This Changes Everything For The New York Knicks…

This Changes Everything For The New York Knicks…

I I just think they found their identity. New York has and I think there was a stretch in that that second quarter where they really blew the game up. What we showed at the anobi dunk where good defense turns into really good offense here. And Bobby, that’s a great point when you say they found their identity, right? It takes time. They got a new coach and and the thing I got to give a lot of praise to when it comes to Mike Brown. The New York Knicks just sent a message to the entire NBA and it’s loud and clear. a 16-point blowout in the NBA Cup quarterfinals, eight and two in the last 10 games. Brunson penetrates and scores. And the top of the Atlantic division, second seed in the East, and a 13-1 home record. But what if I told you it’s not just the wins, it’s how they’re winning that changes everything. Buckle up, because this Knicks team isn’t just hot, they might be for real. The Knicks punched their ticket to the NBA Cup semi-finals in Las Vegas with a 117 to 101 win over the Toronto Raptors, their eighth victory in the last 10 games. And after a run like this, the numbers back it up. New York now earns the third best offensive rating in the league at 122.7 points per 100 possessions, trailing only Denver and Houston, and they’re tied for 10th on defense. A top five offense paired with a borderline top 10 defense. Yeah, that’s usually the blueprint for a deep postseason run. But let’s not get carried away just yet. For now, their wins are starting to follow a familiar pattern. And it all starts with Jaylen Brunson in Toronto. He set the tone immediately, dropping 20 of his game high 35 in the first quarter. That early burst was huge, especially with Carl Anthony Town stuck on the bench in foul trouble and Brandon Ingram erupting for 17 points in the opening frame for the hosts. From there, the Knicks flipped the game with their defense. They held the Raptors to just 13 points in the second quarter and blew the game open with a 21-point swing. A far cry from how New York opened the season, starting 3 and six on the road. Earlier in the year, it was pure talent and continuity keeping them afloat. But now they’re finally looking like the team people believed could make an NBA Finals run. Towns returned from one game absence and posted 14 points and 16 rebounds. While Josh Hart continued his resurgence since rejoining the starting lineup, Hart knocked down four of seven from three and finished with 21 six and four. And Toronto’s strategy, sticking centers on Hart and daring him to shoot completely backfired. Hart has been shooting well over 40% from deep since being reinstated as a starter on November 24. After the win, head coach Mike Brown kept things in perspective, saying, “I know this sounds crazy, but we still have a lot of room to grow on both sides of the floor. We can be an extremely highlevel defensive team. This is a big step for New York.” The Knicks were bounced in the quarterfinals of the NBA Cup the past two seasons. Now they move on to face the Orlando Magic and their new nemesis Desmond Bane for the second time in a week. Tensions are already there. In their last matchup, a frustrated Bane fired the ball at OG Anobi after a no call. The Knicks won 106 to 100 and the league hit Bane with a $35,000 fine for the hostile act. Now the stakes go up. Anobi inside. Oh, what a play from Blake. Oh, and Bane throws it off at Anobi and Anobi shoves Bane. This is one of those rare high pressure games for New York before the playoffs. They know the Magic as well as any team in the East. And with extra time to scout just one opponent, this will look and feel like a postseason series. They’ll need to match Orlando’s trademark physicality, something the Knicks finally managed to do in their most recent meeting to snap their losing streak to the Magic. And if the win over the Raptors is any indication, Nick’s fans should feel pretty damn good about their chances. For one, Jaylen Brunson is still cooking. He dropped 35 points to lead New York past Toronto, because of course he did. Brunson spent all of last season putting opponents to sleep. He won the NBA’s clutch player of the year by dragging the Knicks through pressure moments night after night against defenders who were usually a few inches taller and often significantly heavier. He was the definition of a pure clutch scorer. But this year, Brunson has flipped the script. He doesn’t need to go nuclear in crunch time anymore. Not because he can’t. He absolutely can, but because he’s dismantling teams long before the fourth quarter even arrives. Tuesday’s win over the Raptors was the loudest example yet. Brunson scored 35 with 20 coming in the first quarter alone. He’s averaging 10.6 first quarter points this season. The only player ahead of him is Luca Donuch. And it wasn’t like the Knicks started hot as a team. Their defense was non-existent to open the game, giving up 39 points in the first. Normally, that’s a death sentence, but Brunson kept them afloat with pure shotmaking. All 20 of his first quarter points came on jumpers, pull up threes in people’s faces, and that signature drive and step back mid-range that nobody has figured out how to stop. There was a stretch late in the quarter where you had to half jokingly wonder if the NBA’s scoring record was in danger. It felt like that kind of night. The type that defines and immortalizes the great scorers. Head coach Mike Brown knew exactly what he saw. He bailed us out offensively in that first quarter. We were able to score with them or keep it close because Jaylen had a big first quarter. That’s who he is. When you talk about MVP candidate of the league and yet when you ask Brunson about any of this, he stays true to himself, humble, almost dismissive, like none of it is a big deal. But beneath that calm tone is someone who processes the game like a killer. You can make a real case that Brunson is pound-for-pound the best scorer in basketball. three-level scoring, off the dribble creativity, efficient spot-ups, trips to the line. At 6’2, without elite burst or bounce, he still gets wherever he wants. He does it with footwork. Mike Brown openly compares to Kobe. And with an ability to play off two feet that keeps him balanced, controlled, and impossible to rush. Burton seeing his second action of the season. Brunson again on a burner. After the loss, Raptors head coach Darko Rayakovic didn’t hesitate to praise Jaylen, putting Brunson in the same conversation as Luca Donic and Nicola Joic. Players who move at their own pace, and you just can’t speed them up. Not the fastest, not the strongest, but the skill and awareness are unreal. The Knicks want to reach a point where they don’t need Brunson to save them with explosions like that first quarter in Toronto. and it’s a good goal to have, but sometimes letting him torture team for 30 is simply the smartest path to a win. While Jaylen Brunson’s first quarter explosion grabbed the headlines, Josh Hart quietly delivered one of the most complete performances of the night. Hart finished with 21 points on eight of 11 shooting, including four for seven from three, plus six rebounds, four assists, and two steals. It was the kind of all round effort that can slip under the radar. Except this time it absolutely didn’t. Mike Brown credited Brunson’s 20point opening frame for keeping New York alive during that barrage from Toronto. But once the game stabilized, that’s when Hart took over. He chipped in seven points in the first quarter. Then after a quieter second, he punished the Raptors for repeatedly sending extra defenders to Brunson. Hart went three for four in the third, including two of three from deep, helping the Knicks hold onto control every time Toronto tried to make a run. Brown gave credit to the guys on the floor for finding Hart when the defense collapsed toward Brunson, but he made it clear that Hart deserves praise for consistently knocking down those open shots. The relationship between Hart and his first year head coach has been an evolving one. Hart began the season injured and came off the bench early as Brown experimented with different lineup combinations. But once OG Anobi went down, the staff pushed for Hart to step into the starting unit and it’s been a perfect fit. The game in Toronto was Hart’s ninth straight start and he scored in double figures in seven of those games. New York is 8-1 during that stretch and as Brown gets more familiar with his roster, Hart is becoming one of the players who simplifies everything. Brown even compared him to a former finals MVP. He reminds me of Andre Iguodala. If you don’t really understand basketball, it’s hard to appreciate their game. Sometimes you look and think he’s not really this or that. But it’s the opposite. They can do everything. Josh can do everything. Josh Hart’s impact is undeniable. The kind of glue guy performance that keeps winning teams stable. But the Knicks don’t just have one of those guys. They have an entire wing core built on versatility, defense, and doing the dirty work that doesn’t always make headlines. And that’s where OG Anobi and Mikuel Bridges take things to another level. Let’s start with this. OG and Bridges are two of the best veteran players in the league who still haven’t made an all-star team. Both have put up scoring numbers in the high teens across multiple seasons, and both have built long-standing reputations as elite wing defenders. Team success absolutely each has played major roles on winning teams for most of their careers. And with the Knicks sitting at 17 and seven, holding the second best record in the East, there’s a very real argument that this team deserves more than one all-star behind Jaylen Brunson. You can even argue that Bridges has been New York’s second best player so far. And before his injury, the same was true for Anobi. The duo known as Wingstop might not put up flashy box score numbers that usually catch national attention, but anyone watching night to night knows how hard it would be to find 12 players in the east more deserving if their current level of play keeps up. The conversation with Bridges almost always begins the same way. The NBA’s Iron Man still not missing a single game in his entire pro career. This isn’t even the highest scoring season he’s had, sitting just under 17 points per game. Yet, he’s quietly averaging career-high marks in rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks. He’s also on pace for one of his strongest years from both the field and from three. In Mike Brown’s system, he’s taken clear steps as a playmaker, and defensively, he’s been suffocating. Bridges is near the top of the league in stocks, often takes the toughest perimeter matchup, and jumps passing lanes like an NFL safety. And through 24 games, he’s just doing everything that leads to winning. His scoring will always be capped next to two offensive engines in Brunson and Carl Anthony Towns, that’s the reality. But when it comes to all defensive team conversations, Bridges should already be in the mix for first team consideration. Anunnob’s year hasn’t looked quite as strong only because he missed two weeks with a hamstring injury, but there’s plenty of time for him to raise that from everyone’s memory. Before he went down, there was no real debate. Anobi was New York’s second most impactful player. The box score won’t scream it, but anyone watching the Knicks closely knows exactly how important he’s been. His shooting has been efficient as anything in his career. He’s averaging 15.7 points and his 60.4 four true shooting percentage will be the second best mark he’s ever posted considering the volume he’s taking now. Defensively, Ananobi’s impact speaks for itself. It’s honestly wild. He has only had one alldefensive selection. Both before and after the injury, he’s been a menace in Mike Brown’s defensive schemes. Jumping gaps, shrinking space, stripping ball handlers, and instantly making the Knicks look more vicious the moment he steps on the floor. Guys like Anobi and Bridges don’t always have eye-catching scoring nights or highlight real moments, but they do just about everything else. And that’s why players like Anobi, Bridges, and Josh Hart get overlooked when people stare at box scores instead of actually watching the game. But if the Knicks continue to play at this level, that’s not going to last. With Brunson and Towns carrying the offensive load and Wingstop plus Hart doing everything else, New York has the blueprint for one of the most dangerous fiveman lineups in the entire league. But this level of success, it wasn’t always guaranteed. When the Knicks decision makers shocked the league last summer by firing the franchise’s most successful head coach of this century, right after reaching their first Eastern Conference Finals in 25 years, it was clear they were looking for something different. Wins mattered obviously, but the realer priority was collaboration. That word kept coming up as they searched for the next leader of the locker room. And once Mike Brown sat down with the people in charge, it became obvious he was that guy. Someone not just open to input, but eager for it. Not just from the front office, but from his staff and from his players. Brown still makes the final call on everything that happens on the court, but he’s built an environment where everyone has a voice. When he arrived, he tore down the old offensive and defensive systems and replaced them with his own philosophies. But as the season unfolded, he started tweaking things based on feedback from his coaches and even his players. During games, he gives his roster room to offer alternatives, to point out adjustments they see in the moment. And that willingness to share the steering wheel has created trust fast. Assistants carry real responsibility. Players feel comfortable bringing him ideas. The front office sees their input reflected on the floor. But maybe the thing that sticks with players the most, Brown isn’t afraid to tell them when he’s wrong. That humility, that accountability is as much a part of the collaboration as the X’s and O’s. Put proven talent together with a coach who actually empowers his guys and suddenly everything starts to click. And that’s exactly what we’re seeing unfold in New York right now. This isn’t just a fun run. It’s a redefinition. The Knicks are no longer that tough it out, scrappy team leaning on clutch time heroics. They’re deeper, smarter, hungrier. And this streak, this NBA Cup run, it changes everything about their identity, their confidence, and their future. Do you think this version of the Knicks can make a real run in the East? Could they even win the NBA Cup? And as a fan, do you get excited by the NBA Cup or are you just treating them like any other regular season games? Let me know in the comments. And if you’re feeling this Knicks energy, drop a like and subscribe for more NBA breakdowns. And if you enjoyed this video, check out one of these ones on your screen now.

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