I don’t have many words to describe how this past week went. As I’m writing this, I have no idea what I’m going to title this blog outside of praising Karl-Anthony Towns’ performances. In my previous blog, I thought the Knicks would have a dominant week. I thought they would have their way with Houston and Atlanta but have some struggles with Milwaukee, even though I know the Bucks have struggled to start the season. The complete opposite happened. The Knicks could not close out the game against two inferior teams. They should have won those games, but there’s a glaring problem with why they did not win.
Jalen Brunson has started the season very poorly by his standards. The shooting for Brunson has not been there. So far this season, Brunson is shooting 46% from the field, which is down from the 48% he shot last year. It’s obviously still so early in the season, and a 2% drop doesn’t seem like much, but it is something to take a closer look into. There’s obviously something off with Brunson. It’s gotten so bad that even Jalen Brunson’s biggest supporter is starting to get on him about it.
Brunson knows he hasn’t been his best. He’s always accountable when he doesn’t perform to his standards. I just hope the standards start showing up at a more consistent pace. Brunson has been dominant at times this season, like the game against the Piston, but I hope to see more of it soon.
Another problem the Knicks have had is the defense. Karl-Anthony Towns doesn’t deserve much negative attention because of how dominant he’s been on the offensive side. He’s been so damn good and could be the #1 reason why the Knicks are staying in these close games, but man is he ass on defense. When I look at how Mikal Bridges and Jericho Sims have been on the defensive end, it’s all eye test there. I yell at them but have nothing to back it up stats-wise. The fact that there are statistics that say KAT is the worst defensive player at the rim is extremely sad, but it’s also hilarious. Thank god he’s been so great on the other side of the ball because if not, I’d be writing at least another twelve paragraphs about this topic. But like I said, no more negative attention towards KAT. Let’s look at how good he was last night on offense.
Weekly Grades:
Jalen Brunson: B-
Karl-Anthony Towns: A+
OG Anunoby: B+
Mikal Bridges: B
Josh Hart: A
Deuce McBride: B+
Tyler Kolek: B
Jericho Sims: F
Now, let’s see what the Knicks have up next for the coming week.
After one game back from a four-game road trip, the Knicks are back on the road to play the Pacers this Sunday evening. The Knicks got some nice revenge against the Pacers a couple of weeks ago, where Tyrese Haliburton scored 0 points. But I need the Knicks to get a win in Indiana. These are two good teams where the game will be close, but New York is the better team.
After that, the Knicks head to Philadelphia to start their quest for the most coveted title in sports. The first game of the In-Season Tournament starts this Tuesday as the Knicks play the 76ers, and there’s a chance Joel Embiid plays this game. That bum, loser, asshole Joel Embiid can play his first game of the season, but who knows with him. He hasn’t played a single game this season because of “injury,” even though he was able to play all of the Olympics. Then when questioned about his love for the city of shitty Philadelphia, he shoves, not punches!, a reporter (the reporter did nothing wrong to be shoved). Anyway, the fraud Embiid might play his first game of the season, which can challenge some things for the Knicks. Though the Sixers might get the return of Embiid, they won’t have Tyrese Maxey, who is out a couple of weeks with a hamstring injury.
After that, the Knicks head back to MSG to take on the Bulls Wednesday night. It’s the Knicks’ first back-to-back of the season, and it should be an easy win. I don’t know much about how the Bulls are performing, but my understanding going into the season is that they don’t have much expectations and that Zach Lavine will be traded by the end of the year.
Finally, the Knicks’ last game of the week is the 2nd game of the In-Season Tournament as they take on the Nets at MSG Friday night. The Nets have been off to a surprising start, as Cam Thomas has looked like a star in the making. It’s just too bad the Nets are little brothers, and the Knicks will probably win this game by 20+. Last week I got cocky and predicted the Knicks to go 3-0. It seemed a little crazy, but there’s no doubt in my mind the Knicks won’t go undefeated this week. Maybe the Pacers give the Knicks some trouble, but the Knicks should not finish the week with less than 3 wins. Anything else is a disappointment.
SmallDog Sports 
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