Is the Eastern Conference better than anyone thought?
Or are the Knicks not as good as we all projected them to be?
While one month into the season is way too early to start waving the panic flag, the Knicks are not dominating the Eastern Conference like many predicted they would. Entering Monday night’s game against the Nets, the Knicks are 9-6. That, incidentally, is the same record they were 15 games into the season last year.
The difference is when the Knicks were 9-6 last year, they were in second place in the Eastern Conference behind the Boston Celtics. And now? They entered Monday night in sixth place behind Detroit, Toronto, Cleveland, Miami and Atlanta.
This is far from what most envisioned after the Boston Celtics and Indiana Pacers lost their best players for the season to Achilles injuries. With those two teams out of the way, it was assumed that Cleveland and the Knicks would be playing in the Eastern Conference Finals, with teams jockeying for position on a lower tier behind them.
Well, it turns out that the Knicks aren’t the only team that was looking to take advantage of Boston and Indiana’s misfortune. Detroit has taken a major leap forward as Cade Cunningham is playing at superstar level and center Jalen Duren is both scary and an early candidate for most improved player of the year. The Raptors, who entered Monday on a seven-game winning streak, may lack a superstar but have a pretty good starting five. And, honestly, should anyone really be surprised that Erik Spoelstra has Miami in the mix again?
The Knicks, on paper, are better than all of these teams. When clicking on all cylinders like it was during a chunk of their five-game winning streak early this month, their offense under new coach Mike Brown might be the best in the league.
Their defense, however, continues to be a problem. The Knicks defensive rating of 118.8 points per 100 minutes played is ranked 18th in the league, which isn’t horrible but isn’t impressive considering that the Knicks have played some pretty low-scoring opponents. Where the Knicks really have to be concerned is on the perimeter where they are ranked second worst in the league.
Bombs away would be an apt title for any scouting report for teams playing the Knicks as opponents are both attempting and making a lot of three-pointers. Knicks opponents are averaging 38.9 three-point attempts per game, fifth most in the league. More concerning is the fact that they are making 15.3 of those attempts.
The only team allowing more three-point makes is the Utah Jazz, who entered Monday night’s play with a 5-11 record.
What’s more, it appears that this might not get better anytime soon. The Knicks entered Monday’s game without OG Anunoby, their best perimeter defender, and Landry Shamet, one of their better perimeter defenders.
The Knicks entered Monday 1-2 since the game against Miami on Friday Nov. 14 when Anunoby injured his hamstring. The Knicks have given no timetable for Anunoby’s return, but are expected to issue an update in about a week.
Shamet’s situation appears to be more serious, though Brown declined to give an update before Monday’s game. Shamet is officially listed as having a sprained right shoulder and is going for more testing. Shamet, however, appeared to have dislocated his shoulder after running into a hard screen from Wendell Carter Jr. in the first quarter of Saturday’s loss to the Magic.
Should the diagnosis be a dislocated shoulder, Shamet could elect to have surgery or rehab it. Shamet dislocated the same shoulder last season and opted not to have surgery. He returned to play after a couple of months and against Indiana in the playoffs made significant contributions off the bench. Until getting injured, he appeared to be building off that performance, contributing both on defense and scoring a career-high 36 points in the same game against the Heat when Anunoby was injured.
The Knicks were also missing Mitchell Robinson on Monday, with the big man out with an illness. While Brown said it is up to those in the game to step up, he said before the game that the loss of Shamet and Anunoby has been a challenge for the team defensively.
“They can guard different types of players and positions and we miss them. It’s no secret,” Brown said. “But that’s what the NBA is about. it’s about trying to find a way every time you step on the court. It’s the next man up and everyone has to contribute, when it comes to missing whoever whether its offensively or defensively. They are both high level on ball defenders. Their impact we do miss . . . Both those guys are high level on ball defenders and they play with a level of physicality without fouling and versatility.”
So, a month into the season and the two questions remain.
Is the Eastern Conference better than anyone thought? It appears so.
Are the Knicks not as good as we projected them to be? Stay tuned.
Barbara Barker is an award-winning columnist and features writer in the sports department at Newsday. She has covered sports in New York for more than 20 years.