New York Knicks: What we learned from March Madness so far

Let’s look at March Madness and potential draft picks for the New York Knicks

If the season were to end today, the New York Knicks would finish 11th in the East and 22nd overall. With that being said they will most likely be picking somewhere within the seven to eleven range due to the lottery. Due to the fact we have a general idea of who will be drafted in the top five, we can kind of get a feel for who will be available when the Knicks are on the clock. So let’s take a look at a few players who the Knicks could draft.

Mo Bamba:

Mo Bamba is a seven foot, 216 pound center out of Texas who has the ability to take over a game like few players can. Unlike other players the Knicks may have the chance of drafting, we did not get to see Bamba play much as the Longhorns were eliminated in the first round. In that first round loss to Nevada, which went into overtime Bamba went for 13 points, 14 rebounds, one assist, three blocks and one steal in 31 minutes.

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Over the course of the season, Bamba averaged a double-double with his 12.9 PPG, and 10.5 RPG. Bamba’s best game this season was his 25 point, 15 rebound performance against Ole Miss on January 27th. If the Knicks were to draft Bamba, he would not start in 2018-19 due to the fact that Enes Kanter will be on payroll, and will be owed a little over $18 million.

If the Knicks do draft Bamba they will be getting a player who can dominate the glass on both the offensive and defensive end. Bamba and his seven foot body frame has the power to dominate a game in the paint while going for double digit rebounds.

Wendell Carter:

Wendell Carter JR. is a 6’10”, 257 pound power forward/center out of Duke. Carter was one of the best players on a stacked Duke team but lived in the shadows of Marvin Bagley III, because of how dominant he was in every single game. For this reason not many people know how truly amazing Carter is. We got to see Carter play in four tournament games before a heart breaking overtime loss to Kansas in the Elite Eight.

This season Carter averaged just below a double-double with 13.5 points, 9.1 rebounds, and 2.0 assists per game to go with 2.1 blocks and 0.8 steals. Carter had a fantastic season and if the refs had made the correct call in calling a charge on Malik Newman rather than a block on Carter, in the Elite Eight game Sunday night, we would be able to watch him again on Saturday in the Final Four. The blocking foul gave Carter his fifth foul, ultimately causing him to foul out.

If the Knicks took a chance on the silent killer from Duke they’d be getting a player who doesn’t need the spotlight to shine as we saw this season at Duke. Carter is a stretch forward who can play small forward, power forward or center. If the Knicks took Carter he would likely start on the bench behind Tim Hardaway at Small Forward.

Mikal Bridges:

Mikal Bridges is one of the best players on a stacked Villanova squad which will be playing in their second Final Four in three years this Saturday. A big part of why the Wildcats are in the Final Four again is because of Bridges. Bridges is a paint monster who can play shooting guard or small forward and get to the rim over anyone. This season Bridges is averaging 17.8 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game to go along with 1.5 steals and 1.1 blocks per game.

Bridges is having a heck of a season alongside Jalen Brunson as they’ve led the Wildcats through the tournament and into the Final Four. So far in the tournament the Wildcats have won their games by an average of 18.25 points.

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If the Knicks were to draft Bridges they’d be getting a player who knows how to win, they’d be getting a player who they know would show up in big games. In the four tournament games this year Bridges is averaging 16 points, 5 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game. If Bridges were to don the blue and orange he’d be in the same situation as Carter because he would be benched behind Hardaway or behind Courtney Lee, and Frank Ntilikina at shooting guard.

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