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NBA Power Rankings: Reaction To New York Knicks Week 13 ESPN Ranking

By Kenneth Teape

Jan 23, 2016; Charlotte, NC, USA; New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony (7) reacts from the bench during the second half against the Charlotte Hornets at Time Warner Cable Arena. The Hornets won 97-84. Mandatory Credit: Sam Sharpe-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 23, 2016; Charlotte, NC, USA; New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony (7) reacts from the bench during the second half against the Charlotte Hornets at Time Warner Cable Arena. The Hornets won 97-84. Mandatory Credit: Sam Sharpe-USA TODAY Sports /
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NBA Power Rankings: The New York Knicks had an up-and-down week from January 18th-24th; 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.

For the second consecutive week, the Knicks had an up-and-down week. They started out strong, picking up overtime victories against the Philadelphia 76ers and Utah Jazz as Carmelo Anthony returned from his ankle sprain. But, the Knicks ended the week poorly, suffering ugly losses to the Los Angeles Clippers and Charlotte Hornets. Both teams were on the second night of a back-to-back set and dealing with a ton of injuries, so it was disappointing to see the performance that the Knicks put forth.

Even more concerning is the knee injuries the Knicks are beginning to suffer. Lance Thomas has missed the last three games and the Knicks have looked out of sorts without him. Anthony was forced from the Hornets game in the second half with soreness in his surgically repaired left knee, which he said was happening because of fatigue, not anything structural; he hops to play tonight against the Thunder.

That has all resulted in the Knicks holding steady in the ESPN NBA Power Rankings. They were 18th last week and will hold in 18th place this week. But, it will be a tall task for the Knicks to hold at 18th place again unless they can figure out some of their problems they have been having in recent games.

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Thomas is an integral part of their defensive scheme, as his versatility enables him to defend as many as four positions. That has changed what Derek Fisher does a little bit on the defensive end, but the bigger problem is the inability of Jose Calderon to keep opposing point guards in front of him.

Calderon has never been a strong defender, but the Knicks were able to cover up for him more with the versatility that Thomas provided and the different lineups that Fisher could use. Without Thomas in the lineup, Calderon has been exposed more in the pick-and-roll and embarrassed in recent games by opposing point guards. Jeremy Lin, Ish Smith and Chris Paul had strong games against the Knicks recently and there is no reason to think it won’t continue happening.

Unfortunately for the Knicks, the skill level of the opposing point guards will step up immensley this upcoming week. First they have to deal with Russell Westbrook tonight against the Thunder, but will also have to deal with Kyle Lowry, Brandon Knight and Stephen Curry this week alone.

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If the Knicks cannot figure out a way to at least attempt to slow down those talented point guards, it could be a long week in Gotham City. If the Knicks can come away from this string of games with a 2-2 record, that should be considered a victory given their play in the recent games since Anthony’s ankle sprain and the games after.

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