New York Knicks Drop In Latest NBA Power Rankings
The New York Knicks saw a drop in Marc Stein’s NBA Power Rankings this week.
It was an up-and-down week for the New York Knicks. They were handled rather easily in their first back-to-back of the season by the Detroit Pistons and Houston Rockets; they lost both games by double figures as the defense fell apart.
They were able to get back into the win column in an emotional game against the Chicago Bulls. Chicago native Derrick Rose and longtime Bull Joakim Noah carried the team to an impressive road victory. The Knicks left the Windy City with an 117-104 victory as Rose and Noah had easily their best games of their Knicks tenure.
The momentum was short-lived as the Knicks lost a Sunday matinee to the Utah Jazz, 114-109. The Jazz got a boost from the return of Gordon Hayward, but it was a bad loss for the Knicks. They led by double-figures in the first half and the Jazz were playing a game at 10 AM their time.
More from New York Knicks
- New York Knicks Fall to Eighth After NBA Draft Lottery
- New York Knicks: Players to Draft in Worst-Case Lottery Scenario
- New York Knicks: Three Players Who Should Thrive Under Tom Thibodeau
- Is Devin Booker to the New York Knicks Realistic?
- New York Knicks: Tom Thibodeau Officially Hired as Head Coach
But, once again, the Knicks defense was nowhere to be found in the second half as the Jazz shot nearly 70 percent in the second half to steal away a victory.
With a 1-3 record, the Knicks saw a drop in the NBA Power Rankings by Marc Stein on ESPN. There are some positives to take away despite the losses, such as the offense starting to come around. But for all the progress they are making there they are failing to make on the defensive end of the court.
Here is what Stein had to say about the Knicks heading into the third week of the season.
"The Knicks’ offense has picked up considerably from where it was in the opening week, with Derrick Rose finding some footing as a floor leader — 11 assists in his Chicago homecoming! — and with Jeff Hornacek, as Carmelo Anthony forcefully explained, running less of the Triangle offense than outsiders anticipated. New York’s defense, though, continues to be leaky and a real problem, which perhaps isn’t hugely surprising when you remember how much training camp time D-Rose and Joakim Noah missed."
Rose has handed out 19 assists in the last two games after having only 10 in the first four games of the season. He looks explosive in the early going and is getting more and more comfortable on the court. Rose missed all but the first game of the preseason for his civil suit in Los Angeles, so this is essentially his preseason.
While Rose comes along offensively, defensively he just isn’t there yet. It is not all his fault though as the Knicks as a whole are struggling to defend the pick-and-roll. Teams are taking advantage of the Knicks lack of cohesion as they are not yet playing as a unit defensively. They have been burned trying to defend the pick-and-roll and you can guarantee teams will continue testing them until they can stop it.
The Knicks will have some time to work on it, as they don’t play until Wednesday this week against the Brooklyn Nets. They better figure things out, as they have a huge test this weekend with a back-to-back set on the road against the Boston Celtics Friday night and Toronto Raptors Sunday night.
Next: New York Knicks 30 Greatest Players Of All-Time
It will be a good barometer for the Knicks as the Celtics and Raptors look to pace the Atlantic Division once again. If they want any chance of changing that, picking up head-to-head wins over them would help greatly.