21. New York Knicks

Last Week’s Ranking: 29

The Knicks were probably ranked too low last week. Going into Friday, they were riding a three-game winning streak with victories over the Pacers, Hawks and Jazz. But then they lost two straight to Oklahoma City and Denver. The Nuggets loss is defensible, but losing to a team that is rebuilding stopped the Knicks from an even bigger rise in the rankings here.

Tom Thibodeau’s imprint is all over this team. They play hard nightly and have a top-10 defensive rating. Now the offense needs a lot more work, as they are 28th in offensive rating in the NBA. 

Julius Randle has been performing at an All-Star level through 10 games. He’s averaging 23.2 points, 11.8 rebounds and 7.1 assists and powering the Knicks. Austin Rivers has provided a spark off the bench, averaging 11.8 points, with 6.2 of those points coming in the fourth quarter. 

It is not just Randle and Rivers delivering for the Knicks. RJ Barrett has shown more flashes these 10 games than he did all of last season. Especially on the defensive end, where the Knicks had a defensive rating of 114.5 when he was on the floor last season. This year (on a small sample size) he’s improved to 104.9.

Source: bleacherreport.com
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