Man, was I wrong about the trade! Last Saturday, I wrote a blog trashing the trade, and I still partially stand by it. The Knicks should have gotten more for the value of RJ and Quick, and that wasn’t half the reason why I was mad. I was more angry about the Knicks trading two fan-favorite players on a whim. I was thinking about it earlier this week. RJ Barrett is personally my 2nd favorite Knick of all time behind Melo. I loved Barrett a lot, so it hurt to see him go, but with the way OG Anunoby is playing, it slightly lessens the pain.
Since coming to the Knicks, they are 3-0 in the OG era. In the three games OG has been here, he’s a +74 while averaging 13 points and 5.3 rebounds, but that’s not even the most impressive part we have all seen from him. The defense has been miles better since acquiring OG. Before the trade, the Knicks had the worst defensive rating in December. They were abysmal all last month since they lost Mitchell Robinson, but since the trade, they have the best defensive rating in the league. He’s always making the extra play, showing more effort than anyone on the court. OG is quickly becoming a fan favorite, and I can’t wait to see what he does throughout the rest of the season.
And what a three games it’s been. It was a close win against the one-seed Timberwolves. A blowout against the Bulls and an even bigger blowout against the three-seed 76ers in Philly. They are finally showing they can compete against the top of the league after the slow start they had at the beginning of the season. They are showing everyone they are a legit team. Up next for the Knicks to prove their legitimacy is a win against Boston.
Another star for the Knicks has been Isaiah Hartenstein. Hartenstein has been a DAWG since the Robinson injury and has filled the role even better than most expected. Twenty rebounds against the Bulls. Seventeen points against Joel Embiid while being a +26. Hartenstein has been everything and more since becoming the starting center and should get more recognition throughout the national media.
It’s been a fun three games since the Knicks got OG, but there is a glaring hole. The Knicks must fill in some of the bench spots before the trade deadline. Quickley was a legit spark plug, and Barrett filled in seamlessly when he would play with the bench. So far, the bench hasn’t been the best since the trade outside of the win in Philly. It was good to see Duece finally have a good game, but the Knicks need a legit bench point guard and center. I have no trust in Precious Achiuwa playing the center role. He’s undersized and gets outrebounded most of the time. Go to Utah and get Olynyk, and go to Portland and get Brogdan. The Knicks are a few bench pieces away from being legit contenders. Leon Rose traded two significant pieces and now he needs fill the holes he created.
Weekly Grades:
Knicks: A
Jalen Brunson: B+
Julius Randle: A-
OG Anunoby: A
Isaiah Hartenstein: A+
Donte DiVincenzo: B+
Quinten Grimes: B-
Josh Hart: B
Deuce McBride: B-
Precious Achiuwa: D
Now, let’s see what the Knicks have up next for the coming week.
The Knicks play their second straight back-to-back on a Saturday, but this game is a lot easier than last week’s game. They head to Washington, D.C., to play the abysmal Wizards. If the previous three games showed us anything, this should be an easy win for the Knicks. Afterward, they return home with another easy game against the Trail Blazers on Tuesday. This should be a scouting game for the Knicks, as we see how Malcolm Brogdon plays. He should be a target for the Knicks if he isn’t already traded by Tuesday. Finally, they get their only challenge of the week as they take on the Mavericks in Dallas on Thursday. This game could go either way, but for the Knicks to continue to build momentum, they should win this game and go 3-0 on the week. The Mavericks are a good team, but if the Knicks can blowout the Sixers and beat the T-Wolves, this game should be nothing for them.
Until next time, let’s go Knicks!
One final thing that I wanted to talk about is how shitty the Knicks get talked about in the national media. I wanted to save it for the end because it’s a personal thing that’s been bugging me and a lot of other Knicks fans, but no other team gets talked about like the Knicks. It’s a constant shit fest when the Knicks get talked about. ESPN and Stephen A. constantly talk down on the Knicks, but after a big win, he’s the biggest fan in the world. Then you have Kenny Smith and, to a lesser degree, Gilbert Arenas trashing Julius Randle and Jalen Brunson. Brunson and Randle should be All-Stars and All-NBA. They are, without a doubt, better than Paolo Banchero and Jalen Green. Green isn’t even better than RJ Barrett. People need to start respecting the Knicks. The hate has to stop somewhere, and I’m afraid the only way to shut everyone up is for the Knicks to win a championship. Other than that, I don’t know what else the Knicks have to do to gain the respect of the media.
SmallDog Sports 
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