RJ Barrett and the new-look Knicks is still a work in progress, but “progress” is the key word. Photo by All-Pro Reels. Visit for more information Jj Game

I won’t mince words. Over the last 19 years, rooting for the New York Knicks has been the equivalent of Lucy pulling the football away from Charlie Brown. Over and over again, the team found countless ways to embarrass on and off the basketball court.

It’s been the absolute pits.

As the Knicks entered the 2020-21 season, expectations weren’t particularly high. The team’s over/under for wins out in Las Vegas was 23.5 for the 72 game season. My hope was that I’d get a chance to watch a young team that plays hard and a team that can somehow take on the personality of it’s head coach.

Twenty-nine games into the 2020-2021 NBA season and my expectations for the Knicks have been exceeded and then some… The Knicks are 14-15 after 29 games and are 60 percent of the way towards hitting the season over. PS: I wish I had bet the over!

To put the progress in some sort of perspective, the Knicks won their 14th game after their 50th game of the 2019-2020 season. Quite the difference and trust me when I say this.

The New York Knicks look like and feel like a team that is seriously showing signs of progress.
It’s obvious to see on a night-in and night-out basis. So what’s the difference?

For starters, The Thibs Effect is in full gear. The Knicks new head coach Tom Thibodeau has demanded effort, accountability and defense nightly. There are some nights where the Knicks don’t have it, that can happen. However, unlike other teams over the last 19 years, you can never question the effort of this team on a nightly basis. That’s the sort of mentality that a new coach can bring.

Thibodeau’s ability to demand a certain level of effort has helped the game of Julius Randle flourish into what has been a career year for the journeymen forward.

A year ago, Julius Randle was the definition of empty statistics on a losing team. This year Julius Randle is doing everything to help the New York Knicks win ball games. He can get buckets, he is setting up his teammates and is playing hard constantly.

Randle is on pace to be an All-Star for the first time in his career. He deserves a ton of credit, but the coaching staff has helped him take his game to new heights. It’s not just Julius Randle. The young players on this team have been able to flourish.

2nd year forward RJ Barrett is a better and tougher player than he was a year ago. Rookie Immanuel Quickley has hit the ground running and might actually turn out to be a terrific homegrown guard.

Drafting and developing players. Now look, don’t get it twisted. The Knicks have a limited ceiling for what this team can achieve in 2021.

The bar has been set so low that yes a team a game under .500 after 29 games is getting praise throughout the five boroughs. However, you have to crawl before you can walk.

If you listen to players and coaches around the NBA, there is a different tone you hear from them in discussing the roster and organizational vibe of the New York Knicks.

Instead of the Knicks being a punchline, there’s praise. Think about this, recently re-acquired point guard Derrick Rose stated that the reason he wanted to return to the Knicks was that he wanted a chance to play in the postseason. Let that sink in for a hot second.

Will Derrick Rose be a fortune teller of things to come in the spring? Who knows, but the Knicks are finally building an organization the right way. A tough coach, a team with character and most of all a team New York City can actually get behind and support.

Baby steps, but it sure beats spinning your wheels.