My Evaluation of the New York Knicks Six Games In

[TheMadDog31]

For all of you who haven't cared to notice, I just now recently joined this place. Being born and bred in New York City, I have always been fan of the Knicks, for 40 some odd years. So far, with the removal of Isiah Thomas and the benching of the clubhouse cancer, Stephon Marbury, this is my evaluation on the Knicks' performances in the first six games.

Well first of all, at six games in, the Knicks already have better record than they started out with last season. They have reversed their record from 2-4 to 4-2. I attribute this to the extremely fast paced offense that Mike D'Antoni has utilized since his time in Phoenix.

The two best scorers per game are, no suprise, Zach Randolph and Jamal Crawford, both averaging nearly 20 points per game. Randolph is already averaging a double-double this season at 19.8 points and 11.5 rebounds per game. Chris Duhon, the "seasoned veteran" and big free agent signing, is leading the team in assists (6.7), minutes (221 through five starts in six games), and minutes per game (36.8). Nate Robinson, the 5'9" former Slam Dunk champ leads the Knicks in steals by nine (17) and steals per game by 1.5 (2.8).

Currently on a three-game winning streak after starting out 1-2, the Knicks have scored 322 points in their three straight wins and are averaging 107 points per game since November 5th. Overall, they have scored 615 points in their six games and are averaging 102 points per game in those six games. Unfortunately, they are giving up an average of 105 points per game, although their defense managed to shut down the very powerful and versatile offense of the Utah Jazz and keep them in double-digits (107-99). In half of their games, they have managed to keep their opponents in double-digits (Charlotte, Milwaukee, Utah), very much a step up from last season when the Knicks averaged under 100 points per game and gave up an average of 102.

In the last four games, Zach Randolph has been on fire averaging nearly 22 points and 13 rebounds per game. He leads the team in points (119), total rebounds (69), free throws made/attempted (25/31), and field goals made/attempted (45/102). Jamal Crawford lit the Jazz up last night with 32 points and led both teams in scoring.

Overall, I would give the Knicks this season a B- throughout the first six games. They have scored a lot better than they did last season, which has to be partially credited to D'Antoni's offense, and the team seems to be clicking on a whole, instead of consistently giving the ball to Crawford or Randolph. Of the seven guys who have played in all six games this season, six are averaging double digits in scoring. The other, Chris Duhon is averaging just under 10 points but leads the Knicks in assists and assists per game, so everyone seems to be contributing so far.

[TheMadDog31]

I will post more evaluations later on in the season.