Evan Fournier #13 and RJ Barrett #9 of the New York Knicks in action against the Indiana Pacers (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
Even though most people choose to stan for some other teams in the league, the New York Knicks have had an incredible start to this NBA season and are quietly improving with each passing day.
After being obvious overachievers throughout the 2020-21 season, these New York Knicks did not rest during the summer. The players worked on their game, while team management pulled off a few tricks to significantly enhance the team’s offense.
We are just six games into the season and the Knicks are enjoying the best record in the entire league, at 5-1, tied with a few other teams. If we were to exclude a few irregularities, every single part of Tom Thibodeau’s game plan seems to be running smoothly.
The New York Knicks have been rolling and nearly every player is impressing
On the other side of the spectrum, one would have to dig in pretty deep to find members of the team that have disappointed thus far. As Kemba Walker correctly put it, nobody seems to care about individual stats. All they care about is winning.
The New York Knicks have a pretty large selection of players that have impressed thus far, making it rather hard to handpick only three of them.
Want to know how good the Knicks have been in this small sample of basketball? Barely not making this list are Derrick Rose and Kemba Walker, who are both shooting over 54% from the three-point line. This team’s depth is just insane.
October 29, 2021</a></p></blockquote>
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<p>On the other side of the spectrum, one would have to dig in pretty deep to find members of the team that have disappointed thus far. <a style="background-color: #ffffff;font-size: 17px" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/11/01/new-york-knicks-players-hottest-starts/"https://twitter.com/nyknicks/status/1454138461947002883?s=20%22 target="_blank" rel="noopener">As Kemba Walker correctly put it</a><span style="font-size: 17px">, nobody seems to care about individual stats. All they care about is winning.</span></p>
<p>The New York Knicks have a pretty large selection of players that have impressed thus far, making it rather hard to handpick only three of them.</p>
<p>Want to know how good the Knicks have been in this small sample of basketball? Barely not making this list are Derrick Rose and Kemba Walker, who are both shooting over 54% from the three-point line. This team’s depth is just insane.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background:#222423" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/11/01/new-york-knicks-players-hottest-starts/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> No. 3 </a>
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<img class="wp-image-437345 size-full" src=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/11/01/new-york-knicks-players-hottest-starts/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2134,w_3200/http%3A%2F%2Fhoopshabit.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F08%2F1347433077.jpeg" alt="New York Knicks" width="3200" height="2134" srcset="https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1347433077.jpeg 3200w, https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1347433077-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:3200px;">Obi Toppin #1 of the New York Knicks looks during a preseason game against the Washington Wizards (Photo by Steven Ryan/Getty Images)</p>
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<h2>New York Knicks players off to the hottest starts in 2021-22: 3. Obi Toppin</h2>
<p>Coming out of a four-year stint at Dayton, Obi Toppin’s game was adored by many scouts around the league. He ultimately fell to the Knicks at No. 8 and was viewed as one of the biggest steals in the 2020 NBA Draft.</p>
<p>The start of his NBA career did not go as expected. But to be completely honest, he was not the one to blame. His competitor, A.K.A. Julius Randle, made a huge leap into stardom, leaving very few backup minutes for Toppin.</p>
<p>Things seem to have changed, though. Toppin is now spending more time on the court and his numbers certainly validate Thibodeau’s coaching decisions. Even though it is highly unlikely that he earns a starting spot this season, things are looking up for New York’s sophomore.</p>
<p>When stepping onto the court, Toppin now demonstrates a more aggressive offensive approach. The first-year frightening period seems to be over and his scoring numbers are way up when compared to last season.</p>
<p>Apart from that, his freakish athleticism has now transformed him into a defensive beast. Yes, the sample is still small, but he seems to help the team tremendously when stepping onto the court. This is an area of his game that lacked quality last season.</p>
<p>The only minor setback is his three-point shooting, which has been very poor so far. However, he is a very potent shooter and is bound to turn it around in the very near future.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background:#222423" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/11/01/new-york-knicks-players-hottest-starts/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> No. 2 </a>
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<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:3200px;">Evan Fournier #13 of the New York Knicks looks on against the Orlando Magic (Photo by Steven Ryan/Getty Images)</p>
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<h2>New York Knicks players off to the hottest starts in 2021-22: 2. Evan Fournier</h2>
<p>Over the summer, NBA superstar Damian Lillard correctly noticed that some foreign NBA players tend to perform better when playing for their national teams. Up until now, the Knicks seem to have gotten France Evan Fournier on their roster, who was the third-best scorer in the 2019 FIBA World Cup, and the fourth-best scorer in the 2020 Olympics.</p>
<p>Fournier was one of the signings that were supposed to help with the team’s offense moving forward. Last year, Julius Randle looked absolutely isolated at times and the front office took notice of that.</p>
<p>During these opening six games, Fournier has been averaging 17.5 points per game while shooting 45% from behind the arc. In fact, his opening statement was quite extravagant, as he tied his career-high of 32 points and lifted the Knicks over his previous team, the Boston Celtics, in a double-overtime victory.</p>
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<p>When dealing with an elite defense like the Knicks, a high-quality volume shooter like Evan Fournier is exactly what you need. Even if he fails to keep his numbers at these out-of-this-world levels, he is set for success in a Knicks uniform.</p>
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<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:3200px;">RJ Barrett #9 of the New York Knicks smiles during the second half against the Boston Celtics (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)</p>
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<h2>New York Knicks players off to the hottest starts in 2021-22: 1. RJ Barrett</h2>
<p>Take a seat, fellow NBA fans, and admire the league’s next superstar. RJ Barrett is now unleashed and he is here to stay.</p>
<p>Barrett made an insane jump last year, improving basically every aspect of his game under Thibs. He went from being a poor shooter to a sharpshooter who shot over 40% from behind the three-point line.</p>
<p>However, things have looked even more impressive so far for us New York Knicks fans. <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/11/01/new-york-knicks-players-hottest-starts/"https://twitter.com/sny_knicks/status/1453949489530634244?s=20%22 target="_blank" rel="noopener">RJ Barrett’s defense</a> has just been I-N-S-A-N-E. His efforts have definitely put him on the early shortlist for a spot on the All-Defensive teams.</p>
<p>Apart from his defensive prowess, Barrett has already surpassed his career-high in points after putting up 35 points on some incredibly efficient shooting numbers against the New Orleans Pelicans this past Saturday.</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Career-high 35 on the night.</p>
<p>25 in the second half.</p>
<p>16 in the fourth. <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/11/01/new-york-knicks-players-hottest-starts/"https://t.co/6iO6dC0C8d">pic.twitter.com/6iO6dC0C8d
<p>— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/11/01/new-york-knicks-players-hottest-starts/"https://twitter.com/nyknicks/status/1454624705307107328?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>October 31, 2021</a></p></blockquote>
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<p>If you’ve been watching him since his Duke days, this may be old news to you. It was just a matter of time until Barrett was let out of his cage. As things stand, there is a more than likely chance that RJ Barrett becomes the face of the New York Knicks sooner rather than later.</p>
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