New York Knicks: Reaction To Sports Illustrated’s Midseason Grade

The New York Knicks are having a solid season with a 21-22 record and the midseason grade from Sports Illustrated reflects that.

The New York Knicks were the laughing stock of the NBA during the 2014-15 season. All they did throughout a majority of the season was lose games, until the final week when they decided to win two meaningless games that dropped them in the NBA Draft Lottery.

At the time it looked like it would be a disaster once again for what has been a poorly run and snake bitten franchise. But, everything happens for a reason and we are seeing thus far this season that the Knicks actually caught a break landing Kristaps Porzingis with the fourth overall pick.

Porzingis has greatly surpasses expectations for his rookie season as he is a force on both ends of the court. He has won Rookie of the Month every month thus far this season in the Eastern Conference and is a legitimate Rookie of the Year candidate along with Karl Anthony-Towns. The play of Porzingis has been a big reason that the Knicks have had the turnaround they have had this season as he gives the Knicks a legitimate one-two punch along with Carmelo Anthony.

Anthony has had his up-and-downs this season as he recovers from knee surgery last February, but he has blossomed into the leader everyone in New York had hoped he would become. It has helped revitalize this team and organization, as the Knicks are on the rebound and a team to watch for in the second half of the season.

For their performance in the first half, Sports Illustrated gave them a B, which is a huge improvement over where they were at this point last season when Anthony began having knee pain and the team was going nowhere. Here is an excerpt from Ben Golliver over at Sports Illustrated on why the Knicks got a B:

"Some of the major preseason questions have so far been non-issues: starting center Robin Lopez has remained on the court, Anthony has remained healthy, satisfied and engaged, and a shaky backcourt hasn’t totally killed the vibe. While New York’s offensive and defensive efficiency numbers are pretty meh, both marks are vastly improved over last year’s abomination. The short version of the Knicks is this: They aren’t going anywhere special this season, but at least they aren’t going to Hell either. That qualifies as major, welcome progress."

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That about hits it on the head for the Knicks. They are not championship contenders this season, but they are finally putting the building blocks in place for a contending team. They are competitive every night and will continue to be as we head into the second half of the season.

Where they were at this point last season, the people within the organization have to be happy with where they are at now. The offseason signings of Robin Lopez, Arron Afflalo and Derrick Williams that were criticized by many people have paid dividends.

Lopez anchors the defense and paint and is improving in the high post offensively. Afflalo has given the Knicks a second go-to scorer behind Anthony, while Williams looks to have found his true calling as an offensive minded Sixth Man off the bench.

The pieces may not be overwhelmingly talented, but they fit together and are providing a good product on the court for the Knicks. Phil Jackson deserves a lot of credit for putting this team together as they are exceeding the expectations that many people had for them prior to the season.

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Expect them to continue scrapping towards a playoff spot, which would further improve their case with free agents this offseason as they look to augment the roster around an aging superstar in Anthony and a budding one in Porzingis.