The New York Knicks won another game on Wednesday, continuing their winning streak. They improved to 27-15 with a 125-119 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers. However, not everyone is happy with the Knicks’ performance, even with their winning ways.
ESPN’s Malika Andrews mentioned the team’s inability to defeat some of the best teams before their matchup with the Sixers. According to Andrews, New York has a losing record when playing teams with a record higher than .500.
This led Stephen A. Smith to rant about demanding more from the team. He wants to see the Knickerbockers win against the top teams, which could potentially be their matchup in the postseason.
“You got a record that’s below .500 against teams that are better than .500,” Smith started (1:02). “The better teams in the National Basketball Association are giving the Knicks problems. You’re beating mediocrity, I’m so touched. That would mean a lot to me if you were down in the gutter, where you used to be. But you spoiled us since Jalen Brunson arrived. We got hope, our expectations have been elevated. I need more!
“I need to see you go against teams like Cleveland, like Boston, like Oklahoma City. Teams like that and then handling your business… I am not gonna sit here and be happy. Cleveland has answered the call, they look phenomenal. Boston’s not going away, they’re right where they need to be… Knicks gotta be better, plain and simple.”
Despite a losing record against some of the top teams in the league, Jalen Brunson and his crew are still third in the Eastern Conference standings.
The Knicks need to address their team’s depth
The Knicks have remained successful this season, which can be credited to the work of their starting lineup. However, the team has relied heavily on the production of their first five players, as they don’t have a strong depth that could hold their own.
Between Brunson, Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby, Josh Hart and Karl-Anthony Towns, the team has averaged 97.1 points. Head coach Tom Thibodeau has also depended on the starting five. Four of the starters (Bridges, Hart, Brunson and Anunoby) are in the top four in total minutes played this season. Their starting center, Towns, is at the 16th spot with 1,318.2 total minutes as he missed Wednesday’s action
Leading up to the Feb. 6 trade deadline, many hope that New York addresses their depth to keep the starting five healthy and ready for the postseason.
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Reign also writes NBA and WNBA news updates on Sportskeeda. He started as a feature writer for AirAlamo, an NBA website that covers the San Antonio Spurs. Some of his work can also be seen with Valley of the Suns, a Phoenix Suns-centric website, where he served as a contributing writer.
