunoby. However, I worry about this team defensively in the postseason. I worry about the slow pace at which they play. I worry about the lack of 3s they attempt.

The Knicks are a good team with several flaws, and those flaws really show themselves against the league’s elite and teams that play hard and fast.

Until further notice, New York is a second-round playoff team yet again. It’s felt that way for 90 percent of the season, which is why I think fans haven’t been as invested this year. Last year’s team had some mystery, at least.

How would you characterize the Knicks’ regular season? There’s been a ton of noise around the team and I’m curious what someone who’s been covering them all season thinks. And thank you for your hard work this season! — @jrojo1212.bsky.social‬

First off, thank you. I’ve really appreciated the support from the Knicks’ fan base during my first season covering the team after seven seasons in Detroit. It’s been great to interact with most of you online and meet dozens and dozens of fans in person.

To your question, I’d characterize this Knicks regular season as, well, empty. Whether that’s fair or unfair to the organization, that’s how I feel. Let me explain. It’s unfair because 50 wins aren’t anything to sneeze at. That’s hard to do, and the Knicks have done it two years in a row. Under Tom Thibodeau, New York has transitioned back into a respectable organization after nearly 25 years of being the butt of everyone’s joke. There is something to say about consistency. Consistency and respect should be celebrated.

Now, why I do think it’s fair to call the regular season empty is because the franchise surrendered its best assets to bring in Mikal Bridges and Towns and, as I mentioned above, it feels very unlikely that the Knicks will make it any further in the playoffs than they did last year. There was never a point during the regular season when New York appeared to be better than Boston or Cleveland. Losing to those teams time and time again cast major doubt as to whether the Knicks could hang with them in the playoffs. So, basically everything they’ve accomplished this season feels a little less impressive because it’s hard to see this team winning when it matters most. New York is 9-18 this season against the top-10 defenses. The Knicks, so far, are just 6-10 against teams with winning records in the East, and three of those wins are against the Bucks.

Again, I don’t want to completely dismiss what New York has done in the regular season. Winning 50 games is a major feat. But everyone on the roster would tell you they’d rather have 10 fewer wins if it means they’re seriously competing for a championship.

I’m also a little concerned about this team going forward. It’s got a lot of money tied up to players who I’m still not sure work well together. The Knicks will once again be a second-apron team next year and have to find a way to add significant depth.

All in all, being a good regular-season team is fine when you still have multiple assets at your disposal. New York just feels like a good regular-season team with few assets, which should present a little pause going forward.

Has the KAT trade been the trade the Knicks hoped it would be? — @GordonRB7

Towns has been everything he was supposed to be when New York traded for him. He’s as talented a big-man scorer as the game has ever seen, and he’s been that for the Knicks. With that said, he has struggled defensively. He’s been this player his entire career before coming to New York, so if the Knicks expected anything more, that’s on them.

Towns has been a major piece of one of the NBA’s elite offenses. This has been one of his best shooting seasons of his career, with a true shooting percentage of 63.1. When New York made the trade, which I didn’t mind in terms of value, I said that I didn’t think it made the Knicks better, just different. And that’s what happened as the regular season played out. New York is slightly better offensively than it was last season — the Knicks had an offensive rating of 117.3 last year and are at 117.5 this season — but there has been a drop-off defensively. New York currently ranks 13th defensively with a rating of 113.2. Last year, the Knicks had a defensive rating of 112.4, which ranked ninth.

Towns has come as advertised. He’s been doing what Towns has always done.

This could be Precious Achiuwa’s last season with the Knicks. (Vincent Carchietta / Imagn Images)

Do you think Precious (Achiuwa) has a role on this team next year? Or will even be on the team? — @2lowtech

My answer is no to both.

To me, that’s been evident in a few ways. First, the team brought him back last summer on a one-year deal but would only do it if he waived his no-trade clause. That alone signaled that the Knicks would have been willing to move Achiuwa had Mitchell Robinson been healthier sooner rather than later. Secondly, since the team has been at full strength, Achiuwa has been out of the rotation.

Unless Achiuwa just isn’t getting much interest this offseason *and* the Knicks are struggling to round out their roster because of financial restrictions, I think this marriage ends at the conclusion of the playoffs.

Favorite meal you have had your first season in New York? — @joeNnashville

I used to come to New York twice a season, at least, when covering the Pistons, and I always tried to explore different things to eat each time. But now that I live here and have had time to find places that I can call my own, Chow House in West Village is my go-to spot. I love Chinese food. This place has a great assortment of dishes. Chow House has turned me into a fan of dumplings, too. I’m all-in. I try to go fairly often.

How has your transition been to living in NY? — @JeffGlotzer

Thank you for asking. It’s been OK.

Having lived in Michigan my entire life — I turned 33 in March — I was more worried about living somewhere else for the first time than I was about transferring to a new beat. Covering basketball is covering basketball. I’ve done that for nearly a decade. Altering my life gave me pause.

I do think my years of traveling as a beat writer helped ease any anxiety. It didn’t take too long before I got settled in. Michigan will always be the place I call home, but New York made me feel comfortable almost immediately. There’s so much to do, and I love walking. My mind is often occupied by that alone. I’m looking forward to the summer to get out and explore some of the pockets I haven’t been able to spend too much time in because of the rigors of the NBA schedule. I’m a sneakerhead, and there are a lot of sneaker places out here where I can stupidly spend my money.

From a professional standpoint, I knew coming in that the Knicks are a challenging team to cover because of their media restrictions. The feature-y, creative stories that I’m known for and get excited to write are a bit harder to do here because of the access, but I believe I’ve done a good job of still getting those stories for you guys. I hope you all think so, too. The players are nice and I’ve built good relationships with a few of them. The people who work for the organization with whom I interact daily have been great. Covering this team, though, has its own challenges that aren’t common, and they’re too much to explain if you’re not in the business.

(Photo of Karl-Anthony Towns: Elsa / Getty Images) 

This news was originally published on this post .

Share on

email

Previous

trending_flat

2025 NFL Draft: Building teams of prospects for notable NFL systems

College & Draft

Next

trending_flat

Chargers Mock Draft 3.0: A perfect fit at receiver, then a turn to the trenches

Sports