The New York Knicks slid down to No. 16 in the latest installment of NBA.com’s weekly power rankings. The Knicks went 1-2 in Week 21 of the 2023-24 NBA season. They secured a strong 98-74 win over the Orlando Magic on March 8.
Though, that was sandwiched in between a 16-point loss to the Atlanta Hawks to start the week and a know-scoring 79-73 loss to the shorthanded Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday.
Knicks: Bench unit gets outed after 1-2 record in Week 21
NBA.com’s John Schuhmann had this to say about the Knicks descending three spots and what might’ve caused it:
“But the Knicks have the league’s 23rd-ranked bench since the trade deadline and they’ve been outscored by 18.5 points per 100 possessions (scoring an anemic 104.5 per 100) in 300 total minutes with [Bojan] Bogdanovic and/or [Alec] Burks on the floor,” Schuhmann said.
The Knicks’ second unit has not had the sway that was forecasted when Bogdanovic and Burks joined the team at the deadline.
Without Julius Randle, OG Anunoby and Mitchell Robinson in the lineup, both sharpshooters have failed to take advantage of freed-up scoring opportunities.
In Week 21, Bogdanovic scored 11.7 points per game behind a poor 37.5 percent clip from the field. His 20.7 nightly minutes could take the blame for his diminished scoring. It doesn’t cover his inefficiency from the floor.
Alec Burks & the rest of the Knicks lineup failed to play up to the winning standard
Burks went 2-12 from three-point range in that stretch. He didn’t have much else to show for.
They’re not the only ones responsible for the Knicks’ losing, as all non-centers failed to shoot any better than 45.9 percent from the field and All-Star Jalen Brunson’s scoring dipped to 22.5 PPG, despite his injury scare on March 3.
The Knicks came in one spot ahead of the Magic. They did, however, give way to the Indiana Pacers and Los Angeles Lakers. With OG Anunoby set to return tonight in their second game against the Sixers, their outlook for Week 22 looks bright.