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NBA Power Rankings: Reaction To New York Knicks Week 10 ESPN Ranking

By Kenneth Teape

Jan 3, 2016; New York, NY, USA; New York Knicks guard Arron Afflalo (4) gestures after a three point basket during the third quarter against the Atlanta Hawks at Madison Square Garden. New York Knicks won 111-97. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 3, 2016; New York, NY, USA; New York Knicks guard Arron Afflalo (4) gestures after a three point basket during the third quarter against the Atlanta Hawks at Madison Square Garden. New York Knicks won 111-97. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports /
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NBA Power Rankings: The New York Knicks had an up-and-down week from December 28th-January 3rd; did they drop in the rankings as a result?

Each week over at ESPN, they release their NBA Power Rankings that are written by Marc Stein. Here at Empire Writes Back, we will have our weekly reaction to where the New York Knicks are ranked by Stein and a little feedback on the rankings as a whole.

The up-and-down performance for the Knicks continued this past week. After going on a four-game winning streak in mid-December, the Knicks followed that up with a rough four-game losing streak. This past week they were able to get back on track a little bit, playing three games and going 2-1.

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Despite the winning record the Knicks still looked like a roller coaster at an amusement park. After picking up a surprising blowout victory over the Detroit Pistons to start the week, scoring 108 points, the Knicks offense was nowhere to be found in their second game of the week. They lost to the Chicago Bulls 108-81, scoring only eight points in the fourth quarter of the game, which was a franchise worst in the shot-clock era.

The Knicks then bounced back with an impressive victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday afternoon. They won handily 111-97, holding the Hawks to 20 points less than in the last meeting when they blew the Knicks out 117-98. What made it even more impressive was the fact Carmelo Anthony scored only 11 points.

Leading the way instead was Arron Afflalo, who put on a shooting display. He scored 38 points, going 14-of-17 from the field and connecting on his first eight three-point attempts. It helped get the Knicks an impressive victory over a strong team, and got Afflalo out of his shooting slump.

The Knicks now have a 16-19 record, which is light years ahead of where they were at this point last season when they were 5-31. They are now only one win away from tying their amount from all of last season, which would be a nice milestone for Derek Fisher to reach to get the bad taste of last season out of his and the team’s mouth.

Will that victory come this week? It will not be an easy task for the Knicks, as they will embark on a three-game road trip to start things off. They will pay visits to the Atlanta Hawks, who they are playing for the third time in nine days, Miami Heat and San Antonio Spurs. They will finish the week on Saturday at home against the Milwaukee Bucks.

Next: Who Is The Greatest Point Guard In Knicks History?

It will be a tough week for the Knicks, as all of their games will be played in back-to-back sets. The Hawks and Heat on Tuesday and Wednesday, the Spurs and Bucks on Friday and Saturday. If we have seen one thing from this team throughout the season though it is that they will compete no matter what the schedule throws at them.

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