New York, are we looking at “The Thibs Effect”?

May 18, 2013, conference semifinals, game six. Carmelo Anthony with 39 points could do nothing against a solid Indiana Pacers led by Paul George and the inside presence of Roy Hibbert. That was the last time fans of the Big Apple franchise saw their team beat copper in the postseason.

Since that season, hit after hit has been shaking the team with the highest market value in the entire NBA. Controversial choices in the draft (a priori and a posteriori), disappointments in the free agency market, changes of sports directors, coaches and countless losses have accompanied the team for the last 7 seasons. Fans thirsty to see their team compete have begun to raise their heads watching the hopeful start of these young knickerbockers.

Today and with a record of 7 wins and 8 losses, the New York Knicks are in playoff spots. The two victories in the last back-to-back They have given the team confidence, especially the heavy beating they subjected to the conference leaders, the Boston Celtics, which finished 105-75 for Tom Thibodeau’s boys.

Due to the constant blows, skepticism surrounds the team’s environment and there is a question that haunts the minds of NBA analysts and fans about the New York team. Is this start a mirage or is it the foundation and the future of the team for the rest of the season?

After 15 league games, you can start to have feelings with numbers and statistics in hand. And there is a statistic, in which the New York Knicks are not used to being placed and it is none other than the defensive rating. They are fifth in the league in defensive rating with 106.2 points, the team that receives the least points with 102.7 per game, and the one that reduces the opponent’s field shots the most, leaving field shots at 42% and 31.2% from the line of three. And this is due, in large part to the influence of his coach “The Thibs Effect”. Tom Thibodeau has shown that he is capable of making teams compete in every game with his short rotations and his trusted players and perhaps that is the reason for his arrival in the Big Apple, the need to compete in order to build, to do again. New York is an interesting market not for its culture – which too – but for its basketball.

The 3 swords of the team during this first stretch are being Julius Randle, RJ Barrett and Mitchell Robinson. The one that stands out the most among them is none other than Julius Randle. The former Lakers and Pelicans is reaching an All Star level this year for the first time in his career. Average 22.8 points, 11 rebounds and 6.1 assists with great shooting percentages. Not only is he doing numbers as he used to, but he is being a key factor in defense – one of his weak points – alongside Mitchell Robinson and is notoriously involved in the team’s movement of the ball.

Another player who continues his progression and in whom great hopes are placed in the offices of the Knicks is RJ Barrett. The Canadian and former Blue Devils is being more decisive with the team in the important moments. Average more points, rebounds, assists and fewer losses than last year, beginning to approach the band of 20 points per game.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DiEnFezm9V4

On the other hand, at Madison Square Garden there are two players who are not meeting expectations at the start of the season. One of them is Kevin Knox, who in his third campaign with the team is still not the expected player and the other is Obi Toppin, the recent Brooklyn-born draft number 8 played only 5 games due to injury, in which it has been possible to see flashes of the player who may be, but has not been able to find the necessary regularity that a newcomer to the league needs.

Almost 8 years later, a chain of changes, rumors, pink press and a global pandemic, Knicks fans can dream of seeing their team fight and enter the playoffs, beginning to build the foundations of what could be a project with a little more light than what they have shed in recent times.

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