New York Knicks: Grading the team after a month of games

[caption id="attachment_329315" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images[/caption]rn After a full month of action with some bright spots and some dark ones, it is time to grade the New York Knicks . rnExactly a month after the beginning of the season, the New York Knicks find themselves at 4-12. This ranks them as the fourth-worst team in the NBA, tied with the Chicago Bulls .rnrnThis is, of course, without their star player, Kristaps Porzingis , who is still undergoing his healing process. A torn ACL injury picked up in February is, unfortunately, keeping the Latvian big man away from action up to this day.rnrnMost would agree that the Knicks are not in a good place right now. They are loaded with some heavy contracts, their superstar is still out and to top it all off, their young core is not quite producing at the level most initially hoped it would.rnrnNevertheless, many bright spots can be found on the team's overall game. From significant player performances to great team stats, the Knicks are not in that bad of a spot, especially when you weigh in the fact that they are on their way to obtain a top pick in the following NBA Draft.rnrnHere are the grades for the New York Knicks after a full month of regular season games.rnrn[nextslide teaser="Guards" /]rnrn rnrn[caption id="attachment_330715" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Photo by Chris Elise/NBAE via Getty Images[/caption]rn 4. Guards rnBefore the season even started, the biggest question regarding the Knicks was no other than "Who starts at point guard?". Coach David Fizdale began the season by using Trey Burke as his primary ball-handler and having Frank Ntilikina as the team's starting small forward.rnrnBut after a while, he decided to slide Ntilikina into the starting point guard spot, moving Trey Burke to the bench. Only recently, Fizdale decided to give Emmanuel Mudiay a go at the starting point guard spot.rnrnAs a result, the position is not yet set as all three players are not performing up to Fizdale's standards.rnrnMoving to the team's shooting guards, we see a whole different story. Instead of seeing rotation changes in hopes of a better fit at the point guard spot, here we have coaching changes being made in order to have every shooting guard get enough minutes to showcase his worth.rnrnIt all started with Tim Hardaway Jr. who has been on fire since Day 1. Averaging 23.4 points per game in 32.1 minutes of playing time sets a career high in scoring, as of now. Despite being the undeniable leader of the team, Hardaway is also on his way to a possible All-Star appearance.rnrnBut it is not only him that is currently on a roll. Undrafted and Two-Way rookie Allonzo Trier has also been a very consistent part of the team since the beginning. Matter of fact, his level of play has forced the coach to move Damyean Dotson to the 3, in order to make room for all of them.rnrn Point guards: B- rnrn Shooting guards: A rnrn Overall grade: B+ rnrn[nextslide teaser="Forwards" /]rnrn rnrn[caption id="attachment_330853" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images[/caption]rn 3. Forwards rnThis might be the area of the team that needs the most improvement. With no specific player to have stood out until yet, both forward positions remain up for grabs as the second month of actions begins.rnrnBy taking a look at the team's small forwards, the only player to have exceeded expectations is Damyean Dotson, who naturally plays as a 2-guard. Dotson has shown tremendous signs of improvement by skyrocketing his numbers in basically every statistical category.rnrnThe other major player that the Knicks can play at the 3 is Mario Hezonja , who seems to be a valuable piece to have off the bench.rnrnRookie Kevin Knox has certainly not picked up where he left off during his jaw-dropping Summer League performances, resulting in him being a starter in only two of the nine games he has appeared in thus far.rnrnHe has shown, though, a few bright spots in his game during these opening games.rnrnhttps://twitter.com/ESPNNBA/status/1061816856456114179rnrnRegarding the starting power forward spot, it is fair to say that Kristaps' shoes have not been properly filled since his injury. So far, The starting power forward spot has been given either to Noah Vonleh or Lance Thomas .rnrnThe aforementioned have not been involved in the team's offensive game as we see players like Tim Hardaway Jr. and Enes Kanter take a big chunk of the shots.rnrn Small Forwards: B rnrn Power Forwards: C- rnrn Overall grade: C+ rnrn[nextslide teaser="Centers" /]rnrn rnrn[caption id="attachment_330856" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images[/caption]rn 2. Centers rnA surprisingly delightful start for the season when it comes to the team's centers, Enes Kanter and rookie Mitchell Robinson .rnrnCoach Fizdale started off the 2018-19 campaign by starting Kanter who played phenomenally on the offensive end. Unfortunately for Kanter, the need of a defensive minded center forced Fizdale to make adjustments. And by adjustments we mean start Robinson.rnrnThe rookie has been quite impressive so far. Since getting that starting center spot, Robinson has averaged 6.1 points along with 5 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game in 21.9 minutes of playing time. The zenith of his performances was the game against the Orlando Magic, where he had 9 rejections, a record for a New York Knicks rookie.rnrnTo top it all off, Enes Kanter seems to have found his groove coming off the bench. He is currently averaging 15.2 points along with 11.3 rebounds per game and has recorded a double-double in 10 out of the 16 games he has appeared in thus far.rnrn Overall grade: A- rnrn[nextslide teaser="Coaching" /]rnrn rnrn[caption id="attachment_330861" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Photo by Steven Ryan/Getty Images[/caption]rn 1. Coaching rnLast but not least, it's time to evaluate head coach David Fizdale and his coaching staff. Fizdale is currently on his first season with the Knicks as he was picked up by the team during the summer to replace Jeff Hornacek .rnrnFizdale has done well so far by distributing enough minutes for everyone. When the season began, nobody thought that Trier, Dotson and Robinson would be such valuable parts of the team.rnrnAs a result, Fizdale decided to limit the minutes of players that did not appear that hungry whenever they stepped on the floor like Lance Thomas and Trey Burke.rnrnWhen you are coaching a team with no realistic expectations to make the playoffs, experimenting with the current lineup should be at the top of your priority list. And Fizdale has done exactly that.rnrn[story_link_next description="The%2050%20greatest%20NBA%20players%20of%20all%20time%20(updated%20for%202017-18)" url="https://hoopshabit.com/2018/09/21/nba-50-greatest-players-time/" /]rnrnThe New York Knicks are currently packed with hungry young players that are looking to shake off that "bust" title that has been written all over them. And even though the team is not bringing home those wins, nobody can deny them that they are headed towards the right direction.rnrn Overall Grade: A-

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New York Knicks: Grading the team after a month of games

After a full month of action with some bright spots and some dark ones, it is time to grade the New York Knicks .

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