The New York Knicks are losers of two straight after a challenging road trip, but there is optimism looming in the Big Apple.
While the record stays at .500 as it did a week ago, the Knicks pass the eye test with the Jalen Brunson-Julius Randle combination working better than expected. This moves the Knicks up four spots from 20 to 16 in The Athletic's latest power rankings.
"Jalen Brunson really is that calming of an influence when he’s on the court," The Athletic writes. "He’s a physical mismatch despite his physical stature, and he keeps the Knicks making smart plays on offense as opposed to being rudderless as we saw last season. It puts less pressure on Julius Randle to be great every single moment and allows him to ease into whatever role evolves for him."
While Brunson and Randle are thriving, the reason the team isn't even higher on the list is R.J. Barrett's struggles in learning how to fit in with the two of them.
"With Randle and Brunson handling so much offense, they’ve got to find a way to give Barrett the ball on the move to make decisive decisions," The Athletic writes. "Get him some easy buckets early, and see if that grows his shot-making confidence on jumpers."
If the Knicks can find Barrett more opportunities and involve him more, New York will continue to climb the power rankings ladder.
The Knicks are back in action Wednesday when Trae Young and the Atlanta Hawks come to town (7:30 p.m. ET, MSG).
Jeremy Brener is on Twitter @JeremyBrener
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