This is tough to grade. I can sympathize with the teachers during the pandemic who were forced to assess on limited participation and theoreticals. With the Knicks this season, only one member of the original starting five is healthy.
Two are off the roster.
Three of the top-five players in minutes played last season have been traded.
Injuries, unfortunately, impact availability, and attendance is a factor in grading.
So yes, somebody such as Mitchell Robinson, who was great when he played, gets docked points for missing so many games because of an ankle surgery.
Also, my criteria is at least a dozen games played with the Knicks this season, so Alec Burks and Bojan Bogdanovic get incompletes.
Here’s how it looks, in grade order:
Jalen Brunson
Stats: 52 GP, 35.9 MPG, 27.6 PPG, 6.5 APG, 48.3% SHOOTING, 41.1% ON 3-POINTERS
What else can be said? He’s an All-Star. He’s leading the Knicks on and off the court. He’s the franchise’s best point guard since Clyde Frazier. He finished seventh in the MVP voting for ESPN’s latest straw poll. I had to desperately search for a negative, and this is all I could come up with: His 3-point percentage has fallen back to reality after a scorching start.
Grade: A+
Donte DiVincenzo
Stats: 54 GP, 25 MPG, 13.6 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 2.5 APG, 45.8% SHOOTING, 41.5% ON 3-POINTERS
Enjoying the best stretch of his career since the Toronto trade, picking up the offensive slack that departed with RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley. He’s demonstrated extreme confidence in the shot and it’s paying off, boosting the starting lineup. The only knock is the rough first 12 games of the campaign, when he was Quentin Grimes’ backup and shooting under 40%. It’s been uphill since
Grade: A-
Isaiah Hartenstein
Stats: 50 GP, 25.6 MPG, 7.1 PPG, 8.7 RPG, 1.1 BPG, 62% SHOOTING
Thriving in a featured spot because of the injury to Robinson, demonstrating to the Knicks — and the rest of the NBA — that he’s a starting center ahead of his 2024 free agency. The rebounding and rim protection have been top-notch, and head coach Tom Thibodeau even got more comfortable allowing Hartenstein to make plays on offense. But the concern over the Achilles pain is growing. He’s already missed five more games than all of last season.
Grade: A-
Precious Achiuwa
Stats: 23 GP, 25.3 MPG, 8.0 PPG, 7.3 RPG, 1.0 BPG, 52.6% SHOOTING
Looked lost when he first arrived via trade from the Raptors, leaving the impression that he’d ride out the season in a small role, or a non-existent one, before hitting free agency in the summer. But Achiuwa was given a greater opportunity because of injuries and has responded with some of the best ball of his career. In the past 10 games, Achiuwa is averaging a double-double while leading the Knicks in minutes. He’s following a simplified game plan familiar to the big men under Thibodeau — rebound, screen and defend.
Grade: B+
Julius Randle
Stats: 46 GP, 35.4 MPG, 24 PPG, 9.2 RPG, 5.0 APG, 3.5 TPG, 47.2% SHOOTING, 31.1% ON 3-POINTERS
Adjusted his game this season to fit a goal of becoming more efficient, taking it to the paint more often and playing to his literal strength. It turned into another All-Star nod for Randle despite poor shooting from beyond the arc. But a lot of questions remain. When will he come back from the dislocated shoulder? Will he be the same type of player after such a traumatic injury? Which version of Randle will show up for the playoffs?
Grade: B+
Josh Hart
Stats: 54 GP, 29.9 MPG, 7.8 PPG, 7.1 RPG, 42.3% SHOOTING, 30.6% ON 3-POINTERS
Hustle and glue. After struggling to find comfort in his role at the start of this season, Hart seems to have embraced it — or accepted it, at least — more recently. The offensive numbers are pretty ugly, but Hart is part of the best lineups the Knicks have produced, largely because he’s available and willing to defend. The problem is the 3-point shot, which has been bad enough this season for the defense to leave him wide open.
Grade: B
OG Anunoby
Stats: 14 GP, 35.7 MPG, 15.6 PPG, 4.6 RPG, 1.8 SPG, 51.6% Shooting, 39.1% on 3-POINTERS.
He’s been as advertised, even better in a lot of ways. His defensive presence briefly turned the Knicks into a juggernaut, with 12 victories in the first 14 chances after Anunoby’s arrival. But the bad part also followed Anunoby to New York — the lack of durability — with nine straight missed games and counting because of an elbow injury/surgery. It will come down to his health in the playoffs (Anunoby missed Toronto’s entire 2019 run to the championship). When he’s played, Anunoby has been outstanding.
Grade: B-
Miles McBride
Stats: 42 GP, 12.4 MPG, 5.9 PPG, 43.3% SHOOTING, 40.7% ON 3-POINTERS
Really elevated his 3-point shot this season, which was important to keeping McBride on the floor. He remains a tenacious on-ball defender and has earned the right to be part of the rotation, even if it’s at the end of it. The problem is Thibodeau still doesn’t trust McBride as a ballhandler, hence the reason you’ll see heavy doses of Alec Burks.
Grade: B-
Mitchell Robinson
Stats: 21 GP, 29.2 MPG, 6.2 PPG, 10.3 RPG, 1.3 BPG, 59.2% SHOOTING
Probably the biggest shame of this season was the ruin of Robinson’s All-Defense candidacy because of the fractured ankle, an injury that has kept the center off the court for the last three months and counting. His offensive rebounding was great when he played but attendance is part of the grading and now we’re wondering about the future of a 7-footer with surgeries on both feet.
Grade: C
Taj Gibson
Stats: 16 GP, 10.3 MPG, 1.0 PPG, 1.8 RPG, 30% SHOOTING
I feel bad including Gibson on this report card because he was never supposed to play. But the 38-year-old was forced into action because of injuries, and it’s clear he wasn’t physically prepared for long stretches in the NBA. There will always be the memories, though, and the strong leadership Gibson brings to a locker room — the new Herb Williams. Gibson’s 10-day contract will expire during the All-Star break and Thibodeau was non-committal about bringing back one of his favorite players, saying there will be a discussion with the front office. If we never see Gibson again as a player in the NBA, bravo on a gritty career. And good luck with the future in coaching.
Grade: C-
Jericho Sims
Stats: 28 GAMES, 11 MPG, 2 PPG, 2.5 RPG, 71.4% SHOOTING
Gets the best grade on the team for physique and athleticism, but it’s been a rough season because of spotty opportunities and an ill-timed ankle sprain. I still believe in the enormous upside for a player who can jump out of the gym. But he needs to gain confidence and develop better instincts.
Grade: C-
Tom Thibodeau
W-L: 33-22
Expectations for this team hovered around 45 wins before the season, and Thibodeau is well above that pace at the break. A hallmark of a good coach is seeing how his players perform in relation to the rest of their careers and much of this roster — from Brunson to DiVincenzo to Hartenstein to Robinson to Achiuwa — are/were playing at their best in the NBA.
Grade: A-
Leon Rose
The Anunoby deal was a home run until the elbow surgery, and the big swing for Bogdanovic/Burks is a TBD. But on paper, the Knicks are a legitimate team — perhaps even a threat for the conference finals — with their draft assets still stored for the superstar chase in the offseason. The team president has put the Knicks on a steady upward trajectory with minimal risks, much of it thanks to his grand slam signing of Brunson.
Grade: B+
