Knicks Hang on in Dramatic Fashion, Where They Stand Headed into the All-Star Break
If there is one thing I’ve grown accustomed to as a Knicks fan over the years, it's the fact that no matter the result, I will always be entertained. That was certainly the case Wednesday evening when the Knicks took down the Atlanta Hawks in an overtime thriller that would have been decided much earlier. Atlanta did not have a lead the entire game until overtime which is a statement of how much control the Knicks had over this game. Luckily the Knicks overcame the push from the Hawks at the end and were able to grab the victory. Here is what we learned from this thrilling battle in the garden.
Improvement Defensively: Priority Number One
The Knicks offense can be generationally talented but if there are no answers defensively, especially for a team like the Hawks they will struggle to be a viable threat come playoff time. Four players on Atlanta had over 20 and the Knicks were unable to contain bench players, Caris Levert and Georges Niang which hurt them tremendously. It is also worth mentioning that Trae Young finished with 19 assists so going forward it is important to incorporate blockage into the pass lanes and not make distributing the ball so effortless. Luckily there will be time over the All-Star break to make defensive adjustments and hopefully, they will have Mitchell Robinson and O.G Anunoby back by the end of the month.
Precious Achiuwa Very Efficient in Starting Role
I believe we are truly seeing a special young player develop, in center Precious Achiuwa. We know this starting role will more than likely not be permanent as Anunoby will be back sooner than later, but Achiuwa is stepping up big time with the absence of Anunoby as well as Robinson. He had 26 points tonight which was one point shy of his career high and contributed highly with a very impactful 42 minutes of play. It will be interesting to see where he fits in the rotation when our roster is completely healthy and if he still sees a sufficient amount of playing time as he should.
Karl-Anthony Towns Is the Most Valuable Player on This Team
With back-to-back 40-point performances, it is becoming more and more clear how valuable Karl-Anthony Towns is to the Knicks and how well they do when he is at his best. It is very much impossible to deny the fact that Towns has a tremendous supporting cast. We can see however, the games Towns misses or doesn’t perform at his MVP level they usually struggle to win. New York is going to need these undeniable All-Star starter performances going forward to continue to play the best they can and to enter title threat consideration down the line.
