Knicks Close to Acing Season's First Half

The New York Knicks have been successful in the first half of their season.

Jan 21, 2025; Brooklyn, New York, USA; New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) and Brooklyn Nets center Nic Claxton (33) box out for a rebound in the fourth quarter at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images | Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

The New York Knicks are still among the league's best teams despite struggling in the month of January.

The Knicks are just 5-7 in the month of January after going on a big winning streak at the end of December.

CBS Sports graded each team through the first half of the season, with writer James Herbert giving the Knicks a "B+" for their efforts.

“Since the beginning of December, Mikal Bridges has averaged 20 points on 62% true shooting and made 40.8% of his catch-and-shoot 3s. From Christmas onward, Josh Hart has averaged 14.5 points, 12.4 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 1.7 steals. OG Anunoby is one of the best individual defenders in the NBA, and both Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns deserve to start in the All-Star Game. So why doesn't it feel like New York is having a phenomenal season?," Herbert writes.

“Part of it is that the Knicks have gone 4-6 in their last 10 games, and part of it is that the team is still incomplete. Maybe the return of Robinson -- he's expected to be cleared to practice by the end of January -- will solidify their defense (and turn offensive rebounding into a major strength again). To solve their depth issue, though, they probably need to find another rotation-caliber player on the trade market.”

The Knicks made the trades over the summer for Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns to be the NBA champions, not the No. 3 seed in the East. If the Knicks went through all of the hoops to become a better team only to get bounced in the second round for a third straight year, the season should be deemed a failure.

The Knicks will have a chance to improve their fortunes in the second half of the season, which continues on Saturday when the Sacramento Kings visit Madison Square Garden.

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