New York Knicks First Quarter Season Grades

A-. Anthony takes a lot of heat from fans and front office people alike; we are looking at you, Phil Jackson. While he has a bad rap, he just wants to win. He still believes the best way of doing that is scoring the basketball and we have seen it work multiple times this season. He has an off shooting night every now and then, but so does every player; his are just blown out of proportion for whatever reason. Anthony remains a lethal offensive player that is gaining trust in his teammates. He has never had this kind of scoring prowess around him and it is an adjustment of sorts. That side of the ball things will come; he needs to set the tone more often defensively. He is the leader of the team; he does it everyone else will follow suit. Through a quarter of the season, the effort on that side of the ball has been too inconsistent. Per Game Averages: 33.7 MIN, 22.4 PTS, 6.0 REB, 2.5 AST, 0.95 STL, 0.41 BLK, 19.1 PER. Small Forward. New York Knicks. CARMELO ANTHONY

Small Forward. New York Knicks. LANCE THOMAS. C. Thomas has battled a number of injuries in the early going. He has had problems with his lower body, namely his ankles and feet. He had plantar fasciitis in both feet and bone bruises. It has caused him to miss 10 games. He has looked rusty in his 12 games of action but has gotten things going as he shakes off the rust. Thomas was expected to play a major role off the bench as the backup forward with versatility to play all over the court. He is the glue guy of the second unit and an important piece of the puzzle for the Knicks. He brings a lot of intangibles to the court and his play on the defensive end of infectious. Hopefully, he is over the injuries and can stay in the lineup more than he did the first quarter of the season. Per Game Averages: 16.3 MIN, 4.9 PTS, 2.3 REB, 0.3 AST, 0.42 STL, 0.08 BLK, 6.8 PER

B. Kuzminskas looks to be a diamond in the rough picked up by the Knicks scouting department. The first time a casual fan would have seen him would have been the Rio Olympics, but the Knicks seemed to have their eye on him for quite some time. He doesn’t look 27-years old at all but has plenty of basketball experience. Hornacek has sprinkled him into the lineup and he has provided some highlight plays. He is still learning the NBA game and should see an increased role as the season goes on. He fits right in with the rest of the bench unit as he likes to get up and down the court while also providing some production from beyond the three-point line. Per Game Averages: 11.6 MIN, 4.4 PTS, 1.5 REB, 0.9 AST, 0.42 STL, 0.05 BLK, 12.2 PER. Small Forward. New York Knicks. MINDAUGAS KUZMINSKAS