One Silver Lining for Knicks Amid Slow Start Is Flying Under Radar

The Knicks have given fans very few reasons to be excited two weeks into the season. Two of their three wins have come against the Bulls and Nets, both of which were closer and more difficult than it needed to be. They’ve yet to put together a full 48 minutes of quality basketball. A lot of that stems from their slow starts, inability to consistently make shots they usually make, uncharacteristic turnover problems, and transition defense.

There has been some positives. The early season play of Karl-Anthony Towns, the glimpses of playmaking improvements from OG Anunoby, and the bench play of Jordan Clarkson have all been nice talking points early on.

But there’s one silver lining that has gone somewhat underappreciated: dodging the injury bug when it feels like the rest of the league has been ravaged by it.

Knicks' top-flight medical staff and luck on injury front provide hope for turnaround

Ever since the “what ifs” surrounding the 2023 Knicks, who suffered season-altering injuries to Julius Randle and Anunoby, New York has been pretty healthy.

Unfortunately, the same cannot be said about some other teams, especially for this season. One of the major headlines of the young season so far has been the amount of major injuries that have already taken place. And that point has been further highlighted due to the amount of big-name players who have been sidelined.

The Thunder, who entered the season as one of the two favorites to win it all have suffered the most. Jalen Williams, Cason Wallace, and Chet Holmgren are all out with Williams and Wallace likely out for the season
Anthony Edwards is not only out for the next couple months, but there are reports that he may need more knee operations in the future to address his knee issues
Paolo Banchero and Jaren Jackson Jr are expected to miss over a month
Kawhi Leonard and Tyrese Haliburton are both dealing with less extreme injuries, but are out nonetheless; and considering their recent injury history, nobody would fault fans of either players to be at least a little concerned

Minor injuries to Jalen Brunson, Towns, Josh Hart, Miles McBride, Landry Shamet, and Anunoby have come up in the last couple years. Jose Alvarado just missed four contests with an ankle issue as well. But none of them have missed multiple months outside of McBride when he went under the knife to repair a sports hernia injury last season and Shamet when he suffered his two shoulder injuries.

Some of that is luck. But some it also needs to be credited towards the Knicks’ training staff: a group that has repeatedly received praise from the players and coaches. Some of that is also Mike Brown being less reliant on the starters than Tom Thibodeau was and being much more willing to lean on his bench, especially during the regular season.

Some of it may even be the nature of the way this team plays. It’s a slow-paced group that has very physical, but still relatively low to to the ground, players. None of their main guys are the kind of young athletes that Williams and Edwards are. Nor do they have the kind of injury history that Banchero, Halliburton, and Leonard have.

The Knicks’ luck and ability to remain healthy can change at anytime. That’s the nature of sports in general. But that’s also exactly why it’s so impressive just how healthy they’ve been the last couple of years.

In an age where the increased pace has lead to a higher number of possessions and the athleticism and intensity with which many players play with have also increased, the Knicks have stayed relatively healthy.

It can be difficult to remain positive about a team you care so deeply about. Even after a championship lifted what felt like a one ton weight off of the fan base’s back, there are still many of them who want to see this team continue to succeed. With that comes expectations and passion.

And that’s ok, even if those things can sometimes lead to irrationality. That’s why it’s understandable that a non insignificant portion of the fanbase has been underwhelmed by this team’s play. But it’s also okay to take a step back and contextualize things.

This team will likely turn things around. Once they start hitting shots and get back to playing the brand of basketball that just won them a championship a few months ago, they’ll likely be okay. For the time being, even if their championship hangover or lackluster play continues, maybe fans can appreciate the almost miraculous fact that this team of not-so-young players have been relatively healthy. Don’t take that for granted.

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